Chamberfest Bring The Kids Series - Summer of Awesome

by Lynn Did you know that Ottawa has this thing called Chamberfest, and it is not, as you may fear, about monks chanting or flueglehorn playing or chamber decoration? Rather, it is a celebration of all sorts of different types of classical music, in unique and interesting venues, by talented, unique, and internationally feted musicians?

And did you know they have a program called Bring The Kids, which invites children of all ages to come and explore music? I know! Just when you think you know of everything there is to do in Ottawa, you hear about something amazing like this, and wonder where the heck you've been all this time.

Chamberfest runs from July 23 through August 5, and there are dozens and dozens of concerts happening all over the place. You can get tickets and/or passes for the grown-up events on the Chamberfest site - there's tons of great stuff to choose from, something for everyone.

But the best part about the Bring The Kids series is that it is free. Let me say that one more time: FREE. Fabulous music in a gorgeous setting, feeling like a supermom for exposing your kids to the classics, and a cool way to get out of the house for the afternoon? PRICELESS.

I took my three little ones to the first in the series on Monday. It featured brass quintet True North Brass, playing at the Dominion-Chalmers United Church downtown. The quintet was just SO good. They talked about their instruments and what makes them similar yet different, and what it means to be a brass instrument. They pulled out a shell and a garden hose - and then played each one - to demonstrate the basic physics behind their instruments. They were funny and entertaining and did not seem phased at all by crying kids, crawling toddlers, random light saber duels, or the crunch of goldfish crackers.

I was pretty impressed with my kids - they actually sat and listened. The older two are 8 and 6 1/2, and they were entranced, actually listening and paying attention and learning stuff. My youngest, at age just-turned-4, got a little squirmy after about a half hour (the concert was just about an hour long). But between a snack (totally allowed) and some energetic clapping and lap-bouncing from me kept her going. Other younger kids had varying levels of concentration but no one complained or felt awkward. It's all good.

The concerts are aimed at kids aged 3 through 8, but there were a few older kids there who seemed to especially enjoy it, so don't hold back. The chamberfest volunteers were absolutely welcoming and friendly and obviously really enthusiastic about music and the whole event just had a great community feel to it.

I even learned stuff - did you know that O Canada has a few totally ripped-off lines, including an opening stolen almost in whole from The March Of The Priests from Mozart's opera The Magic Flute? I feel cheap.

There's just one more concert left in the Bring The Kids series (although many more Chamberfest concerts remain). The last kids' concert features the Sounds Of The String Quartet and it's this Thursday, July 28, at 3 p.m. It's at the Dominion-Chalmers United Church downtown and you'll want to come early to get a good seat.

But most of all, you'll just want to come. I'll see you there - this one is such a big winner that we won't miss a chance to go again.

Lynn is mom to three tombliboos and blogs over at Turtlehead.

Yoga on the Hill

by Brie My kids love to do yoga. And given that they are kids it is easy for them to move in and out of downward dog and cobra. Way easier then it is for me! Sometimes they even love to do their own versions of yoga poses. What? Haven't you heard of astronaut post?

I thought for sure the kids would like to check out the weekly Yoga on the Hill classes every Wednesday at noon on the front lawn of the Parliament Buildings. (Find out more here along with other free things to do on Parliament Hill). It definitely seemed like the place to be with over a hundred people sitting on their yoga mats waiting for the class to start.

My kids didn't last as long as I would have liked, although they did get in some downward dogs and cobras.

I am pretty sure that my four year would have stayed for the whole class but my two year old was ready to go after ten minutes. I was okay with that though. We came, we did some yoga, we left. Then we went to visit the cat houses behind the Parliament Building and watched a raccoon eat cat food for ten minutes.

Yoga on the Hill would be a summer great outing for older kids, even if they aren't too familiar with yoga. There is an instructor leading the class and lots of other participants to watch and follow. The front lawn isn't shaded though, so bring lots of water and sunscreen because the sun will be hot at noon!

Have you been to Yoga on the Hill?

Brie is the mom of a 4 year old daughter “the girl” and 2 old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.

