The Holidays Bring Hot Ticket Shows

LANSING, MI — It is all to common for families to find themselves wrapped up in thier everyday
lives. Children have after-school activities
and both parents are usually working longer hours. Between activities, playing video games, sports and the Internet, families are becoming more fragmented. Family fun should
be about spending time and experiencing
activities together. For something new to do
together look to your local venues like theBreslin Center.

Breslin brings two family fun basketball events that are scheduled for the 2009-2010 season,  The Meijer Holiday Hoop Invitational and Harlem Globetrotters.
The Meijer Holiday Hoop Invitational brings the best of high school basketball to the Breslin.To  date, the tournament has raised over $75,000
for the charity. Go Green Glass in Lansing has also been a huge supporter of the tournament  and has brought the top officials in Mid- Michigan in to officiate the games. The majority of the officials donate back their fees to the charity as part of the Officials for Kids initiative.  One $12.00 ticket is good for all 6 games.
Now in their 84th consecutive season of touring the world, the  Globetrotters’ high-flying show features some of the most extraordinary athletes and entertainers on the planet – includingBig Easy Lofton and Flight Time Lang, who are starring in the Emmy Award-winning
CBS reality hit, “The Amazing Race;” the always hilarious Special K Daley; dribbling magician Scooter Christensen; and ball handling
wizards Handles Franklin and Ant Atkinson.

If looking for a more theatre based fun family outing, the Breslin Center in East Lansing and Joe Louis Arena in Detroit offer Cirque duSoleil’s Alegria.

Cirque du Soleil brings an imaginative twist to our everyday lives Alegria is a blend of astonishing acrobatics, awe inspiring aerial acts, spectacular sets and eccentric characters with flamboyant costumes.

Alegría is a Cirque du Soleil classic and an internationally acclaimed production that has entertained more than 10 million people worldwide since its world premiere in Montreal in April 1994. In May 2009, Alegría embarked on a new journey, performing in arenas throughout Canada and the United States, giving more people than ever the opportunity to enjoy a Cirque du Soleil show in their own town.

Alegría is a mood, a state of mind. The themes of the show, whose name means “jubilation” in Spanish, are many. Power and the handing down of power over time, the evolution from ancient monarchies to modern democracies, old age, youth—it is against this backdrop that the characters of Alegría play out their lives. Kings’ fools, minstrels, beggars, old aristocrats and children make up its universe, along with the clowns, who alone are able to resist the passing of time and the social transformations that accompany it.

The music of Alegría is a lively and emotional musical score by René Dupéré, moving between jazz, pop, tango, and klezmer. It evokes the sound of traveling minstrels by using acoustic instruments, including an
accordion.

Alegría features an international cast of 55 performers and musicians from 17 countries and showcases breathtaking acrobatics. Acts include the Synchro Trapeze and the high-speed, high-energy Aerial High Bars in
which daring aerialists fly to catchers swinging more than 40 feet above the stage. The vibrancy of youth is alive in Power Track, a brilliant display of synchronized choreography and tumbling on a trampoline system hidden under the stage floor. In Russian Bars, artists fly through the air and perform spectacular somersaults and mid-air turns,
landing on bars perched on the sturdy shoulders of catchers.

Events at the Breslin Center for Family Fun Meijer Holiday Hoops Invitational, Saturday, December 26, 2009 and Harlem Globetrotters, Saturday, January 23, 2010.
For more information, prices and times log on to www.breslincenter.com
or call 800.968.BRES

For the younger children the Fox Theatre in Detroit offers Sesame Street Live “Elmo’s Green Thumb” from Friday, Jan. 29 through Monday, Feb. 15.

Elmo has raised his sunflower, Sunny, from a seed, but his floral friend has outgrown the flower pot. Elmo and friends find Big Bird’s garden the ideal place for Sunny to flourish and grow but they are too excited to wait. Rather than let Sunny follow nature’s course, Abby Cadabby, Sesame Street’s fairy-in-training, casts a spell to make Sunny grow. The spell does just the opposite and, instead of growing, Elmo and all of his friends shrink! While Abby searches for just the right words to reverse the spell, Elmo, Zoe, Telly and friends explore Big Bird’s garden from a smaller perspective and learn some big lessons about patience, overcoming their fears and appreciating the role that each creature plays in our ecosystem ? from dancing ladybugs and beautiful butterflies to grouchy beetles that scavenge the garden floor. Will being small help Sunny grow tall? It’s a fresh, original Sesame Street Live on a whole new scale!

Like television’s Sesame Street, each Sesame Street Live production features timeless lessons for all ages. The universal appeal of each Broadway-quality musical production continues long after preschool. Adults will appreciate the high-tech stagecraft, cleverly written script, and music they’ll recognize and enjoy sharing with children, such as “Ladybug Picnic,” “Inch by Inch” and “I Love Trash.”

Tickets ($12, $17 and $22) go on sale Friday, November 20 at 10 a.m.

A limited number of $32 Premium seats are also available. A facility fee is included in all ticket prices. Additional fees and discounts may apply.

*Family Night Discount ? all seats (excluding Premium) are $10.

Effective Monday, August 17 the Fox Theatre Box Office hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Tickets for Fox Theatre events may be purchased at the Fox Theatre and Joe Louis Arena box offices and Hockeytown Authentics in Troy (without service charges) and all Ticketmaster locations, including Marshall Field’s. To charge by phone, call 800.745.3000. To purchase tickets online, use the links below.

The Fox Theatre Box Office is located immediately next to the theatre’s main entrance at 2211 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201.

Fox Theatre box office hours:
Monday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Also open on day of event

Tickets for Joe Louis Arena events may be purchased at the Joe Louis Arena and Fox Theatre box offices and Hockeytown Authentics in Troy (without service charges) and all Ticketmaster locations, including Marshall Field’s. To charge by phone, call 800.745.3000. To purchase tickets online, please use the links below.

The Joe Louis Arena box office is located at:

Joe Louis Arena
600 Civic Center Dive
Detroit, MI 48226

Joe Louis Arena box office hours:
Monday – Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Also open on day of event

Please note box office locations for ticket purchases may vary depending on the show.