Local Events: May 23-June 1, 2009

Here’s just a sampling of the many fun family events happening across the country over the next few weeks.  Take the opportunity to get involved and connect with your community by attending a local event.  Know of something great happening near you?  Please share in the comments!

Fit and Fun Festival - Camden, NJ

Saturday, May 23rd, 11am-4pm

camdenchildrensgarden.org

Seeking to encourage young people to lead healthier lifestyles, the Fit and Fun Festival focuses on physical activity and nutritious eating in the form of crafts, veggie planting, and education.

22nd Annual Boulder Creek Festival - Boulder, CO

Saturday, May 23-Monday, May 25, 10am-7pm

bceproductions.com/boulder-creek-festival/

Boulder’s unofficial summer kick-off, this family event showcases community arts and crafts, food, live music, carnival rides, and the Great Rubber Duck Race.

Sowebohemian Arts Festival - Baltimore, MD

Sunday, May 24, 12pm-8pm

soweboarts.org/festival.html

Celebrate all things bohemian with three live music stages, street perfomers, delicious food, DIY street art activities, puppet shows, and a kids art fashion parade.

Wildwoods International Kite Festival - Wildwood, NJ

Sunday, May 24, 10am-6pm

skyfestivals.com

Attend the world’s largest kite festival in Wildwood, NJ at the Jersey Shore, then take a trip to the beach.  Enthusiasts come from all around the globe to see kites of all different shapes and sizes, as well as compete for prizes.

Carnaval San Francisco: Roots of Revival, Seeds of Change

Saturday, May 23-Sunday May 24, 10am-6pm

carnavalsf.com

Join the Mission Neighborhood Centers in this community celebration, featuring a parade and numerous live music stages.

Georgia Renaissance Festival - Fairburn, Georgia

Weekends through June 7, 10:30am-6pm

garenfest.com

Learn about life in the Middle Ages at the Georgia Renaissance Festival.  With plenty of medieval entertainment, food, games, and art, your family is certain to get their dose of summer history education.

Disneyland Park: Anaheim, CA

Park Description:
This is where it all started-Walt Disney opened Disneyland on July 17, 1955 and has since welcomed more than 500 million guests from all corners of the globe. Located on approximately 500 acres in Anaheim, Calif., the Disneyland Resort features two spectacular theme parks - Disneyland (the original Disney theme park) and Disney’s California Adventure park (covered in its own listing).  The park entrance is on a main boulevard in Anaheim, which is distinctly different from the winding miles of road it takes to get to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Florida.  But, don’t let that fool you because we went from our hotel door to park entrance in under 15 minutes. And, when we needed a pool break in the middle of the day, we could freely shuttle back and forth, and return in time for the parade and fireworks. At Disneyland, we appreciated the classic attractions such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain along with magical experiences such as Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, Pixie Hollow and meeting Winnie the Pooh.

Green Scene
Disneyland Resort’s fleet of submarines made their long-awaited return when they reemerged with innovative zero-emission electric engines at the “Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.”  Disney replaced the old diesel engines with a cleaner alternative which allows two magnetically controlled pairs of coils to transfer power to one another without ever touching, providing power to the new electric engines within the subs.
The famous steam locomotives on the Disneyland Railroad have been retrofitted with new parts allowing them to operate on a much cleaner fuel called B98 biodiesel.  Made from 98 percent soybean oil and 2 percent diesel, the biodiesel fuel being used to power each of Disneyland’s four locomotives is considered a renewable resource.  Until now, the steam locomotives were the largest consumer of diesel fuel at the Resort. The switch to biodiesel saves up to 150,000 gallons of diesel fuel each year while greatly reducing emissions.
As of December 2008, all 16 Disneyland Resort trams, which transport guests between the two theme parks and parking facilities, are fueled by clean-burning compressed natural gas which will eliminate the need for approximately 50,000 gallons of diesel per year. Prior to this change, diesel/hybrid engines powered Disneyland trams.
Disney also developed a new method of painting scenery in the attraction when they were challenged to find a product that produced brilliant underwater colors, would not fade and complied with environmental standards.  They invented a new technique of coloring - not with traditional paints, but with recycled glass. Glass bottles were broken down and recomposed into colored pieces, which were then crushed and applied to the scenic elements of the attraction using an organic compound epoxy. They created 45 custom colors and used more than 30 tons of recycled glass while designing the lagoon scenes.
Free shuttle buses run frequently from local hotels to the park, which saves time, money and fuel.  The buses have coordinated drop off areas and were reliable, clean and roomy.

