Children's Programming
E-mail,
kids
ATTENTION! Parents and children of all ages!
Children's Programming is pleased to announce the return of the famed "Adventurer's Club". Our band of wild, witty, and wise explorers from the past, present, and future, will be meeting at L.A.con IV, prowling the halls in search of new members for their exclusive club.
Children between the ages of 5-12 and their families are invited to join "The Adventurer's Club" by participating in regular and special programming activities.
Have fun!
Play games!
Do crafts!
Try our cool contests!
Meet great guests!
Explore the convention!
How do I join the fun? To earn your "Adventurer's Club" badge, diploma, and other special prizes, all you have to do is -- Find as many members of the Adventurer's Club as you can, participate in sponsored activities and Collect Stamps and Stickers! Before you know it, your "Live the Adventure" passport book will be filled with special collectible stamps or stickers. Once that book is full, your kid and/or family will be the envy of all after their proud induction into the Clubhouse as a member of the "Adventurer's Club" team.
Adventurer's Club Rules Kids come first! In any "Adventurer's Club" activity, children will receive priority seating and attention. But the whole family is encouraged to join in and participate as a team.
Law of the Jungle! Members of the "Adventurer's Club" Cast include a range of characters, everyone from Federation Officers to Klingons, Han Solo to Imperials, Indiana Jones to WWII spies, as well as new players. Their goal is to entertain your kid and your family.
The convention has moved "CHILD CARE" and "BABYSITTING" out of the hands of Wookies and given that task over to a professional group.
Therefore, children under 8 may not be left unaccompanied at the Clubhouse. "Kids in Tow" must remain "In Tow". Kids with Children's Memberships or Full convention memberships have the same privileges and responsibilities as any other member of the convention.
The Curator, Staff, Cast and Members of the Adventurer's Club will not take responsibility for the care and well being of any other member of the convention, whatever their age.
Clubhouse Hours of Operation are to be determined but watch future Progress Reports and the L.A.con IV website for more details.
Come Join the Fun!
We need your help in keeping the cost of Children's Programming down. Please collect and donate these Items to Children's Programming. These things will be used in several projects including Treasure boxes, mask making and model making. Also, please collect anything small, the size of a shoe box or smaller and not glass, be imaginative.
For further information contact our Craftsmistress, Alison Stern.
Madame Ovary, the Lady with the Flaubertgasting Name, will be bringing her Amazing Trash Transformations. EGGSperience the Fine Art of Making Something Out of Nothing (Turning Negatives Into Positives). You can help us EGGSpand the possibilities by donating discards and surplus items. A partial wish list follows.
Printers' Foil (used -- especially interested in large, wide rolls for wings, but will happily take any color, any size.
Printers' 4-color Film (used. Rolls of transparent, blue, magenta, yellow; or blue, magenta, yellow, black. Or any other variants out there. We love the rainbow effects for wands and other art projects.
Die-cutters left-overs (circles, squares, triangles, and other shapes. Great stencils, cool crowns, and more!)
So, are you a Printer or Die Cutter? Know any? We're looking for leads, contacts, suggestions.
Pressure-sensitive (sticky) labels. (Any size. Rolls or singles. Product labels, bumper stickers, unused name tags, event/promotional -- We don't care what it says as long as it is adhesive/sticky.
GLITZ of all kinds. xmas garlands, bows, ribbons, silk flowers, broken jewelry, feathers, shiny industrial waste, holiday decorations, and such.
Nylon Stockings, panty-hose. Any color, any condition.
Socks: wild, wacky, weird, cute, colorful. Kid or Adult. Used (even abused) pairs, singles, orphaned. Doesn't matter. Bring 'em on!
Got something interesting? contact Amelia Sefton, aka Madame Ovary at (510) 222-8684, or via e-mail.
We're inviting kids and their families to drop by the Adventurer's Club (aka Children's Programming) to pick up a special passport book. Kids can fill up their books with special stamps and stickers to win certificates, really great prizes and a special one of a kind "Adventurer's Club" patch for their jackets.
Bid parties! Dealers! Exhibits! Special events! Here's where we need your help! There are three ways for kids to get stamps and stickers:
FROM YOU! We are inviting departments, bid parties, events, etc. to join the fun. Here's how to do it.
Go out to "Big Lots" or a stamping store (many craft stores also have stamps) and get yourself your own unique rubber stamp(s) and ink pad(s).
We're expecting 250-500 kids, so plan on that many stickers/stamps if you're not using a rubber stamp.
Bring your unique stamp and pad with you or your representative and drop by the Adventurer's Club Rooms (location TBA). We'll be setting up Wednesday. The Club Secretary will record your event(s) and qualifying stamp(s) in our big "Adventure Book" that the kids can check to see where they can get stamps. We will give you a special sign to display at your event or department or bid party, etc.
The only rule we ask you to follow is: only one stamp per kid's book, per event, per day.
We suggest you have fun with this! The idea is to introduce kids to all the wonderful aspects of fandom -- the art show, the parties, the dealers, panels, etc.
