Corteo – Cirque du Soleil with kids

I love Cirque du Soleil performances. They are always a cut above circus-type performances, with its creativity. Last year we were treated to Crystal, a Cirque du Soleil show on ice. Tomorrow night we’re seeing Corteo – Cirque du Soleil with kids at the Prudential, with acrobatics and yes – clowns! The show will be in town through June 18, so don’t miss it!

Corteo. Courtesy of Cirque du Soleil
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Mitsuwa With Kids: Edgewater

I love foreign grocery stores and all the better when they’re in my backyard! After visiting Sojo Spa in Edgewater, we headed to Mitsuwa Marketplace. Unfortunately not everything was open, since it was 7:00 pm. I especially wanted to visit Kai Creamery to get some funky ice cream but they were closed. We still had fun looking around.

Cafe KAI Sweets at Mitsuwa Marketplace. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan
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Grounds for Sculpture at Night With Kids

We’ve been to the Grounds for Sculpture a few times during the day and loved it. It’s a huge place with a lot to see, and many fun and playful sculptures the kids will enjoy. The picture below was the first stop, and the projections on the sculpture kept changing, as did the lights on the trees behind on the right – which I think is the last of the exhibits – it’s a row of trees you walk through that’s pretty in the daytime too.

Grounds for Sculpture at night with kids – fun colors and lights! Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan
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Review: Big Snow at American Dream

Big Snow at American Dream

The idea of driving 30 minutes to ski instead of 90+ minutes is appealing. The idea of skiing indoors is novel enough to want to try it. So when Big Snow at American Dream invited my family for a visit as their guests, we said yes. But it’s indoors! It’s in a mall! What about COVID-19? I have an entire section on how they’re handling COVID-19 below. Because it’s a huge topic.

What is Big Snow?

Big Snow at American Dream is an indoor ski area that’s finally opened in East Rutherford. Yes, the massive mall and former Xanadu eye sore that was sitting vacant forever! Big Snow at American Dream is one of several large experiences you can do indoors there, in addition to the Nickelodeon Universe theme park (currently open), DreamWorks Water Park (currently open), and the Sea Life Aquarium (opening spring 2021). Big Snow opened late 2019, closed in March 2020 because of the pandemic, and reopened in October.

The top of the hill at Big Snow American Dream. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan
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Review: Primo Mercato at Short Hills Mall

Primo Mercato at Short Hills Mall

I guess it’s been awhile since I’ve shopped at the Short Hills Mall, because I didn’t realize there was a new Italian marketplace. They invited me for a visit to their 17,000 square foot space. Here’s my Review – Primo Mercato at Short Hills Mall!

The entrance of Primo Mercato at Short Hills Mall. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

Primo Mercato is a cross between a fancier food court and a sit-down restaurant, kind of like a smaller Eataly but without the dry goods shopping – just the eating and drinking. They have five food stations, plus a cafe with bakery/gelato, a pizza making station, and a nice restaurant. And yes, there’s sit-down eating if ordering food fromt the stations. You’ll see some picnic style tables (much nicer looking, of course), and some other types of seating configurations.

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Amazon Tour with Kids

I write about supply chain management (logistics, operations, transportation etc.) so touring an Amazon fulfillment center (FC) seems like more than a fun thing to do – it seemed necessary for work! There are currently 23 warehouses/fulfillment centers in the U.S. that give tours, including 3 in New Jersey. You can take an Amazon tour with kids, but most tours are on the weekday, which can make it difficult unless you’re home schooling. Here’s what I learned on my Amazon tour.

The Amazon storage area, with robots moving the storage pods. Screenshot from an Amazon virtual tour.

By the way, you can’t take photos inside the warehouse, so these photos are screenshots from a virtual tour last week, run by Amazon for FIRST Robotics – an international STEM robotics program I’m involved with. You can watch the virtual Amazon tour here which was meant as an Amazon tour with kids, or at least for kids.

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