Festival in the Park - May 25 and 26

Okay, so the Festival in the Park runs longer than two days, but I can only really tell you about my experience. For the first time, I went to the Friday night concert - which I was excited about because it was the Gin Blossoms. I remember this band from back in the day - I am not going to date myself, but let's just say I do remember them from the early 90s. I wasn't much into music back then - I could tell you if I liked a song, but could not tell you the song title or the band. However, I enjoyed sitting at the concert listening to this band again.

It did make me feel old to watch all the teenagers running around in extremely skimpy outfits. I don't think that I am much of a prude, but definitely not things I would want my kids running around in (much less what I would wear at that age). The cool thing about the concerts is that they are extremely family friendly - kids 6 and under get in for free. Depending on the bands playing next year, I will probably bring the kids with me.

Saturday, I headed to the Festival to check out the family fun. Not only do they have tons of family friendly events (including the beloved Fireman's Foam). I love wandering through the tents looking at all the items people are selling. Sometimes I wish I had a lot more money than I did - it would be nice to support these local ventures. I love the jewelry that people create, my kids love the crazy creatures. There is no end to the gifts and artifacts you will find.

Not to mention the performances. There are all sorts of exhibits and talents that you will see. From Pro- BMX bikes to artists to sand sculptures. Many children love the little petting zoo - with the alpacas, bunnies, ponies and more.

Memorial Day Weekend is an important, special weekend. This Festival brings out everyone - we even met some people who drove in from Richmond for the concert. If you haven't checked out this Festival yet, put it on your calendar for next year. I already know that it is on mine.

Local Colors Festival - Saturday, May 19, 2012

It has been a while since I have posted about any of the fun things that we have done in Roanoke. We went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade, Easter Egg Hunts all over Roanoke, and the Strawberry Festival. I feel horrible that I did not post about the fun and excitement we discovered during these events. This past weekend, however, we went to the Local Colors Festival. This is one of those festivals that I am a big fan of. I love to travel and with little ones, this is the closest I am going to get to go to another country for a while. Plus, I get to share this experience with the kids.

We enjoyed the parade of countries at the beginning of the festival. I even gave in and purchased (for $1.00 each) two passports so the kids could collect stamps from each country that we visited. They even had it set up so the kids could get free passport photos taken to put in their passports. I loved the countries that we stopped at where the people would share some of their culture with the kids before they earned their stamp.

Not only did we get to learn about other countries, but we could buy food from those countries too. We tried Thai food last year. The kids kept it simple and American with hot dogs. I decided Germany's Bratwurst sounded delicious and it was. I wanted to head over to France after lunch had a chance to digest and get a crepe, but by 3:00 the line was too long and I was more impatient than the kids.

They had a Kids Zone too, with a bounce house, free popcorn, face painting and our favorite caricature lady.

As usual, the kids had fun and so did I. We all got to see and do things that we enjoyed. Next weekend is Festival in the Park, which starts on Thursday and runs through Monday.

Tons of Fun at Tanglewood Mall

This is our third year attending the Tons of Fun event. For the kids, there is no better free event that I can think of. I will preface this with, TONS of people attend this.Think upwards of 3,000 people between 10:00am and 4:00pm. So, if you are not a crowded event kind of person, stay away. If you are a person who loves to watch their kids have fun, this is for you. I don't think we have ever done the same thing twice either.

Last year, the kids actually rode on some of the rides - like a little train. This year, they didn't really care to do that. We checked out all the people dressed in costumes, like the peacock above. The kids really wanted to jump around in the bouncy jungle.

The boys had spent all week talking about getting their faces painted. Both were set on getting race cars until we actually were getting their faces painted. My youngest talked all big and bad about getting a tiger done on his face...except that he was hit by the ULTIMATE shy bug. He wouldn't look at anyone, let alone talk to them. So, he stuck with the original plan of getting the race car done. Now my oldest had his entire face done and I am now having trouble getting the color off. He has a bit of a red tint to his face - kind of funny if you ask me. Then again, we are just getting ready for bath time so it will probably come off the rest of the way in the tub.

Something new for us this year were the glitter tattoos. Of course what could be bad about a bunch of glitter? Except that it gets everywhere... Both the boys went for the stars, even though there was this cool looking lightning bolt.

The other thing we decided to try this year was getting the kids' caricature done. Ron King, the caricature artist, did a great job. I can't deny that...but the line was so LONG. It was frustrating to have to wait while one person had 4 done! Regardless, I am glad we waited. Part of me wishes the Husband came with us so the kids could have done some of the other things while I waited in line. Goodwill was right there near the Caricatures making snakes out of ties. I would have loved for the kids to do that. The problem was, by the time they got their caricature done, they were ready to leave. I can't blame them though - we were there for 4 hours...

The best part of Tons of Fun - it's FREE! Several of the people had tip jars out - which is reasonable considering the GREAT job everyone did! However, if you are on a tight budget, this is a great event. It usually happens the first weekend in February.

What To Do This Weekend

The husband isn't working this weekend, which gives us an entire weekend to spend doing things as a family. Now, I am having a difficult time narrowing down what I would like us to do. Since tomorrow is Saturday, we could always go to Spectacular Saturdays at the Taubman Art Museum. I would love to check out the "In the Moment: Light, Vision, and Memory." That is going on from 10am until 5pm tomorrow.

Another option is to take the kids to the Mill Mountain Zoo. It has been a long time - my youngest was in a stroller the last time we went - so I think we are due for a trip to the zoo. It was not my intent to make that rhyme, but I like the way it sounds now.

The third option for us would be to head over to the Transportation Museum. The kids love the trains and it's a great "free" day for us since we already paid for the membership (and we have already gotten our money's worth).

There are other things that we can do as a family in Roanoke. However, I am trying to come up with something that is fun and free for us this weekend.