With Kids

Several nights of clear skies have allowed the astronomically-inclined of East Lansing to lately enjoy the evening heavens. Our waning moon is (by definition) recovering from being full. A full moon occurs when the sun, earth, and moon are all lined up. This alignment of the three bodies is called a syzygy (pronounced SIZZ-eh-gee; and a particularly good word to know in Scrabble).

At the same time our moon was full, it was also having its periodic perigee (pronounced PEAR-eh-gee). Perigee is defined as the moon’s closest approach to the earth during its 28-day orbit.

Adapted from a news release by Ami Van Antwerp, City of East Lansing:

"Winter Glow," the winter-inspired annual tradition in East Lansing, will take place this Saturday, December 1, in downtown East Lansing with a wide variety of fun-filled seasonal activities from 3-6 p.m. and a special lighting of luminaries at 5 p.m. Admission is free.
 
2012 Activities, 3-6 p.m.
This year’s Winter Glow will feature ice carving, a reindeer petting zoo, photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, horse and carriage rides, a special outdoor holiday farmer’s market, a heated music tent, a kid’s winter carnival, marshmallow roasting, merchant activities, roasted chestnuts, hot chocolate, lighting of the luminaries and much more.

Outdoor Holiday Farmer’s Market, 3-6 p.m.
A special outdoor holiday farmer’s market will feature many of the popular vendors of the East Lansing Farmer’s Market, as well as other Michigan vendors. Items for sale will include bread, maple syrup, rubs, granola and much more.
 
Jingle Jam Music Tent, 3-6 p.m.
The Jingle Jam Music Tent will host three musical performances in a heated tent. Catch Kathleen Bolthouse (blues) at 3 p.m., Dave Samano at 4 p.m. and Rob Klajda at 5 p.m.
 
Luminaries to Bring a Magical Glow to Downtown, 5-8 p.m.
The City, with the help of volunteers, will light more than 500 luminaries throughout downtown East Lansing streets, bringing a magical winter glow to the heart of the community. Participants are encouraged to enjoy downtown from 5-8 p.m.
 

The Arts Chorale of Greater Lansing will perform its annual Holiday Concert on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. at the University Lutheran Church on 1020 SouthHarrison Road, East Lansing. The concert is free to the public with annual Christmas treats for all following the concert.

Editor's note: We are starting a new series at ELi called "Favorite EL Places." Submit yours! (And supply a photo, or ask us to arrange one to go with your submission.)

My name is Champ, and I live in the Bailey neighborhood. I want to tell you about me two favorite places in East Lansing: the woodlots on campus. Baker woodlot is along the Red Cedar River, near MacDonald and Holmes halls. Sanford woodlot is between Farm Lane and Bogue Street, just south of Service Drive (near the Clinical Center).

There are many things I love about these woods, but the best is that it's LEASH OFF! They are fenced, so my friend Smitty doesn't have to worry about me running into a road (sometimes when I'm in hot pursuit of a squirrel, I forget to look....). And speaking of squirrels, it's terrier heaven. They are everywhere! There are also other critters to chase like chipmunks, birds, etc. One day, I treed a woodchuck! And once in a while, I chase deer. Oh joy! But I get a little nervous about those hawks. I'm a little guy, and they always look hungry. I'm not afraid (did I mention I'm a terrier? we don't do afraid), but still.

Editor's note: "The Giver" is playing through next weekend, Friday at 7 pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 3 pm. Click here for more information.

Our family went to go see "The Giver" done by Mid-Michigan Family Theatre on Saturday. In my opinion, the play was amazing. The closeness to the story made it very interesting to me because I read the book by Lois Lowry. I feel that the actors did a good job with remembering all the lines that they have, especially the main character, Jonas, played by Jonathan Townley. (He had a lot of lines!) All of the children and adults acted their parts really well. I love how they have a bunch of kids and a few adults. They used a clever method for showing what Jonas was able to see. We don't want to give it away.

Have you ever longed for everything to be under control and safe? Have you wished for no war or fear or pain? Welcome to the futuristic community that Lois Lowry created in her book, The Giver. There are also no choices, and no feelings. The Giver is the only person who holds the memories of real pain and real joy. When a young boy named Jonas turns 12, he is chosen for special training from The Giver—to receive and keep the memories of the community. Jonas learns the truth about life—and the hypocrisy of his utopian world. The Giver explores what it means to grow up, to grow wise, and to take control of your own destiny.

