Until 10/31/09 - Artist/author Jimmy's exhibit Starry Starry Night

Jimmy (機米) has published over thirty books since 1998, which have been translated into nine languages worldwide.  His stories have been made into movies (eg"Turn Left Turn Right" starring Takeshi Kineshiro), music theme CDs (eg "The Sound of Colors").  In 2008, he worked with British author Joyce Dunbar to produce his first picture-book for children in English, "The Monster Who Ate Darkness".  I remember buying his first book when it came out in Taiwan.  My children (aged 3 and 5) love looking at the pictures in his books.

Until October 31st, you can enjoy Jimmy's The Starry Starry Night exhibit at the Huashan Creative Park.  The theme of this picture book is about growing up.  The exhibit itself is a cooperation between fourteen artists and designers, and uses a variety of styles and mediums to help us explore how people form their ideas about art and culture.

A mother I talked to today who has been to the exhibit describes it as an exhibit that will capture children's attention, with all kinds of wonderful things to discover.  She did warn that there are parts that are not suitable for taking strollers up and down (stairs), but said that you could just miss these small parts if it was too much trouble to get to them.

Tickets are 200/person.  Exhibit hours are 10am-10pm, everday.  There is a basic information booklet in English.
Taipei Huashan Creative Park Building 1.  (Bade Road Section 1, No. 1)

Chinese information (from the site):

幾米星空特展

展覽地點：台北華山創意園區中一館(台北市八德路一段一號)
展覽日期：即日起至2009年10月31日
開放時間：每日早上10點至下午10點(無休館日)

Official site (English section under construction):
http://www.jimmyspa.com/news/jimmynewsdetail.aspx?id=130

Oct 3rd '09: Voyage in Musical Land - NSO Theme Park with Ifkids Theatre Co.

Go on a treasure hunt with Zhan Yi-Fang and his magic stick.  You will witness dances in the Candy Kingdom, bullfighters in Spain, peculiar dwarves in underground caves, and even a beautiful Persian princess.  Ifkids theatre company has also arranged surprises in all corners of the venue.

You can buy tickets at the ticket office of the Cultural Hall, through agents, 7-11 ibon, or online at http://artsticket.com.tw/

Session 1: 10am-1pm  Session 2: 2pm-5pm
National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center's Cultural Hall  (CKS memorial hall, Chungshan Sth Rd, Taipei)
Tel: 02-3393-9888
$400/ticket (Friends of NSO 10% off; Family tickets 4 or more 15% discount; for other group discounts, call the number above)

Outdoor Area Shingkong Mitsokushi Hsin-Yi District building A8 4F

Go up to the fourth floor, and head out the doors next to the GIANT bicycle area. This open space is open during department store hours. It’s pretty hot out there during the middle of the day, but later in the afternoon it is very nice.


There is:
- A little sit-on train that you can ride once for free with any receipt from Mitsokushi for that day. Otherwise it is 20NT/circuit.
- Giant mechanical animals that you drive by pushing the accelerator and steering.
- Little merry-go-round and other sit-on toys.
- Basketball game

*All these need 10 coins. There is a change machine near the basketball game. The operator of the train can change your larger notes into 100NT bills if needed.
-Very nice free playground equipment. It gets a bit hot around noon, though.
-You can take drinks and food outside, and you have a nice view of Hsin-Yi district. Play area probably best suited for preschool-aged kids.

Address: 台北市松高路12號4F(新光三越信義A8店4F)  Song Gao Road No.12, 4F

Taipei Water Park - Swimming, museum, and more

This water park and museum is situated right behind Gongguan.  The park I am describing here is the public one, not the large private spa that is next to it. 

The water park area is great for kids, as the water is really shallow.  There is a playground in the middle of the pool which is constantly spraying out water, so if kids are afraid of getting water in their eyes, its best to take some goggles.   If your kids are really little, they can just play in the small pools at the entrance.

If you don't want to take your children swimming, you can do the easy walk up to Taipei's first water reservior, and let them run through the water pipe display.  There is also a museum that is fairly "hands-on", letting children learn a little bit more about where their household water comes from.

The best things about this place are, it's cheap, it's easy to get to, and it's got lots of different things to explore.

The official English-language site has lots of information:
http://waterpark.twd.gov.tw/english/waterpark/waterpark.htm

International Kite Festival, Shimen (Oct 10&11 2009)

• Stunts by International Performers and Traditional Kite Performances, both individual and team stunts
• Exhibition of traditonal and modern kites
• Kite Painting - participants in the day tour and other events will be given a DIY kite kit
• Workshop: DIY kites, windchimes, and windmills
•  Sales of Shimen Township's Agricultural Specialties - particularly seafood
• Shimen Day Tour

October 10th: 2pm to 5pm   October11th: 10am until 5pm.
Free shuttles from Hongshulin MRT station.
Address : Shihmen Township, Taipei Coutny


MRT/Bus:
1. MRT: Take the Danshui (Danshuei) Line to Hongshulin Station and catch the shuttle bus
2. Danshuei Bus: Danshuei → Jinshan (Laomei Village, Shihmen → Walk about 150 meters)

