Recess! Family Music Festival - This Saturday at The Meadow Brook Music Festival

This is a promotional post on behalf of Recess! Family Music Festival.

There's a really exciting music concert coming to the Detroit Metro Area this weekend.  It sounds like a ton of fun, an all day adventure with some of our favorite family music groups like The Laurie Berkner Band, Dan Zanes & Friends, Ralph's World, Candy Band, The Verve Pipe and the School of Rock!

Here is a description:

You loved recess and now we’re bringing it to you! The daylong Recess! Family Music Festival is coming to Meadow Brook Music Festival Saturday, June 22, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Recess Festival will feature some of the biggest family-friendly acts The Laurie Berkner Band, Dan Zanes & Friends, Ralph's World, Candy Band, The Verve Pipe and the School of Rock – in addition to other performers and deejays, games, interactive activities, storytelling, and fun workshops.

The festival is designed to actively engage the imaginations of children, ranging in age from 4-9, and their parents where families can visit various creative spaces on the Meadow Brook grounds to write and record a song, take a dance class, do arts and crafts or get a “rock star” makeover.

“There are lots of music festivals out there and children love music, so we are pleased to present a dedicated music festival for kids and their families,” said Adam Schneider, Palace Sports & Entertainment senior vice president for Events and Booking.

(The Verve Pipe)

There will be the following Creative Spaces at the event, making this really special!

IMPROVISATION & IMAGINATION
Children and parents will have fun at a hip hop workshop, where kids will learn to rhyme, beat box, and scratch. Kids will take home their very own hip hop track on CD.

RHYTHM
A day-long drum circle will empower families to make music together. Instructors will teach children and parents to use percussion instruments along with the instruments they make in the arts & crafts space.

MOVEMENT
Throughout the day, kids will participate in various movement and dance workshops, which include breakdancing, double-dutch jump roping, and tumbling.

DISCOVERY
An instrument petting zoo and a place of musical discovery, a complete "rock band" will be set up where kids can play any and all instruments, from drums and guitars to lead vocals. The basics of songwriting, including lyric and melody, will be taught in playful workshops.

ARTS & CRAFTS
Children will be guided through the process of making their own instruments out of wood, which they will be able to play in the rhythm space and take home with them.

BECOME A ROCK STAR
Throughout the festival, kids will have the chance to "Become a Rockstar" by getting temporary tattoos and punk-rock hair-dos. Once all done up, the little "Rock Stars" can stop by the photo booth to get their picture taken.

Sounds super fun, right?  Here is ticket purchasing info:

Tickets for $25 in the pavilion and on the lawn are on sale at Palacenet.com, The Palace Ticket Store and all Ticketmaster locations, including The Locker Room Store at Great Lakes Crossing. Tickets may be purchased with American Express, Discover, Visa and MasterCard by calling 800.745.3000. Family four-packs are also available for $75.

Toy Review: Botti Bot, A Friend for Life

This is a review post on behalf of Blip Toys.  A complimentary toy was provided.  All opinions and the experiences related within are personal and unbiased.

A new RC toys has arrived in stores from Blip Toys and this one is probably quite a bit different from other RC toys you are familiar with.  I've seen cars and plane RC toys before but Botti Bots don't just move about.  They are also furry, colorful, little RC pets that light up and have sound!  Plus they don't just go forward and backward, they also have a really neat twisting action.  They are so cute and fun! 

We received Bopsy-Bot for our review and as you can see she has rainbow lights and soft tufts of fur.  My daughter was crazy about her for the minute the box arrived.  She thinks she's so cute and loves her new RC pet.  Her favorite thing about it is how you can get the front two wheels to spin around.  She has been teaching Bopsy-Bot tricks and playing chase with her.

Each Botti Bot comes with a remote control that is equally cute.  We caught on pretty quick as to how to get the Botti zoom around with just a few minutes of trial and error.  I really like how, unlike other motorized pet style toys, this is interactive with your child having control for more active play.  Now that school is out, we've had several little friends over to play and all of them were really into Botti-Bots, I can already tell they're going to be a really popular toy! Each one went home wanting one for herself.
Check out our Botti Bot in action, by watching the little video we made and see the lights, action, and sound.  Get your own, when Botti's become available at Target and Walmart stores nationwide beginning in August, 2013.

