4th of July

Fourth of July comes early this year in Porterville.  On Saturday, July 2nd is Freedom Fest.  This is a family event sponsored by the City of Porterville and the Tule River Tribe.  It starts at 4:30pm at the Sports Complex with lots of family friendly activities and culminates with a fireworks show at 9:00pm.  The cost is $5 per car and $5 per wristband for the kids zone.  Bring your blankets and chairs.  Click on the link for more specifics.

Sunday, July 3rd is the Tulare Noon Kiwanis Fireworks Show at the Tulare County Fairgrounds.  Gates open at 6pm, entrance fee is $5 per person (6 and under free).  We went to this show last year because my husband worked on 4th of July and we had a great time.  They had tons of cute contests (from a hat contest to watermelon seed spitting) and the fireworks were great.

If you feel like taking a drive, the Camp Nelson Volunteer Firefighters are hosting their annual BBQ Fundraiser on Sunday, July 3rd 3-7pm.  The event is located in the meadow near the fire station.  Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children.  There is live music and door prizes.    

Exeter celebrates 4th of July all day long, beginning with a pancake breakfast and 10K/2mi walk beginning at 7am.  Live entertainment, food vendors, and arts and crafts vendors are available in the park (Chestnut and E Street) from 9am-3pm.  Exeter Lions Club sponsors a fireworks show (donations appreciated) at dusk at Dobson Field.  Bring blankets and chairs, but no ice chests allowed.  I have gone to the park in the afternoon the last two years on 4th of July.  There are great tri-tip sandwiches and lots of unique booths to peruse.  There is a long gap between the end of the park events and the fireworks show, so I wouldn't recommend staying all day--go early and hit the park or go later for the fireworks. 

The Fresno Grizzlies are playing the Sacramento Rivercats (Oakland A's affiliate) at 7:05pm on Monday, July 4th followed by a fireworks show.  You will want to purchase tickets in advance, they are anticipating selling out. 
Have a great 4th of July!

Going, going...

Blueberry picking season is almost gone and with this cool weather, today is the perfect day to pick!  We are headed out this afternoon and I am hoping for a freezer stockpile large enough to get me through until next season. 

If you need more information on our local options for u-pick blueberries, visit my previous post by clicking here.

In case you've been under a rock...

Don't forget, Cars 2 (rated G) premiered last Friday.  I am so thankful Galaxy Theater is finally offering one theater of 3D and one theater of regular 2D.  I guess I am getting old, but the 3D gives me a headache, my daughter doesn't wear her glasses, and it costs a lot more.  I LOVE having a regular 2D option!  My daughter has been looking forward to seeing it since the first advertisement we heard for it at least a year ago. 

Although temperatures are on their way down, this is a great way to spend a summer afternoon, hit the weekday all-you-can-eat buffet (11am-2pm) across the parking lot at Pizza Factory before your movie and that'll save you some money at the concession stand.   

Porterville's Sesquicentennial Celebration

I can't believe I will not be in town to participate in Porterville's Sesquicentennial Celebration.  It's okay if you can't pronounce sesquicentennial, just say:  Porterville's 150th Birthday.

The Pioneer Days Celebration will take place on Saturday, June 25, 2011 from 4-10pm at Centennial Park (next to Hoagie's on Main Street).  It sounds like there will be a lot to see and would be worth checking out.  There will be people in western attire, horse drawn vehicle rides, reenactments, and live music.   

Prepare for the celebration by reading an interesting article on the history of Porterville.  Test your knowledge of Porterville with a short quiz.

Free Country Concert

Steel Magnolia will be performing in Exeter's City Park on Wednesday, June 22nd at 7pm as part of KJUGs Free Summer Concert series. 

This is a great way to take kids to a concert.  The price is right, FREE!  You can bring your own refreshments (especially nice when it's going to be 100+ degrees).  You can make yourself (and your kids) comfortable (bring lawn chairs and/or a blanket).  There is a playground nearby to entertain the kids while you wait (you will probably want to get there a little early to stake out a spot). 

If I remember correctly from last year, they usually have a few vendors selling food (I think I remember tri-tip sandwiches and the A&W truck selling rootbeer and rootbeer floats).  If you don't want to bring your own refreshments, I bet you can find something there. 

To get to the City Park take Hwy 65  through Exeter.  Turn left on Chestnut.  The park is located between D and E Streets.  It's only about 20 mintues from Porterville.  Parking is free.  Another bonus, you can get gas at the Arco in Lindsay (right off Hwy 65 by Burger King), yesterday it was $3.69--way cheaper than any place in Porterville!  

   

Summer Reading

I intended to post daily, but sometimes life happens.  Today I wanted to write about our local library.  The Porterville Public Library is a good, free (as long as you return your books on time), air-conditioned source of summer fun.   Their summer hours are Monday-Thursday 9am-8pm and Friday-Saturday 9am-6pm. 

If you don't already have a library card, it's easy to get; just go to the library and fill out an application.  If you make visiting the library part of your weekly routine it's easy to remember to return your books on time.  Keep the printout they give you listing all of the books you checked out so you can make sure they are all returned.  I designated one of our reusable shopping bags to tote all of our books to and from the library (I try to keep our library books in it--separate from our own books).  Right now there are several designs of cute Dr. Seuss bags in the Target dollar section, get one for each of your kids.  Another idea is to put your library card and the printout of books you checked out in an i.d. badge lanyard and hang from the handle of the bag. 

Story hour is held for preschoolers (and perhaps K-1) children on Tuesday mornings 10-11am.  They read a few books, sing a few songs, and provide a craft for the children.  A few of the readers are really animated and make it fun for the kids.  They usually follow a theme during each story hour, choosing books by the same author or about the same subject.  I made it a point to take my daughter before she started preschool.  There is a lapsit story hour for babies newborn to 18 months every other Thursday at 10:00-10:30am (June 30th is the next one).  I have not attended, as it was not available when my daughter was a baby.

There are summer reading programs going on right now.  Registration is free and is open right now.  You will receive a reading log to record titles of books read.  Earn a prize by reading 10 board books or 50 pages.  Summer Reading Program craft time is Mondays 6-7pm and Wednesdays 4-5pm.

Take a few minutes to grab a book for yourself too.  You may be thinking, "How can I peruse books with my kids?"  Well, with a little preplanning you can browse books online and pick them up at the library.  Even if  you're not a reader there are still so many things to check out:  cookbooks, parenting books, DVDs, etc.  Give the library a try this summer, it sure beats the prices on Amazon!   

Lindsay Farmers Market

Every Friday night from 5:30-10pm through November Lindsay's Sweet Briar Plaza becomes a Farmers Market.  There are produce vendors, but that is only a small portion of the vendors.  You can enjoy dinner from one of the many food vendors (shaved ice is my personal favorite).  Explore the overwhelming number of flea market type booths.  There is usually a bounce house set up for the kids available for a small fee.  My favorite part is the live music and water feature.  My daughter LOVED it (yes, this is an old picture...2008)!  

The people of Lindsay are super friendly and Sweet Briar Plaza is beautiful.  When I visit Sweet Briar Plaza I feel like I've been transported out of Tulare County.  If you are not familiar with the area take Hwy 65 to Lindsay and go east on Hermosa.  You will see McDermont Field House on your left and the Farmers Market is to your right.     

I have to admit we didn't make it at all last summer, but we spent just about every Friday night there the year before.  This is one of the reasons I decided to start this blog--although I knew about the Lindsay Farmers Market, it was no longer on my radar and I just forgot to go.  It is not like any other farmers market I have ever visited.