Fun in Roswell - Puppets and Sprayground

It's not too late to catch a puppet show at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center. This week's show is Rumplestiltskin, and next week's is Sleeping Beauty. The puppet shows are fairly short and quite casual - often the puppeteers will invite the children up to see the puppets after the show.

From the website: "Show times are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 10 a.m., Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and Saturdays at 11 a.m. Puppet-making workshops will be offered after the shows Monday-Friday at 11 a.m. only. Cost for children ages 2-12 is $4, $5 for adults and $3 for the workshop, ages 5 and over only."

After the puppet show, take your swimsuits and a picnic lunch and head over to the Riverside Park Sprayground.
It costs $1 to play, and the park has a concession stand, covered picnic areas, and a playground next to the fountain. Note that the fountain is closed for maintenance on Tuesdays.

Splash Fountains

This is an updated post from last summer.
There's no question that Atlanta is a hot place to live. Fortunately, most neighborhoods have pools, and many counties have aquatic centers. But one of our favorite ways to cool off in the summer is to visit one of the many splash fountains around town.

Here's a round-up of Atlanta's play fountains. Click on the names for more information!

Big Splash Fountain - Suwanee
Suwanee's Town Center Park hosts this fountain, which is our favorite. It's big and has geysers of varying heights, which means that everyone from one-year-olds to teens can have fun. It also has a great location - surrounded by the restaurants of Town Center Park, the amphitheater, and a large grassy field. You can ride bikes or walk dogs on the trails around the fountain, and there are a couple of good choices for ice cream as well.

Big Splash Fountain is open from 10:30-9:30 daily, from April 1 - October 1. Admission is free.

Duluth Town Green - Duluth
Town Green in Duluth is a lovely place surrounded by grassy terraces and porch swings. They also have an amphitheater and a few restaurants, including an ice cream shop. The splash fountain in the middle is circular with a large center geyser.

Admission is free, and the hours are 9-10 every day.

Village Pavilion Fountain at Mall of Georgia - Buford
This fountain is basically a big circle - but hey, you are at the second largest mall in the southeast, and there's a lot going on. The food court and many other restaurants are close by.

Admission is free, and the hours are 10-9 M-Sa and 12-6 on Sunday.

Sunflower Fountain at Atlanta Botanical Garden - Atlanta
The Botanical Garden is great for kids! You might think it's just a nice place to take your mom, but many exhibits have appeal for children (carnivorous plants, anyone?), and they have a separate children's garden. Furthermore, they realize that people visiting the garden in the summer will be braving the heat, and they provide misters throughout. Best of all, at the entrance to the children's garden, there is a small splash fountain area. It's very charming and sunflower themed. There are bathrooms located conveniently next door.

Admission to the Botanical Garden is $15 for adults and $12 for children 3 and above. They are closed on Mondays.

Centennial Olympic Park Fountain of Rings - Atlanta
The Olympic Park Fountain is undoubtedly the most famous fountain in Atlanta, but I have to admit I haven't been there yet! Plenty of parking surrounds the park, and many musical, film, and family events take place there. You'll also find a children's playground.

Daily music shows at the fountain occur at 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, and 9:00. The park is open from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., and admission is free.

Laurel Park Sprayground - Gainesville
Laurel Park Sprayground is a huge. lovely park that, in addition to ball fields, playgrounds, and lake views, also has a water playground for kids. It only costs $1.00, and it's very well designed. The variety of sprinklers and water sprayers will keep children playing for hours. The outer edge of the fenced-in sprayground has benches and picnic tables, and the floor slopes in toward the center, so you don't have to get wet if you don't want to!

Open late May - Sept. 1. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays; Noon-5 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays. Admission: $1. Recommended for children 11 and younger.

Riverside Sprayground - Roswell
Roswell's Riverside Park has a new sprayground. It costs $1 per child and $1 per accompanying adult. The park's playground is close by.

Monday – Sunday (excludes Tuesdays): 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
May and September: Weekends only 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Frances Meadows Splash Zone

This new aquatic center in Gainesville is getting a lot of buzz - and for good reason! It's very cool. The outdoor splash zone has two pools. One is a foot and a half deep and contains the huge play structure pictured above, as well as some other fun fountains and misters. The other pool has a zero depth entry, a lazy river, and, most impressively, two water-park quality waterslides.

Frances Meadows has lots of lifeguards who are constantly blowing the whistle - no surprise given how busy it is. In fact, visiting after dinner would be a great plan - you'll have lots more room and won't wait in line for the slides as long.

You can't bring food or drinks in, but the concession stand sells everything from water to snow cones to meals at moderate (not great, not outrageous) prices. Showers and bathrooms are clean and convenient.

It's a new facility, and there are a few kinks to work out. When we were there, the electricity shut off and everyone had to get off the stairs for the slide. Fortunately, no one was stuck in the middle of a water slide! Also, even though signs and rules require little ones to wear swim diapers (with helpful pictures of Little Swimmers!), someone let a child wear a regular diaper in the kiddie pool. It exploded and the pool had to be closed temporarily for cleaning. That's the second time I've seen that happen at a pool this summer: do people not know what happens to a regular diaper when it's immersed in water?

If you want to check out the Splash Zone, go soon: after school starts (August 10), it will only be open on weekends until September 27.

Good to know: You can find Frances Meadows easily off 985; get off on Jesse Jewel Parkway. The cost is free to children 2 and under; $4 for ages 3-54; and $2 for ages 55 and over for Hall County residents. The website says that non-Hall County residents will pay $6 and $3, respectively.

Gainesville Sprayground

Laurel Park is Gainesville is a huge. lovely park that, in addition to ball fields, playgrounds, and lake views, also has a water playground for kids. It only costs $1.00, and it's very well designed. The variety of sprinklers and water sprayers will keep children playing for hours. The outer edge of the fenced-in sprayground has benches and picnic tables, and the floor slopes in toward the center, so you don't have to get wet if you don't want to!

It may be a bit of a drive, but it's worth it!