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

Fun & Free Events St. Patrick's Day Weekend for LA Kids: Purim, Airport Art, and Parades, Mar 15 - 16

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 03/13/2014 - 10:01am

Holy Hamantaschen: it's St. Patrick's Day! That doesn't sound quite right... Let me try again. Erin go Purim. Okay, that's even more mixed up. I'm dressing up as Esther for the St. Patrick's Day Parade, and chowing down on corned beef and cabbage for the many Purim Carnivals around town. Now shake your noise maker at that pesky leprechaun, and let's get to partying, because this holiday weekend is two- two - two holidays in one!

Not to mention the imminent approach of spring. Only days away, and well-deserved after the thrashing we received this winter (need I remind you it rained that one time?). The onset of spring means summer can't be far behind. Check out our new 'n' improved Summer Camp Guide, now with minty fresh search features.

As usual, there is plenty of non-holiday-affiliated fun to be had as well. You can check out art at the airport, monsters at the zoo, say farewell to a local favorite, and look at a really big plant. You might even find that pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow.

Read on for our favorite picks for this weekend…

White at the Wallis Annenberg Center - Parent Theater Review

Submitted by Toby B on Sun, 03/09/2014 - 4:43am

White, the latest family-friendly production at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, is sweet, funny, and an excellent introduction to the theater for young ones. Simple but smart, the award-winning White captivates young audiences without speaking down to them.

Fun & Free Activities with LA Kids this Weekend: Marathon, Disco Discount and Free Doughnut: March 8 - 9

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 03/06/2014 - 9:00am

Is there anything better than getting up early in the morning? How about getting up an hour earlier than early because someone had the bright idea of springing the clocks forward? Still with me? How about getting up an hour earlier than early to run, a lot, like a lot a lot, a whole marathon worth? Have I lost you entirely? Here I am to reel you back in: free doughnut, nom nom. Makes the waking up almost seem worth it, and you don’t even have to break a sweat.

But if you want to (break a sweat that is), have we got the dance floor for you. Baby Loves Disco is back in town, this time with a Mommy Poppins discount and a 70s disco theme. "Ah,ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive..." And speaking of Vinnie Barbarino...

...Adele Dazeem is not performing in LA this weekend, but she's about the only big name star who isn't. We've got Laurie Berkner (love her on Sprout!); we've got Tom Chapin (Grammy winner and also Harry's brother). We've got Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band (Latin Grammy winners! They're going to be on TV this Fall!). We have productions of White (Winner at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Cirque du Soleil: Totem (catch it before it's gone!), and we've even got Sid the Science Kid. (Or as Vinnie would say, Snurf the Sneetch Keister. But what do we know, we're just Mimsy Picklecatcher).

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks for the weekend...

Fun & Free Activities with LA Kids this Weekend: White, Whales, Dr. Seuss, & Mardi Gras: March 1 - 2

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 02/27/2014 - 9:02am

It's happening again. One of those weekends when there's just. Too. Much. To. Do. We've got whales, and more whales. And if whales are too big we've got fish. We've got Mardi Gras, more Mardi Gras, a spectrum-friendly Mardi Gras, and Woofstock. We've got lots and lots of Seuss.

Ernest & Celestine opens this weekend; the French animated tale of mouse/bear friendship is nominated for an Oscar. Which reminds me, the Oscars are this weekend! You know, that event you used to build your weekend around before you had kids? (Or was that just me?)

Of course, if this rain turns out to be as big a deal as they're saying, movies could be a good idea (we've got 'em from dust bunnies to Pirate Fairies). Or a play (White opens this weekend, too). Or a concert. But plenty of the celebrations you can attend this weekend offer great indoor options, too; there's a free Family Arts Festival, a St. David's Day Festival, a celebration of Persian New Year, a celebration of Women's History Month, a celebration of play. Sounds like this weekend, LA is one big celebration of ... celebrating.

And now we celebrate some of our favorite picks for the weekend...

Fun & Free Activities with LA Kids this Weekend: Railroad, Snow Days, and African American Arts, Feb 22 - 23

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 02/20/2014 - 9:16am

So what did you win? Gold? Silver? Honorary mention for showing up? Oh dear, don't tell me you haven't won anything yet! Best get a move on, Momma: the Olympics end this weekend and with them go your shot at glory. If you want to spare your child a similarly unremarkable fate, we've got the lowdown on where LA kids can get their Olympics right stuff.

