Dec 08, 2009 9:58 - By: Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
Girls sing during the Andersonville St. Lucia Festival of Lights
Skip the glitz of the Magnificent Mile and head to Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood for the quaint, culturally rich yuletide excursion of the St. Lucia Festival of Lights. You’ll hear greetings of en riktig god jul (a very merry christmas) echo the area’s deep Swedish roots, of which the St. Lucia festival is the most dramatic. December 13 marks St. Lucia Day, the most significant celebration of the Swedish holiday season. Traditionally, Swedish Christmas officially begins on Sankta Lucia, the shortest day of the year. The eldest daughter of the household, dressed in a white robe with crimson sash and a crown of lighted candles, sings the Santa Lucia song and carries a tray of coffee and special saffron buns. The entire Andersonville neighborhood turns out to watch the glittering procession of white clad girls carrying candles through the darkened streets. Read More »
Oct 23, 2009 10:52 - By: Whit Honea
Perhaps you thought this was Texas. True, they do everything bigger, but this kernel of candy corn is located outside Disneyland Resort’s second gate Disney’s California Adventure.
Disneyland knows big, too. The two guys in the photo are both well over 7′ tall. Read More »
Oct 22, 2009 9:40 - By: Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
County Line Orchard
Grab some fall family fun with a day of apple picking at County Line Orchard in Hobart, Indiana. Apple picking is a Midwest fall tradition, with orchards offering sweet delights in Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana. For Chicago families like mine, County Line Orchard in charming Hobart, Indiana, supplies the closest orchard, at about a 40 minute drive from the city. What I love most about County Line is that it’s located in a small farming community that draws families from both Indiana and Illinois. Pick up trucks, corn fields and livestock surround the area for a quick country escape for city slickers.
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Oct 19, 2009 14:18 - By: Laura Charon
The view of Flagstaff from the top of Mars Hill.
Last weekend my husband had to work up in Flagstaff, AZ, about two and a half hours north of our home in Chandler. I availed myself of the opportunity for a free hotel room, and drove up to join him on Friday night.
Saturday I set out to explore the lovely city of Flagstaff. I wanted to enjoy the wonderful fall weather to its fullest, so I decided a bit of hiking was in order. After perusing the area map provided to me by the hotel, I found one of the entrances to the Flagstaff Urban Trail System (FUTS, pronounced “foots”).
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Oct 16, 2009 13:19 - By: Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
Digging in the dirt at the Fossil Fair
October 31st might signal Halloween treats to you, but for South Carolina science fans it’s also a day of archeological fun at the South Carolina Fossil Fair hosted at the Ocean Lakes Family Campground’s Recreation Building in Myrtle Beach. The day-long event features a mock dig site, PCS Phosphate Mine, a fossil hunt and lots of bones. Experts from the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of Natural History will dust off your discoveries and identify the fossils.
Start at the mock dig site where a museum specialist will illustrate how to create a plaster cast to move a specimen from the dig site to a museum. You can observe how the fossil is removed from the plaster and prepared for display. The fun part is that you get to help clean the specimen. Read More »
Oct 14, 2009 10:04 - By: Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
Sculpture of Roman Goddess Diana surrounded by a pond
Revel in nature’s fall colors at Brookgreen Gardens Harvest Home Festival on October 24-25. Enter the scarecrow building contest, try pumpkin painting or opt for hay rides, basket-weaving and pottery demonstrations while listening to live bluegrass music. With the lush Brookgreen Gardens as the setting, your fall vacation will be filled with beauty. Covered with palmetto trees, hydrangeas and expansive lawns, Brookgreen Gardens resembles a swampy Garden of Eden.
Nestled between Myrtle Beach and Pawley’s Island, the 9,200-acre outdoor museum and National Historic Landmark boasts sculptures, gardens, fountains, marshes, swamps, an aviary and a zoo. This place is so massive that admission tickets are good for seven consecutive days. I recommend devoting a day to the Harvest Home Festivalactivities and another for the sculpture garden and lowcountry zoo. Read More »
Oct 09, 2009 13:46 - By: Laura Charon
Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek, Arizona, is hosting its annual Pumpkin and Chili Party. The party is held every Thursday through Sunday for the entire month of October. Hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays, and 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. A $14.00 admission ($12.00 discount tickets are available at local Frys grocery stores, children 2 and under are free) includes hay rides, miniature golf, a Celebrity Corn Maze, carnival rides, a petting barn, a “Pumpkin Launch”, pumpkin carving contests, chili contests, bon fires, marshmallow toasting, lots of food and crafts, live entertainment, and much more. For $2.00 per ticket, a Spooky Train Ride, featuring an animatronic pumpkin king and the antics of the Chandler High School drama students, begins after dark.
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Oct 09, 2009 9:02 - By: Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
Walking Dixie Land Jazz Band
The quaint Little River Waterfront
As the weather cools and the crowds head home, the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area continues to supply lots of fall cultural activities often unexpected in beach communities.
Kick off your autumn fun with flavorful food and music on October 10-11 at the Shrimp & Jazz Festival in nearby Little River, SC. Relax on the historic waterfront that once harbored Captain Kidd and Blackbeard and catch sounds like the rollicking Voodoo Flute or follow a strolling Dixieland jazz band. The music is free flowing and contagious, so expect to see as many people dancing and bopping their heads as you do sampling the seafood goodies. Read More »
