KCKidsFun

Tuesday marks opening day of the latest production to take the stage at Theatre for Young America (TYA) — Nate the Great.  TYA is located in Kansas City’s Union Station at 30 W. Pershing Road and performs on the H&R Block City Stage.

For those of you who don’t remember, Nate the Great is a trench coat-wearing, pet dog-toting kid detective.  This pint-sized adaptation is taken from the Nate the Great series of books authored by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat.  TYA has added an element of cool with its jazz score and “adult-like” movie and television detectives.

Nate and his trusty friend, Rosamond, use their smarts to solve neighborhood mysteries and find answers to common kid questions.  The show runs Feb. 2-20, 2010.  Show times vary, click here for TYA’s ticketing page.  Ticket prices are $8/person, and you’ll enjoy $2 off if you are a Union Station KC Member.

And, if you’re going to be down at Union Station, you’ll want to check out “CANstruction” — an amazing design-build competition.  Hurry- it only runs through Feb. 10, 2010.  You’ll stand in awe as you see the unbelievable creations of KC’s creative community.  These structures are made entirely of canned and other non-perishable food items.

Design teams were given only 12 hours to create a super-sized structure.  The best thing about CANstruction??  Admission is FREE and all of the canned goods and food items are donated to KC’s Harvesters Community Food Network.

Did you know that only $1 donated to Harvesters results in meals for 5 hungry people?  This is a fantastic organization to support.  Click here to learn how Harvesters helps Kansas Citians in need…and how you can help!

The radio stations and stores have officially skipped over Thanksgiving and are heralding the impending 2009 holiday season. Talk in our house has turned to Christmas lists and Santa. My shoulders are slumping from the mere thought of digging out Christmas decor.

But one thing I do get excited about – even in November – is the wide range of upcoming holiday performances for children in Kansas City. It is time to start calendaring those events and buying tickets. Last year, we took our older kids to see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Sprint Center. What’s on tap for this year? I’m not even sure where to start – but I’ll give it a shot.

Take a look at these fantastic holiday performances you might share with your KC kids:

• A Christmas Story, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, KCMO – November 20 thru December 27
• Madeline’s Christmas, Theatre for Young America, City Stage at Union Station – December 1 thru 26
• Miller-Marley Youth Ballet presents Clara’s Dream – Blue Valley North High School, December 5 and 6
• Ballet Conservatory of Independence presents The Nutcracker – Liberty Performing Arts Theater – December 11 and 12
• How the Symphony Saved Christmas, Kansas City Symphony – Lyric Theatre, KCMO – December 12 and 13
• Ibsen Dance Theatre presents The Nutcracker – Park Hill High School, Kansas City North – December 12
• The Nativity, Paul Mesner Puppets – Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral, 13th & Broadway, KCMO – December 18 thru 20
• The Nutcracker, Kansas City Ballet, December 16 thru 27

********

On a related note, we’re hoping that some of you might be interested in helping some children attend the Ballet Conservatory of Independence’s performance of The Nutcracker. Tickets to the December 11th and 12th performances start at $6 for children and $10 for adults – but they are having special performances for school groups as well. Those tickets start are $4.

Local writer Rita Arens is helping the Ballet Conservatory publicize these performances but heard this from the Kansas City Missouri School District:

When I called the KCMO school district a few weeks ago, the very nice woman there told me so many of the kids are on the reduced or free lunch program they probably couldn’t afford the $4 ticket price.

So, Rita set out to do something about that. And we’d like to help. Because $4 shouldn’t keep children from taking a worthwhile field trip.

The district will send one class from each of their 33 elementary schools if enough money is raised to cover their ticket prices. Can you help? Can you spare $4 (or $20 or $100) to help kids share the magical experience of The Nutcracker? Ultimately, we’re looking for about $3,000 but every little bit helps.

If you (or your family or your company) would like to sponsor some of the KCMOSD kids to see The Nutcracker, please contact Rita ASAP. Her email is ritajarens <at> gmail.com and her phone number is 816-529-9814.

Thanks everyone!

You won’t have to go through the wardrobe to take your family to Narnia this May. Just head to Union Station here in Kansas City!

Now through May 16th, you can catch The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at Theatre for Young America. Appropriate for kids from kindergarten on up, this is the classic C.S. Lewis tale, introducing readers to Narnia and its resident characters. The story is magical and your children will love it! TYA does a wonderful job with each of its productions – and I love that they take questions from the kids after their shows.

And then – the big event – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition comes to Union Station from May 22 through August 23. Union Station is only the third museum and first in the Midwest to host this exhibition.

Based on the C.S. Lewis books and the hit films, the 10,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art entertainment and educational experience allows visitors to tour scenes from the fantasy world of Narnia. You’ll see authentic costumes, props and sets from the Narnia films.

Visitors can also see artifacts from C.S. Lewis’ personal study and check out the attic and wardrobe that served as the portal into Narnia.

TIckets are on sale now, sold for specific dates and times. The full tour lasts between an hour and an hour and a half. Ages 13 and up are $14; Kids 3 to 12 are $9. 2 and under are free.