Giveaways

New York City is filled with incredible artists and, as parents, we are lucky that many of them make their talents and their services available to families: the concert pianist who teaches children, the painters and photographers who do portraits, artist who create wonderful and imaginative murals, and lots and lots of craftspeople of every stripe. We have created a new page to help these artists connect with the families that can use their services.

This week we've been posting about fun stuff to do with your kids all summer long and giving away great prizes. But let's not forget, it's summer for grown-ups too. If you've been digging through our Summer Activity Guide, running all over the city trying to keep one step ahead of the heat and bored kid syndrome, then we have a treat for you (are you sitting down?).

We're giving away 10, count 'em, 10 dinner parties catered by Susie's Supper Club for you and nine of your friends plus the kids! What could be better for a summer evening than chilling out with friends over a meal you didn't cook (or pay for)? I can't think of anything.

We recently reviewed Sahara Sam's Oasis, a new indoor water park in New Jersey and have heard from some of you who were inspired to check it out that you enjoyed it as much as we did. So it sounded like a great prize for our summer kickoff giveaway to share Sahara Sam's with even more of you.

We're giving away a free family 4 pack of passes to Sahara Sam's Oasis. Read on for more details:

Kick off your summer with great prizes for summer fun. Our first Summer Kick-Off GIveaway is a day at Playland! We're giving away 5 family 4 packs of Playland Fun Bands this week. Read on to find out more about America's first planned amusement park and how you can win. And come back tomorrrow for our next one:

There really is no place quite like Rye Playland Amusement Park in Westchester. So close to New York City, Playland is more than an amusement park, there's also a beach on the Long Island Sound, a pool, a lake with pedal boats, a boardwalk, mini-golf, an indoor skating rink, daily entertainment and more. All those amenities just add an extra layer of fun to a day spent riding roller coasters, the log flume, ferris wheels, Super Flight, plus all the kiddie rides in Kiddieland.

The cherry blossoms have faded, but we're still enjoying their beauty thanks to the all the wonderful entries we got to the Kids of Hanami Photo Contest we ran with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It took us a little longer than expected to get all the entries together and pick a winner, but we finally have it done and are happy to share them with you.

Even if you didn't enter, you're going to want to watch the slideshow. The photos are beautiful (both the flowers and the adorable kids). Click through to see the slideshow and our winning picture.

Hanami is the Japanese tradition of viewing and cherishing the cherry blossom season. And there's no better place to enjoy the beauty and grace of cherry blossoms than at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which has more flowering cherry trees in one place than anywhere else in the world outside of Japan! Strolling beneath the stunning, pink canopy of blooms is a wonderful spring tradition the whole family can enjoy and Sakura Matsuri, the two-day cherry blossom festival (May 2 and 3, 2009), has delighted families for over 25 years.

For children, Hanami is a delightful learning experience: watching the seasonal magic of spring as the trees show their first buds, burst into a luscious bloom, and finally send out a flurry of petals that carpet the ground in pink and are replaced on the trees by the tiny green leaves of summer.

To celebrate Hanami, Mommy Poppins is teaming up with Brooklyn Botanic Garden for a great photo contest.

STILL TIME TO ENTER. CONTEST EXTENDED THROUGH MAY 5th!

Enter our Hanami Photo Contest to win an incredible prize package.

If you have a toddler who loves Thomas, then you're going to love this giveaway. Thomas the Tank Engine returns to the Beacon Theatre with an all new, live musical adventure: Thomas and Friends Live! On Stage: A Circus Comes to Town.

Thomas lovers will follow the familiar tale from the Island of Sodor, where Thomas and his friends must learn to work together to prepare for an exciting event under the Big Top. All your child's favorites, Percy, James, Gordon, Sir Topham Hatt and of course Thomas and a cast of circus performers will entertain with a story that teaches the importance of friendship and cooperation.

We're giving away 4 tickets to Thomas and Friends Live! On Stage: A Circus Comes to Town. And, don't forget to enter our giveaways for Dear Edwina and The Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus.

When I was a kid the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus was the circus. But now, we haven't been to the Ringling Brothers Circus in years. There's a lot of circus competition now with not just The Big Apple Circus, but Cirque de Soleil and lots of small circus acts. But this year, I have heard great things about the big Ringling Brothers circus. They've gotten rid of the three ring format and made their acts more of a visual feast a la Cirque de Soleil, but with animals. It sounds like it's beautiful, magically and truly a special performance.

We're giving away 4 tickets to the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus Zing Zang Zoom. And, while there's still time to enter our Dear Edwina giveaway, tomorrow will be our last giveaway of this event with tickets to Thomas the Tank Engine at Madison Square Garden. So check back in tomorrow, but see below for how to win the Circus tickets.

As usual, toward the end of our giveaway events, things start to heat up a little bit. There's still time to enter our La Famiglia Dimitri Giveaway. This afternoon we'll be posting a Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus giveaway, and tomorrow it's Thomas the Tank Engine. But right now we've got the critically acclaimed (and not just by my own discerning critics) Dear Edwina.

Dear Edwina is about a girl who has a rocking advice column she performs out of her garage. It is a great show with a great message and super songs. Check out our full review here. But if you want details on how to win four free tickets plus a discount code, click to read more. And stay tuned for the great giveaways coming up later today and this weekend.

Enter to win 4 tickets to Dear Edwina:

Hurray for the New Victory Theater which offers family friendly shows at budget friendly prices. And not just puppet shows of familiar fairy tales either. The New Vic shows fresh, interesting performances that adults enjoy as much as kids. Their latest is La Famiglia Dimitri, an European family circus.

Although the New Vic recommends La Famiglia Dimitri to children over the age of four, there were plenty of younger children sitting aloft the cushy booster cushions, clapping and laughing as the multi-faceted performers worked their magic. Hailing from Switzerland, these five men and women sang and played Latin American tunes on a variety of instruments from accordions to trumpets, while dancing on tightropes, juggling ping pong balls out of their mouths, clowning, and fully entertaining the enraptured crowd.

I felt like I’d been transported into old time Europe watching a family troupe of gypsies performing by the side of the road, using the few simple props they kept in their caravan – handkerchiefs, boxes, rope and simple pancake make-up. My four year old and I were utterly engaged and the two hour show (with a brief intermission) passed quickly.

It’s a musical extravaganza, a circus (without animals, which, being a vegetarian, sometimes vegan, I appreciated more), and a magic show. Well worth a visit.

Find out how to win 4 tickets to this show, plus a discount code inside: