• Skyfall: June 18, 2013
• Lincoln: June 25, 2013
• Princess Bride: July 2, 2013
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower: July 16, 2013
• The King of California: July 23, 2013
• Edward Scissorhands: July 30, 2013

Now that’s a great line up! And one even your teen will enjoy. So have them grab a friend and head over for these free movie and pizza nights. Can’t beat this! Thanks, Boulder Public Library!

More details on teen programming and these movie nights click here.

Friday, June 14

• Noon Tunes on Pearl Street Mall. Head down to Pearl Street for some free, grooving good tunes. Let the kids play in the pop fountain and dance the afternoon away. Noon to 1:30pm.
• Friday Storytime at the Main Boulder Library. Come listen to stories. Free. 10:15am.

Saturday, June 15

• Boulder Farmer’s Market. Meet your farmers, do some artwork, get some lunch. There is always so much going on at the market! 8:00am to 2:00pm.
• FREE Day at BMoCA. Join them all day to delight in their exhibits or stop by during the Farmer’s Market for a fun kids craft.
• Hellen Olson: The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids at the George Reynolds Branch Library. Great for the whole family whether you are veteran campers or just want to start getting your family out. 11:00am to Noon.
• Louisville Public Library Kickoff Event for All Summer Reading: Digging in the Dirt. All ages are welcome to participate in this hands-on program presented by Dr. Cathy Regan of the University of Colorado Museum. Much of what is done at the Museum starts with digging in the dirt. Explore and share some of the techniques and collections: Archaeology—Dig up ancient southwestern potsherds to discover how much insight we gain into people’s lives from a single broken piece of pottery. Paleontology—Search for real fossils in material dug up by ants in Wyoming. Animal adaptations for living in the dirt. Look at real museum specimens up close to learn about what it takes to excavate and live underground. 10:00am to Noon. 
  
  

Sunday, June 16 — Happy Father’s Day! 

• Ballet in the Park with the Boulder Ballet. The ninth-annual outdoor concert series, free to the public! This family-friendly repertoire concert features excerpts from the season along with new works, in classical and contemporary styles. Come early with a picnic, enjoy a beautiful summer evening with the ballet, and then marvel at the spontaneous dancing by children from the audience after the show! Performance length is approximately one hour. Broomfield Amphitheater.
• Charlotte’s Web performed by the Now or Never Theater brings this classic tale to life with puppets, shadows and storytelling performed by Betsy Tobin and Margarita Blush. Children and adults will love this touching story enacted with puppets and magical shadow imagery of the webs that Charlotte weaves for her friend, Wilbur.
  at the Boulder Public Library. Free. 2:00 to 3:00pm at the Main Boulder Library Canyon Theater.

Monday, June 17

• All Aboard the Tebo Train. Calling all kiddos, enjoy a free ride on Pearl Street Mall’s one-and-only Tebo Train! Children ages 10 and under (and accompanying adults) will chug along the beautiful Pearl Street Mall on the only set of wheels permitted “on the bricks”! Board from 10 – 11:15 am in front of Wells Frago Bank at the corner of 12th and Pearl Street. Admission is FREE!
• Meadow Music. Meadow Music programs are our most popular (and very fun) education and outreach events. Children and parents join OSMP’s Jeff Kagan, Paige Doughty, Mark Wesson and other guest artists for evenings of children’s music and nature education. The evening consists of a short, kid-friendly hike on the McClintock Trail followed by 45 minutes of nature music for kids on the Chautauqua Green. Best for kids ages 2-8. Meadow Music is free! Bring a picnic, bring a blanket, rain or shine.
• Kids Eat FREE: Larkburger & Cafe Mexicali 

Tuesday, June 18

• GrandRabbits’ Play Day. Join this great toy store for unique crafts and activities each week. Free. 11:00am.
• TEBO Train on Pearl Street Mall. Free. 10:00am to 11:15am.

Wednesday, June 19

• Summer Reading Crafts at the George Reynolds Branch Library. Open to all. 3:00pm.
• Bands on the Bricks. Get down and enjoy great live music playing on the Pearl Street Mall. Check out the line up here. Free. 7:00 to 9:00pm [libations starting at 5:30pm]
• Boulder Farmer’s Market. Meet your farmers, buy some veggies, get some dinner, listen to live music and even have a beer. There is always so much going on at the market and it’s not as crowded as Saturdays, so it’s great for families! 4:00 to 8:00pm.
• FREE Night at BMoCA. Join them all day to delight in their exhibits. 4 to 8pm.
• TEBO Train on Pearl Street Mall. Free. 10:00am to 11:15am. More details in the June 10 listing.
• Kids Eat FREE tonight at Wahoo’s!
  

Thursday, June 20

• TEBO Train on Pearl Street Mall. Free. 10:00am to 11:15am. More details in the June 10 listing.

None of us think its going to happen. We teach our kids to swim. We watch them near the water. But drowning is not always what we think. I just want to raise awareness.

It was almost exactly a year ago when my family was in Mexico. It was there that a friend told me the scariest story about a near drowning of their friend’s 3 year old when there were 6 adults around. Here is what I learned:

• Drowning is often silent [the victim doesn't yell for attention or gasp for air so loudly you can hear]

Their story goes that 3 couples showed up at their beautiful house for a relaxing vacation in Mexico. The house had a pool in the back. They were standing around talking when they first arrived since they came from different parts of the country. Kids wandered around. 15 minutes went by and they realized they were missing one child. They calmly looked around. It was then that they found their son floating face down in the water with all his clothing on. They still don’t know how it happened, but it did. It was silent. None of the 6 adults heard anything.

Do you know the signs of drowning? Since it is often silent you need to know what do watch for.

Here is a great article on how to know if someone is in trouble in the water. 

Friday, June 7

• Dig In To The World of Henry Cole at the Main Boulder Library. Join children’s author/illustrator, Henry Cole for this interactive presentation filled with laughter as he brings the art of writing and illustrating for children to life. His vibrant animal illustrations, his love for nature and his imagination will inspire everyone who attends. Free. 11:00 to Noon.
• Friday Storytime at the Main Boulder Library. Come listen to stories. Free. 10:15am.

Saturday, June 8

• Longmont Museum FREE Day. Enjoy a free day at this great museum. Today kicks off their Build! LEGO exhibit and interactive events. 10:00am to 2:00pm. 
• Snow White performed by Theater-Hikes Colorado. Audience and actors take a moderate hike amidst the scenic backdrop of Boulder Open Space while scenes from “Snow White” are performed along the way. There are additional performances, but in the past this has sold out, so get your tickets! SOLD OUT!
• Boulder Farmer’s Market. Meet your farmers, do some artwork, get some lunch. There is always so much going on at the market! 8:00am to 2:00pm.
• FREE Day at BMoCA. Join them all day to delight in their exhibits or stop by during the Farmer’s Market for a fun kids craft.
• Eldorado Canyon Junior Rangers. Resource-based nature programs for kids 6 to 12 years. The program is free with a parking pass or annual pass. 10:00 to 11:15am. More details: 303.494.3943.
• Dig In To The World of Henry Cole at the George Reynolds Branch Library. Join children’s author/illustrator, Henry Cole for this interactive presentation filled with laughter as he brings the art of writing and illustrating for children to life. His vibrant animal illustrations, his love for nature and his imagination will inspire everyone who attends. Free. 11:00 to Noon.

Sunday, June 9

• Boulder Jewish Festival on Pearl Street. Entertainment, food and fine arts come together to celebrate. This is a family-friendly, fun annual event. Definitely worth checking out!
• Snow White performed by Theater-Hikes Colorado. Audience and actors take a moderate hike amidst the scenic backdrop of Boulder Open Space while scenes from “Snow White” are performed along the way. There are additional performances, but in the past this has sold out, so get your tickets!

