You're invited to celebrate the opening of four new exhibits designed for preschoolers & their families at Telfair Museums ArtZeum, Jepson Center, 11AM-2PM Sat. May 19

Click here to check out the many kid-friendly happenings in Savannah & Hilton Head Is. this week.

Highlights include:
*Last Toddler Tuesday of the season at Oatland Island Wildlife Center;
*Toddler Third Thursday which will meet at the Telfair Museums’ Owens Thomas House in Savannah for a featured living history tour & scavenger hunt. Toddlers will experience the home with characters dressed in period dress;
*FREE Tybee Island Beach Bum Parade;
*FREE Telfair Museums’ ArtZeum (kids’ museum) Opening Celebration to celebrate the opening of four new exhibits designed for preschool children and families.

For details on those events & a list of more kid-friendly happenings, click here.

Just a quick reminder that Scribble Art Studio Summer Camp in Savannah is offering a half off early bird sign up (deadline April 20).  Don’t forget to sign up!

Scribble offers week-long summer camps for 4-7 yr olds; 8 year-olds & up. Full camp details are up on Scribble’s Facebook here & the Scribble Art Studio website here. (Click on events for camp class descriptions & more info.)

MORE LOCAL SUMMER CAMPS, CLICK HERE

For more information, contact artist Carrie Christian at 912-323-0123 or email ScribbleArtStudio@hotmail.com . Click here for more info. Scribble Art Studio a SouthernMamas.com advertiser.

Oodles of Easter family activities happening in Savannah & Hilton Head Is. this upcoming week of April 2 including the Oglethorpe Mall Chick Hatchery where kids can watch chicks emerge from their shells; Easter Egg hunts galore; SCAD International Festival; Opening of Sand Gnats Minor League ball; Easter Blast @ Skidaway Is. State Park; outdoor Gregg Russell children’s concerts & many more Egg Hunts and other kids’ events.

For details on those events & a list of more kid-friendly happenings, click here.

To find out all the family activities happening this week of March 12 in Savannah & Hilton Head Is. including the 2012 Savannah St. Patrick’s Parade (and map of parade route); a NEW Free Spanish storytime for kids in Savannah; U-pick strawberries;  Toddler Third Thursday, Jepson Center for the Arts: and much more, click here.

A Mommy-to-Be Expo is Sat. March 3, from 10 AM to 2 PM at the Richmond Hill City Center, 520 Cedar St.

The Mommy-to-Be Expo will feature a pregnancy question-and-answer session w/ an OB/GYN, a spring maternity fashion show, prenatal yoga, healthy cooking for two, and more. There will be more than 30 vendors exhibiting products and services of interest to expectant parents.

Admission to the expo is free. Prize drawings will be held throughout the day for a variety of items, including baby equipment, massages, gift certificates, and much more.

Children’s Movie Day for ages 3 and up with their families at the Hilton Head Branch Library, 1 p.m. Refreshments are served. Call for details and movie title.
(843) 255-6529 or www.beaufortcountylibrary.org.

If you need a new heating & air system, there’s never been a better time to buy.

Be one of the next 25 residential customers to change out your system & be entered to win $5K in cash.

Galbreath & Sons Heating and Air is proud to announce that they will be giving away $5,000.00 to one of the next 25 customers that replaces their residential air conditioning system.

The next 25 change out customers will be entered into a drawing for up to a $5,000.00 cash prize!!! Call Galbreath for more info or a free quote.

Call Galbreath & Sons today for more information or a free quote. 843.200.0012. www.GalbreathAndSons.com.

Galbreath & Sons is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser.

Happy Holidays, SouthernMamas.com readers.

For a complete listing of all the kid-friendly shows, classes, activities happening during holiday break in Savannah & Hilton Head Is., please visit the SouthernMamas.com Events Calendar by clicking here. Enjoy!

Look for our weekly e-letter to arrive in your email on Mon. Dec. 26. If not a subscriber to the free weekly e-letter, sign up in the left sidebar.

For the SouthernMamas.com guide to best home holiday lights displays in Savannah & beyond (including those fun computerized lights that flash off and on in sync to music), click here.

