What: Free admission to national parks: When: January 14th to the 16th; Where: all national parks (including Gulf Islands National Seashore); Cost: FREE
Several days a year, the National Park Service offers free entrance to all 397 national parks around the United States. We are so lucky to live near the Gulf Islands Seashore, one of only ten national seashores. Gulf Islands Seashore is not only home to beautful beaches but also to Ft. Picken’s where your family can explore the fort and all of its nooks and crannies. This weekend, entrance admission will be waived for January 14th, 15th, and 16th.
Although we are already a week into 2012, I didn’t want to end the year without sharing our top ten of 2011. This year was an interesting year for us. I started out the year with a broken foot (after just recently healing from breaking the other foot…seriously…I can’t make this stuff up) so we didn’t do too much exploring for the first few months. When the new school year started, Little S entered Pre-K and was gone most of the morning and that cut into our exploring as well. Even though we didn’t get out as often as we wanted to, we still found lots of great things to do in and around town.
There is no scientific data to this post…I just asked my kids and my husband what their favorite activities were throughout the year! Here is our 2011 top ten list of favorite activities in no particular order:
Distinctive Kitchens Kid’s Cooking Classes – This is the only activity that I haven’t written about yet. We were invited to attend (disclosure: our cost was covered) a DK Kid’s cooking class where we made rolled out gingerbread and put together a huge gingerbread house over a two day period. At first glance some of the classes seem a little pricey, but after attending the gingerbread house making class we think that they are worth it. The spring schedule is on the DK calendar where you will find kid’s classes, camps, and preschool mommy and me classes. I am hoping to enroll Big S in the Wintry Breakfast Foods because he loves to eat breakfast foods!
Parks, parks, and more parks – This year, my goal was to visit a new park each week. Well, that didn’t happen but we did visit a lot of new parks around town and found a few new favorites. Our favorite park of the year is Miralla Park. This little neighborhood park is set away from major streets, has a great playground equipment and a large grassy area to run around. Some of the other parks we enjoyed visiting this year were Bryan Park, Beulah Regional Park, Regency Park, and Lions Park.
Frozen Yogurt Shops – Pensacola saw a yogurt shop business boom this year. Frozen yogurt shops opened up all over town and if you read this site regularly it will come as no surprise that we visited every single one (TCBY’s Waffle Cone Wednesday made our 2010 top ten list last year!). TCBY opened up on 9 Mile Road and 32 degrees and Berry Yogurt opened up over by the mall.
Holiday Light Displays – We love to bundle up in blankets and drive around town looking at the lights. This year, my kids were old enough to really love the light displays all over town. We had lots favorites but this one off of Longleaf and Nathan Drive topped them all!
Condor Sailing Adventures – Recently, my children have a new-found love for all things boat. They love to watch the boats, count the boats and sail the boats after our sail with Condor Sailing Adventures (*disclosure: our cost was covered). It was so great to see Pensacola from the water. We got a great view of the Maritime Park construction and enjoyed learning how to sail the boat.
Downtown Trick or Treat – After posting for three years about the Downtown Trick or Treat, we finally made it to the event. We had so much fun! The kids loved collecting candy and I loved wandering in some of the little shops I hadn’t been able to visit yet.
Free Summer Movies - This summer we took advantage of the free summer movies to get out of the heat. Four different theaters participated in a summer movie program and the Silver Screen also had a weekly $1 show. We enjoyed catching up on movies that we missed through the school year and the best part was that it was free! We also took advantage of the Friday Family Flicks downtown. As it gets closer to summertime, check back for the schedules. We update the site as we receive the free summer movie schedule.
Chagall for Children Exhibit – This year, the Pensacola Museum of Art had the Chagall for Children exhibit on loan from the Kohl Children’s Museum of Greater Chicago. It was an awesome hands-on experience introducing children to Chagall’s artwork. They don’t currently have a hands-on exhibit for children but I hope that they will continue to welcome them in the future. The museum is free to visit on Tuesdays and they offer children’s art classes and camps.
Festivals of all kinds – This year was the year of the festival for us. We missed a lot of the festivals in 2010 because of my other broken foot (refer to first paragraph…ha!) so we made up for it in 2011. We attended the Gulf Coast Arts Festival, the Seafood Festival, the Festival on the Green, Gallery Night and Mardi Gras and that doesn’t even include half of the festivals Pensacola has to offer. The festivals are great family friendly events because there is usually a children’s arts and crafts area that is free and good for most ages.
Day Trips and Overnighters – Along with exploring Pensacola on the weekends, we also made some day trips and overnighters. We had some great adventures nearby! Our absolute favorite was our visit to LEGOLAND Florida’s opening weekend in Orlando with a visit to Callaway Gardens, Georgia (Did you know you can book a cabin on the grounds?! We didn’t!) and Seaside tying for a close second place.
These were our favorite activities for 2011 but this site wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for all of our great readers. We asked you on our Pensacola with Kids Facebook Page what your favorite activity of 2011 was and this is what you said (listed in no particular order):
Fort Pickens
Snow Cones at Da Girlz Place after Story Time at Big Lagoon State Park
Perdido Key Blue Angel Park
Sunsets at Plaza de Luna
Roger Scott Pool
Perdido Kids Park
TT Wentworth Museum
Navarre Butterfly House and the John Duncan Children’s Park
Fort Barrancas
Naval Air Museum
Do you want to read more about some of our favorite spots and activities in Pensacola? See our Top Ten of 2010 and Top Five of 2009 lists!
