Archive for March, 2010

We generally don’t cover events before they happen, but this one’s looking to be a sellout, so you need to get your tickets now! now! now! if you plan on making it. A live-action performance of Peter Pan will be staged in San Francisco starting April 27. But not just in any ol’ theater: a brand new big white tent is being constructed by the Ferry Building to house the new production. Inside, the play will be conducted in the round, with seats available all around the stage.

On the walls will be 15,000 square feet of high-resolution video, like a movie on the wall that goes with the play. When Peter and Wendy fly off to Neverland the audience goes with them, swooping through aerial CGI views of the rooftops of London.

The show plays seven days a week for ten weeks only; it closes July 4. Matinee seats are going fast. Tickets are $30-85; call 888-772-6849 or visit peterpantheshow.com.

On the weekend before Easter, lots of opportunities to learn new things with your kids.

Bunny 101

If you’re thinking about getting a new bunny for Easter, make this class your first stop to talk with vets and experts about their care. Free chocolate bunnies and bunny nail trims, too!

When: Sun., 3/28, noon-4pm; Age 4+; Free.

Where: For Other Living Things, 1261 South Mary Avenue (at ), Sunnyvale; 408-739-6785; rabbithaven.org.

About Face Feminist Workshop for Young Girls

Members of the SF branch of the National Organization for Women teach girls how to decode and resist media messages about their looks. Lunch is provided and parents should attend with their daughters.

When: Sat., 3/27, 11am-2pm; Age 8-18; Free.

Where: Herchurch, 678 Portola Drive (at Woodside Avenue), San Francisco; sfnow.org.

Family Hip Hop Class

On the last Sunday of every month, instructor Doug Johnson teaches the whole family easy hip-hop moves.

When: Sun., 3/28, 1-2pm; Age 3+; $5 per person ($20 maximum per family).

Where: ODC Dance Commons, 351 Shotwell Street (at 18th Street), San Francisco; 415-863-9830, extension 100; odcschool.org.

Egg-stravaganza and Small Animal Adoptions

Pick up a new Easter friend at this small-animal adoption fair, where rabbits, rats, mice, guinea pigs, and other teenies will be available for new friends.

When: Sat., 3/27, 11am-4pm; Age 5+; Free.

Where: East Bay SPCA, 8323 Baldwin Street, Oakland, eastbayspca.org.

There are a zillion songs about sex, and not nearly enough about the inevitable result. No, not herpes. Babies. Baby: A Musical rights this wrong with evening of tunes and gags on a subject dear to all parents’ heart: the months from conception to birth. Excitement, anticipation, nausea, the horror of little old ladies feeling up your belly without asking and offering bad advice: it’s all here.

In its original staging on Broadway, Baby was nominated for seven Tonys; here in town it’s being put on by the zippy local group Ray of Light Theatre, and a cast that knows its way around a maternity bump pillow. The story follows three couples dealing with pregnancy: one pair of college-age youngies who got knocked up accidentally, one married set having trouble conceiving, and one big family with a mom contemplating the abortion of her latest pregnancy.

Baby: A Musical runs through April 18; showtimes are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturday at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm at the Off-Market Theatre, 965 Mission Street (between Fifth and Sixth Streets), San Francisco. Call 415-690-7658 or visit roltheatre.com.

A venerable local icon re-opens for business, and other ways to while away your weekend.

Happy Hollow Park & Zoo Grand Re-Opening

The kitschy old park and zoo has had a $72 million renovation. Come see flashy new exhibits like the carousel with endangered animals (lemurs! hummingbirds!) as well as old favorites like the spiffed-up Danny the Dragon tram ride.

When: Sat., 3/20, 9:30am ribbon-cutting ceremony, gates open 10am; All ages; $8-12 (free for age 2 and under).

Where: Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, 1300 Senter Road (at Story Road), San Jose; 408-794-6400; hhpz.org.

Sense of Place Treasure Hunt for Families

Take your family on a quest to learn about local fauna at this self-guided tour using URBIA’s new adventure booklet, “Seeking California in a World of Plants.”

When: Sat., 3/20, 10am-2pm (hunt takes about 2 hours); $1-5 for booklet.

Where: Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum, 1199 Ninth Avenue (at Lincoln Avenue), San Francisco; urbikids.com.

Living Ship Day on the USS Hornet

Check out a real aircraft carrier in action, sit in the cockpit of a fighter jet, and watch as flight operations are simulated.

When: Sat., 3/20, 10am-4pm; Age 3+; $6-14 (free for age 4 and under).

Where: USS Hornet, 707 West Hornet Avenue (at Eighth Street), Alameda; 510-521-8448; uss-hornet.org.

Just as parents of kids in San Francisco public schools are breathing a sigh of relief after assignment letters went out Saturday, the school board has voted unanimously to approve a new assignment plan for next year. Parents who hoped neighborhood schools would be the new order may be disappointed: Under the new plan, children living in census tracts with the lowest test scores are given assignment priority over kids living in the school’s attendance area.

