What: The Annual Phoenix Flies - A Citywide Celebration of Living Landmarks
When: March 5 – 20, 2011
Where: Several locations around Atlanta
Cost: All Events are FREE

The Atlanta Preservation Center sponsors this annual program that includes more than 150 events, from guided tours to lectures to open houses, at dozens of Atlanta’s historic sites. Best of all, it’s FREE!

There are so many great events during this celebration that it’s hard to choose. They’ve got a fantastic line up for kids this year as well.

Don’t miss a guided tour and storytelling at the Wren’s Nest, the home of Brer Rabbit author Joel Candler Harris. Children will also enjoy a tour of the Tullie Smith House and Farm at the Atlanta History Center. For the architecturally incline, try building a Box City. This hands-on interactive program allows children to create, build and plan their own city. They learn the basics of architecture, planning and of course preservation. If puppetry is more your style, take a behind the scenes look at the Center for Puppetry Arts. Visit the Puppet Workshop where the puppets are designed and built and the Scene shop, wehre the scenery for the puppet shows is built.

For older kids and adults, any of the Oakland Cemetery tours are great. Oakland is a fabulous place rich in local history. I’ve always wanted to take a tour of the Fox Theatre, whose rescue in 1978 was the impetis for The Phoenix Flies celebration.

Some of the tours require reservations and many of the children’s programs have limited availability, so check the Phoenix Flies website for activities, date and time, and whether or not you need reservations.

What: African American History Tours
Where: Historic Oakland Cemetery
When: Wed., Feb. 23, 2011 at 2 pm and Sat., March 5, 2011 at 4 pm
Cost: FREE

In honor of Black History Month, Oakland Cemetery is offering FREE African American History Tours. These guided walking tours will focus on Oakland residents Carrie Steele Logan, the founder of the first orphanage for African American children in Georgia; William Finch, one of Atlanta’s first African American City Councilman; Bishop John Wesley Gaines and Julia A. Gaines, Pastor and First Lady of Historic Big Bethel A.M.E. Church; and finally, Maynard Jackson, Atlanta’s first African American mayor.

For more information on the tours, contact Sam Reed at sreed@atlantaga.gov or 404-658-6019.

Can’t make it to the FREE tours? Oakland is debuting African American Voices, a state-of-the-art cell phone tour featuring commentary on historically significant African American individuals and their families. The tours are free and you can access them by calling 678-365-0232.

What: Sunday in the Park
Where: Oakland Cemetery
When: Sunday, Oct. 3, 12 – 6 pm
Cost: Suggested donation is $5 per person, Under 3 is Free

A cemetery may not be the first place you think of for a lovely Sunday in the Park, but Oakland Cemetery is no ordinary cemetery. This is one of my favorite places in Atlanta and on Sunday, Oct. 3, they are celebrating the 31th annual Sunday in the Park festival. Sunday in the Park is a Victorian street festival offering fun and entertainment for all ages. We went last year and had a blast.

The children’s area features crafts and old-fashioned games. Oakland’s traditional Teddy Bear Tea entertains kids of all ages with storytelling by well-known Atlanta storyteller Cathy Kaemmerlen as Miss Sara Dipp A Tea. We saw Cathy do her rendition of “There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly” at Artspooloza and she was FANTASTIC! The Bubbleman will also make a repeat appearance.

The festival isn’t just for kids. Activities include Doug Lothes and his performance of Gone With the Wind in Twenty Minutes. There will be a variety of live musical entertainment (The Serenaders, The Roy Glenn Key Band, Vauxhall Garden Variety Players and the Bow Weevils). Throughout the cemetery, guests will enjoy an artist market, living history demonstrations, storytellers, Irish dancers, and more!

Guests are encouraged to participate in the Victorian costume contest and photography contest. Carriage tours and free walking tours (with an opportunity to enter some of the magnificent mausoleums) will be offered. I had the opportunity to take the Civil War tour at Oakland last summer. It was an unusual, interesting and memorable history lesson.

