Tag Archives: st paul

May Day in Minneapolis

If it’s the first Sunday in May, it’s time to celebrate May Day at Powderhorn Park! This festival has been going on for 44 years. Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre and the communities around Powderhorn Park put on an amazing show to welcome the warm weather.

May Day this year will happen on Sunday, May 6th. The day starts with a parade, beginning at noon, down Bloomington Ave. from 25th Street to 34th Street, and then into the park.

Once the paraders have all gotten there, they have a ceremony to welcome the sun – the HOBT tree of lifemain stage is on the west side of the lake, and boats carry the grand finale across the lake. It ceremony includes puppets as big as 10 feet high!

There is music and dancing for everyone, and vendors selling all kind of foods. The ceremony is free and everyone is welcome.

This celebration is one of the unique things that make the Twin Cities, and Minneapolis in particular, so special.

Come on down to Powderhorn Park and welcome our wonderful summer!

http://hobt.org/mayday/

International Women's Day

Friday (March 8th) is International Women’s Day! This day helps to jumpstart the month of March, which has now been named National Women’s History Month in the United States . International Women’s Day is celebrated in 176 countries and allows women worldwide to connect, celebrate and honor womens past, present, and future.

On this day women will “Celebrate, Commit, and Connect.” They’ll celebrate like never before ~ connect as only women do ~ and commit to improve in 3 areas of their lives:
1. Personal ~ improve their personal health and well being, and their businesses as employees, business owners, entrepreneurs.
2. Family ~ help their families be healthier and prepare for the future right now.
3. Country ~ let their voices be heard: to speak up, to make positive changes in their communities/countries.

Au Pair in America is an organization fully commited to enriching the lives and minds of young women and this day is highly regarded within the organization.

Young women from all over the globe, ages 18 -26, come to America to live with an American family and learn about American culture. The Au Pair in America cultural exchange program provides a platform to really the change lives of the young women that participate. Fanny Carvajal-Delgado, one of our former au pairs from Costa Rica, has said “Working as an aupair with Au Pair in America is a life changing experience. It has changed my life, the way I value my family and friends, the way I see the world and the way I think about myself, in a positive way. I will never be the same person ! When I finished the program I was more mature, Independent and responsible.”

In recognition of International Women’s Day, below are some ways you can celebrate this day as well as National Women’s History month in your lcoal community:

Register to vote
Attend an event promoting women’s health, equality or safety
Thank a woman who has been a positive influence in your life
Support a program that provides business training for women in developing countries
Make a doantion that provides education for girls
To find for an International Women’s Day event in your area, go to www.internationalwomensday.com!

Winter Weight Control

Many au pairs (probably most!) put on some extra weight over the winter. Americans eat more than most au pairs are used to eating, and it’s way to easy to stay inside instead of going out for exercise. Luckily, we live in the Twin Cities, where there are all kinds of awesome things to do in the winter. Here are a few ideas of indoor things to do to keep you in shape:

Roller skating at the Metrodome http://www.roller-dome.com/ $6 admission plus skate rental
Como Zoo Conservatory http://www.comozooconservatory.org/ Free and full of tropical plants so you can almost forget about the snow outside.
Mall walking at shopping malls around the area – free, and a good place to push a stroller if you’re with a little one during the day. Check with the mall you live near to find out hours. Mall of America is popular mall-walking destination: it’s roughly 1/2 mile around the mall once, so if you go around each floor twice that’s 3 miles.
Midwest Mountaineering has a ‘Bouldering Cave” in the basement that’s free, although you may want to rent climbing shoes for $3. Go to the main desk to sign the waiver and they will help you from there! www.midwestmtn.com for more information
There are several trampoline parks in the area where you and your host kids (assuming they are old enough) can jump around and burn amazing amounts of calories. minneapolis.skyzonesports.com/ for hours and cost information.
Grand Slam has laser tag. batting cages, a trampoline area, and Dance Dance Revolution. Visit www.grandslam.com for more info.

There are several places to go roller skating indoors, and also several ice arenas where you can learn to skate indoors as well.

Finally, meetup.com has ways to find people who are interested in the same things you are. It’s a great place to find a volleyball team, or a dodgeball tournament, or almost anything else, all near you.

I’ll post another list of fun things to do to stay active outdoors as well.

Beat the winter blues!

This was originally posted by Cindy Garruba, the Long Island CC

After the decorations are put away, the celebrations are over, the New Year has begun: and the post holiday winter blues are starting to hit you and your host family. What can you do to get through the long cold winter months happily?

1. Get outside every day with the kids, bundle up and play outside. Go to the park, take a walk, ride bikes; we have been having an unusually warm winter, so enjoy it! If it snows, build a snowman, go sledding, have fun outside!
2. Stay on routine with the kids; get up on time, have breakfast, get to the bus stop on time. Make sure homework is done and everyone gets to their activities on time. Bedtime routines are important, make sure everyone gets enough sleep and that includes YOU!
3. Register for your classes, and get ready to start learning something new.
4. Call a friend and meet for coffee and conversation if you feel housebound.
5. Set up a play date with another au pair and her host children (similar ages) and enjoy a day together.
6. Join a gym with another au pair.
7. Use the library in your town. Sign the kids up for free programs (talk to host parents about the programs.) Join the English conversation group, improve your English and meet people.
8. Prepare a Global Awareness presentation for one of your host kids’ classes. Talk to your counselor for ideas.
9. Volunteer at a local hospital, school, animal shelter, food bank if you have extra time on your hands and need to do something. Doing for others is always an answer for the blues!
10. (From Jennifer) Go to the Conservatory at Como Zoo for a brief visit to warm weather, flowers, and other growing things.