THE RED COATS ARE SEEING GREEN: Veteran’s Park Clean-Up by Committee of 300

February 12, 2011

Grandpa Ron and Grandma Sue are members of the Committee of 300, a non-profit all volunteer group dedicated to supporting the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, CA, and performing Community Service for the citizens of Long Beach. This morning Grandma Sue and Grandpa Ron participated in the first ever Veteran’s Park clean-up in Long Beach, CA, with several other Committee of 300 and community members. We had a fun time actually! I think there might be some photos posted soon at the Committee of 300 site. If so, I’ll link to them. The Committee of 300 is also known as “The Red Coats” because of their signature red attire. Here’s an example photo.

THE RED COATS ARE SEEING GREEN

Committee of 300 Boasts Partnership with City of Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine
to Adopt Veterans Park and Announces First Park Clean Up Event

LONG BEACH, Calif., Feb. 4, 2011 – The Committee of 300 of Long Beach is excited to announce its partnership with the City of Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine by “adopting” Veterans Park located at 101 E. 28th St. The first park clean-up will take place on Feb. 12 at 10:00 a.m. and will continue on subsequent second Saturdays of every month.

6th District Councilman Dee Andrews is joining in the celebration of the partnership and will be on hand as will representatives from Councilman James Johnson’s office whose district the park borders.

“This year our board of directors has placed a strong emphasis on community service, and we’re very thankful to have gotten the support from city council members as well as from the Parks, Recreation and Marine department to help us make this happen,” said Committee President Salvador Farfán. “This is a great opportunity to make a positive impact in the community.

“We hope that by our being out there, the residents and business owners in the surrounding neighborhoods will join us and get to know one another while doing some good. The fact that it gives our members yet another opportunity for service and lets the public know that our organization is active year round is just the icing on the cake.”

The Committee of 300 has been the volunteer group associated with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach from the inception of the race. The famed “Redcoats” can be seen on race weekend as ambassadors to all things race-related as well as to the city of Long Beach. The rest of the year C-300 is THE premier volunteer group in Long Beach, volunteering on an ongoing basis with a number of non-profit organizations in addition to the yearly selection of one non-profit to be the recipient of funds raised by the Committee throughout the year. This year’s recipient will be the Historical Society of Long Beach. Last year the Committee raised nearly $5,000 for the Steel Magnolias of the Stramski Center.

For more information on the Committee of 300, visit redcoat.com or call (562) 981-9200.

Contact:
Salvador Farfán, C-300 President 2010-11
Salvador.Farfan@gmail.com
562 397-5674
or
Cheryl Portugal, C-300 Executive Assistant
562 981-9200
office@redcoat.com

The Committee of 300 website tells about the Long Beach Grand Prix race.

Check out other ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂


Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl VII to Air (12 pm PST/3 pm EST) on Superbowl Sunday

February 5, 2011

A cute version of ‘football’ will be on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb 6, at 12 pm EST on Animal Planet. Puppy Bowl VII will air complete with a Kitty Half-Time Show. Meet the players, see highlights from previous years and get behind the scenes on the Animal Discovery Puppy Bowl VII website!

Highlights from last year

Player Stats on the starting lineup are here.

Tail-gate Party info here.

Check out other ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂


Reno’s Rink on the River

February 4, 2011

This weekend is the last one for Reno’s Rink on the River! It closes on Sunday! If you haven’t had a chance to check out your skating legs yet, go for it! The kids will have great fun!

Hours for this last weekend:
6pm – 11pm today
11am – 11 pm Saturday
11am – 6 pm Sunday

Admission:
Adults: $7
Kids (3-12): $5
Seniors (55+): $5

Skate rentals are $2

For more info, here is their website: Rink on the River

Check out other ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂


Wild Bald Eagle Keeps Visiting the Orange County Zoo!

January 30, 2011

Tony Barboza of the Los Angeles Times has a great article about a wild bald eagle courting a female one at the OC Zoo, a small zoo in Irvine Regional Park!

Check out the fun kids’ activities going on at the OC Zoo, too!!

Ooooooooooo! Irvine Park also has a railroad to visit!!

This sure ended up a conglomeration of varied topics – all to do with Irvine Regional Park!

Check out other ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂


Happy New Year! May It Be Your Best Ever!!

January 2, 2011

Happy New Year! Please be safe and healthy! May this year be the best one we’ve had yet! There is so much to accomplish!! Take your kids/grandkids to a favorite museum or to one they haven’t visited before! Get them outside in the fresh air more than they were last year! Set some personal goals! I hope to get two more books published! I hope to reformat Grandpa Do It! I hope to get my marketing up a notch or two! Regards to all of you and your families!

Grandma Sue

Check out ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂


Look at the 12 Plankton of Christmas!

December 28, 2010

Here is a fun look at the Plankton in the ocean that look like Christmas decorations, snowflakes and angels. It was a neat surprise to find it on the Monterey Bay Aquarium blogsite.

Here is the series on environmentalgraffiti.com by Michele Coilet using photos by Dr. Richard Kirby, a Royal Society Research Fellow at the University of Plymouth.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a display of Sea Drifters in the Outer Bay that has been there quite awhile and is now going to get a new look – so you can visit the drifters until May 1. Here is a neat video on Jellyfish from the aquarium.

Check out ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂


Monday is Total Eclipse of the Moon!

December 19, 2010

Joe Rao on space.com explains the 12 stages of the total lunar eclipse that will occur on 12/20-21. The article has all kinds of additional links for related interesting information including a time table for different time zones. Here are some pictures of other lunar eclipses.

Check out ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂


Thanksgiving Photos

November 27, 2010

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and with phone calls with family. The weather was crispy but beautiful….









Check out ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂


2010 LA Auto Show

November 20, 2010

What a rainy day! Grandpa Ron and I are headed over to the 2010 LA Auto Show later today. Photo Gallery here. They have a Kids’ Zone. We will be working the table for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach as members of the Committee of 300. Here’s the Committee of 300 facebook page.

Here are the show hours and admission prices. You can print off a $2 discount coupon here.

Check out ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂


Morgan’s Wonderland – A Special Needs Special Place

November 6, 2010

Inspired by my friend Rob’s Facebook status today about Special Education Week, I decided today had to be the day I shared an old article I ran across the other day. I had saved it because I wanted to share it with friends whose new baby has spina bifida. It is Ticket to Ride in the October 4th People Magazine.

Because I know several families with special needs kids, the article struck me as very special. Here was a dad who could do something – and DID it – to make the world a better place for not only his own special needs daughter Morgan, but for others as well.

Gordon and Maggie Hartman created Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio, Texas. It is a place where kids can ride a train, a carousel, a swing or they can experience sensory activities such as the interactive music garden – all independent of their physical or mental abilities. Actually it is even better than that because special needs adults can also have these great experiences – maybe even for the first time in their lives.

ABC News ran a special report American Heart: Spreading Joy to Special Kids about the new park that opened last April 2010. Here is the vision for a park for special needs people as documented by Gordon Hartman in its conceptual phase.

The hours, pricing and directions are here.

Check out ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