Lollibop Line-up and Giveaway

LOLLIBOP SET TO ROCK QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK THIS SUMMER

 

LolliBop, The Big Bash for Little People, is returning for 2013 to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, with an incredible line-up designed to delight mini festivalgoers.

Joining some of the hottest names in kids’ entertainment, as well as hundreds of activities, workshops and interactive demos, are the Mr. Men and Little Miss Village Green Event and Shaun the Sheep’s Championsheeps LIVE!





The ever-popular Mr. Men will be hosting a fun maypole activity area and favourite characters, such as Mr. Bump, Mr. Tickle and Little Miss Sunshine, will be meeting and greeting fans at the Mr. Men and Little Miss reading hubs.

Shaun the Sheep will be personally on hand at the Championsheeps with sheepy shenanigans, including Shirley’s Pie-athalon, the Naughty Pig’s Sack Race and Get Fit with the Flock. Kids and parents are ‘wool-come’ to get involved!

Other big names confirmed so far, include:

 

- LolliBop favourites Dick and Dom return with their special mix of madcap games, songs, jokes and a foam pie or two…

- Peppa Pig will be at the festival all weekend, meeting and greeting all her little fans

- Sid Sloane and Andy Day will be hosting their very own Big Birthday Bash and everyone is invited! Expect lots of energetic songs and silliness and plenty of audience participation

- Watch and learn how to ‘Copy Poppy’ with Poppy Cat on the Lolli Live stage

 

- Straight from Nickelodeon to the Lolli Live Stage, The Go! Go! Go! Show are bringing brand new pop songs, catchy, easy-to-learn dance moves and loads of laughs

- Sing and dance along with the adorable Cloudbabies mini show

- Older LolliBoppers will love The Diary of a Wimpy Kid activity, which include exclusive clips of the author Jeff Kinney talking about the books and a master class showing how he draws the characters. There’s also a Wimp Wars quiz

- Experience the life-size Transformer Optimus Prime Truck, along with the Transformers Station; showcasing the new Beast Hunters toys, viewings of the cartoon series Transformers Prime and free green screen pictures

 

- Witness the amazing wildlife showcase with National Geographic Kids Animal Man

- Laugh along with hilarious antics from the amazing 8ft Titan the Robot

Returning LolliBoppers will also see old favourites mixed with new attractions for 2013, including:

LolliBop Live – Popular CBeebies presenter Alex Winters is comparing the live stage which plays host to some of the biggest names in kids entertainment, with live music and performances from stars of stage and screen.

Lollipalladiam - is a live theatre tent showcasing performances from pioneering and internationally renowned companies and artists. This year it features Spooked, the critically acclaimed Broken Rose Performing Arts first show for children – a hilarious and spectacular blend of dance, theatre and spoken word featuring skeletons Molly, Jinny and Charlie.

Science Zone - Make a rocket, hold a dry ice cube, or get messy with gooey slime in the LolliBop lab - brimming with exploding experiments for pint sized guests to try! London’s Science Museum will also be attending with live demonstrations and interactive activities.

Run wild and have fun in the LolliSports area. With activities including retro favourites like swingball, hula-hoop and frisbee to football tournaments and sports day style races.

3ft and under is also making a comeback but this time is it within the brand new Itsy Bitsy Zone. Activities for babies and toddlers will include soft play, baby massage, storytelling, mini discos and much more

 

The Lolli Promenade – Situated on the River Lea! We’re very lucky to have a real river running through our new home, so why not relax and enjoy an ice lolly at the Lolli Promenade which also features beach hut crafts and bandstands.

Discovery Zone - will host a number of educational, interactive and hands on activities where kids can learn a new skill like beatboxing in one of the many workshops.

Lolli Stops – Enjoy crafts from puppet making, and customised fashion workshops, to balloon modelling, and graffiti painting, there is a something to make and do around every corner.

