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

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: Blood Moon, Museum Day, and Abbot Kinney September 26 - 27

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 09/24/2015 - 7:40am

This weekend, we moon you six ways to Sunday. We're going to fool moon you, harvest moon you, and blood moon you; we're going to moonrise you, Chinatown moon you, and now-you-see-me, now-you-don't, lunar eclipse moon you. We might even moon you in other ways, but pics or it didn't happen, capiche?

And because nothing is more welcome when the Earth is plunged into total darkness than a visit from those eight-legged creatures of the class arachnida, we're gonna throw in some spiders for good measure. Lots of them. Roaming free. Possibly hungry for blood, possibly not. Definitely creepy crawly.

And though the sky may or may not be falling, it is in fact fall, so throw back a few pumpkin lattes and reconnect with the earth. Start plotting which autumn harvest train ride, pumpkin patch, happiest spookfest in So Cal you're going to hit. (It's never too early to break out the costumes, and no one has ever looked a free treat in the mouth).

Did some one say free treat? Hello! Free coffee and donut! Who loves ya, baby? Mommy Poppins, that's who; to the moon and back!

Keep reading for our mooniest picks for this weekend....

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: Coastal CleanUp, Museum Openings, and Gumby September 19 - 20

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 09/17/2015 - 8:36am

Who needs yogurt? This weekend, LA is full to the brim with its own live, active (and sometimes mummified) culture. We have culture of the museum variety, with a new exhibit opening at each of the Discovery Cube locations (Curious what they are? I'll race ya to find out!); the Natural History Museum proves everything ancient is new again, and the latest museum to open will have the whole town talking (mostly about how to pronounce its name).

Our culture reflects many cultures, with events celebrating the cultures of Thailand and Greece, Scandinavia and Scotland, indigenous California Coastal cultures, and Valley mall culture.

And lest you fail to recognize the importance of pirate culture, consider this: learning to speak the lingo could earn you some serious booty: a dozen of LA's finest donuts. Take that, yogurt!

Keep reading for our most cultured picks for this weekend....

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: Mexican Independence, Comic Con, and the B-52s, September 12 - 13

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 09/10/2015 - 8:09am

Summer, shmummer, who needs it I say. This is the weekend that has it going on, with a supercool comic con that you don't need to drive all the way to San Diego for, a tall ships festival with cannon battles, pirate school and mermaids, nom nom lobsters, hang ten surfers, and the Hollywood Bowl finale with the B-52s and fireworks.

We've even got holidays. Break out the apples and honey for the Jewish New Year. And, hola, the fiesta's on Olvera Street for LA's largest celebration of Mexican Independence Day. (It's big!)

And we've got heat – lots and lots of heat. 'Cause that's the best part of summer, isn't it? (If you need an escape, you could always take in one more screening of Frozen.) So don't you be feeling bad for summer, because technically it still is. Summer, that is. (And boy, is it hot.)

Keep reading for the hottest picks for this weekend....

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: Cardboard Regatta, Grandes Maestros, Fiesta La Ballona August 29 -30

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 08/27/2015 - 8:49am

School has only been in session a week, and already I am learning so much. I am learning about the many ways to see aquatic life in Southern California. I am learning about the many ways to experience Little Tokyo. I am learning what it's like to drink a cup of coffee uninterrupted.

Not one to hog all the learning, I plan to offer some educational opportunities to my daughter as well. This weekend, for example, she can learn about the 1950s, Iberoamerican folk art, and the music of Veracruz. She can learn to write a travel journal, make a Chinese lantern, dance Flamenco, and play the ukulele. And because Momma gets hungry, she can learn how to make pizza (both foccaccia and classic style).

And after all that learning, I think we'll both have earned a little treat. Perhaps some vegan soft serve (free). Perhaps a concert (free). Perhaps a movie (free. Or maybe free). Because if I've learned anything in my week of school, it's that nothing beats free.

Feel free to keep reading to learn our favorite picks for this weekend....

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: BrickFest, Wings over Camarillo, Los Lonely Boys, August 22-23

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 08/20/2015 - 8:51am

It's sad, so very, very sad: the kids are going back to school. Whatever will we parents do with our own free time that we can do whatever we want with now? Sure, we'll still have the weekends to fill with child-centric merriment. Like this weekend for instance: there's a LEGO-inspired festival of bricks, a sing-a-long version of Frozen, (don't pretend you don't still know all the lyrics), two chances to learn what happened when The Crayons Came Home, and lots of free movies the kids will love.