Don’t forget to enter to win the current SouthernMamas.com giveaway: four tickets to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Presents Barnum Bash coming Thu. JAN. 19 – Sun. JAN. 22 to Savannah Civic Center. To enter to win, click here.

The SouthernMamas.com November giveaway is sure to get you in the holiday spirit.

This month, you can win Breakfast with Santa! The lucky SouthernMamas.com reader will win a breakfast with Santa at The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa’s Aqua Star (2) adults (2) children.

To enter to win, like the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa on Facebook by clicking here and answer this question on their wall: “Santa is coming to the Westin for Breakfast! What will you ask him for Christmas?” Not into Facebook? You also can enter to win by answering that question below this post (Just click on comments)

Deadline to enter is 8 PM Nov. 30. We’ll pick a winner and announce it here and on SouthernMamas.com Facebook.

Breakfast with Santa
Sat. Dec. 10, Sat. Dec. 17, Sat. Dec. 24 2011, 9 AM – 12 PM.

Join us at Aqua Star to see our favorite jolly friend from the North Pole. Celebrate the holidays and enjoy breakfast overlooking the Savannah River and historic River Street and meet Santa! Be sure to check the Gingerbread Village located in the main lobbies.
www.westinsavannah.com/aquastar
Please call 912.201.2085 for reservations

The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa, 1 Resort Drive, Hutchinson Is., Savannah,  31421, www.westinsavannah.com

The majestic training ship DANMARK, considered Denmark’s nautical ambassador, will be docked at River Street in downtown Savannah & open for public tours until Sept. 17

DANMARK sails as the first foreign ship behind the EAGLE in official Tall Ship Parades. This year DANMARK is going to visit two ports at the US East Coast, Savannah, September 13-17 and Philadelphia, September 23-27. Afterwards the ship will cross The Northern Atlantic and return back to Denmark.

During the vessel’s stay in Savannah there will be open ship to the public on:
Wed. Sept. 14  2 – 4:30 pm
Thurs. Sept. 15  2 – 4:30 pm
Fri. Sept. 16 2 – 4:30 pm
Sat. Sept. 17  10 – 11:30 am

The Ship
Built in 1933, the DANMARK is a steel-hulled, three-masted fully-rigged ship. It has served as training vessel for young people seeking careers at sea. The ship is property of the Kingdom of Denmark and is capable of sailing around the world. The ship has 26 sails and 219 ropes. A main engine is used in low wind conditions.

Children’s Ocean Art Class. Part of Savannah Ocean Exchange events
Loop It Up Savannah

11a.m., 2 p.m.

Tybee YMCA

Children will create an ocean-themed art project that will be displayed in the “Oh Say Can You Sea Savannah” exhibit in the Tybee Post Theater.

For more kid-friendly activities that are part of the Savannah Ocean Exchange month-long celebration in September 2011, visit the SouthernMamas.com Savannah Ocean Exchange Family Activities page here.

MOMS Next: For moms with children K-12

The Islands MOMSnext group offers community, mothering support and hope to mothers of school-aged children, from Kindergarten through High School.
The group welcomes and accepts every mom who hopes to be inspired to reach her full mothering potential and influence within her family and her world. MOMSnext believes that better moms make a better world.
Islands MOMSnext Meeting Information:
Where – Islands YMCA; 66 Johnny Mercer Blvd, Savannah
When – Every First and Third Monday of each month (excluding holidays), beginning Monday September 19, 2011.
Time – 10 – 11:30 a.m.
(Childcare provided upon request)
For more information or to register for a meeting, call (912) 898-4344 or email kymmccarty@hotmail.com
MOMSnext is a ministry of MOPS International (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers), a non-profit, non-denominational support organization for mothers.

The Latin American Services Organization (LASO) announces the 6th annual Fiesta Latina, a festival that will feature Latin American culture with more than a dozen free live performances.

Performances will showcase a variety of Latino cultures through folkloric song and dance, as well as music ranging from salsa to reggaeton. The festival will be an event for the whole family, featuring a talent show, live art demonstrations, cultural and informational booths, as well as face painting and kid-friendly events. There will also be vendors selling food from cultures as diverse as Mexico, Puerto Rico and Brazil.

Free & open to the public.

