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Fun & Free Events for LA Kids this Weekend: Mary Poppins, Dragonboats, and a Giveaway!: July 28-29

7/25/12 - By Toby B

We’re feeling the familial love this weekend at Mommy Poppins. It’s only natural, what with our out-of-town guest.  I am talking, of course, about our cousin Mary from across the pond. Perhaps you’ve heard of her, she’s a bit of a childcare expert herself. (We like to think of her as the original Super Nanny). Dear cousin Mary Poppins is in town for her delightful self-titled musical at the Ahmanson Theatre, and we couldn’t be prouder of her accomplishments. (You can drop our name for a special discount).

Normally, you get tickets for your visiting relatives to see a show.  But we’re so much more supercalifragilistic than that, we’re giving away a family 4-pack of tickets for our readers to see Mary Poppins! The giveaway ends Thursday July 26, so you’ll want to keep reading to get in on the action.

We’re not the only ones delighted that she’s in town.  Our friends at Kidsville are throwing Mary Poppins a party, complete with arts and crafts, snacks, costumed story readings, and a “Fly like Mary Poppins” zip line. (We’ll be there with a high-flying kite craft, so be sure to come over and say hi!)

Keep reading for our favorite picks for the weekend,  and to get the details on the giveaway…

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

ALL WEEKEND

Ocean Appreciation Weekend - Santa Monica
Santa Monica Pier Aquarium pays tribute to the ocean with a weekend celebration. The fun includes costumed photos in an ocean landscape, a fishing game, plankton to make and race in the “Great Plankton Race,” and a scavenger hunt.

41st Annual Malibu Arts Festival- Malibu
More than 200 artists display their works at this beautiful open air festival. Kids work with artists to create their own masterpieces in a children’s workshop.

4th Annual Summer Fest at Venice Beach - Venice
Families can enjoy two days of family fun at the beach featuring 60 bands live on stage and food from all over the world.

Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival  - Long Beach
Marine Stadium hosts one of the largest dragon boat competitions in California, with Chinese traditional art demonstrations, Chinese Acrobats, traditional dance, hip hop, music, and martial arts performances.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents DRAGONS! - Anaheim
Anaheim gets even happier this weekend: the circus is coming to town!

Family Amphitheater Performances  - West Los Angeles
This weekend's family offerings at the Skirball include circus arts troupe Kinetic Theory (Saturday) and Klezmer musicians Mostly Kosher (Sunday).

SATURDAY JULY 28

Day of the Cowboy and Cowgirl at the Autry - Griffith Park
The Autry honors the iconic heroes and heroines of the old West with a day of festivities.

National Dance Day Celebration - Downtown
Grand Park downtown celebrates both its grand opening and National Dance Day with performances and dance classes from dance stars such as Robin Anton (Pussycat Dolls), Gina Grant (Everybody Dance Zumba Fitness), and Lauren Gottlieb (So You Think You Can Dance).

Big!World!Fun! Shakti Dance Company - Hollywood
Shakti Dance Company presents classical Indian dance by masterful performers. Preshow activities include creating Dwali Rangoli art, learning the math behind mosaic and tile pieces, and playing with kaleidoscopes.

25 Cent Family Flicks - Hollywood
Grauman's Chinese Theatre shows Kung Fu Panda - only 25 cents a ticket!

Night at the Museum: Summer Family Sleepover - Los Angeles
The sleepover at the Skirball Cultural Center is sold out, but take a moment to think  about how cool it would be to sleep on Noah’s Ark and make sure to get your reservation in early for the next one!

Public Star Party - Griffith Park
The whole family can look to the stars (and get psyched for next week’s Mars rover landing) at the monthly public star party at the Griffith Observatory.

An assortment of under-the-stars movies await you this weekend:

Street Food Cinema (Los Angeles) serves up Iron Man.
Oscars Outdoors  (Hollywood) presents The Dark Crystal for your consideration.
Cinemalibu (Malibu) sends a Dolphin Tale your way
Silent & Classic Movie Nights (Downtown) shows the kids what a real classic looks like with a screening of the 1953 version of Titanic.

SUNDAY JULY 29

Kids in the Courtyard: From Hippos to Choo Choos! - Westwood
From hippos to choo choos to people to airplanes - all these and more are hidden in artist Alighiero Boetti’s Tuttos. Kids can design their own Tuttos (Italian for “everything”) in this free workshop at the Fowler.

LevittLA Summer Concert Series - Children's Concerts - Downtown
Head over to the Levitt Pavilion - MacArthur Park to hear a blend of indigenous Mexican, African, and Arabic sounds with Cesar Castro and Cambalanche.

Manhattan Beach Summer Concerts in the Park - Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach offers up the classic rock and blues sounds of Thin Ice at Polliwog Park Amphitheater.

Sunday Movie Nights - Beverly Hills
Would I miss the free screening of Clueless at the Beverly Canons Garden? As if!

Sunday Music in the Park - Downtown
The Grand Opening festivities at Grand Park continue with an afternoon of outdoor music. Performers include Queztal & Friends and Fool’s Gold.

If you've read this far, no doubt you really want to know how to get your hands on those Mary Poppins tickets!  Here's all you have to do: to enter, email us  with the subject line "Mary Poppins tickets" by midnight on Thursday night, July 26, 2012. By participating in this give-away, you will be automatically signed up to receive the free weekly Mommy Poppins family events e-mail newsletter. (But no worries about that,  it's a good read!)

As always, there are many more activities listed on our daily events calendar. Whatever you choose to do this weekend, we hope you have marvelous time!