Monday, June 10

• All Aboard the Tebo Train. Calling all kiddos, enjoy a free ride on Pearl Street Mall’s one-and-only Tebo Train! Children ages 10 and under (and accompanying adults) will chug along the beautiful Pearl Street Mall on the only set of wheels permitted “on the bricks”!  The Tebo Train runs Mondays – Thursdays through August 29. Board from 10 – 11:15 am in front of Wells Frago Bank at the corner of 12th and Pearl Street. Admission is FREE!
• Meadow Music. Meadow Music programs are our most popular (and very fun) education and outreach events. Children and parents join OSMP’s Jeff Kagan, Paige Doughty, Mark Wesson and other guest artists for evenings of children’s music and nature education. The evening consists of a short, kid-friendly hike on the McClintock Trail followed by 45 minutes of nature music for kids on the Chautauqua Green. Best for kids ages 2-8. Meadow Music is free! Bring a picnic, bring a blanket, rain or shine.
• Musical Storytime with Alice and Melanie at the Boulder Public Library. Enjoy music, movement and stories! 10:15am.
• Kids Eat FREE tonight at Larkburger!

Tuesday, June 11

• GrandRabbits’ Play Day. Join this great toy store for unique crafts and activities each week. Free. 11:00am.
• TEBO Train on Pearl Street Mall. Free. 10:00am to 11:15am. More details in the June 10 listing.
• Buona Sera Evening Market in Louisville. Foodies and farmers join with music, art and fun to make this a great night out for the family. Free event, Tuesdays through October 15, 2013. 4:00 to 8:00pm.

Wednesday, June 12

• Bands on the Bricks. Tonight is the first in a series of great live music playing on the Pearl Street Mall. Check out the line up here. Free. 7:00 to 9:00pm. 
• Now or Never Theater Presents Charlotte’s Web. Adapted from the book by E. B. White by Betsy Tobin of the Now Or Never Theatre: puppets, shadows and storytelling performed by Betsy Tobin and Margarita Blush. Fern’s mother, the storyteller, evokes life in the barn as she tells the story of Wilbur the pig’s unlikely survival and his lasting friendship with a spider and her offspring. Children and adults will love this touching story enacted with puppets and magical shadow imagery of the webs that Charlotte weaves for her friend, Wilbur. Free. Meadows Branch Library. 1:00 to 2:00pm.
• Boulder Farmer’s Market. Meet your farmers, buy some veggies, get some dinner, listen to live music and even have a beer. There is always so much going on at the market and it’s not as crowded as Saturdays, so it’s great for families! 4:00 to 8:00pm.
• FREE Night at BMoCA. Join them all day to delight in their exhibits. 4 to 8pm.
• TEBO Train on Pearl Street Mall. Free. 10:00am to 11:15am. More details in the June 10 listing.
• Kids Eat FREE tonight at Wahoo’s!
  

Thursday, June 13

• TEBO Train on Pearl Street Mall. Free. 10:00am to 11:15am. More details in the June 10 listing.

Noon Tunes: Every Friday throughout the summer Noon to 1:30pm enjoy live music on the 1300 block of Pearl Street. Imagine heading downtown with a picnic, or pick something up right on Pearl, allow the kids to run through the pop fountain, and enjoy free live music. A great afternoon! For more details click here.

Noon Tunes Line-up

• June 14      Kort McCumber & The High Road
• June 21      The Ash Ganley Acoustic Trio
• June 28      Gasoline Lollipops
• July 5          Eric West 
• July 12        Wee Noteables
• July 19        Jumpin Jazz Kids
• July 26        Lesley & The Flying Foxes
• August 2     Ali Grayson
• August 9     The Jeff Brinkman Band
• August 16   The Last Flight Out

Bands on the Bricks: This is a 10 week FREE live music series happening every Weds. night from 7 to 9pm. Enjoy performances from the best local musicians along the front range while dancing under the stars.  For the parents this year is featuring an outdoor beer/wine/margarita garden starting at 5:30 p.m. every Wednesday night, featuring Rio Margarita’s and a new local brewery every three weeks. Of course there is food downtown for the kids and the pop fountain is a hit any time of day or night. For more details or to listen to music from this great line up click here.

