Lebanese Festival - June 1-3

Last weekend we enjoyed the Lebanese Festival. I love to go because I enjoy the food, music, and dancing. Sorry, I was stuck on taking pictures of my kids and my friend's kids, so you won't see dancing pictures. However, I can tell you, like always it is exciting. They didn't have cabbage rolls when I was there this year (a little bit of sadness on my part). Of course, I can't say if I was just too late getting there or if they just decided not to make them this year (hoping it's the former).

Cultural events are always fun in my book. I get to escape to another world so to speak and it is a great learning/teaching opportunity for the kids. Sure, they have the bounce house and obstacle course. Sure they have cotton candy, snow cones, and face painting - but they also open the kids' eyes to other cultures. I am a travel fanatic (even though I have been grounded since having children) - this is my opportunity to share what I love with my kids.

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.

32nd Annual MDA Car Show - March 3, 2012

It has been an extremely busy last couple of weeks as I finished prepping for Consignment Sales. As a quick aside before I start talking about the car show, two wonderful week long consignment sales started yesterday (March 3rd). I love Lauren's Friends & Alex over at the CMT Building. I always find a season's worth of clothes for 2 kids for around $200.00. There is also Back-on-the-Rack at Tanglewood Mall. This also allows me to find great buys for the upcoming season for my kids. I took the kids with me to LFA on Saturday and actually let them pick out their clothes for the first time. They did really well - we only had to veto a few things, but they know what they will wear. I am going to hit up Back-on-the-Rack - but I probably won't make it there until Tuesday or Wednesday because life has a way of happening.

Okay, so my shameless plug that everyone with kids should check out those sales. Yesterday afternoon we took the boys to the MDA Car Show. We have gone to this for the past two or three years. The husband actually puts together model cars - it's a bit of a hobby - and he thinks about putting his cars in the show. He hasn't done it yet, but he loves to see what other people have been up to with the building. He has started building little models with the kids (I like the $1 wooden models from the craft store) with the kids and they are most likely going to share his love in building models. We spent a lot of time in that room alone.

There were also two rooms full of cars. This is an event that draws the entire Roanoke Valley. Well it feels that way because it is pretty crowded. My kids really focused on which cars had trophies this year. This was new this year, but it allowed the husband to tell them stories about the cars he used to drive growing up.

I had to throw this picture in - I have never seen a Corvette that was marked for Farm Use. Only I would appreciate the irony of that.

There are all sorts of vendors at the Car Show (it wouldn't be any type of show if there weren't a few people trying to sell something). The kids got stuck at the 3D television. They weren't even wearing the glasses - they just sat there watching Alice in Wonderland - the Johnny Depp version. I stayed with the kids while the husband checked out the rest of the cars. And yes, the movie was much better once I had the 3D glasses on and got to see the teacups come flying at my head.

The MDA Car Show is still going on today, in case you missed it yesterday. I highly recommend that if you appreciate classics, you check this out.

This Weekend in Roanoke - Feb 11-12

Saturday, February 11:

• Carnevale: A Masked Musical Ball, Roanoke Symphony Orchestra - 7:00 pm
• J. Anthony Brown with George Willborn "A Valentine's to Remember" - 7:30pm
• Train Lovers Day - 10 am to 5 pm
• K92's Danny and Zack's Bitter Mixxer - 8pm
• Liz Barnes - 9pm
• Log Home Show
• Pace Bros Organ Trio - 9pm
• The Big Payback: A Tribute to James Brown - 10pm
• The Pine Room Pub Presents Hoppie Vaughan - 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• The Regency Room Presents The James Pace Little Big Band - 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
• Opening: A Valentine's Celebration at The Hotel Roanoke - All Day

Sunday, February 12:

• David Mayfield Parade - 7:30pm
• Log Home Show
• The 2011 Virginia Step Show - 8pm
• Closing: The Emancipation of Alabaster McGill

So this list is all the events going on downtown today and tomorrow. I am not single, so I won't be hitting up the Bitter Mixxer tonight. But the Mom that I am is tempted to head over to the Transportation Museum for Train Lovers Day. Sounds like fun for only $5.00 per person (ages 3 and under free). There are even going to be free train rides today! I suggest grabbing the kids and checking it out. As always the weekend is full of a little something for everyone.

Don't forget today is Spectacular Saturday - in case you have not checked out the Taubman Art Museum yet.

I think that we should definitely venture downtown and check it all out. Whatever you plan to do - HAVE FUN! Guess it is time for us to get this day started.

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.

Virginia Museum of Transportation

Our Saturday Family Time continued after we left the Taubman Museum of Art. We walked through downtown, even though it was a little wet, to the Virginia Museum of Transportation. This museum has become a favorite for my family. The kids love to be around those big old trains - althought I must admit that we skipped the railyard today.

Jupiter Missile

We spent a lot of time looking at the Cars and the model train set. I love to watch my kids when they are exploring the world around them. Their reactions are the best and at times, I can feel the excitement as they are discovering how the world works.

Hours of Operation:

Monday-Saturday:

10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Sunday:

1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Admission Rates:

• $8.00 adults
• $7.00 seniors (age 60+)
• $6.00 children (ages 3-11)

Members and Kids under 3 visit for free! Group rates are available.

