Kids Culture 08.04.11

Playful Book

     Mariah Bruehl, an author and founder of the playfullearning.net Web site, which has received the Parent’s Choice gold medal, is celebrating the publication of her latest book, “Playful Learning: Develop Your Child’s Sense of Joy and Wonder.”

    The book, which will be in stores on Tuesday, offers simple activities that parents can do with their children to develop math, reading, and other skills while instilling a love of learning.

    Ms. Bruehl’s store, Playful Learning in Sag Harbor, has also expanded its services. The shop sells toys, books, and crafting supplies, and also puts together learning adventures for families to bring home, and offers workshops for children and parents.

Laughing at Ross

    Laughing Pizza, a band that includes a mother, father, and daughter, will perform with the Broadway Dance Center Kids on Friday, Aug. 12, at the Ross School in East Hampton.

    The band plays original pop music to get families up and dancing. Tickets for the concert, which will be held in the school’s Center for Well-Being on Goodfriend Drive, cost $20 for kids and $25 for adults. Showtime is 4 p.m.

Ross Scholarship Benefit

    Tommy Mottola’s and Ryan Ross’s Gallery Valentine in East Hampton will hold a benefit for the Ross School Chamberlain/Fairweather scholarship fund for the arts on Saturday evening from 6 to 9.

    Attendees will have a chance to glance at works by Picasso, de Kooning, Warhol, Botero, Jim Dine, and many others. The fund was founded to benefit Ross students who are interested in the arts and in need of financial aid.

    A percentage of the evening’s sales will go toward the scholarship fund, and cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served. The event is free, but reservations have been requested at [email protected].

KidFest Continues

    Guild Hall’s KidFest continues on Wednesday with two events — a circus and a chance to create art.

    The Handsome Little Devils will present the “Squirm Burpee Circus” at 1:30 and 5 p.m. The production, according to a release, “is an exhilarating, fantastical adventure featuring classic vaudeville comedy, high-skill circus acts, and a plot rooted in American melodrama.”

    Acts include a Human Cannon, the Ladder of Love, and chainsaw juggling. Tickets are $16 for adults and $13 for kids.

    Also on Wednesday, a hands-on arts and crafts workshop will be held for kids 5 and up from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Boots Lamb Education Center at Guild Hall. Participants pay $10.

    Tickets can be purchased over the phone, at the box office, or at guildhall.org.

Montauk Fun

    The Montauk Playhouse’s FamilyFest will continue tonight at 7 p.m. with a performance by Skyriders, a trampoline team that performs acrobatics and “hi-flying hijinks” with skis, snowboards, and even hula hoops.    

    Tickets are $15 per person. Next Thursday at the same time, Comedy Sportz, an improv comedy group, will perform. Tickets are available by phone or at Willow in downtown Montauk.

Of Boats . . .

    Calling all sailors! Well, sort of. The Amagansett Library will hold its fourth annual Paper Boat Regatta on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the library.

    Families will construct their own vessels, then put them to the test in a race to the finish line. The event is free.

. . . And a Goat

    Two puppet shows are on tap in the coming week at the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor. Today, tomorrow, and Saturday at 11 a.m. Liz Joyce and a Couple of Puppets will perform “Little Red Ridinghood,” a hand-puppet show for kids 2 to 7 years old.

    Next Thursday, Friday, Aug. 12, and Aug. 13 at the same times, the Talking Hands Puppet Theatre will present “Little Super Heroes,” a show appropriate for children in preschool through fifth grade.

    Tickets to each show cost $10, $9 for grandparents and members of the theater, and $5 for kids under 3.