Cool Stuff To Do
Looking for fun stuff to do with the kids? Here are some possibilities:
MONDAY
ANN FRANK:
It is moving enough to read Ann Frank’s diary, and enter into the world of a girl just trying to be a teen while hiding out from the Nazis with her family, trying to escape the Holocaust. Her story becomes even more up close and personal in Through the Eyes of a Friend, a multimedia production from the Seattle-based Living Voices company, that tells her story through the perspective of a friend (played by a live actress), and enhances that actress’ performance with historical film footage, audio and audience discussion.
For the past 17 years the Jewish Community Center of Dallas has brought more than 20,000 children in annually to see the show, which is endorsed by the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C., through its FamiliArts Field Trip program for schools. This year, they are opening it to the public for one performance only - Monday.
And while it is aimed at students in grades 5-12, JCC cultural programs director Judy Cohn says she hopes that parents will come on this night to share the experience with their children and talk afterwards about the dangers of labeling, stereotyping and prejudice and where they can lead.
A discussion with Holocaust survivor Mike Jacobs of Dallas will follow the presentation.
Monday from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Jewish Community Center, 7900 Northaven Road. 214-739-2737. www.jccdallas.org.
$8, $6 students
GREEK GODS IN TEXAS
San Antonio author Rick Riordan, a former teacher who came up with a best-selling series when his son asked him to make up some new stories about Greek mythology, will read and sign copies of his third Percy Jackson book, The Titan’s Curse, Monday at 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Plano.
The fourth installment about Percy, a contemporary half-blood son of Poseidon, will be called Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth and will be released in May.
Monday at 7 p.m. Barnes & Noble Bookstore, 801 W. 15th St., Plano. 972-881-7526 or e-mail crm2586@bn.com. Tickets are available starting Sundayat 10 a.m.
Free
WEDNESDAY:
HAVE A HEART
Get an early start on Valentine’s Day with a free class on how to make hand-painted valentines Wednesday and Feb. 5 at Plano Community Theatre (the new name for Plano Children’s Theatre) in Plano. PCT’s resident scenic artist and fine arts teacher Neicole Woodall will instruct ages 5-12 in this program sponsored by the City of Plano. Wear painting clothes.
Wednesdayand Feb. 5 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Plano Community Theatre, 1301 Custer Road, Plano. 972-422-2575. Register by e-mail at Seakers1991@aol.com.
Free
CONTINUING:
THE ‘HOLES’ STORY
THROUGH SUNDAY: How will Stanley Yelnats survive a rough correctional camp in the Texas desert, where the warden has all the kids digging holes? What is the secret behind these holes? And what historical wrongs does Stanley need to make right before he can turn his life around? The youth troupe of Creative Arts Theatre & School (CATS) in Arlington presents a stage adaptation of the wildly popular Holes, written by Austin novelist Louis Sachar Creative Arts Theatre & School, 1100 W Randol Mill Rd., Arlington. Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2:30 p.m. 817-861-2287. www.creativearts.org.
$6
THROUGH FEB. 10
FOLLOW THOSE CRUMBS
Is there a gingerbread house lurking in The Women’s Museum? Well, maybe on the set of the Dallas Puppet Theater, which will present Hansel & Gretel, the story of a brother and sister who outwit a witch, in the museum.
Fridays at 11 a.m., Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. Dallas Puppet Theater at The Women’s Museum in Fair Park, 3800 Parry Avenue. 214-515-0004 for the Dallas Puppet Theater, 214-915-0861 for The Women’s Museum. www.thewomensmuseum.org.
$6
THROUGH MARCH 30: BEAUTY & THE BEAST Presented by Slappy’s Puppet Playhouse at Galleria Dallas. 214-369-4849. www.slappysplayhouse.com
INDEFINITELY: SLAPPY TIME CIRCUS LIVE! Presented by Slappy’s Puppet Playhouse at Galleria Dallas. 214-369-4849. www.slappysplayhouse.com.