The American Theatre Guild is thrilled to present SHUCKED, the Tony Award® winning musical comedy The Wall Street Journal calls “flat out hilarious.” This production is part of the 25–26 BROADWAY IN TOLEDO Series and will take the stage at The Stranahan for eight performances Jan. 20–25, 2026.
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There are so many benefit to shopping small, not just on Small Business Saturday, but every day!!
Benefits of Shopping Small, Shopping Local…..
Source: https://co-opcreditunions.org/6-really-important-reasons-to-shop-on-small-business-saturday/
Here are just a few of the many awesome local small businesses located in Toledo & the surrounding area. Please be sure to show them your love and “like”, and/or, “follow” them on social media, and be sure to stop in to the brick and mortar shops, introduce yourself, & inquire about deals, yes, small businesses also have some great bargains!
Phone: 567-455-5939
Address: 5627 Main St, Sylvania, OH 43560
Website: www.bowinklesboutique.com
Hours: M-F: 10AM – 5:30PM, SAT: 10AM – 5PM, SUN: CLOSED
Shop local this holiday season with Bowinkles. New Fall and holiday arrivals plus all sales items Buy 2, Get 1 Free!
Website:https://www.etsy.com/shop/harperleejewelry
Raw metal transformed into custom keepsake jewelry!
Phone: Call or text 419-442-8037
Website: https://m.facebook.com/JuliasOrnaments/
Email: jmelvis@aol.com
All ornaments are handmade and hand painted….custom orders welcomed, such as names, birthdays, current year, player number for sport related ornaments, and colored glitter. Ornaments cost $10 & $2 to personalize.
Owner: Emily Sicilia
Phone: 419-806-9242
Website: www.facebook.com/lularoeemelizabeth
Clothing for all ages and sizes! Visit the facebook shopping group to enjoy weekly specials throughout the holiday season! Also contact Em to set up an appointment to shop the Toledo Boutique to take advantage of in person specials!
Phone: (419) 593-0093
Address: 2856 W Sylvania Ave, Toledo, OH 43613
Website: https://nevermore-used-bookstore.business.site/
Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 10am-6pm & Friday-Sunday 10am-5pm
Find that hidden gem or a favorite popular fiction or nonfiction book for a great price!! They carry books for the entire family…kids, teens, tweens, young adult, adult. They also take clean, good condition books on trade for in-store credit which buys you 25% off purchases!!
Phone: (419) 474-4740
Address: 4100 Secor Rd, Toledo, OH 43623
Website: https://www.regers.com/
Hours: Mon – Fri 9:30am – 5pm & Sat 9:30am – 3pm
Get all your Advent & Christmas products here! Reger’s Christian gift store serves all denominations of the Christian faith, including churches, clergy, and individual Christians.
Owner: Stephanie Bird
Phone: (231) 736-8315
Website: www.etsy.com/shop/StellasLotsofKnots
Stella’s Lots of Knots is offering free shipping through the holidays or local pick up! Also, use coupon code LOCAL during checkout to receive 20% off your order!
Phone: (419) 261-9166
Address: 2746 W Sylvania Ave, Toledo, OH 43613
Website: https://www.facebook.com/LavenderBayLLC/
Hours: Mon-Fri. 10am-5pm, Saturday 10am-3pm, & closed Sunday
Thistle and Thorn is a locally owned full service florist and gift shop. See coupon below to save $10!!
Show the following image at checkout to receive $10 off any Fall Arrangement!
Phone: (419) 475-7368
Address: 2850 W Sylvania Ave, Toledo, OH 43613
Website: https://www.facebook.com/Twice-But-Nice-359138284202297/
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10am-7pm & Sunday 11am-5pm
Show the following image coupon to receive $5 off of $30 or more!!
We went to Monster Jam last night! The kiddos had a blast! Well, 2 out of 3 of the kiddos had a blast. Our 5 year old had issues with the noise, so her and daddy watched via the television in the lobby while enjoying refreshments. They had their own little daddy & daughter date. The older two, our 8 and 10 year olds lost their minds in all the noise; they were cheering, jumping up and down, and simply beaming with joy!
I thought it might be fun to let the kiddos share their take on the evening. So without further ado…
How excited were you to go to Monster Jam?
10 years old: “I wasn’t too excited until Friday morning and then I was really excited!”
8 years old: “I have been waiting a year for this day and it finally arrived but I am sad because it is over”.
What was your favorite part of the evening?
10 years old: “The Freestyle, Zombie Hunter was the best and it was a girl driver!”
8 years old: “The Freestyle was awesome but I thought it was really AWESOME when Grave Digger flipped TWICE!!”.
What Monster Jam truck is your favorite?
10 years old: “I can’t decide, it’s between Zombie Hunter and Grave Digger”.
8 years old: “Grave Digger!!”
You know how mom is looking for a new car? What if I got a Monster truck?
10 years old: “You can’t do that”.
8years old: “That would be the coolest! Yes, do that! Get one like the Grave Digger”
What would you tell other parents out there who can’t decide whether or not to take their kids to Monster Jam?
