SweetART at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art

Last Saturday evening, we went to the SweetART family night at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach and had a great time. In addition to amazing interactive art exhibits, there was food, crafts, live music, kiddie spa treatments (courtesy of the Klumsy Moose), and even an open bar for the parents (score!)

Anne and James and I attended the event with our friend Sarah and her Baby A. I think it's safe to say that we all had a blast. We decorated heart-shaped cookies, made Valentine's cards for friends, and then explored the art gallery a little. Some of the things we enjoyed seeing included some really cool avant garde jewelry, a custom Vans exhibit, and even a few of our old favorites from the Chrysler!

But best of all was probably the ArtLab, "a space of activity and exploration" for children of all ages. Anouk and A. spent a lot of time sticking felt shapes onto different surfaces, playing with chalk, and jumping onto the giant beanbags that littered the gallery.

After a while in the ArtLab, we were called back to the main courtyard by the strains of the C-Shells, who did a live performance that had most of the room up and dancing. At the end of the set the lights came up and we left with our goody bags. But I know we'll be back again soon.

The next Family Fest at MOCA will be held on Feb. 24. And Feb. 21 is Pre-K Art Day! Will you be there?

The Virginia Legends Walk

A few weeks ago, Anouk and I explored the Virginia Legends Walk in Virginia Beach -- one of those little kid-friendly gems off of the Oceanfront boardwalk. There are so many of them and we have such fun discovering them all. Click over to My Active Child to read more about our visit! 

Air Power Park

We were big fans of the Air and Space museum when we lived in DC, and we're big fans of the Virginia Air and Space Museum, as well. But they just don't compare to Hampton's Air Power Park in terms of accessibility and pure magic -- because there is something magical about being able to get up close and personal with the fighter jets and rockets, to have so many in one place, and to even be able to reach out and touch them.

Anouk's love of airplanes seems to grow and grow, and so we made a special trip to Air Power Park last weekend. The park, located on fifteen acres off of Mercury Boulevard is hard to miss. You're driving along and then bam: rockets against the trees. The park features vintage aircraft and space exploration vehicles from the 1950s and '60s as well as an indoor museum filled with model planes and nautical vessels in exhibits dedicated to each of the armed services. There's a small playground behind the museum building, too.

A time capsule, interred at the park in 1965, to be opened in 2065. 

We followed the map around the rocket garden and saw the sights: a Thunderchief fighter jet, a massive Polaris missile, and best of all, a Mercury capsule used in the first manned spaceflight (along with the Little Joe rocket that launched it). The capsule was way smaller than either J. or I thought it would be...here's a photo of A. standing next to it, to give you some idea of how little it was. Because of it's cramped size, the astronauts used to say that it was "worn" rather than flown in!

Inside the museum, we had fun looking up at all of the vintage model planes made by a local donor starting in the 1940s. The NASA room also features small-scale models of the Challenger shuttle and the Mars rover, and of course we had to spend some time checking them out. The Cold War Era Room gave J. and me a weird kind of nostalgia -- it's strange to think how big and scary the Cold War stuff seemed to us back when we were kids, and how long ago and far away it all seems now.

Best of all, Air Power Park (because it's a public city park) is free -- a great bargain, considering that admission at the VA Air and Space museum can cost up to $20 per person! And considering that Anouk learned a new word while she was there -- she's still toddling around talking about "wockets." Priceless, you know?

To the moon! Let's go!

Family Day at the Chrysler Museum

The Chrysler Museum will be closing its doors for renovations on Dec. 30th. Some museum exhibits will still be open to the public in other locations, but the museum itself won't open again until early 2014. As such, we wanted to be sure to take advantage of the last Second-Saturday Family Day because it's going to be a long time before we get the chance again. (I keep thinking about how A. will be almost three by the time the museum reopens and it blows my mind). On Saturday afternoon, we met up with friends in the gorgeously decorated Huber Court and decided to have one last hurrah.

The Chrysler has several family-friendly events throughout the month, but Family Day is our  favorite, hands down. There are crafts, music, and stories. As usual, admission to the museum is free (although donations are appreciated). It's a great bargain and wonderful resource for art lovers.

This Saturdays theme was Build It! Accordingly, we stopped by craft tables in the courtyard to build miniature houses and Sculpey snowmen. While we waited for Anouk's snowman to dry, we heard a few stories in one of the galleries, and then roamed around some of the exhibits, including the amazing Diamond Dust and Anouk's old favorite by Pinaree Sanpitak. This time, she wasn't a bit scared of the chiming stupas, but she did try to lay down and snooze on a few, thanks to missing her nap (will she even still be taking daily naps by the time the museum reopens?)

Of course we also stopped by the beautiful poinsettia tree for some holiday pictures. None of which were very blogworthy (see above: nap, missing), but would make perfect additions to awkwardfamilyphotos.com. You'll just have to trust me on this.

