We have had so much fun at the Des Moines Gigi's Playhouse that we couldn't resist a stop at the Twin Cities Playhouse.  This playhouse serves families of people with Down's syndrome throughout the Minneapolis and St. Louis area.  An open play time was scheduled and  Vlad informed us that he simply HAD to go and play with the children and their families. We can't have an upset unicorn on our hands so we headed on over and were treated to a warm welcome by the staff and clents. We even got Kristen, the Director, in on the fun.

We are over the moon that we have been able to add an extra stop to our itinerary. We had so much fun at the Des Moines Gigi's Playhouse that we stopped by the Twin Cities Gigi's Playhouse and asked if we could rock for them at their open house tomorrow. To our delight, the director said yes!

Come on by and see what the playhouse is all about,bring anyone you know who has been touched with the gift of knowing someone with Down's Syndrome, and enjoy a free unicorn ride! We will be rocking in the morning starting at 10 am.

At 2 am, after three hours of sleep, we arrived in Des Moines at Gigi's Playhouse, a Down's Syndrome Awareness and Education facility that does fabulous work with these special people. Each person develops skills to the best of their abilities, and they have a great time in the process. The playhouse is so inviting that we wanted to play in it! Many of today's play activities were unicorn themed, and we were delighted to see quite a few of our uniquestrians wearing horns they had decorated just for the occasion.

We unloaded Vlad and set him up outside the front door, then were tickled pink by the ear to ear grins on big and little faces as the kids arrived. Some of the kids were bouncing in their seats and the excitement was contagious. Each ride we gave was tailored to the needs of the rider. Some kids barreled up the stairs, while others needed to be lifted up or gentle and patient encouragement as they realized just how tall Vlad is. Some of my (Katlinel, the Rockinghorsegal) favourite memories of the trip will be of the more timid riders and the glow of self confidence they exude after overcoming their fear and making it all the way up onto that TALL unicorn. We never tire of the grins, giggles and squeals from our precious riders.

Anyone who wanted a ride was welcome, and we gave rides to siblings, parents, the staff of the playhouse, and even to one of the Chicago staff who just happened to arrive for a training session after the summer celebration. Every stop we make leaves us wanting to come back and do this again. These kids are even more magical than Vlad!

You can see even more videos from Des Moines on our Rocking for Charity YouTube Channel.

Reposting this to bring it to the top. :)  Our Itinerary continues to grow and we will be announcing even more stops in the very near future.

Sacramento  CA                 July 12th Join us at Roosevelt Park for the Zombie Walk (Or rock, in our case)
                                         We had a fantastic time rocking the undead and raised a bunch of money for the
                                         Albie Aware Breast Cancer Foundation.
San Francisco, CA             August 7th We are delighted to rock for
                                         the  Pomeroy Rehabilitation and
                                         Recreation center of San Francisco!
                                        They provide a wide array of services
                                        for individuals with many different
                                         challenges including cerebral palsy,
                                        Down's syndrome, autism and varying
                                        physical capabilities.
Reno, NV                         August 10th Sippee's is hosting us in downtown Reno. They work closely with the
                                        local community and support many civic projects that benefit area children.
Saratoga Springs, UT        August 13th Hoofbeats for Healing
Grand Island, NE              August 15th We rock for the Big Brothers!
Des Moines, IA                 August 16th Gigi's Playhouse, a recreation and therapeutic activity center for
                                        those with Down's Syndrome.
Minneapolis, MN              August 18th Ronald McDonald House of the Twin Cities
St. Louis Park, MN            August 20th Gigi's Playhouse of the twin cities
Aurora, IL                         August 22nd, Gigi's Playhouse at the Fox Run Mall
Augusta, MI                      August 23rd Unicorn rides for the Cheff Center which provides therapeutic horse
                                         rides for special needs children and adults      
Syracuse, NY                     August 29th Gigi's Playhouse
Rochester, NY                   August 30th  Gary the Pirate has brought innumerable squeals of glee to the
                                          Rochester area, having collected toys for needy children for 25 years. Bring a
                                           new toy for him and enjoy a very special unicorn ride as our thank you for
                                          helping him with his mission.
Hershey, PA                     September 6th  Yippee! Today we rock for the benefit of the Ronald McDonald
                                         house in the chocolate scented town of Hershey.
Barre, VT                         September 7th  Come for a unicorn ride after Sunday services at the Barre
                                        Unitarian Universalist church!

August 10th we will be making our fourth stop on the tour in beautiful downtown Reno. The Junkee Clothing Exchange does enormous amounts for local charity groups. Come on by and go for a ride on Vlad!

We had a fantastic time at our first stop,  the Sacramento Zombie Walk. We rocked all night with a never ending line of the undead. The zombie paparazzi were also out in full force.

We had some extra special riders last night.  We've had Elizabeth,  Queen of England,  the good King Henry VIII,  and Mary,  Queen of Scots ride before,  but we have never before had Jesus ride!  You might say last night got our tour off to a blessed start.

A grand time was had by all. We rocked ourselves to nubbins and in the process raised a large wad o cash for the Albie Aware Breast Cancer Foundation. 

