a peek inside the fishbowl

30 Oct, 2009

New giveaway: Family Adventures at the NAC

Posted by andrea in: - Ottawa for kids| Giveaways and product reviews

Before I get into the details of this post may I pontificate for a moment about children and the arts?

Regular Fishbowl readers will know how important I believe it is to introduce young children to the arts. I’ve written about our visits to the National Gallery before, as well as other galleries here in town. I can’t say enough about it. Exposure to the arts fosters creativity, open mindedness, and joy in the details of life. Thankfully we live in a city in which we can do this fairly easily.

Yet, at the same time I remember my parents dragging me to various art galleries and musical theatre and me feeling rather miserable about the whole experience.

Here’s a free tip: find events that are age-appropriate and engaging!

Parents should avoid foisting cultural events on their kids in a heavy-handed and annoying kind of way. Do not stand over your kids with a wagging finger and use the YOU MUST ENJOY THIS BECAUSE IT’S FOR YOUR OWN GOOD kind of reasoning … as if you were arguing over a bowl of brussel sprouts.

Say it with me now: ART IS NOT A BRUSSEL SPROUT.

Okay?

Speaking of fun and accessible and non-brussel sprouty, the NAC has invited my family to attend the The Listener, part of the TD Canada Trust Family Adventures series. And you have a chance to go too.

Here’s the description of the show:

What happens when a bugle-playing mime who wants to sing opera, and a tap-dancing ballerina pop in on an NAC Orchestra Family Adventures concert? Come see and hear how Maestro Brott solves this comic dilemma, and how our two zany characters – and your children – learn all about the art of listening through humour, drama, and dance.

For more information about this show check out the NAC website or view a summary of the show on YouTube. (!) Sounds fun eh?

There will also be some free learn-and-play activities for kids of all ages 45 minutes prior to the concert. They are totally worth checking out so I recommend arriving in time for extra exploration.

This show is recommended for children age 5 and over.

This giveaway is good for four tickets to NAC’s presentation of The Listener. To enter:

  • Add your comment below and let me know if you’re interested in attending.   
  • The show takes place on November 21, 2009 at 3:30 p.m. Please make sure you’re available before you add your name into the draw!
  • I’ll pick a random name from all the comments on Saturday November 14, 2009 at 12 noon EST.
  • The winner will pick the tickets up at the NAC box office on the day of the show.

Over to you, and good luck!

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  3. >A musical giveaway from the NAC The NAC is hosting a blogger night on Wednesday, September...
  4. >Would you like to see The Changeling at the NAC? ETA: The winner has been chosen. Thanks for your entries...


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24 Responses to "New giveaway: Family Adventures at the NAC"

1 | Soire

October 30th, 2009 at 12:48 pm

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Don’t enter me, but I wanted to comment to say we’ve been taking the girls to these shows for the last 2 years (since the little one was 3) and they’ve always been a hit! We always buy passes for the whole season. :D

My favorite last year was Beethoven’s birthday :D

2 | Artsy Dad

October 30th, 2009 at 4:15 pm

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Sign me up! I REALLLLLY want to go to this event. I think it’s bilingual (the posters which I just noticed today are in both French and English).

I love to watch my girls watch a performance….all engrossed in the beauty of a live performance. Speaking of magic one-of-a-kind performances. We caught the incredible ARTISTS-ON-STILTS show at the Riverfest (Pinhey’s Point) a while back. I can’t remember the name of the troupe or the show but it was about a girl who is afraid of going to bed because she’s afraid of the dark. Incredible performance. And get this….the show started with the song “You are my sunshine” and right then and there, it started to rain but these super artists just kept on going. The rain did stop during the last few minutes of the performance. It was unbelievable/magic. Excellent show with amazing costumes and props. My girls were in awe - all the while a bit scared by the characters/costumes. Man that was good. Did anyone else witness that show? So cool!

3 | Josée Pharand

October 30th, 2009 at 5:12 pm

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I couldn’t agree more about the importance of introducing young children to the arts. The NAC also presents Kinderconcerts for children as young as three. I’ll be taking my daughter to see “Fred Piston and his 7 Trumpets” on Sunday, November 1st. We went to the last Kinderconert performance and she absolutely loved it! I just hope that we can continue to share this passion for the arts as she gets older.

