Toby B

Toby is our uber-busy events editor for Mommy Poppins LA. Feel free to email Toby about events for our LA area calendar.

Latest posts by Toby

2016-17 Academic Year Calendars for Los Angeles Area Schools

Submitted by Toby B on Wed, 07/20/2016 - 2:18pm

Summer vacation ain't what it used to be. The majority of school districts now opt for an August start date, with only a few stragglers sticking with the old-school, post-Labor Day start. Don't just assume you know when school starts based on last year, as there's always a bit of shuffling of the schedule. This year Glendale leads the back-to-school race with a party-pooper start date of August 8, while last out the gate is Torrance, at a more traditional September 8.

Wondering where your district fits in, and how much time you have left for these 50 Free Things To Do in Summer? Read below for our list of start and finish dates for the 2016-2017 school year in and around LA County! And if what you read makes you wonder about what other school options are available to you, maybe our school guide can help.

Hippo Encounter at the LA Zoo: Happy Hungry Hippos

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 02/18/2016 - 1:00pm

Normally, we encourage you to play it safe: no running with scissors, wait half an hour after eating before going for a swim, that sort of thing. But now we’re telling you throw caution to the wind and go poke a wild animal. Heck, say cheese and take a selfie with it. The Los Angeles Zoo is offering a new and unique experience that allows kids to have an up close and personal interaction with the wildest of creatures: a 1500 pound hippo. And her mother.

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: STOMP, Snow Day, and LA Lights, January 23 - 24

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 01/21/2016 - 4:55am

The stars are aligned this weekend. Kinda literally like. As in Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, bam, bam, bam, all in a line. Except they're planets, not stars, which I would know if I studied my science. And I don't think they're actually in a row or anything— more that they're all chillin' in the sky at the same time.

You can study other disciplines this weekend and learn more about dinosaurs, noisy land critters, noisy sea creatures, noisy people, silent people, and waffle-ology to name a few. (You're going to be so smart!)

Hey! What's that in the sky?! Not a bird, not a plane, and not in the sky; it's Supergirl, only now she's a writer of kids' books (talk about a superhero!). More proof positive that this weekend is going to be out of this world.

Keep reading to plan ahead for this celestial weekend…

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: Motocross, Bye Bye Mummies, and Happy Birthday Marion, January 9 - 10

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 01/07/2016 - 8:06am

It should come as no surprise that the rains have finally come. We've been getting warnings for like a decade now, or maybe a year, but they've said "Hey. It's gonna rain. You should get a raincoat, and maybe an umbrella." Which I'm sure you've totally done because we parents are all about planning ahead.

Like for this weekend, for instance. You can plan ahead for this summer, or, if you didn't plan ahead, you can still catch CHILL and the Mummy exhibit before they close. You know who did some major planning ahead? Mummies. For this life and the next. You know who didn't plan ahead? Those mammoths who got caught in the tar pits. "Hmm, I think I'll check out that black gooey stuff ..." What happens in the tar pits, stays in the tar pits...

As for my weekend, I am planning to 1) stay dry and 2) get wet in the process. I will accomplish this by going to indoor activities, (of which there are many, it being January), but getting wet on the way in because I may or may not have an umbrella yet. All my bases covered, and it's not even baseball season yet!

Keep reading to plan ahead for this wet-or-dry weekend…

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: Post Parade, Oshogatsu, American Girl Doll Reveal, January 2 - 3

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 12/31/2015 - 7:44am

2015, what's that? Like, the year it used to be or something? I wouldn't know, because I am super immersed in 2016 culture, the fashion trends, the catch phrases, the emojis... I'm so into 2016, I'm practically 2017 or maybe even 2018. (In hindsight, perhaps I should have said 2020.)

With the New Year, comes a brief slowdown in the pace (just until everyone gets a 2016 calendar, so we're all on the same page). This is not to say there isn't plenty to do. Whether you're playing catch up, last hurrah, or hold the phone what is this new joy, you can entertain yourself twenty ways to Monday and still have more to fill your week.

So sit back, relax, and let the 2016 times roll as you get started on this year's Christmas shopping. (Or is it just at my house that the new list is already forming? Anyone? Anyone?)

Keep reading for more on all the fresh-off-the-presses awesomeness that is this weekend…

Best Activities for the Weekend Before Christmas with LA Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 12/17/2015 - 7:15am

Congratulations, folks; we're almost there. We've spent weeks preparing, planning, shopping, making our lists and checking them twice, posing for holiday pictures, and sending missives to our entire address book, and our hard work is about to pay off. The holidays are upon us. This weekend offers one last shot to complete any unfinished business: buy a tree, meet the big guy, maybe string a few lights around the house.

Or, you could just look at other people's lights. (Soooooo much easier.) Might we suggest some of LA's finest Christmas Light Displays (and, if you're willing to hop on the freeway, More Christmas Light Displays outside of Los Angeles). There's no better time than the present to catch a Nutcracker performance. And while sometimes you may feel like a nut, there are other times you don't, so we've offered up some alternatives as well.

Whatever you're celebrating this weekend, keep reading for some of our favorite picks...

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: KURIOS, Peter Pan, Last Night of Hanukkah, December 12 - 13

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 12/10/2015 - 8:00am

You must have been unbelievably good this year because you have been gifted with a weekend full of awesome. First up, Cirque du Soleil makes its way to LA with KURIOS, featuring Cirque’s signature acrobatic artistry, enhanced with a hint of steampunk and boatloads of “oh my gosh, how do they do that!?” And speaking of boatloads, there’s boatloads of holiday boat parades this weekend. Because we Angelenos love us some boat parades.

You want more awesome? Lythgoe Family Productions is back with another Christmas panto, this time taking on Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. These shows have consistently been a high point of the Christmas season for us, with show biz vets and teen Disney stars blowing us away with their talent. Disney on Ice glides in with only the best ice-related Disney tale ever, Frozen. And if that weren’t enough to fill your stocking, we are days away from the next installment from a galaxy far, far away.

As with last week, most of the Hanukkah events are concentrated on Sunday, which is the final night of the holiday. If you haven’t received any gifts yet by then, you are owed eight. (Tell your family you will accept tickets to Kurios, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, Disney on Ice and Star Wars—marathon optional but it would count for 6).

Keep reading for more on all the awesomeness that is this weekend…

Fun and Free Things To Do Hanukkah Weekend with LA Kids, December 5 - 6

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 12/03/2015 - 4:52am

Oh Hanukkah, oh Hanukkah, come light the menorah. Again. And again. Hanukkah is enjoying its moment in the spotlight in a torrent of latke and donut-filled celebrations, with all manner of creative takes on menorahs (tiles, LEGO, sculpted of ice). I bet there's enough Hanukkah fun to fill eight crazy nights!

Actually, this weekend is filled with a lot of a lot of things. Santa Breakfasts. Parades. Parades of boats. So Cal snow. Victorian takes on Christmas. Tree Lightings. Screenings of Elf. You name it; we've got it. A lot of it. And you are going have to choose what to do and what to miss. (I don't envy you.)

This is going to be our story until the end of December, by the way. With more ballets than you can shake a Nutcracker at, and a whole chorus of Hallelujahs, the seasonal fun just keeps coming. And we wouldn't have it any other way!

Keep reading for a seasonal abundance of weekend fun...