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Not-To-Miss Events
Junior Ranger Day In celebration of National Park Week, the event will include plenty of fun activities like face painting, Civil War-era games, a costume contest, art competition and photos with Kenny the Kennesaw Bison. Kids will have the chance to earn limited edition Junior Ranger badges and certificates after completing a special worksheet. Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park is located at 900 Kennesaw Mountain Dr., Kennesaw. 770-427-4666. Free.
Enjoy a free showing of “The Servant of Two Masters,” a new take on a classic comic that combines clowning, juggling, wit and satire. And don’t miss Saturday’s “Celebrate Shakespeare Family Day,” which includes arts and crafts, dancing and performances. 400 Park Dr., Atlanta. 404-504-3406. Free, but tickets required to the performances.
This celebration of all things Greek features lively Hellenic dance and music and a scrumptious sampling of Mediterranean cuisine. Be sure to check out the Greek marketplace, where imported jewelry, linens, art, wooden toys and Greek music will be on sale. 3431 Trickum Rd., Marietta. 770-924-8080. American Indian Festival Join in the spirit of the first Americans with a celebration filled with soul, energy and vibrant color. The festival includes storytelling, flute playing, poetry and primitive skills inside the rodeo arena, with an arts and crafts sale that features jewelry, pottery, paintings and Native American artifacts around the arena’s perimeter. And be sure to check out the grand entry, which features an impressive exhibition of dancers and color guards. Admission is $7 for adults, $4 for children 5-12, and free for children under 5. The Gwinnett County Fairgrounds are located at 2405 Sugarloaf Pkwy. in Lawrenceville. Call 770-791-0066 for more information. 
Thomas the Tank Engine chug-a-lugs into Six Flags Over Georgia along with buddies Sir Topham Hatt, Harold the Helicopter and Bertie the Bus on May 17. Thomas Town, the park’s newest attraction, features train rides, two playgrounds and a Thomas and Friends themed merchandise store. The renovated Children’s Garden at Atlanta Botanical Garden is now ready for a new crop of youngsters to enjoy. The garden contains three distinct interactive sections: the Laugh Garden (a butterfly garden), the Live Garden (a garden about how plants clean air) and the Learn Garden (a Peter Rabbit garden and reading circle). Rubberized flooring, lengthened pathways for more running room and fast slides are just a few of the new features kids will love.
– Kyle Garrett
Center for Puppetry Arts 1404 Spring St.
NW, Atlanta, GA 30309 Museum Hours: Tues.-Sat., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Extended hours during evening performances. Museum Admission (without performance ticket): Adults $8; seniors and students $7; children $6; members free. Directions: The Center for Puppetry Arts is located in Midtown at the corner of Spring and 18th streets, next door to The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum.
Exhibit: While walking through this exhibit at the Center for Puppetry Arts, I couldn’t help but think how much more fun life would be if my cat could talk. My simple housecat, however, is not nearly as famous or pampered as this “co-star” of the ABC series Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, which ran for seven seasons (1996-2003) and starred Melissa Joan Hart in the title role. For those unfamiliar with the series (which my now-teenage daughter watched when she was in first grade), Salem is a talking black cat that lives with the Spellmans, a family of witches. Salem is the mischievous, wisecracking confidante to the teenage daughter, Sabrina. The exhibit, which runs through June, is set up in the Love Atrium. Walking from display case to display case, it’s easy to see this feisty feline was something of a clotheshorse. There are well over two-dozen outlandish, kitty-sized costumes, such as a black tuxedo, a fat suit and a frilly pink peignoir. My favorite prop was the ornate pyramid litter box, complete with lighted dome. No star’s dressing room is complete without a makeup table and personalized director’s chair. Top cat Salem has all that and more on display, plus a giant ball of yarn and a collection of hats and bonnets, including a saucy Carmen Miranda number. Each prop and costume is labeled with the name of the creative genius who designed it, accompanied in some cases with preliminary notes and sketches. As you view the collection, two TV monitors run continuously: One shows an episode of the show featuring Salem; the second is a video of the puppeteer explaining how Salem was made and the mechanics of making the puppet perform like a real kitty. Children fascinated by robots will enjoy looking at Salem’s mechanical inner workings on display next to the video installation. This latter display is really what the exhibit is all about and why it has been given such a prominent space at the puppetry center. The puppeteer’s video reveals that Salem is in fact an upside-down marionette. Instead of dangling from strings, the puppet was manipulated from below by cables attached to small motors. The puppeteer made Salem “act” using a joystick on the main control box. There were actually several puppets of Salem, depending on whether the script called for the cat to be standing, sitting or lying down. A special mechanical paw was used for close-up shots when Salem needed to hold an object. While I wouldn’t make a special trip just to
see the exhibit (unless you have a diehard
Sabrina fan in the As we left, I had to chuckle at some of the “Salem-isms” stenciled on the walls, memorable bits of dialogue from the show that made Salem such a character: “Please be tuna.” “Can opener…gotta go.” “Hey, leave the sarcasm to the professionals.” One quote, however, summed up the experience best: “It’s all about the cat.” – Sheri Taylor-Emery
Rug Rat Romps: Don’t limit your preschooler’s creative abilities; broaden the horizons of your budding virtuoso. “Moments with Mommy” at Two Crafty Chicks lets toddlers (ages 2-4) and parents creatively experience art, music and stories through fun crafts and activities. Classes cost $7 per child and take place Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10-11 a.m., no reservations necessary. Two Crafty Chicks is located at 1549 Clairmont Road in Decatur. Call 404-216-5574 or visit www.twocraftychicks.com for more information. –Kyle Garrett |
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Shake at the Lake
Marietta Greek Festival
The 50th Anniversary
Celebration at Stone Mountain
Park is in full swing with the brand new
Summer at the Rock summer-long event and the
digitally remastered Lasershow Spectacular.
The anniversary celebration lasts from May
3-Sept. 1, with May festivities including a
Memorial Weekend Salute to the Troops
featuring Lee Greenwood in concert. And Sky
Hike, which opens this summer, will tower
over the park as the nation’s largest family
adventure course in the treetops. 