Thermal pits are common in the central area of the North Island of New Zealand. The Maori used them for cooking and bathing. How clever. 

Hot thermal mineral baths and hot thermal mineral geysers are found all over Maori land in Whakarewarewa, New Zealand. This one shoots up on a regular schedule every day.

The Yellowstone National Park in the US is not the only place on earth that has very faithful geysers. This one, called Korotiotio, is found on Maori land in Whakarewarewa, New Zealand.

The 24th edition of CoastFest, Georgia’s largest celebration highlighting their state’s unique coastal environment and natural resources, takes center stage on Saturday, October 6th from 10 am ’til 4pm with a family-friendly day of fun and education.

Over 70 environmental, educational, research and resource organizations from around the southeast will be represented at CoastFest 2018, offering visitors a chance to learn about Georgia’s coastal resources through interactive exhibits and displays and have some fun at the same time.

Visitors of all ages can participate in activities from recycling to learning about coastal weather, native plants to sea turtles, water conservation to archeology, herpetology to geology, sharks to shrimp.

Be captivated throughout the day under the Big Top by many unique events: Arthur Atsma and his Science Circus amaze the audience with science and Newtonian physics taught through fast-paced circus stunts and magic tricks keeping you on the edge of your seat. Jim Sawgrass and his Creek Indian encampment entertain with Native American songs and ritual dances, master juggler Rhys Thomas performing amazing juggling feats with tons of audience participation and Bubble-ologist Keith Johnson uses imagination and science to explore how bubbles work, and reptiles and raptors from the Center for Wildlife Education at Georgia Southern University will take center stage for two shows throughout the day.

CoastFest 2018 will offer new experiences around every corner. Put your hands into the touch tanks with unique coastal Georgia sea life, participate in living history demonstrations with military re-enactors from the Revolutionary War through the Civil War and witness cannon firings. Learn boating safety, master kayaking, try your hand at archery, or how about holding live snakes or even an alligator. You can tour the US Coast Guard boats, Plenty of ‘make-it-take-it’ projects, walk up to a bull moose, a bear, an elk, a wolf, and too many more activities to list.

Catch the excitement at this fun and kid-friendly, family-friendly FREE event with an abundance of educational games, activities and experiences.

Location: MaryRoss Waterfront Park , Bay Street at Gloucester St., Brunswick, GA 31520
Date: Sat, Oct 6, 2018
Time: 10am – 4pm
Tel: 912-264-7218
coastalgadnr.org/CoastFest
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: goldenisles.com

Hippie Tribe Fest is where the Bohemians roam. Created to bring community together, and to bring out the fun and free spirit in all of us; to create an experience for attendees to enjoy nature, to see incredible works of art, natural products, hand-made, Bohemian and Fair-Trade, amazing creations from local artisans and to enjoy performances by talented musicians.

At the main stage, there will be six hours of top notch musical artists and performers. Gifted buskers/solo artists will be performing throughout the festival and at the Feeling Groovy tent. At the Flower Child tent you will find an array of children activities and fun for the whole family.

Throughout the Hippie Tribe festival you can discover some of the most talented body artists including  Henna, Face Painting. One of the highlights featured is a one hour Drum Circle, where drummers, dancers and hoopers are welcome and encouraged to participate, sharing the energy and heartbeat of Mother Earth.

Delicious food available from local food vendors and food trucks. Attendees are encouraged to bring out their Hippie style, folding lawn chairs, blankets, drums and other instruments, as well as an umbrella; this is a rain or shine event. All parking will be on site and FREE.

Advance Entry Tickets $5 ($10 at the door); Children 12 and under – FREE. Tickets Here

Location: Sugg Farm Park at Bass Lake, 2401 Grigsby Ave, Holly Springs, NC 27540
Date: Sat, Sept. 29 2018
Time: Noon – 7pm (rain or shine)
Tel: 919-825-1122
hippietribefest.com
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: rockymounttravel.com

Grab your spoons and mark your calendars for Scooper Bowl – all-you-can-eat Ice Cream Festival.

Celebrating its 36th year in 2018, the Scooper Bowl is now a three-day event that dishes out 20 tons of the summer’s finest ice cream to more than 40,000 ice cream lovers from across the nation. Enjoy a lot of great entertainment and fun activities at this country’s largest all-you-can-eat ice cream festival.

What is most impressive about the ice cream festival is that all ice cream companies donate all the ice cream, labor, scoopers, and products needed to make the event happen each year. Though they are competitors for 51 weeks of the year, during the first week of June they come together to create an event that is now known as the “unofficial start of summer” in New England.

