Ideas & Activities

Summer Fun
Crafts, Activities and Food
Fireworks Schedule Northern VA
Falls Church, George Mason High School, 7124 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, Virginia. Live music will start at 7 p.m. followed by fireworks at 9:30 p.m.

• Fairfax, July 3, (rain date - fireworks only July 4) Fairfax City, Independence Day Parade through the downtown area beginning at 10 a.m. Musical entertainment begins at 7 p.m. at Fairfax High School with a spectacular fireworks display at dark. (703) 385-7858.

• McLean, Langley High School, 6520 Georgetown Pike McLean, Virginia. (703) 790-0123. Music performances, food, games, and activities for kids. Grounds open at 6 p.m. Fireworks at dark.

• Vienna, Vienna Community Center, 120 Cherry Street Southeast, Vienna, Virginia. Arts and crafts, food, live music, vendors, and games. Celebrations start at 11 a.m. Fireworks at 9:15 p.m. at Southside Park on Ross Dr.

• Herndon, Herndon Community Center, 814 Ferndale Ave. Herndon, Virginia. (703) 787-7300. Rides open at 5 p.m. Music, crafts, bingo, games at 6:30 p.m. Fireworks at 9:30 p.m.

• Reston, Lake Fairfax Park, 1400 Lake Fairfax Dr., Reston, Virginia. (703) 471-5415. Fireworks begin around 9:15 p.m.

• Leesburg, Ida Lee Park, Rt. 15 (King Street) and Ida Lee Drive, Leesburg, Virginia. (703) 777-1368. Gates open at 6 p.m. Fireworks around 9:30 p.m.

• Manassas 9431 West Street, Manassas, Virginia. (703) 335-8872. Enjoy live music, children’s activities, food and fireworks. Entertainment begins at 4 p.m. Fireworks at 9:15 p.m.

• King's Dominion, 16000 Theme Park Way, Doswell, Virginia. Independence Day celebrations and fireworks.

• Alexandria, Oronoco Bay Park, 100 Madison St., Alexandria, Virginia. Celebrate Alexandria’s Birthday & the USA’s on Saturday, July 10, 2010, 4-10 p.m. Enjoy a concert by the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra at 9 and fireworks at 9:30 p.m.

Fireworks Schedule Maryland
National Harbor, Gaylord National Resort, National Harbor, Maryland. Fireworks and summer festival, beginning at 5 p.m., tickets are required.

• Gaithersburg, Montgomery County Fairgrounds, 16 Chestnut Street, Gaithersburg, Maryland. (301) 258-6350. Gates open at 5 p.m. Walk-in at Chestnut or Dalamar Streets; the Perry Parkway entrance will be closed. Entertainment at 7 p.m. Fireworks at dusk.

• Rockville, Montgomery College, Rockville Campus, 51 Mannakee Street, Rockville, Maryland. Additional parking will be available at Rockville Town Center. Live entertainment begins at 7 p.m. Fireworks at 9:30 p.m.

• Boyds/Germantown, Germantown Soccerplex, 14501 Schaeffer Rd., Boyds, Maryland. (240) 777-6820. Patriotic concert at 7 p.m. and fireworks at 9:30 p.m.

• Poolesville, Poolesville Polo Grounds, 14660 Hughes Rd., Poolesville, Maryland. Live music begins at 6 p.m., Fireworks at 9 p.m. Parking is $5 per vehicle. (301) 972-8888.

• Kensington/Wheaton Newport Mill Middle School, 11311 Newport Mill Road, Kensington, Maryland. Entertainment begins at 7:30 p.m. and fireworks show will begin approximately 9:15 p.m.

• Takoma Park Takoma Park Middle School, 7611 Piney Branch Road, Takoma Park, Maryland. (301) 270-6876. Parade at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Carroll and Ethan Allen Avenues. Fireworks at 9:30 p.m.

• College Park University of Maryland, College Park. Parking Lot 1, off Campus Drive near the University Boulevard/Adelphi Road entrance. (301) 864-8877. Food and music start at 7 p.m., with fireworks around 9 p.m.

• Six Flags America, Mitchellville, Maryland. (301) 249-1500. The amusement park sponsors a spectacular fireworks display. Enjoy a full day of family entertainment.

• Bowie Allen Pond Park, Bowie, Maryland. (301) 809-3078. Entertainment, food and fireworks from 3-10:30 pm.

• Bowie Prince George's County Stadium, 4101 NE Crain Hwy, Bowie, Maryland. Fireworks display after the game. For additional information and tickets, call (301) 464-4865.

