9th Annual Worcester Firefighters Memorial 6K Race, originally uploaded by Claudia Snell.

We went out to the 9th Annual Worcester Firefighters Memorial 6K Race at Institute Park yesterday. There were a lot of people out there despite the very hot and humid weather.

Everyone seemed to be having a great time. Lots of activities and food. I got to catch up with one of my “Facebook buddies”.

Sarah got her picture and fingerprints done by the Molly Bish Foundation. They were providing free booklets to parents that include the photos and fingerprints. This is an important service they are providing. They do need support to keep doing it. Go to their web site for more information.

If you somehow haven’t heard of this event, maybe you’re new to Worcester; The Firefighters Memorial 6K Race is an annual event that raises money for local charities in the names of Paul Brotherton, Timothy Jackson, Jeremiah Lucey, James “Jay” Lyons, Joseph McGuirk and Thomas Spencer.

This year they were raising money for:
The Molly Bish Foundation
Alzheimer’s Association - Massachusetts Chapter
Connecticut Burns Care Foundation
The Firefighters Memorial Fund

They did have a nice spray set up at the finish line but it must have been rough running in that heat! I was just walking around and chatting with people and thought it was bad

The kids also enjoyed that spray a bit.

EcoTarium, Worcester, MA, originally uploaded by Claudia Snell.

Local lizard, Tycho, is horrified by unkind comments made about lizards and I don’t blame him. Tycho was so upset that he asked his human to post his plea for lizard tolerance. BTW - the photo is NOT Tycho. It’s the same type of lizard but this guy lives at the EcoTarium.read Hyphoid Logic’s post. Very funny stuff.

While you’re there, you’ll have to check this one out too. HL is on a roll today, making me laugh - and think. This second post is Hyphoid Logic’s take on the fairly recent increase in exorcisms being performed.

And in a completely different direction, Wormtown Taxi posted a scary link this morning. He found a story on the New York Times site that made me a little sick honestly. I am also sorry to say that I’m not really surprised by it. Basically, the story is about a few Harvard child psychologists that have been very involved in promoting the increase of putting kids on drugs for psych. problems not properly disclosing how much money they’ve made in consulting fees from drug companies. Like, millions of dollars worth were not disclosed for years, according to the Times. And now they are being investigated for conflict of interest. Wow. These are people who are supposed to be providing good information to the medical community so parents and doctors can do what’s best for children. How are parents supposed to trust the “experts” and be informed when this is what they do? As a parent, I send a big “thanks “to Wormtown Taxi for pointing out this article. I wouldn’t have found it otherwise. My next question though, what are parents to do to make sure the advise we are given is driven by what’s best for the kids and not by how much “consulting fees” the experts got?

stART on the Street, originally uploaded by Claudia Snell.

Last weekend I was trying to figure out what to do for fun. I have to say, it was a bit of a task. Despite all the great online tools for getting the word out, it still seems hard to find something to do with the kids on the weekends.

This week there’s been a change in that. I’ve been getting information about great stuff going on from all directions. I guess if you complain enough, people start sending you email to shut you up or something.

I decided to share some of what I’ve got so far. I’m just posting things I’ve got through the July 4 fireworks. I’ve actually been sent information about things out into September. Wow. I guess I won’t be able to complain about having “nothing fun to do” for a while now.

So, here it is, the big list so far:

stART in the Park
June 1st, 11 am to 4 pm
Beaver Brook Park, Mann Street, Worcester, MA
100+ artists and crafters, performers, food vendors, kids activities, local farms and organizations and more!

A day-long celebration of arts, crafts, culture, cuisine and fun in the sun! And it’s FREE! stART events are always fun. stART web site has more information.

Worcester Firefighters Memorial 6k Run/Walk
June 8, 2008 -1:00 p.m.
Institute Park, Worcester, MA
This annual event raises money for local charities in the names of Paul Brotherton, Timothy Jackson, Jeremiah Lucey, James “Jay” Lyons, Joseph McGuirk and Thomas Spencer.

This year they are raising money for:
The Molly Bish Foundation
Alzheimer’s Association - Massachusetts Chapter
Connecticut Burns Care Foundation
The Firefighters Memorial Fund

They have planned “a day of fun for the entire family with free food, live entertainment, raffles, a Kiddie Corner and more.” It sounds like a great time!
Check their web site for more

Grecian Festival
June 6, 7 & 8, See site for times
St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 102 Russell Street, Worcester, MA
Great food, live music, dancing, kids fest, church tours, art exhibits.
For information about the event:
Grecian Festival web site

Irish Music Festival
June 14th & 15th, Saturday 12 noon to 11 pm & Sunday 11 am to 6 pm
Worcester Hibernian Cultural Centre, 19 Temple Street, Worcester, MA

Live Irish music, Irish step dancers, a traditional Irish Seisiun and the first ever Boiled Cabbage O’Lympics. You’ll need to go to the web site for information about the O’Lympics. It sounds like it will be hilarious.

Tickets are on sale on their web site, $10 for a one day ticket, $15 for two days. At the door they are $12/1 day and $18/ 2 days. Kids under 12 are FREE.
Tickts and information on their site

5th Annual Asian Festival
June 29th, 12 noon to 6 pm
Italian-American Cultural Center, 28 Mulberry Street, Worcester, MA

The Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts hosts a celebration featuring music, food and traditional dances from Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Laos, Korea, Japan, Philippines and India.
FREE ADMISSION

Independence Day Celebration
July 3rd, 6 to 10 pm
Cristoforo Columbo Park, Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA

Enjoy a concert by the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra, children’s activities and a spectacular fireworks display.

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Ok, if you’re having an event or know of something fun to do with the kids, please drop me an email. I’ll be happy to post it.

If you are a grown up looking for cool stuff to do, check out Worcesterite.com and Worcester Magazine. They’ve got it all covered over there.

EcoTarium, Worcester, MA, originally uploaded by Claudia Snell.

The EcoTarium is a really cool building if you look at it from the right angle.

We went out to the EcoTarium over the weekend. It was a pretty quiet when we went. I’m guessing people were out at barbecues and stuff like that.

They’ve got some Dinosaur footprint stuff going on right now. It’s not a very huge display but the few kids that were there seemed to be having fun with it. They’ve got a couple of fossil footprints, a few informational kiosks and some hands on activities. It looked like a “make a footprint” station and some sort of game. I’d say if your kid really loves Dinosaurs it might be worth a look. Otherwise, it’s cool to see but not a big enough deal to plan a trip over there just to see it.

That being said - we always enjoy a trip over there. It’s just one of those places that seems like it would be “been there, done that” but ends up being a good time whenever we’ve gone.

My daughter had even started the trip complaining that she’s “Seen everything” and that “We’ll be done in an hour and then I’ll be bored”. Well, she was wrong. In fact, I ended up being the one that wanted to leave. After a few hours of walking all over my stupid knee decided that it hates me (again) and it just wasn’t much fun for me to be there anymore. “Miss Boring” had to be practically dragged out of the place (I had to bribe her with a trip to the bookstore).

Between otter trainings, crazy turtle activity, playing with the tide pool thing and examining the dinosaurs and all the other stuff, she found plenty to amuse herself. She even enjoyed the walk around the ponds. I guess she’ll have to learn to be a little more open minded next time.

I had a fantastic opportunity to shoot Industrial Sonic Echo at The Arc in Worcester.

This is MUCH better if you go to YouTube and watch the “high quality” version. Please go watch it there.

Visit ISE online for performance information.