My personal favourite was Bob Ross,  returned from the grave to paint the happy little undead tree here waiting in line for a ride.  I loved his show!  It was such a treat to see that he's still painting so many years after shuffling off his mortal coil.

Next up,  San Francisco!

We are delighted to announce that we will be making a tour stop to benefit the Ronald McDonald house of Hershey, PA on September 6th. Rides will be given starting at 9 am and fun is sure to be had! These dedicated individuals provide a much needed home away from home for the families of children undergoing often lengthy medical treatment. A respite from the stressful environment of a busy hospital is an immensely important thing to help families through a very difficult time.

In other news, the very first printing of our Keep Calm and Rock On shirts arrived today and they are glorious! The green is a cheerful kelly green, the fit and quality are excellent. One of our friends suggested that folks who have them post a facebook profile picture of them wearing it so we can have fun watching our corner of facebook turn green. Mine is already up!

  On Saturday, July 12th,  we kick off our charity tour a bit early. We will be in Roosevelt Park in Roseville California with Shannon McCabe and her Vampires at the Zombie Walk . Join us and the undead as we walk and rock for breast cancer research. This disease touches far too many lives. Join us from 5-9pm for some revelry designed to help banish this disease to the pages of history.

Sacramento  CA                 July 12th Join us at Roosevelt Park for
                                         the Zombie Walk (Or rock, in our case)
We had a fantastic time rocking the undead and raised a bunch of money for the Albie Aware Breast Cancer Foundation.
San Francisco, CA             August 7th We are delighted to rock for
                                         the  Pomeroy Rehabilitation and
                                         Recreation center of San Francisco!
                                        They provide a wide array of services
                                        for individuals with many different
                                         challenges including cerebral palsy,
                                        Down's syndrome, autism and varying
                                        physical capabilities.
Sacramento,CA                August 9th We are excited about
                                        returning to the Banana Festival in
                                        gorgeous William Land Park. This festival
                                        raises funds to benefit numerous local
                                        charities in Sacramento. Good folk,
                                        good work, GREAT fun!
Reno, NV                         August 10th Sippee's is hosting us in downtown Reno. They work closely with the
                                        local community and support many civic projects that benefit area children.
Saratoga Springs, UT        August 13th Hoofbeats for Healing
Grand Island, NE              August 15th We rock for the Big Brothers!
Des Moines, IA                 August 17th Gigi's Playhouse, a recreation and therapeutic activity center for
                                        those with Down's Syndrome.
Minneapolis, MN              August 18th Ronald McDonald House of the Twin Cities
Madison, WI                    August 20th
Augusta, MI                     August 22nd Unicorn rides for the Cheff Center which provides therapeutic horse
                                        rides for special needs children and adults
Detroit, MI                       August 25th      
Syracuse, NY                    August 29th Gigi's Playhouse
Rochester, NY                    August 30th  Gary the Pirate has brought innumerable squeals of glee to the
                                          Rochester area, having collected toys for needy children for 25 years. Bring a
                                           new toy for him and enjoy a very special unicorn ride as our thank you for
                                          helping him with his mission.
Llewellyn, PA                    September 2nd We rock for the Good Intent Hose Company #1 to help them raise
                                        funds for a new squad truck.
Hershey, PA                     September 6th  Yippee! Today we rock for the benefit of the Ronald McDonald
                                         house in the chocolate scented town of Hershey.
Barre, VT                         September 7th  Come for a unicorn ride after Sunday services at the Barre
                                        Unitarian Universalist church!

We love doing this!

My personal pet charity is the Shriner's Hospitals. I grew up attending the Shriner circuses and enjoying their miniature cars in parades. As an adult I learnt about  the work they do providing no cost care to children with burns or orthopedic issues--I never dreamt that my child would need their services. As fate would have it, my daughter needed orthopedic care for two different issues as she grew up and the Shriners were our personal blessing.

As the Rockinghorse couple, one of our greatest joys is to lift someone from their wheelchair and put them on one of the horses for a ride. Their responses are pure magic. If we need to stand on the rockers or if I need to ride with them to act as a human seatbelt in order to make a ride possible, it will happen with great pleasure. These rides are the ones that keep us going through the long hours and hard work that come with each and every event. This trip is to bring that special joy to a wider range of people. It is our gift to you and a chance to thank the warm and giving staff and volunteers of these organizations.

Starting in August of 2014, we will travel across the US and up into Canada, stopping in 25 towns and cities over 43 days. We leave from San Francisco California and will finish the trip in Montpelier Vermont in mid September. Along the way we will stop and give free rides to the clientele, staff and volunteers of children's hospitals, organizations for wounded vets, charities for the blind, those with autism and those with Down's syndrome. We are collecting donations to cover the expenses of the trip, but want to do more than this, so any donations over our travel costs will be donated to the Shriner's Hospitals. Since we want to make a large donation we have set a high goal of $25,000. All donations are going into a dedicated savings account and once the trip commences we will keep a detailed log of actual expenses for an expense report after the trip.

We will have a crowdfunding page up soon and will link it here. In the interim, any direct donations are being held in their own dedicated savings account. We thank each and every one of you that is helping to make this trip possible!