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Review & Giveaway: Sprout Organic Foods - Toddler Fruit & Veggie Crispy Chews and Fruity Yogurt Bites

Recently my family was introduced to Sprout Organic Foods when we received a sample pack of their new Toddler Fruit & Veggie Crispy Chews and Fruity Yogurt Bites to review.  Known for being:

"Naturally sweet and wholesome, Sprout recipes are made with certified organic ingredients and contain no preservatives, artificial colors, flavors or other additives. Sprout is also pleased to be able to offer a selection of recipes suitable for those with allergies and food sensitivities."

I was really impressed with our toddler snacks.  I pre-taste everything we give our little guy. Normally I find most first foods pretty terrible and bland, but these were so good I would eat them myself, seriously.  I liked them so much, I'm very glad I get to give away a sampler pack to one of you too, so read on to enter!

Let's start with the Toddler Fruit & Veggie Crispy Chews, which come in four flavors.  From left to right: Tropical Fruit & Pumpkin, Purple Berry & Carrot, Red Berry & Beet, and Orange Fruit & Carrot.  At first these combinations might seem unusual, but the fruit combined with a vegetable really go well together with the fruit providing just enough sweetness.

I've heard of hiding the veggies for picky eaters before but have never been fooled myself but I really couldn't taste any lingering beet flavor in the Red Berry & Beet and I was really trying to find it.  I really hate beets, and this may be the very first time I've willing ate anything including them.  They were that good!  

What makes Sprout Organic Food's Toddler Fruit & Veggie Crispy Chews special is that you're expecting a run of the mill fruit snack type thing.  You know what I mean, the kind that look like solid jelly and don't resemble any kind of fruit that naturally exists.  But when you open them, you find these little bits that look you can clearly tell started out as the real deal and have crispy brown rice embedded to give them a satisfying crunch.  I thought the taste was really light and vibrant and liked the soft crisp chewy texture.  You can really tell you are eating a quality product.  

My little guy ate his all up.  I let him have these at home but saved the rest for taking on the go and they were so helpful as they kept him occupied and happy while I was out running errands.  Plus I liked knowing I was giving him a quality snack that was grab and go without being junk. 

These are the Toddler Fruity Yogurt Bites.  From left to right are: Raspberry Yogurt with Real Mango Pieces, Strawberry Carrot Yogurt with Real Banana Pieces, Banana Pumpkin Yogurt with Real Banana Pieces, and Orange Carrot Yogurt with Real Mango Pieces. 

The Fruity Yogurt Bites have a soft quick-dissolve texture and are great for early self feeders.  Like the Fruit and Veggie Crispy Chews, each variety comes in five single packet portions with no added sugar, BPA-free packaging,  never any additives or preservatives, and never any artificial colors or flavors.

The Raspberry Yogurt with Real Mango Pieces was my favorite out of all the samples we were sent, sort of surprising because I've never liked mango.  Again the taste was really vibrant and fresh tasting, and yes I know that might seem a little contradictory considering how they look like dehydrated bits.  However, they are really tasty and a lot less mess than having to carry real fruit around in my diaper bag.

I really can't rave enough about how well done the Sprout Organic Foods Toddler Snacks were.  I was very impressed in the high quality and taste of their products.  They really are like no others on the market.  I was very interested to find out that they have foods for babies through toddlers, including some interesting looking fruit and grain blends and vegetable and grain blends for babies in those oh so handy squeeze pouches.  My little guy still loves eating squeeze pouches and I've never seen any with brown rice or oatmeal mixed with the fruit or vegetables.  I wish I had known about those last year!  They also offer veggie only options, which I really like because it can be so hard to get those into my kids!

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Disclosure: #spon: I'm required to disclose a relationship between our site and Sprout Foods. This could include the Sprout Foods providing us w/ content, product, access or other forms of payment. Check out the new Sprout Foods website at www.sproutorganicfoods.com.