Having Fun...local style

By Sally

Do you like to have fun? So do I.

Cyndi knows that girls just want to have fun.

One way to have fun is to find great things to do in your community. I am a big fan of this kind of fun because it is close to home, I see people I know, my kids love being out and about, and it's generally safe and free.

The town we live in has events constantly. At least once a month there is a free outdoor concert, a music or art festival, a tree lighting, a movie on the town green, a fair at the library, or some other fun free community event. We go to as many as we can and almost all of the time we have fun. Here are some ideas on how to find local events:

1. Check your city's official website. There you'll find a calendar of events and most likely a parks and recreation department that offers classes and workshops for every age group. We take advantage of soccer, music and basketball programs through our city. I want to do yoga at the park but my schedule won't allow it. Most cities have great offerings through their parks and rec departments. Also check out the community library. We've done Mother Goose storytimes a zillion times, it's fun.

I've been to an art festival in Boise, ID that looks just like this.

2. Read the local paper. On the weekends there is generally a calendar of events in your and nearby cities. I read the local paper like this: cover story, first 2 pages, crime report (rubbernecker? me?), and calendar. I often end up tearing out the calendar, walking over to my own calendar, and writing all kinds of things to do. I don't have to do those things, but now they are on my calendar and if I want to I can. The newspaper calendar is great because it will include sporting events and events sponsored by cities, churches, schools, just about anyone.

Not the one we went to. The sandcastle festival we went to was in Oakland, CA, not really even on the beach. Most of the castles were made by amateurs. We had fun anyway.

3. Whatever your interests are, find local options for those interests and get on their email and mailing lists. We get monthly mailers from local concert venues, children's sports programs, and art studios. Someone mistakenly thinks we're athletic as we keep getting invitations for "fun runs" (an oxymoron if there ever was one). We have taken advantage of guided children's nature walks, free play days at children's gyms, sandcastle festivals, all kinds of fun stuff.

Newsflash, Old Bill: Running is not fun. It is good for you. The fun part is when you are done running. I met lots of nice people when I was training for a 1/2 marathon through a program I found in the local paper.

4. Ask people what they enjoy doing locally. Our neighbors across the street picked up on the fact that we like to explore. Now, every few weeks, they drop some awesome wisdom on us about a cool spot to check out. Sometimes it's an event, a park or scenic spot, a restaurant, doesn't matter, they know we are interested and they share their wealth of knowledge.

Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout.

5. Check out your local university/college/school district. University music departments often put on decent musicals, holiday concerts, and even free senior recitals.

6. Last but not least, don't overlook the web. I love Yelp for finding places to go and restaurants. Fodor's website has traveltalk forums where people post all kinds of great info about every locale. Thanks to Fodor's, we've recently been to a planetarium and a nature reserve. If you are lucky, you might even find a local parenting group online where people post reviews of things they've done with their families.

I bet our readers do this stuff all the time. How do you find out about local events and sights? If you keep your eyes open for fun things to do, you'll see they are all around. It's just a matter of getting everyone out the door! (And good luck with that!)