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PBS Kids in the Park Review, 2015

June 21, 2015 by Mama Carmody 15 Comments

PBS Kids in the Park Review, 2015

Saturday, June 13th was, once again, PBS Kids in the Park. The event was at Military Park in downtown Indianapolis. I had attended two years ago but this year was extra special. My grandson and daughter were able to attend with me.

Keagan won’t be two years old until the end of July so I wasn’t sure how much he would enjoy this. My daughter said that he watches most of the characters so we thought there would be some interest. I believe my daughter was more excited than anyone. Well, that is until the characters started to appear. Once he starting seeing the characters, this was the expression we received:

He can hardly contain his excitement once he sees the characters.

Needless to say, he was ecstatic. He must have yelled, “Super Why!” 50 times over the course of the day.

My favorite part of the day is the character parade. It is the first thing to kick off the event. My suggestion is to get there early and find a place to the left of the stage. (That is left as you are facing the stage.) This is the best advantage for the children to see the characters. The characters march up from the left side of the stage and across it, then down the other side. One of the reasons I like to get to the left of the stage rather than right in front of it is because the kids can stand or sit in their strollers and easily see the characters. We weren’t having to lift him up so he could see up on stage.

Here were some of the pictures of the parade. I believe I have the names of all the characters this time; thanks to my daughter and a couple of Facebook friends. Check out my post from two years ago: PBS Kids in the Park Review. It was pathetic. I only knew a couple of the characters and I didn’t get much help from anyone so they went nameless.

This is Daniel Tiger. His show is a spin-off of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Starting at the front of the parade (the right side of the picture), that is Buddy from Dinosaur Train, next is Word Girl. Most of you are probably familiar with the next character, Curious George and the last character is Chirp, from Peep and the Big Wide World.

PBS Kids Day in the Park: Character Parade

Again, starting from the front of the parade (the right side of the picture), the first two are Migel and Mia. They are brother and sister. I’ve loved the next character since I was a little girl. That’s Clifford the Big Red Dog. He doesn’t seem to be quite as big as he was in the storybooks. Behind Clifford is Wonder Red.

PBS Kids in the Park: Sid the Science Kid

This is Sid the Science Kid. I’m not familiar with him but I loved science so maybe I should check him out.

PBS Kids in the Park: Super Why and Princess Pea

These two characters are on the same show. It’s one that my grandson simply loves. This is Super Why and Princess Pea. The dog in the picture below is Woofster. He is also from the same show.

This purple bird is Digit. He is one of the characters on Cyberchase. It is a fun children’s show that incorporates math in their adventures.

The above characters are Peg and Cat, which come from the show by the same name. Cat stopped to show us a few of his dance moves. He is definitely a groovin’ cat.

And last, but definitely not least, is Alpha Pig. He is also a character on Super Why!

Meeting the Characters

If you miss the parade you do have opportunities to meet the characters throughout the day. They each have their own tent and schedule. The only problem with this is that the wait can be very long. We were lucky enough to get in the beginning of the line for Super Why and only had a 20 minute wait. Daniel the Tiger was in the other half of the same tent but it was going to be an hour and a half wait from the time we finished with Super Why. We were going to come back and get in line later until we realized that people were already lining up. We made the decision to go ahead and get in line. My daughter and I took turns taking Keagan to enjoy other activities while one of us stayed in line. As I talked with other people I found out that most of them came with a strategy. One of the people I talked to had several adults in their group. They would split up and sit in the different lines while someone else shuffled the children from spot to spot. Since it was just my daughter and me, we only waited in the two lines. Here are the pictures of Keagan meeting Super Why and Daniel Tiger.

PBS Kids Day: Meeting Super Why and Daniel Tiger

Please don’t misinterpret the pictures. Keagan was thrilled to meet the characters. He ran up to them, gave them high fives and hugs but he was NOT thrilled with us for making him turn around to get his picture taken.

Other Activities

There were several other activities besides meeting the characters. Keagan made a colorful butterfly and was able to climb and jump at the Gymboree tent.

He raced Hot Wheels and played in a sand table at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis tent.

Children's Museum Booth — Children’s Museum Booth

There were bubbles to blow at the Child Care Answers booth.

Blowing Bubbles at Child Care Answers Booth

We stopped by the main stage a couple of times to enjoy the shows that were taking place there. Keagan loves music so this was especially fun.

There was so much more to enjoy but it was getting really hot and Brittany and I were worn out. Some of the other activities we saw were a bounce house, a fire engine that the kids could go through and so much more.

