Kid Baltimore | Family Activities with Children in Baltimore, Maryland

Ringling Bros. Circus

Sensory overload today, but wow did everyone have a great time. I hadn't been to the circus since I was a kid, so this was a real treat. After today, part of me wants to run off an join the circus. I'm thinking aerialist, but maybe the time for that has passed...

Anyway, it's definitely worth a trip to 1st Mariner Arena to check out the show and relive those childhood memories. I few things I would remember for next time:

1. Consider Light Rail. Parking garages are not that much fun.

2. Pick your show time carefully. Ours was 11:30 am which was perfect.

3. Have a firm plan before you pass those vendors with the super-neat-light-up-whirly-gig toys. I'm not saying don't buy them, just know that they are $20 each and if your kids sense your weakness, you may end up with one for each of them. I hesitated when I should have said "no" firmly right from the start. Rookie mistake. We didn't buy the toys, and instead my little ones had a "learning moment." Okay, maybe that part wasn't fun, but the rest of the time they were flying high.

Don't forget about the discount codes we posted earlier. The show is in Baltimore until April 5, 2009 and then it moves on to Fairfax, VA.

[Thanks for everything, Adrienne!]

Book Signing at the Red Canoe - Illustrator, Susan Detwiler

© Susan Detwiler and Sylvan Dell

When: Saturday, March 28th, 2009 at 3pm

I had the pleasure of meeting fellow illustrator Susan Detwiler a few years ago at a writing and illustration conference. I fell in love with her pencil sketches of the city mouse and country mouse, an unpublished series, and I am so happy to see that she recently had a book published with author Scotti Cohn, One Wolf Howls (Sylvan Dell). One Wolf Howls is a picture book written in verse by Scotti Cohn. It counts from one to ten, as it follows wolf activities through the year.

Susan took the time to share some of her sketches and describe her process.

"My Illustration process starts with reading the manuscript and getting an image in my mind from the words and the feeling they evoke. Next, I collect references, such as photos from books, magazines, and the web to use as I sketch. My first sketch is very small and rough (top), and is called a thumbnail sketch because of the size. I put all the thumbnail sketches on one page so that I can see the whole book at once, and imagine how they will work together. After that I make a more polished sketch in pencil (middle). I scan it and print it and add color. The color rough is sent to the editor for approval. The final illustration (bottom) is done in watercolor on Strathmore cold press illustration board at full size or larger.

Susan will be at the Red Canoe Bookstore on Saturday, March 28, 2009, 3pm to sign books, so stop by!

410-444-4440

Red Canoe Bookstore Café
4337 Harford Road
Baltimore, MD 21214

Garden Time

Spring is finally here. The birds are chirping. The flowers are budding. Even the Kid Baltimore masthead has shed its winter coat. Now it's garden time and the fight begins.

Garden time used to be my time -- time to plan my garden's take over of the world, or at least its small corner of the yard. Quiet time to dig in the dirt and admire the worms.

Now, of course, I have "helpers" and while I love to watch them sneaking basil leaves and cherry tomatoes, I hate, I admit, to share the other parts; the planning, the planting, maybe even the worms. The only solution? Buy more plants. Buy so many plants that they get their fill of earthy goodness and move on to the next obsession. Fortunately, Lowe's always has some great deals. This week it was 6-packs of violas and pansies for a meager $1.78. So dig, little fingers, dig...

And the winner is...

Chedva! Thanks everyone who participated in our ticket giveaway. And for those of you who didn't win, there is, at least, a silver lining: discounted tickets!

If you would like to purchase tickets to the Ringling Bros. circus, here is the discount ticket information:

Baltimore show dates: March 25 through April 5
Baltimore location: 1st Mariner Arena

Discount Offer #1:
Get 4 tickets for just $44 by entering the code "MOM" at select ticketing channels. Offer good on all performances, minimum purchase of 4 tickets required; additional tickets above 4 can be purchased at $11 each. Offer not valid on Gold Circle Seating, Circus Celebrity Seating, Front Row and VIP seating or combinable with other offers.  Other Restrictions May Apply.

The tickets can be purchased from Ticketmaster and by entering the MOM code in the “MC promotional box” when purchasing tickets.

Discount Offer #2:
Select amount of Front Row and VIP seats have been reserved for you to buy before they go on sale to the public - just enter the code "MOM" when purchasing those seats.

[Thanks, Adrienne at Mom Central!]

A Circus Family: Picasso to Léger

Left - Circus by Emma, 2009                           
Right - Circus by Max Pechstein, 1918

Submitted by Dave

By the time March rolls around Old Man Winter is an overnight guest still sleeping on my sofa at 10 in the morning. It's cold, it's rainy, and the kids are itching to get out of the house.

The Baltimore Museum of Art is a great place to spend a rainy afternoon.  Admission to the central part of the museum has been free for a while now but  "A Circus Family: Picasso to Léger" is the rare ticketed exhibition that's a great show for all ages.

A four gallery show of posters, prints, and paintings by Picasso, Chéret, Lautrec, Léger, and other significant  20th century artists is the perfect size and  subject matter for small kids. The exhibit is broken up by a small theatre featuring a vintage circus film and ends with a room for dress up and drawing.

The game my group likes to play? Art scavenger hunt. Dad or Mom names an object in a painting and the kids have to find it.  Your family will run out of stamina before the BMA runs out of art. Lunch is available in the museum itself (at Gertudes) or in the nearby Charles Village corridor.

A Circus Family: Picasso to Léger. February 22–May 17, 2009. Baltimore Museum of Art. (kids 6 and under and BMA members free).

Baltimore Museum of Art
443-573-1700
10 Art Museum Drive
Baltimore, MD 21218

MapQuest Directions

Giveaway! Tickets to the Ringling Bros. Circus

The Ringling Bros. Circus is coming to town and in honor of the occasion, we are having our first-ever giveaway: a family 4-pack of tickets to the opening night performance! These tickets are good for the Baltimore opening night show, March 25th, 2009. The show starts at 7:30pm at 1st Mariner Arena. We'll post more info shortly on the circus, but first things first. To enter the giveaway, all you need to do is comment on this post with one reason (it can be silly or serious) you would like to go to the circus. Comments must be received by 8:00 am Friday, March 20th, 2009 and a winner will be chosen at random. We will post the results this Saturday at noon.

Tickets are provided courtesy of Mom Central and Ringling. Good luck!

© Ringling Bros.