What: Pensacola Greek Festival; Where: Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church; When: October 14-16 Friday and Saturday 11am to 10pm and Sunday noon to 6pm; Cost: FREE to attend the festival
The Pensacola Greek Festival is a fun outing for the family. Grab lunch or dinner while you are there! The festival is held in Downtown Pensacola at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church on Friday and Saturday from 11am to 10pm and Sunday from noon to 6pm. Watch the dancing, listen to the music, and try some traditional Greek food. You can also tour the church to learn more about the architecture and the music.
What: Open House; Where: Roy Hyatt Environmental Center; When: October 15, 2011 from 9am to 3pm; Cost: FREE
The Roy Hyatt Environmental Center is holding its Open House and “Reduce-Reuse-Recycle” New and New To You Sale on Saturday, October 15. The event will be held from 9am to 3pm. The cost is free and it is open to the public. There will be a number of attractions including:
*Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida’s bird display
*Dauphin Island Sea Lab touch table and presentation
*Escambia Amateur Astronomy Assoc. telescopes
*Escambia Count Solid Waste Mgmt. display
*Francis M. Weston Audubon Society display
*Department of Environmental Protection display
*Florida Turtle Conservation Trust turtles and display
*Animals to meet and touch
*Hourly presentations
*Trails to hike
*Bird watching
*Children’s Activities
*Food and water booth
*Tour the facility
*Reduce – Reuse – Recycle” Sale featuring new and nearly new items, items donated by local merchants, gift certificates to restaurants, dolphin cruises, etc, and handmade crafts
*RHEC t-shirts and totes for sale
What: peanut festival; Where: 3604 Pine Level Church Rd., Jay; When: October 1 and 2 from 9am to 6pm; Cost: Parking and admission are FREE
For the past 20 years, the Jay Peanut Festival has grown to be a favorite fall festival among families! Activities include the 1930s Farm Museum, food booths, dozens of arts and crafts vendors, games and fun. There will be pony rides, horse rides, hay rides, wagon rides, inflatable rides, bungie jump, aqua bubbles, rock-climbing wal, mechanical bull riding, train ride, and more for the kids. Also, kids ages 4 to 12 can participate in the pig chase at 2 p.m. on Saturday. They might do it again 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. On Sunday there will also be a Pet Dress-up Parade and Contest at 2 p.m. All will have cash prizes.
There will be live music throughout the festival. On Sunday, there will be a church service. They recommend that you bring your own lawn chairs or a blanket if you would like to have a seat to listen!
Of course, while you are there don’t forget to try the peanuts! You can try them green, boiled, roasted, fried, candied, and in baked goods! I am hoping to locate a piece of peanut brittle!
The festival will be on October 1 and 2 from 9am to 6pm. Admission and parking is free.
Have you been to the peanut festival? What did you think?
**We have a couple of great giveaways going on right now! If you haven’t already, be sure to enter to win tickets to Disney Live! Three Classic Fairy Tales and the Sweet Seasons Corn Maze tickets!
Photo Courtesy of Little Blue Hen via Flickr.
The Escambia Amateur Astronomers’ Association is offering free stargazing at the Gulfside Pavillion. Volunteers will set up approximately twenty telescopes ranging in strength and size. You just might get to see Jupiter, the Milky Way, or more! Video cameras will also be used with some of the telescopes to display images. The stargazing events will be held on September 2 & 3, September 30 & October 1, 2011.
Photo courtesy of davedehetre via Flickr.
What: Pool party; Where: Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front Hotel; When: August 28 3pm to 7pm; Cost: FREE
The Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front Hotel is having an Endless Summer Pool Party on August 28, 2011 from 3pm to 7pm. Entrance is free and you don’t have to be a hotel guest to go! There will be a hula hoop contest, volleyball tournament, and pool games. Hotel guests will be given first use of beach chairs so bring your own chair with you.
For more information visit the Toes in the Sand blog!
What: Festival celebrating piano; Where: Dollarhide’s Music Center; When: August 13 from 10am to 2pm
Dollarhide’s Music Center is holding their 2011 Piano Festival on Saturday, August 13th from 10am to 2pm. If you have ever been interested in learning more about piano, this is a great way to do it! Dollarhide’s will be giving presentations and demonstrations all day. They will also have activities during the event. Teachers will be available to answer any questions and there will be giveaways to register for!
The kids have been out of school for weeks now and you may be looking for something for them to do! We try to have quiet time every day where they will color, do a craft project, play a computer game, read or do any number of other quiet time activities. Recently, I have come across these two websites to help with our quiet time activities!
Ziggity Zoom – Find online games, printables, and holiday activities. There are arts and crafts ideas, recipe ideas, playworlds and more. My daughter loves the the Princess Play World, and they have had fun with the online coloring pages.
Projects for Preschoolers - Geared towards preschoolers, I love the activities that help create family time. There are craft ideas that utilize items that you most likely have around the house like paper plates and paper. There are recipes, coloring pages and printables of all kinds.
Do you have a favorite website for children’s activities?
What: Touch-a-Truck; When: July 23rd from 10am to 1pm; Where: Roger Scott Athletic Complex: Cost: FREE with a donation to the Manna Food Pantries
If your kids love cars, trucks, and fire engines, they will love to visit this annual event, Touch-A-Truck. Children are encouraged to touch, climb and discover construction vehicles, police cars, fire trucks, semi-trucks, buses, and more. Home Depot will be conducting their Kid’s Workshop, too! The event is free with a donation to the Manna Food Pantries.
Things to Know Before You Go:
- We didn’t go last year, but we got several messages that the event was a lot of fun but that it was HOT! Bring a cooler full of water and drinks for after the event.
- Roger Scott Athletic Complex is home to the Roger Scott Pool. If you time it right, you can attend one of the swim sessions and make this a full day outing!