Recycling
Recycling containers for plastic are easily spotted throughout the park. Throughout the day, guests who are observed recycling are randomly selected to receive a one-of-a-kind lanyard and pin. The set is produced using recycled materials, including straps from water bottles that become damaged and cannot be sold. Since 2004, the program has recognized more than 1,500 guests for their environmental prowess.

Healthy Food
We found plenty of healthy food throughout the park and it was just a matter to convince the kids to look beyond the potato chip bag and see the beauty of whole fruit, whole grain bread and vegetable salads.
Disney properties all have an excellent reputation with families with food allergies.  Check their website to inquire about restaurant options and special dietary accommodations.
Trip Notes:

• We brought our own stroller to this park, although there are rentals. We saved about $40-$50 in addition to our lower backs!
• We found out the hard way that not all ride operators interpret the word ’scary’ the same way. After riding a rather scary Winnie the Pooh ride, my husband and I alternated ‘previewing’ rides before attempting them with the preschoolers. Once you get on, you really can’t get off.
• For the youngest kids (under 6), there seemed to be more rides on the Disney’s California Adventure side, so buying a park hopper option made the most sense for us. The parks are literally right across from each other so there is no commute time (unlike the park hopper option in Florida).
• Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure seemed much more casual and low key than their Florida counter-parks. But, we preferred that atmosphere to feeling crammed, cranky and crowded.

First and Lasting Impressions:
Since we conquered more than 14 theme parks in eight months, this one gets our vote for sheer convenience.  Since we were traveling with children under the age of 6, the ability to hop on a shuttle bus from our hotel, get inside the park quickly and leave for a while to swim, nap or relax was perfect.  When the fireworks in the evening were too loud for the kids, we walked to a waiting bus where we could load up our jogging stroller and head back to the hotel.
The crowds were very manageable and the weather was gorgeous, which always makes for a better experience.  We encountered many costumed characters and just enjoyed strolling around and admiring the gorgeous and creative landscaping.

Disneyland Park - California
1313 S Harbor Blvd. | Anaheim, CA 92802
714-781-4000
2009 Peak Prices:
Adult (ages 10+)    $69
Child (ages 3-9)    $59
Children (ages 2 and under)    FREE
AAA Discount Available

Military Discount:
Active duty, Reserve, National Guard, Retired, and DOD employees can buy Disneyland discount tickets, with the amount depending on the time of year. Bring your military ID to show at the gate.

Great Wolf Lodge: Scotrun, PA

Park Description:
On a freezing cold day in November, my family packed our swimsuits and headed for a water park.  Counterintuitive?  Not when it’s Great Wolf Lodge in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania and the water temperature is 84°F.  Just two hours from Philadelphia and New York, it proved to be the perfect location for a long weekend.
At Great Wolf, they take the lodge theme very seriously with a four-story lobby showcasing a giant fireplace, log-shaped furniture and wood antler chandeliers.  The lobby also housed the Great Clock Tower with a Rhythm of Nature show that reminded me of the old style animatronics. There are more than 400 guest rooms and 10 different room sizes and configurations to accommodate everyone.
Great Wolf Lodge also had a Cub Club where kids could enjoy crafts, computer games and old-fashioned board games for a nominal fee.  In the evening, parents can pay a fee to have a little adult time while the kids enjoy a parent-free zone (under other adult supervision, of course) with movies, crafts, snacks and stories.
The one thing we didn’t expect were wand-brandishing middle schoolers, moving statues and talking paintings.  Great Wolf Lodges are home to the MagiQuest game where players, known as Magi, solve magical challenges throughout the lodge to win points that translate into greater powers. This sophisticated treasure hunt was popular with all of the kids, with the majority around ages 5-13.  We gave it a whirl with a 4-year-old girl who simply enjoyed pointing the wand at things and making them talk, move or glow.
Inside the water park, Bear Track Landing has 11 water slides, a lazy river, a wave pool and many pools of various depths.  One of the best features is a 1,000-gallon tipping water bucket which chimes a warning bell (which seemed more like an invitation bell) and the bucket noisily dumps its contents over the roof and onto the waiting kids. In addition, bridges, water shooters, aqua basketball and many other water features kept the kids running from one activity to another, as the adults tried to keep up.
The Poconos facility features a decibel-soaring teen-oriented game room called the Northern Lights Arcade.  For the more pampered set, Scooops Kid Spa caters to the under-12 set with ice cream-themed manicures and pedicures, as well as facials and make-up application. And, for those permanently tethered to technology, gr8_space features computers with teen-conscious internet access, docking stations for ipods and mp3 players, as well as multiple gaming stations like Nintendo Wii, XBox360 & Playstation 3.

