May 3, 2025 • 7 mins
We're tackling a big topic—literally! We're talking about The Great Big Family Play Day, SoCal’s ultimate family festival, happening at the iconic Autry Museum May 3rd and 4th. It's been dubbed 'Coachella for Kids" by some parents. KFI's Heather Brooker spoke with Tracey Fredkin, the powerhouse mom and founder of SoCal Moms. She’s here to tell us how this event grew from a small local gathering to one of the most beloved family experiences in Los Angeles.
We’re diving into the inspiration behind the event, what’s new this year, and how parents can make the most of the day with their little ones.
We’re diving into the inspiration behind the event, what’s new this year, and how parents can make the most of the day with their little ones.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, it's Heather Brooker. Right now, We're gonna celebrate all
things so Cow family fun, and we got a big episode. Literally,
we're gonna be talking about the Great Big Family Play Day,
so Cal's ultimate family festival. It's happening this weekend outside
the Autry Museum in Griffith Park. Now, this has been
sort of dubbed as Coachella for kids, and I sat
(00:23):
down with the SoCal mom CEO and founder of Great
Big Family Play Day, Tracy Fredkin, to find out why
do you still feel like that's kind of an accurate
description with you know, all the fun, you know, activities,
events and music that you have there.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Yes, I think maybe this year more than ever because
we have for the tenth anniversary, Laurie Berkner for the
first time on mainstage, which people have been asking about
for a long time. We've never had her perform, so
she is performing on Sunday, and we have like several
other new acts, like we're bringing more YouTube stars to
(01:00):
the stage. And this year for the tenth we really
focused on the musical entertainment and you know that that
piece of coming out with your family for a music
festival that you know everybody enjoys.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
And what do you hope that parents get out of
this whenever they come to the Great Big Family Playing Well,
we hope they have a.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Fun day with their kids that they learn and dance
and sing and play. And then also we try to
support a lot of local businesses and local programs, so
we always have you know, camps and schools and experts
and community resources that support parents and parents of all
(01:41):
like kids of all different ages. And I think that's
like an important piece of the event too.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
I love that you guys do that You do highlight
a lot of local businesses and local events. Give me
some idea of some of the local businesses that.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Will be there. Soccer Stars has been a long time
partner of ours and they bring all of their different
athletic programs that they have for kids out there for
like our sports zone. We work at the pump station
and they always provide a family lounge and safe space
for parents to feed their babies, change their babies. This
(02:14):
year they're bringing a food expert as well to talk
to parents about healthy nutrition. They do gear demos and
help parents on the younger side. We are working with
a lot of like the family music groups that are
smaller that we also support and bring to the stage.
So like love Bug and Me music and Minibot Music
and the Beat Buds, all of whom you know are
(02:35):
out doing music education in the community for families. So
those are a few examples anymore that.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
No, that was good. That was good okay? And of
course parents when they hear those names of those musicians
and those you know entertainment acts, parents we'll definitely know,
especially the Beat Bugs beat Buds.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
So what.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Let me ask you this then, what kind of food
options and drink options are you guys going to have
Availa because you know parents, we like to bring snacks
everywhere we go.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Yes, yes, lots of snacks. Well, we always work with
Aquavida Premium Water to have water stations on site, so
people should bring their reusable water bottles. We always have
food Village, which is very popular and we pretty much
have everything you could possibly imagine, from CEPK to Richie's
(03:29):
grilled Cheese, to fish chacos to Indian this year to
a deli, the Deli Doctor, hot dogs, vegetarian options. We
got a coffee truck this year which has been much
in demand. Will be plenty of coffee for parents, and
then all kinds of sweet treats. So we have popsicle
(03:49):
carts and Dippin' dots and soft Mister Softy Lulu's lemonade,
shaved ice. There'll be plenty of sweet as.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Wow, plenty of things to eat and plenty of things
to drink and be entertained by. I know the year
that I hosted and then the year that I hosted
with my family, we had a blast, And I've always
been singing your praises and talking about the event as
much as I can, because it truly is such a
fun time. It's a safe space where parents can go
(04:21):
and learn about other businesses, products they might need, products
they maybe didn't know they need that can make their
lives a little bit easier. And then kids can play soccer,
they can play games. I mean, that's like at the
core of the play day. So it's always such a