Car:
1. Taipei → Chongcing North Road Interchange → Provincial Hwy 2B (Dadu Hwy) → Danshuei → Provincial Hwy 2 → Shihmen → Laomei Village (intersection of Laomei Street and Danshuei-Jinshan Highway (Provincial Hwy 2)
2. Taipei → Yangmingshan National Park → Yangmingshan-Jinshan Highway (Provincial Hwy 2A) → Jinshan → Yeliou → Shihmen → Laomei Village (intersection of Laomei Street and Danshuei-Jinshan Highway (Provincial Hwy 2)
3. Sanchong → Wugu Interchange → Guandu Bridge → Jhuwei → Denghuei Blvd. → Provincial Hwy 2 → Shihmen → Laomei Village (intersection of Laomei Street and Danshuei-Jinshan Highway (Provincial Hwy 2)
4. Sun Yat-sen Freeway → North Coastal Highway Interchange → Provincial Hwy 2 → Shihmen → Laomei Village (intersection of Laomei Street and Danshuei-Jinshan Highway (Provincial Hwy 2)
5. Second Northern Freeway) → Sijhih → Keelung-Wanli Interchange → Wanli → Jinshan → Shihmen → Laomei Village (intersection of Laomei Street and Danshuei-Jinshan Highway (Provincial Hwy 2)

English site with details of this event (and others):
http://www.culture.tpc.gov.tw/common/html/enwizard/pcontent.jsp?dptid=101&cparentid=1114
Official website (Chinese only): http://www.shih-men.com/program.html

Thank you to Chinei for telling me about this fun event!

The Boy Who Sold Wings: A story about friendship

Tainan Eslite Bookstore B2 Arts Area

September 18th (Friday) 7:30pm, September 19th (Saturday) 11am, 2:30pm
Suitable for preschoolers and early elementary school students, the performance includes lively drama and enjoyable songs and music.


Cost: 300 (buy through www.artsticket.com.tw 兩庭院售票節目總表)

Family Concert: The cello looks for a wife

National Music Hall (Taipei City, Chung Shan Sth Rd No. 21-1)

台北市中山南路21-1號
September 19th (Saturday) 7:30pm
A cello born in 1690 now wants to get married! Who will he marry – the violin, the bass, or some other instrument?
Cost; 300/400/600/800/1200 (buy through www.artsticket.com.tw 兩庭院售票節目總表)
Tel: 02-3781-2306
Language: Chinese

新文明書店親子活動 Bookstore Parent-child Activities

Address: Taipei City, Chung Shan Nth Rd Sec 3, No. 30. (中山北路3段30號)

Tel: 02-2595-5558

September 19th (Sunday) 2:30-4:00pm

Discover their Dreams
Designed for children Grade 3 to Grade 6
Does your child like to draw? What is your child’s dream? Does your child have a study goal? Come along to help your child rediscover their love of learning.
Cost: 800, including materials
Language: Chinese


September 20th (Sunday) 2:30-4:00pm
The Magic to Learning Everything
Designed for children Grade 3 to Grade 6
Learn a method that will help your child learn everything easily.
Cost: 800, including materials
Language: Chinese

September 27th (Sunday) 2:30-4:00pm
Parent-child Activity
Designed for children aged 4 to 12. Using games, you can evaluate your child’s logic and communication skills.
Cost: 200, including materials.
Language: Chinese

BALI MUSEUM (NEAR DANSHUI) 十三行博物館

This museum offers some interesting activities and events, such as performances in the auditorium.


Until Sep 20 – exhibition of animal fossils dug up from the ocean near Penghu during the 70’s.
Until Sep 30 – DIY soap making (Sat, Sun 10:30-12, 15:00-16:00) $60 including packaging. The flier shows a beautiful heart soap in a box.


TEL: 01-2619-1313 – MUSEUM ROAD NO. 200, BALI (八里鄉博物館路200號)
Open Tues-Sun 9:30am-6pm
http://www.sshm.tpc.gov.tw/

Sept 5&12 10;30am and 2pm – Eden Garden – The Very First Garden in the Whole World by Mini Star Theater (the first drama group performing for babies-preschoolers in Taiwan)

This seems to be a hands-on musical/art/reading/dancing event. Kidschool online bookstore (http://www.kidschool.com.tw/) will be there coordinating parent/child reading time. School children &adults $200, all younger children $250.


This is part of the Taipei Fringe Festival. I can’t find clear address information so if you are interested, please go to the site http://www.taipeifringe.org/ for more information.

9/12-13, 2:30pm The US National Theater of the Deaf Presents the Little Theater of the Deaf

This might be a little late, but it is a good example of the kind of information I will post on this blog for now.

The children’s theater wing of the US National Theater of the Deaf, combines spoken word and American Sign Language, to create a way of storytelling to be long-remembered. Free tickets available from Aug 18th at Chinese Deaf Assn ROC, twl 2521-9876, or Taipei Zhungshan Hall Info Desk 2381-3137


Tickets limited, first-come-first-served.