FEATURED EVENTS

Laurie Berkner has been a professional musician since 1992, but her success as a children’s recording artist was a surprise to her. “It was so unexpected,” says Laurie. “I’d been performing in rock bands and struggling to write original music. Writing music for kids has not been a struggle at all. The more I started working on material for children, the more I realized that it opened up creativity in me that I never knew I had.” These days critics widely acknowledge Laurie’s major contribution toward launching what is now dubbed the progressive “kindie rock” movement – i.e. less saccharine, more rocking music that is not dumbed down for children. But it wasn’t simply an enormous amount of talent that helped create an entire genre and skyrocketed Laurie to her current position as “the queen of kids’ music” (People magazine). It was an ability to gain parents’ enthusiasm for the songs as well. According to Laurie, “When I’m writing a song, I’m thinking about whether the kids will like it and whether I’m going to connect to them through it. I’m also thinking about whether I want to sing it over and over again, so I guess that’s the part that connects with adults. ‘Old MacDonald Had a Farm’ is a great song for kids, but I couldn’t sing it 100 times!”

Cereal Cinema combines two of the best things about Saturday mornings: cereal and a great movie. Cereal Cinema combines two of the best things about Saturday mornings: cereal and a great movie THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS Bored with the same old scare-and-scream routine, Pumpkin King Jack Skellington longs to spread the joy of Christmas. But his merry mission puts Santa in jeopardy and creates a nightmare for good little boys and girls everywhere. A bowl of cereal is included with ticket purchase. Coffee and handcrafted baked goods are available for purchase at Coat Check Coffee before and after the movie.

Get a letter from Santa mailed to your child: a personalized letter from the North Pole with your child's name, mailed in a hand-addressed envelope. The letter is free; you cover $6.99 shipping. Want the real thing? Upgrade to a handwritten letter from Santa, written start to finish by a real person with a pen ($39.99, shipping included). Order by December 12.