Green Scene
Recycling
The food service areas use dishware and glassware to minimize use of disposables.  Any disposable food containers are made from bio-based, recycled content, compostable materials.  The restaurants also purchase organic and locally grown food, although the availability is often seasonal.
Recycling bins for plastic and paper were readily available throughout the lodge, although a little difficult to find inside the water park.
Dream Green
Sheets and towels are not automatically changed every day, which helps save on water and energy usage.  The lodge uses non-phosphate, non-toxic, biodegradable laundry detergents and cleaning products with minimal use of bleach and chlorinated chemicals.
The guest rooms are equipped with high efficiency fluorescent ballasts and lamps. Guests can control the temperature in their rooms, which also have thermal-rated windows and insulation. Even down to the LED Exit signs, Great Wolf Lodge is making a concerted effort to be great and green.

Trip Notes:

• Check-in time is 4pm, but guests can use the water park starting at 1pm. Lines at the front desk were quite long at check-in time, so come earlier and take advantage of the extra water park time.
• Towels are provided at the water park entrance, but you can’t take any back to your room. We had packed a warm robe for each member of our party and we were getting envious stares from the shivering masses waiting for the elevator.
• Alas, it was difficult to find healthy food at the park and the prices were high, so we ventured out for a few meals off-site. Each guest room has a microwave, refrigerator and coffee maker, so bringing your own healthy food is a great option.
• We spied some individually wrapped Divvies treats at the ice cream shop, so there were some allergy-friendly treats available.
• The pools for younger kids were well patrolled by lifeguards, but we often had to vacate the area when older siblings started raucous games of basketball. In fact, any negative experience we had at the lodge had to do with other guests behaving badly (showing some Alpha wolf behavior by pushing other guests - perhaps that is the nature of a wolf pack!) and not the water park itself.
• Story time at the bell tower was a sweet idea, with dozens of kids in footie pajamas with blankies gathered up for the show.
• We wanted to go outside for some fresh, albeit freezing, air but were surprised to learn that there were no walking trails around the property. We essentially had to walk around the parking lot unless we wanted to talk a 20-minute ride to a nearby park.

First and Lasting Impressions:
Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos was just the right solution for a local outing (< 3 hours) that had warmth, plenty of exercise and family togetherness. The lodge was a warm, friendly place that keeps the number of water park patrons to a reasonable number with plenty of oversight by trained and attentive lifeguards. It was a big advantage that patrons of the water park also had to be staying at the lodge because it created an atmosphere of camaraderie and family friendships.

Great Wolf Lodge
12 locations throughout North America
Grapevine, TX    Kansas City, KS
Mason, OH    Niagara Falls, Canada
Pocono Mountains, PA*    Sandusky, OH
Sheboygan, WI (Blue Harbor)    Traverse City, MI
Williamsburg, VA    Wisconsin Dells, WI
1 Great Wolf Drive | Scotrun, PA 18355
800-768-9653 |  painfo@greatwolf.com  |   *site we visited

2009 Peak Prices:Admission to the water park is for overnight lodge guests only.  Room prices vary by date and size, please check website. AAA Discount available.

Legoland: Carlsbad, CA

Park Description:
You won’t believe your eyes when you see what those little Lego bricks can build-from the Empire State Building and Eiffel Tower to a safari full of animals and a land of dinosaurs. Nestled in Carlsbad, CA near San Diego, LEGOLAND® California has more than 50 rides, shows and attractions for the whole family to enjoy. The park is specifically geared towards children ages 2-12.
Legoland protects its visitors from the sun with plenty of shade trees and manmade UV covers which span over the lines for the rides. Many rides had separate shaded play areas for antsy kids to build with Lego bricks as they waited in the ride lines. The park also has an ambitious water-sparing irrigation system and composting program to keep its landscaping lush without waste.
There are ample rides and play areas for all ages. From a Lego barn with, yes, Lego farm animals to a raceway, everyone found something to enjoy.

