Beat the winter blues this season during the Wild Winter Weekends at the Detroit Zoo. Wild Winter is a unique, fun way to experience the magic of the Zoo in winter. Enjoy your favorite habitats indoors and out along with special activities including children’s music, zookeeper talks, crafts and much more.

Wild Winter festivities will be on select weekends in January, February and March, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.  The themes change monthly, take a look at the schedule:

Wild Winter Arctic Adventure
January 14 and 15, 2012
Celebrate the arctic chill of winter with ice carving demonstrations and meet some of the Detroit Zoo’s arctic animals with animal enrichment and keeper talks. Activities include arctic-themed arts and crafts, games and entertainment.

Wild Winter African Adventure
February 11 and 12, 2012
Celebrate Wild Winter African Adventure in honor of Black History Month. Take an African drum lesson or learn about African animals through storytelling with David Gakure, Kenyan naturalist and Detroit Zoological Society Education Specialist. Other activities include live entertainment, arts and crafts, games and educational experiences.

Wild Winter Safari Social
March 10 and 11, 2012
Escape the winter “blahs” with hot drinks and cool treats at the Detroit Zoo. Go on a winter safari scavenger hunt through the Zoo. Ice cream and hot cocoa will be available for purchase and activities include face painting, arts and crafts, animal enrichment and zookeeper talks

These events are free with admission:  $15 for ages 15 plus, $8 for ages 2-14.   The zoo is located at 8450 W Ten Mile Road, Royal Oak, MI  48067.  You can contact the zoo at 248-541-5717 or you can check their website for more information www.detroitzoo.org

The 39th annual Noel Night will take place on Saturday, December 3rd, 2011, from 5:00pm-9:30pm in Midtown Detroit’s Cultural Center Area.

Over 60 Midtown venues, including the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Historical Museum, and the Detroit Public Library, amongst many others, open their doors to the public FREE of CHARGE during this Cultural Center-wide holiday “open house.”

Activities include horse-drawn carriage rides, holiday shopping, family craft activities and performances by over 120 area music, theatre, and dance groups. Special performances by The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Tartan Terrors, Melvin Davis and The United Sound, and Breathe Owl Breathe. The evening’s festivities culminate with a community sing-along on Woodward Avenue led by the Salvation Army Band—a long-standing Noel Night tradition.

Noel Night activities take place in and around Midtown Detroit’s Cultural Center institutions, primarily between Cass and John R and Kirby and Willis. Free shuttle service is offered between participating venues. Convenient parking is available in area lots. Noel Night is produced by Midtown Detroit, Inc., a nonprofit community development organization that supports economic growth in Detroit’s Midtown district.

For more information, contact Midtown Detroit, Inc. at 313.420.6000.

Looking  for a fun, FREE event for the family?

The Weston Preparatory Academy (22930 Chippewa, Detroit, MI 48219) is hosting its annual Harvest Fest on Friday, October 28^th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the Detroit and surrounding communities. They have a lot of fun activities planned, including free dinner for those who come!

There will be a Halloween costume contest, trick-or-treating rooms, game rooms, arts and crafts, coloring contests, dancing and drawings as part of the activities. It is a fun-filled family event that parents and kids look forward to every year. Each month Weston hosts a family fun night for parents and guests in the community and it draws a big crowd.

WHAT: Wayne State University Fall Open House

WHEN: 9 a.m.-noon on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011

WHERE: Wayne State University’s main campus, Detroit, Mich.
Check-In at front of Undergraduate Library, 5155 Gullen Mall.
Parking is available in Structure 5, 5501 Anthony Wayne Drive.

MORE INFO: Prospective undergraduate students will have an opportunity to explore the campus and speak with admissions counselors and program representatives. Activities and resources include:

• Campus tours (including residence halls and the Recreation and Fitness Center)
• Bus tour of Midtown
• Financial aid overview
• Panel discussions with academic support services, current students and alumni
• Presentations by the Irvin D. Reid Honors College, College of Fine, Performing & Communication Arts, College of Engineering, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, School of Business Administration, College of Nursing, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and College of Education
• Tour the College of Engineering’s SMART Sensor lab
• Experiential activities in the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts
• Academic and student services resource fair

The open house is free and open to the public. For further information and to RSVP visit openhouse.wayne.edu, or call            313-577-3577      .

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is opening its bag of treats with several special FREE Halloween shows and goodies for kids.

It will be a frightfully good time including a costume contest, an instrument petting zoo, and live bats that will take over Orchestra Hall! Grab your costume and come on down for some spooktacular treats for the whole family. These Halloween delights are available thanks to the generous support of MASCO Corporation and the Henry Ford II Fund.

WHEN:            Saturday, October 29, 2011

                        10:00 a.m. – Rock O’Ween featuring the Candy Band

                        This Tiny Tots presentation is sponsored by the Henry Ford II Fund.

Come and listen as the four metro Detroit moms of Candy Band play children’s songs with a rock twist. Nursery rhymes will never be the same again!