There is going to be a Train Lovers Day on Saturday, February 11th. The kids and I will probably make an appearance. It will depend on what else is going on that weekend. Also, there isn't much out there yet by way of information - so I will be keeping my eyes open on this one.

Taubman Art Museum

 

It was a rainy day today, so we decided to enjoy the things that you can do inside. Our first stop this morning was the Taubman Museum of Art. I love Spectacular Saturdays - it's free to go and the kids can sit there for hours with the arts & crafts alone. 

Arts and Crafts

 We actually stayed downstairs for about 30 minutes. They had plenty of paper available and the kids and I were having so much fun with the stencils. They also had these markers that make dots...as you can see from the picture above, this was a hit with us. I would love to find those somewhere - and I forgot to look when I was at the craft store.



The stairs up to the exhibits.

 After a while, we headed upstairs to check out the exhibits. I have been looking forward to checking out the "In the Moment: Light, Vision, and Memory" exhibition. It is celebrating photography in the 125th year of the Roanoke Times. It is amazing how history is caught on film - and we get to look back at it. I often wonder what it was truly like at that particular moment in time. I wonder if 100 years from now people will be doing the same thing with our lives. I was impressed with how well the boys behaved throughout the museum.


Gallery Hours

Closed Mondays
Tuesday - Saturday: 10am - 5pm
Sunday: Noon - 5pm
Open and free all day Saturday and first Fridays from 5pm - 8pm

Gallery Admission

Friends of the Taubman are always FREE!
General admission for ages 14 to 64: $7
Visitors 65 and over: $6
Children 5-13: $3.75
Children 4 and under are free
Groups of 10 or more: $2 off each admission feeGroups of 10 or more with tour guide pay general admission fees. To schedule a guided tour, call 540.342.5760.




Festival in the Park

Today was a gorgeous day for the Festival in the Park. As my poor back can attest, the sun was shining bright. We headed to the festival at 11am and checked out the Auto Show. I was devastated to learn that a 1984 Ferrari was considered an antique. I am not sure what that makes me then. My youngest loves to look at cars. I was trying to teach my older son about compromise - if we look at cars for brother and daddy, then we can do something we enjoy too. We took a stroll through the park to see what was there. There wasn't anything scheduled for the Main Stage that early, so we wandered up Food Vendor Alley and checked out what was there. On a smaller stage, they had some performances going on. What a crowd - it was hard to see from the outskirts what was going on. We wandered through all the arts & crafts vendors. The boys picked out a few new animals (a dragon and a lizard - these are live critters by the way). My oldest had a blast going through the bouncy obstacle course - he did it twice. He also took a turn in the Fireman's Foam. We caught a few acts and I couldn't believe that it was 2:30 when the boys were starting to get worn out. My youngest told me he was going to do those crazy BMX tricks on his bike. I hope my children never lose that drive.

I doubt we will be able to catch any of the evening performances, but tonight, tomorrow night and Monday night have some great performances planned. I will definitely put volunteering for this festival on my list of things to do next year. Depending on how the rest of the weekend goes, we may take the kids back out to the festival tomorrow or Monday.

Green Ridge Rec Center - Splash Valley

Yesterday, the Splash Valley outdoor water park opened up. It was a free day - from 4pm to 7pm. I have to say, the water felt like it was FREEZING (at about 79 degrees) but it was gorgeous outside. We learned that for the huge water slide outside, you don't need to take a swim test, which I had heard someone say last year that was a requirement. All you need is to be 48 inches tall. Poor little A is not tall enough...he has about 10 inches to grow. He could use this smaller slide, that you have to be 36 inches to be eligible. He can even wear his life vest on it. T is still a little to short for that one, but he can use the little kids area, which has some smaller slides on it. I was lucky enough to be able to retain the Splash Valley Membership, which is no longer offered. This means we can go to Splash Valley as often as we want this year. I am very excited for this - I think we will probably use it a lot more than the 8-10 times we used it last year. There is a cost if you are not a founding member:

Non-Resident Rate
Adult (18-54) $9.00 ($7 after 4pm)

Child/Teen (1-17) $8.00 ($7 after 4pm)

Ages 55 and up $7.00 ($7 after 4pm)

Roanoke County Resident Rate
Adult (18-54) $7.00 ($5 after 4pm)

Child/Teen (1-17) $6.00 ($5 after 4pm)

Ages 55 and up $5.00 ($5 after 4pm)

There are going to be a few Summer Special Events at the Splash Valley this year. I am hoping that we will attend some of them. This is one of those things to do in which the price can vary. However, it's something that both adults and children can enjoy.

At the beginning of the season and at the end of the season, there are some days the park is running at a Reduced Schedule (hours are 4pm to 7pm). The dates for this are May 31 through June 3, June 6 through June 8, August 22 through August 26, and August 29 through September 2. Keep in mind, these periods are during the week (i.e. times that school might be in session).

The Regular Schedule begins today May 27 and runs through September 5. These hours are 12pm to 7pm. For those lucky enough to only have to work a half day today, this could be good for you. County Residents can enter the park at 11am.

For more information, you can visit the website: www.RoanokeCountyParks.com.

I know that we will be hanging out here a lot more this year. It's good family fun time for us. The only problem I have is that my kids can talk and boy do they think the Concession Stand food is better than anything else.