Thursday, July 29, 2010

“Morton Kids Day includes family fun and games” plus 3 more

“Morton Kids Day includes family fun and games” plus 3 more

Morton Kids Day includes family fun and games

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 07:57 PM PDT

The village's second Kids Day celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Freedom Hall will have fun and games for the entire family.

But there also will be serious sides to the free event, sponsored by the Morton Tourism Association and Health Solutions of Morton.

Participants are asked to bring a non-perishable food item that will be donated to the Before-After School Christian Experience day care center's food pantry, and Morton Masonic Lodge No. 352 once again is offering free child identification packages.

Sixty-five families took advantage of the Masons' offer last year.

New this year to Kids Day are "Minute To Win It" games every hour starting at 10:30 a.m., and a water balloon volleyball game at noon.

A balloon release at 1 p.m. offers a $25 prize to the child whose balloon travels the farthest, and boys and girls bicycles will be raffled at 1:45 p.m. Kids can explore emergency vehicles during the entire event.

Proceeds from food sales, including a Schwan's truckload sale and goodies like grilled cheese sandwiches and watermelon in the Tourism Association booth, will be donated to BACE, located inside the Morton Roller Rink.

Tazewell County Resource Centers was the beneficiary of the inaugural Kids Day, which attracted a crowd of about 400. More than $300 in food sales and donations were given to TCRC.

Kids Day is open to everyone. Freedom Hall is at 349 W. Birchwood St.

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Kids want to hear more bedtime stories

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 07:04 PM PDT

Almost two-thirds of children want their parents to spend more time reading to them before bed, and most prefer Mum's storytelling to Dad's, researchers said on Friday.

They conducted a study that showed younger children aged 3-4 were most hungry for more stories, with over three-quarters saying they wished their parents read to them more often.

More than half of all children aged 3-8 said story time was their favorite pastime with their parents.

"The results of our research confirm the traditional activity of storytelling continues to be a powerful learning and emotional resource in children's lives," said child psychologist Richard Woolfson, who led the study commissioned by Disney/Pixar World of Cars.

Storytelling ranked higher than television or video games among pastimes for kids, and 82 percent said reading a story with their parents helped them sleep better, according the survey of 500 children aged 3-8 in Britain.

The best storytellers were mothers who used funny voices to illustrate different characters or made their own special sound effects to keep the story moving, researchers said.

When mum and dad are not at hand, celebrities will do: over 30 percent of children said they would like to hear a bedtime story from Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, with teen idols Zac Efron, Miley Cyrus and Emma Watson trailing close behind.

"It can be very difficult for parents to find the time to read with their children, but these moments can help build strong bonds and play a vital part in their child's development," said Woolfson.

© Copyright (c) Postmedia News

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Kids Fun Weekend at Kempton Railroad

Posted: 29 Jul 2010 04:00 AM PDT

Kids can take a train ride through the scenic Berks County countryside behind a WK&S steam or diesel engine Saturday and Sunday during the railroad's annual Kids' Fun Weekend and enjoy extra activities at the Kempton railroad.

All riders get free ice cream after the 40-minute ride on the train known as the Hawk Mountain Line because of its proximity to the bird sanctuary.

Families also can take free rides on motorized track cars and check out the "recycled railroad" display. The Schuylkill & Lehigh Model Railroad club will have a layout in the former Atlantic City Railway coach behind the station.

Trains will depart the Kempton station on the hour 1-4 p.m. both days.

Reservations are not required. Train tickets are $9 for adults and $5 for children ages 3 to 11 and are available at the station up to 10 minutes before departure. Info: http://www.kemptontrain.com.

4-H FAIR FEATURES FARMS

Kids ages 8 to 18 who are interested in 4-H can learn about farm-friendly topics and hobbies from beekeeping to raising Seeing Eye puppies at the annual Northampton County Community Day on Friday at the 4-H Center, 777 Bushkill Center Road, Bushkill Township.

Community Day kicks off the 4-H Fair, which runs through Sunday, and will include hands-on activities including making straw rockets, horseshoe crafts and a petting zoo. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. see 4-H projects including animal science, citizenship, entomology, engineering, plant sciences and home economics. Children can watch livestock shows, dog agility contests and talk with 4-H members.

Saturday's events start at 9 a.m. with a swine showing. There will be a fashion show at 6 p.m., presentations of Best in Show at 6:30 p.m., a cake walk at 7 p.m. and family games from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

One Sunday, horses will be shown starting at 9 a.m. A chicken barbecue will start at noon and last until the chicken is gone.

