Movie Night at Granite

Everything was awesome, swimmers poised on the edge of the pool, at the start of the film the whistle blew and they all jumped and dived as the intro music swelled. Later the children bobbed and floated on inflatables, all watching the movie, as we suspected were the lifeguards, so we watched our girls. Hot popcorn for kids and cool gin and tonic for parents.

Robot Cat on Floyd

Talent show preparations... though the prototype required box shortening to allow the robot cat access to its knees and a return to a standing/dancing position.

In the higher grade, a synchronized dance routine to Taio Cruz' Dynamite, accompanied by a singer and gymnasts went down smoothly after some considered choreography by M.

PS: Robot cats often need rockets too.

Give Peace a Chance, Latin Ballet of Virginia

Three Beatles-themed shows, two sister-dancers and only one Miss Anna holding it all together.

The Octopus' Garden swooshed and swirled and there were bubbles floating in the air - utterly magic and the product of real practice.

Bus to Ballet, Downtown

There just happens to be a bus stop one block from us that goes straight to ballet's front door... We thought we'd try our first bit of GRTC.

Ballet on Floyd

Ballet is back and it's two sisters together and too cute for words.

Girls Rock! RVA

No really, that is our child... Loud and empowered by rock music and great female role models! So here are the Icebreaker's and their Arctic World. 

Lyrics:
Far up North of us
There's a land where penguins roam
And seals swim, as polar bears play on the rocks.
Walruses swim down deep in the depths of the sea,
Where sharks swim as enemies.

Chorus - 'Cause it's the Arctic World, yeah the Arctic World, the Arctic World, so far up north...

The Northern lights roam on the night of the full moon
As eskimos watch them fly by
On the cold winter nights,
When the stormy winds blow
A snow storm breaks through,
Where nobody could ever survive

Chorus - 'Cause it's the ...

Press Here, BAPP

The loveliness of being a blue dot in your first show...

Press Here by Herve Tullet is a children's book I've on shelves but never opened. The kids had spent the week of camp creating colour stories, and taking simple theatrical action - lolllies for the after-party!

It followed a summer Forest Camp week that was spectacular and everything woodland life should be with sit-spots in the trees for meditation, hide building, a bug-squad that J was not in (!) and giant mud, stick and leaves bird-nest construction, amongst the things I heard of...

Amy's Travels, Latin Ballet of Virginia

We've got a little bit of the production introduced by one adoring fan.

A weekend of lovely shows and backstage living and make-up training and tight hair braiding, with 'Mírame!' being the Spanish phrase of choice, as mothers tried to keep distracted children in position until their look was completed. Borrowed pink and blue eye polish aka shadow for M and lip stick too, of course.

Bouquets and petals form the sky, though they tended to fall a little early each night.

Barefoot Puppets, Maymont

A wriggling knitted worm, a kazoo and plenty of slap stick humour entranced these guys and led to fabulously detailed questions from the floor, once the puppet show was packed away in it's suitcase...

MAGIC

Spring Semester, Latin Ballet of Virginia

... and so to the warm-up for end-of-year performance in late May.

'Here comes the sun' filters out into the foyer and the danced-journey begins through England, with George Harrison on vocals, before other lands...

Snow Day No. 5, Floyd & Byrd

This time powdery, real snow and the sun was out, so the chill factor was less challenging. Sledging towards a  half frozen lake added some excitement!

New signs had just been screwed up, 'DANGER Thin Ice', though a foolhardy soul seemed to have walked out already...

NB: This is what happens to a balloon filled with water and left outdoors over night - a giant crystal is born!

Mozart's Birthday, Carytown

Papagena and Papageno round off the Magic Flute performance at Cartwheels and Coffee, with all the kids flapping their wings and using their beak masks. It was a great afternoon of instrument try-outs and opera all in the name of, a now 257 year old Mozart. Happy Birthday to you! (tomorrow)

The Ballet, Glen Allen Cultural Center

The Legend of the Poinsettia - thanks to the Latin Ballet of Virginia and M's lovely teacher, Miss Anna (pic) - the most joyous and inclusive and colourful ballet I've ever been too.

