Tis the season to enjoy all the fun things that are part of an Alberta Christmas like twinkly Christmas lights, sleigh rides and visits with Santa.
Over the next couple of weekends, a number of communities near Edmonton are hosting Christmas festivals that are sure to get you and your little ones in the Christmas mood.
Morinville Lite Up the Nite Christmas Festival (Nov 26-28, 2010)
Breakfast with Santa, family crafts and activities, parade, craft fair, skate with Santa, Lite up the Nite in St. Jean Baptiste Park and fireworks.
Josephburg Christmas in the Heartland (Nov 27, 2010)
Christmas market, sleigh rides, hundreds of nativity scenes on display, skating, visit with Santa, ice carving and lighting up a 60 ft. Christmas tree.
Devon Christmas in the Park (Nov 27, 2010)
Candle luminary, Christmas lights parade, hay rides, Santa and his reindeer, maple syrup taffy and more.
Redwater Kris Kringle Festival (Dec 4, 2010)
Skate with Santa, sleigh rides, hot chocolate, carolers and a live nativity scene.
Bon Accord Winter Wonderland (Dec 4, 2010)
Pancake breakfast, visit with Santa, crafts, Christmas skate, live entertainment and fireworks show.
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Off-field action at Edmonton Eskimos Games
At this weekend’s Edmonton Eskimos game, I was joined by someone who’d never been to a live football game before. As I was describing what kind of atmosphere to expect at the stadium, I was struck by the number of activities that occur at an Eskimos game. Even if the football game isn’t your thing, there is sure to be something for you to watch.
The crazy antics of the Eskimos’ mascots Punter and Nanook are always entertaining, especially when they are body slamming stuffed animals that represent the other teams’ mascots into the turf. There’s nothing like seeing a stuffed gopher or horse get jumped on. Take that!
Speaking of jumps, you’ll be surprised at the gymnastic and acrobatic skill of the Eskimos Cheer Team, considered to be one of the best squads in North America. It’s not unusual to see one of the guys balance one of the girls on one hand or a couple of guys throw a girl so high in the air she can do multiple flips and twists on the way down. I can’t help but watch in amazement.
The mascots and the Cheer Team encourage the crowd to get involved in special cheers and everyone sings the Eskimos fight song between the third and fourth quarters. There’s also wacky competitions hosted by sponsors, the cheesy sounds of the Pep Band and the mini footballs that get launched into the crowd when the Eskimos score.
Add all of these off-field activities to the action of the football game and you have a winning combination.
The crazy antics of the Eskimos’ mascots Punter and Nanook are always entertaining, especially when they are body slamming stuffed animals that represent the other teams’ mascots into the turf. There’s nothing like seeing a stuffed gopher or horse get jumped on. Take that!
Speaking of jumps, you’ll be surprised at the gymnastic and acrobatic skill of the Eskimos Cheer Team, considered to be one of the best squads in North America. It’s not unusual to see one of the guys balance one of the girls on one hand or a couple of guys throw a girl so high in the air she can do multiple flips and twists on the way down. I can’t help but watch in amazement.
The mascots and the Cheer Team encourage the crowd to get involved in special cheers and everyone sings the Eskimos fight song between the third and fourth quarters. There’s also wacky competitions hosted by sponsors, the cheesy sounds of the Pep Band and the mini footballs that get launched into the crowd when the Eskimos score.
Add all of these off-field activities to the action of the football game and you have a winning combination.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Smashing Pumpkins
No, not the band. Actual smashing pumpkins.
That’s part of the attraction at the Smoky Lake Pumpkin Festival.
The festival’s finale entails dropping pumpkins from a very tall crane. At this year’s festival, three pumpkins were dropped. Two “smaller” pumpkins were dropped first (and by smaller I mean bigger than the wheel on a Hummer). Then a gigantic pumpkin was dropped onto a car. I must admit, the destructive side of my personality was cheering. Oh who am I kidding, you don’t even have to like destruction to enjoy the complete demolition of a car by a giant, falling pumpkin. It’s something you likely won’t see anywhere else in Alberta.
These photos are not of the car being destroyed but show the before and after photos of one of the pumpkin drops.
Before
After
In addition to the smashing finale, an important component of the festival is the competition for the largest pumpkin. This year, the winner weighed in at 987 pounds. Yes, that’s correct. It was enormous.
The festival offers plenty of activities for kids such as a midway and crafts as well as activities for adults like the beer gardens, farmers’ market and classic car show and shine.
The Smoky Lake Pumpkin Festival is a fun day trip out in the country, but…if you go, beware of falling vegetables.
That’s part of the attraction at the Smoky Lake Pumpkin Festival.
The festival’s finale entails dropping pumpkins from a very tall crane. At this year’s festival, three pumpkins were dropped. Two “smaller” pumpkins were dropped first (and by smaller I mean bigger than the wheel on a Hummer). Then a gigantic pumpkin was dropped onto a car. I must admit, the destructive side of my personality was cheering. Oh who am I kidding, you don’t even have to like destruction to enjoy the complete demolition of a car by a giant, falling pumpkin. It’s something you likely won’t see anywhere else in Alberta.
These photos are not of the car being destroyed but show the before and after photos of one of the pumpkin drops.
Before
After
In addition to the smashing finale, an important component of the festival is the competition for the largest pumpkin. This year, the winner weighed in at 987 pounds. Yes, that’s correct. It was enormous.
The festival offers plenty of activities for kids such as a midway and crafts as well as activities for adults like the beer gardens, farmers’ market and classic car show and shine.
The Smoky Lake Pumpkin Festival is a fun day trip out in the country, but…if you go, beware of falling vegetables.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
A-MAZE-ing Sunflowers
Corn mazes are a popular fall attraction, but a maze made of cheery sunflowers offers a delightful alternative.