Ahoy Mates! Sailing with Pirate Adventures

Pirate Adventures is no longer located in Ottawa but you can check out Pirate Life instead! Our bloggers last visited Pirate Life in 2020 right in the height of Covid protocols.  

by Valancy

In search of adventure to entertain and delight a pair of four-year-old boys, we recently set sail with a band of pirates on the stormy seas. Okay, they were only pretend pirates. And, it wasn’t the sea, it was the Rideau Canal. But it was stormy before our trip was over, and it was an adventure that did entertain boys and girls young and old.

Pirate Adventures offers passengers a chance to immerse themselves in an imaginary pirate adventure, with a theatrical and interactive ride along the Rideau Canal aboard the vessel the Grey Ghost. My four-year-old son gets a kick out of all things pirate-related, so we thought this might be quite a treat for him to experience with his friend and little sister. The boys were very excited about the trip, and it was hard for them to wait all day until our 4 o’clock departure.

When we arrived, however, my reserved and often-shy little guy wasn’t so sure about the small crowd of about 40 passengers and the energetic pirate crew. He hid behind my legs, scowling and wanting nothing to do with the pirate costumes provided, the face painting, or the pirate name tags. The rest of our little troupe was undaunted and cheerfully donned vests, belts, and bandannas and submitted to some creative face painting. Little kids running around with painted-on beards and moustaches was an adorable sight to see. We couldn’t let our reluctant pirate off without a name-tag at least, and suggested that “Angry Andrew” would be fitting. I was dubbed “Vicious Val” - argh, beware mateys!

On board the ship we met our crew and captain, and were entertained with stories about their pirate pasts. The little pirates on board were all invited to gather at the front of the boat to listen to the stories and take part in the action, while we older, er, more seasoned pirates settled ourselves on benches. Angry Andrew stayed sitting with me, watching the performers and the passing scenery with interest, but still refusing to crack a smile. At least our two-year-old daughter, “Eagle-eye Ella”, was having a good time, fascinated with being on a boat and somewhat mystified by the theatrics of the pirate crew.

Just when I was starting to wonder whether Angry Andrew would have any fun at all on this trip, dastardly Pirate Pete arrived to save the day. After Pirate Pete shot at us with a water gun from his dinghy, the Captain announced it was time to man the cannons! Angry Andrew laughed with glee watching Pirate Pete get pelted with water from cannons fired by other kids on the boat, then eagerly rushed to have his turn on the starboard side. The captain and crew made sure that every little pirate on board had a chance to fire a cannon at Pirate Pete before he was finally vanquished, falling ever so melodramatically backward into the water. 

From that point on, even Angry Andrew thoroughly enjoyed the show and the rest of the trip. Before we returned to dock there were songs, sword-fights, and treasure found and divvied up. While it had been hot and sunny when we set out, it clouded over and we were cooled with a bit of rain before a looming thunderstorm forced our captain to cut our voyage a little short from the standard 75-minute trip. I can’t complain about missing a bit of time on the boat, however, since for our younger group, I think that the slightly shorter ride was just right.  As we disembarked and returned our costumes to the crew, everyone was smiling, and the kids were excitedly showing each other the loot that they’d chosen from the treasure chest.

While Pirate Adventures is definitely not cheap ($10 for kids 2 and under, $18 for everyone else), it is a fun special outing worth doing at least once. Kids slightly older than ours would probably enjoy the adventure the most, as they would be more able to really listen to the pirate tales and get immersed in the imaginary world. But with the mix of story-telling, jokes, action and slapstick there is definitely something to entertain would-be-pirates of any age. The crew on shore and on the ship were all friendly and full of enthusiasm. They did a great job hamming up the pirate “arrghs” and making sure all of the little pirates on board had a good time.

And us big pirates got a kick out of the experience too. Who doesn’t want to dress up like a pirate and shout “arrrrrgh!” at least once in their lifetime?

For more information, visit www.PirateAdventures.ca. The ship sails several times daily, Tuesday through Sunday, and reservations are strongly recommended.