Those of us who can't do, watch. And maybe throw a party. (For a fun activity, try re-enacting favorite sporting events with mini figures).

Here's something simple you can win: our giveaway this week is for a family 4-pack of tickets to Baby Loves Disco, and no speedy movements are required. Just click enter (and tell us how to contact you if you win) and bingo, bango, you're in.

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks for the weekend...

Fun & Free Activities with LA Kids this Weekend: Camellias, Fresh Beat, and Boat Show Feb 8 - 9

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 02/06/2014 - 9:38am

We here in So Cal are suffering from what I would call an embarrassment of riches. True, one of our favorite pastimes is gloating about the weather to friends far and wide. Winter? What winter? You mean that time I had to wear long sleeves? But with yet another snowstorm slamming our cross-country brethren, it almost seems untoward to list off the many sunkissed activities that await us this weekend.

Almost. I mean it’s not as if we’re keeping anyone from joining us in our little corner of Paradise. Are we supposed to feel bad that we can make our summer plans while experiencing summer-like temps? That we can gaze at the stars without turning into icebergs? That our kids see snow in the movies and ask us “what’s that?”

Maybe we should send them a little something to show we care. We’re starting to feel the Valentine’s love with heart-shaped workshops aplenty. I’m sure some handmade cards and craffy gifties would go a long way towards warming their hearts. Or maybe they'd just prefer a sweater.

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks for the weekend...

Fun & Free Activities with LA Kids this Weekend: Golden Dragon, RockSTAR and Schoolhouse Rock: Feb 1 - 2

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 01/30/2014 - 9:30am

Well hello, Martha Poppins! We are seriously impressed by all the WeeWorking you guys have been doing. Up-cycled button rings, 60-second smoothies, no-mess fingerpainting... true, we put the instructions up, but you guys have really run with them!

All that creativity deserves a reward, don't you think? Let's have a giveaway! Alls ya gotta do is share a pic of your WeeWork handiwork on social media (you know you're gonna brag about it anyway!), then hashtag us and post a link. (All the deets are here). Every week now through April we're choosing one Mommy Poppins artiste to win a family 4-pack of tickets to Baby Loves Disco!

Want more inspiration? As per usual, LA has plenty to spare. You can spend a night with the creatures of Noah's Ark, watch a giant Golden Dragon weave through the streets of Chinatown, groove with junior rockstars in Hollywood, or sing along with the princesses of Frozen. Favorite shows will entertain you with evolution, adjectives, and Greek mythology. You can build a car, party among dolls, search for faeries, or watch speeding supercross. You can celebrate Lunar New Year, African American History Month, and even Groundhog Day. This weekend, LA has got it going on.

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks for the weekend...

Fun & Free Activities with LA Kids this Weekend: Grossology, Grammys and Museums Free For All: Jan 25 - 26

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 01/23/2014 - 9:00am

I can't put my finger on it, but there's something different about you. You seem somehow...craftier. Hey, you've been dabbling in our WeeWork projects, haven't you! What's been your favorite so far? The Martin Luther King, Jr. Dream Mobiles? Indoor bowling? I'm guessing it's not the ice lanterns, unless, to quote my favorite snowman, you wanted to finally learn what frozen things do in summer.

If you’re craving more inspiration, a score of Los Angeles area museums are free on Saturday. Seriously, the Hammer, the Skirball, the Pacific Asia Museum. Free, free, and totally free. You know what inspires me? Free. (Word to the wise: only those museums that are on the list are free. Don’t try waltzing into any other ones without paying. That’s called breaking and entering.)

Frankly, I don’t know how you can get any more inspired than by watching the exaltation of the human form that is the latest edition of Cirque du Soleil: TOTEM. (And it even gets bonus points for being spitting distance from Santa Monica Pier.) Leave the kids home if you have to. (You don't have to; they'll love it. But you might "have to." Because, you know, kids turn into pumpkins if they stay out too late. Or something like that...)

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks for the weekend, none of which will turn your kids into a winter squash...