What: Spirit of Oakland Halloween Tours
Where: Oakland Cemetery
When: Friday, Oct. 22; Saturday, Oct. 23 or Sunday, Oct. 24
Cost: FREE if you win the tickets. If not, $17.50 for adults, $10 children 10 and under

Historic Oakland Cemetery has many visitors by day, but only at Halloween do its gates stay open at night. What better place for a Halloween tour than a cemetery. Hear about Atlanta’s past from a host of Oakland’s “residents.” Bring a flashlight and comfortable walking shoes. The stories are historic in nature and there aren’t any goblins or ghosts jumping out at you.We did this tour last year and the stories themselves aren’t scary, but walking around a cemetery at night could be a little frightening for little ones. We left my youngest at home that night.

Tours start at 5:30 pm each night at the Bell Tower (Quasimodoish, how creepy) and last approximately one hour. There will also be musical entertainment and fortune telling throughout the evening. You must have your ticket to enter. Tours are sold in timed increments, so advanced ticket purchases only. These tours sell out, so if you want to go, get tickets now.

So how can you win FREE tickets? Leave a comment below and tell us your favorite fall activity in Atlanta.

Want an extra shot at winning?
Twitter: Follow @suerodman and tweet “Looking for a haunted house alternative? Capture the spirit of @oaklandcemetery w/the Halloween Tours. Win Free tix from @suerodman”
Facebook: “Like” Field Trips with Sue on Facebook and leave us a wall post on your favorite fall activity in and around Atlanta. Better yet – upload a photo for us to see! If you upload a photo, leave your name so we can include you in the contest for tickets.

We’ll announce the winner on Monday, Oct. 4.

What: The 7th Annual Phoenix Flies – A Citywide Celebration of Living Landmarks
When: March 6 – 22, 2010
Where: Several locations around Atlanta
Cost: All Events are FREE

The Atlanta Preservation Center  sponsors this annual program that includes more than 160 events, from guided tours to lectures to open houses, at dozens of Atlanta’s historic sites. Best of all, it’s FREE!

There are so many great events during this celebration that it’s hard to choose. For kids, don’t miss a guided tour and storytelling at the Wren’s Nest, the home of Brer Rabbit author Joel Candler Harris. For older kids and adults, any of the Oakland Cemetery tours are great. Oakland is a fabulous place rich in local history. I’ve always wanted to take a tour of the Fox Theatre, whose rescue in 1978 was the impetis for The Phoenix Flies celebration.  There are even events you can access at home via computer such as the Grant Park Virtual Dig.

Some of the tours require reservations, so check the Phoenix Flies website for activities, date and time, and whether or not you need reservations.

Tis the season for lists; so here is my list of favorite finds in 2009. I culled this down from an original list of 48, but that included favorite posts too. I decided to go with favorite finds rather than posts. These are in no particular order. Enjoy and let me know your favorite finds in ’09.

1. Free observatories and star gazing nights – this would actually make a good date night
2. Target Free Day at Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta
3. Free Admission to Callaway Gardens in Jan. and Feb.
4. Discovery Backpacks at the High Museum
5. Dauset Trail Nature Preserve
6. Oakland Cemetery’s Sunday in the Park
7. Tellus, Northeast Georgia Science and Technology Museum
8. Holi Hoi Day Celebration
9. Tree Climbing at Panola State Park
10. Free Swim at Chastain Park Pool and Piedmont Park Pool
11. Boneyard Beach on Jekyll Island
12. Center for Puppetry Arts Museum
13. The National Museum of Patriotism
Things To Do
Atlanta
]]> http://www.fieldtripswithsue.com/2009/12/things-to-do-in-atlanta-best-finds-2009.html/feed 4 http://www.fieldtripswithsue.com/2009/10/halloween-hauntings-headline-better.html http://www.fieldtripswithsue.com/2009/10/halloween-hauntings-headline-better.html#comments Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:44:00 +0000 Sue http://www.fieldtripswithsue.com/?p=190 Halloween Hauntings Headline Better Mornings Segment

Part of the fun in doing Better Mornings Atlanta is the people you meet in the studio. This morning, I met folks from Netherworld. This creepy guy is the collector. He truly is spooky and has the eeriest voice. He must be a star; he has his own bobblehead. See him holding [...]

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Part of the fun in doing Better Mornings Atlanta is the people you meet in the studio. This morning, I met folks from Netherworld. This creepy guy is the collector. He truly is spooky and has the eeriest voice. He must be a star; he has his own bobblehead. See him holding it? Love the bobblehead.

