A Club Circuit for Kids and Parents
Friday, July 7, 2006; Page WE27
Kids like music, right? But kids don't always have places to hear it.
For instance, Jammin' Java normally features acts geared to adults in evening concerts. But the venue also presents children's concerts weekday mornings (10:30 unless otherwise noted) with low ticket prices or donations suggested. Only the kids pay; moms, dads and nannies are on the guest list. The club clears out an area in front of the stage so the kids, mostly 5 or younger (the others usually being in school), can move around; their drivers can sit at the tables and drink java.
  Mr. Knick Knack (Steve Rossi) performs at Jammin' Java on Thursdays and Mondays. (2005 Photo By Gerald Martineau -- The Washington Post) |
Monday mornings feature singer-songwriter Miss Belle, followed by Oh Susannah at noon. Mr. Knick Knack is there Thursday mornings, as well as Mondays at 4:15. On Tuesdays it's Mister Don, Wednesdays the lively trio Rocknocerus and Fridays bluegrass-folk favorite Banjo Man.
These programs began as a way to showcase some of the area's children's entertainers, but Jammin' Java also brings in top national acts such as Ralph's World and Justin Roberts for evening concerts, mostly on weekends (everybody pays at those).
Also check the calendar at Iota Club and Cafe, which schedules occasional matinee kids shows.
The Music Center at Strathmore's Backyard Theater for Kids hosts children's concerts every Thursday morning in July at 9:30 and 11:30; tickets are $6. Coming up: DanceSingPlayDrum!, a workshop for all ages (Thursday); Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, exploring multicultural percussive dance forms (July 20); and musician-environmentalist Billy B. performing songs from his new album, "The Ways of the Bay" (July 27).
Strathmore's free outdoor concert series also has a couple of kid favorites in Debi Smith and Friends and Billy Coulter Band (Wednesday) and Trout Fishing in America (July 26). Those concerts begin at 7.
Wolf Trap also has cool concerts for kids. For opera acolytes, there's "Opera by Mad Libs" -- improvisational opera at the Children's Theatre-in- the-Woods Friday and Saturday at 11:15 a.m. The "lib" is accurate: Kids in the audience make up the story, and the singers create an opera on the spot. One of last year's mini-masterpieces was "Attack of the Bear" with this "plot": "Once upon a time on a snowy mountain, Mariah Carey and Batman went sledding every day until a bear came to find Nemo."
Also in July: Cantar?'s "Fiesta! A Celebration of Life in Latin America" in which singers Patricia Vergara of Brazil and Cecilia Esquivel of Argentina perform songs in Spanish and Portuguese (July 18-22 at 10 a.m.). And the acclaimed folk duo Magpie (Terry Leonino and Greg Artzner) celebrate the natural world in "Living Planet" (July 25-29 at 10 a.m.).
JAMMIN' JAVA 227 E. Maple Ave., Vienna. 703-255-1566.http:/
IOTA 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. 703-522-8340.http:/
THE MUSIC CENTER AT STRATHMORE 5301 Tuckerman Lane, Bethesda. 301-581-5100.http:/
WOLF TRAP FOUNDATION FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS 1645 Trap Rd., Vienna. 703-255-1900.http:/
-- Richard Harrington