11:00 a.m. – Thrills & Chills Young People’s Concert featuring Frank Oden

This Young People’s Concert is sponsored by MASCO Corporation.

Bring your little ghosts and hobgoblins for some symphonic entertainment, scary tunes and traditional music for the whole family. Poet and actor Frank Olden will accompany the orchestra with poetry readings befitting Halloween as he takes the stage in his finest, scariest costumery.

What Halloween event would be complete without a few vampires? Vampire bats that is! The Organization for Bat Conservation at Cranbrook Institute of Science will be on hand with its award-winning live bat display that is sure to educate and entertain all.

WHERE:            Max M. Fisher Music Center

3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Mich. 48201

To reserve your FREE ticket, limit four per order, log on to www.dso.org/halloween.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you couldn’t read?  Imagine what it would be like if you couldn’t read these words.

Roughly 47% of adults in the City of Detroit are functionally illiterate; they can’t fill out a job application, follow a recipe in a cookbook or read a story to their child.

A new coalition of business, civic, educational, philanthropic and media partners began an unprecedented campaign today to improve reading skills among adults in metropolitan Detroit, where estimates peg the rate of functional illiteracy at a third to almost half the adult population in some communities.

The campaign, called Reading Works, readingworksdetroit.org, is raising money and seeking volunteers to support nine agencies in the region that provide instruction for adults who want to learn to read, or to read better. The effort is seen as key to improving the work force in the Detroit area to attract employers and fill available jobs that require reading skills.

After a decade-long recession and the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs, the area’s unemployment rate is around 13 percent.

“We recognize a sad truth,” said Susie Schechter, Reading Works executive director. “Metro Detroit has far too many functionally illiterate adults, often below a fifth-grade level, unable to complete a job application or read to their children.

“It’s time to do something different, face up to functional illiteracy in adults, support the agencies’ earnest efforts, and address the problem realistically.”

The Reading Works campaign was launched with a special section in Sunday editions of the Detroit Free Press, one of the partner organizations. Other members of the Reading Works Alliance include Wayne State University, the Jewish Community Relations Council, the Michigan Chronicle, WXYZ-TV and Comerica Bank.

In an interview with Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley, who has written about the region’s adult literacy problem for a decade and is an honorary co-chair of Reading Works, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing acknowledged the drawback of the city’s literacy rate.

“We’re starting to see in Detroit more and more businesses that are here that are thinking about expanding, and more and more businesses that are thinking about coming here,” the mayor said. “But the real pushback has been – do we have the education level where it needs to be? … The education that we have here for our work force becomes a determination as to whether people are going to invest.”

The goal of Reading Works is “80 by ’20, which is 80 percent of adults in Metro Detroit functionally literate at a minimum 9th grade level by 2020.

“The challenge of adult illiteracy is not unique to Detroit – it is a state, national, international problem,” said Schechter. “But we will make Detroit the recognized leader in solving the problem.”

YO GABBA GABBA! LIVE!: It’s Time to Dance!  -  A Kia Motor’s presentation.  Two lively performances will take place at the beautiful Fox Theatre on Friday September 23^rd.   The showsare scheduled for 3:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Hip Hop Legend Biz Markie and Razzle Dazzle Gabba!-Favorite Leslie Hall Join DJ Lance Rock and the Colorful Cast of Characters will all be on stage.

Enthusiastic fans of all ages have the opportunity to see the characters come to life on stage for a live show experience like no other. The Show promises to be a memorable experience, featuring a mix of classic Yo Gabba Gabba! favorites, as well as new songs and new performances.  The state-of-the-art, high-energy production features DJ Lance Rock, Brobee, Foofa, Muno, Plex and Toodee, and a mix of music, animation, games, singing and dancing.

For more information on the show please visit:

http://www.ticketmaster.com/Yo-Gabba-Gabba-Live-tickets/artist/1370489

One lucky ready will win a 4 pack of tickets to see the show, here’s how:

Win it!

Yo Gabba Gabba  is providing Detroit Mommies with one 4 ticket package to see the show.

Entry Requirements

To win a copy, leave a comment below telling us why you want to see the show and which show-time you prefer.

The Fine Print

No purchase necessary to enter. Winner will be selected randomly through http://random.org. Detroit Mommies writers and contributors are ineligible to participate. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered. Detroit Mommies is not responsible products shipped from outside vendors or sponsors.  Open to participants in theUSthat are 18 years and older.  The contest will close on Monday, Sept. 19, 2011 @ 11:59:59 p.m. EST with winners selected on Tuesday, Sept. 20. Winners must respond to Detroit Mommies within 24 hours or a new winner will be selected.

Disclaimer: I was provided with complimentary tickets to see the show. The views and opinions are honest and my own. 

Two-time Grammy Nominee, KEM, will be bringing together recording artists this Sunday to deliver 5 hours of entertainment, in a charity event to benefit homeless shelters in the Metro Detroit area.