• Greenbelt Buddy Attick Park, 555 Crescent Rd., Greenbelt, Maryland. (301) 397-2200. Entertainment begins at 4 p.m. Fireworks at dusk.

• Laurel Granville Gude Park, Laurel Lake, Laurel, Maryland. (301) 725-5300 ext. 44. Parade at 11 a.m. Car show following and Fireworks at dusk.

• Fort Meade Routes 175 (Annapolis Road) and Reece Road, Fort Meade, Maryland. Celebration from noon to 10:30 p.m. Free admission - Open to the public. DJ, Band, Food/beverage vendors, Novelty vendors, Karate> demonstration and fireworks.

• Frederick, Baker Park, Second and Bentz Streets, Frederick, Maryland. (301) 228-2844. Music on four stages, fireworks and much more.

• Columbia, Lake Kittamaquandi, 10221 Wincopin Circle Columbia, Maryland. (410) 740-4545. Music, children's entertainment begins at 5 p.m. Fireworks at 9:30 p.m.

• Annapolis, Annapolis City Dock, Annapolis, Maryland. (410) 263-1183. Parade and fireworks: Parade starts at 6 p.m. Fireworks at 9:15 p.m. Parade Route: West Street, around Church Circle, down Main Street to the City Dock. Naval Academy's Concert Band will perform at the end of City Dock just prior to the fireworks.

• Baltimore, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland. A variety of concerts and special events throughout the day. Fireworks at 9:30 p.m.

3D Art
Have child draw a picture with crayons. Then use items to make it 3-D. Glue fabric scraps onto the person for clothes. Tear up green paper for a tree. Glue a popsicle stick for a baseball bat. Glue popcorn kernels to fill in a sun, etc. This is a great activity and the child can really use their imagination!
Build a Cabin

• Small dairy carton
• White frosting
• Pretzel rods and pretzel sticks
• Frosted shredded wheat biscuits
• Small graham cracker pieces

Directions
 Rinse and dry a small dairy carton, and glue the top edges together. Cover carton with white frosting. Cut pretzel rods to fit sides of carton. Press pretzels onto frosting. Attach shredded wheat biscuits and pretzel sticks to top for roof. Attach graham cracker pieces with frosting for windows and doors. Makes1cabin.
Paper Plate Pot Hole
What you'll need:

• 2 paper plates
• Silver craft paint
• 8 pieces of ring shaped cereal
• Fish-shaped crackers
• Silk plant leaves
• Sea shells
• Sand
• White craft glue
• Blue cellophane
• Wax paper
• Scissors

 
How to make it:

1. Take both paper plates and set them on the table. One should be right side up and the other should be upside down.
2. On the plate that is right side up, draw your sea floor about 1/3 up the center of the plate.
3. Line the floor area with white glue, use an old paintbrush or your finger to spread the glue out evenly.
4. Cover the wet glue with sand and set aside to dry.
5. On the upside down plate, draw a circle where you will cut out your porthole in the center of the plate.
6. Glue ring shaped cereal pieces around the circle; these are the bolts on the porthole. Let dry.
7. Paint the cereal pieces and the paper plate from the outer edge to your penciled lines. Don’t worry about painting over the lines a little, as you will be cutting it out. Set aside to dry.
8. Take the paper plate with the sand on it and hold it over a sheet of wax paper. Turn the plate sideways and gently tap it to loosen any excess sand. The sand should end up on the wax paper and you can save that for another project.
9. Glue sea life onto the plate with the sand floor. Glue on shells, silk leaves, and fish shaped crackers. Let dry.
10. Take the silver painted plate and cut out the center circle to create your porthole window. Place it gently over the top of the other plate to see if you are happy with its size and viewing area. Increase size of the hole if you like.
11. Turn silver plate upside down.
12. Cut a piece of blue cellophane large enough to cover the hole on the plate and glue in place. Let dry.
13. Place porthole plate over the top of the sea life plate and glue together. Let dry.
14. You can add a hanger to the project if you like, simply glue some string or yarn between the two plates at the top during step 13.

Cardboard Box Cupboard
Materials

• Scissors
• 3 shipping boxes (ours are 11-1/2 by 13-1/2 by 2-1/2 inches)
• Packing tape

• Wrapping paper
• Colored duct tape

Instructions

1. Cut the flaps from one end of each box.
2. Stack the boxes. Some boxes, such as those from FedEx, have flaps that add thickness to the back of the box. To make your stack level, use scraps of cardboard as shims in between the front edges of the boxes.
3. Seal the boxes together with packing tape.
4. Cover the boxes with the wrapping paper.
5. Line the raw edges at the front with the duct tape