The Meadows - A perfect spot to chill out, enjoy your lunch and watch our special street performers.

There is also a wide selection of food and drink stalls at LolliBop. Extensive covered buggy parks, baby changing and breast-feeding areas are also available.

For tickets and more information: http://www.lollibopfestival.co.uk

 

 

*** WIN ***

 

For your chance to win tickets to Lollibop, up to the value of £100, you can enter via the Rafflecopter entry form below.

The giveaway closes at the end of 27th June 2013.

 

Good luck!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A woodland walk

Sunday was a beautiful, warm day so we decided to head to Salcey Forest for a family walk in the afternoon. I hadn't been there in years so I thought it would make a nice change from our local fields and parks. 

It's far more than just a forest, it has a tree top walk, play area and a lovely cafe too there.

Tree Top Way is considerably higher than I remember! Raising to 15 metres above the forest floor and with steps up to a crow's nest platform at 20 metres I did feel a little giddy at times. The Mini Mes jumping on the way didn't help my fear of heights, as it made the walk wobble quite a bit (eek), but I plodded on trying to remain calm awaiting the wonderful views from the top.

And wonderful they were...

There are rest stops every 24 metres which is the perfect opportunity to look out at the wildlife and take pictures.

Once out of the forest we stopped off for ice creams...

I'm linking this outdoor fun post with Country Kids

A day at the zoo

We arranged a few weeks back to meet up with some friends at Twycross Zoo, and thankfully the weather yesterday was glorious! Typically I'd packed coats and warm clothes yet the sun appeared and remained high in the sky all day, which was wonderful for us all.

Twycross Zoo is situated in Leicestershire and is open 364 days a year (they only close on Christmas day). With free parking, over 1,000 animals to see and a selection of fun activities and play equipment it's a great family day out. We have been many times over the years.

For the Mini Mes and I it cost £32.77, which includes a 10% conservation donation which you don't have to pay if you choose not to, and I really feel it's a good value trip. We arrived for opening at 10am and didn't leave until 5pm! 

A few snaps from our day...

 Ice creams at the end of a long day...

The facilities are really good with a huge gift shop selling everything from sun cream and umbrellas to pocket money goodies. There are plenty of toilets and baby changing rooms, kiosks stocking drinks and snacks and restaurants providing reasonably priced hot and cold meals - a kids lunch consisting of a roll, crisps, yogurt, salad pot and drink cost £4.55. Prams can get around with ease and there are plenty of picnic benches and flat grassed areas where you can sit and enjoy your lunch.

Peppa pig will be visiting soon too which is fab for all the little fans!

 To find out more about Twycross Zoo you can head over to their website http://www.twycrosszoo.org/home.aspx

I'm linking this outdoor fun post with...

 *We paid for our own tickets and wrote this review as we enjoyed our visit*

Project 366, 214/366 - Tangled

We enjoyed another afternoon at the library today making Disney Tangled themed crafts. Jamster got to make a sword and Minxy made a tiara then they both got to make flags and Pascal, the chameleon from the movie - so cute! If you would like your own to download I found it here for you to print off.

Mini Mess - Dolly peg butterflies

Crafts that you can play with after making are a favourite as they keeps the Mini Mes entertained for even longer. Following on from last weeks egg box bugs (which you can see here) we stuck with a bug theme and decided on dolly peg butterflies this week!

What you will need

Dolly pegs

Foam

Scissors

Pen

Googly eyes

Decorating items e.g sequins, glue, glitter

Have you been crafty this week or enjoyed baking with kids? You can link up your posts here to share!

Mini Mess is a weekly Wednesday link up to share all your fun activites that may have involved mess - be it mud, water, sand, chalk, paint or food!