East Lansing Public Schools seventh graders read The Giver at McDonald Middle School each year, but for the next two weekends, everyone has the opportunity to see it onstage with the Mid Michigan Family Theatre. The show is directed by Bill Gordon and the cast includes some of our own East Lansing youth. The Giver will be performed at The Miller Performing Arts Center, 6025 Curry Lane, South Lansing (2 blocks west of the Miller/Cedar St intersection). The play will run from October 19-28, Fridays at 7 pm, Saturdays and Sundays at 3 pm. Tickets are $7 and are available at the door (not recommended for preschoolers.) For more information, go to www.freewebs.com/midmichfamilytheatre/

This Sunday, October 21st, Pump House Concerts presents Grammy-Winning Singer/Songwriter Don Henry. The concert starts at 7pm. Suggested donation is $15, with all collected going to the musician.

Grammy Award-winner Don Henry's songs have been recorded by legends like Ray Charles, Patti Page, and Conway Twitty. And by country crooners like Gene Watson, John Conlee and B.J. Thomas. And by young hit makers of today like Blake Shelton, Lonestar and Jimmy Wayne. And the list goes on.

And he’s shared the stage with perfomers as diverse as Joey Ramone and Keith Urban.

All-of-us Express Children's Theatre begins its twenty-fourth season with the production of Little Women. Shows are at Hannah Community Center on November 2-3 & 9-10. More information: http://allofusexpress.org

All-of-us Express Children's Theatre (AECT) was founded in 1989 by Evelyn Weymouth at the request of a number of area parents and young people who wanted to form a group to do serious theater by and for young people. Since then the Theatre has been located in various places around Greater Lansing, and is currently operating in cooperation with the City of East Lansing's Department of Parks, Recreation and Arts. AECT remains an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation with a member-elected Board of Trustees.

AECT is one of very few organizations around the country producing mainstage shows with young people not only on stage but performing all crew duties. Adults serve as instructors and crew heads, but there is a guild system in which young people practice and prove their skills, eventually reaching the point where they can lead a crew or direct a production. Many of the current adults involved with AECT are alumni of the program, including artistic director Miranda Hartmann.

Although one does not have to perform on stage to participate in All-of-us Express productions, to be on stage one must also work on crews; no one is only on stage, or on stage for every production. Long-term participants in AECT have the opportunity to learn about all facets of the theater arts: directing, costuming, makeup, props, set construction, sound and lighting. There are also less-intensive experience crews such as ushering for those just beginning. The summer production is ages 6-18; other productions are ages 9-18.

Ingham Great Start has just released the Fall 2012 schedule of Play & Learn Groups.  These Free playgroups will be held at 16 sites around Ingham County (including 2 sites in East Lansing).  The Play & Learn Groups include interactive activities for parents and their children ages 4 and under.  The  Play & Learn Group Activities include: story time, music, singing, movement, creative/art activities, sensory table, exploration, and peer interaction.

The schedule for the Free Play & Learn Groups and enrollment information can be found in the just released pamphlet available at the Ingham Great Start website.

Each month, the Ingham Great Start Collaborative gathers up a list of free family fun activities in and around Ingham County. Here we reproduce some of that list:

September 3, 10 & 17 Summer Long Summer Fest, Lansing
Westside Famers market on 743 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. between West Saginaw and Oakland Avenue.  Activities for kids- love music, farmers market and health and community resource information. Every Monday from 4-7 pm.

In the MSU Children's Garden next summer, probably on Thursday afternoons again, there will be trains operating in the garden for everyone to see. The trains are g-scale which means they are about one-thirtieth the size of a real train. Sometimes, if you are lucky, while you are watching the g-scale, a real train will actually go by! For me, the record was seeing a train 142 cars long! The g-scale trains will usually run as long as it is not raining and is not unbearably hot. They are run mainly by the train club I belong to, the Capital Area Railway Society. I am the staff photographer for ELi and I have been helping run the trains at the MSU Children's Garden for several years. I took the picture shown here.

The MSU Marching Band is now back on campus, in full practice mode, preparing for the first football game against Boise State, Friday August 31, at 8 PM.

Until classes begin, the band practices almost full time, refreshing the skills of experienced members and incorporating freshmen into the ranks, before falling into weekly routines, learning new material for the next game.

Mid-Michigan is not really known as a good place to observe the heavens. But this summer, the clear nights have been plentiful, especially when compared to this year's number of good local peaches, cherries, etc. Painfully, one of the few rainy nights was the smack in the middle of the best viewing times for the Perseid showers. But there is a simple viewing option this week: the International Space Station.

The ISS whips around the earth every 90 minutes or so, and if the orbit is just right, it shines like a star as a moves across the sky. The times and positions vary, but on Thursday, August 23rd, it will be visible for 3 minutes starting at 9:40 pm. It will start one third of the way up the sky in the northwest and head east. It is steadily the brightest thing in the sky other than the moon or Venus and moves about as quickly as an airplane, to the east (but without the flashing airplane lights). It's been easy to see from the Hannah Community Center parking lot (which has a lot of light pollution), does not invest a whole evening, and it's pretty cool to think people are in that thing. Find other times to see the ISS at the NASA site.