Labor Day Festivals

Here's what's going on during the long weekend in the Atlanta area! It's a weekend of arts and books, and almost everything is free. I'm hoping to go to the Decatur Book Festival on Sunday.

Arts on the Creek Festival. Perimeter Church, Johns Creek. Food, live entertainment, children’s activities, art exhibits featuring over 100 vendors. Sept. 4-5. Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun., 1-5 p.m. 9500 Medlock Bridge Rd., Johns Creek. 678-405-2000. Free.

Love the Lake Festival. Cauble Park, Acworth. Art and craft vendors, parade, food, live entertainment, children’s activities, and a tropical bird show. Sept. 4-5. Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun., noon-6 p.m. 2293 Beach St., Acworth. 770-423-1330. Free.

Marietta Art in the Park. Glover Park, Marietta. Fine art vendors, children’s activities and demonstration area. Sept. 4-6. 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Downtown Marietta. 770-429-1115. Free.

U.S. 10K Classic Family Festival. Cobb Galleria Center. Family festival centered around the 10K road race on Labor Day. Live music, kids’ activities, batting cages, clowns, pony rides and more. Sept. 4-5. Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun., noon-5 p.m. Two Cobb Galleria Pkwy., Atlanta. Free.


Decatur Book Festival. Downtown Decatur, GA. Book festival for adults and children - famous authors include Jonathan Franzen, Joyce Maynard, and Anna Dewdney, author of the Llama Llama books. Sept. 3-5. Check website for schedule/activities.

Sun Print T-Shirts

When we went away this summer with our extended family, we had some projects and activities for the boys to do with their cousins - we called it "cousin camp." One thing we did was decorate t-shirts. The instructions are here on the Family Fun website.

You'll need washed t-shirts, flour, water, a squeeze bottle, fabric spray paint, and sun.

Make a mixture of flour and water about the consistency of mustard and stir it until smooth. Put it in the squeeze bottle, and let kids make a design. The four kids had different approaches: a spiral sun, a flower, a turtle, and three monster faces. Try not to make the design too thick or it will be hard to remove.

Dry the t-shirts in the sun until the paste is hardened.

When it's dry, put a piece of paper or a plastic bag inside the shirt so the color doesn't run to the back. Spray the front with fabric spray paint. You can use multiple colors if you like, but don't spray too heavily. One bottle would do two entire shirts. I brought a contrasting fabric marker so the kids could add details; a Sharpie would work fine, too. Let the shirts dry in the sun.

Remove the dried paste - you may need to use a spoon to help you peel it off. This took a while! Once it's gone, you'll see the image in white.

The boys have worn their t-shirts a lot! They chose their designs from Ed Emberley books, and they were surprisingly easy to create with paste and a squeeze bottle.

Movies in the Park - Tonight, August 21, at Polo Club in Cumming

If it doesn't rain tonight, head over to the Polo Club of Atlanta, 5890 Polo Club Drive, Cumming, GA for Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The movie starts at 8:30, and it's free! Family activities start at 7:00.

Don't forget bug spray!

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.

Atlanta Area Fourth of July Activities

Atlanta Parent has an overview of the 4th of July celebrations around Atlanta. Click here to see the .pdf. The Unicoi and Vogel State Park festivals sound especially fun - watermelon seed spitting contests, paddle boat races, and live music!

.

Since the 4th of July falls on a Sunday this year, the activites are spread out over the entire weekend. In Cumming, for example, you can see fireworks on the 2nd; watch the parade on the 3rd; and still have time for your cookout on the 4th.

New Exhibit at Fernbank - Geckos!

Geckos: Tails to Toepads is Fernbank's latest special exhibit, and it's a great one. There is something so endearing about these big-eyed, harmless reptiles, and you'll see all different kinds at Fernbank. Much of the fun is finding them - many are experts of camouflage. Interspersed among the habitats are hands-on educational kiosks and displays, including a really interesting one about "designer" leopard geckos. You'll exit through the gift store, so be prepared!

Even though Fernbank is a natural history museum, I always like their "life science" exhibitions the best. And their reptile habitats put Zoo Atlanta's Reptile House to shame!

You may want to visit on Saturday, July 10, for Reptile Day. You can meet a variety of live reptiles and make a blue tongued skink hat to take home.

Good to know: The exhibit runs through September 6, and the price is included with admission. Remember that Fernbank's family dual membership is great: for $85, you can take 2 adults and four children, even if they are not part of your family. Just don't include a second name on the membership. You'll get lots of great discounts and a reciprocal program with science museums around the country.

Fernbank has a cafeteria, but you can also bring a lunch bags and leave them in a locker until you are ready to eat.

The IMAX movie through September 30 is Bugs! A Rainforest Adventure. My boys loved this, of course! It was a fascinating overview of bugs in Malaysia's rainforest, with a special focus on a caterpillar and a praying mantis. Very sensitive children might not like it - should be rated PG-13 for mild mating situations and graphic carnivorous violence. Overheard from the preschool teacher behind us: "If that boy beetle defeats the other boy beetle in their wrestling match, then he gets to have the girl beetle as his girlfriend." Overheard from the child sitting next to me: "Wow! That butterfly has two heads!".

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.