joy to go. Anything else, anything else that parents might
(04:41):
want to know. Is it a two day event this
year or just one?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Yeah, there was a couple things actually that I wanted
to tell you to This year, we're also doing a
big focus on literacy, so we've partnered with Chedney Ross
of Books and cookies. And we also have the Village
Well Book Fan and so we're doing story times and
really sort of folks seeing on the joy of reading
with your kids. So that's another big piece this year
that I think is important to know. And then we
(05:06):
have two nonprofit partners this year, Alliance of Moms and
the cran Collection. Families can come donate and pack crams
with messaging with their kids with cran Collection. And then
the Alliance of Moms actually provides our great Big Family
played a T shirts which is part of their Mother's
Day campaign every May, and they're going to be there
(05:28):
selling the T shirts so other people can get them
as well and support the work that they do. And
so those are two great things this year to get
involved in as well in our community organizations that are
local to LA. And then yes, it is a two
day event Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, we're open from ten
to five and Sunday from nine to four at the
(05:51):
Autry out on the lawn across from the LA Zoo.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
And I also forgot to tell people I should have
started with this too. How I know you. Tracy is
actually one of my friends and I've known her for
a long time because Tracy runs SoCal Moms, and long
time ago, Tracy had the SoCal Moms Toddler Camp and
that is where you have always been deeply connected to
the community into events and helping facilitate things for parents
(06:18):
to do. And that's where I first learned about you
and your business. And I took my daughter to some
of the coolest places and experiences and heard the beat
buds for the first time when she was about two
years old, and I was so grateful for that. So
I'm so glad to hear that you're still going strong,
and I'm always happy to support you in any time.
(06:38):
And it sounds like it's going to be another great
year this year.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, we're excited. We're very happy to still be doing
it ten years in and we discover so much every year,
and I appreciate everyone who supports it and helps us
support everything going on in the local community and you know,
supporting parents as well. So thank you. Appreciate you taking
the time with me today too, of.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Course, thank you. That's Tracy Fredkin, the founder of sokal
Moms and the Great Big Family Play Day. If you
want more information on the event this weekend, head to
great Big Family, playday dot com. I'm Heatherbrooker. Thanks for listening.
You can catch any of our KFI shows anytime on
the iHeartRadio app
Hey, it's Heather Brooker. Right now, We're gonna celebrate all
things so Cow family fun, and we got a big episode. Literally,
we're gonna be talking about the Great Big Family Play Day,
so Cal's ultimate family festival. It's happening this weekend outside
the Autry Museum in Griffith Park. Now, this has been
sort of dubbed as Coachella for kids, and I sat
(00:23):
down with the SoCal mom CEO and founder of Great
Big Family Play Day, Tracy Fredkin, to find out why
do you still feel like that's kind of an accurate
description with you know, all the fun, you know, activities,
events and music that you have there.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Yes, I think maybe this year more than ever because
we have for the tenth anniversary, Laurie Berkner for the
first time on mainstage, which people have been asking about
for a long time. We've never had her perform, so
she is performing on Sunday, and we have like several
other new acts, like we're bringing more YouTube stars to
(01:00):
the stage. And this year for the tenth we really
focused on the musical entertainment and you know that that
piece of coming out with your family for a music
festival that you know everybody enjoys.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
And what do you hope that parents get out of
this whenever they come to the Great Big Family Playing Well,
we hope they have a.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Fun day with their kids that they learn and dance
and sing and play. And then also we try to
support a lot of local businesses and local programs, so
we always have you know, camps and schools and experts
and community resources that support parents and parents of all
(01:41):
like kids of all different ages. And I think that's
like an important piece of the event too.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
I love that you guys do that You do highlight
a lot of local businesses and local events. Give me
some idea of some of the local businesses that.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Will be there. Soccer Stars has been a long time
partner of ours and they bring all of their different
athletic programs that they have for kids out there for
like our sports zone. We work at the pump station
and they always provide a family lounge and safe space
for parents to feed their babies, change their babies. This
(02:14):
year they're bringing a food expert as well to talk
to parents about healthy nutrition. They do gear demos and
help parents on the younger side. We are working with
a lot of like the family music groups that are
smaller that we also support and bring to the stage.