This storyteller was amazing...every single eye person in the room, kid and adult, was rapt.

People are always saying, when they hear we're from DC, that we must miss the wonderful museums in the city. But the truth is, we don't, so much, and the Chrysler is one of the big reasons why. It's a fabulous, carefully curated place with wonderful staff and we're going to miss it. Goodbye for now, Chrysler! Although we're excited to see you in all your glory when you reopen.

The Chrysler will be open Wednesday through Sunday through the end of the month, with a big sendoff party on Dec. 26th! More info about that here and other events here.

Mount Trashmore

I have to admit right off the bat that Mount Trashmore is not one of J.'s favorite places. He comes from DC, a place where they ship their garbage off to West Virginia when they're done with it. They definitely don't heap it up in the middle of town and cover it with grass to make a nice little park out of it, no siree. He can't quite get over it, a hill made of garbage creeps him out a little.

But I do like Mount Trashmore -- I think I like it because it is a glorified landfill. Mostly because I have this Anne of Green Gableish streak in me that likes the idea of making something ugly into something pretty, something that can be enjoyed by everyone.  I have fond memories, too, of flying kites at the top with my dad, or rolling down the sides with friends. And it's refreshing to stand at the top of a nice windy hill. I forgot that, since becoming a flatlander again.

In any event, in an effort to combat the November blues, I've been trying to spend a fair amount of time outside this month, and Mt. Trashmore is a favorite destination. The park is a good one, with lots of climbables and swingables; there are always geese by the lake to wave at (scream at, in A.'s case); when the trees still had leaves, and after they had turned, the view from above was so pretty, and it's really only of the interstate, so that's saying something.  The stairs up to the top are a very effective workout (judging by the miserable cross-fitters we passed on our way up and down), and the loop around the hill and park is the perfect little after-dinner walk.

This was Baby A.'s inaugural Trashmore visit, and her thoughts on the place consisted of "Wow," "Cool," "Yay," and "Doggy!" Which sums it up, doesn't it?

Night at the (Chrysler) Museum

I've been meaning to take advantage of the Chrysler Museum's extended Wednesday hours for a while. Tonight J. & I were getting ready for dinner, and I turned to him and said, "Hey, want to go see some art?" He was into the idea, so we grabbed the baby (already in her jammies) and drove downtown to do just that.

There was one exhibit I especially wanted to see, by Pinaree Sanpitak. Basically, it involved a bare room full of these pobby silk shapes inspired by Buddhist stupas. WITH a hidden surprise...when you got close to the stupas, or touched them in any way, they began to vibrate and make a sort of chiming/buzzing/moaning sound.

If you weren't expecting it, it could be a little scary. 

The second exhibit we saw was "Charlotte's Web" by Charlotte Potter, a series of beautiful cameos (each one representing one of the artist's 864 Facebook friends) linked together by delicate chain. It was intricate and sly and humorous and I have a renewed love for cameos, now. 

I think we were the only ones in the museum (besides the staff), which was a really subversive and special feeling -- as though all of these amazing objects and paintings had been laid out just for us. We drifted through rooms of ancient pottery, passed walls of antique kimonos with outstretched arms, and knelt down to examine an Egyptian sarcophagus...  I could have spent hours pouring over everything but we were creeping up on bedtime and so we left. But not without planning to come back very soon. 

So that's the story of how a spur of the moment whim became one of my favorite outings ever.  Isn't it nice how that works?

 

FYI: Next Wednesday is Halloween, and the Chrysler is open until 9 PM again -- if you're in the area, you should stop by to see the staff dress up in costumes representing their favorite works of art in the museum! We would be there except we already have plans...somebody please go and tell me how awesome it was?

The Pagoda and Oriental Garden

I feel like the Pagoda is one of the best-kept secrets in Norfolk, which is strange because it's a big honkin' pagoda right in the middle of downtown. Hard to miss. But nobody seems to have heard about it. It's so well-kept that even I forgot about it until we stumbled upon it last Friday night on our way to dinner, and I used to cut class and eat lunch there visit it after school almost on a weekly basis when I was at Maury.

Finding it again was like a breath of fresh air. The garden surrounding the Pagoda is such a restful place. There are koi ponds and fountains and stone gates, water gardens and bamboo, all ringed with willow trees and set at the edge of Freemason Harbor.  We explored every single inch of the one-acre garden and enjoyed every minute.

It was especially fun to sit and people watch -- this one lady sat by a pillar and did the most meticulously beautiful beadwork the whole time we were there (can you see her special magnifying glasses in this pic?) I could have watched her all day.

Baby Anne and I played peekaboo in the willow trees for a good long while. Add in a walk along the pier and a sushi dinner at Kotobuki and you've got pretty much the perfect Friday evening.

Have you visited the Pagoda? Did you know anything about its history before you went?