You don't have to be a Pro Bowler to go to Hawaii - A Contest!

In honor of the most useless sporting event of the year, taking place next weekend in Honolulu, HI...OWTK proudly presents a CONTEST! in honor of something much more important - the delightful new record from the musical machine that is Putumayo Kids. With their staccato-like release schedule, Putumayo Kids is performing like a seasoned DJ - mixing in slow numbers with upbeat tracks, keeping the crowd interested and on their toes. Needless to say, I am quite impressed with the way Putumayo Kids has begun 2008.

On the heels of the highly impressive Celtic Dreamland comes the next installment of their Playground series. Hawaiian Playground is a collection of traditional Hawaiian and Hawaiian themed ditties that's just screaming to be used as the soundtrack for a luau-themed summertime kid's birthday party.

I first heard about this record a month or so before it was released when Spare the Rock played Joe McDermott's "Come to Hawaii", then announced that it was to be included on the forthcoming "Hawaiian Playground" disc from Putumayo Kids. Having a sweet spot for both McDermott's music and that of the islands, I was immediately excited for the day when the record would arrive in my mailbox. When it did, the ten songs didn't disappoint.

There isn't a weak track in the bunch. You can slip Hawaiian Playground into your CD player and groove out for 30 minutes to a mix of traditional and more modern sounding (even one that sounds a bit like music from another island, one in the Caribbean) tunes. McDermott's "Come to Hawaii" is indeed the anchor of the record, setting the narrative with it's clever lyrics about pretending to be on one of Hawaii's islands while you "eat pineapples fresh from a can."

Like the rest of the records released by Putumayo, the artwork and presentation is top-notch and like the rest of the Playground series this CD is perfect for the whole family.

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So here's the contest. Simply leave a comment on this post (or send OWTK an email at outwiththekids_at_gmail_dot_com if you're not the commenting type) and be entered to win a Putumayo Kids CD gift pack containing both the Hawaiian Playground and Celtic Dreamland CDs. What better chance do you have to be whisked away to both Ireland and Hawaii? Your comment, which can be as simple as "hello", but must be entered by February 2nd, 2008. Winner to be announced at halftime of the Super Bowl during a flashy 2 million dollar ad for OWTK (yeah, right) - really, I'll just announce the winner right here on OWTK during the 2nd half of the big game. Good luck!

Putumayo Kids also provides a very comprehensive learning guide and a map of the Hawaiian Islands. Nice tools to initiate and/or enhance a conversation about the music indigenous to the 50th state.

Listen to a sample of each track here.

This contest is a part of the HUGE Bloggy Giveaways taking place right here. Head on over for your chance to win some awesome swag.