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 Things to Do Dia de los Muertos Weekend with LA Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 10/31/2013 - 5:42am

As I write this, Halloween is before us. We're still putting the finishing touches on our costumes and greedily anticipating the bounty of treats that await us. It's the one night of the year when we let our kids take candy from strangers, and might even grab a few pieces for ourselves.

Some weekends might have a hard time living up to such a world-class Thursday, but not November 2-3, 2013, nosirree. Because this weekend is a holiday in its own right: Dia de los Muertos. Count on us to clue you in to the best celebrations throughout the Southland.

And as if two holidays in close succession weren't enough, this weekend even has a gift that everyone can appreciate: an extra hour of sleep. It’s the end of Daylight Savings Time for 2013, so in the wee hours of November 3 the clock “falls back” an hour. Make sure to reset your clocks (and it’s a good time to check the batteries in your smoke alarm, as well).

Keep reading for our favorite picks for the upcoming weekend...

Halloween Girl Power: Non-Princess Costumes for Girls

Submitted by Toby B on Fri, 10/25/2013 - 3:52pm

Let me say up front, we have nothing against princesses. My daughter rocked her Rapunzel costume for Halloween last year. Princesses rule. But it’s easy to get into a princessy rut. The gown and crown becomes the default costume, to the point that many girls don’t consider any other costume options for Halloween time. So when I asked my child what she wanted to be for Halloween this year, I have to say I was pleased that she chose a non-royal alternative.

Fun & Free Things to Do with LA Kids this Weekend: Getty Festival, Leo Carrillo Birthday & Reptile Appreciation Oct 19 - 20

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 10/17/2013 - 2:44am

This weekend has the stink of Halloween all over it. Oh, some folks might try to pull the cobwebs over your eyes, talking about “autumn” and “the harvest.” Yeah, that’s why we’re hitting every pumpkin patch and corn maze within a 50 mile limit. For autumn. And throwin’ candy in kids’ bags? Totally a harvest thing.

We’ve been down this road before. A few weeks of Halloween mania will give way to two solid months of the C word. (Not the bad one, the good, merry-jolly one, but I don’t want to say it too loud lest little ears get ideas.) Am I alone in saying “how about some Mom time?” Seriously, wouldn’t it be nice if there were a day or two when we could all get together and learn important Mom stuff, commiserate and find inspiration, get goody bags (goody bags: trick or treating, Mom-style!) and other perks such as complimentary stroller cleanings, work-out classes, and make-overs… all while keeping the kids thoroughly entertained? Sounds like a Mommy oasis in the parenthood desert, doesn’t it? Just about the only thing that could make it better would be if we could get you in free. Guess what? Wish granted! The Los Angeles Mom Expo is next week and we’ve got your tickets now! Sign up on our Rafflecopter giveaway and you could be one of 250 lucky winners of a family four-pack of tickets! (Just get your entry in by Friday) Score!

We now return you to our regularly scheduled pumpkin-mania…

Fun & Free Things to Do with LA Kids this Weekend: EndeavourFest, Fowler at 50 & Discover Marina del Rey Oct 12-13

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 10/10/2013 - 2:13am

Happy Birthday to (mumble). Happy birthday to (cough cough). Happy Birthday to (I really should know your name), Happy Birthday to yoooou. October birthdays: there sure are a lot of them. (That’s sign of the pumpkin, right?) Seems everywhere I turn I’m hearing about another shindig. From the cute little parks celebrating their first to the retail darling turning 10. We even have a few middle-aged celebrants on our calendar (can you believe the Fowler is 50? It could pass for a museum half its age!).

And then there are those so old they stop keeping count. What’s a few million years when you’re a fossil? Or a moon? Or the stars? At that age, it doesn't matter whether they remember your birthday, as long as they still visit.

If it's visitors you want, there’s no better way to draw kids to your door than to lay out the orange and black carpet. Advertise your Halloween spirit with a few well-placed dismembered body parts, and you can rest assured that come October 31, li’l pirates and princesses will be beating a path to your door to relieve you of your tempting treats. And possibly to t.p. your lawn.

