Rumpelstiltskin.
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

A young princess turns straw into gold with the help of an old troll in the Old Michie Theatre’s marionette rendition of Rumpelstiltskin. The classic Grimm’s fairy tale, adapted for the puppet stage, features hand-carved marionettes from the Czech Republic, sound effects, and a flying magical spoon. 221 E. Water St. across from the Water Street Parking garage where play goers can get two hours free parking with a validated parking ticket. 977-3690.

Children, Youth & Family Services offers a free workshop on Choosing a Quality Child Care Program. Participants can learn more about why quality child care is so important for your child’s development and how to find it in our community. Free child care is available and requires advance reservations. Gordon Avenue Library.  296-4118, ext. 0.

A Virginia Festival of the Book StoryFest Event. Mary E. Lyons reads aloud her Aesop Prize-winning picture book Roy Makes a Car at the Virginia Discovery Museum. Based on stories collected by Zora Neale Hurston, this is the featured children’s book for the Big Read in Virginia. East end of the Downtown Mall. 977-1025.

A Virginia Festival of the Book StoryFest Event. Pre-schoolers and their families can enjoy a story and activity hosted by Play Partners, a program of Children, Youth & Family Services, Inc. Refreshments are available for purchase. C’ville Coffee, 1301 Harris St. 817-2633.

Model railroad village.
PHOTO BY Marada - Flickr

Visitors to the Virginia Aviation Museum can explore the 9th annual model railroad extravaganza featuring scale train layouts, a LEGO-sized Richmond, hands-on workshops, and activities for children and adults. Learn how to set up a basic model train layout or take an advanced molding clinic. Inspect a supersonic spy plane, the SR-71 Blackbird. 5701 Huntsman Rd., at the Richmond International Airport. 804-236-3622.

Once again, Oakley’s Gently Used Books hosts a Kids’ Book Swap as part of the sixteenth annual Festival of the Book. Kids ages 0-18 are invited to collect the books they no longer read (ask your parents first), bring them to the center hallway in York Place today, and swap them for new books. Downtown Mall 977-3313.

PHOTO BY  My Boy Dodger - Flickr

SOCA invites players of all ages to trade in their cleats and other soccer gear or just come and buy at their Equipment Sale and Exchange. Turn in used equipment and get a further discount. Recycle usable shoes, balls, shin guards, etc. All Exchange items must be clean and in good condition. South Fork Soccer Park, 1685 Polo Grounds Rd. 975-5025.

Einstein, 1921

Photo by Ferdinand Schmutzer

Amazement Square invites kids of all ages to discover the mind behind German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein by taking part in hands-on physics activities. Explore a balloon that won’t pop, create a temperature-sensitive bubble-blowing machine, and witness the potato plummet. 27 Ninth Street, Lynchburg. (434) 845-1888.

Tarantula.
PHOTO BY Jason Scragz - Flickr

Animals and insects from around the world visit Amazement Square today. Visitors can meet hissing cockroaches, tarantulas, giant millipedes, snakes, iguanas, sugar gliders, and more as they learn about the rainforest ecosystem in the museum’s Imagination Studio.  27 Ninth Street, Lynchburg. (434) 845-1888.

Harriet Tubman

Picture from Famous People: Selected Portraits From the Collections of the Library of Congress

The Children’s Museum of Richmond celebrates the rich heritage and creativity of the African-American community through a special performance by Ibe Crawley. The storyteller performs a dramatic telling of the journey of Harriet Tubman on the Underground Railroad that includes songs, repetition, and dramatic gestures. The historically accurate story is broken into two parts, each lasting about 25 minutes. The first part will detail Tubman’s childhood, and the second part focuses on her journey as a fugitive slave. The story is told from two perspectives-a slave girl and a northern abolitionist-and focuses on the themes of self-determination and liberty. Following each session, Ibe leads a discussion about the craft of storytelling and answers questions from the children. 2626 West Broad Street, Richmond. 804-474-7000.

The Old Michie Theatre holds open auditions for students aged 11-18 for its spring production of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. Their new adaptation of this classic novel includes period style acting, costumes, and dance. The theatre is casting an assortment of male and female parts for characters such as Marianne, Elinor and Margaret Dashwood; Colonel Brandon, Edward Ferrars, Lucy Steele, Mr. Willoughby, Mrs. Jennings, Fanny Dashwood, Mrs. Dashwood, Sir John and Lady Middleton and others. Auditions are fifteen minutes long and include cold readings from the script. Actors should come to auditions with a familiarization with the story and be prepared to recite a monologue committed to memory if they want to be considered for leading roles. A production fee will be charged to help defray production costs, and complimentary tickets are given to each actor’s family. Call to sign up for a fifteen minute audition time. Unscheduled audition times may be obtained by appointment. 221 E. Water St. 977-3690.

Tell Tale Hearts
Promotional photo

Judith Onesty and Les Schaffer present a full length concert of stories about men and women’s relationships in “Seasons of  Love” at the Culpeper County Library. The series includes “What Guys Don’t Understand About Women” adapted from an article by Dave Barry, “So Nice to Come Home to” developed from love letters from World War II and Les’s father’s experience in that war, “The Ride Back” a culmination of their personal experiences during those middle aged years of uncertainty, and “Love Affair Remembered” loosely based on Judith’s parents first meeting on the steps of the Richmond Library. The pair are part of Tell Tale Hearts, a Richmond-based storytellers theater group. Please pick up your free tickets from the Circulation Desk. 271 Southgate Shopping Center, Culpeper. 540-825-8691.

Master storytellers Judith Onesty and Les Schaffer take families around the world in an hour with stories from many different cultures at Culpeper County Library. Everywhere in the world, stories help us find our way. For thousands of years, they have helped us define, expand, and explain our world. Flying high and flying low, you - and your family - will have a great time listening to stories from down the ages…stories that still ring true today. Please pick up your free tickets from the Circulation Desk. 271 Southgate Shopping Center, Culpeper. 540-825-8691.

Imagination.
PHOTO BY Brew ha ha - Flickr

The annual, Destination ImagiNation Regional Tournament takes place today at Western Albemarle High School. Destination ImagiNation (DI) is an international creative problem solving program that offers kids in kindergarten through university level a chance to showcase their critical thinking, presentation, brainstorming, time management, and research skills by solving challenges in five different areas of interest. The DI program encourages out-of-the-box thinking, teaching children that there are many ways to approach and solve problems. Although DI is a competition, the program focuses more on team building that helps students develop lifelong abilities like collaboration, courtesy, and valuing diversity. During the tournament, 71 teams of five to seven students representing public and private schools from ten area counties present their solutions to one of five challenges. There will also be a special non-competitive challenge for children in kindergarten through second grade. For more information, contact Kim McCormick, Regional Director, at 977-2728 or e-mail her at . Western Albemarle High School is on Rt. 250 west in Crozet.