July 2008   Click here to submit your own calendar event

Simon DTour Live!
July 18: 3-9 p.m. Town Center at Cobb
July 19: 3-9 p.m. Discover Mills
July 20: noon-6 p.m. Mall of Georgia

If your teen is into music, fashion, technology and pop culture, don’t miss this tour of live concerts. Experience some of today’s hottest brands through interactive games, contests, giveaways and prizes. Kate Voegele will perform at Discover Mills, All American Rejects will take the stage at the Mall of Georgia, and the performer for Town Center at Cobb has not been announced. Check out www.simon.com/dtour for updated information.Town Center at Cobb, Kennesaw. 770-424-9486. Discover Mills, Lawrenceville. 678-847-5000. Mall of Georgia, Buford. 678-482-8788. Free. 

B*ATL – The 144th Anniversary of the Battle of Atlanta
Atlanta Neighborhoods
July 18-20

Celebrate the 144-year anniversary of the Battle of Atlanta on the actual grounds that the battle took place. The weekend-long festivities include a gala dinner and house tour, a 5K run, van and walking tours, a re-creation of the frontlines with re-enactment soldiers and artillery, historic music concerts, dramatic performances and a six-hour storytelling bonanza. Tour prices are $10-$15; Gala tickets are $45; 5K Run/Walk tickets are $17-$20; many of the demonstrations and storytelling events are free.
Visit www.batlevent.org for complete event details.

National Black Arts Festival Children’s
Education Village
Woodruff Arts Center
July 19 • 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Explore “Destination Africa and Beyond,” where families can dance, sing and shout at the Cultural Stage. Get Eloise Greenfield to autograph your free cop of Honey I Love, and learn to draw Timon and Pumba in the Disney Animation Workshop. The Children’s Education Village also features free masks decorating, courtesy of Atlanta Parent Magazine. 1280 Peachtree St., Atlanta. 404-224-3464. Free.

Summerfest
Center for Puppetry Arts
Through Aug. 10

A summertime series of exciting puppet shows for kids returns to the Center. “The Dragon King” runs through July 13; “The Bremen Town Musicians” runs July 15-27; “Sleeping Beauty” runs July 29-Aug. 10. And after the show, be sure to make a new friend in the Create-A-Puppet Workshop and explore the wonders of the puppet world in the interactive museum. Showtimes are Tues.-Fri., 10 a.m. and noon; Sat., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.; Sun., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. 1404 Spring St., Atlanta. 404-873-3391. $16 includes show, workshop and admission.

Go Wild at Zoo Atlanta’s Indoor Playground

As the dog days of summer are now in full swing, Wild Like Me – an indoor and air-conditioned play space – is the perfect place to cool off and rest a bit. And, while you veg out the kids will have tons of fun using their imaginations to build with oversized foam blocks. For younger kids, the blocks may be a little much to handle, but they were easy for my 5-year-old to manipulate and turn into a “mansion.”

Kids will also get the chance to learn about animal habitats and the animals that live in them through interactive stations. Kids will test their strength against an elephant’s, compare their height with a giraffe, peer at the world through a baby eagle’s eyes or weigh themselves to see how they’d fit into the animal kingdom.

New to the indoor playground are some video elements – like Scooby Doo movies and characters from Cartoon Network’s Boomerang. While Wild Like Me isn’t reason enough to take a trip to the zoo all it’s own, it’s definitely worth a stop once you’re there.

Directions: Due to the paving project on the connector downtown, here are some alternative routes to the Zoo. If you’re near a Marta station, take it to the Five Points station and then take a bus on Route 97.

Southbound: From I-75, take I-285 West to I-20 East. Take Exit 59A (Boulevard/Zoo Atlanta). Turn right at the exit onto Boulevard, right on Atlanta Ave., right on Cherokee Ave; Cherokee Ave parking lot is on the right. From I-85, take I-285 East to I-20 West. Take Exit 59 A (Boulevard/Zoo Atlanta). Turn left at the exit onto Boulevard, then right on Atlanta Ave., right on Cherokee Ave; Cherokee Ave parking lot is on the right.

Northbound: From I-75 or 85, exit I-20 East. Take Exit 59 A (Boulevard/Zoo Atlanta). Turn right at the exit onto Boulevard, then right on Atlanta Ave., right on Cherokee Ave; Cherokee Ave parking lot is on the right.

– Melissa Elliott

Hop To It!

No need trekking all the way to “the land down under” for a gander at hundreds of hopping kangaroos – just head up the road to the Kangaroo Conservation Center in Dawsonville. With the “Aussie Adventure” tour, your family can ride with a KangaRanger through the “Outback” to see reptiles, birds and nine species of kangaroos native to Australia; or tour the grounds at your own pace with the “Wander DownUnder” tour.

The center is open on Tues., Thurs., Fri. and Sat. in July; check www.kangaroocenter.com for tour availablility . General admission, which includes the “Wander DownUnder” tour costs $18, and “Aussie Adventure” costs $25-$30. To be admitted, your little joeys must be at least 6 years old. The Kangaroo Conservation Center is located at 222 Bailey-Waters Rd., Dawsonville. Call 706-265-6100 for more information.

Exhibit:
Circus Fun Under the
Big Top at Imagine It!

My children are always game for a trip to Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta, so they were excited when I told them we were going to a circus-themed exhibit at the museum. “Can we still play with the moon sand and go to the kid grocery store?” they wanted to know. I assured them that they could do that, too, as well as fish for toys in the waterplay area and load and dump balls with a kid-sized crane in the “tools for solutions” area.

The kids knew they had stumbled onto something big when they saw the circus-themed exhibit, complete with funny mirrors and a brightly colored kid-sized obstacle course.

“Under the Big Top: You’re the Ringmaster,” which runs until September 14 takes a fun theme – putting together a circus – and uses it to help kids discover the many ways to stay active and develop healthy habits.
Every day Imagine It! engages its young visitors with interactive performances by the Imaginators, the museum’s troupe of professional actors. At different times during the day, kids can listen to silly circus songs and stories and even join the circus band. They’ll meet Jerry the Juggler, Vinnie the Veggie Vendor, Yoyo the Clown and Ronnie the Ringmaster, colorful characters who demonstrate just how much fun the circus can be, all the while teaching lessons on nutrition and physical fitness. Showing twice a day, Beebo and Ravioli’s Spectacular Circus (a 20-minute mini-musical) gives kids the chance to be clowns, acrobats or circus animals.

The mission of Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta is to create environments and activities where young children experience the power of imagination and the pure delight of learning with each other and with grown-ups, and this new exhibit developed by Imagine It! certainly does the trick. The museum is ideal for children ages 8 and younger.