10 years old: “Do it, take them, girls and boys.”
8 years old: “If you want to be good parents, take them to Monster Jam”.
And there you have it folks, from the mouths of babes! I guess the only thing left to say is, Enjoy the Show!!
Show Dates & Times
Saturday, March 5 2:00 PM 7:00 PM
Sunday, March 6 2:00 PM
TICKET INFO:
Monster Jam® at Huntington Center Friday March 4th– Sunday, March 6th. Tickets start at just $15! Purchasing Link http://www.ticketmaster.com/venueartist/65566/1542376 or order over the phone by calling 1-800-745-3000
Total confession, 6 years ago I would have told you there was no correlation between the people, media, music, etc. in my life or the impact that my media, music, etc. decisions had on my children. Shoot, I thought it was cute when my child started singing Poker Face by Lady Gaga and music in that same genre. That is until I had the opportunity to attend a very inspiring presentation, and it was during that presentation that I had an authentic aha moment!
The gist of the presentation was about the pest, weeds, and chemicals that can harm our children’s psyche. Funny how we worry so much about the pesticides, GMOs, additives, etc. our children could potentially consume but focus little attention on the nourishment of their souls. I am sure you are familiar with the expression, ‘you are what you eat’. Well this presentation addressed the fact that you are what you listen to & watch, mind-blowing right!?!
So, take a moment to reflect and consider the nourishment you are feeding your children’s souls. Are they listening and watching positive, encouraging, & uplifting programing?
Wouldn’t it be awesome if they could watch and listen to entertaining programing that also enriched their souls? That helped their spirits grow closer to Christ? Now that’s what I call organic nourishment!! And that is precisely what Cat Chat offers children.
What is Cat Chat?
Gerald & Denise Montpetit are the founders and creators of Cat.Chat Productions. They have 5 children who are actively involved in the ministry.
They operate as a family owned ministry/business under the guidance of their local Bishop.
With a creative and talented team of graphic and web designers, illustrators, writers, compilers, editors, producers, musicians and singers, Cat.Chat strives for excellence in every aspect of the ministry.
Celebrating their 10th year of operation in 2011, Cat.Chat has created a bank of Catholic music and resources that have proven to be ‘classics’ for families, schools and churches.
CLICK here to hear a sample of Cat Chat music
TV Series
Cat.Chat has teamed up with EWTN, the largest religious network in the world! They have filmed 8 exciting 30 min. theme based episodes for their 1st season and recently filmed SEASON 2 of Cat.Chat in August 2014 at EWTN. Stay Tuned for more details and the release date of the DVDs and Broadcast times on EWTN.
If you don’t have EWTN on Satellite/cable, watch it live online at http://www.ewtn.com/Live/unicorn/jwplayer.asp?feed=domenglivepage
Concerts
The Cat.Chat family and Moses the Cat have performed over 500 concerts in the past 9 years for parishes, schools and Catholic events/conferences across the USA and Canada. Audiences have been “WOWED” by The Cat.Chat family’s unique blend of faith and lively entertainment. And they are coming to Toledo!! September 19th @ 1:30pm at Blessed Sacrament Parish.
Each concert brings children into a refreshing experience of faith and challenges kids to make Jesus the center of their lives. The 1h and 20min concert is filled with powerful music, dynamic teachings, crowd participation, unicycling, juggling, yo-yos and loads of fun. The songs and teachings help kids learn about Jesus, Mary, the Sacraments, the Saints, perseverance and the fruits of the Spirit. After the concert, the Cat.Chat family and Moses the Cat stick around to take photos, sign autographs and “chat”.
Cat Chat Toledo Concert Event!!
TOLEDO SEPTEMBER 19th @ 1:30pm at Most Blessed Sacrament Parish
To order Tickets click HERE
Tickets are priced perfectly for families!! Why not make an afternoon of it….Invite friends, pack a picnic, eat at Close Park, kiddos can play on the playground, and then walk over to the concert!!
“Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.” (J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan) This quote seemed rather appropriate given all the childlike fun I have been experiencing with the Toledo Museum of Art’s exhibition, Play Time exhibition and its recent installation, #RedBallProject. I honestly can’t remember the last time I had the opportunity to allow my imagination to soar to such heights, and with the company of my children. It has been a remarkable bonding experience. With each visit to Play Time I could literally feel the layers of adulthood, the layers that were holding my childlike imagination & spirit captive slowly shedding. It has been such a magnificent experience and it saddens me to have to see it come to an end (Play Time officially end Sept. 6th). We started our goodbyes yesterday, by bidding #RedBallProject farewell, it was bittersweet. Thankfully, unlike Peter Pan we will never forget, after all this is Toledo, not Neverland & we will always have the remarkable images as our treasures to remind of the summer of 2015, when mom became one of the kids!
As if saying goodbye wasn’t already hard enough, the location where we would be saying goodbye to RedBall is one near and dear to my heart (and SO perfect given its next stop, France!). It is a location that one will find quite frequently in my memory treasure chest. The TMA Peristyle Terrace under Hector Guimard 1900 ‘Paris Métro Entrance is where I requested that our Wedding Photographer take our picture. He thought I was crazy; all the other brides want the perfect photographs by the columns. He probably was right, I am a little crazy, but I wanted something different, unique, our own, and he humored me (we also have some sweet ones of the Wedding Party on the Tire Swing!!).
