What: The Georgia Ballet’s Nutcracker
When: Dec. 4 at 7:30 pm, Dec. 5 at 2 and 7:30 pm and Dec. 6 at 1:30 and a special benefit performance at 5:30pm (prices are higher for this performance)
Where: Jennie T. Anderson Theatre at the Cobb Civic Center in Marietta
Cost: Tickets range from $15 to $35 but you can win a Family Four Pack here!

The Nutcracker is a holiday tradition. My boys love the story of Marie and her Nutcracker prince. The Georgia Ballet’s performance of the Nutcracker is this weekend, Dec. 4 – 6 at the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre at the Cobb Civic Center. The Cobb Civic Center is a great location right off I-75 with free parking. To view a video of the performance, click here.

If your children have never been to The Nutcracker or they don’t know the story, I found it helpful to read the book prior to going, as there are no words in the ballet and it can be confusing when you don’t know the story. Here’s the version of The Nutcracker that we own, but I’m sure any version will do. I think my boys like all the toy soldiers and the battles.

There are some special activities going on for the Sat., Dec. 5 Georgia Ballet show. Immediately following the matinee performance, reserve a spot to have your little ones dance like characters from the Nutcracker, a great extra for the aspiring ballerina. Arrive at 6:45 for the evening performance and sip hot cocoa while listening to Nutcracker storytime with Mrs. Claus.

How can you win tickets?
If you’d like to win a family four pack of tickets to see the Nutcracker for either the Friday or Saturday performance, subscribe to Field Trips with Sue via email (see the box in the top right corner) and make sure to verify your subscription (you’ll receive an email right after you subscribe and you’ll have to click on the link.) Then leave a comment below or on the facebook page letting me know you are a subscriber. If you’re already a subscriber, just leave a comment letting me know. I’ll choose a winner on Friday morning and the tickets will be left at Will Call for you.

I always love to see who’s in the studio when I do the Better Mornings Atlanta segments. This morning they had Sean, a professional bull rider from Summerville, Ga. who is in town for the Professional Bull Rider’s championship at the Gwinnett Civic Center. Tickets start at $10, so if you have a hankerin for some bull, it’s very affordable.

Also in studio was the biggest cat I’ve ever seen, a siamese and a hairless sphinx from this weekend’s Cat Fanciers cat show at the Georgia International Convention Center. The sphinx was surprisingly soft, but it’s definitely a face only a mother would love. There’s just something strange about a cat with no fur.

And of course, there was the world famous Field Trips with Sue segment where I talked about the following:

Thrashers Kids Day
Georgia Tech Observatory Public Night
Bass Pro Shops Santa’s Wonderland
Georgia Aquarium’s Princess Weekend
High Museum of Art’s Go All Night
AMC’s A.M. Cinema

We also mentioned our current contest for passes to the Centennial Olympic Park Skating Rink and our upcoming chance to win tickets to see the Georgia Ballet’s Nutcracker.

If you’d like to watch the segment, click here.

Chelsea Viran is our lastest ticket winner (through random.org). Chelsea, email me at sue@fieldtripswithsue.com to confirm your tickets and let me know what performance you’d like to attend. Your tickets for the Georgia Ballet’s A Sleepy Hollow Story will be available at will call.

Part of the fun in doing Better Mornings Atlanta is the people you meet in the studio. This morning, I met folks from Netherworld. This creepy guy is the collector. He truly is spooky and has the eeriest voice. He must be a star; he has his own bobblehead. See him holding it? Love the bobblehead.

This mornings Field Trips with Sue segment featured much tamer Halloween happenings including:

• Georgia State Parks Haunted Hayrides
• Georgia Ballet’s A Sleepy Hollow Story – Don’t forget to enter our contest to win FREE tickets to this show. Read the post for rules. We’ll announce the winner on Friday.
• Oakland Cemetery’s Halloween Tours
• The Georgia Aquarium’s A-Scary-Um
• The Silver Scream Spookshow
• Peachtree TV’s Scream on the Green at Centennial Olympic Park (I’ll post something on this later)

You can view the CBS Better Mornings segments here.

What: The Georgia Ballet’s A Sleepy Hollow Story
When: Oct. 24 at 7:30 pm and Oct. 25 at 2 pm
Where: Jennie T. Anderson Theatre at the Cobb Civic Center in Marietta
Cost: Tickets range from $15 to $32 but you can win a Family Four Pack here!

For a short time I lived in Kinderhook, NY, hometown of our 8th president Martin Van Buren. For those of you who don’t know Kinderhook (ok, everyone raise your hand), it is located in the Hudson Valley, near Sleepy Hollow, the setting for the classic American tale about schoolmaster Icabod Crane.

The Georgia Ballet performs this classic Halloween story this coming weekend at the Cobb Civic Center in Marietta (bonus: free parking). For a glimpse at the show, click here. The Sunday performance includes a pumpkin patch before the performance. There will be pumpkin painting and characters from the ballet. I met some of the dancers and the choreographer from the Georgia Ballet earlier this year. They are a world class troupe.

So how can you win tickets to this great show? Tell us about your favorite family field trip. You can leave a comment below, or let us know via Facebook by uploading a photo and leaving a comment on the photo or just leave a comment on this post. The FTWS Facebook page is at www.facebook.com/fieldtripswithsue. We’ll choose one winner through random.org on Friday and your tickets will be waiting at Will Call.