• The Taiwan Sublime Photo Exhibit continues at the Stittsville and Blackburn Hamlet branches of the Ottawa Public Library;
• Enjoy free admission to the Museum of Nature on Friday in honour of International Museums Day;
• The Currency Museum’s special exhibit, ComODDITY, will take place Friday through Monday;
• Participating Cineplex Theatres are offering family favourites for $2.50/person – this Saturday’s movie is A Veggie Tales Movie;
• Saturday is Vietnamese Culture Day at Ottawa City Hall;
• Library and Archives Canada hosts Off the Beaten Track: Asian Canadians in the Creative Field Tuesday evening; there will be a reception and arts fashion show followed by a panel discussion. Admission is free with RSVP – email cultural.affairs@vietfederation.ca to register and for more information;
• Catch a movie at Rainbow Cinemas at the St. Laurent Centre – this week’s family-friendly showing is Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (Almost Frugal); and
• Find more suggestions in the monthly calendar for May and in my Year-round Activities listings.

Friday is the last day to enter to win two passes to Capital Vélo Fest’s Tour la nuit, and you can find details on how to enter to win a Household Membership from the Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation on my contest page. Good luck!

Have a great week!

Last year I blogged about a new bicycle festival that took place in June - Capital Vélo Fest. I’m pleased to say that last year’s event was such a great success, this year’s festival has been expanded to a full weekend of fun!

Capital Vélo Fest 2012 will take place on Saturday, June 2nd and Sunday, June 3rd, and will include a Bicycle Rodeo and Tour la nuit, a nighttime ride under the stars on closed off streets. Dick Louch, the driving force behind Capital Vélo Fest (or should I say, cycling force? :) has once again provided Frugal Fun Ottawa with two passes for Tour la nuit to give away. If you’d like to enter to win both passes (so that you can participate with a friend), just leave a comment below telling my why you’d like the passes. I’ll use random.org to choose a winner on Friday, May 18th at 7 pm. Please leave an email address that you check frequently – if I don’t hear from the winner by Sunday at noon I’ll have to move on to someone else.

Good luck!

• The Taiwan Sublime Photo Exhibit continues at the Stittsville and Blackburn Hamlet branches of the Ottawa Public Library;
• The Currency Museum celebrates International Museums Day with special presentations on Saturday and Sunday;
• Chinatown Remixed takes place on Saturday;
• Participating Cineplex Theatres are offering family favourites for $2.50/person – this Saturday’s movie is Chicken Run;
• Lowes is offering a Kids Build and Grow Clinic on Saturday (build a picture frame planter). Register by calling 613-830-6370 for the Orleans store or 613-836-3971 for the Kanata store;
• Carleton University’s Light Up The Night chemistry show takes place Saturday evening;
• Taiwan Movie Night takes place Tuesday at Library and Archives Canada;
• The Museum of Nature is offering a free public lecture Wednesday evening in honour of Asian Heritage Month. The topic is “Protective Equipment:Why Turtles Have It and Humans Need It” (reservations required; call 613-566-4791); 
• Catch a movie at Rainbow Cinemas at the St. Laurent Centre – this week’s family-friendly showings include The Secret World of Arrietty and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (Almost Frugal); and
• Find more suggestions in the monthly calendar for May and in my Year-round Activities listings.

 If you haven’t yet entered the two great contests I have on right now, you can find details on how to enter to win a Basic Household Membership to three are museums on my contest page, and details on how to enter to win four tickets to Rumpelstiltskin at the Ottawa International Children’s Festival in this blog post.

Have a great week!

And… I’m so pleased to have four tickets to give away! The winner will get to see Rumpelstiltskin on Sunday, June 3rd at 10 am. If you’d like to enter to win the tickets, simply visit the Festival website and leave a comment below telling me about which show or activity you think your child would like best. I’ll use random.org to choose a winner on Thursday, May 17th at 7 pm, and contact the winner by email. Please use an email address that you check frequently – if I don’t hear from the winner by Sunday, May 20th at noon, I’ll have to move on to someone else.

Good luck!

• The Taiwan Sublime Photo Exhibit continues at the Stittsville Branch of the Ottawa Public Library;
• The Tulip Festival kicks off on Friday!
• Participating Cineplex Theatres are offering family favourites for $2.50/person – this Saturday’s movie is Short Circuit;
• Jane’s Walk takes place on Saturday and Sunday (if you’ve never participated, I highly recommend it!);
• Kids can make a one-of-kind-creation for mom at the Nepean Museum on Sunday (a minimum $1 donation per child is requested);
• Celebrate Music Monday on May 7th with the NAC’s free luchtime concert at Ottawa City Hall at 12:45 - you can also take in the NAC Orchestra Bursary Competition in the NAC studio at 3 pm;
• Enjoy Asian American Film Night on Monday at Library and Archives Canada; admission is free but you must RSVP;
• Catch a movie at Rainbow Cinemas at the St. Laurent Centre – this week’s family-friendly showings include The Secret World of Arrietty and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (Almost Frugal); and
• Find more suggestions in the monthly calendar for May and in my Year-round Activities listings.

I have a terrific contest on until May 28th – you could win a Basic Household Membership to three area museums! Details are on my contest page.  I’ll also be blogging about another great contest on Monday so be sure to check back then. Good luck!

Have a great week!

See you Thursday when my weekly events listing comes out. :)

And for some self-promotion of a slightly different kind, Ruvini over at Kahoots Kids recently interviewed me about my frugal philosophy. You can find that post here.

See you on May 1st!

See you soon!

Gone fishing by Julia Folsom (Flickr Creative Commons)

My Reel Babies giveaway closes Friday, March 9th at 7 pm. If you’d like a couple of free passes to see an Empire Theatre Reel Babies movie showing, check out this blog post and leave a comment.

Have a great week – think spring!

Parents and caregivers will appreciate how difficult it is to go out when you have a young child; there seems to be so much equipment that has to be dragged along to make sure that baby stays happy, and irregular sleep and feeding schedules can make enjoying time away from home difficult. Hubby and I are pretty much homebodies, so adapting to life with B.G. wasn’t as difficult as it could have been. We weren’t too put out by having to skip dinners in fancy restaurants, but one activity we did (and still do) love was going to the movies. That’s why I love  Empire Theatres’ Reel Babies program – moms, dads, friends and family can go see a movie meant for grown-ups, in a real theatre, and they can bring baby along! Change tables, play mats, bottle warmers,even an exersaucer or swing are provided so that you can keep baby happy while you enjoy the movie. I can’t count the number of times I took advantage of this great program while I was on maternity leave, and I’m thrilled that Empire Theatres has provided me with six sets of Reel Babies passes to give away!

If you’d like to snag a couple of free passes, just leave me a comment below telling me about your experience with the Reel Babies program, or why you’d like to try it out. I’ll hold the draws using Random.org on Friday, March 9th, and draw winners will be contacted by email. Each winner will be mailed two passes valid until December 31, 2012.

Good luck - and enjoy the movie!