For more info, visit www.savannahga.gov/arts . On facebook: LASO of Savannah. Call (912) 238-2032.

Live Performances Include: Orquesta con Clase * Iraida Valdivia * Grupo Kachimbo * Fusion Latina * Diego Val * Perico Orgullo Panameño * Miss Lucia * Tradición Latina * El Gordo Magico * Son Del Coqui *

UPDATE: Congratulations winner Carolyn Perry!

Atlanta’s own Laughing Pizza will launch their Give 2 Get Tour 2011, in support of Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB), 3 PM Aug. 28, 2011 at the Historic Savannah Theatre in Savannah.

A lucky SouthernMamas.com reader will win a FAMILY FOUR PACK of tickets. To enter to win, just “like” the Laughing Pizza Facebook page here and answer this question on their Facebook Wall: What’s your favorite kind of pizza? Be sure to say SouthernMamas.com sent you as part of a giveaway for the tour kickoff Savannah concert! Deadline to enter is midnight next Thurs. Aug. 18.

Can’t wait for the giveaway?  Tickets are $17 for children 13 & under, $22 for adults (children2 & under are FREE). Purchase tickets online by CLICKING HERE or at the theatre box office. Visit www.laughingpizza.com  for more information about the band! The theatre is located at 222 Bull St. Savannah, GA, 31401.

Beneath their colorful pop exterior is a multi-layered musical family of real-life mom (Lisa), dad (Billy), and daughter (Emily), whose combined talent makes up the nationally known, TV friendly family band called Laughing Pizza. Their music videos, or “Pizza Breaks,” are seen daily on PBS in millions of homes around the country.

It’s a family-friendly rock/pop concert that you won’t want to miss! Plus, expect an extra special meet and greet for all fans following each show. A portion of proceeds from all ticket and merchandise sales will go to GBP. The dates listed below have been announced. CLICK HERE for the full schedule and to purchase tickets. Check back often as more dates will be added and tickets for all shows will be available soon! On Sept. 20, 2011, Laughing Pizza will release their new live concert DVD and CD, the follow up to their successful hit CD/DVD Let’s Go Play!

Dates for the Laughing Pizza Give 2 Get Tour 2011

Sun. Aug. 28, 2011 Savannah The Savannah Theatre
Sat.  Sept. 17, 2011 Rome The DeSoto Theatre
Sun.  Sept. 18, 2011 Athens The Morton Theatre
Sat.  Oct. 1, 2011 Avondale Estates Avondale Estates (More TBA)
Sat. Oct. 15, 2011 Macon The Cox Capitol Theatre
Sun. Nov. 6, 2011 Atlanta The Buckhead Theatre

Add one more Savannah theatre to the list of those offering $1 morning kids movies during the summer: Victory Square 9 on East Victory Drive.

A big thank you to the reader Suzanne Pablo for the info. 

To find out which kids’ movies are playing at Victory Square and two theatres at Savannah Mall and one in Pooler, click here.

The Armstrong Atlantic State University Educational Technology Training Center has two remaining creative computer camps this summer for children grades 4 through 8. Cost for each camp is $150 and includes morning and afternoon snacks. All instructors are certified teachers. Camps will be held from 8:30 a.m.- 4p.m., Monday-Friday, on the Armstrong campus in University Hall, Room 125.

The schedule is:

Hooray for Hollywood (Grades 6 – 8)
July 11 – 15
Kids will learn the basics of creating digital movies, digital photographs, and Podcasts.

Cool Tools for Kids (Grades 4 – 6)
July 25 – 29
Kids will learn the basics of creating Podcasts, digital photographs, Web sites, animations and digital stories. Campers need to pack a lunch each day or they may purchase lunch in the cafeteria. For further information or to register, please call Wendy Marshall at 912.344.2633.

Cost: $150 per week, includes snacks

To download registration forms, click here

Armstrong Atlantic State University, 11935 Abercorn St., Savannah, GA 31419

FOR MORE LOCAL SUMMER CAMPS 2011, CLICK HERE.

The festival has a little bit of everything from Water Craft Sports, and fishing events, to air show, arts & crafts, pageant, Blessing of the fleet, lots of sports events, live music and more. Just take a look at the massive schedule of events. http://www.bftwaterfestival.com/