This event will feature music by KEM, Morris Day & the Time and opening acts Larry Lee, Savallace, Houtsauce,  and Gwenation, hosted by comedian Damon Williams.  For a donation of canned goods, you can enjoy all of these recording artists, free health screenings and sample tasty treats from local vendors.
All canned goods and t-shirt, beverage & financial proceeds will be donated to assistance organizations in Metro Detroit, including: Detroit Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit, Transformation Detroit, YWCA – Interim House, Sobriety House, Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, Harbor Light, L.I.F.T., The Salvation Army, NSO & Mariner’s Inn.

This event will take place on Sunday, August 28th, starting a 1pm in Detroit’s Cass Park.  For more information, please visit the Mack and Third website.

Comerica Bank will host a free old fashioned ice cream social at its new Michigan market headquarters, 411 W. Lafayette St. in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 26 from noon to 2 p.m. Join Comerica Bank colleagues and friends including celebrity scoopers Thomas D. Ogden, President, Comerica Bank-Michigan and Detroit Tigers Mascot PAWS for free ice cream, music and more. This event is free and open to the public.

Comerica is making a $17 million investment in downtown Detroit with the renovation of Comerica Bank Center — its new Michigan market headquarters. Comerica’s Renaissance Center and Fort-Washington banking centers have also been updated.

I don’t know much about cars. I’m usually pretty happy to just get from “Point A” to “Point B”, as evidenced by my own rusty Kia Sedona. It’s not a statement, it’s nothing fancy, no bells and whistles, just transportation. Label me what you will, but I look at a car I think more about interior features like cup holders, enough head room (I’m 5’ 9”!!!) and how high or low I can adjust the steering wheel.

Then, I was introduced to the Chevy Volt, the new extended-range vehicle from General Motors, and my eyes were opened to a whole new under-the-hood world. I’m by no means an expert in automotive technology, but I can explain how the Volt works, in lay-mans terms.

Essentially, the Volt is powered by a battery. You charge the battery by plugging it into any grounded outlet. It takes about 8 – 10 hours for the battery to charge, which will get you between 30 – 50 miles without using any fuel at all.

Once you run out of charge, the Volt uses fuel, but not in the traditional way. The gasoline powers a generator that powers the battery. It turns out that it takes less fuel to charge a battery than it does to run a vehicle.

It also uses regenerative power to charge the battery. I don’t quite understand the technology behind it, but somehow the vehicle is able to harness the energy from coasting and breaking to charge the battery.

Bottom line: charge the vehicle, when the charge runs out, the battery is recharged using fuel and regenerative power and it’s all done seamlessly and automatically. You just drive the car like normal, no special buttons to push, no switches to flip, you just drive.

I was amazed at how fuel efficient the Chevy Volt was. Not only did I become addicted to the “regen power,” I was completely obsessed with watching the power flow screen and watching my wheels create power!

Check out 0:46 – I love watching this in action!

I love the idea that a normal part of driving can actually help power the car. Between the initial daily charge, the regenerative power and the efficiency of using gasoline to charge the battery, my family really did use a minimal amount of fuel. I had the car for 5 days and drove it as we normally would. We didn’t limit trips to 30 miles, just went where we had to go, when we had to do it. At the end of 5 days, we traveled 380 miles and used 5.3 gallons of gas – that works out to be 71 mpg! I’m positive that if we’d have been a little more conscientious of our trips, the miles-per-gallon would have been even higher.

This car was just plain fun to drive. It can go from 0 – 60 in about 8 seconds, it handled beautifully and the Volt is quiet! So quiet that you could start the car and someone standing next to it would not know it’s on. The model I was given to try had a built in navigation system, Bluetooth, XM radio and more all controlled through a touch-screen display panel.

If you’re in the market for an eco-friendly car, I’d highly recommend giving the Volt a try. There are a few things to consider, though.

This is not a great car for:

• Large families: If you need to transport more than 4 people at any given time, this might not be the car for you. Because of the battery configuration, there are two bucket seats in the back, meaning you can’t squeeze in a third passenger.
• Hauling stuff: The battery configuration also limits the amount of trunk space in the Volt. If you need to haul around a lot of big items are shop at warehouse stores frequently, you may want to consider using a different vehicle. You could fit in a week’s worth of groceries for a family of 4, but you’re not going to bring home a new couch from Ikea.

This is a great car for:

• Commuters: If your commute to and from work is around 30 miles, there’s a good chance that you’d never have to use gas.
• Date nights: The car is stylish and luxurious feeling. It’s a perfect vehicle for going out on the town and leaving mom’s taxi behind.
• City Driving: The regenerative power is amazing. The more you coast and brake, the more you save in fuel.
• Easy Eco-Chic: You don’t have to change your driving habits to help save the environment and you don’t have to drive something that resembles something from Richard Scarry’s Busy Town either. The car looks & drives like a traditional vehicle, but has all of technology to make this one of the most efficient cars on the road today.

What are the features you look for in a new car?  Have you tried the Volt yet?  What do you think?

I was given the Chevy Volt to drive and invited to a series of Woodward Dream Cruise events (check out the photos on Flickr!), courtesy of Chevrolet.  I was not asked to write this review and the opinions here are strictly my own.

You can learn more by visiting the Chevy Volt website.