Keep reading for some of our spookiest picks for the weekend…

Fun & Free Things to Do with LA Kids this Weekend: CicLAvia, 10X The Party & Cardboard Challenge Oct 5 - 6

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 10/03/2013 - 2:10am

Hey, it's October. Are you ready for Halloween? Yeah, me too. Totes ready, with, um, all the pumpkins I need, like, I must have a dozen pumpkins already, and costumes, too. In fact, I have two dozen costumes. Admittedly, they're all in sizes way too small since my daughter grows like a weed. But it oughta count for something, right? I don't suppose you know anywhere I could trade a newborn banana costume for an ~~adult~~ 5T Sofia the First?

Of course, it's not all Halloween yet, not in a big cosmopolitan city like LA. There's plenty else going on. Like, we were thinking of hitting Knott's Berry Farm this weekend, where we can ride the rides and wear our costumes for the Camp Spooky Halloween celebration... Okay, there's that, but how about a really cool folk music festival... at a giant pumpkin patch. Well, surely the new exhibit opening at the Discovery Science Center is all sciency and academic and creepy crawly spidery...I give up. Trick or Treat.

Keep reading for some of our spookiest picks for the weekend…

The Huntington Botanical Gardens: One of LA's Best Gardens for Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Tue, 10/01/2013 - 4:53am

The Children's Garden has interactive sculptural elements like this prism tunnel. Photo courtesy of The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens

Back in my carefree, pre-child days The Huntington was a favorite weekend destination. I would tour the galleries and stroll the grounds, admiring sculptures and snapping artistic pics; I usually planned my trip around a posh-feeling high tea.

When it came time to share the Gardens with my daughter, I wasn’t sure how well she would fit into this bastion of gentility. Turns out The Huntington is a child’s paradise. The Huntington Botanical Garden is particularly kid friendly. Read on for the top spots when visiting The Huntington with kids and when you can go for free.

Fun & Free Things to Do with LA Kids this Weekend: Glow, Abbot Kinney, & Free Coffee Sept 28 - 29

Submitted by Toby B on Wed, 09/25/2013 - 5:14pm

Sorry, rest of LA, but the Westside is putting y'all to shame this weekend. The "there's-no-other-way-to-describe-it-besides awesome" Glow returns to Santa Monica after a three year hiatus, with one-of-a-kind art installations that will blow your mind with the power of light and sound. But don't get too carried away because the next day is the Abbot Kinney Fest, the mile-long street fair and community festival that features a jam-packed KidsQuad, beer gardens for the over 21s, non-stop live music on two stages, local artisans, gourmet food, and approximately 150,000 of your friends and neighbors.

Sure, Hollywood is putting its money where your mouth is, with the Feast of San Gennaro, as Jimmy Kimmel leads the way to some fine Italian feasting and festivity-ing. Plus Disney Junior's Pirate & Princess Adventure makes its enchanted way to the Dolby Theatre, home of the Academy Awards. Are Jake and Sofia soon to find themselves some Oscar gold? Not if Hook gets to it first!

And then there's Moorpark's own Underwood Farms, ushering in autumn with its Fall Harvest Festival, arguably the most talked about pumpkin destination of the season. And Watts has the Day of the Drum, for some serious percussion action. Mustn't forget Costa Mesa's Orange County Children's Book Festival, only the largest children's book festival ...in the country.

Okay, okay, I guess there are some worthy activities to be found in all corners of the Southland this weekend. (Did I mention the garage sale being thrown by the entire city of Santa Monica?)

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks for the weekend, both on the Westside and elsewhere…

Fun & Free Things to Do with LA Kids this Weekend: Disney Junior, Coastal Cleanup, & Airport Open House Sept 21 - 22

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 09/19/2013 - 2:31am

Aarr, mateys, methinks we're not in Kansas anymore! Thar be three Oz events if thar be one, with new sea shanties, and them scalawags the flying monkeys comin' at ye larger than life. Repeat after me: thar be no place like home.

Especially when the home ye speak of belongs to the many legged beasties of the clan arachnid. The Spider Pavilion opens this weekend, and ye best take care lest the scurvy critters send ye to Davey Jones locker!

But ye need not abandon all hope! If ye have mastered the art of speaking in pirate's tongue, ye shall be rewarded with a doughy morsel fit for a king. Dress like a pirate, and ye can feed yer entire crew!

Keep reading for some of aarrr favorite picks for the weekend…