My suggestions for a great day:

*** Get there early and station yourself to the left of the stage.
*** Take extra adults with you to hold places in the lines of the characters you really want to see.
*** Bring extra snacks and small toys to entertain your child if you do have to sit in a long line with them.
*** Most of all have a magically fun day.

PBS Kids in the Park Review, 2011

Be My Neighbor Day

October 5, 2015 by Mama Carmody 12 Comments

Be My Neighbor Day

WIPB sponsored Be My Neighbor Day, in Muncie, Indiana. My daughter and I decided to travel the hour, from Indianapolis to Muncie, so Keagan could see one of his favorite PBS characters, Daniel Tiger.

When we left Indianapolis it was a beautiful sunny day. As we entered Muncie, this was what the sky looked like.

As you can guess, it soon started raining. We sat in the car for a while, hoping the storm would pass. According to the radar, it looked like it wouldn’t last long.

As it got closer to 1:00, it was still raining but not too hard so we thought we would walk down to the event. Although the weather wasn’t very welcoming, the event was.

We entered the tent and received a bag to carry Keagan’s goodies in. It all ready had some stickers and other fun things in it. We walked through the rain to check out the stage. They were still doing some sound checks because it wasn’t quite time to start (and it was still raining).

The next thing we did was walk over to the Trolley. Keagan was very excited to see the Trolley. It was full so we didn’t climb inside but we got a couple pictures outside (did I mention it was raining?).

At this point it started to rain a little harder and an announcement was made that the opening would be delayed. My daughter asked Keagan if he wanted to go to the car or stay and see Daniel Tiger. Keagan immediately said, “Car!” Understand that Keagan just turned 2 years old and he usually repeats the last thing said to him, so the fact that he said car instead of Daniel Tiger, meant he was ready to go.

We walked back to the car, in the rain, and the car wouldn’t start. This day was getting to be more fun than we could handle. After we had the car jumped and a short discussion, we decided to go get some lunch and then see what the weather was doing. As we drove away from the event, we could see blue sky and white fluffy clouds headed our way. By the time we finished lunch, the rain had stopped and the sky was beautiful. So we headed back to WIPB’s Be My Neighbor Day.

We pulled the trusty “neighborhood” map out of our bag of goodies and headed for the fun. There was an interesting activity to accomplish at each booth. Once finished with the activity, one of the “neighbors” at that booth would check or initial that you had been there to visit. After visiting all the booths you could go back to the welcome station and receive a certificate stating that you were a good neighbor.

Keagan participated in several of the activities but since he is only 2, and it was way past naptime, he ran out of patience, so we didn’t get around to all the booths. Here are some of the fun things we did.

The Humane Society had some adorable kittens and a puppy for a little hands-on experience.

Kittens and Puppy at Humane Society Booth

Keagan was able to draw at several of the booths. He wrote on a chalkboard, made a card and was able to draw a picture. He can’t draw much yet but he sure does like to use crayons and chalk.

One really cute activity was helping to decorate Daniel Tiger’s sweater. The children pressed their finger or thumb onto an inkpad and then pressed their finger to his sweater. It resulted in the cutest pattern.

Be My Neighbor Day: Daniel Tiger's Sweater — Be My Neighbor Day: Daniel Tiger’s Sweater

Keagan loves music so when he got to the Good Morning Starshine booth, he planted himself there for a while. He enjoyed using the shakers, listening to the guitar and singing. Although this picture is a little blurry, you can tell he is having fun singing along. Can you guess what song he is participating in? I will give you a hint: “with a moo, moo, here…”

Be My Neighbor Day: Good Morning Starshine

Keagan had the opportunity to dig in the dirt and plant some sunflower seeds. What little boy doesn’t love digging in the dirt?

Daniel Tiger was the only actual character at this event but Keagan was just as excited with the cut-out displays of his favorite characters.

Be My Neighbor Day: Super Why! and Buddy

There was free face painting. Although the woman doing the face painting was very nervous about it, she did a great job. She said she was a chef and didn’t know anything about face painting. This was Keagan’s first time to get his face painted so we weren’t sure what he would think or how he would react. They ended up being a great match for each other. She painted some simple whiskers and a nose on Keagan and he sat really still for her. He was just thrilled that he looked like Daniel Tiger.

At this point, Keagan was just getting too tired and grumpy. It was almost time for the event to be over so we headed over to the stage for the farewell. Well, that took care of his grumpiness. As I said before, he loves music so he really enjoyed this part of the day. Ruditoonz was performing on stage. Keagan had a blast singing, dancing and jumping along with the other children.