The San Francisco Chronicle explains the new rules with a list:

New system

Students would be assigned to high-demand schools using the following order of preferences:

Elementary schools

– Students with siblings in the school

– Students who attended preschool in the school’s attendance area

– Those in low-scoring census tracts

– Those in the preferred school’s attendance area

– All others

Middle schools

(For those participating in choice process)

– Students with siblings in the school

– Those in low-scoring census tracts

– Those in the school’s attendance area

– Those in densely populated attendance areas

– All others

High schools

– Students with siblings in the school

– Those in low-scoring census tracts

– All others

Announcement of the new rules has been met with guarded praise from parents. As one typical commenter on the SF K Files sums it up: “I expect the result of the assignment system will be old wine in new bottles. Low SES families will continue to participate in the system at a lower rate than high SES families. Higher SES families will continue to fill high-demand schools in disproportionate numbers. Schools will remain imbalanced and segregated to some extent.”

St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Pomp, splendor, floats, and lots of green. There are children’s activities and traditional Irish food and crafts at the after-parade party at City Hall.

When: Sat., 3/13, 11:30am-5pm; All ages; Free.

Where: Parade begins Second Street (at Market Street) and winds to City Hall on Grove Street (at Larkin Street) in San Francisco; sfstpatricksdayparade.com.

Shiv Sounds with Ryth EM

Shiv and Em play kid-friendly music in the Tim Burton-ish atmosphere of this curious shop for kids.

When: Sat., 3/13, 2-4pm; All Ages; Free.

Where: Paxton Gate’s Curiosities for Kids, 766 Valencia Street (at 19th Street), San Francisco; 415-728-8466; paxtongate.com.

Journaling Birds & Wildlife

Learn how to draw nature in the raw at this two-hour program with naturalist and artist Jack Muir Laws focusing on drawing birds and other wildlife.

When: Sat., 3/13, 10am-noon; Age 9+; $25 per participant (advance phone registration required).

Where: Richardson Bay Center & Sanctuary, 376 Greenwood Beach Road (at Tiburon Boulevard), Tiburon, 415-388-2524; tiburonaudubon.org.

Fantastic Fridays: Fun with Food

Use this excuse to tour the fancy new Crissy Field Center, where toddlers and their caregivers rustle up some healthy snacks and learn more about healthy eating.

When: Fri., 3/12, 10am-11:30am; Age 1-5; $15.

Where: Crissy Field Center, 1199 East Beach (at Mason Street), San Francisco; 415-561-7752; parksconservancy.org.

Many restaurants are unfriendly to kids and parents, giving them the cold shoulder, dirty looks, and the seat closest to the bathroom, each and every time. Of course, no one likes eating by a bunch of jumpy screamers, but parents with more well-behaved kids may wonder why they too get a bad reception.Part of it comes down to simple economics, writes the San Francisco Chronicle’s Michael Bauer in his Between Meals blog. Every kid who takes up a seat means a drop in the check. The owner of the Tavern at Lark Creek explains the dollars and cents of it: “The check average is a significant driver in all restaurants for budgetary planning purposes. We started to see more children in the restaurant which was a departure from the past. We have tried to be more child friendly and lower the price point there as well.

When you do 40 children a night on a busy night, that can impact you average check quite significantly. The average check for a child is $7.50; our average check for an adult is about $31.00.

40 children x $7.50

150 adults x $ 31.00

190 covers total net sales is $ 4,950.00 or $ 26.06 per cover.”

So maybe that’s why restauranteurs keep the food-encrusted high chairs over by the bathroom and give you such a dirty look when you ask for one.

Music, dance, and a look ahead to how you’re going to fill the summer.

Dan Zanes & Friends

The tousle-haired rock God of the swim diaper set does a show for families on the UC Berkeley campus.

When: Sat., 3/6, 11am & 4pm; Sun. 3/7, 3pm; Age 3+; $16-26.

Where: Zellerbach Hall, Bancroft Avenue (between Dana and Telegraph Avenues) on the UC Berkeley Campus, Berkeley, calperfs.berkeley.edu.

Disney on Ice

Disney characters glide around the rink in this show custom-made for elementary-school kids.

When: Fri., 3/5, 10:30am, 7:30pm; Sat. & Sun. 3/6-7, 10:30am, 3pm, 7:30pm; Age 2+; $16-70.

Where: Oakland Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way (at Hegenberger Road), Oakland; 800-745-3000; disney.go.com.

Summer Resource Fair

Find out where your kid can take summer soccer sessions or attend theater camp at this conglomeration of more than 200 providers, all eager to give you brochures.

When: Sat., 3/6, 10am-3pm; age 5+; Free.

Where: Concourse Exhibition Center, 635 Eighth Street (at Brannan Street), San Francisco, sfkids.org.

Panicking about where you’re going to stash your child for the upcoming spring and summer breaks? You oughtta be. Most of the more popular camps in the Bay Area fill up in March. But this year you have some inside information that you didn’t find on the playground: Sign Up for Camp.

Launched by a team of Bay Area parents who’ve been through the camp process themselves and know how confusing it is, signupforcamp.com is a directory of local camps that’s searchable by ZIP code, date, or age. Need a camp from June 14th to 18th for your Pre-K kid? Sign Up for Camp has 147 of them, each with the camp’s hours, cost, dates, and contact information in a helpful grid that makes it oh-so-easy to compare. So much easier than Googling and making phone calls, particularly since many camps barely have a website, much less dates and rates on them.

Another helpful feature: users can create a free calendar for their children, which can be shared with other users. Wouldn’t your kid like to go to summer camp with some of the kids in her class? I thought so.

Visit signupforcamp.com for more information. The site has also launched in Philadelphia as well as the Bay Area, with more cities set to roll out in 2010.