Directed by award-winning filmmaker Thomas Balmes, Babies simultaneously follows four babies around the world. Joyfully capturing on film the earliest stages of the journey of humanity that are at once unique and universal to us all – from birth to first steps.
Doors open at 6:30pm. The film begins at 7pm – tickets at the door.
There will be a panel discussion after the show and prize giveaways too!
The new CIBC Westshore Banking Centre is returning as an exhibitor to the upcoming Baby Fair. They joined us last year right after they opened their doors to the public, and now they’re celebrating their first birthday.
And this branch knows how to throw a party!!
Come out and celebrate CIBC Westshore Banking Centre’s 1st year anniversary!
Bring the family down to enjoy a BBQ, bouncy castles, face painting, ice cream and cake, loot bags, massages for the parents, live music by Chikoro Marimba, and other family fun activities. The fun goes from 10am to 2pm this Saturday, July 24 at 550-2945 Jacklin Road (by Superstore).
The big moment so many wait for after every Baby Fair is finally here!
Here are the winners of the 2010 Nanaimo Photo Contest…
0-24 month old category: Aislynn. 2-6 year old category: Solace
Both Aislynn and Solace’s families win a $300 prize package including a portrait session, 11×14 enlargement & 10 5×7 digital negatives from SeaSide Studios.
We are often asked how we pick the winners, and we always try to emphasize that it is not a “cutest baby” contest. We look for interesting photographs where the photographer has captured a special look or expression of the child. Check out some of the past faces of the Vancouver Island Baby Fair.
Thank you to all the families who entered their little ones into the photo contest! All families who entered receive a free 5×7 print which is available for pickup now at Huckleberry Baby Shop in Nanaimo.
Through the Photo Contest, face painting and stroller parking we have raised more than $1350 for Haven Society. Thank You also to London Drugs at Nanaimo North Town Centre for providing the 5×7 prints. We are donating that cost savings back to Haven Society.
“The first day after my birth,” says the Dalai Lama, “immediately I learned, I experienced mother’s sort of compassion. That is I think the most important part of building a healthy family and that means healthy humanity.”
Guest post written by Carmen Markowski, Discovery Toys Team Leader
If we took a poll of everyone in North American age fifty years and younger, I wonder what percentage of people have played with Lego at some point in their life? I’m going to guess it’s somewhere between 85-95%. I think it’s safe to say, most of us have had some experience with building toys. My own brothers had a huge box of it and I can remember being around nine years old when, my little brother and I would sit for hours creating fantastic structures. It’s pretty easy to see the benefits a building toy can offer a child…fine motor skills, problem solving, creativity, cooperation (especially when you have to share the building pieces!). However, what does that mean in the day-to-day life of a child?
I feel like I understand so much more about the perks of building toys now that I’ve seen my own son go through his early years. Luke had very busy hands as a toddler, so playing with building toys was a great release for him and a good break for me. It meant he wasn’t tearing my house apart! His first building toy was simple wooden blocks. Playing with the blocks meant he had to focus his attention for several minutes in order to complete the task of creating a structure. He was only two years old, but he definitely needed practice in this area! Building blocks were just the beginning to his career as a builder. I found he enjoyed many different building sets from ages 2-5 and spend a good portion of his play time building.
I must admit, I had a concern about Luke during those early years. Although he would sit and color once in awhile, I was hard pressed to get Luke to have an interest in writing words or printing letters. The school teacher side of me imagined my children having lots of experience in writing before entering school and unfortunately this just wasn’t the case for Luke.
Luke surprised me in his kindergarten year. His printing: neat, well-formed letters. Writing did not bring any stress to him because he found it easy! He was good at it and he enjoyed it. Coloring: he pressed hard and worked within the lines. Could it be, he was a natural in these areas? That’s always a possibility. The teacher side of me says, for a child to have some skill in writing and coloring upon entering school, they would have had lots of experience at home with writing and coloring OR doing some other activities which developed the child’s fine motor skills. Well, we know which route Luke took!
So building toys…yes, they develop fine motor skills, offer problem-solving experiences, opportunities for creativity and cooperation. They’ll also help a child focus their attention on an activity for an extended period. And should your preschooler be waiving off the pencils and crayons, it could help them develop the skills they need for printing/writing. A skill they will be expected to develop quickly upon entering our school system. Thank goodness for toys!
Every so often it’s a good thing to pause and tell our loved ones how we feel. This is all about Mike, my husband and father of our two kids and a whole bunch of reasons why I think he’s an awesome dad and husband.
It started long, long ago before we had kids, before we were married, about 15 years ago when I convinced you that we should leave our jobs and go on a road trip across Canada and the northern United States in your crappy K-car. It was on that trip, somewhere in the middle of Pennsylvania that I turned to you while you were driving and said, “I wanna have your baby some day.”