Valancy Reynolds is an Ottawa mom of two - soon to be three - little ones. She journals about day-to-day life with her family, motherhood, and her crafting exploits on her blog, The Daily Meow .

A Company of Fools: Shakespeare for everyone

by Coreen Last summer we spent an evening in the park with four enchanted lovers, a fairy or three, a king, queen and a donkey.

A Company of Fools dropped by our neighbourhood park for a performance of Midsummer Night's Dream, and as we've come to expect it was entertaining for kids and adults alike. They certainly have a knack for 'de-stuffing' Shakespeare and appealing to everyone. The physical comedy (popping balloons anyone?) appealed to the younger children and the little things like the MC describing one of the actors as a long-form census taker (unemployed) got the adults chuckling. But back to the popping balloons:

These are all-ages shows. Our 2.5 year old was captivated by the whole thing, and we brought her the year before, and even when I was pregnant *g*. Last year she watched the audience, she watched the picnickers (note to self: Bring a snack this time. She was watching two boys behind us so intently they finally offered her one of their crackers - little mooch!), and she even watched the show. She stood on my lap and clapped every time they popped a balloon. I was amazed that she didn't lose it during the 1.5 hour show. We sat back far enough that she had room to play in front of us, and that kept her happy. She was finally moved to the point of using one of her purses as a prop for her own re-enactment:

This year between July 4th and August 20th they are putting on 'Shakespeare's funniest tragedy' Antony and Cleopatra and I cannot wait to attend a show! Chances are there's an Ottawa performance near you, their schedule is in that link above. Since we missed the show in our new neighbourhood, I'm torn between the one they're holding in our old neighbourhood, and the one in Hintonburg...maybe we'll hit both!

Here are some 'pro tips' for first timers (and the perennially disorganized (aka me)):

-This ain't your high-school Shakespeare (in case you didn't get that from the pics), they are comedic interpretations (the 'Fool's twist') and all ages are welcome. -The shows start at 7, so for many of you, be prepared to ditch bedtime, but it's totally worth it. Shows are about 1.5 hours long, but it's an open air park, so leave if you need to. -Bring lawnchairs or blankets to sit on. Also, bugspray if there's no helpful breeze. -As I mentioned bring snacks, I plan on looking like the got-it-together parent this year. -Shows are free but they do suggest a donation of $10 - well worth it. V loved bringing the money to the actors as they pass the hat at the end of the show. -Prepare to be entertained by the great acting and choreography, all forms of comedy, lightning fast costume changes and always be on the lookout for that moment where the actors amuse themselves and lose it a bit on stage - my favourite part.

Hope you can make it out to a show!

Coreen is a geriatric mother living with her husband (hubby) and 3.5 year old daughter (V). She works in IT Security but doesn’t yet know what she wants to be when she grows up. She's a contributor at Losing It In Ottawa and she blogs at One Day this Blog will have a Snazzy Name (and is open to naming suggestions because - really.)

Ottawa parks: Springhurst

by Brie Do your kids like boats? Pretending to be pirates? Running around and having fun? Then I have a park for you.

In our house we call Springhurst park the pirate park. It has two good sized play structures, both of which are built to look like boats. My kids like to play pirate as they walk the gang plank and stand at the prow.

Here's what I like about the park. It is well shaded, which is great for hot summer days. The park is small and it is easy to keep an eye on both kids while they play. There are some fields beside the park area which is great for running or soccer. And finally, there are two sets (four in total) of the bigger kid swings. This means that if we are visiting the park with friends fights over the swings can usually be avoided!

Here are some drawbacks to the park. The park is geared towards younger kids. I think older kids (over eight) would find it a bit boring as the play structures are more for little kids. Also, there are no bathrooms at the park so keep that in mind when you visit.

Springhurst park is located off of Lees Avenue in Old Ottawa East, quite close to the  Queensway exit.

Have a favrotiepark in Ottawa? Let us know! Email us at kidsinthecapital(at)gmail(dot)com to blog about it for Kids in the Capital.

Brie is the mom of a 4 year old daughter “the girl” and 2 old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.