CrossRoadsNews, Aug. 7, 2010 - Section B

Family & Back to School Expo August 14, 2010 • Noon -5 p.m. • Lower Level, Mall at Stonecrest August 7, 2010

www.crossroadsnews.com

Building Happy, Healthy Families

Lots to see, do at expo Adults and children will be entertained, inspired and challenged at the CrossRoadsNews 2010 Family & Back-to-School Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

Twenty-six family-friend exhibitors will offer information for expo visitors, who will also have the opportunity to enter to win a $250 shopping spree at the Mall at Stonecrest.

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August 7, 2010

“We were looking for a community project when we heard of the needs of the Family Expo. We think its a good project to support.”

Travel professionals make community project of expo “East Metro Atlanta’s Weekly Newspaper” 2346 Candler Road Decatur, GA 30032 404-284-1888 Fax: 404-284-5007 www.crossroadsnews.com editor@crossroadsnews.com

The 2010 Best of East Metro Expo Special Section is a publication of CrossRoadsNews Inc., East Metro Atlanta’s awardwinning weekly newspaper.

Editor / Publisher Jennifer Parker Graphics Editor Curtis Parker Reporters Jennifer Ffrench Parker Carla Parker

© 2010 CrossRoadsNews, Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reprinted without written permission of the publisher.

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For the second year, members of the Atlanta chapter of Travel Professionals of Color will give their time at the Family & Backto-School Expo at the Mall at stonecrest.

The group of 18 members from 14 metro-Atlanta black-owned travel agencies picked the family expo as its annual community project.

On Aug. 14, they will help set up and tear down the expo and will man the information booths.

Alvilda Jones, the chapter’s business development chairperson, said the group voted to support the expo which focuses on families.

“We were looking for a community project when we heard of the needs of the expo,” said Jones, owner of Inspired Travel.

“We think it’s a good project to support.”

The Family Expo is one of four community expos sponsored annually by CrossRoadsNews at the Mall at Stonecrest.

The others are the Health & Wellness Expo in January, the Summer Camp Expo in March, and the Best of East Metro/Small Business Expo in April. The expos seek to empower residents with information and resources to help improve their lives.

Shirley and Willie Presley, owners of N-Line Travel in Stone Mountain, volunteered at the 2009 Family Expo. They will be back this year with a dozen of their chapter members, working to make the expo a plesant experience for families.

Extended hours for immunizations, health screenings Kids headed back to school can get immunizations and health screenings until 7 p.m. on Aug. 10, 12, 17 and 29 from the DeKalb Board of Health’s four centers.

The board is offering the extended hours for students going to day care centers and Decatur, city of Atlanta, and DeKalb County

schools.

The Board of Health is offering the extended hours at its South, East, Central and North DeKalb centers. Immunizations and vision and hearing screenings are offered at all the centers. Dental screenings are only available at the Central and East DeKalb health centers.

Fees apply, and Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids are accepted.

The centers are: n South DeKalb (Clifton Springs) Health Center, 3110 Clifton Springs Road, Decatur; 404-244-2200. n East DeKalb Health Center, 2277 S. Stone Mountain-Lithonia Road, Lithonia; 770-484-2600.

n Central DeKalb (Vinson) Health

Center, 440 Winn Way, Decatur; 404-294-3762. n North DeKalb Health Center, 3807 Clairmont Road, Chamblee; 770-454-1144.

For more information, visit www.dekalbhealth.net or call 404294-3700.

2010 Family & Back-to-School Expo Grand Prize Entry Form Visit at least 15 of these exhibitors* at the Mall at Stonecrest on Aug. 14 and enter to win a $250 Mall at Stonecrest shopping card.

_____ A Unique Learning Academy _____ Academy of the Arts _____ Andre Cleveland/State Farm Insurance _____ Clemmons Law Firm _____ Community Connections _____ DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau _____ Families First _____ Georgia Center for Resources & Support _____ Georgia Families _____ Georgia Public Broadcasting _____ Grief Survivors Therapeutic Network, Inc. _____ Kidds Dance Project, Inc. _____ Kilombo Academic Cultural Institute _____ Kip Learning Center

_____ Ladies Only Total Fitness _____ Literacy Link Learning Center _____ Liz Carter for Congress _____ Nappy Hair Shop _____ Neighbor to Family, Inc. _____ New Beginnings, Life Changing Network _____ Power Kicks Martial Arts _____ Quality Care for Children _____ Roots Adoption Agency _____ Sevananda Natural Foods _____ Task Force for Guyana’s Children _____ The Potters House _____ Youth House Atlanta

Name ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________City _______________________________________ St: ______ Zip: ___________ Email ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Home phone: _________________________________________________ Cell phone: ____________________________________________________ *Exhibitors must write their codes on your entry form. Your name, address and telephone nos. are required to win. Employees and immediate family members of CrossRoadsNews and the Mall at Stonecrest not eligible for awards. Must be 18 years or older to win. Must be present to win.

