Month: February 2013

Friday Fun: Things to Do During February Vacation

This weekend marks the end of February Vacation for students throughout most of the Northeastern United States and a number of other areas as well. As a result, there’s only a couple days left for all the parents out there to find something to do with their kids, and many parents have already begun their desperate search for an activity that will keep their children entertained this weekend. Unfortunately, trying to locate an activity that your kids will find entertaining is often as easy as trying to get your children to pick up their toys, and you may be having trouble coming up with an idea that your kids will truly enjoy. However, if you’re looking for something to keep your kids entertained for a few more days or you’re just trying to make up for the fact that you had to work all week, you may want to consider taking your kids ice skating.

Ice skating can be a fun and a relatively inexpensive way for you to spend a day, and you will be able to find at least one ice skating rink in most areas. In fact, if you live in the northern section of the United States or anywhere that typically experiences colder weather during the winter, you may be able to find an outdoor rink that offers free skating and/or low-priced skate rentals. In most cases, the best way to find an outdoor rink is to check out the website for the closest major city.

For example, if you live in the Boston area, you may be able to skate on the Boston Common Frog Pond by calling the Boston Centers for Youth and Families at 617-635-2120. Skating on the Frog Pond is typically free for skaters younger than 14 and $5.00 for skaters age 14 or older. Skaters below the age of 14 can also rent skates for a fee of $5.00, and skaters age 14 or older can rent skates for a fee of $9.00. If you can’t find an outdoor rink or you’d rather find an indoor one, you may be able to find an ice skating rink by using Map Muse’s Ice Rink Locator.

If, on the other hand, you or your kids are about as coordinated as I am (or, in other words, you put on skates, walk two inches, and then end up face first against the ice), you may want to check out the websites for some of your local art, science, or children’s museums. A lot of museums, especially museums that are more geared towards children than adults, have a number of special events to keep kids and their families entertained during each school break.

Friday Fun: President’s Day Weekend

The sun is shining in the Northeast, the weather’s getting warmer, and a good chunk of the 2+ feet of snow that was dumped on the Northeastern United States last weekend by a historic storm has already begun to melt. The only question now is what are you going to do with your newly found ability to go outside without becoming an ice sculpture or a snowman (or a snowwoman as the case may be.) Well, if you’re trying to find something to do this weekend but coming up blank, here are a couple of ways that you can enjoy the weather while it lasts.

First, if you’ve always wanted your own boat or just enjoy all things maritime, you may want to make your way to Boston this weekend. The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center is hosting the 2013 Progressive Insurance New England Boat Show from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, February 16, 2013.) This show is the largest boating event in the Northeastern United States, and it features over 750 boats, including powerboats, sailboats, and skiffs. In fact, the Progressive Insurance New England Boat Show not only offers an impressive number of boats but also offers boating seminars, a couple of boating sweepstakes, displays, and almost every boating accessory that you can imagine. For more information on the Progressive Insurance New England Boat Show, visit the show’s website.

Secondly, if you’re really not into boats or you just really hate the water in general , you may want to investigate some of the President’s Day events that are going on throughout the weekend. Most areas have a number of events celebrating our founding fathers, famous presidents, and/or the history of the United States in general. This is especially true if you are in the area of Massachusetts, Washington DC or Virginia as Old Sturbridge Village, Mount Vernon, and a number of other similar landmarks in these areas will be holding special events and/or offering discounted or free admission.

Friday Fun: Things to Do When you Have No Power

Let’s face it. Unless you live in an underground bunker, you’ve probably heard something about the blizzard that is rapidly approaching the northeastern section of the United States. In fact, the first wave of snow that signals the beginning of the oncoming mess that many forecasters are calling a “historic storm” is falling from the sky right now. As a result, most of the government offices, major airlines, public transportation, private employers, schools, and other similar institutions in the area have already decided to close their doors for the day. This means that it’s not only pretty hard to get anything done but also pretty hard to get anywhere.

Unfortunately, getting stuff done and getting somewhere are not the only problems that many New Englanders are about to face this weekend, as there is another even more pressing issue that many people are concerned about — losing power. Now, losing power may not sound like a big deal, but it can be a problem when you don’t know when you’re going to lose it and, more importantly, when you’re going to get it back. As such, this week’s post will discuss some of the things that you can do to make sure that your weekend is still entertaining even when the power is out.

First, take a lesson from the Girl Scouts (or the Boy Scouts for that matter) and make sure that you’re prepared for the storm. There’s no question that one of the easiest ways to make your weekend miserable is to forget some of the simple things that you may need like a flashlight, extra batteries, nonperishable food, bottled water, a first aid kit, and some of the other basic necessities that you should always have in case of an emergency.

Secondly, go wireless and make sure that all of your wireless stuff is charged. Cell phones, e-readers like the Nook or the Kindle, handheld video games systems like the Nintendo 3DS, laptops, portable DVD players, tablet computers like an iPad or a Kindle Fire, and other similar electronic devices that run on battery power can be an excellent way to keep yourself entertained when you don’t have power.

Finally, if all else fails, go low tech. Some of the tried and true pastimes that don’t require power like board games, books, card games, darts, games that you can play with a piece of paper like hangman, and/or any other similar games can be a good way to make your powerless weekend a little less boring and bleak.

Friday Fun: Avoiding the Winter Blues

Is the cold weather really getting to you? Are you already having one of those years where you’re thinking “One month down, eleven more to go”? Well, if you are having one of those years where nothing seems to be going right or you’re just sick and tired of the cold weather, you may be looking for a way to cheer yourself up. Luckily, coming up with a good way to lift yourself out of the winter blues can be easier than you might think during the month of February. This is because the stuff that melts in your mouth, your hands, and quite frankly everywhere else during the summer is pretty easy to find during this time of year.

Of course, I’m talking about chocolate, and more specifically about the chocolate festivals that typically occur throughout the continental United States (and a number of other countries as well) around the day that everyone’s loves to love, or in some cases dread, Valentine’s Day. In fact, chocolate festivals are held in many areas throughout the world during this time of year, and there’s a pretty good chance that you will be able to find a festival in your local area at some point this month. With the goal of helping you find some chocolate in mind, here are a few of the major festivals in the continental United States over the next couple of weeks:

1. The Enumclaw Wine and Chocolate Festival takes place from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. today (Friday, February 1st) and from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, February 2nd) at the Expo Center in Enumclaw, WA. This festival features a wide selection of wine, chocolate, cars that the average person would never be able to afford, and entertainment ranging from aerialists to musical performers. For more information, visit the festival’s website.

2. The Firehouse Art Center Chocolate Festival takes place at the Norman Firehouse Art Center in Norman, OK on February 2nd from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This festival has won a number of awards and features an enormous assortment of chocolates from a variety of vendors and free art-related activities for children. For more information, visit the City of Norman website or the Norman Firehouse Art Center website.

3. The Salem So Sweet Chocolate Festival takes place in Salem, MA from Friday, February 8th to Friday, February 15th.  This festival not only features the chocolate that you would typically expect from a chocolate festival, but also includes wine tastings and another thing that will certainly melt in higher temperatures – ice sculptures. For more information, visit the Salem Chamber of Commerce’s website or the Salem Haunted Happenings Website.

Please Note:  The chocolate sampling and the wine tastings for the Salem So Sweet Chocolate Festival, which were originally scheduled for today, have been moved to Friday, February 15th (the day after Valentine’s Day) due to the blizzard.