From the moment you step into the Bowden SunMaze, you can’t help but be happy. Getting lost and turned around on the winding paths seems a lot more fun when surrounded by pretty yellow flowers.
The maze has just the right amount of challenge to keep adults interested while the opportunity to run wild and hide around corners keeps kids entertained.We were a little late to see the maze in its prime (although it was still impressive). The staff suggested that mid to late August is the best time to visit.
In addition to the sunflower maze, there are two corn mazes and other mazes suitable for small children. The kids will also like seeing seeing the pot belly pig, rabbits, donkeys and chickens.
The Bowden SunMaze is Alberta’s only sunflower maze. You can find it west of Bowden, about half an hour south of Red Deer.
From the moment you step into the Bowden SunMaze, you can’t help but be happy. Getting lost and turned around on the winding paths seems a lot more fun when surrounded by pretty yellow flowers.
The maze has just the right amount of challenge to keep adults interested while the opportunity to run wild and hide around corners keeps kids entertained.We were a little late to see the maze in its prime (although it was still impressive). The staff suggested that mid to late August is the best time to visit.
In addition to the sunflower maze, there are two corn mazes and other mazes suitable for small children. The kids will also like seeing seeing the pot belly pig, rabbits, donkeys and chickens.
The Bowden SunMaze is Alberta’s only sunflower maze. You can find it west of Bowden, about half an hour south of Red Deer.
Monday, September 6, 2010
High Flying Fun at Edmonton's Kite Festival
Sailing ships, bi-planes, geometric shapes, owls, geckos, and Tigger … not to mention a 30 foot dragon…vied for airspace over Edmonton on the weekend. The annual Kites over Callingwood Festival filled the sky with kites of all shapes and sizes.
Kids were encouraged to construct and decorate their own kites at the family-friendly event and add them to the colourful chaos in the sky. The festival also featured sport kites – kites that can be masterfully maneuvered to perform graceful ballet or acrobatic dogfights. See the video below.
Kids were encouraged to construct and decorate their own kites at the family-friendly event and add them to the colourful chaos in the sky. The festival also featured sport kites – kites that can be masterfully maneuvered to perform graceful ballet or acrobatic dogfights. See the video below.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Jumpin' Jurassic
OK. The dinosaurs at the Jurassic Forest don’t jump, but they sure move and growl. My friend Terry recently visited the 40 acre site located 15 minutes north of Edmonton and here’s what he had to say.
Family Focus
The park is “very family focused with a huge sand pit play area for kids. The play area comes complete with fiberglass eggs and pieces of interlocking bones the size of small children that are light enough for kids to move them around.” Terry also believes that families will enjoy the wooded picnic area.
The Setting
According to Terry, “Two wood-plank routes wind through an untouched old growth forest. Each loop is one kilometre. Throughout the loops are interpretive stations of each of the dinosaurs, as well as informative plaques regarding local flora and fauna.” Everyone can have a close encounter with the dinosaurs because the walkways are wheelchair, motorized scooter and stroller accessible.
The Dinosaurs
Jurassic Forest is home to 40 animatronic dinosaurs. Terry says, “The dinosaurs are motion activated and the movements are very smooth and lifelike – the sound effects are wonderful, especially when the sounds are coming from somewhere out of sight deep in the forest.”
Family Focus
The park is “very family focused with a huge sand pit play area for kids. The play area comes complete with fiberglass eggs and pieces of interlocking bones the size of small children that are light enough for kids to move them around.” Terry also believes that families will enjoy the wooded picnic area.
The Setting
According to Terry, “Two wood-plank routes wind through an untouched old growth forest. Each loop is one kilometre. Throughout the loops are interpretive stations of each of the dinosaurs, as well as informative plaques regarding local flora and fauna.” Everyone can have a close encounter with the dinosaurs because the walkways are wheelchair, motorized scooter and stroller accessible.
The Dinosaurs
Jurassic Forest is home to 40 animatronic dinosaurs. Terry says, “The dinosaurs are motion activated and the movements are very smooth and lifelike – the sound effects are wonderful, especially when the sounds are coming from somewhere out of sight deep in the forest.”
The Last Word
Jurassic Forest is “well worth a return visit” says Terry.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
The Hunt is on for Easter Activities
With Easter on the horizon, I’ve been thinking about activities that families can do to have some fun for Easter. Many major attractions in Alberta have kid-friendly events planned during the Easter weekend.
Calgary
- Munch on Easter Brunch at Heritage Park and participate in a scavenger hunt and traditional Easter egg decorating. Sunday, April 4
- Kids can meet Peter Rabbit, enter the colouring contest and enjoy face painting, crafts and games at Fort Calgary’s Spring Fever. Sunday, April 4
- At the Calgary’s Zoo’s Easter Eggstravaganza, families can enjoy treats of many kinds - entertainment, the Cadbury scavenger hunt and personalized cookie treats. Friday, April 2 and Saturday, April 3
Edmonton
- An afternoon of old-fashioned fun awaits at Rutherford House. Taste cookies baked in the wood-burning stove and find historically-coloured Easter eggs. Sunday, April 4
- At Fort Edmonton Park’s Sweet Treat Hide and Seek, kids can exchange eggs found on the Easter egg hunt for treats. There will also be storytelling, a petting zoo, and a rabbit jumping demonstration. Saturday, April 3
- Grand Prairie’s Muskoseepi Park is the site of an Easter Eggstravaganza with a bunny display, cookie decorating, games, Easter egg hunt and a visit by the Easter Bunny. Saturday, April 3
Lethbridge
- Dye eggs and snap photos with the Easter Bunny at the Galt Museum’s Annual Eggstravaganza. Saturday, April 3
These activities are sure to keep you hopping.
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