COCA presents its summer musical, Matilda live on stage!
Matilda Wormwood, a young girl with extraordinary powers, uses her love of reading and storytelling as an escape from her life with her neglectful and abusive parents. Matilda is sent off to school where she struggles under the reign of the school's cruel headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, who punishes children for not abiding by her strict rules.
Matilda befriends her kind teacher, Miss Honey, who realizes Matilda's talents and encourages her to embrace her uniqueness. Matilda learns how to stand up to the adults in her life and discovers her own remarkable powers.
Matilda stars local seventh-grader Riley Carter Adams. Adams is a member of COCA's Pre-Professional Division Theatre Artist Program, Ballet Eclectica, and COCAdance. She is a member of The Muny Kids Touring Troupe and her Muny credits include Camalot, Kinky Boots, Cinderella and the upcoming The Color Purple. She also portrayed Belinda in The Rep's A Christmas Carol.
Afternoon and evening shows run July 22-24 at COCA, Center of Creative Arts, in University City. Recommended for ages 6 and up.
For more information and tickets, go to cocastl.org
Join in on First Art, a free art program for toddlers where the focus is on the process of making art rather than the finished product. Dress to get messy!
Explore the Saint Louis Zoo in the evenings at the Chinese lantern festival Animals Aglow! Animals Aglow returns to illuminate the Saint Louis Zoo for the second year with dozens of new, towering lanterns and light displays.
Visit The Magic House for Toddler Time, a special early-morning program for toddlers. Children age 1-4 can take part in exhibits and exclusive interactive activities designed just for little ones. There are new themes every week!
Open Gym at Miss Kelly's Gym is an opportunity for any child to have supervised free play in the gym. They can work on existing skills, try something new, or simply play around. It is completely up to them! Open Gym is open to both members and non-members ages 12 and under.
See the Zoo's California sea lions perform acrobatic and athletic feats, including Olympic-style dives on a high-diving platform, flipper walks, frisbee tosses and plenty of surprises. While on stage with the sea lions, the Zoo's trainers explain sea lion behavior and positive-reinforcement training, in addition to the need for conserving the sea lion's ocean habitat.