If you’re along the East Coast or Southern USA and have preschool age kids you’re gonna want to check out Between the Lions Live!. I share a special love for this show not only because it always makes me do a double take (Between the Lines Studios being our podcast group’s name), but also because it encourages kids to read!

Between the Lions’ Roadshow performances are designed to bring the television series to life, encouraging children to read, sing along with the Lions, and recognize words in the world around them. Engaging and animated books such as Is Your Mama a Llama? and Click, Clack, Moo will encourage audience participation, and Aaron Nigel Smith, founder of FUNdamentals of Music and Movement, will be back to join the Roadshow, adding his original award-winning music to the mix.

Tour Dates and Venues
Catch Theo and Leona’s live performances in Atlanta, GA on Friday, April 30 (venue TBA). Next, they spend five days at the Georgia State Fair in Macon, GA from May 1-5. Finally, the lions travel to Columbia, SC on May 6 and Charlotte, NC from May 7-8 (venues TBA).

Tune in to Between the Lions
Between the Lions airs nationally on PBS KIDS (check your local listings). If you live in one of the areas located on the fourth annual Roadshow tour, you can catch the series on:

-Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) weekdays at 1:00 p.m.
-South Carolina ETV (SCETV) weekdays at 1:30 p.m.
-UNC-TV (North Carolina) Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 12:00 noon

For more information on the series and to view updates to the schedule of tour dates and venues, please visit: pbskids.org/lions

Sponsored by the David Lynch Foundation the conference’s featured speakers include Joe A. Garcia, President of the National Congress of American Indians; Robert Cook, President of the National Indian Education Association; Lucille Echohawk, strategic advisor for the Casey Family Programs; and Kevin Skenandore, Acting Director of the Bureau of Indian Education.

The five-point plan includes (1) improving educational outcomes through stress-reducing, consciousness-based meditation; (2) improving health and reducing diabetes, heart disease, and substance abuse through prevention-oriented, natural medicine; (3) promoting energy and economic self-sufficiency through wind and solar technologies; (4) growing healthy, nutritious food through organic greenhouses; and (5) safeguarding the land, language, and culture of American Indian populations.

Learn more about the conference and register to attend at davidlynchfoundation.org

The good folks over at DLF.tv have posted a great behind the scenes teaser video with the Beach Boys concert in Fairfield, Iowa (on Sept 7th, 2009).

You can even sign up on their site to be notified when the concert footage goes up! So head on over to DLF.tv and get some good vibrations going on: http://dlf.tv/

Supergirl Jam is an all-girl, bring your best, showdown in surf, skate, snow and inline. The competition happens in my home state AND celebrates the awesomeness of being a girl – so you know I have to support it. Some of the competitions have already taken place all over Southern California, and the Supergirl Pro-Am Jam brought professional and amateur girls together in one contest to compete for a great prize purse ($3,000 for the winner) and, as a huge bonus, the top-placing amateur got an automatic entry into the Supergirl Jam event that takes place on September 6th in Venice Beach.

Warner Brothers Online is sponsoring the Skateboard Street, Snowboard Rail Jam and Inline Best Trick contests. And starting at 11:30 a.m. Pacific time, all the competitive action will be streamed LIVE here on TheWB.com, the official online destination for the 2009 Supergirl Jam events and competitions. Coverage of the Supergirl Pro-Am Jam and the Supergirl Pro Junior surfing contest which took place on August 15-16 will also be included in the webcast. Check out the competition or follow @thewbdotcom.

Sea Life Park welcomed the newest addition to its ohana (Hawaiian for family) as Hi’iaka, an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

The baby has been named Waiohakaupo, Hawaiian for joyous life and breath of the waters of Kaupo (name of beach fronting Sea Life Park).

Weighing approximately 40 to 45 pounds and measuring 45 inches in length, Waiohakaupo has been spending her time at mom’s side nursing on a regular schedule around-the-clock under the close care and supervision of the Park staff.

“Both mother and calf are doing well,” said Jesus Bravo, general manager of Sea Life Park. “They are happy and everything suits them – their living conditions, the quantity and quality of food, and the love and attention of our staff.”

Sea Life Park celebrated the birth of Waiohakaupo with a special Hawaiian blessing ceremony on Thursday, July 30th. “We’ve kept the good news under wraps for a few weeks to allow mother and child the privacy they need to stay healthy and strong,” said Bravo.

Starting today, the Park will be offering special guided visits for guests to see the new baby dolphin

The pregnancy was part of a planned breeding program instituted by Sea Life Park and once it was confirmed that Hi’iaka had become pregnant, immediate care and monitoring was given on a daily basis throughout her one-year pregnancy.

“So far, the bond between Hi’iaka and her calf continues to strengthen,” said Jeff Pawloski, curator. “Like any new mother, she’s proud of her new baby and we are also proud and honored to have her be a part of our animal family.”

According to Pawloski, Waiohakaupo was born at 8:26 a.m. after a very short labor. “Hi’iaka is an experienced mom and the birth went very smoothly.”

The success of the program is a result of a nurturing environment that includes veterinary supervision, nutrition and a large seawater pool for the mother and baby.

Sea Life Park Hawaii offers a variety of marine-life shows, exhibits and educational programs for all ages and is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Among its most popular features are the swim-with-dolphin programs. The Park is a member of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums. Sea Life Park Hawaii is owned and operated by Parques Reunidos Group. For more information, visit the Park’s Web site at www.sealifeparkhawaii.com.