First Friday on Main

We were getting some nightcap brew for the drip at Rostov's and there was music... Feliz Navidad and the girls were hooked. Then during the lead singer's break M asked to go up and together with the guitarist, did a lovely version of Jingle Bells. So the festive season starts...

Show and Tell

This weekly bit of public speaking passes us by most Fridays but today M decided to take in her mermaid Barbie - the youngest in her retinue - at a mere two years old. How does she know this? Each has a year of production and the word Mattel imprinted in their sveltely curved backs.

She then agreed to take her oldest too, at 46 year old c. 1966, with the Elizabeth Taylor hairdo and diamanté necklace. Attempts to fit her chest into more contemporary clothing failed and we were late as we had to find her original larger-breasted slip dress. So thankfully not naked like her peers.

Mrs M was much amused and shares a house with teenagers and still clotheless Barbies and sent us photos from M's top presentation (above taken back at home).

Strange Matter, RVA

In Strange Matter, a punk vegan friendly cafe-bar venue, to see Pedals on Our Pirate Ships, we both relived a student memory neither of us actually had!

We may have been the only people in the venue needing to arrange child care and we were pleased to have a seat.

Four billings on the schedule were excellent, and in an oddly American way, each giving genuine thanks and shouts-outs to the others.

We had tasty hummus and (hot) chips, Czech beer, and a really lively evening out, plus could just stroll home.

The girls had a great night-in with neighbour Ameigh.

The dramatic red light in the bottom picture is actually a passing ambulance.

Nativity Pageant, St Mark's

Baby Jesus can crawl, the lamb wore sheep-skin slippers, the kings were down to two and Joseph was absent! St Mark's cutely ramshackle nativity had everyone chucking once more. We love it there.

Under the stars the night before we gazed up as 200 Richmonders  did the Nativity in splendour on the ramparts of the Carillon. Angels sprung up on queue, wobbling a little and in the stillness a lone voice sang out - it was breath catching, though I've forgotten which carol it was...

Richmond Folk Festival

We did this all back to front... eventually I got to where I wanted to be - sitting on the dry grass in bright sunshine, listening to Forró Pé de Serra All Stars (Brazilian Forró), as heard last week on 97.3 WRIR, with the girls curled on my lap and leaning. It was fabulous, alive stuff.

For the kids the intense craft zone, crazy Russian magician show and stunning parrots had them grinning from ear to ear. I failed to embrace it quite so much as I was still recovery from 5 minutes of total J-loss. Thankfully in the crowds were folk who knew her and scooped her up.

I could smell the beer from nearby tents but as a lone parent stuck with home-brewed water.

Fresh Beat Band LIVE, Carpenter Theatre

In the words of Kiki, Marina, Twist and Shout aka The Fresh Beat Band, we did, 'Get up and go go!!!; then 'Just put your rock star jacket on' and head to the impressive 1930s Carpenter Theatre in Downtown Richmond for some bouncy, smily, low budget rock c/o Nick Junior.

'We had a great day. It was  super way to spend some time together'.

PS: M tells me the song beneath the rainbow is, 'It's blue skies true... I've been looking for a friend like you!'

Music in the Park, Forest Hill

The idyll that is Forest Hill park, hosted it's monthly summer band - this time it was a bit loud and bangy, so we selected a picnic spot a little further from the stage and muttered in an way that ages us...

It was still lovely though - pet goats to cuddle and a cute play area and hula hoops galore - plus the strange, bendy hula hoop lady was  twisting away.

Made an awesome mushroom and thyme pie in a bread basket that rose - felt like a culinary queen, though male staff should be credited with the dough. M of course only ate the bread, as these were not pizza-mushrooms!