Some of our actors will be asking the kids to take the BALDERDASH challenge in order to get their stamps -- that means, telling Cast members an outlandish tale of their own adventure, encouraging them to use their imaginations. Make it easy for the kids to get the stickers, but make it fun too.
Kids can also get stamps and stickers by attending special Adventurer's Club sponsored events like crafts and special programs and tours. These are listed in the program book and updated in a handout schedule at the convention. Kids also get stamps and stickers by interacting with Adventurer's Club cast members. These folks will be in character, playing adventurers from the past, present and future. You can tell who they are because they are wearing a bright yellow sash with an "Adventurer's Club" patch on it. When kids see the bright yellow sash, they know they can go to that person to get a stamp or sticker.
FAQ: Can interested fans become Adventurer's Club cast members and give out stickers?
Answer: Yes, there's a limited amount of room for more folks to join the crew. You must meet all of the following requirements.
You must really enjoy being around kids and like to interact with them.
You must have the ability to act and stay in character.
You must have your own costume.
Your character must be pre-approved. We will consider walk-ins to the Convention.
You must agree to a short list of do's and don'ts involving child safety and character interaction.
You must agree to support the improvisation and story that the Principal Cast Members are spinning for the kids. That means taking direction from a Principal Cast Member if required. They're all professional actors who have been rehearsing for months to create a fun atmosphere for the kids and to tell a good story, so you're in good hands working with them.
You must agree to participate for a particular day and time -- a shift of several hours-- during which you will be playing that character as you go about the convention.
You must already be a member of the convention and agree to do this for love -- our goal is to help the kids have a really great time -- no one is being paid and there are no guest memberships available for additional actors.
Please contact Dana Ginsberg, our Casting Director, Dramaturge/Character Wrangler in advance by e-mail with what character you would like to play and when you are planning to be at the Convention. We are looking for recognizable Adventurers from the past, present or future. This should be a character from a book or movie or tv show or history. Fantasy characters are OK too, but we're looking for inspirational, upbeat, fun toned characters. Real trailblazing adventurers in every sense of the word.
Think Indiana Jones and Disney. If you want to be a vampire or a death dealing fire-breathing skull crusher, we apologize in advance, that kind of a character is not going to be approved to be part of the Adventurer's Club program. We're G to PG rated, and the goal is fun entertainment for kids of all ages.
Warning: Be creative when choosing your character. What Adventurer really inspires you? An astronaut? Amelia Earhart? However, if we've already cast someone as your preferred popular character/icon (like Han Solo), you'll have to choose to be someone else. We apologize in advance -- the rule is that we're not going to duplicate characters because we don't want to confuse the kids.
Once your character has been approved, you must plan to come prepared with a costume for that character. Find yourself a stamp that represents your character and an ink pad or roll of stickers and come sign in at the Clubhouse. Then you'll be given a baldric (sash) and be paired at least for a while with one of the Principal cast members who've been rehearsing for several months together so they can fill you in on what's going on.
With the sash, you can go to panels with that baldric and wander the convention interacting with the kids. There are a limited number of sashes, and therefore a limited number of characters out walking the con floors at any one time. You must return the sash at the end of your "shift".
WE ARE ALSO LOOKING FOR FOLK WHO HAVE SPECIFIC SKILLS, CRAFTS, KNOWLEDGE, OR OTHER SPECIALTIES THAT THEY'D LIKE TO DEMONSTRATE AND SHARE, AS WELL AS OTHER CONTENT PROVIDERS. Do you do a liquid nitrogen demonstration, or other "Science/Magic" show? Are you an Entertainer who'd like to do a drop-in set? Kid-friendly filker? Puppeteer? Storyteller? Blacksmith? Flintknapper?
Open CALL for ALL Kids and Former Kids (parents, too). This Club is for you! What would you like to see or do? Do YOU have some suggestions about ideas for panels, discussion or other cool things to throw into the mix? Contact Madame Ovary/Amelia Sefton at (510) 222-8684 or by e-mail.
Specific Questions? Contact Children's Programming at
kids
to find out more about this project. And thank you in advance for wanting
to make the Convention a fun place for kids.
Best wishes,
Madame Ovary (Amelia K. Sefton)
Dana Ginsberg
Karen Willson and Chris Weber (ghod-mom, Adventurer Emeritis, Adventurer's
Club Founders and Godparents)
Chairs: Children's Programming and Cast Director
Children have the following options for membership:
Children 4 years old and under are free. They must be with a parent or guardian at all times while in the convention space.
Children between 5 years old and 11 years old, inclusive, are eligible for Children's Memberships, at $50. This entitles the child to participate in Children's Programming and to go about the rest of the convention with a parent or guardian. Children should not be left unattended.
Children can, of course, have full attending memberships, giving them the same rights as any other member, including voting rights and publications. They can also participate in Children's Programming. Children who are full members should not be left unattended either.
The "Children's Programming" Department will cater to the young attending member, who would also have unescorted access to the rest of the convention.
It should be emphasized that the Child Care (i.e. Babysitting) service will be provided by a state-licensed, bonded firm; we will not be running the babysitting service ourselves.
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