FREE SCREENING OF NEW NICK CAGE MOVIE

Hey Detroiters! Who wants to see a new Nick Cage movie?! THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT officially doesn't start showing at movie theaters until April 22; but I have the inside scoop on how you can see an advance screening of the film for FREE! Click here to RSVP for a free advance screening at Emagine Canton on March 30, 2022.

Note: seating is on a first come, first serve basis and is not guaranteed. Must RSVP to attend! Who is geeked about a free night at the movies?! 

Nicolas Cage stars as... Nick Cage in the action-comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalized version of Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan (Pedro Pascal). Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and forced to live up to his own legend, channeling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones. With a career built for this very moment, the seminal award-winning actor must take on the role of a lifetime: Nick Cage.

Showing exclusively at theaters, THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT opens to movie going audiences on April 22. For more information, head over to nickcage.movie

ZAP ZONE WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT

A Geek Daddy was invited by Zap Zone to put together a team to participate in a World Record attempt that involved playing laser tag. I couldn't turn that down! So my kids and I along with one of their best friends and her dad headed over to the Canton location of Zap Zone to do a shift in their bid to be recognized by Guinness World Records for hosting the longest laser tag marathon.

Originally starting off as a place to play video games, Zap Zone has expanded its attractions and locations over the last twenty-five years. Now the family entertainment venue in addition to being an arcade also offers bumper cars, bowling, glo-golf, go-karts, ninja obstacle courses, roller skating, trampolines, virtual reality zones and of course laser tag. There are currently 9 Zap Zones in Michigan with 5 in Metro Detroit (Canton, Farmington, Sterling Heights, Taylor and Waterford) as well as locations in Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Brighton, and Lansing.

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Zap Zone is trying to achieve two Guinness World Records involving laser tag:

LONGEST LASER TAG MARATHON

First, the one we were invited participate in was to break the current record for the longest laser tag marathon.  This has two pre-selected teams constantly playing for the duration of the world record attempt with a third team being added from time to time into the mix to keep things interesting for the core group of players. Looking like the Ghostbusters with our laser phasers and target vests, we took on the role of the third team for a portion of this laser tag marathon.

The current record for continuously playing laser tag is 25 hours which was set in 2017 by Q-Zar Codevilla (Pavia, Italy). So that is the mark Zap Zone has to beat!  The two primary teams are planning on playing consecutively for 26 hours to achieve the world record … and if they have enough endurance may play even longer to make their accomplishment harder to beat.

This dad blogger's team had a blast jumping into the action. We had a lot of fun playing laser tag and it was made even more exciting knowing we were part of trying to achieve the Guinness World Record for longest laser tag marathon. Did we set the record? Well as I am writing this they still have another twenty hours left to play but from our interaction with the players it seems as if they won't have a problem setting it. The nice part of our role was that we got to play for a little while then go home.

MOST LASER TAG GAME PARTICIPANTS IN A SINGLE DAY

Also coming up on August 25, 2019, Zap Zone is attempting to break Guinness World Record #2 for the most people playing in an ongoing laser tag match in a single day. The record is currently 250 people.  Zap Zone is hoping to burst that with a 1,000 or more participants playing laser tag from 10 am to 10 pm at their Farmington location.

Anyone who stops in during that time can play a 10-minute match for FREE to be part of the world record attempt. You will also receive a commemorative lanyard to mark the moment you participated in a Guinness World Record attempt. Stop by and join in!

EVERYONE PLAYS FOR FREE

If you aren't able to participate the Guinness World Record attempts there is still laser tag fun to be had at Zap Zones this weekend. As part of Zap Zone's twenty-fifth anniversary celebration, on Sunday, August 25 it will be FREE to play laser tag at ALL of the Zap Zone locations. Each of the Zap Zone locations, including the Farmington world record attempt, will be running the laser tag arena in a tournament format.

Players will be grouped into 2 teams of 10 players for each match. A team stays in the laser tag arena until they are defeated. If you are good enough you could compete in 10 matches in a row, maybe 100 or even keep playing all day long if no one defeats your team. You can come with 10 of your friends to all be on the same team or if alone be randomly placed on a team. Zap Zone wants everyone who comes out to have a chance to have fun playing a free match of laser tag on August 25. Come on out and have a good time!

For more information or directions go to zap-zone.com

Goldfish Swim School Theme of the Month -- December is Winter Wonderland

 ** A Geek Daddy is a brand ambassador for Goldfish Swim School**

When you think of swimming trips to the beach, outdoor pool parties and visits to water parks during the summer normally are what first come to mind.  For our family though as the snow starts to fall that is our ideal time to have the kids jumping into the water.  We regularly have our children enrolled in swimming programs throughout the cold weather months here in Michigan and this winter they are taking lessons at Goldfish Swim School.  So while the temperature may be 9 degrees outside, they'll be enjoying swimming in the shiver-free indoor pool at Goldfish Swim School that is always heated to 90 degrees.

Swimming during the winter is a fun activity to help keep kids exercising and healthy when temperatures may prohibit them from getting outside to play.  It also reinforces water safety skills so that when the weather heats up your child is prepared to safely enjoy swimming at a beach or pool.  Plus swimming throughout the year just overall makes a child a stronger swimmer making them confident and comfortable in and around water.  Goldfish offers programs for children from 4 months to 12 years old of all skill levels.  They offer infant sessions to get children comfortable with being in the water, swimming lessons for both beginners and kids who want to improve upon their abilities, plus a team program that helps experienced young swimmers who have mastered their lessons develop racing skills and participate in some friendly competition.

