Dances Patrelle Presents The Yorkville Nutcracker #NYC

Dances Patrelle Presents The Yorkville Nutcracker
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December 10-13, 2015
Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 7pm
Friday, December 11, 2015 at 12 pm and 7pm
Saturday, December 12, 2015 at 2pm and 7pm
Sunday, December 13, 2015 at 12pm, and 5pm
Dances Patrelle presents The Yorkville Nutcracker from December 10-13, 2015 at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, E. 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues, NYC. Performances: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7pm; Saturday at 2pm; and Sunday at 12pm and 5pm. Ticketsare $45-85 (student and senior discounts available) and are available at www.dancespatrelle.org, by phone at 212-772-4448, or in person at The Kaye Playhouse Box Office.
 
This year marks the 20th anniversary of The Yorkville Nutcracker, set in 1895, which includes lavish sets and costumes and takes the audience on a tour through Olde New York’s most beloved landmarks, including a holiday party at Gracie Mansion, dancing at the Crystal Palace in the New York Botanical Garden, and skating in Central Park. The Yorkville Nutcracker provides an opportunity for young dancers to dance alongside professional artists. This year, Abi Stafford and Adrian Danchig-Waring, both Principal Dancers with New York City Ballet, return as the Sugar Plum and Cavalier. Other dancers include John-Mark Owen and Julie Voshell dancing the Arabian Divertissement and Matthew Dibble, Justin Peck (“Phantom of the Opera”), Therese Wendler and Nadezhda Vostrikov alternating as the Snow King and Queen.
Dances Patrelle  is a dynamic professional ballet company celebratingits 26th season! dP presents two annual seasons in New York — the timeless holiday tradition, The Yorkville Nutcracker, and a spring repertory season featuring world premieres and classic Patrelle favorites. Mr. Patrelle’s body of work includes over 50 original ballets choreographed for Dances Patrelle, and spans an incredibly wide range of styles, from his beloved American Songbook collection, to such contemporary classics as Madame X,Macbeth and Rhapsody in Blue.  Heralded by Lynn Garafola in Dance Magazine as a choreographer with “a personal vision…classical because it is rooted in metaphor and symbolic language [and] populist because of its legibility and broad cultural resonance,” Patrelle has also cultivated a long-time collaboration with composer Patrick Soluri, commissioning four original scores including 2009’s Murder at the Masque for dP’s 20th Anniversary.  Known for attracting the great talent of each generation, Dances Patrelle is pleased to count ballet stars such as Marcelo Gomes, Jenifer Ringer, Donald Williams, Lourdes Lopez,andCynthia Gregory among its dancers.  For 25 seasons, Dances Patrelle has tapped into the human experience, connecting intimately with the audience and continuously reinventing dramatic dance. In 2013, the company was named the resident ballet company of the Kaatsbaan International Dance Center.

“In Francis Patrelle’s ballets, the characters come alive. His choreography is full of heart and soul.” – Cynthia Gregory, Prima Ballerina

Disclosure: Diane Sullivan is a Yorkville Nutcracker partner blog. All opinions are that of my own and completely honest. Not compensation was given for this post. Please contact me at Diane@3decades3kids.net or @3decades3kids everywhere else. 

A Magazine For Every Child- A Perfect Holiday Gift! #HolidayGiftGuide15

A Magazine For Every Child- A Gift That Gives All Year Long!

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What’s more exciting to a child than receiving her own mail? I know in our house Emily loves when anything arrives via mailbox, especially magazines. She is always after Redan Magazines when we are in the grocery store. Instead of buying just one, you can use the discount code below to get a lot more for you buck. Emm was thrilled to check out all the samples that arrived and all of a sudden the online world just disappeared as the scissors, pens, crayons, and glue appeared. The magazines are filled with fun stories to read, mazes, crafts and game. There are also stickers. This is a perfect gift for kids!

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A Magazine For Every Child! Great Interactive Children’s Magazines Each issue contains stories, a craft project, a collectible poster and a workbook full of fun educational activities that are designed to give your child a head start in developing their early learning skills with the help of their favorite characters. Your child will spend endless hours stimulating their imaginations and having fun not realizing they are learning! These interactive magazines make the perfect gift!

