greenfest Archives - simple.green.organic.happy.

Adventures first… explanations take such a dreadful time.

-Lewis Carroll
(the Gryphon, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)

Dover Downs is this weekend, so bear that in mind for your travels.

I’ve been told that this listing is helpful, and while I believe a large part of living green is supporting local, I want to keep simple. green. organic. happy. accessible to everybody. Sooooo for local peeps I am resurrecting Family Fun Delaware and my boys are going to shoulder most of the burden of maintaining it. It’ll be local reviews & events, plus kid reviews of movies, books, music, games, etc; also Maverick is talking about science experiments. We’ll see how it goes. At the very least, though, it’ll feature this weekly roundup of fave family friendly events.

I’ll link to it next Friday, and keep ya’ll updated when it goes live.

Drumroll please… my top picks this weekend:

ProjectMUSIC Opera! presents Through the Looking Glass, a one-act version of Alice in Wonderland

Friday (tonight!) May 13th, 7:00pm at Loudis Hall in the University of Delaware’s Amy E. DuPont Music Building. Features University of Delaware students and fourth and fifth graders from Thurgood Marshall Elementary School. Admission is free and doors open at 6:30.

Delaware Geocaching Trail

Starts May 13th 2011. The ultimate treasure hunt in a quest to discover Delaware— hunt for a cache using GPS technology & then continue on to discover the next treasure.

I honestly have no clue what geocaching is all about, it sounds interesting so I’m sharing, but I’m going to have to research it more. If you’ve knowledge or experience please share your expertise in the comments!

Cecil County GreenFest

Saturday, May 14th 10:00am- 4:00pm rain or shine at the Cecil County Fairgrounds & Ed Walls Activity Hall. Proceeds from GreenFest will support
the Fair Hill Nature Center’s environmental education programming. This year GreenFest is highlighting the Green and Healthy movement “from the ground up!” Exhibitors will be showcasing the latest consumer products for home and garden with interactive family-friendly exhibits and demonstrations. Learn easy ways to save energy, make your home safer, and garden without harming the environment. Activities include Exhibit Hall Scavenger Hunt, Environmental Midway games, “Minute to Win It” Games, Make & Take Green Cleaners, Soil Tunnel Exploration, Salad Tables and Boxes, Rain Barrel Conservation, Backyard Water Fountains, Hayrides to the Nature Center, Stream Critter Hunt, Bug Hunt, Nature Crafts, Create a Fairy House.

Italian Market Festival

May 14th & 15th 10:00am- 5:00pm rain or shine. The nation’s oldest outdoor market and Philly’s largest block party. Annual Procession of Saints, live entertainment, the first-ever half-ball tournament to benefit the Mummers Fancy Brigades, and most importantly, streets lined with food vendors, including a 100ft long stuffed sausage at Esposito’s Meats (using Grandpop Esposito’s 100yr old recipe).

Peanut Butter and Jams welcomes Joanie Leeds

Saturday, May 14th 11:30am (doors open at 11:00am) at the Queen in Wilmington. Kid music parents can enjoy! NYC singer/songwriter Joanie Leeds, already known for her pop/soul sound in the grownup world, is now making waves in the land of kids’ music. Currently teaching music at four Manhattan schools, Joanie uses her students as inspiration for her original songs.

World Fair Trade Day

Saturday, May 14th from 12:00noon- 5:00pm at Village Imports Fair Trade Store, 165 East Main Street (down Traders Alley) in Newark. There will be free Fair Trade coffee and chocolate samples and door prizes. Event is free and open to the public.

Attracting Butterflies to your Backyard

Saturday, May 14th at 1:00pm at Bellevue Park. May is Gardening for Wildlife Month! Learn a few easy ways to attract beautiful butterflies to your own backyard, no matter the size of the yard. You will make and bring home your very own butterfly feeder to get started. This program is appropriate for all ages. Register by calling (302) 761-6963 by 4 p.m. on Friday, May 13. Meet at the Arts Center. $6 per person.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Workshop: Inventor, Artist, Dreamer at the Franklin Institute.

This exhibition from Milan is in its final days (running until May 29th). Hands-on interactive models of Leonardo’s inventions and machines, as well as state-of-the-art touch screen technology that recreates da Vinci’s personal notebooks (codices). All of the models were constructed according to Leonardo’s notes, drawings and designs, and were recreated using materials and techniques that would have existed in the 15th and 16th centuries. Includes a recreation of Leonardo’s workshop.

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We’ve got double-header football tomorrow along with two soccer games, but I’m going to make it to the da Vinci exhibition if it kills me. I’m also sorting through the kids spring/summer clothes to see what needs buying (oh, my aching wallet).

