5 Things for Families

It’s Memorial Day Weekend–the unofficial beginning of summer, y’all! Time to start finding ways to keep those kids busy/not all up in your face. Some ideas to get you through the next few days…

May 20, 2015; 9:00 AM • by Valerie Catrow

1. 2015 Garden Concert Series: River City Taiko

Sabot at Stony Point student drummers will join the school’s artists in residence, River City Taiko, for a performance in the garden. Pre-show picnics and playtime are encouraged! (Please keep pets at home.)

• Thursday, May 21st • 6:00 PM (garden opens at 5:30 PM)
• Sabot at Stony Point (Gillette Garden), 3400 Stony Point Road
• Free!

2. Autism Society Central Virginia 5k Run/Walk

This event raised $90,000 for Autism Society Central Virginia last year. Let’s make that number seem like small potatoes this time around! In addition to the 5k run/walk, they’ll have entertainment, food, and a Fun Zone for the little ones. Kids can also participate in the Kid’s Dash, a 50-yard fun-run just for them. All funds raised from this event will provide support for individuals with autism and their families in Central Virginia. As the website puts it, “The funds raised here, stay here!”

• Saturday, May 23rd • Kid’s Dash starts at 8:30 AM; 5k starts at 9:00 AM
• Snagajob Pavilion, 4901 Lake Brook Drive
• $10-$35

3. 11th Annual Strawberry Fields Festival

Pick your own strawberries, listen to live music, shop local vendors, and enjoy all kinds of kid’s activities, including…PONY RIDES. Data point: the website doesn’t say that pony rides are only for kids, so I’m going to hold out hope that they’ll let me get in on that. (No pets at this event either, folks!)

• Saturday, May 23rd • 10:00 AM — 5:00 PM
• Gallmeyer Farms Berry Patch, 3622 Darbytown Court
• Free admission (pick-your-own strawberries are $2.49 per pound)

4. Special Monday Opening at Maymont

Maymont’s Nature & Visitors Center is usually closed on Mondays, but they’re throwing us all a bone on Memorial Day. So come say “Heyyyyy” to the otters, baby alligators, and venomous snakes before you take part in one of the Richmondiest of Richmond traditions: screaming at your children as they barrel down the hill to see the bears and refusing to pony up a few quarters for that big bald eagle head with the built-in binoculars.

• Monday, May 25th • 10:00 AM–5:00 PM (last entry at 4:45 PM)
• Nature & Visitors Center, Maymont’s Shields Lake Drive entrance
• $3 for ages 13-59; $2 for ages 4-12 and 60 and over; free for members and kids under four

5. Commonwealth’s Memorial Day Ceremony

Remind the kids why they’re out of school on Monday. This ceremony honors those who died serving in the US armed forces. Governor Terry McAuliffe will serve as guest speaker, and Thomas Jefferson High School Corps of Cadets Alumni Band will be on hand to play patriotic music.

• Monday, May 25th &bull 10:00 — 11:00 AM (band performs in the Shrine of Memory at 2:00 PM)
• Virginia War Memorial, 621 S. Belvidere Street
• Free

Photo by: mitch59

May 20, 2015 9:00 AM 0