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Showing posts with label giveaways. Show all posts
Showing posts with label giveaways. Show all posts

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Got Rock Tots, Banger Babies or Punk Kin?! Win 10 Family Friendly Freebies To ChiIL Out With This Summer #Giveaways




Most of our family friendly fare lives over at ChiILMama.com.   But Mama says it's great to share, and since we know lots of our readers at ChiIL Live Shows have kids, and everyone knows someone who does... we're going to share these sweet giveaways over here, too.   

We're celebrating summer with hundreds of bucks worth of freebies including live concert tickets, 20 kindie (kids' indie) CDs and much more.   Check it out.

ChiIL Out with ChiIL Mama This Summer--Here are all our rockin' current giveaways in one easy place.   Enter any or ALL.  Good luck!


Enter here for your chance to win loads of books, DVDs/Blu-Ray, CDs, games, toys and more (open to anyone 18+ in the USA) and a ton of sweet Chicago theatre and family concert tickets.


We love summer time and want to share our ChiIL Picks List for rockin' kindie music, movies, eco-friendly finds, events and more with you, so 2013 can be the best summer vacation EVER.   We're giving away great fam friendly freebies all summer long!!  


Disclaimer:   Thanks to all the kindie musicians, theatres, authors, publishers, Warner Brothers and American Girl for providing us with giveaway prizes and review copies.   All opinions are our own.


Check back with us like we vote in Chi, IL... early and often, for loads of original content including video band interviews with kindie (kids' indie) favs, reviews, photo filled features, free downloads, new releases, and more great giveaways.


Here's the scoop:

Click the name of the giveaways below to enter & see our full feature on each.


#1/#2.  2 ChiIL Picks Book Bonanzas:



*Lost in Suburbia : A Momoir, by Tracy Beckerman (5 paperbacks available/$15 value each) Now extended through midnight 7/30. 












*The Ordinary Acrobat by Duncan Wall (5 hardbacks available/  $26.95 value each).  Enter through midnight 7/30. 


Watch for loads of our original circus content throughout the month of our giveaway.  We have video interviews with Cirque Du Soleil performers featured in the book, live show clips we've filmed at CircEsteem Shows, and loads of stills from international touring circuses including Cirque Shanghai, performing on Navy Pier all summer in Chicago, and more!


#3/#4.   ChiIL Picks Blu-Ray & DVD Movies







*Jack the Giant Slayer Blu-Ray/DVD combo!

Enter through midnight 7/9($44.95 value)








*Saige Paints the Sky (American Girl) Blu-Ray/DVD combo!  Enter through midnight 7/30. ($26.99 value)








#5/#6/#7.   

Rockin' 20 Kindie CD Extravaganza 


We're giving away sets of awesome brand new releases along with 2012 & 13 favs of ours.   All entries are open through midnight 7/30.   Winners will be announced on Winning Wednesday, July 31st!


It's road trip season ya know.   And time to ChiIL out and kick back with some of the best kindie artists around.   Throughout the month we'll be bringing you our original reviews and full info on each of the 20 CDs, along with original kindie band interviews, live show footage and more.   Enter to win any or all of these sets.   All of these CDs make it onto


ChiIL Mama's ChiIL Picks List.


*Set 1:  Great American Tunes 

for July 4th & beyond 

($74.95 value)


Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway


One lucky reader will win these 6 sweet CDs:












  • Ozomatli Presents Ozokidz (LA culture mashers known for singing about immigration protests, gang violence & hurricane Katrina they've now expanded their boundaries again and released a rockin' CD of kids' tunes about photosynthesis, spelling, balloons, germs, skateboards and a runaway moose that's so good you won't want to stop playing it the second you drop the kids at camp.  Freakin' hilarious, great musicians bringing quality, multicultural music in a range of genres.) $10



With five Parents’ Choice® awards to their credit, Ben Rudnick & Friends have what it takes to make recordings families love. Families also love their live shows, where the band’s unique dynamic transforms a concert into an event. The events are celebrations.

On July 11, 2008, the band set up at one of their favorite venues, the town green of Lexington, MA. The same green that saw the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Flying high from the string of

shows that comes with summer, saying goodbye to their accordion player Mark Yacovone who was moving to Mississippi the next day, and joined by Rob “It’s Saturday Night” Lee on saxophones, the band turned in an unforgettable performance.

Featuring songs from their first six recordings and some favorite cover tunes, Live in Lexington fills every available second on the CD with good time tunes as only they can deliver.