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2010 Family & Back-to-School Expo Aug. 14, 2010 - Noon to 5 p.m. • The Main Stage in front of Macy’s Lower Level, The Mall at Stonecrest 2:30 p.m. Healthy Lunch Demos with Life Chef Asata Reid

12:30 p.m. Peter Linz and Theo

3 p.m. Conservatory of Dance

Asata Reid

Peter Linz and Theo

1 p.m. KIDDS Dance Project, Daisy’s 1:15 p.m.

PowerKicks

Martial Arts

Conservatory of Dance KIDDS Dance Project, Daisy’s

3:30 p.m. Peter Linz and Theo 4 p.m. Academy of the Arts Dancers

1:30 p.m.

Jabias Mitchell

Academy of the Arts

4:20 p.m. Sonya Williams 4:45 p.m.

Grand Prize Drawing

5 p.m. Expo ends

2 p.m. Peter Linz and Theo Jabias Mitchell

Sonya Williams

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“I am teaching people to make healthy choices – one meal at a time, one family at a time.”

Chef to showcase easy, healthy and tasty meals for kids

By Jennifer Ffrench Parker

Parents who want their children to eat better will get lots of help from life chef Asata Reid at the Aug. 14 Family & Back-to-School Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

Reid, a chef, food writer and culinary educator, will demonstrate quick and easy lunches and after-school snacks from the main stage in front of Macy’s at 2:30 p.m.

The mother of two boys says that lunch and snacks should be healthy, tasty and good for growing kids.

“Healthy eating is definitely not expensive and it’s not hard,” she said. “I will show parents and kids how easy and delicious healthy eating can be.”

Reid says whole foods are cheaper than processed foods and taste better too.

The foods she will demonstrate at the expo and offer samples to families who attend will be easy for parents to make and for older kids to make for themselves.

Reid says she will pull items from all the food groups – protein, complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables, and dairy – to get every child one step closer to having a balanced meal.

Protein includes lean meats and beans, and the complex carbohydrates are wholegrain pasta, bread and rice. For fruits and vegetables, she will pick fresh seasonal items, and the dairy – milk and cheese – will be low-fat.

With childhood obesity rampant throughout DeKalb County and the country, Reid said that thanks to our cyber-tech society, inactivity and a national love affair with fat, salt and sugar, this will be the first generation of kids who will not outlive their parents.

“Poor diet and lack of activity have made obesity an epidemic,” she said, adding that we can make a dent in the epidemic if we eat good stuff and burn more calories than we consume.

For example, Reid said kids who participate in sports at school need to feed on premium foods and make every calorie count.

Instead, they are loading up on junk food and empty calories, she said.

“They are full, but their bodies are starving for nutrients,” she said.

Instead of soda, Reid said parents should buy 100 percent dark fruit juice like grape and cranberry and add seltzer or sparkling water.

“It makes a refreshing drink and they don’t get the artificial color and high-fructose sweeteners and all those preservatives with

Get kids to eat fresh To help parents entice their kids with fresh foods, Reid offers these tips: n Get the kids in the kitchen. They will eat what they cook. n Buy more foods that have no labels – fresh produce, vegetables and fruits. n Children don’t buy foods. They don’t have jobs. Parents make the call. n Pull from the five food groups – protein, complex carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables and dairy – for every meal. n Add color, texture and flavors. These three will diversify your meal. n Have fun – it’s just food. If something doesn’t work out, order pizza and try again tomorrow. It’s just dinner. Get it on the table. Don’t give up. n Expose kids to different foods and help them develop a flavor profile of a food. Don’t hide foods in smoothies and cheese. Kids need to learn to appreciate the flavor of different foods. Try three times before you give up. By the third time, they will eat it.

