South Sound Weekend Kids’ Calendar! Family Fun for May 17th-19th!

Looking for things to do with the family this weekend?  If you live near Tacoma, Auburn, Lacey, Puyallup, Gig Harbor, Olympia-or somewhere in between-I’ve got you covered!

South Sound family fun is right here!

Headed elsewhere? For Seattle or Portland area fun you’ll want to check out the fantastic list over at ThriftyNWmom compiled by the newest member of their frugal finding team, Annaliese of Grays Harbor Deals!

Friday

 Harmonica Pocket!  Free concert for young children at the Gig Harbor Library 10:30

New drop in play times at Jump! Gig Harbor  9:30-11:30 for 6 and under today; all ages 12:30-2:30

Free Ready, Set, Read! Tacoma program at the Children’s Museum

Play in Peace Day at McCarver Park in Tacoma  Games and activities followed by program and march

Active Play Night at Wind Up Here toys in Olympia

Saturday

All Over

Kids’ Club at Michael’s Kids can stop in between 10-2 for a, “Celebrate Your Hero,” craft. It’s 2.00 per child/sessions start on the half hour

South King County

PetaPalooza in Auburn

Story Time at the Federal Way Barnes and Noble 11AM Book is How to Catch a Star today.

Water Weekends with HCC Mast at Redondo Every Saturday visit the center for free from 10-2 and get up close with sea critters in their touch tanks

Saturday Story Time at Southcenter Barnes and Noble  11AM  Reading With Rover today

Puyallup/Sumner/Greater Pierce

Friends of the Bonney Lake Library Used Book Sale

Read With a Dog at the Puyallup Public Library 1PM  Kids can drop in and practice their reading skills with patient, canine listener, Coach

Children’s Gardening Program with the Master Gardeners at the WSU extension in Puyallup   1PM  Mr. McGregor’s garden is the theme today, and the activity is vegetable planting. Never been? I have a post with more about this fun children’s program here.

A Little Princess at Sumner ManeStage Theater.

Tacoma

Got a brave kid? The spraygrounds are On in Tacoma! Free, open 10AM-8PM

Click! Family Flick at the Grand in Tacoma   Free family movie starts at 10AM; Doors open at 9:30-limited to first 100  Raiders of the Lost Ark today

StoryBook Ballet Theater in Tacoma  Special, short performances based on beloved stories   You’re invited to attend in character costumes  tickets just 5.00

Family Nature Walk  Nature Center Staff leads these free, family friendly walks. You are asked to register; not suitable for strollers; great for 3 and up McKinley Park today

Queen Victoria’s Birthday at Fort Nisqually 11am-5PM  reenactments, buildings open, music   artisan crafts and plants for sale   5.00 kids; 7.50 adults; max of 25.00 per family

Most Farmers’ Markets have opened! Has yours? Check here.

Adventure Race at the STAR Center  Two mile, family friendly race kicks off the STAR center celebration 20.00; fun course includes obstacles and trails

One Year Anniversary Party at the STAR Center in South Tacoma  Variety of free entertainment and play

Pierce College Science Dome Shows Special shows for children every Saturday at 2PM in the amazing new dome theater at their Lakewood campus. Tickets just 3.00; adults free! Link also has info. on other public shows. General audience at 3:15

Visit our new sponsors at City Goat Farm and Petting Zoo in Spanaway Here is their fb page . I’ve had sooooo many nice notes from readers who have loved it here. If you do, too, be sure to ask about their season pass!

Lego story time at the Lakewood Barnes and Noble 11AM  hands-on time with Lego and the book Grow Caterpillar Grow

Block Play at the Parkland/Spanaway Library  10AM

 Beyond

Bear Awareness Weekend at Northwest Trek  Special activities included with admission   Trek admission is steep; SFM suggests investing in an annual pass (you can add it to an existing zoo pass) if you’d go even twice a year.  Also Sunday

Lacey/Olympia/JBLM

Armed Forces Day at JBLM  Huge, free event with entertainment, rides, military vehicles, reenactments, vendors, and more. Open to the public but do follow directions about entry and bring photo id

Spring Fun Fair in Lacey  Two big days of free family entertainment and fun!