Bands on the Bricks Line-up

• June 12       Funkiphino
• June 19       Under A Blood Red Sky – The U2 Tribute
• June 26       Hazel Miller Band
• July 3          The Tyler Walker Band
• July 10        That Eighties Band
• July 17        Mountain Standard Time
• July 24        Off the Record
• July 31        BOP SKIZZUM
• August 7     The JV3
• August 14   Zen Mustache

These are great family-friendly music options. Get creative and work these into your week. Enjoy!

My family loves a good movie night! We often have a tough time finding a movie we agree upon. Recently we have tried to find some good oldies and it’s worked. The kids actually like them. And they tend to be free or cheap to watch.

You don’t have to pay [or pay much] to watch some wonderful movies! To get them free or almost free you have to stick to the older movies. Most kids won’t jump up and down for joy when you tell them you are going to play Princess Bride, but they usually end up loving them despite themselves. Head to the library, use Amazon Prime Instant Video [if you've got it already], or check your cable company’s free On Demand movie section. Babble has an interesting Top 10 List of free or almost free movies: 10 Picks for Cheap [or free!] Family Movie Nights.

In Boulder you can check out the Boulder Outdoor Cinema’s showings too. Some are better for the family than others! For 2013 it looks like Despicable Me & Princess Bride are the family-friendly winners in the line up.

You cannot always count on movie ratings, especially with older movies, to tell you all you want to know about the movie you are considering watching with your family. To check out the appropriateness of a movie you can head to Common Sense Media where you can look into the movie themes and appropriateness for your kids’ age group. This is a fantastic resource since it really is tough to know what is appropriate for your family!

Enjoy family movie night without the huge expense of taking the family to the movie theater! The oldies really are goodies when it comes to watching movies with your kids!

Any other movie recommendations? What are your family’s favorite movies?

Or watch the making of an origami koi fish:

If you are inspired to create origami consider taking a look online for some great tutorials. I would start with YouTube. There is also a group of origami folders in Boulder: Boulder Folders. They offer origami training and practice at the Boulder Public Library from time to time. The next Boulder Folders is June 11, 2013 from 6:30 to 8:30pm. For more information on that event click here.

Origami is a beautiful, meditative practice that is great for kids and adults alike!

Friday, May 31

• Friday Storytime at the Main Boulder Library. Come listen to stories. Free. 10:15am.

Saturday, June 1

• FREE Day at the Denver Art Museum. 
• Snow White performed by Theater-Hikes Colorado. Audience and actors take a moderate hike amidst the scenic backdrop of Boulder Open Space while scenes from “Snow White” are performed along the way. There are additional performances, but in the past this has sold out, so get your tickets!
• Boulder Farmer’s Market. Meet your farmers, do some artwork, get some lunch. There is always so much going on at the market! 8:00am to 2:00pm.
• FREE Day at BMoCA. Join them all day to delight in their exhibits or stop by during the Farmer’s Market for a fun kids craft.

Sunday, June 2

• Circle Boulder By Bicycle Fun Ride presented by Community Cycles. Kick off Boulder Walk & Bike Month in style. This non-competitive ride follows the city’s bikeways, beginning and ending at Scott Carpenter Park and is open to all ages. Riders can register for free and start the ride for the approximately 26-mile or 16-mile  rides. Participants that need extra time, for either ride, can register earlier. Participants will loop around Boulder using a linking network of paths, neighborhood streets and unpaved trails. A free, post-ride party will take place at Scott Carpenter Park, where the ride began. The free party starts at 5 p.m. and will include refreshments.
• Snow White performed by Theater-Hikes Colorado. Audience and actors take a moderate hike amidst the scenic backdrop of Boulder Open Space while scenes from “Snow White” are performed along the way. There are additional performances, but in the past this has sold out, so get your tickets!