Asata Reid will demonstrate quick and easy lunches and after-school snacks at CrossRoadsNews’ Family and Back-to-School Expo on Aug. 14 at the Mall at Stonecrest.

strange names,” she said. “With 100 percent juice and sparkling water, they are getting a great drink and the benefits of antioxidants, too.”

Reid recommends going for seasonal fruits and vegetables every time.

“They are the freshest, have the most flavor and are the cheapest,” she said. Eating local in Atlanta is a lot easier because stores like Wal-Mart and the food co-op Sevananda Natural Foods Market, which is sponsoring her demonstration at the expo, carry locally grown foods, she added.

Reid also thinks it’s easy to get children to try new foods if we teach them to grow food and take them shopping for food.

“What kids grow, they eat,” she said.

“We just need to get them in the kitchen and get them shopping, and let them grow something, even one tomato. They will eat it because they will be so proud. When the tomatoes are ready, let them invite a friend over and do a pizza party and showcase the vegetables that your kids grew.”

Reid, who lives in Decatur, has been teaching people about food for the past four years.

She teaches people how to let food fit their lifestyle. She works with families who want to eat better and people with health issues like diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, cancers and obesity and conducts demonstrations at churches and community organizations.

She also has a contract with Kaiser Permanente Worksite Wellness Program to do one-hour lunch-and-learn sessions at companies that are members of the HMO. “I am teaching people to make healthy choices – one meal at a time, one family at a time,” said Reid, who has been a chef at the Dish Restaurant, the Food Studio and Nikolai’s Roof, and the vegan restaurant Lush.

Reid also has catered through Bold American Catering and has worked as a private chef with an upscale staffing company for private estates in Atlanta.

Foodies can catch her on second Satur-

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n Go seasonal. Change with the season.

Don’t give your kids watermelon in the winter. It won’t taste good and they won’t want to eat it ever again. Eat foods when they are in season and are at their best. n Don’t overcook it. Kids won’t like uncolorful mush either.

days monthly, except August, at Sevananda, where she has been a co-op member for a decade and where she teaches an hour-anda-half class using natural and locally grown ingredients.

“We demonstrate three dishes and do a lot of information sharing,” she said. “We talk about myths and health claims.”

Reid said she came to culinary education gradually.

The “light” came on for her after she took a look into the shopping carts of fellow shoppers at the newly opened Gresham Park Wal-Mart four years ago.

“I looked in the carts and there were sodas and frozen foods and packaged snacks, but no fresh produce, no vegetables, no fruits,” she said. “I decided then to apply my knowledge in everyday language that people will understand.”

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Family Expo

Puppeteer Peter Linz, who has a degree in psychology from UGA, has been playing with puppets since he was 3.

PBS Kids stars Buddy and Theo to meet fans at expo Peter Linz and special guest Theo from “Between the Lions” and the inquisitive Buddy of “Dinosaur Train” will entertain children and families at the Aug. 14 CrossRoadsNews’ expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

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Families can hang out with PBS Kids star Buddy from “Dinosaur Train” and puppeteer Peter Linz and special guest Theo from “Between the Lions” at the Aug. 14 Family and Back-to-School Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

Linz, who has a degree in psychology from the University of Georgia, has been playing with puppets since he was 3 and has wanted to work in children’s television since he was 10.

His dream was realized when he was hired to be a puppeteer with the Jim Henson Co. His puppet characters can be seen on “Sesame Street,” “Bear in the Big Blue House” (Tutter, Pip); “Blue’s Room” (Polka Dots, Doodle Board); “The Book of Pooh” (Pooh); “Lomax: The Hound of Music” (Lomax); and “It’s a Big Big World,” in which he stars as Snook the Sloth.

Linz’s inventive, hysterical puppet show is loaded with audience participation, humor and excitement.

PBS’ “Between the Lions” features Theo, Cleo, Lionel and Leona, a family of lions who run a magical library where characters pop out of books, vowels sing, and words take on a life of their own. The series combines puppetry, animation and live action to help young children ages 4 to 7, learn to read.

Theo Lion will be on the expo’s main stage for live half-hour shows at 12:30, 2 and 3:30 p.m. in front of Macy’s on the mall’s lower level.

Kids can meet Buddy, the curious, funny

and intelligent Tyrannosaurus rex, at noon and 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis.

As star of the hit show, Buddy is cautious but always ready to jump into action and start asking questions. While on the Dinosaur Train, he makes a hypothesis and begins searching for the answers to his questions with the help of his mom, the conductor, and the new dinosaurs he meets on the train.