4 | Mom On The Go

October 30th, 2009 at 5:59 pm

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I don’t need to win this but couldn’t resist commenting. We have bought season’s tickets again this year. The concerts are fabulous and bilingual. The hour long performance is just right for small people and the crafts, activities and instruments for trying out before the concert are right for small people, too.

5 | Susan

October 30th, 2009 at 7:16 pm

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Very interested in this… please add my name to the draw!

6 | andrea

October 31st, 2009 at 8:35 am

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So maybe I’m preaching to the converted? lol

If you have a subscription already you could try to win the tickets for friends and extended family… just a thought!

7 | Denise Janes

October 31st, 2009 at 11:18 am

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I’d love to take my kids to this! Please add my name to the draw. We haven’t been to this series yet but have attended the Kinderconcerts last year.

8 | Shannon

October 31st, 2009 at 1:16 pm

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I’m always looking for new things to do, please enter me!
Thanks!

9 | Jen_nifer

October 31st, 2009 at 10:02 pm

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While my son is only almost 4, I would love to try this out as his first NAC adventure. Please throw my name in the randomizer!

10 | maggie

November 1st, 2009 at 8:33 am

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Sounds like a great event. My family would love it. Two years ago we attended a free christmas concert at the NAC, it was in the foyer and was very kid friendly. We looked for it last year and couldn’t find a date. Do you know if the Christmas event, I think it was a food bank fund raiser, still takes place.

Thanks

11 | Susan

November 2nd, 2009 at 5:05 am

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Please add my name to the draw. We had a subscription to these last year, but decided to try the Kinderconcerts this year - the kids are 6 so both types of concerts are appropriate for them. It would be nice to go to this one so they get a bit of both!

Susan

12 | Meghan

November 2nd, 2009 at 8:59 am

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I would love to win!

13 | LANA

November 4th, 2009 at 8:54 pm

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This sounds fun…my son would love it. Please enter me in the draw:)

14 | MommyJen

November 8th, 2009 at 2:43 pm

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We have attended the Kinderconcert series at the NAC for the last four years with our girls … and they loved those concerts!! Our girls are now 7 and 4, so we are going to try the Family Adventures series this year. Having said that, I would love to win the tickets to pass along to some of our friends. Thanks for entering me in the draw!

15 | Don’t forget: The draw for the NAC tickets … >> a peek inside the fishbowl

November 13th, 2009 at 9:51 am

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[...] Read this post for more info and add your name to the comments of that post if you’re keen to win. :) [...]

16 | Cath

November 13th, 2009 at 9:55 am

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This sounds wonderful. Thank you!

17 | Debbie

November 13th, 2009 at 10:29 am

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I’d love to take my 4 y.o.actor-in-training daughter. Please enter me in the draw.

18 | Kerry

November 13th, 2009 at 10:47 am

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Please add my name to the draw as well. Sounds fun!

19 | Chrisitne

November 13th, 2009 at 10:51 am

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Sounds like fun,my kids ages 5 and 8 would love this!Please enter my name in the draw.Thanks

20 | Beth

November 13th, 2009 at 12:12 pm

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I love the NAC. My 7 and 5 year-old take piano lessons and my 3 year-old can’t wait to start. I’d love to win the tickets!

21 | Kim

November 13th, 2009 at 12:45 pm

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Please enter me. I’d love to win for my niece & nephew.

22 | KMM

November 13th, 2009 at 3:20 pm

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Enter me! I like Boris Brott…

I never got a brussels-sprouty feeling from a good show as a kid. It was more like getting a taste of being an adult [so I felt at the time] — dressing up and seeing something Important was a lovely feeling.

23 | sue

November 13th, 2009 at 6:40 pm

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please enter my name to the draw, i haven’t introduced my sons to the arts too much yet , this would be a great start!

24 | andrea

November 14th, 2009 at 1:01 pm

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The winner is commenter #19 - Chrisitne - who I think may have misspelled her name. :)

Congratulations! I hope you guys enjoy the show!

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My name is Andrea and I live in the Westboro area of Ottawa with my husband Mark and our two daughters Emma (11) and Sarah (9). I am a writer, web content manager, and family photographer. I've been blogging since 1999. I have a passion for words (on their own or strung together), the arts, healthy living, family travel, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa for parents and kids. I also love vegetables, books, and great design. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal ... all rolled into one. If you're so inclined you can read more about me here >>

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