FREEPORT – On Saturday, July 11, the Maine chapter of the Pajama Program will team up with L.L. Bean and 24-hour preschool television channel Sprout to host a community pajama party in Discovery Park.

Families can enjoy concerts by Dan Zanes and Friends, who won the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Musical Album for Children, wear their favorite pajamas and have fun – all while supporting a good cause.
Attendees are encouraged to bring a new pair of pajamas or new children’s book to donate to the Pajama Program, a nationwide not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping children in need.
Dan Zanes and Friends’ Grammy winning “Catch That Train!” CD brings together the Kronos Quartet, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Father Goose (aka Wayne Rhoden), Zanes’ mother-in-law and the children of South Africa’s Agape Orphanage. Together, they sing Zulu folk songs, an old labor organizing tune, a song about the joys of farming the English countryside, and, of course, a few train songs – all in an instrumental mix that highlights cuatros, lap steels and trombone.
Zanes’ latest recording project is “¡Nueva York!” or what he is often heard calling his “pro-immigration CD,” a collection of songs from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and other parts of the Spanish-speaking Americas.
Activities begin at noon at L.L.Bean’s store with Nina, the host of Sprout’s popular bedtime program “The Good Night Show,” meeting and greeting families and participating in a variety of kid-friendly activities.
Created as a tool to help parents calm their children down after a busy day, “The Good Night Show” is hosted by Nina and her puppet friend, Star. It airs every night on Sprout from 6 to 9 p.m. Nina and Star play games, sing bedtime songs, make crafts, read stories and teach words in Spanish and sign language to children all over the country.
“We are so excited to partner with Sprout and L.L.Bean on this event to help our local children,” said Karen Dorrell, Maine chapter president, the Pajama Program. “There are over 2,000 children in the foster care system in our state alone and over half a million nationwide. Many of these children have never owned a pair of pajamas and don’t know the comfort of being tucked into a cozy bed and having a bedtime story read to them. It is our mission to provide new pajamas and new books to help make bedtime better for more kids.”
The Dan Zanes and Friends concerts will be at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the park next to the L.L. Bean store. Admission is free. Attendees are urged to bring lawn chairs.

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