Monday, June 3

• All Aboard the Tebo Train. Calling all kiddos, enjoy a free ride on Pearl Street Mall’s one-and-only Tebo Train! Children ages 10 and under (and accompanying adults) will chug along the beautiful Pearl Street Mall on the only set of wheels permitted “on the bricks”!  The Tebo Train runs Mondays – Thursdays through August 29. Board from 10 – 11:15 am in front of Wells Frago Bank at the corner of 12th and Pearl Street. Admission is FREE!
  
• FREE Day at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. 
• Meadow Music. Meadow Music programs are our most popular (and very fun) education and outreach events. Children and parents join OSMP’s Jeff Kagan, Paige Doughty, Mark Wesson and other guest artists for evenings of children’s music and nature education. The evening consists of a short, kid-friendly hike on the McClintock Trail followed by 45 minutes of nature music for kids on the Chautauqua Green. Best for kids ages 2-8. Meadow Music is free! Bring a picnic, bring a blanket, rain or shine.
• Musical Storytime with Alice and Melanie at the Boulder Public Library. Enjoy music, movement and stories! 10:15am.
• Kids Eat FREE tonight at Larkburger!

Tuesday, June 4

• GrandRabbits’ Play Day. Join this great toy store for unique crafts and activities each week. Free. 11:00am.

Wednesday, June 5

• West End 3k/1.5k Kids Run. This local favorite kicks off the Downtown Boulder Race Series, taking runners through the vibrant West End district of Pearl Street. The race will include a special 1.5K distance just for the kids. Click here to REGISTER.
• Boulder Farmer’s Market. Meet your farmers, buy some veggies, get some dinner, listen to live music and even have a beer. There is always so much going on at the market and it’s not as crowded as Saturdays, so it’s great for families! 4:00 to 8:00pm.
• FREE Night at BMoCA. Join them all day to delight in their exhibits. 4 to 8pm.
• Kids Eat FREE tonight at Wahoo’s!
  

Thursday, June 6

The kids are out of school and summer if finally here in Boulder! Want to keep them motivated to read? I highly recommend kids being a part of the Boulder Public Library’s Dig Into Reading summer reading program. My kids have done it for years! They run a great program every summer and this year is no exception. Registration is open! Here is what you do to get involved:

1. Stop into ANY Boulder Public Library and sign your child up. It’s free and easy to sign up. Pick out a book at that time.
2. Read! Your child/you complete the tracking form.
3. Head into your library each week to show your tracking form and get a prize
4. It is really easy and motivating to the kids!

To keep things interesting there are a lot of programs happening throughout the summer. Attend a wide variety of programs. Including:

• Bob Shea, author / illustrator of Dinosaur vs. Bedtime and other books
• Henry Cole, author / illustrator of many books!
• Bill Harley, author, humorist & musician. Find one now!
• A musical quest with History Hunters
• Celebrate at the Library Summer Festival on August 18, 2-5 p.m.
  Amazing outdoor festival, on the library lawn, filled with magic, face painting, music and food!

Get more information on Dig Into Reading here. Or Call 303-441-3099 for more information!

Community Dance Stage

11:00-11:30  AM     Kids’ Open Dance

11:30 AM-12:00  PM     Nederland Mountain Movers Community Dance Group

12:00 – 12:30 PM   Salsa Challenge – Salsa Los Canineros

12:30-1:00  PM     Celtic Steps School of Irish Dance – Soft & Hard Shoe Irish Dance

1:00-2:00   PM     Mile High Belly Dance – Sampling of Denver/Boulder’s Premiere Belly Dancers

2:00-2:30   PM     O Dance – Hoop Dancing

2:30-3:00   PM     A Big Noise – Tap Dancing

3:30-4:00  PM      Boulder Karate Demo

Band Shell

12:00-1:30 PM         Teen Stage Battle of the Bands Winner

2:00-3:00 PM           BluezHouse (Blues)

3:30-5:00 PM           Face (All Vocal Rock)

5:30-7:00 PM           Hazel Miller (Blues/R&B)