Thursday, August 14, 2008

Cheap dates

Peach festival
Wesley United Methodist Church has its 8th Annual Peach Festival Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The festival includes peach desserts, hot dogs, hamburgers, a moon bounce, horseshoes, kids’ games and crafts.   
Entertainment includes local groups, music, a gigantic model railroad display and a Lego display.
The church is at 8412 Richmond Ave., a block off of Route 1 via Mohawk Lane.
More information and directions is available by calling 703-780-5019 or from http://www.wesleyva.org.

Summertime Storytelling
Costumed interpreters weave three tales together during Mount Vernon’s
outdoor storytelling session, “Once Upon a Time at Mount Vernon”, Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. through Sept. 27 at the George Washington: Pioneer Farmer site.
During the 20-minute session, children learn Aesop’s fables, listen to stories about Washington’s life, and watch as Mount Vernon’s livestock are incorporated into the stories.
The program is recommended for children ages 3 to 8 and parental supervision is required. The event is included in regular Estate admission: adults, $13; youth ages 6-11, $6; and children under 5 are admitted free.

Kingstowne Library events
Kingstown Library has the following events through August.
Tuesday, 10:30 a.m., “It’s a Colorful World. A rainbow of stories and activities,“ for ages 13 to 23 months, with an adult.
Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m., evening book discussion group, The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler. The discussion is for adults and no registration is required.
Aug. 27, 7 p.m., Kingstowne Library Writer’s Peer Review Group. Review peers’ works and receive in-depth feedback on your work. Call branch for more information on submitting work before a meeting. Adults only, registration not required.
Aug. 28, 1 p.m., Time for School. Stories and activities about starting school, for ages 3 to 5, with an adult.
Registration for events at the Kingstowne Library begins two weeks
before each activity and is available by calling 703-339-4610.
Location information directions are available from fairfaxcounty.gov/library.
Nancy Reagan’s dress on display
Former first lady Nancy Reagan’s evening dress just joined the Donald W. Reynolds Museum’s exhibition Setting the President’s Table: American Presidential China from the Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Collection at Historic Mount Vernon and is on display through Jan. 21. The gown, designed by James Galanos, is a dark-yellow organza, two-piece evening gown with a yellow snakeskin belt. The outfit was worn by the first lady on two occasions during her husband’s presidency: at the 1986 Negro College Fund Dinner and the 1988 State Dinner for President Evren of Turkey.
Admission to the Donald W. Reynolds Museum is included in Mount Vernon
Estate admission: $13 for adults, $6 for youth ages 6-11, and free for
children five and under.

Little Builders
The Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach offers Little Builders through Sept. 14.
As they don child-size hard hats and construction vests, young children can create, play and learn as they explore the concepts of construction, motion and simple machines. Little Builders is also a learning laboratory for parents, teachers and childcare providers. 
The aquarium just completed $25 million in renovations.
Five themed areas in the Little Builders exhibit include the construction Site, Structures, Aerodynamics, Cranes and Simple Machines.
In addition to the exhibit’s hands-on elements, the aquarium has added live animals that demonstrate unique and superior building skills.  Beavers, alligators, finches and corals will reveal how they change the terrain by building dams, nests or reefs.
The museum is at 717 General Booth Blvd., just south of Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach.
More information on exhibits, movies, boat rides and special events call is available by calling 757-385-FISH (3474) or from VirginiaAquarium.com.