Kidsburgh to curate activities, entertainment at Home & Garden Show

From selfies with a ballerina to campfire singalongs and kid-friendly yoga, the activities and entertainment scheduled for the Children’s Village gives families a break from the bevy of booths at the upcoming Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show.

Kidsburgh will be curating the live entertainment and activities at the Children’s Village for the first time in the Home & Garden Show’s 35-year history. Last year, more than 20,000 kids under age 12 visited the Children’s Village, according to John DeSantis, executive director of the event. The Children’s Village activities are included with paid admission to the show.

For the duration of the show from March 4th to 13th at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center,  Kidsburgh will offer hands-on coloring, making paper flowers and circuitry blocks from the Children’s Innovation Project. The Imagination Playground—enormous blue blocks provided by the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children– will also be open for creative play during all show hours. This year’s village will be located in the convention center lobby along the big windows facing the Allegheny River.

Kidsburgh is thrilled also to present the following special entertainment and activities during the busy weekend hours of the Home & Garden Show:

Saturday, March 5th:

From noon to 1 p.m., visit with special animal ambassadors from the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium and take a photo with the polar bear mascot. Stick around from 1 to 2 p.m. for a glimpse of the musical Charlie Brown performed by Pittsburgh Musical Theater and sponsored by WQED Multimedia. From 2 to 6 p.m., The Sprout Fund is presenting Remake Learning and the Digital Corps to teach kids how to remix websites, bring robots to life and create game controllers out of Play-Doh. Young stars from the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School will also perform songs on Saturday.

Sunday, March 6th:

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh will offer two hands-on activities. Make a leaf of gratitude to hang on the “Thank You Tree” and create a stained glass light catcher for a window at home, just in time for spring. Crisis nursery Jeremiah’s Place is hosting musician P.J. Williamson to lead an interactive singalong of campfire and children’s songs from 3 to 4 p.m. and will also share information about its emergency childcare services.

Sunday, March 13th:

From 11 a.m. to noon, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will introduce its musical ambassador Fiddlesticks to children at the village, while vocalist Katy Williams sings, dances and plays with visiting children. You can also snap a selfie with a ballerina from Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre between noon and 1:30 p.m.

Kid-friendly yoga exercises, courtesy of Shannon Carnemolla of Yoga Monsters, calms away any crowd-induced meltdowns from 2 to 3 p.m. Then catch songs from Matilda, South Pacific, Damn Yankees, Aida and Shrek, performed by the CLO Mini Stars from 3 to 4 p.m.

As the bedtime hour approaches, settle in with the Children’s Theater Festival and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust for story time from 4 to 8 p.m., including a larger-than-life version of the classic Goodnight Moon.

Sunday, March 13th:

Greet the morning—and the early-riser crowds—with kid-friendly dance moves and yoga from Aubrey Worek and Meghan Greenwood from 11 a.m. to noon. Then join the Carnegie Science Center in hands-on activities based on its Omnimax show, National Parks Adventure, from noon to 3 p.m. From 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., learn about healthy living from Dr. Todd Wolynn from Kids Plus Pediatrics.

In addition to the Kidsburgh entertainment, the Children’s Village will also feature live turtle races, toy trains and the Shady Lane Family Activity Center. Event organizers require parents to stay with their little ones at the Children’s Village.