When Buddy isn’t taking exciting trips on the Dinosaur Train, he is playing with his siblings Don, Tiny and Shiny and anticipating their next adventure.

“Dinosaur Train” begins when Buddy is adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Pteranodon and brought to their nest to hatch at the same time as his new siblings.

Buddy and his new family have an insatiable desire to learn all about the different types of dinosaurs, so they board the Dinosaur Train, which allows them to travel and explore the world inhabited by these amazing creatures.

The colorful locomotive with windows that are perfect for the long-necked herbivores departs from Pteranodon Station offering all the species onboard a chance to check out the prehistoric world. The Dinosaur Train visits the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous worlds, while train’s conductor Troodon provides passengers with cool facts about dinosaurs along the way.

The Mall at Stonecrest is located off I-20, Exit 75, at Turner Hill Road in Lithonia.

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The KIDDS Dance Project promotes prevention of substance abuse and violence through the art of dance.

Diminutive Daisy’s dance troupe to show off moves

PowerKicks offers taekwondo classes, a competition program for children, and rape awareness and prevention.

PowerKicks is ‘home of bully prevention’

The littlest dancers at Lithonia-based KIDDS Dance Project, the Daisy’s dance troupe, will bring their best ballerina moves to the Family and Backto-School Expo on Aug. 14 at the Mall at Stonecrest. They are scheduled to perform at 1 p.m.

They may not have roots, but these Dance Project.

Daisy’s are as pretty as the real thing.

They will show off their best ballerina The dance troupe of tiny tots, ages 4 to moves at 1 p.m. at CrossRoadsNews’ Family 6, are the “babies” of Lithonia-based KIDDS and Back-to-School Expo on Aug. 14 at the Mall at Stonecrest.

The Daisy’s are the youngest dancers of the KIDDS Dance Project, a nonprofit community outreach program that caters to young people ages 4 to 22.

Pat Martin, executive director, founded the program in 1995.

KIDDS – which stands for Kids Influenced by Self-Discipline, Self-Determination and Positive Self-Image – promotes prevention of substance abuse and violence through the art of dance. The program involves youth in major stage productions to build character and self-esteem.

In June, KIDDS Dance Project won a $50,000 Pepsi Refresh Grant to help it open

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its Center for Youth Development and Performing Arts.

The 9,000-square-foot center is under construction on Maddox Road in Lithonia and is scheduled for completion in December.

Martin, a behavioral health nurse for 15 years, said the center will offer a safe haven for youth during out-of-school hours. Children will be able to take classes in dance, drama, piano and karate.

The Daisy’s and the project’s other dance groups and acts have performed at the Rialto Center for the Arts in Atlanta and the Porter Sanford III Performing Arts Center in Decatur.

For more information, visit www.kidds danceproject.com.

The Mall at Stonecrest is at I-20, Exit 75, at Turner Hill Road in Lithonia.

Kids who know the art of self-defense are less likely to be bullied and can take care of themselves.

At PowerKicks on Miller Road in Lithonia, owner and head instructor Master Adrian Spellen has been preparing students ages 5 to 18 in taekwondo since 2003.

Spellen, who was bullied as a child, said martial arts changed his life.

“It helped me with bullies, discipline, my self-confidence, and it gave me a greater perspective on life,” he said.

The school has more than 50 regional and state champions and 20 national champions. In the 2010 AAU National Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., its students brought home four gold, two silver and five bronze medals.

They will be showing their winning style at the Aug. 14 Family and Back-toSchool Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest at 1:15 p.m. on the main stage in front of Macy’s on the lower level.

PowerKicks, considered the “home of bully prevention,” offers Olympicstyle taekwondo classes, an after-school taekwondo program, summer camp, a competition program for children, handto-hand combat training, and rape awareness and prevention. It also offers cardio kickboxing for adults and specializes in detoxification.

A competitor and trainer for nearly 20 years, Spellen is a five-time national champion and a silver medalist at the 2010 South American Games in Medellin, Colombia. He is ranked 14 in the world and is in training for the 2012 Olympics.

When bullying made the news in DeKalb County last year, Spellen offered free bully prevention demonstrations at elementary schools including Browns Mill, Rainbow, Smoke Rise, Midvale, Marbut, and Atherton during which students were taught about nonviolent tactics.

For more information, visit www.power kicksmartialarts.com.

