2008 Sponsors:

2007 Media Sponsors:

McDonald’s Family Zone

Saturday, March 15
9:15 a.m. – Street Smart Center for Family Safety
10:15 a.m. – TJ Howell Comedy Juggler & Unicyclist
11:15 a.m. – Cashel Dennehy School of Irish Dance
12:15 p.m. – Okinawan Taiko Drummers
1:15 p.m. – Kalaanjali School of Dance
2:15 p.m. – TJ Howell Comedy Juggler & Unicyclist

Sunday, March 16
Ronald McDonald
11:15 a.m. – Madison Ballet
12: 15 p.m. – Trinity Academy of Irish Dance
1: 15 p.m. – Kalaanjali School of Dance
2:15 p.m. – Trinity Academy of Irish Dance
3: 15 p.m. – Whitehorse Middle School Dance

Ronald McDonald
Sunday, March 16
Don’t miss your chance to meet the one and only Ronald McDonald at Kids Expo. One study says that 98 percent of American school children can identify Ronald McDonald. Keep your eye out on Sunday, March 16 for everyone’s favorite clown! He’ll be on hand again to meet and greet his fans near the Ronald McDonald House booth in the McDonald’s Family Zone.

Street Smart Center for Family Safety
Saturday 9:15 a.m.
Street Smart Center for Family Safety teaches children how to prevent and to escape potentially threatening situations. At Kids Expo, they’ll share safety information for both kids and parents, and have demonstrations of how to escape from a potential abduction. Kids in the audience can get involved by learning the "Stay back!” drill. For more about them, go to www.streetsmartcenter.org.

T.J. Howell Comedy
Juggling & Unicycling
Saturday 10:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m.
T.J. along with his two boys, Hunter (age 10) and Carson (age 7), from Baraboo, will present a world-class comedy juggling and unicycle performance. From juggling objects of myriad sizes to riding atop unicycles as high as six feet tall, this family is known around the U.S. for their crowd-pleasing performances. For more about the Howell family and their amazing feats, visit www.tjhowell.com.

Cashel Dennehy School of Irish Dance
Saturday, 11:15 a.m.
The Cashel Dennehy School of Irish Dance was established to promote Irish heritage and to offer opportunities for competition, but most importantly, for our dancers to have FUN! It offers Irish step dance lessons to boys and girls of all abilities, ages 5 and up. There are no auditions or qualifiers, just the child’s interest in learning to Irish dance. There a lot more to learn at www.casheldennehy.net.

Okinawan Taiko Drummers of Wisconsin
Saturday 12:15 p.m.
A Kids Expo favorite, the Okinawan Taiko Drummers are a group of past, present, and future students of West High School that perform a variety of traditional and modern folk dances from Japan. Members of the Okinawa-based Matusuri Daiko, they have performed in Los Angeles and Washington DC. There’s a lot more to learn about this talented group at www.otdw.com.

Meenakshi Ganesan & the Kalaanjali School of Indian Dance
Saturday 1:15 p.m.
Sunday 1:15 p.m.
The Kalaanjali school of Indian Dance is directed by Meenakshi Ganesan in an effort to propagate Bharatanatyam – Indian Classical Dance form through various outreach programs, workshops, seminars, fund raisers etc. The Kalaanjali dancers as young as 5 years to adults have performed in various multi-cultural and collaborative performances in Wisconsin and other cities of the US, including various pre-schools, elementary, middle and high schools and Universities of WI. Meenakshi and the dancers have been appreciated by the press and public for their quality and presentation. Please visit www.kalaanjali.com for more.

Madison Ballet
A Kids Expo, don’t miss Madison Ballet as they demonstrate how they develop and train ballet dancers at a professional level. The School of Madison Ballet (SMB) opened its doors in 2005 and has since welcomed hundreds of dancers – boys and girls, men and women – into its studios to experience the benefits of comprehensive, classical ballet training. Many of the school’s students that are performing at Kids Expo can also be seen in Madison Ballet’s productions like “The Nutcracker,” “Cinderella,” and for the first time “Peter Pan.” Learn more at www.madisonballet.org.

Trinity Academy of Irish Dance
Sunday, 12:15 p.m. & 2:15 p.m.
Trinity Academy of Irish Dance is one of the most renowned Irish dance programs worldwide. Trinity uses a noncompetitive teaching method that places children on a “journey” through Ireland, teaching the beauty of the dance form as well as cultural and life lessons along the way. You can learn more about Trinity Academy of Irish Dance at www.trinity-dancers.com.