Last but not least, Keagan had the opportunity to get up close and personal with Daniel Tiger. He was so excited.

As the event came to an end, Daniel Tiger had to leave. Keagan waved good-bye and we headed back to the car.

Be My Neighbor Day: Good-bye to Daniel Tiger

Although the day started out kind of rough, it definitely got better. The event was geared for the little ones to have fun and from what we experienced, it was a success. If we have another opportunity to attend a Be Your Neighbor event, I’m sure we will.

Ugga Mugga

PBS Kids in the Park Review

June 16, 2013 by Mama Carmody 6 Comments

PBS Kids in the Park Review, 2011

It was a beautiful sunny day to be out with friends and their kids. The parade of characters signals the beginning of PBS Kids in the Park. I arrived at Military Park in time to get a great spot to see all the characters marching in. It’s been awhile since I’ve had a little one in the house so I’m not sure who most of these characters are. I’m going to need my friends and followers, with small children, to leave me comments as to who they are. I will number them as I post them so then you can put the number in the comments and tell me who the character is. I need to learn them anyway since my first grandchild is due the end of July and I’m sure my great-niece and great-nephews are going to know most of these characters soon, if they don’t all ready.

So I will start this post with the parade:

1) I knew this one: Curious George

2. I don’t know this one:

3. & 4. I don’t know this pair either….are they sister and brother?

5. I don’t know who this is but I have loved dinosaurs since I was little and this one is absolutely adorable!

PBS Kids in the Park: Dinosaur Character

6. Isn’t she pretty?…whoever she is. I think she was waving to me!

7. I”m not sure who this is either (I sure hope you guys are leaving comments to help me out).

8. Ok, I have this one…it’s Clifford the Big Red Dog. He always seemed so much bigger in the books.

9. & 10. These two look like they may be related too but I don’t know who they are.

11. This is The Cat in the Hat.

12. I don’t know who this is.

13. I learned this one from Carson because this was his favorite. This is Daniel Tiger. His show is a spin-off of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe from Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.

14. I missed this character. I had to edit her out of the back of Daniel Tiger’s picture.

15. Not sure of this one either…I sure hope you guys are helping out by letting me know who these guys are.

16. And this would be why I missed character #14, Mr. McFeely! I was most excited to see him because my younger sister and I used to watch Mr.Roger’s Neighborhood when we were little.

Mr. McFeely stopped right next to me because the little boy standing beside me was named Daniel and it was his birthday. I was so excited to see Mr. McFeely that I had to have my picture taken with him.

PBS Kids in the Park: Mr. McFeely & Mama Carmody

Ashley, her sister, Katie, and their kids joined me right at the end of the parade. Ashley had her picture taken with Mr. McFeely too.

PBS Kids in the Park: Ashley & Mr. McFeely

The characters were the big attraction for the day. I’m glad we arrived early and were able to see them standing around after the parade because even though they had special meet and greet times the lines were so long we didn’t even attempt to get in them. I thought about taking a picture of the line waiting to see Daniel Tiger but it was so long there was no way I could even get it in a picture.

Some children are scared of costumed characters but Carson loved them and wanted to give every one of them a hug.

PBS Kids in the Park: Carson & Character Collage

Madison found a character that she liked too.

PBS Kids in the Park: Madison with a character

Cody just wanted them all to keep their distance.

There were several booths with activities for the kids. Some of the activities were educational and some were just for fun.

There was a sandbox to play in….

…and flowers to paint.

Madison learned that bad stuff sticks to your teeth and you have to brush it away. I learned that the first time you should take a child to the dentist is after they turn 1 year old.

Carson enjoyed a PB & J at the PB & J Stage…

…while we enjoyed a puppet show with lots of fun music.

As we were leaving we ran into a couple of police officers on horseback. I believe this was the biggest smile I saw out of Madison all day. I wish I had been able to get a better picture but I just couldn’t get the correct angle.

Everyone stopped to get a drink from the water fountain….

…and a group picture.

Overall it was a great day.

To sum up our day:

+ It was great getting to see all the characters during and right after the parade.

– The characters are the big draw of the day so it was disappointing that the lines are so long that you either have to wait forever or you don’t get to see them.

+ There were lots of other activities to do such as crafts, puppet shows and dancing with one of the many shows going on at the different stages.

I would love to hear from anybody that went to PBS Kids in the Park. Please let me know what you and your child liked or didn’t like about the day.

PBS Kids in the Park Review, 2015

Other Activities

Related Posts

Be My Neighbor Day

PBS Kids in the Park Review, 2011