Sunday, May 29, 2011

Garden Tour and Tea Saturday June 25, 2011 Tickets are $20 through June 24–$25 at the garden site

For your money you will enjoy a fashion show and afternoon tea overlooking Bowling Green, at the home of Rick and Barbara Ball.  In addition, you will tour five other very unique gardens:
   Mr. and Mrs. Bob Armstrong
   Mr. and Mrs. Mike Howe
   Mr. and Mrs. Monty Jones
   Mr. and Mrs. Dan Riley
   Mr. and Mrs. Ben Tomblinson
Vintage cars will be on display again this year. And of course, door prizes. We will be giving away a John Carloftis bird house, Orchestra Concert ticket, and a $50 gift certificate from Mammoth Cave Transplants.

Soooo…get out your spring dress/slacks and hat, grab a friend or two….. and come enjoy the day with friends and Kids on the Block.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Introducing the New Faces of 2011

Your zodiac sign isn’t the only thing that’s changing this year! (Yes, I know that only affects those born after 2009, and chances are anyone reading this was born considerably prior to that year but what a shocker, eh?) We’d like to officially welcome the new crew joining KOB this year.

First let’s welcome aboard Inga Wolff, who will be busting out of retirement and back onto the Block in full swing in March. She was involved with Warren County schools for over 15 years as a guidance counselor, instructor, and consultant. And to top it off, Inga has served as an active KOB board member for over 15 years, too! Needless to say, she has the insight that will bring great things to her new position as Development Director. Throughout January and February, she’s training under the current Development Director (yes, that’s me) so that come March 1, she’ll hit the keyboard writing and rocking!

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Welcome, Inga Wolff!

Next, let’s say hello to three new puppeteers who made their local debut together in the Bullies & School Safety program at Potter Gray Elementary. I’ll briefly introduce them here with pictures and a tiny expose but if you really want to take a journey through a day at KOB, take a look at our Facebook album titled, “A Day’s Journey at KOB”.

Newly hired puppeteers are required to learn 5 or more scripts prior to performing live for children. That means she’s responsible for 6-7 different characters! Sometimes puppeteers will perform 2 or 3 different scripts in a single day. How’s that for mind-boggling?

Meet Michelle as Zach, star of the Combating Childhood Obesity program.
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On top of puppeteering, Michelle also works diligently on the Program of Works, a database that details information collected at shows throughout the year. This database is essential in grant reports and donor solicitation. Michelle also has the coolest job of the bunch in that she’s the first to read the letters and pictures sent from students to our office. Some letters are even analyzed by identifying key learning phrases to tell us just how effective our shows are. How cool is that?

Now let’s sneak up on Veronica as she’s brushing up on the Child Abuse script.

V. pitched an interesting method in assisting in the script memorization process. Using the simple microphone installed on most computers and a small freeware program called Audacity, we were able to record puppeteer rehearsals. The recordings were then burned to CD or transferred to mp3 players so puppeteers can listen to the performances at any time. It’s a great tool and has helped her and the others tremendously! It’s bound to be a tool used for years to come, too. Way to go, V!

Last but not least, let’s Meet Holly.
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Holly, joins us every Tuesday and Thursday for puppeteering and PR’ing. Above she’s shown prepping contracts. Each school that hosts a KOB show receives a contract and some super bright promotional posters to get the kids excited for us. To promote events and fundraisers, Holly writes press releases and conducts interviews on the radio. I guess you could say she’s a new face and voice of KOB.

Don’t forget to check out all the fun shots that didn’t quite make it into the blog on our Facebook page!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Twenty-five and Proud

Thanks to the children of Briarwood for making our birthday party a roaring good time. Literally, the stands in the gymnasium shook with anticipation of a puppet show, balloon release, and, of course, cake! The event kicked off with the announcement of the winner of the Kids Kake Off competition. Here's the winning cake!


Following the crowning of the winner, brand new puppeteer, Holly Campbell, and retired puppeteer, Regina Pedigo, united to perform the Problem Solving skit for the school. The gym nearly split open with cheering and applause.

Kids on the Block board members, staff, and past puppeteers delighted in the celebration and participated in the balloon release. See the video here on our Facebook page!It really was the perfect event to celebrate 25 proud years. Here's to the next 25!Be sure to check out even more pictures from the event by becoming our fan on Facebook here.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Congrats to Briarwood!

It's official! The big 25th birthday celebration along with the Kids Kake Off competition will be held at Briarwood Elementary! The school raised the most money during the city/county-wide coin drive with T.C. Cherry and McNeil elementary schools right on their heels. Thank you so much to every school and student that participated!

So get ready, Briarwood. We're bringing tons of cake and excitement to your school next Friday, November 19!

Also, to all home bakers: we still have spots left to register for the cake baking competition! Refer to the blog post below to download your registration form today!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Kids Kake Off

In celebration of our 25th year of service to the community, we're having a great big birthday party! And what's a birthday party without tons and tons of cake? So to insure that our party has plenty of cake, we're opening a competition for all home bakers--it's the Kids Kake Off. Show off your skills to win a $100 gift card from IGA, a trophy, and publicity. Here are the requirements:
  • Home bakers ONLY (no professionals, please!)
  • No sheet cakes
  • minimum size of two tiers
Cakes will be judged on the following criteria:
  • Taste (of course) - 50%
  • Creativity/Presentation -25%
  • Texture - 25%
Cakes will be transported at 1:00 pm on November 19th to the school chosen for the birthday party. Judging begins at approximately 1:30. After winners are announced, students and guests will partake in the competition cakes for the party.

If you're interested, please download the registration flyer below and return to Kids on the Block by November 12 with your $15 registration fee. Call the Kids on the Block office at 842-2259 with any questions.

Good Luck!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

On Saturday, October 2, the twilight sky spat tiny drops of protest and the wind's wicked hands disheveled ladies' hair. A roar ripped through the air and crept through the town of Bowling Green. As the thunder rolled deeper into the city, brave townsfolk emerged from their dinner tables to investigate the haunting howls. Alas, what these townies found were leather-clad heroes waving from atop their giant hogs--Harleys, that is. Thus signaling the 4th annual Twilight Thunder Cruise.

And what a chilly, yet great success the night was! More than 70 riders participated in this year's event. After the cruise down Scottsville Roads, riders were greeted by local rock band, Stone Road. Wha-Bah and the band kept the crowd celebrating through the evening. At the end of night, we raffled off a leather jacket donated by Harley (which I was a little sad to give up after keeping it warm for the majority of the evening), and the winner of the $5,000 raffle was announced. Overall, the event raised over $20,000 for Kids on the Block.

So thank you to all the sponsors, volunteers, staff, and riders who made this event a great night!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Festival of Sand 2010


Firstly, I would like to take this time to recognize and thank the inventor of the poncho, as the morning of Festival of Sand kicked off with a soggy start. That rain didn't discourage the teams sculpting their celebration themed designs. To honor Kids on the Block's 25th birthday, some teams chose a birthday route, while others like Sportsmanship Award winner, Old Union School played off another popular party--the very merry un-birthday celebration from Alice in Wonderland.

Winner of the sculpting competition, Briarwood Elementary, honored the 25th birthday celebration with a huge cake, peeking presents, and a great big gift. A recent addition to the rules allows teams to include a single prop to accent their sculptures. Briarwood included a colorful birthday banner. Approaching the sculpture, visitors felt like they were walking into a giant party on a dazzling tiled floor. It's just too bad that giant cake was not edible! Perhaps there will be a celebration featuring an enormous cake in the not so distant future...