Whatcha doin’ this weekend? Anything fun?

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Each new year is a surprise to us.

We find that we had virtually forgotten the note of each bird,
and when we hear it again, it is remembered like a dream,
reminding us of a previous state of existence…

-Henry David Thoreau

Another Saturday, another day at the soccer fields! After a week of being cooped up in the house with feverish kids I’m looking forward to being outdoors so cross your fingers for NO RAIN.

For local peeps, this is what I’d be doing if not cheering from sidelines:

Kids’ Greenfest

Saturday April 16th 10:00am- 3:00pm at the Newark Center for Creative Learning. “This fun-filled event will offer kids’ hands-on activities to learn about green technology, wildlife, energy, food and conservation. Kid-led exhibits and sustainability experts will share easy ways for changes everyone can make. Come enjoy storytelling, live music, local food, art, and environmental displays and activities. Free admission, free parking… Browse your bookshelves for books you and your children are finished with, bring them to Greenfest, and swap them for new-to-you books!”

Kite Day

Saturday April 16th 1:00- 3:00pm at Brandywine Creek State Park. April is “Let’s G.O.! (Get Outside!) Month” over at the Children & Nature Network. Kite Day at Brandywine Creek is a registered event! (You can read about why I think kite-flying is a monumentally important childhood experience here, but I think just causing an expression on your kid’s face like Cass has above is reason enough on its own.) Celebrate Earth Day early by making and flying your own kite! $3 per kite.

National Park Week

April 16th- 24th. Free admittance to over 100 parks… less exciting for those of us in the DE area, unless you’re willing to do some traveling (but we’re on spring break! So maybe not totally out of the question…) “This year’s focus, Healthy Parks, Healthy People, highlights the connection between human and environmental health and the vital role America’s national parks play in both.”

Here Comes Peter Cottontail…

The Easter Bunny will be out and about… laying eggs? Hiding eggs? Why does he have eggs, anyway? I’m going to have to hunt him down at some point Sunday because I have photos I need to take 🙂

White Clay Creek State Park Egg Hunt: Saturday April 16th 10:00- 11:00am at the Carpenter Recreation Area (off 896). 10:00 is walking- 4yo, 10:30 5-9yo. Rain date 4/17 starting at 2:00pm, call the Weather Hotline 302-366-7147 if weather is iffy. BYOB (Bring your own basket) to collect goodies and see the Easter Bunny. Park fees in effect.
Milburn Orchard Egg Hunts: April 16th & 17th; 21st, 22nd & 23rd plus Bonus Day Monday, April 25th (closed Easter Sunday), 11:00am- 3:00pm. Up to 1800 eggs for the finding every half hour, with prizes to choose from for every hunter. Hayrides through the apple orchards, games & activities, Gigantic Sand Dig, Barnyard Buddies, & the Easter Bunny on the playground. APPLE CIDER DOUGHNUTS. Weather permitting; dress accordingly and call if weather is iffy. $5 per child (containers provided/prizes awarded), $3 per non-prize collecting adults.
Hayrides to Bunnyland: Saturday April 16th thru April 23rd, 11:00am– 4:00pm at Linvilla Orchards. Take a hayride thru the woods to visit the Easter Bunnies house, the Easter Bunny visits with everyone on the ride and gives them each a treat. Pony Rides (Sat & Sun only), face painting & train rides; baby chick display & baby animals. $8 per person.

Feel like heading up to Philly?

Philadelphia Book Festival Street Fair: Saturday April 16th 10:00am- 5:00pm at Parkway Central Library. Meet three authors of The 39 Clues series and Chris Van Allsburg (!). Storybook Parade, juggling, face painting, and a heckuva lot more, including my favorite, a Zine workshop for kids 10 and up.
Science Carnival: Saturday April 16th 10:00am- 5:00pm on the Ben Franklin Parkway. More than 80 exhibitors offering “non-stop family-friendly experiments, interactive activities, games, and a packed line-up of live entertainment. Enjoy liquid nitrogen ice cream, make gak, meet live zoo animals, check out the inner-workings of robots, take a tour of a helicopter, extract DNA from a strawberry, test a “crime scene” for forensic evidence, and so much more!” Rain or shine, dress accordingly.

AND, last Winter Farmer’s Market Sunday April 17th from 10:00am- 2:00pm at the Newark Natural Foods Co-op… the outdoor market begins May 1st! Whoop whoop!

What are you up to this weekend? What do you wish you were doing?

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Local Family Fun This Weekend: 5/13- 5/15