If you would like to grab the badge you can use this code (highlight press ctrl and c then paste as usual):
<a href="http://www.theminimesandme.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj600/TheMiniMesandMe/pizap.jpg" alt="TheMiniMesandMe" width="90" height="110" /></a>

Project 366, 213/366 - Concertina caterpillars

We went to the library today for a mini beast event. I assumed it involved handling snakes, lizards, giant snails etc like an event they did last year but instead it was actually themed crafts! The Mini Mes made concertina caterpillars as one of the items.

Project 366, 212/366 - Cakes n bakes

The weather seems to have turned sour so some indoor entertainment was required. This resulted in some delicious flapjacks (recipe is here) and some Rice Krispies raspberry bites (recipe here).

Project 366, 211/366 - Playdoh

We enjoyed quite a lazy day in today after such a hectic week. The Mini Mes played in the garden for some of the day with their new bubble wands and then settled down at the table with some Playdoh. I purchased a machine and 12 tubs in the sale after Christmas and kept them hidden away in my wardrobe specifically for the summer holiday!

Project 366, 210/366 - Camp Bestival

We were at Camp Bestival today at the beautiful Lulworth Castle in Dorset. I'm so pleased that the weather remained warm as it really helped to make the day superb. We enjoyed some performances on stage from Mr Tumble, Dick and Dom, The Gruffalo, Shrek and Minxy's favourite, Rizzle Kicks. Here is Jamster in his cape and mask he made at the free craft tent.

Project 366, 209/366 - Bike riding

We enjoyed a love bike ride around the reservoir today. The views are stunning as you go around and there is a lovely area where you ride through woodland and we usually stop for tree climbing. Unfortunately the water was too high around the trees and we weren't able to today.

Woodlands Theme Park - Review and Giveaway!

Woodlands is the largest family theme park in the south west of England and is based in Totnes, South Devon. Open daily from 9.30am there is plenty to keep the kids entertained for an entire day, if not longer, come rain or shine.

The HUGE indoor play area consisting of 5 floors, 57 slides and 2 ball shooting arenas will put smiles on your childrens faces even if the weather is miserable outside. There is also bumper boats, a train, dune buggies, several water coasters and lots more to keep you busy including several cafes for a well needed pitstop. There are plenty of animals to see with a deer park, reptile house and big animal barn. You can pick up a schedule upon entry and watch ferret racing too!

Picture taken from the website as I forgot to take any inside

A family ticket (2 adults 2 children) costs £64 but there are other family tickets available too if you have more children coming along and if you book online you can save 20% ! There is also the option of a 7 day wristband if you are in the area for a while and kids under 92cm go FREE!

Our day at Woodlands
We arrived at opening time and after paying we decided to hit the rides before seeing the animals incase the queues got bigger throughout the day. Jamster wasn't in the mood for the Sea Dragon Swing Ship but Minxy was very eager indeed... despite covering her face when the ride was in action she really enjoyed it! Next up the Mr and Minxy went on the Bumper Boats which looked like great fun, similar to dodgems but on water. Safety jackets were provided and they appeared to have a great time while Jamster and I played on a nearby dolphin play area.

We worked through the mirror maze, dinosaur farm ride, the coasters (our favourite), a submarine ride and a few outdoor play areas before stopping for lunch at the Love's Grove cafe. Prices were reasonable and portions and taste were good. The cakes were really yummy!

After lunch it started to hail unfortunately but after taking shelter for a while Minxy went on the Polar Pilots and the Mr went on the Avalanche ride which looked quite scary in the Arctic Zone! We went to the falconry centre, fed lambs, completed the commando course and visited some other play areas too. It was a fantastic day out and to end it all off the gift shop is fab with loads of great value items to take home - there is the opportunity to paint your own ornaments too.

WIN

Woodlands have kindly agreed to provide a pair of tickets for a days entry to only lucky winner! All you need to do is use the Rafflecopter entry form below to enter before the competition close on 22nd July 2012. A perfect place to viist this summer!

GOOD LUCK!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
*We purchased our own tickets to Woodlands and wrote the review through choice. Woodlands are providing the competition prize.*