Family Five
Stamp your feet with the star of Will’s Jams
Rodeo
Running at the same time and just down the hall from the Edmonton Farm and Ranch Show, the Canadian College Finals Rodeo brings together top-ranked postsecondary students and rodeo riders through six major events. There will be tiedown roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, barrel racing and bull riding, as well as team roping, goat tying, breakaway roping and pole bending. The price of admission also gets you into the farm show, so if you have the itch, you can run over and see alpacas and horses before or after.
When: Thursday, March 27 to Saturday, March 29. Performances start at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Edmonton Expo Center Hall D
Admission: $11.50 to $29.25. Available from Ticketmaster, 780-451-8000 or at the door.
Info: farmandranchshow.com
Easter Fun
They’re switching gears over at West Edmonton Mall’s Build-A-Bear Workshop for the weekend, saluting the other fuzzy animal so beloved of children — bunnies. There’ll be free paper bunny ears for everyone, meet-and-greet with the store mascot Pawlette between noon and 2 p.m. each day, and every hour on the
hour everyone gets to dance the bunny hop.
When: Saturday, March 29 and Sunday, March 30
Where: Build a Bear Workshop, Level One, Phase 3, West Edmonton Mall
Admission: Free Info: wem.ca
Backyard Band
Will Stroet and his Backyard Band are back with a new album, Just Imagine, and three performances that are equal parts educational and interactive. The star of CBC Television’s Will’s Jams brings a bilingual rock concert for kids, featuring high-energy music in both
English and French, with songs about literacy, animals, sports, road safety and multiculturalism.
When: Friday, March 28 at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., Saturday, March 29 at noon.
Where: Maclab Centre for the Performing Arts, 4308 50th St., Leduc (Friday, 10:30 a.m.), West Meadows Baptist Church, 9333 199th St. (Friday, 6:30 p.m.), Padmanadi Vegetarian Restaurant, 10740 101st St. (Saturday, noon)
Admission: $10 (Maclab) from Tix on the Square, 780-4201757; $5 at the door at West Meadows Baptist. $10 to $20 (Padmanadi), call 780-4288899 to reserve tickets.
Info: willmusic.ca
Family Film
After being struck by a meteorite on the way to her wedding, Susan Murphy begins growing, until the military arrives and takes her to a holding area, where she meets other monster captives. Now code-named Ginormica, Susan must help her fellow monsters defeat the plans of evil alien Gallaxhar when he turns his attention to Earth. Monsters vs. Aliens is a 3-D computer animated sci-fi comedy, rated PG.
When: Saturday, March 29 at 11 a.m.
Where: Cineplex Odeon North, 14231 137th Ave and Cineplex Odeon South, 1525 99th St.
Admission: $2.50 Info: Cineplex.com
Golden Nit
The Itch of the Golden Nit tells the story of 11-year-old Beanie, who is on a quest to save her parents as well as the galaxy. To do so, she searches far and wide for the Golden Nit while being chased by Evil Stella and her flaming sidekick, who are determined to stop Beanie at any cost. The first animated movie of its kind, The Itch of the Golden Nit was made by using drawings, ideas and sound effects that were submitted by more than 34,000 children. Made by kids, for kids, it set a new Guinness World Record for most individual contributions to an animated film. Early filmgoers can enjoy a free pre-show activity beginning at 1 p.m.
When: Sunday, March 30 at
2 p.m.
Where: Arden Theatre, 5 St. Anne St., St. Albert
Admission: $18 adult; $15 seniors and children, at the Arden box office or Ticketmaster.
Info: ardentheatre.com