Live in Lexington has garnered BR&F their SIXTH Parents' Choice Award.
ChiIL Mama had the great pleasure of catching the Okee Dokee Brothers for a video interview and shooting their live show at The Beat Kitchen in Chicago, where we sponsor an annual, weekly kindie music concert series.   They're down to earth, cool guys, with an eco-friendly bent and talent to spare.   We've given away copies of Can You Canoe earlier this year.   Now check out one of their earlier albums, Parents Choice Silver Award Winner and one of our favs, Take it Outside. $15




($77.93 value)


*Set 2:  

Kidzapalooza Favs ($82 value):  


Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


ChiIL out with ChiIL Mama at one of the best kindie fests in the nation!   We've covered Kidza all 3 days of EVERY year of it's existance.   We'll be back again for 2013.   To get you jazzed for the fest, we're giving away a CD set including Ella Jenkins' latest release-Get Moving, and kindie favs that have graced the Kidza stage in years past.   One lucky reader will win 6 CDs from these Kidzapalooza Favs:









(These guys are long time favs of ours and we've had the pleasure of shooting their live shows at Kidzapalooza and catching them for a video interview.   They have a new release out--Deep Sea Diver.   But we also adore their last two, In Tents and Flying.)



($82 value)








Here's the rockin' 2013 Kidzapalooza lineup! 

  

Ralph’s World

The Not Its

The Q Brothers

The Blisters

Peter DiStefano & Tor

Jambo

School of Rock

Ella Jenkins

Kristian Bush

Perry Farrell

Special Guests



*Set 3:  

Windy Kindie CDs ($96.80 value!!)


Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Our own home town kids' musicians are awesome.   Look for these Chicago favorites at street fests all summer & at Beat Kitchen's Concerts for Kids again this fall.   One lucky reader will win these 8 CDs by Chicago Kindie favorites:




($96.80 value!!)



#8.  Mini Bunny Bonanza ($39.95 value)


Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


For those summer days when some bunny needs a nap and some big bunny needs a break!!   Let Randy Travis & Lilly Tomlin take over on the endless story reading detail for a while.   Then watch your little one drift off to sleep to Deborah Poppink sweet, original tunes.   She's an over 40 mom of 2, and she gets it!


Hop from Spring into Summer with bunny fun from our ChiIL Picks List for birth to 7 year olds.   *Some bunny will win both a DVD story collection & DidiPop CD! (Since bunnies know how to multiply over the summer months... we'll double this winning!!  2 winners chosen.)



  • Scholastic Storybook Treasures Read Along DVDs--The Springtime Collection featuring Max's Chocolate Chicken.   12 stories on 3 DVDs with narration by Lily Tomlin, Randy Travis and others.  $24.95 


Deborah Poppink is a kindie musician with 2 daughters of her own.  She says DidiPop comes from when I was a kids (“Debbie Poppins”) and because it’s fun to say and sing. The Beatles are my inspiration, and I was raised on pop radio from the 60s and 70s and musical theater. I started playing piano when I was 3, guitar at 9 and songwriting at 17. My mom says I sang the day I was born. I’ve always loved great music, a catchy chorus and interesting story.

“Bunny In The Moon: bedtime songs for falling asleep" is a new album of 14 original songs, designed to wind your child down to dream-land.

The “Goodnight Moon of children’s music. Your child will look forward to turning out the light and listening as s/he falls asleep to this intimate collection of winding down songs. 

Deborah says, as a mother who waited until she was 40 to start having kids, I pour as much art, music and mindfulness into my girls as I can… in small and fun doses. I hope that you will and can give your child music and art that inspires and teaches. I make music for my girls because it was my very best love as a child and it provided me with so much. I hope to share that love and present mindedness with you and your child…through song, rhythm and magic.


ChiIL Out in Chi, IL with theatre & live music:






#9.  Chicago Tickets-Family 4 Pack to Shrek at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre ($100 value) Your choice of any dates pending availability 7/13-9/1!   Enter through midnight 7/9.





#10.   Chicago Tickets-Family 4 Pack to Justin Roberts at Ravinia-Pavilion Seats

($40 value).  Enter through midnight 7/9.


Check back soon for his brand new release!!   We'll be reviewing it right here and giving one away.




Disclaimer:   Thanks to all the kindie musicians, theatres, authors, publishers, Warner Brothers and American Girl for providing us with giveaway prizes and review copies.   All opinions are our own.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

REVIEW: Jack the Giant Slayer 3D #original photos #review



ChiILin' out with ChiIL Mama & Jack the Giant Slayer Giveaways at CircEsteem Circus Arts School Monday




We've been eagerly anticipating the press preview of Warner Brothers' latest, Jack the Giant Slayer 3D, and we finally got to see it last night!   It was truly epic and the whole family loved it.   This show combines all the elements of great cinema, action packed battles with mythical creatures, unique costumes, brave underdogs, evil underlings, visually stunning scenery, romance, and a princess who kicks butt instead of staying home and being prissy.    

Sagezilla, my 9 year old daughter, was so jazzed to have another strong, female role model instead of the comatose princesses of my childhood, sleeping their lives away, awaiting a kiss from a prince.   Isabelle is a rockin' role model who longs for adventure and sneaks out often incognito.  She's even got a cool mom who gets it, and encourages her to have adventures as a child, and see how the world works, so she can better govern later as a queen.