Made possible by the generous contributions of the industry’s largest ice cream companies, the Scooper Bowl has raised more than $6.3 million in the past 35 years for cancer research and patient care at the world-renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Get Your Tickets 

*Pricing will increase at the door – Kids under 3 are free

Whether you’re a visitor to the area or professional ice-cream-eater, you play a huge part their our mission to conquer cancer.

Ice Cream Flavors

Baskin-Robbins Boston Cream Pie Cannoli Be With You OREO® ‘n Caramel Triple Grape Ice Beckon Ice Cream (formerly Minus the Moo) – Thursday only, lactose-free Vanilla Chocolate Espresso Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Mint Chip Chocolate Candy Crunch Strawberries & Sweet Cream Black Raspberry Confetti Ben & Jerry’s Gimme Smore™ Caramel Almond Brittle non-dairy AmeriCone Dream® Chocolate Shake It™ Breyers Nautral Vanilla Oreo® Cookies & Cream Mint Chip Edy’s Birthday Cake Dulce Rainbow Sherbet Friendly’s Triple Caramel Peanut Heaven Hunka Chunka PB Fudge® Rockin’ Poppin’™ Cotton Candy Cookies ‘N Cream Black Raspberry Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Salted Fudge Truffle Non-Dairy Hood Hood® New England Creamery Limited Edition Chocolate Churro Hood® New England Creamery Limited Edition Purple Panda Hood® Coffee Cookies ‘n Cream Hood® Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Lactaid – lactose-free Lactaid® Cookies ‘n Cream Lactaid® Mint Chocolate Chip Lactaid® Mocha Almond Chip Lactaid® Salted Caramel Rosev Dairy Foods Coconut Rum Raisin Purple Cow Twisted Sea Turtle Vice Cream Afternoon Delight Bourbon Mash L’Orange A Trois Minted Higher Grounds Yasso Stick Bars: Pistachio Brittle Fudge Brownie Coconut Caramel Chocolate Chip Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Scoops: Party Animal  Mint Championchip Rolling in the Dough Caramel Pretzelmania Coffee Brownie Break Location: City Hall Plaza, 1 City Hall Square, Boston, MA 02201 Date: June 5 – 7, 2018 Time: Noon – 8pm scooperbowl.org For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: bostonusa.com

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is one the nation’s most cheerful springtime celebration. The 2018 Festival, March 20 – April 15, includes four weeks of events featuring diverse and creative programming promoting traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty, and community spirit.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is kicking off kite season. Held on the grounds of the Washington Monument near 17th Street and Constitution Avenue NW in Washington, DC, the Blossom Kite Festival is family-friendly, free and open to the public.

The seventh annual Blossom Kite Festival showcases the creativity of kite makers and skill of fliers from across the US and other countries through a variety of competitions and demonstrations, Rokkaku Battles and the Hot Tricks Showdown. Bring your own kites or children can make a kite at an activity station (while supplies last) to fly on the Public Field. Kites will also be available for purchase onsite.

Photo Credit: National Cherry Blossom Festival

2018 Activity Schedule:

Competition and Demonstration Field

Kick-Off Parade…………………………….…………………………..10:00 AM
Kite Ballets & Demos…………………………………………….10:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Adult Kite Makers Competition……………………………….11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Wind Jammers and Wings Over Washington…………….12:00 – 12:30 PM
Demonstrations…………………………………………………….……12:30 – 1:30 PM
Hot Tricks Showdown…………………………………………….1:30 – 2:30 PM
Rokkaku Battle………………………………………………………2:45 – 3:30 PM
Wind Jammers and Wings Over Washington………………3:30 – 4:00 PM
Kite Arch and Awards……………………………………………..4:00 – 4:30 PM

Family Field

Practice Fly for Youth Kite Makers……………………………10:30 – 11:00 A
Youth Kite Makers Competition……………………………….11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Youth Kite Makers Awards………………………………………12:00 – 12:30 PM
Blossom Build-off Competition………………………………..12:30 – 1:45 PMBol Races………………………………………………………………2:00 – 4:30 PM

Location: Grounds of the Washington Monument, near 17th St NW and Constitution Ave., Washington, DC 20006
Date: Sat., March 31st, 2018 (Rain Date: Sun., April 1st, 2018)
Time: 10 AM – 4:30 PM
Tel: 877-442-5666
nationalcherryblossomfestival.org

Venice Of America Lesson and Tour is a fun and easy way to learn how to stand up paddle board and experience a relaxing journey from Fort Lauderdale’s Barrier Island to the Riverfront in Las Olas with professional and friendly guide.