Years later, after loads of crazy adventures & experiences I realized that you were truly my rock. My mom died. Your patience and unwaivering devotion and support during my epic grieving…. I knew you were a keeper.
Then we decided to multiply. And you came to 100% of my prenatal appointments and you supported my desire to have a homebirth with midwives and you supported my wish to have a doula present. You did the research. You read the books. Knowing that while this was the birth of OUR child, this was MY body’s experience and my deep, deep desire to envelope the birthing room with positivity and trust in my ability to give birth. Thank you for helping to make that possible- twice.
Then when breastfeeding really sucked for a while there, you stayed by me, supporting me in my wish to breastfeed our baby. You knew I could do it, even when I wanted to hand you the baby and run far, far away, yelling, “Good luck with that!”
So I’d like to thank you, for putting family first, for taking night time wake-up calls from the kids (unless breastfeeding is required or there’s vomit involved- those are my jobs) for taking time off work to help me prevent post partum depression the second time around, for reading to the kids every day, for playing road hockey with our son when you’d rather be vegging on the couch after work, for being a human trampoline for hours on end with our two little monkeys and for wearing a feather boa if that is what our daughter requires of you.
We would love to send out a BIG thank you to all the exhibitors, presenters, children’s performers-Will Stroet and Music With Marnie & the families who participated in the Vancouver Island Baby Fair this past weekend in Nanaimo, BC!
A huge congratulations go to Tara Smith from Campbell River BC, winner of the Expecting Parent Grand Prize and also Congrats to Maureen Luney, a soon to be grandma from Victoria, BC who won the New Parent Grand Prize! Each prize was valued over $1300 with contributions from several of our exhibitors.
Check back for info on the Photo Contest! Winners will be announced in early July!
If you missed the fair please take a look at our exhibitor list or mark the date in your calendar of our next Vancouver Island Baby Fair which takes place September 25 & 26 at Pearkes Arena in Victoria BC.
We are very excited to tell you about a great new book called “Hands Off My Belly: The Pregnant Woman’s Survival Guide to Myths, Mothers and Moods.
Expectant mothers are virtual magnets for unsolicited advice. Mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, sisters-in-law, new mothers, friends, and even strangers offer what seems to be an endless supply of supposedly authoritative opinions on every aspect of pregnancy: A craving for spicy food denotes a boy. Carrying the baby low denotes a girl. And, of course, everyone wants to touch her belly.
In this engaging, humorous, and very informative book, Drs. Shawn A. Tassone and Kathryn Landherr – experienced gynecologists, a husband-and-wife team of physicians, and parents of four children – explore the most common superstitions and myths surrounding pregnancy. With a scientific perspective, the authors not only entertain but provide a great deal of practical information, which will ease the fears and anxieties of expectant parents as well as clear up many confusing notions.
We will be giving away a copy of this book ‘Hands Off My Belly: The Pregnant Woman’s Survival Guide to Myths, Mothers and Moods’ to the first 50 people that come through the doors at the Vancouver Island Baby Fair on both Saturday and Sunday! 100 books in all!Doors open at 10am so be sure to join us at the Vancouver Island Baby Fair this weekend, June 5 & 6 at Beban Park Social Centre in Nanaimo!
Every person who attends this weekend’s Vancouver Island Baby Fair at Beban Park in Nanaimo will have a chance to enter for free into one of two grand prize draws, plus there are great prizes to be won for participating in the Photo Contest and Baby Races!
Grand Prize #1: Expecting Parent Package – Value $1323
SeaSide Studios- Portrait session, 11×14 enlargement & 10 5×7 digital prints (Value $300)
U-Weight Loss Clinic- U Weight Loss protein powder: Whey Vanilla Flavour (Value $60)
West Coast Strider Sales– 1x 750ml stainless steel water bottle, 1x 250ml stainless steel water bottle and a childs size WestCoast Strider T-shirt plus $20 gift certificate (Value $50)
Baby Races Grand Prize (Saturday, June 5) – Value $285
Playpants- Playpants Original Bloomers in “Sail” & “Cocoon” (Value $32)
Tupperware- Divided feeding dish, sippy cup, Ideal bowl and snack cup (Value $30)
West Coast Strider Sales – Gift bag with Strider t-shirt, kids water bottle, adult water bottle & frisbee (Value $30)
Plus the winner of each Baby Race heat will get a $10 Gift Certificate to Hard Candy Baby Boutique!
Photo Contest prizes
A winner will be chosen in each of two categories: 0-24 months and 2-6 years old. Winner in each category receives a $300 Portrait Package including a portrait session, 11×14 enlargement & 10 5×7 digital negatives from SeaSide Studios – our official Photo Contest photographer!
The Vancouver Island Baby Fair is proud to sponsor an upcoming screening of the movie “Babies” this Monday, July 26th at Cinecenta!
We are very excited to tell you about a great new book called “Hands Off My Belly: The Pregnant Woman’s Survival Guide to Myths, Mothers and Moods.