Green Scene
Recycling
Park guests and employees recycle everything from cardboard, aluminum and paper to bottles, steel and glass. LEGOLAND California has a one-to-one ratio of recycling bins to trash cans both in the Park and in its administrative offices. LEGOLAND also has a full time employee who focuses solely on the recycling for the Park. This employee separates all recyclables which didn’t quite make it into the right bin so that the park can maximize its recycling materials.
I bet you have never had to clean 15,000 Lego structures but, if you did, you’d want to use the greenest cleaner available.  For an innovative twist to non-toxic, eco-friendly cleaning, Legoland uses powdered walnut shells to clean the more than 15,000 Lego structures throughout the park.  The walnut powder mixed with water acts as a gentle cleanser and is superior to sand-based cleansers because it doesn’t contain silica.
The one thing that you notice immediately upon entering LEGOLAND is the lush and lovely landscaping.  From shady trees to colorful flower beds, the park recycles all of its vegetation which is removed during planting or weeding to make mulch and compost to enrich the soil of this 128-acre family theme park. In addition to composting clippings, the water from the park’s canals and ponds is used to irrigate the plants.  A high-tech on-site weather station feeds data (humidity, wind speed, high temps, etc…) into an irrigation control system to determine water usage and then adjusts irrigation to use just the right amount of water to keep plants healthy and sated.
All of the bathroom facilities at the park have both water and light sensors to ensure that no water or energy is wasted.  Smoking is not permitted in the park.

Healthy Food
The park uses only sustainable packaging for many of the food items made fresh in the Park. Many of the dining areas throughout the Park have switched to Greenware cups and lids that are derived entirely from corn and are compostable.
Parents will be thrilled to see the bountiful healthy buffet of salads and fresh fruit at the Fun Town Market to keep young visitors fortified.

Trip Notes:

• LEGOLAND has a Model Mom Club which meets every Thursday for fitness walks, play groups and other activities for those lucky local moms.
• There is a clean and comfortable baby changing area with diapers, rocking chairs for nursing mothers and highchairs, as well as a refrigerator and microwave for preparing baby’s meal near the Fun Town Market.
• Don’t miss the dinosaur dig where kids can play in the sand and find dinosaurs. This was a huge hit with the preschool crowd. Careful not to mix wet clothing from the water play areas with the sand pit or you might find yourself in need of a shower (back to the water play area!).
• Coolers and outside food are not permitted in the park, however bottled water and any food or beverages required for specific dietary needs (such as food allergies) are allowed.

First and Lasting Impressions:
Walking into LEGOLAND on a beautiful, sunny day felt more like going on a nature walk than a theme park.  The greenery is so lush and the rides and attractions so well-planned that you happen upon them as you’re strolling and admiring the trees and flowers.  Although the sun was strong, we found ample places in the shade to sit and relax; we were all wearing UPF clothing for protection but never felt like we were overexposed to the sun.
This park, by far, had the best food offerings for all ages and palates; it was easy to find salads, fruit and other healthy menu items throughout the park.  We were completely impressed by the buffet in Fun Town Market because of the high-quality fruit and vegetables and amazing array of choices.
The park, by nature, is a creative place to be because all of the major attractions are made from Legos.  There are play areas where children, watched over by a Lego Darth Vader or other character, can create their own sculptures.  We also appreciated that Legoland sparingly and strategically placed its Lego stores throughout the park, and the prices for goods were reasonable.

LEGOLAND California
One LEGOLAND Drive  |  Carlsbad, CA 92008
760-918-5346  |  faq@legoland.com
LEGOLAND has other locations throughout the world.
2009 Peak Prices:
LEGOLAND California
One-Day Admission
Adult (ages 13-59)     $63
Child/Senior (ages 3-12) / (60+)     $53
Children (ages 2 and under)    FREE
SEA LIFE Aquarium
One-Day Admission
Adult (13-59)     $19
Ages 60+    $16
Ages 3-12    $12
Ages 0-2    FREE
AAA member discounts available at the gate.

Military Discount:
Discounts are available with valid ID.

– Mary Talalay