Hershey Gardens

Last year Katie and I visited the Hershey Gardens in late May for one reason and one reason only, butterflies! This Friday the Hershey Gardens opens it's newly renovated Butterfly House which houses more than 200 free-flying butterflies, over 20 different species from around North America. We had a great time trying to find the different varieties of butterflies and the guides inside the house are very helpful pointing out the hiding feeding spots behind leaves and rocks.

The butterfly house is open daily from 9am-5pm, the warmer the weather the more active the butterflies will be. Admission is $12 for 12 and up, $5 for kids 6-11 years old and FREE for those 5and under. Make sure you check around for coupons, I think there is a BOGO in the current Entertainment Book (2010). Good luck and have fun!

Diaper Derby and Toddler Trot

Smart Mama Pa and Memorial Hospital have teamed up with the York Revolution to sponsor the 2nd Annual Diaper Derby and new this year a Toddler Trot. They will be setting up a race area the length of 2 queen size beds, in the outfield before the June 12th game against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. The Diaper Derby will be for children up to 12 months and the Toddler Trot will be for kids 12-24 months old. Each child will receive a Revolution T-Shirt just for participating. The grand prize winner will win a $500 savings bond, thanks to Memorial Hospital, and two randomly drawn winners will receive a $100 Bon-Ton shopping spree!

It's sounds like a cute event, so if you have a fast little one (don't we all!) this might be their time to shine! For more information and to register visit: http://www.yorkrevolution.com/news.cfm?newsID=2079

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus

The circus is coming, the circus is coming!!

Okay so it's not that exciting, to me, but I bet your kids would be that happy if you would take them! The Ringling Brothers circus will be at the Giant Center in Hershey Wednesday May 26th through Monday May 31st. There are a bunch of different times to go, which is nice for those of us that still have napping kids, and the prices are a little bit high but you get a lot for your ticket. The highest price ticket is $75.00 and for this price you get to be a "Circus Celebrity", basically you get to participate in part of the show. But still, $75 is a LOT to pay for the circus. Then there are $30, $20 and $16 tickets, which are much more down to Earth.

Now the bonus, where you really get the best bang for your buck, if you show up 90 minutes before the show you get to visit the animals at the Animal Open House. You can visit the animals in their homes away from home. Pretty cute. Then 60 minutes before the show you can go down to the arena floor to get some autographs, meet the animals and even watch an elephant paint! All this is FREE with your ticket, so when you add up the cost of the tickets make sure you factor in the bonus hour and a half pre-show. Click the link below to find out more and do a few Google searches for coupon codes, I didn't find any right away but that doesn't mean they don't exist!

http://www.giantcenter.com/events/schedule_detail.php?id=10806

Family Fun Day at Central Market

This Saturday, May 22nd, Central Market is hosting a Family Fun Day from 10am-3pm. All activities are FREE, YAY, and will include a dunk tank, ice cream eating contest ( at noon), face painting, crafts, a balloon lady, petting zoo, live music and a raffle for a night out on the town for mom and dad! (Raffle tickets are $1 each). This sounds like a fun way to re-introduce yourself and your family to the Central Market!

American Girl Fans!!

This is for all of those American Girl fans, yes I have one of those in my house too!! This weekend, Sunday May 16th from 2-4pm, at Glatfelter Memorial Library in Spring Grove they are hosting an American Girl Garden Party, woo-hoo. The event will focus on the Doll of the Year, Lanie and will feature a scavenger hunt, crafts and snacks. Girls, and their dolls, must be accompanied by an adult and there is a limit of two children per adult. Tickets are available by calling 225-3220 and they are $15 for 2 people, $20 for 3 and $25 for 4, there will also be a raffle to win a doll, no word on if it's Lanie herself.

This might be a fun afternoon activity for your little American Girl, check it out!

http://www.yorklibraries.org/ (click on Events and scroll down to the 16th)

Teacher Pass to Philadelphia Zoo

If you are a teacher, principal or assistant principal in a public, private or charter school than this might be a great pass to get. FREE admission to the Philadelphia Zoo Monday-Friday all summer long!! Pass this one along, I can't use it, but I know a lot of people that can!

http://www.philadelphiazoo.org/Summer-Break-Teachers-Pass.htm

Kid's Bike Safety Day

Thanks to Christine for passing this one along! May 22nd from 10am-1pm there will be a FREE Kid's Bike Safety Day at York College for kids under 12. This is the 1st Annual offering for this event and it looks like a great way to get your child's bike checked out by local bicycle experts, get some hands of safety courses and a little snack!

Mark your calendar and RSVP for this event soon! Contact Jon Saylor at 717-825-5167 or email him at jsaylor3@ycp.edu, put the word "register" in the subject line and include kids names and ages. He also has a Facebook page for the event, just search "Kid's Bike Safety Day".