Fast forward 8 or so years and we were finally going to take family pics for our Christmas card (up until then I only had the kids on the card). What better place than the TMA Peristyle Terrace, Hector Guimard 1900 ‘Paris Métro Entrance!?
Thus, given our history with the TMA Peristyle Terrace, Hector Guimard 1900 ‘Paris Métro Entrance there was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to get some farewell pics with the RedBall! And I also saw this as the perfect opportunity to take our 2015 Family Christmas card pic. So, without further adieu, our Christmas Card pic for 2015 (dad got squished by the ball) and many more awesome Farwell pics with RedBall…..
“Good bye may seem forever. Farewell is like the end, but in my heart is the memory and there you will always be.” (Walt Disney Company)
We shall treasure the memories always, at the Glass Pavilion & Boyd’s Retro Candy Store.
Au Revoir #RedBallProject! Have fun in France!!
The #Redball Project was at Boyd’s Retro Candy Store this afternoon & there was no way I was passing up an opportunity for candy to get some epic pics with the KING-SIZED RedBall, and CANDY! So my 3 MUSKETEERS and I hit the road in pursuit of the big ATOMIC FIREBALL!
The WHATCHAMACALLIT, RedBall, was wedged perfectly so that there were 3 optimal up-close and personal photo opportunities (thank you to the artist, Kurt Perschke for selecting such an awesome Toledo Treasure and staging the RedBall so that it could be viewed from various angles, talk about a SMARTIE).
I felt like such a NERD hoarding around the big JAWBREAKER but I wanted to make certain none of the pics were DUDS.
It was refreshing, for once, I didn’t have any SOUR PATCH KIDS when it came to getting pics, each was eager for their turn.
Then the piece de resistance, CANDY! As we entered Boyd’s Retro Candy store the CHICKLETS minds were BLOWN, POP, CANDY, & SUGAR EVERYWHERE!!
Too bad PAYDAY was still a few days off because we could have dropped some mad COIN at Boyd’s.
Body’s was packed with PEEPS! The line was literally wrapping around the store. It was like a CIRCUS, PEANUTS free of course (gotta be mindful of allergies).
We ventured back out for some more epic pics with the RedBall this time with some of our SWEETS & TARTS. We felt like STARBURST!
I grabbed a cup of Joe and then it was time for my M &M’s and me to go. We were all LAUGHY TAFFY on the way home talking about all the JOY we had, in some of the pics we felt like a NUT, MOUNDS you, in others we didn’t/don’t!
LOL! That was a BLAST to write, visit, the entire experience was, as the kids say, EPIC! Thank you for another EPIC day Toledo Museum of Art and all the PEEPS who have made Play Time possible. And huge thank you to #RedBall Project for reminding Toledoans of ALL our Towns Treasures like Boyd’s, Rudy’s Hot Dog, Farmers Market, etc.
This weekend is Flower Days Weekend at the Farmer’s Market!! Finally!!! This marks a HUGE milestone for us Midwesterners, no more frost! Oh the power of those flowers, people come two by two, with their four-legged friends, strollers, wagons, etc. to get their hands on the perfect flowers! The flowers might be the power that gets you there but it’s the food, the Flying Rhino coffee, Holey Toledough Doughnuts (FYI-if you want a doughnut get there early!), face painting, the running into family & friends, the sense of community that will having you stay!
I told my husband that the girls and I were buying flowers so naturally my first stop would be to buy some honey. lol! I heard that if you use organic local honey it is supposed to help with allergies. And we have some peeps with allergies in our household so it just made sense, right!? And just look at that golden sweetness…okay, so maybe I let my sweet tooth make that purchase. Trust me, my entire family will be thanking me tomorrow at breakfast. 😉
One impulse buy down and the potential for a second was looking promising. It is not my fault, it is all these talented peeps we have in Toledo’s fault. (Totally rationalized that!) But seriously, we really do have so many talented individuals in Toledo and the surrounding area….growers, jewelers, bakers, etc. it is fascinating! And it feels so good when we support one another. But back to the initial task at hand….
There were so many flowers it was absolutely breathtaking! The girls finally decided on a beautiful combination of marigolds…for a price that couldn’t be beat! (great deals!!)
Then we were off to our next impulse purchase. After walking through the Farmers Market and smelling them the entire time, these quickly became a necessity, French fries! I am fairly certain making your children smell those fresh cut French fried goodness and then not letting them taste one might fall under the realms of child abuse. Lol! So we noshed on our fresh cut fries and enjoyed some music!
Then we headed home to plant our beautiful flowers!
Ahhh, it is fascinating what a little flower power can do….it can bring the community together, inspire a bonding opportunity with loved ones, and brighten up even the dreariest of yards!
So what kind of flowers are you planting this year?
Mom on the go in Holy Toledo 