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SPECIAL DISCOUNT CODE!!! Redan Publishing is offering 3decades3kids readers a special discounted offer plus a FREE bonus issue for ordering. Go to go http://www.redan.com/USFamilyGuide.htm and click on the magazine cover with your child’s favorite character to order.

holidaygiftguide15Disclosure: No compensation was given for this post. Diane Sullivan was provided with sample magazines in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are that of my own and honest. This post opp is in partnership with USFamilyGuide. Contact me at Diane@3decades3kids.net and @3decades3kids. This post is part of our #HolidayGiftGuide15 series.

The Hometown All Stars Is A Hit In Our House! #Giveaway

I am sharing this post as part of a collaboration with Bloggin’ Mamas and The Hometown All Stars. I received books and other items in exchange for my participation. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Hometown All Stars Logo

 

 

 

We loves books in this house! Every night is reading night so when I introduced my daughter to The Hometown All Stars she loved them immediately! She especially the loved the questions at the end of the story! Billy Ball was so much fun to follow along!

The Hometown All Stars is a book series for children that focuses on teaching early sports skills along with interactive, educational activities, and more importantly – fun! Kids ages 3-7 years old and parents, teachers, librarians, and others who want to promote “Less Screen, More Green” and get kids outside and active again! The Hometown All Stars series is also for parents who don’t know much about baseball and want to be ahead of the curve when their kids begin to play, for sports enthusiasts looking for a book that doesn’t involve talking animals to read at bedtime to their children, and for anyone interested in promoting the love of baseball and sports overall to a new generation. Visit the site at www.TheHometownAllStars.com

HOMETOWN ALL STARS AT A GLANCE

The Hometown All Stars Team

Nick’s Very First Day of Baseball

Nick's Very First Day of Baseball

Nick’s Very First Day of Baseball teaches children about baseball using real coaching techniques. In this interactive storybook, kids will find hidden baseballs in the pictures, answer trivia questions, and there’s even a page for autographs from their favorite players. Fun, interactive and educational.

Nick’s Very First Day of Baseball was entertaining along with teaching my daughter about the actual rules of baseball. Em loved the questions at the end of the story! 

Magic Bat Day

Magic Bat Day Cover
Magic Bat Day is the first real practice after the Hometown All Stars get their uniforms. Batting is the most fun of all skills and drills! This book concept shows techniques of how to hold the bat and where to stand. Most importantly, it shows that every kid can find their own ‘magic’ bat and the magic within themselves to hit the ball!

Magic Bat Day helped my daughter to learn the correct way to hold a bat. Since I’m not a baseball gal, it really helped me to help her! Bravo Hometown AllStars! The characters are easy to relate to and Billy Ball is awesome! 

BUY The Books & Help Others!

hometown all stars donations

BUY Nick’s Very First Day of Baseball for $12.99 (Print) or $3.99 (Digital)

BUY Magic Bat Day for $12.99 (Print) or $3.99 (Digital)

Get Social With The Hometown All Stars

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And Now For The Giveaway

The Hometown All Stars Giveaway- Ends 12-10-15. US 18+. Win a Barnes & Noble Giftcard, books and more!

Give­away begins Novem­ber 26th, 2015 at 12:01 am EST and ends December 10th, 2015 at 11:59 pm EST.
Open to US res­i­dents age 18 and older.
Win­ner will be selected by Random.org and be noti­fied by email.
See Give­away Tools wid­get below for full terms & conditions.

Dis­clo­sure: Blog­gin’ Mamas is host­ing this give­away and the Sponsor is responsible for prize fulfillment. While I received the items mentioned above, all opinions expressed are my own.

“Sharing with Care Bears” personalized storybook by Twig Tale #ShareYouCare

“Sharing with Care Bears” personalized storybook by Twig Tale

carebears1In this house we are all about reading. Being a child of two teachers means total exposure to all types of books. So when we had the chance to check out the “Sharing with Care Bears” personalized storybook by Twig Tale we could not wait. Reading is always more fun when a book is personalized. Who doesn’t love to see their own name and pictures throughout the story? In addition, our family loves Care Bears! We are a total Care Bear family for life.