Look out for manatees as you paddle through  navigable inland waterways that make up New River, winding past the palatial estates, multi-million dollar luxury yachts, and natural areas of Fort Lauderdale’s intracoastal and river system.

The canals house mega yachts of the rich and famous which are docked at luxurious homes that can only be seen by river as many are inside gated communities.

These inland waterways with their waterfront homes earned Fort Lauderdale its reputation as the “Venice of America.”Glide your board from small wakes as yachts and boats pass, all while enjoying the beautiful Intracoastal Waterway system that stretches from Maine to Miami.

The Fort Lauderdale port hosts as many as 18 cruise ships a day, sailing from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale to marquee destinations throughout the Caribbean.

Paddling tours navigate different routes daily based upon current, wind conditions, and other variables to make the tour safe, fun, and inviting  for all ages. Along the tour their knowledgeable tour guide will answer questions while making your experience as easy and fun as possible.

Location: 2520 N. Federal Hwy., Ft Lauderdale, FL 33305
Dates & Time: Every Saturday at 10 AM
Tel: 954-440-4562
sunrisepaddleboards.com
For Regional accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: sunny.org

Feeling creative and want to embrace the holiday spirit? Tis’ the season to decorate! Why not add a fresh evergreen wreath to your home for the perfect festive touch this season. On Thursday, December 14th Moore Farms offers you the opportunity to create a dazzling garland to adorn the outside or inside of your home.

These handcrafted holiday garlands add natural beauty to your abode and in this class, you’ll learn how to create wreaths by using fresh unique greenery, such as, cypress, arborvitae, magnolia, berries and dried materials found at Moore Farms Botanical Garden while making them into beautiful pieces of festive cheer. Create a fragrant and decorative display for the season and with proper care, it can last for months.

All materials needed to create your festive decor is provided. Class registration is limited to the first 18 participants and costs $30 per person so register quickly.

A tasty lunch is included in the program. If you have any special needs or dietary restrictions, please let them know.

Please click the “Buy Tickets” button to reserve your spot:  Buy Tickets

This is more than just a mud run it’s the biggest, baddest, muddiest party in town. This year’s  MudFest race will be 5 miles or 5 kilometers of mud and obstacles, each year is bigger and better, runners will face some new challenges, more surprises, twists, turns and of course more MUD than ever.

The JCB MudFest is designed for and geared toward having fun, getting muddy, and getting your heartbeat up. There will be some serious mud pits to slosh through, some other man-made, and natural obstacles to conquer. Parts of the lake may be over 6 feet deep. There will be ropes and other tricky ways to get across and there’s always ways to go around any obstacle including the lake.

The Mud Run race starts in waves. Approximately 25 teams go at a time, with a 3 minute lag between each wave. Parking is free so come out and support the participants and the cause. When you’re running with an extra 10 pounds of mud on your shoes it’s appreciated to have people cheering you on from the sidelines.

The Post Race Party begins as soon as the first teams finish in the Party Pit, where you can watch the finish and enjoy food and drinks that are included for race participants as part of the registration fee. If you’re planning on just watching all of the action, you can partake in the frosty beverages and delectable food for a $10 donation to The Lady Bamford Center.

Highlights include: Each participant receives a custom t-shirt, Over 30+ epic obstacles, access into the Party Pit, professional race photos, live chip timed results, Free Beer for those 21+, overall & age division awards, live music following the event, Free post-race food and drink.

Schedule:  (Subject to Change)
6:30AM: Packet Pickup & Late Registration Opens
7:15AM: Costume Contest @ JCB Events Trailer
7:50AM: Kiddie Muddobbers Mud Run @ Finish line (FREE)
8:00AM-8:20AM: Mudfest 5k & 5 Mile Competitive Waves #1-#5 Start (5 minute increments)
8:25AM-9:30AM: Mudfest 5k & 5 Mile Recreational Waves #6-#19 Start (5 minute increments)
8:05AM: Party Pit Music Starts
8:30AM: Food and Beverage Vendors Open
12:00PM: Awards Ceremony

Location: JCB North American Headquarters, 2000 Bamford Blvd, Pooler, GA 31322
Date: Sat, June 17, 2017
Hours: 7:15am – 12:30pm
Tel: 912-447-2000
jcbmudfest.com
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: visitsavannah.com