saskatoon family expo ~ friday recap

The Saskatoon Family Expo kicked off Friday night at 5 p.m. at Prairieland Park.

The amazingly talented children of Saskatoon Suzuki Strings took to the main stage and also serenaded the crowd from its booth.

The ever-glowing Kirsty Snowsell of Snowsellberryhead Studios got the kiddos moving with a little ExploraDANCE and Salsa Tots.  She will also be previewing Salsa Babies this weekend.

And, The Wacky Wizard had the under-10 set absolutely howling about his haphazard magic act and his kooky bird sidekick.

If you missed these performances, you'll have a chance to catch their encore performances -- and other acts -- on the main stage this weekend.

Kids also gravitated to the various activity zones throughout the show, such as the Astro Jump Zone, the Tennis Saskatchewan Fit Zone, the Giggle Factory Face-Painting Zone and others.  The only ones sitting still were those posing for a quick characture drawing.

More than 100 exhibitors have set up shop at the Expo through Sunday. There's a ton of useful information, great shopping and fun freebies around every corner.  Following are just a few of the fine folks that I met this evening. 

Wheelies offers cute wooden crafted bikes without pedals for kids 2 to 5 years old.

The Adoption Support Centre of Saskatchewan booth was host to Canadian children's book author Ola Zuri, whose new Believe In Me literature series explores child empowerment and self-confidence as well as issues related to adoption. (She will also be signing books Saturday at 1 p.m. at McNally Robinson.)

Ola, center, is pictured here with Leona Wasserman, left, and ASCS Executive Director Cindy Xavier, right. 

A knowledgeable representative of St. John Ambulance gave me a quick refresher on the CPR class I took from them before Baby J was born. There are several wonderful interactive booths on children's safety at the Expo.

Some nice ladies from Insception Cord Blood Program shared some very intrguing information about banking umbilical cord stem cells that can be collected at birth. These stem cells can successfully be used in place of bone marrow during future treatments for diseases such as cancer. 

Stay tuned for more pictures and information from the Saskatoon Family Expo, which runs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.