The event is free to the public. Info:www.northampton.extension.psu.edu or 610-746-1970.

LEARN ABOUT ANIMALS IN BETHLEHEM

Children can discover animals' connection with 19th- and 20th-century decorative arts and their practical uses in the Bethlehem community with a program Saturday that's part of Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts exhibit, "Where the Animals Live."

From noon-4 p.m., kids age 3 and older visiting the museum at 427 N. New St., Bethlehem, can churn cream to make butter, prepare wool for spinning, and make take-home crafts in a 45-minute hands-on program.

In the exhibit, on display through Dec. 31, kids can find miniature animals in their habitats from the Elizabeth Johnston Prime Dollhouse and Toy Collection.

Kids also can create their own artwork for the walls and enter the Name the Mascot contest. Suggest a unique name for the museum's horse mascot at http://www.historicbethlehem.org and if your name is picked you will win a prize and the name will become part of the exhibit.

All activities are free with museum admission of $6 adults and $3 ages 6-12. Info: 610-868-6868.

kathy.lauer@mcall.com

610-778-2235

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Games-Alternative sports stars build on 'X' factor

Posted: 29 Jul 2010 12:01 AM PDT

The 16th X Games starts in Los Angeles on Thursday and the latest incarnation of the four-day gathering will once again feature athletes who have forged a lucrative career out of alternative street sports.

Rather than the brash teenagers often associated with BMX riding and skateboarding, full-time professionals will compete across four disciplines, hoping to retain an essential element of youth that has turned the games into a successful franchise.

Veteran BMX rider and commentator Dennis McCoy regards those associated with the X Games as 'Lifers' while 38-year-old Mat Hoffman maintains he is still a boy at heart.

"I like to go high," the freestyle BMX pioneer told a news conference on Wednesday. "I like to build ramps and hit 'em fast and see what I can do."

The X Games have successfully fused BMX and skateboarding with their motorised cousins motocross and rallycross into an industry that has grown from $5 billion a year in 2002 to $11 billion this year, according to USA Today.

Put another way, one of the most recognisable athletes for male American consumers aged 12-17 is not LeBron James, Derek Jeter or Tiger Woods but a retired skateboarder.

Tony Hawk could easily pass as the 42-year-old father of four that he is, but the Californian amassed nine X Games golds in his career to become an action sports mogul with his name emblazoned on apparel, theme park rides and video games.

Some of that market represented actual involvement in these sports but at least as much was simple identification with a perceived lifestyle, according to sports business analyst Dmitri Kopylovsky of market researchers IBISWorld.

"Mainstream sports don't give them the intensity and danger," Kopylovsky said of the action sports audience.

"It's really something that many of us don't have the guts to try, not that we don't have the ability or the training, which is the main appeal of it.

"From that (you get) the apparel and fashion, and general style and scene."

QUIET SCHEDULE

The X Games began life in the American summer of 1995 as a compendium of events like bungee jumping, in-line skating, street luge and sport-climbing, devised by cable sports network ESPN as a way to provide programming during a quiet schedule.

Skateboarding and BMX are the survivors from the early editions, along with enduring names like Hoffman, McCoy and Danish skater Rune Glifberg, who believes their continued exposure has led to prosperity.

"Action sports in general and especially skateboarding, is definitely the sport of the future," Glifberg said.

"Kids these days are into stuff that's more exciting and fast and dangerous."

The traditional measurement of a sport that has "arrived" and should be taken seriously is inclusion in the Olympic Games as happened with extreme sports like snowboarding in 2002 and BMX racing in 2008.

Glifberg, who describes skateboarding as "as much an art form as it is a sport", believes it had already transcended that definition.

"As people have said in the past, the Olympics needs skateboarding much more than skateboarding needs the Olympics."

Another definition is that professionals like the 35-year-old Glifberg, who has two young daughters, can make a viable career of it.

Glifberg's tool of trade was tucked under his arm as he spoke. That both his board and he were mainstream did not change the essence of the sport, which was closer to basketball, he said, than BMX.

"You're always going to see skateboarding on these different levels, different tiers," Glifberg explained.

"You'll have the top level professional athletes and then semi-pro and little leagues and then the kids that don't really care about joining a club or a team or getting sponsored.

"They'll just be on the corner and doing their sport, just like basketball where you have the NBA and all these other tiers, college basketball, and all the way down to people just playing in the street with one hoop." (Editing by John O'Brien; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

 

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