Sure, the whole premise of man eating giants descending on mankind is pretty intense, and if you have younger kids and you're in doubt, read up, check out on line previews and reviews or see it yourself first.  We've found some sensitive tweens have trouble with extreme action films and some younger kids are just fine.  Everyone knows their own children's limits best.  Jack the Giant Slayer is rated PG13, but we were confident our 9 & 11 year olds could handle it just fine.   Jack the Giant Slayer is no more creepy or scary than Harry Potter, Star Wars, or the Lord of the Rings films.

The kids were enthusiastic in their praise for the movie.   Sure, it's based on the classic Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale and has other familiar elements.   My kids noted the "farm boy" and kids in bed hearing stories nod to Princess Bride, and the very gollum like mini head on the creepiest giant.   Yet, Jack the Giant Slayer is an entirely new tale as well, and one that's sure to become a family favorite for generations.

Sage looked at me with a huge grin as the movie ended and said "I may have nightmares for a month, but it was worth it!"  She slept just fine last night without a giant nightmare in site.  Jack the Giant Slayer is entertaining, enchanting and highly recommended.



Bean Stalk Scalers & CircEsteem Shows

WORLDS COLLIDE ALERT:  Two shows are opening in Chicago this Friday, that we're super stoked about, here at ChiIL Mama.... Jack the Giant Slayer 3D movie and CircEsteem's Performing Troupe Show, Circus Symphony, for two shows only.   



If a plague of giants descended on us, I'd want these super climbers on my side!   These confident kids don't flinch at heights, could scale a bean stalk with ease, and rock the aerial arts and acro...useful life skills whether you're battling oversized, man eating bullies or keeping fit and entertaining your friends.




We gave away 400 Jack the Giant Slayer 3D movie preview tickets to our readers and they were gone in a matter of hours.  When Warner Brothers offered us Jack the Giant Slayer show swag, too, we instantly thought of the CircEsteem circus stars.   Who better to show off the Next Big Thing T's than Chi-town's larger than life circus troupe?!    

One of the Circus Troupe kids is even named Jack!



These kids have some super sized skills and they're the most likely to actually be able to scale a bean stalk and take on a race of giants with panache. 












CircEsteem Proudly Presents

The CircEsteem Teen Ensemble!
Don't miss 'Circus Symphony'- the 4th annual youth created, directed, and produced circus show presented by the 'CircusTeens' of CircEsteem.

Circus Symphony is a fusion of circus arts and music that explores two seemingly separate worlds as one by combining the unique talents of the CircusTeen group.

CircEsteem's CircusTeen program engages young performers by offering participants  employment in the arts. CircEsteem hires the most talented and skilled teens to teach, perform, and mentor younger students and collectively have performed hundreds of shows around Chicago, the United States, and the Globe.

Showtimes are Friday March 1st and Saturday March 2nd at 7pm and tickets are sold on a sliding scale between $7 and $20.

For more info please visit our website!

2 Mar 2013 - 7:00 PM
Alternatives
4730 N Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL 60640


The troupe show is entirely written, produced and publicized by the kids themselves.   Come check 'em out.   We caught up with them at rehearsal Monday, and they were digging the Jack swag!







Sagezilla & other girls of action need great role models like Jack & the Giant Slayer's Princess Isabelle, who is not only pretty & passionate, but adventurous, active, brave, smart and kind, too. 
















We adore mighty girls, and know they have a nurturing space at CircEsteem, where boys & girls from toddlers to teens can embrace their strength and climb, flip, roll, and fly.

We adore CircEsteem for their mission statement, too.   They're a non profit and keep classes sliding scale.  They also offer free tutoring, college scholarships, and work programs to keep circus arts accessible and affordable to all Chi-town's kids, which is a giant sized task, especially in tough economic times when corporate donations are down!   


The team kids encompass a huge variety of races, income levels, and areas of town, and form lasting friendships with kids they'd otherwise never cross paths with.   If you're in a position to support them by seeing their shows or kicking in some monetary support, we highly recommend it.



If you're looking for circus arts classes for kids or adults or a rockin' summer camp, check them out.   Our family has been personally involved with CircEsteem for close to 3 years and couldn't be happier with the experience.   Our kids have grown physically, mentally and emotionally, in stunning ways, all while laughing, playing, and having too much fun.  


Even my son who was firmly on the shy side, has become a seasoned, confident performer.   I've never seen him grin so much and have such a great time as he does at CircEsteem.





Coming THIS Friday.....March 1st!

Disclosure:   Thanks to Warner Brothers, Gofobo, and the Jack the Giant Slayer movie for tickets and goodies to review and give away to our readers.  You rock!   Check out the Jack and the Giant Slayer movie opening 3/1/13.  All opinions are our own.

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