This mornings Field Trips with Sue segment featured much tamer Halloween happenings including:

• Georgia State Parks Haunted Hayrides
• Georgia Ballet’s A Sleepy Hollow Story – Don’t forget to enter our contest to win FREE tickets to this show. Read the post for rules. We’ll announce the winner on Friday.
• Oakland Cemetery’s Halloween Tours
• The Georgia Aquarium’s A-Scary-Um
• The Silver Scream Spookshow
• Peachtree TV’s Scream on the Green at Centennial Olympic Park (I’ll post something on this later)

You can view the CBS Better Mornings segments here.



]]> http://www.fieldtripswithsue.com/2009/10/halloween-hauntings-headline-better.html/feed 0 http://www.fieldtripswithsue.com/2009/10/win-tickets-to-oakland-cemeterys.html http://www.fieldtripswithsue.com/2009/10/win-tickets-to-oakland-cemeterys.html#comments Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:29:00 +0000 Sue http://www.fieldtripswithsue.com/?p=180 Win Tickets to Oakland Cemetery’s Halloween Tours

What: Halloween ToursWhere: Oakland CemeteryWhen: Friday, Oct. 23; Saturday, Oct. 24 or Sunday, Oct. 25Cost: FREE if you win the tickets. If not, $15 for adults, $5 children 12 and under

Historic Oakland Cemetery has many visitors by day, but only at Halloween do its gates stay open at night. What better place [...]

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What: Halloween Tours
Where: Oakland Cemetery
When: Friday, Oct. 23; Saturday, Oct. 24 or Sunday, Oct. 25
Cost: FREE if you win the tickets. If not, $15 for adults, $5 children 12 and under

Historic Oakland Cemetery has many visitors by day, but only at Halloween do its gates stay open at night. What better place for a Halloween tour than a cemetery. Hear about Atlanta’s past from a host of Oakland’s “residents.” Bring a flashlight and comfortable walking shoes. I’ve heard these tours aren’t really scary – well except for the fact that you’re in a cemetery at night. The stories are historic in nature and there aren’t any goblins or ghosts jumping out at you.

Tours start at 5:30 pm each night at the Bell Tower (Quasimodoish, how creepy) and last approximately one hour. You must have your ticket to enter. Tours are sold in timed increments, so advanced ticket purchases only.

So how can you win FREE tickets? Become a fan of Field Trips with Sue on Facebook and upload a photo or video of your favorite Atlanta field trip. Tell us the who, what, when, where, and why of the field trip in your photo or video through a comment on the photo or video you’ve uploaded. Don’t have a photo or video? Leave a comment here on the blog and describe your favorite field trip. We’ll randomly select one winner using random.org. Winner receives five tickets to Oakland Cemetery’s 2009 Halloween Tours. We’ll announce the winner Oct. 19.

Family Travel Tips
Atlanta
]]> http://www.fieldtripswithsue.com/2009/10/win-tickets-to-oakland-cemeterys.html/feed 4 http://www.fieldtripswithsue.com/2009/10/this-mornings-field-trips-with-sue.html http://www.fieldtripswithsue.com/2009/10/this-mornings-field-trips-with-sue.html#comments Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:29:00 +0000 Sue http://www.fieldtripswithsue.com/?p=172 Better Mornings Features FREE Museums and Oakland Cemetery Sunday in the Park

This mornings Field Trips with Sue segment on Better Mornings Atlanta featured the following:

Bank of America Museums on Us program Atlanta Botanical Gardens Scarecrows in the Garden High Museum of Art Greene Family Gallery High Museum of Art FREE preview of the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit on Monday from 12 – [...]

]]> Better Mornings Features FREE Museums and Oakland Cemetery Sunday in the Park













This mornings Field Trips with Sue segment on Better Mornings Atlanta featured the following:

Bank of America Museums on Us program
Atlanta Botanical Gardens Scarecrows in the Garden
High Museum of Art Greene Family Gallery
High Museum of Art FREE preview of the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit on Monday from 12 – 7 pm
Oakland Cemetery’s Sunday in the Park
Home Depot Workshop

You can see the 5:30 segment here and the 6:30 segment here.

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