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When it comes to creating your own personalized book, it is one word- easy! The book is online and you simply put in the photos of your choice and fill in the names. You can choose soft or hard covered copies at the end of the process. I have to say, I am pretty much obsessed with anything personalized and definitely am buying a few of these for the nieces and nephews. How can you lose. The Care Bears “Sharing with Care Bears” book also teaches a lesson about caring and sharing. We love books that bring up issues that children may be having in their own life. This book is  a great conversation opener for families.

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If you are looking for a holiday book, birthday book or any time book you really need to look no farther. There is just something so special about Care Bears and when you combine them with your own children’s pictures it is just a dream come true in a book. It will definitely be a book that will be read over and over again and passed down to generations to come. You can check out more about “Sharing with Care Bears” personalized storybook by Twig Tale here: https://www.twigtale.com/

holidaygiftguide15Disclosure: Diane Sullivan is a #ShareYouCare Care Bears Ambassador Blogger. All opinions are that of Diane Sullivan and completely honest. No compensation was given for this post. Sample product was provided in order to facilitate this review. This post is part of our #HolidayGiftGuide15 series. Contact me at Diane@3decades3kids.net and @3decades3kids everywhere else across social media. 

 

Snowland At Great Wolf Lodge: A Magical Experience #GWLhowlidays

Snowland At Great Wolf Lodge: A Magical Experience

GWLsnow3This past weekend our family visited one of our favorite getaway spots in the Poconos,  Great Wolf Lodge.  Saturday was the kick off of their winter holiday season,  Snowland. There is no time more magical to visit Great Wolf. Just entering the lobby will take your breath away between the floor to ceiling tree, lifesize Gingerbread House,  grand fireplace and the array of  glistening snowflakes that make you feel like you just stepped into a winter wonderland.

GWLsnow2Visiting during Snowland is different than visiting at any other time of year. Yes, you still get to hang out in the 84 degree waterpark no matter how much snow is outside, there’s MagiQuest and many other activities, but something is very different – it’s just a feeling of happiness that glows through the lodge. There are also special activities you will want to check out when you stay during Snowland. Santa will be on hand on the weekends for pictures and to listen to all of his little friends’ requests. A red mailbox is in the lobby that will deliver your message directly to the North Pole. You can stop by Great Wolf Kids where they will provide you with themed paper to write your Dear Santa letter on. So adorable!  We happen to be there the night Santa arrived via flashing lit fire truck, marching band and a bunch of characters. What a night!

GWLsnow4One of our favorite parts of Snowland is seeing the life sized Gingerbread House.  The house is made from gingerbread baked right inside the local GWL. It is adorned by cookies, candies, and over fifty pounds of Peeps!  Your family can even dine inside by making a reservation for one of the many seating. The is a ten dollar fee that you can feel good about. It goes right to the Ronald McDonald House. We have dined there a few times and it is just a beautiful experience. Your family will definitely be talking about it for years to come.

GWLsnow1gwlsnow7GWLsnow8Now for the ultimate in a magical experience. This year Great Wolf Lodge has added a new add on to your room. For $40 you can add a Snowland package on. If you are reserving a family suite you definitely want to request this. There are a limited amount so check it out fast. The Snowland package transforms your room into an incredible snowland complete with a decorated light up tree, the beds and other places adorned with light up pine swags, snowland themed blankets and shower curtain. As if that is not wonderful enough there are also take home prizes including a full size hard cover book to read over and over again and a snowland embroidered blanket. Our favorite part of the Snowland package was the cookies & milk delivered to our room by a GWL character. Our delivery was by Oliver, but any of them could have shown up. It was totally fun for everyone in the room! So, if you are heading the GWL this Snowland season, definitely give a call and check this out. https://www.greatwolf.com/

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Disclosure: Diane Sullivan is a Great Wolf Media Partner. All opinions are that of Diane Sullivan and honest. No compensation was given for this post. A deeply discounted room rate was provided and other on site perks. Contact me at Diane@3decades3kids.net and @3decades3kids everywhere else. Don’t forget to follow our #Roadtrip2fun tag for all of our travel stories. Happy Holidays! Very special thanks to the incredible staff and management at Great Wolf Lodge Poconos.