Yes, school may have started (depending on your district), but the summer lives on! Which is really good, on the weekends, as long as the kids are in school, Monday to Friday. So go kite flying, watch an air show, look at the stars, do all manner of things that require looking up, but do them on the weekend. Because the weekdays are ~~your time, Momma~~ meant for your child's creative and intellectual development.

Speaking of which, you might want to consider looking into after school classes and programs. For even more ~~Momma-me-time~~ ways to give your kid every opportunity.

Got a few quiet moments to yourself? Why not use them to catch up on ~~the laundry~~ our favorite picks for this weekend....

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: Sand Sculpture, D23, Bugs at the Bowl, August 15 - 16

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 08/13/2015 - 8:25am

I’m sorry, what’s that? I can’t hear you because I have my fingers in my ears so that I won’t hear the ticking clock that’s about to go off and declare the end of ~~LIFE AS WE KNOW IT~~ summer break. A whole bunch of our summer favorites are coming to an end: adios LevittLA Children's Concerts; on the flip side, County Fairs; see ya later, Getty Garden Concerts; not if we see you first, other free outdoor summer concert series.

What’s that you say? Plenty of summer still awaits? (Seriously, I can’t hear you, fingers still in my ears.) Slather on the sunscreen for tons of this-weekend-only fun, like a sand castle building extravaganza (does anything say "summer" like building a sand castle?), a summer festival (which by definition proves it is summer), and a summer block party (just like a summer festival, but with sno cones and funnel cake). There's also D23, the gathering for everything Disney, festivals celebrating crawfish, rocketry, and Echo Park, and the chance for your talented teen to audition for American Idol (or you, if you're young enough and have the pipes).

Remember, it ain't over til the bunny sings. On the big screen. With live orchestral accompaniment. At the Bowl. Because that's what's up, Doc.

Keep reading for summer's last hurrah....

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: CicLAvia, Elephants, & Children's Festival of Arts, August 8 - 9

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 08/06/2015 - 8:49am

And so it begins. (Or ends, depending on how you look at it.) As early as this week, the school year begins anew for some. Beverly Hills, Glendale, La Cañada – all of them are getting ready to say adios to summer and aloha, new semester.

Except of course that it is totally still summer. Have you looked at all the sun-kissed fun that awaits you this weekend? Open streets from the beach to Culver City (where you can soak in the sun and free theater at the same time), the county fair (in your choice of counties), and you can look at the stars and watch a movie at the same time. And, oh my goodness, how many outdoor concerts are there this weekend? (Many. There are many.)

If you want to go back to school, there are a few events to help you get in the mode. But I prefer a la mode (nom nom, free ice cream, dudes).

Keep reading to get schooled in our favorite picks for this weekend...

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: Hogwarts Hamlet, Getty Garden Concerts, & SurfFest, August 1 - 2

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 07/30/2015 - 9:22am

Wow. August. I don't want to freak you out about the summer being half over or anything, because if you think of it in terms of when your kid goes back to school we're well past the half way mark. We're down to weeks, people!

But the summer still has a few tricks up its sleeve. Some of our favorite summer events wait until August to begin: the Getty's Garden Concerts, for one. Kids can roll on the giant lawn, explore the grounds and the views, and dance to some seriously good music (this year's acts are Jazzy Ash & The Leaping Lizards, Lisa Loeb, and The Not Its).

The Actors' Gang's annual kid-friendly Shakespeare production in the park is always something special. We thought last year's My Little Pony version of Midsummer Night's Dream was going to be hard to beat, til we heard this year's theme: Hamlet by way of Harry Potter. You're a wizard, Hamlet!

In case that's not enough, we've got the circus and the OC Fair, the Special Olympics continues through the weekend, Burbank's got classic cars and the South Bay has surfers. There are books in Baldwin Hills and fish in Thousand Oaks and you should really get a move on with your back-to-school shopping because, you know, tick tock.

Keep reading for our most there's-still-some-summer-left picks for this weekend...