What: The Atlanta Opera’s Rabbit Tales World Premiere
Where: The Wren’s Nest, 1050 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd., SW, Atlanta, GA 30310 404-881-8801
When: Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, 11 am – 2:30 pm
Cost: Free and open to the public

Join The Atlanta Opera for a fun filled day to celebrate the world premiere of their first-ever opera commission Rabbit Tales. Family-friendly activities from 11 am – 1 pm  include storytelling, Wren’s Nest museum tours, craft activities and face painting. At 1 pm be enchanted with the world premiere performance of The Atlanta Opera’s first-ever opera commission, Rabbit Tales, on the outdoor stage in teh natural grass amphitheatre. Stick around after the performance for a talk-back session with the composer, librettist, director and designer. Bring your lawn chair or blanket and enjoy your picnic or snack on the lawn!

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: 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.

I’m not much for New Year’s Resolutions, so instead, I’m going to make a list of activities I’d like to do in 2010. These are in no particular order. What’s on your list? What should I add to mine?
1. Silver Scream Spookshow – This sounds so bizarre, that I’m dying to go. I don’t like horror. I’m still freaked about the Starskey and Hutch episode where a body fell out of the closet. But this is vintage horror and the pre-show sounds like a blast. Bonus: Kids under 12 are FREE.
2. Laurel and Hardy Museum – I saw this on my way to the Master’s last year. There is a sign off of I-20 West from Atlanta. The museum is free and you can watch any Laurel and Hardy movie.
3. Interactive Neighborhood for Kids – This has been on my list for years. The museum is in Gainesville, just north of Atlanta and from what I understand the museum is a city just the right size for little kids. I need to go this year before my little one is too big.
4. Snow Tubing – My kids got Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games for Christmas. I highly recommend it, except now everyone wants to go skiing and snowboarding. Not in the budget this year, but tubing at Snow Mountain might be.
5. Tubing Down the Chattahoochee – My youngest turns 6 in May, so he’s now old enough to go tubing down the Chattahoochee. We’re planning to head to Up the River Outfitters to try it out.
6. Canoeing at the Chattahoochee Nature Center – The CNC is a wonderful place. I’ve always wanted to do a canoe trip with CNC staff, but didn’t want to leave the youngest at home. The minimum age is 5 years old.
7. Providence Canyon State Park – Called the Little Grand Canyon, this has been on my list since before I had kids. I even cut out a story from Southern Living and saved it for years. I’m also dying to take the boys camping, so perhaps we’ll combine the two.
8. Fishing at the Carter Center – I recently discovered you can fish at the Carter Center. My middle son just got a fishing pole for his birthday. This is a beautiful spot for a picnic and a little fishin’ too. Bonus: it’s FREE.
9. Bird Walk at Piedmont Park – One of my sons is a birder. He loves birds. We keep saying we’ll take one of the bird walks at Piedmont Park, but it starts at 8 am. That’s been a little early for us in the past, but I imagine the park is beautiful in the morning. Bonus: it’s FREE too.
10. The Agrirama in Tifton – I just saw this in Brown’s Guide. The Agrirama is a 95-acre complex featuring a historic village with over 35 structures. Included is a museum, a main street, farmsteads, homesteads, a schoolhouse, community buildings, and more, all replicating the 1870-1890’s era.
11. Storytelling at the Wren’s Nest – I haven’t been to the Wren’s Nest since Joel Candler Harris’ great-great-great grandson took over the museum. He’s doing a wonderful job. I love the blog and the storytellers. We heard one of the Wren’s Nest storytellers at Oakland Cemetery’s Sunday in the Park and my children were enthralled.(ok, so was I) This year, I want to hear stories at the museum and see the fabulous renovation.

What: “Protect the Nest” critter t-shirts
Where: from the Wren’s Nest
Cost: Free

While at Oakland Cemetery’s Sunday in the Park last weekend, I ran into Lain Shakespeare of the Wren’s Nest. Lain and I have exchanged tweets and blog posts, so it was really nice to actually meet him face-to-face. I also found out how to collect four “Protect the Nest” Brer Wear t-shirts just in time for the holiday season. How do you get your free t-shirt? Simply by reading Uncle Remus stories. Don’t know who Uncle Remus is? Then head over to the Wren’s Nest to find out. To earn your free t-shirts, here’s what you need to do:

1. Read five Brer Rabbit stories (then get Dr. Gil Watson of Northside Methodist Church to recite the story for you. He was GREAT!)
2. Go to www.wrensnestonline.com and download the Reader’s Tee form
3. Get a parent or teacher signature
4. Visit the Wren’s Nest to turn in the form
5. Get your free Critter Tee!

If you’d like to order additional t-shirts, they are $15 each.