So like love Bug and Me music and Minibot Music
and the Beat Buds, all of whom you know are
(02:35):
out doing music education in the community for families. So
those are a few examples anymore that.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
No, that was good. That was good okay? And of
course parents when they hear those names of those musicians
and those you know entertainment acts, parents we'll definitely know,
especially the Beat Bugs beat Buds.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
So what.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Let me ask you this then, what kind of food
options and drink options are you guys going to have
Availa because you know parents, we like to bring snacks
everywhere we go.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Yes, yes, lots of snacks. Well, we always work with
Aquavida Premium Water to have water stations on site, so
people should bring their reusable water bottles. We always have
food Village, which is very popular and we pretty much
have everything you could possibly imagine, from CEPK to Richie's
(03:29):
grilled Cheese, to fish chacos to Indian this year to
a deli, the Deli Doctor, hot dogs, vegetarian options. We
got a coffee truck this year which has been much
in demand. Will be plenty of coffee for parents, and
then all kinds of sweet treats. So we have popsicle
(03:49):
carts and Dippin' dots and soft Mister Softy Lulu's lemonade,
shaved ice. There'll be plenty of sweet as.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Wow, plenty of things to eat and plenty of things
to drink and be entertained by. I know the year
that I hosted and then the year that I hosted
with my family, we had a blast, And I've always
been singing your praises and talking about the event as
much as I can, because it truly is such a
fun time. It's a safe space where parents can go
(04:21):
and learn about other businesses, products they might need, products
they maybe didn't know they need that can make their
lives a little bit easier. And then kids can play soccer,
they can play games. I mean, that's like at the
core of the play day. So it's always such a
joy to go. Anything else, anything else that parents might
(04:41):
want to know. Is it a two day event this
year or just one?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Yeah, there was a couple things actually that I wanted
to tell you to This year, we're also doing a
big focus on literacy, so we've partnered with Chedney Ross
of Books and cookies. And we also have the Village
Well Book Fan and so we're doing story times and
really sort of folks seeing on the joy of reading
with your kids. So that's another big piece this year
that I think is important to know. And then we
(05:06):
have two nonprofit partners this year, Alliance of Moms and
the cran Collection. Families can come donate and pack crams
with messaging with their kids with cran Collection. And then
the Alliance of Moms actually provides our great Big Family
played a T shirts which is part of their Mother's
Day campaign every May, and they're going to be there
(05:28):
selling the T shirts so other people can get them
as well and support the work that they do. And
so those are two great things this year to get
involved in as well in our community organizations that are
local to LA. And then yes, it is a two
day event Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, we're open from ten
to five and Sunday from nine to four at the
(05:51):
Autry out on the lawn across from the LA Zoo.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
And I also forgot to tell people I should have
started with this too. How I know you. Tracy is
actually one of my friends and I've known her for
a long time because Tracy runs SoCal Moms, and long
time ago, Tracy had the SoCal Moms Toddler Camp and
that is where you have always been deeply connected to
the community into events and helping facilitate things for parents
(06:18):
to do. And that's where I first learned about you
and your business. And I took my daughter to some
of the coolest places and experiences and heard the beat
buds for the first time when she was about two
years old, and I was so grateful for that. So
I'm so glad to hear that you're still going strong,
and I'm always happy to support you in any time.
(06:38):
And it sounds like it's going to be another great
year this year.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, we're excited. We're very happy to still be doing
it ten years in and we discover so much every year,
and I appreciate everyone who supports it and helps us
support everything going on in the local community and you know,
supporting parents as well. So thank you. Appreciate you taking
the time with me today too, of.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Course, thank you. That's Tracy Fredkin, the founder of sokal
Moms and the Great Big Family Play Day. If you
want more information on the event this weekend, head to
great Big Family, playday dot com. I'm Heatherbrooker. Thanks for listening.
You can catch any of our KFI shows anytime on
the iHeartRadio app
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