Cupcakes and Cutlery

*I was invited to Kidstock, a private fundraising event to share the experience with you.  All opinions are my own.

A few weekends ago I was invited to a really cool fundraising event in Beverly Hills called Kidstock.  Held at Greystone Mansion, this annual interactive arts and music festival is a ridiculously fun family event.  Sponsored by Hudson Jeans, this event raises money for an organization called One Voice.  One Voice helps kids from inner cities prepare, attend and pay for college, as well as other holiday and emergency programs for deserving inner city families.  What I love about the scholarship program is that they don’t just get the kids in school and then leave them to fend for themselves.  The group supports the students all the way through graduation.

So I brought along my oldest son (who has been begging me to take him to LA – he hears about it from me and his dad) and carpooled up with one of O’s favorite friends (and daughter of the fabulous Nicole).

The kids were beyond excited.  They had no idea what to expect but I knew they were going to have tons of opportunities to make amazing memories.  I had seen a list of the sponsors and was blown away at what was going to be available.

Of course we had to start the day off at the step and repeat.  I think at this point my son knew he was in for a lot of photos…I have a bittersweet love affair with Hudson Jeans.  About 5 years ago, I changed my eating habits and found myself at a size 6, a size I hadn’t been since high school.  I bought the most adorable pair of Hudson jeans.  Before I could take them to get hemmed, I found out I was pregnant with my second son.  Those jeans sat in my closet for years hoping, one day, that I would finally get to wear them.  But I have finally come to terms with the fact that I really enjoy food.  And those size 6 Hudson jeans had to be let go of.  They are on a farm upstate…

One of the ways they raise money at this event is the purchase of kid’s jeans and t-shirts by Hudson.  They were awesome!!  I’m totally kicking myself for not buying any jeans.  Especially since my son asked me for a pair.  And he is VERY picky about his clothes.  Plus they had a bunch of cool patches you could choose to customize your pants or shirt.

Sprinkles Cupcakes were on hand and let kid’s decorate their own treats.  Shwings also had a fun DIY customization station set up.  So.  Much.  Fun.  Stuff.

Radio Disney had a photo booth area set up which of course we had to try out.

As we started walking away from the booth, look who popped up behind us.  Rodg and Sky Sky.  Maj!  (He was super gracious when I asked if I could take his photo.  His wife is my fave but, sadly, she was not there).

We ran in to some of our favorite artists at Kidstock.  Dallas Clayton is awesome.  And O got to meet him.  He had a booth where kids could color some of his illustrations.  O got to meet Stephanie Scott, star of Disney Channel’s A.N.T. Farm.  Could she be any cuter!  And I loved getting a quick second with Peter Kim, CEO of Hudson Jeans.  Click on his name and watch the whole video.  I love what Peter has to say about his branding and company culture.  I pretty much only want to wear Hudson from here on out.  So inspiring.  He was so gracious and genuinely excited about the event.  LOVE that!

And I was SUPER excited about seeing Ziggy Marley with his family.  While I tried to not approach the celebs and let them spend some time with their families, I had to get a picture with Ziggy.  And share a story with him.  Ziggy was the first concert I went to.  But I was only a sophomore in high school and the concert was in Los Angeles (I’m from Orange County).  So my mom took me.  The concert was at the Greek Theater up in the hills.  I remember that we left early because I had a migraine.  But I also remember that my mom went up to one of the security guards and made sure he knew that people were smoking pot around us.  The guard just looked at her like she was crazy.  EVERYONE was smoking pot around us.  I might have been a bit mortified.  I told Ziggy that story and he got a good laugh out of it.  I called my mom on the way home from Kidstock to tell her I had a picture with him and reminded her of that story.  She said she told the guard because the smoke was giving me a headache.  I laughed and told her it probably would have helped the headache.

There were activity booths set up all over the grounds of the estate to keep the kids engaged.  I was super happy to see Kiwi Crate was there.  My son made a drum in their booth.  See that arm around the little girl’s shoulder?  Totally a celebrity.  Seriously, can’t I just take a photo of my kid without a celebrity being in my shot?  Just kidding.

Joann had multiple booths set up with awesome crafts.  I was really impressed with the thought that went in to each booth.  Most of the activities were music or art themed and really made the event.  The materials were super high quality and while the crafts were pretty intricate, they were not too hard for the kids to do with a bit of supervision.

My son’s favorite booth was the SodaStream booth.  My son does not get to drink soda very often.  But I loved it too.  There were tons of different flavors to choose from.  I chose a delicious lime flavor that was not overly sweet.  And my son favored the Kool Aid Cherry flavored soda.  He BEGGED me to get a SodaStream after this.  And I considered it.  How awesome would this be to have at a party?!

DSW sponsored this rad Converse airbrushing booth.  For a small fee, you purchased white Converse sneakers and then picked what you wanted painted on there.  Artists from A.M Style Entertainment then painted the shoes.  We were able to watch O’s shoes getting painted.  SO COOL!!!!!

I totally should have gotten a pair for myself!

I was really excited for O to have a chance to see some live music.  While his father and I have talked about taking him with us to shows, I’m afraid it might make him prematurely deaf.  But I knew the music here would be perfect for the kids.  O got to see his fave, Stephanie Scott perform.  And later on in the day we watch this amazing family band called Rhythm Child.  How awesome to see young musicians putting on a really fun show.

The band encouraged the kids to jam with them and had percussion toys at the front of the stage.  O had a great time playing along.

Nicole and I had a great time with the kids but it was also super to run in to Andrea.  I stole this photo from her Instagram.

And though my younger son didn’t come with us, I did get him his own shirt and there was a pair of Shwings in the gift bag that he flipped for.

The  event was amazing.  I was grateful to be invited and be able to share that experience with my son.  It encompassed everything that we love and it was just plain fun.  I was delighted to see a mention in US Weekly.  So glad that Hudson Jeans and One Voice were able to raise a lot of money for a great cause.  The event staff should be so proud of what they have put together.

To find out more about One Voice, please visit their website.  And see more event photos here.