The Margret and H.A. Rey Center’s 7th Annual
Curious George Cottage Family Festival returns in August to speak to the
curiosity in us all. The festival is a 2-day event this August 10-11, 2013,
featuring a weekend full
of family-friendly activities with Curious George and the Man With the Yellow
Hat. The Festival is a celebration of
curiosity, providing families the opportunity to play and learn together as
they explore art, science and nature just like Curious George loves to do. The
weekend includes a banana pancake breakfast with Curious George, a family
nature walk, live music, a BBQ lunch with Curious George, photo opportunities
with the characters, a farmyard petting zoo, Mad Science shows, games for kids,
Curious George story hour and craft time, “Curious Characters” drawings by
local artists, planetarium shows, weather balloon launch, and model rocket
launching. All proceeds from the event support the Margret and H.A. Rey Center’s
art and science education programs for all ages held throughout the year.
Headlining
the festival this year is children’s musician Zak Morgan. GRAMMY nominee Zak
Morgan's unique brand of children's music delivers songs and poems with wit and
charm that inspire and tickle the funny bones of children and adults alike. According
to Rick Bird of the Cincinnati Post, “
Morgan sounds a bit like singer Cat
Stevens, and his storytelling is an inspired cross between Dr. Seuss-style word
games and the sly, edginess of Shel Silverstein. In short, it's children's
music that adults can love.” When he is not writing and recording, Zak
performs family concerts throughout the country. His live performances are
always filled with laughter and warmth as he encourages children to read,
imagine and believe in themselves. Morgan has released three critically
acclaimed records and one DVD for children and was nominated for a GRAMMY in
2003 – a rare feat for an independent artist. Morgan currently resides in
Cincinnati, OH and is working on his fourth record. The Festival will feature a
Zak Morgan performance on both Saturday and Sunday.
Also
performing on the Festival stage on Saturday will be an interactive musical
experience by Tony
Fonseca of All Hands Drumming.
Tony has been studying, playing and teaching drumming for over 40
years. His influences are in the traditions of West African, Cape Verdean and
Afro-Cuban rhythms. Tony’s interactive drum-fun entertainment is for children,
youth and adults who want an exciting, fun and memorable experience. During his
performance, Tony sets up a drum-circle of ten to thirty drums of
various heights to accommodate children, youth, and adults of all ages and
sizes. From inside the
circle, Tony plays a continuous series of heart-pounding beats as he interacts
with the visitors to the circle as they play along on the drums. For those at
the event who do not choose to try drumming at the circle, they still enjoy
watching and listening to Tony, as he
keeps the atmosphere lively and upbeat with his masterful drumming style.
Mad Science will return once again this year to perform one of their edu-taining
science programs, “Fire and Ice.” In the land of Fire and Ice the Mad Scientist starts
with a magic trick that makes a card disappear and magically reappear. Heat
and chemicals combine with an "aaahesome" result. Finally, in
the ice portion of this program they will amaze children with exciting
experiments using frozen carbon dioxide gas at -109 degrees F.
A festival favorite is the Banana Pancake Breakfast with Curious George
hosted by The Snowy Owl Inn of Waterville Valley. In addition to an intimate
visit with Curious George and the Man With the Yellow Hat, this year’s
breakfast, held on both Saturday and Sunday, will feature live music by Laurel
Dodge. Kids can sing along with Laurel as she plays and sings some well-loved
kids’ tunes!
New to the festival this year are planetarium shows by the
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center. A
Discovery Center educator will take
participants on
a tour
of the night sky followed by an exciting journey of discovery to explore our
solar system, including breathtaking images from the Hubble Space Telescope using
full dome video technology in their portable dome planetarium. The Rey Center
is also please to welcome FlisKits, Inc model rockets to the festival this
year. Jim Flis of FlisKits, Inc will launch several model rockets throughout
the day on Saturday to the delight of young and old alike. The Backwoods Farm
Petting Zoo of Rumney, NH will also be joining the festival for the first time
this year. Their family friendly petting zoo gives kids the opportunity to get
up close and personal with their loveable barnyard critters. Other exciting
additions to the weekend’s lineup are a weather discovery exhibit by the Mount
Washington Observatory and a weather balloon launch by the Judd Gregg
Meteorology Institute at Plymouth State University.
Wristbands for the 7th Annual
Curious George Cottage Family Festival are $23 per person for a 2-day pass,
which includes all activities and performances. Children two and under get in
free with a paying adult. Additional tickets are required for the banana
pancake breakfast. Lunch is available for purchase onsite. A limited number of wristbands are available
at the event for $28 per person; advance purchase is recommended. To view the
complete event schedule and to purchase wristbands visit http://thereycenter.org or call the Rey Center at 603-236-3308.
Roper Real Estate,
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Louis Karno & Company, Waterville Valley Realty,
Parenting NH Magazine, ABODE Homebuilders, and Community Guaranty Savings Bank,
as well as many other local businesses are generous sponsors of the Curious
George Cottage Family Festival.