To help make lessons a bit more fun, Goldfish Swim School also has a special theme they promote each month with decorations around the facility, activities such as coloring contests, and special giveaway items they hand out each week to children after they've completed their lesson.  December's theme is Winter Wonderland.  A very fitting one with both the holiday season and the nearly foot of snow that has fallen on the ground here in Metro Detroit.  My kids received a small maze game as their themed prize of the week after their most recent lesson for example. In addition to Winter Wonderland some of the other themes in 2016 were Olympics to tie-in to July's Summer Games, Farming in September, and Outer Space in November.  Having a different theme each month is just one of the many ways Goldfish Swim School differentiates itself as an ideal location that truly caters to providing a great experience for families who bring children to go swimming there.

For more information, please visit goldfishswimschool.com

A Geek Daddy is a brand ambassador for Gold Fish Swim Schools receiving complimentary lessons and services for his children in exchange for promotional consideration by the blog.  Opinions expressed are honest and my own.

Goldfish Swim School Holiday Giveaway

  ** A Geek Daddy is a Goldfish Swim School brand ambassador**

My kids had been taking swim lessons at our local community pool the last few years but this winter we decided to try a different approach by enrolling them in Goldfish Swim School.  I was interested to see how well their skills might improve with the smaller class sizes and more personal attention provided by Goldfish Swim School.  At the community pool, they'd be participating in sporadic multi-week sessions with class sizes that ranged from eight to twenty students.  Goldfish Swim School will be providing quite a bit more attention to my kids with a maximum of 4 children per class and perpetual lessons where a child just keeps swimming throughout the year without constantly having to sign them up for new instructional sessions.  I'll be documenting my family's experience over the next few months as A Goldfish Swim School brand ambassador so keep an eye out for updates.

Also one lucky blog reader will be going beyond simply reading A Geek Daddy's posts about my kids' swimming lessons experience because you will will receive your very own 2 month membership for a child (4 months to 12 years old) to Goldfish Swim School.  This giveaway is limited to Michigan residents and the swimming lessons must be redeemed at one of Goldfish Swim School's 7 Metro Detroit locations (Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Canton, Clarkston, Farmington Hills, Macomb, or Rochester).  The Goldfish Swim School Holiday Giveaway has a $374 value and includes the following:

+  2 months of Goldfish Swim Group Swim Lessons at one of the 7 Detroit area locations for one child;

+  Waived New Member Registration Fee;

+  4 Family Swim Passes;

+  Bubbles goldfish plush toy;

+  Goldfish Swim School Towel.

Just complete the following instructions prior to Sunday, December 11, 2016 @ 11:59 pm to throw your name in the hat for a chance to be the randomly selected winner of this Goldfish Swim School Holiday Giveaway.

ENTRY 1 (Required) -- Email thegeekdaddy [at] yahoo [dot] com sharing who you would give these lessons to and why they would be appreciated.  Please include your full name, mailing address and phone number so you can be contacted if selected as our lucky winner.

ENTRY 2 (Optional) -- Follow @Geekdad248 and @GoldfishSwimSchool on Instagram, LIKE the Instagram post embedded below and tell us your Instagram handle within the email mentioned above to receive a bonus entry.

Give the gift of water safety skills to a child this Christmas with #goldfishswim lessons -- 7 Metro Detroit locations to choose from -- @goldfishswimschool #spon

A photo posted by @geekdad248 on Dec 6, 2016 at 12:10pm PST

RULES/DISCLAIMER

A Geek Daddy is hosting this promotion as a benefit to our readers. Must be a US  resident over the age of 18 to participate who resides within the State of Michigan.  Each eligible entry will be assigned a number with a maximum of two entries per person.  A number will be randomly generated to determine the winner.  Attempting to utilize multiple email accounts or Instagram accounts or otherwise trying to participate in this contest more than once per person will disqualify an individual.  If you win this prize through another blog participating in this promotion you will be disqualified.  Goldfish Swim School is responsible for the fulfillment of this prize.  Goldfish Swim Schools will be closed December 23, 2016 - January 2, 2017.  Entrant emails will be deleted at the conclusion of this promotion and not shared with Goldfish Swim School other than the recipient of the prize to assist the sponsor with contacting the winner.  By participating in this promotion you waive any liability of any kind against the publisher of this blog.

Give the gift of water safety skills to a child this Christmas with Goldfish Swim School lessons.  In addition to providing children with the ability and confidence to enjoy a fun and healthy activity Goldfish Swim School also teaches important skills to help keep kids safe around water such as rolling onto their back, treading water and doing the crab walk.

It is important for a swimmer to know what to do when he or she becomes tired or needs to catch their breath.  Goldfish Swim School trains all its students to roll over onto their backs mid-swim.  This allows a swimmer to stay safe while floating for a bit and avoids them panicking while taking a second or two to regroup.

Goldfish Swim School students also learn how to stay safe by treading water.  Every student practices treading water for 10 seconds, 30 seconds or one minute depending on his or her skill level. If students they find themselves in deep water where they can't touch the bottom, they'll have learned to tread water as a survival skill.

Teaching children to do a crab walk along the side of the pool helps them to be able to be safe in the water by knowing what to do if the water is too deep or they can’t swim to a ladder. Early swimmers are taught this skill when they first start lessons at Goldfish Swim School.

This holiday season give a child in your life a present that will be appreciated for a lifetime with the gift of swimming lessons.  Provide a child with the skills and confidence to be safe and comfortable around the water by enrolling him or her in Goldfish Swim School.  For more information on options, prices, and locations, please visit goldfishswimschool.com

A Geek Daddy is a brand ambassador for Gold Fish Swim Schools receiving complimentary lessons and services for his children in exchange for promotional consideration by the blog.  Opinions expressed are honest and my own.