Hoot with Elizabeth Mitchell

Save this date: Tuesday Aug. 28 at 6pm. April Boyle, organizer of the beloved Detroit Family Hootenanny CD and kids' concert series, recruited Liz Mitchell and teamed up with the folks at Ladels bookstore in Corktown for an outdoor kids concert.

Only one year into the mom thing, I had no idea who this Liz (or is it Elizabeth?) Mitchell is. But a few online searches later, it appears hipster parents everywhere love her folksy stuff. I took a quick listen and must admit (sheepishly?) that I thoroughly enjoyed Bob Marley's Three Little Birds cover. I like when little voices chirp in.

By the way, we're not talking about the Liz Mitchell of Boney M fame, but rather the one who was roommates with Lisa Loeb at Brown University, now covering songs for little ones by Francoise Hardy, Woodie Guthrie and Lou Reed. Of course, most of you probably already know this.

There's talk of asking Eph McNally's to open for event. That way, you and your family can have dinner in the park across the street before or afterwards.

Playground Hours: Wednesday, Aug. 8

Ugh, this heat! If it's nice out, let's meet at the Riverfront. 5:30. If it rains, see you next week.

Playground Hours: Corktown

Last week was fun, but many of us circled and circled, looking for a free meter near campus, only to eventually pay to park in a lot for the remaining 15 minutes. So this week, it's on to the Corktown playground, where free parking is plenty.

When: Wednesday, Aug. 1, 5:30
Where: the corner of Porter and Brooklyn, across the street from the original Eph McNally's.

See you there!

Playground Hours, Finally!

We finally have our act together enough to hold the next proper playground meet-up, even if we're not giving ample notice. This Wednesday, let's gather at the Wayne State playground we met at a few weeks ago (see previous post for directions). The equipment spans the right range of ages, and a gate keeps [most] the kiddies corralled, so we can chit-chat.

Wednesday, July 25, 5:30pm. We usually stick around for an hour or so.

See you then!

Hiatus

Apologies for our disappearing act. Between summer vacations and the heat, we've been out of town and feeling pretty lazy. We promise to resume playground hours--and regular posting of other fun summertime events--in two short weeks. Until then, a few of the more ambitious members of DKC will be heading over to the Wild Summer Nights concert series at the Detroit Zoo on Wednesday. It's a children's themed eve, starring James Coffey's Animal Groove. So pack a blanket and a picnic and go. It sounds fun.

Playground Meet-up: Wayne State Playground

When: Wednesday, June 20, at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Playground behind the Helen DeRoy Apartments

Please join us for another DKC playground meet-up. This time we'll gather at the playground behind the Helen DeRoy Apartments on Wayne State's campus. The Helen DeRoy apartments are located at 5200 Anthony Wayne Drive. Regular DKC-meet-up attendee Courtney (she's gets an award for coming to every one so far) reports that there is a pizza place nearby if anyone is interested in grabbing some dinner before they head home. Usually we all leave when the kids start complaining that they're hungry, so maybe this time we'll extend the playground meet-up into a pizza party.

Hope to see you there!

Playground Hours: Belle Isle!

When: Wednesday, June 6 at 5:30 p.m.
Where: The big playground on Belle Isle

Please join us at Belle Isle this Wednesday. We've been moving the time around a bit and we'll shoot for 5:30 this week. We're trying to strike a balance between working parents and early bedtimes. If you can't make it until a little later, don't worry about it -- we'll still be there. I'm planning on bringing some snacks to share, since we always run into the dinner hour.

Hope to see some new faces this week! We've had a consistent group for the last two weeks, and the kids are really getting to know each other and enjoy playing together. We'd love to add a few new families into the group.