Family Expo

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Jabias has showed off a few of his dance moves in a dozen music videos featuring Young Jeezy and Soulja Boy. Singersongwriter Sonya Williams’ first single, “Heart of a Lion,” was released on Feb. 17. Williams has written 25 songs.

Decatur singer finds her niche in neo soul

By Carla Parker

Jabias “Da Kidd” Mitchell, 6, who acts, dances, raps and models, has his own videos on YouTube. Jabias will perform at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 14 at the Family and Back-to-School Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

Second-grader racks up credits as performer

By Carla Parker

Before the tender age of 1, Jabias “Da Kidd” Mitchell was singing along with music videos and mimicking the dance moves he saw.

His mother and manager, Elretha Jackson, said he was a natural.

“He found the rhythm of the beat from the music videos and mimicked the moves and sang along,” she said this week.

Now with his own videos on YouTube, the 6-year-old is climbing up the entertainment ladder with his acting, dancing, rapping and modeling skills.

“People would say he was going to be somebody when he grows up,” Jackson said.

The second-grader, who began his first day of school on Monday at Imagine International Academy of Mableton, will be performing his hit song “Hey Now” at the CrossRoadsNews 2010 Family and Back-to-School Expo

w g Norollinlasses En Fall C for

on Aug. 14 at the Mall at Stonecrest. He will be onstage at 1:30 p.m.

Jabias’ performance career began in 2005 when his mother entered him in The Great American Model & Talent Search at the Civic Center in Atlanta.

From the group of 3,000 contestants, Jabias emerged among the 260 who were picked to fly to Pittsburgh for a final selection.

He made it among the 37 in the final group and was signed on the spot with Babes N Beaus Atlanta Model/Talent Agency.

When he was 3, his mother enrolled him in acting classes at John Roberts Powers in Atlanta.

Since then, Jabias has appeared in stage plays, commercials and movies, including “The Blind Side,” for which Sandra Bullock won the best actress Oscar; “Stomp the Yard”; and the new movie “Lottery Ticket,” starring Bow Wow and Ice Cube.

He was also in “Tyler Perry’s Meet

the Browns” and a reality television show called “The Next Child Superstar.”

At age 4, he began rapping. Jackson, who also writes her son’s music, said that rapping comes easy to him.

He has opened for R&B singer Mario and has performed for Hot 107.9 and Rosci from BET’s “106 and Park.” He has a CD out that features four songs.

Jabias also has showed off a few of his dance moves in a dozen music videos featuring Young Jeezy and one of his favorite rappers, Soulja Boy. When he is not onstage, Jabias is just a regular kid hanging out with his PlayStation, playing basketball and skating.

He also hangs out with his other favorite rapper, Lil’ Chuckie, every week.

A straight-A student, Jabias loves science and plans to be a producer with his own recording studio.

Jabias has more than 140 videos at www.youtube.com/jabiasmitchell.

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In 2006, Sonya Williams was attending Georgia Perimeter College’s Clarkston campus, studying to be a nurse.

Today, she is a neo soul/R&B singer with a hit song and determined to make her mark on the capital of black entertainment.

“I always wanted to be a singer,” she said this week. “It was my calling.”

Williams will perform with her band, Velvet, on Aug. 14 at the CrossRoadsNews 2010 Family and Back-toSchool Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest. She will be on the main stage in front of Macy’s on the mall’s lower level at 4:20 p.m.

Williams, who lives in Decatur, has been singing since the age of 3. She said her family discovered her talent while she was singing around the house.

“I would sing with a hairbrush as the microphone,” she said. She was inspired to be a recording artist after getting involved in Atlanta’s underground, non-mainstream music scene.

“Being in the neo soul and R&B clubs inspired me to become an artist and songwriter,” she said.

A lover of all types of music, Williams said that at first she couldn’t make up her mind what type of music she wanted to sing. She ended up testing different genres.

“I chose to be a neo soul artist because I was getting a lot of positive feedback,” she said. “People were saying I am more of a neo soul singer.”

Her first single, “Heart of a Lion,” was released on Feb 17. She also has two other songs, “Chocolate Man” and “Let It Go,” that were leaked and became instant hits.

The singer, songwriter and part-time hairstylist has written 25 songs so far, and she is currently working with other underground artists on projects.

Williams encourages other up-and-coming underground artists to always be themselves and to not let anyone steer them from their dream.

“Stay true to yourself and your vision,” she said.

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