American Girl Book and Craft Club at the Olympia Barnes and Noble 12  Girls 7-12 are invited to bring their favorite American Girl doll for stories and crafts

Saturday storytime at the Olympia Barnes and Noble  1PM  Every Saturday

Scholastic Books Warehouse Sale Event

Nature Journals and Native Plants at the LOTT Wet Science Center Kids can make a nature journal and then  records their finds after a walk around the plaza at 1 or 2:30

Kids’ Run at Heritage Park in Olympia  1.2 mile run for kids 8th grade and younger. 10.00 or 5.00 and three cans of food for the Thurston County Food Bank

Olympia Youth Chorus performs  Bach to Rock  at Westwood Baptist Church

Port of Olympia Boat Swap and Chowder Challenge

Lego Team Adventure Night at the HOCM  Join Lego artist Dan Parker for a special night of Lego and science  45.00 per parent/child team; 35.00 additional siblings   Registration and fees required

Gig Harbor

Ocean Crafts with Harbor Wild Watch at the Harbor History History Museum  11AM-2PM Create a fish print, a salmon cycle necklace and more! Crafting is free; does Not include museum admission. SFM Note: Admission is very reasonable. I’d check out the Savage Seas exhibit while you’re there.

The farmer’s market at Uptown is open! From 9-10 every Saturday there is free entertainment for kids.

Open Play with our sponsors at Discovery Village in Gig Harbor 10-5  special activity: bracelet making  Be sure to ask about Summer Camps! They’re way cute and filling fast!

Oh, the Places You’ll Go Story Time at the Kitsap Barnes and Noble   11AM activities and treats, plus the beloved Dr. Seuss story

Ellie’s Project at Discovery Village  Fundraiser to help children with unidentified diseases  Adults 12.00; kids 6.00  open play time, movie, silent auctions, beer and wine for purchase   Advance ticket purchase encouraged

Mother/Son Dance at the Boys and Girls Club  30.00 per pair/tickets through PAA

If you’re up for a bit of a road trip, it’s Viking Fest time in Poulsbo!

Kitsap area readers may also like to get the free newsletter from Macaroni Kid Kitsap

Sunday

Friends of the Bonney Lake Library Used Book Sale Last Day  2.00/bag

A Little Princess at Sumner ManeStage Theater. 2PM show today

Spring Fun Fair in Lacey  Second big day of free family entertainment and fun!

Bear Awareness Weekend at Northwest Trek continues Special activities included with admission   Trek admission is steep; SFM suggests investing in an annual pass (you can add it to an existing zoo pass) if you’d go even twice a year.  Also Sunday

Crafts of the Past at Fort Nisqually  Each weekend, artisans demonstrate a craft that would been used in the 1880s. While not a total bargain, a trip to the Fort is fun for most children and a good resource if you have one doing some kind of report. Demonstration of primitive fire starting methods today

Visit our new sponsors at City Goat Farm and Petting Zoo in Spanaway Here is their fb page .

Farmer’s Market at South Tacoma’s STAR Center

Know something great I missed? Want publicity for your group or advertising for your family friendly business?  Just let me know!

New here? I’d love to have you use the buttons at the top to join us on the Facebook page, follow me on Twitter, or get my posts in your feed or reader. I also Love to hear about readers sharing this page with their pals and mentioning it at the places they visit, so thank you So Much for all of that!

A Little Princess Ticket Winner

Congratulations to Michelle B.

Michelle’s comment

Shared this on Facebook and let them all know
Arianna would love to go to this!!

was selected by the random number generator as the winner of the family 4 pack to A Little Princess at Sumner ManeStage.

Michelle, I’ll be sending you an email. Be on the lookout for it!

If you didn’t win, there are many shows remaining to choose from and tickets are a very reasonable 10.00-18.00. What better way to introduce your kiddos to theater than by taking them to a production from a homegrown team with a commitment to producing family friendly shows? Head here to the ManeStage theater website to see the remaining shows and tickets.

Thanks to our friends at ManeStage for this great giveaway, and thanks to all of you who entered.

Your interest and readership truly does make it possible for me to keep bringing you great contests-and all the other good stuff, too!

 

Download a Free Adventure Journal from REI

Want to encourage your kids to get outdoors this summer? REI again has this great free adventure journal that you can download. After they complete just one activity (or any number you want), you can award them this Official Adventure Hero certificate.

REI’s family page also has lots of tips on taking your family hiking and camping, recipe suggestions, and more. They also offer some pretty cool classes for kids and grown-ups, though a lot of them are at the Seattle store.

Have you already planned some adventures for this summer? I’d love to hear about them!

The South Sound Summer Camp Guide!

If you’re looking for summer camps or day camps around the South Sound, I’ve got exciting news! It’s the Sounds Fun Mom South Sound Summer Camp Guide. Say that ten times fast! Tricky, wasn’t it? You’ll find it in the menu bar, cleverly titled, “South Sound Summer Camp Guide.” While it doesn’t come close to [...]

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South Sound Kids Calendar for May 13th-17th!

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South Sound Mother’s Day Events and Activities

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