Save the Date
Thu, Nov 14: Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment at Vivint Smart Home Arena
Wed, Nov 20: Trans-Siberian Orchestra presents Christmas Eve And Other Stories at Vivint Smart Home Arena
Thu, Nov 21: The Hip Hop Nutcracker at Eccles Theater, Salt Lake City
Fri, Nov 22: Luminaria: Experience the Light at Thanksgiving Point
Thu, Nov 28: Pilgrim 5k at Thanksgiving Point
Sat, Nov 30: Santa Run at Historic 25th Street - Ogden, Utah
Sat, Dec 7: 2019 Jingle Bell Run at Highland High School
Sun, Dec 8: Hanukkah Market at I J & Jeanné Wagner Jewish Community Center
Sat, Dec 21: A Charlie Brown Christmas Live On Stage at Eccles Theater, Salt Lake City
Fri, Jan 3: Monster Jam at Vivint Smart Home Arena
Sat, Jan 11: Sesame Street Live! Let's Party! at Vivint Smart Home Arena
*Some events may have additional dates. Click through to see more information.
Dear KidsOutAndAbout readers:
Despite being in front of a couple hundred thousand readers each week in this newsletter, I don't like calling attention to myself. Now, I love pointing out all of the things that make a community great, and I do it enthusiastically. I like being on local TV and radio regularly. But I don't do goofy. I just can't, I'm not built that way. I greatly admire people who can perform in public, but I'm way too inhibited: Even in private, I'm not good at letting go. On the radio, I can talk endlessly about great local things happening for kids. But put me in front of a karaoke mic and I freeze.
Put me in a fancy costume, though, hand me a new role, and I'm liberated. Sunday, I was at a Halloween event with fellow theater board members giving out candy and information about youth theater opportunities to hundreds of city kids. Last year, our theme was Wizard of Oz; this year, we dressed as a king, a queen, and a jester. Now, I don't think I'm better than anyone else. But put me in a Victorian dress, drape me in fake jewels...and suddenly I'm inspired to act like royalty. My buddy Mark, who was the king, got the idea to "knight" the kids: He tapped the ghosts and unicorns and Spider-Men three times on their shoulders with a well-wrapped Twizzlers and regally urged them to go forth and protect our kingdom. They loved it.
The kids loved it in part because they knew they were NOT really super-heroes any more than I was a queen. That's the beauty of Halloween: It frees you to try on any role you want, imagining what it would be like to be spooky, or evil, or snooty, or more powerful than a speeding bullet. And then you get to come right back to yourself.
The Public Market was a grand place to be a queen, and I made the most of it. But then we started running out of supplies, so I drove to a nearby pharmacy and dashed to the candy aisle. The customers laughed and insisted I go up to the front of the line so I could get back to my hungry subjects. One even bowed. I curtsied back. Turns out that Rite-Aid, too, is a grand place to be a queen.
Happy Halloween!
—Debra Ross, Publisher
Kids can create a 90-second movie and enter it in a national film festival!
Here’s a fun project for fall! The 90-Second Newbery is an annual film festival in which young filmmakers create short movies that tell the entire stories of Newbery winning books in about 90 seconds (adult help OK). Creative twists are encouraged: think “Charlotte’s Web” in the style of a horror movie, or a sci-fi version of “Tale of Despereaux”! The deadline for submissions is January 10, 2020. The best movies will be shown at big screenings in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, San Antonio, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Ogden UT, Oakland CA, Rochester NY, Tacoma WA, and Boulder CO. Learn more at http://www.90secondnewbery.com, which features some of the best movies and offers help making your own!
The 27th KUED Kids Reading Marathon Kickoff Party
The 27th KUED Kids Reading Marathon Kickoff Party is Saturday, November 2 from 9am-1pm at The Salt Lake City Public Library. The whole family will enjoy this FREE event featuring fun STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) and literacy activities celebrating reading. Meet Daniel Tiger, take a picture in the Sesame Street photo booth, pick up a reading log, and take home a free book. The Reading Marathon encourages children to read 20 minutes each day during the month of November, then enter their minutes online to earn their Adventure Pass. Learn more at kued.org/reading.
Disney and Pixar’s Coco in Concert, Film with the Utah Symphony
Disney in Concert: Coco is a family-friendly, live-to-picture concert event featuring Michael Giacchino’s beautiful musical score and the 2017 two-time Academy Award winning film for Best Original Song as well as Best Animated Feature Film.
Click here for more information.
Dress up in your favorite Halloween costume, and join KUED Kids at Discovery Gateway from 10:00 am - Noon on Halloween day for A HALLOWEEN BOO FEST! Kids will get to do fun hands-on activities, watch a spooky show, take home a book, and go trick-or-treating!
Click here for more information.
Día de los Muertos Cultural Celebration!
In celebration of this traditional Mexican holiday, Día de los Muertos, Discovery Gateway will offer FREE admission on Friday from 1 – 6 pm! We will open the event with a special presentation and blessing of the ofrenda from 1 – 2 pm. After that, make paper flowers and decorative papel picados while watching Disney’s hit movie, Coco! On Saturday, as the festivities continue, experience a Chocolate Making Workshop! Learn how chocolate is made while making your own tasty treat! (Preregistration Required) *Please note admission to the museum is free only on Friday from 1-6 pm.
Click here for more information.
Let loose your inner ghoul at Discovery Gateway! We’re celebrating Halloween with our own trick-or-treating fun! Let loose your inner ghoul at Discovery Gateway! We’re celebrating Halloween with our own trick-or-treating fun throughout the museum! Come dressed in your best costume and show us how spooky you can be!
Click here for more information.
Join Us on a Year-Long Road Trip!
In July 2019 KidsOutAndAbout.com's Phoenix editor, Meg Brunson, traded in her 4-bedroom home for a 35' RV and her family hit the road. They plan to be on the road for approximately a year, and they've made it their mission to make memories in each of the 48 contiguous states. RVing is growing in popularity, both among those who are embarking on similar full-time living and those who use the RV for more traditional vacationing. Either way, we hope that you'll enjoy following Meg explores the US and shares her reviews of family-friendly travel destinations all over the country along the way!
You can also follow along via Instagram @FamilyRoadVentures
We're wishing you mild weather, no costume malfunctions, and all the treats you love best! Hope you and your goblins, ghouls, princesses, and super heroes enjoy the day!
Click here for KidsOutAndAbout's list of Halloween activities in our area.
Is a Family Photography Session in Your Future?
Whether you're looking for the perfect image to include in a holiday card or you realize that Grandma's all-time favorite gift is still more photos of her grandbabies, November is high season for getting family portraits done.
If you're booking a professional session, of course you'll want to make the most of the time and money and money you're spending, but these tips will help amateurs, too.
What to Do With Your Halloween Candy
Have you already started snacking on your treats this season? Even if you have amazing self-control and purposely only bought non-food treats or that one candy bar you can resist when you stocked up for trick-or-treaters, it's likely that soon your kids will be dumping a gigantic bag of candy on your living room carpet (or is that just at our house)?
Never fear! We have fun ideas for things to do with candy besides just gorging on it all. Read our article What to With Leftover Candy (Besides Eat It Yourself).
