The annual feast of frights and family-friendly delights is coming soon – and this year, you’ll have a new reason to scream!

Step inside the cold halls of Dr. D. Mented’s Asylum for the Criminally Insane and see what’s really going on behind those closed doors. Just be careful – you never know when you’ll become his next victim!

Plus, explore the three other haunted houses, five outdoor fright zones and entertainment that’s to die for. And bring the kids – we have special entertainment, a magical fun house, a parade with a cast of friendly creatures and of course, some of the best rides for kids anywhere. HalloWeekends is fun for the whole family!

The fun kicks off on Friday night, September 17. For complete hours, details and more, visit the official HalloWeekends website.

Visit Thru Friday & Save

It’s the final days of our online Summer Closeout admission special! Get a one-day Cedar Point admission ticket for only $34.99 when you visit through Friday.

Now’s the time to visit with shorter lines, warm temperatures and the best rides and coasters for the entire family.

We’re always cooking up these admission deals, and they’re only available online. Visit the Online Deals page to purchase your Summer Closeout ticket, or see the other ways to save on your visit to Cedar Point!

The Hancock County fair starts this Wednesday, September 1st and runs through Monday, September 6th.  To view the schedule for the fair, please click HERE.

The Fair takes place at 1017 E. Sandusky St., P.O. Box 148, Findlay, OH 45839

Rally by the River Featuring Put-in-Bay Party in the Park – Mad Dog, Parrots of the Caribbean

General Event Information

Dates & Times:
Friday, August 27, 2010;  Gates open at 5 pm

Price:
Ticket Price: $20.00 (After May 21st until day of show), Ticket Price: $25.00 – (Day of show)

Description

Remember the days of warm breezes, the gathering & laughter of friends, and the sound of music in the air…fun memories. Well it’s back! Toledo proudly presents the return of the Rally by the River. Featuring well known national acts and Toledo’s own local talent!
Come enjoy the fun, sun, music with friends and create some new lasting memories down by the river.

Venue Information

Venue:
Promenade Park

Water St.
Downtown Toledo, Toledo, OH

Boat lovers will not want to miss this great event with music, food, and all sorts of classic boats! 

Dates & Times:
August 27, 2010 – August 29, 2010 on
Friday 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Sunday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Price:
$3.00

* contact the Presenting Organization listed below for ticketing information

Description

The 2010 Toledo Antique and Classic Boat Show will kick off with a welcome party aboard the S.S. Willis B. Boyer on Friday evening the 27th of August, with the show running Saturday the 28th and Sunday the 29th. Featuring live music, classic vessels of all types, marine market, food, classic cars, and more!

Venue Information

Toledo Skyway Marina/Toledo Maritime Center

1701 Front St., Toledo, OH

German-American Festival takes place this weekend in Oregon.  Lots of great food, entertainment, and fun for kids and adults alike!  To view their website for more information, please click HERE.

General Event Information

Dates & Times:
August 27, 2010 – August 29, 2010 on
Friday 6 pm to 1 am (Parade and Opening Ceremonies begin at 8:00 p.m.)
Saturday 2 pm to 1 am
Sunday Noon to 8 pm (With a German Language worship service at 10:30 a.m.)

Description

Northwest Ohio’s oldest ethnic festival featuring non-stop music & entertainment. Shop at the Import Haus, dance or watch the stone-throwing contest. Enjoy traditional and modern German music, German-American foods and baked goods, continuous entertainment, children’s look alike hummel contest, live glockenspiel, soccer games, free parking, children’s rides, volkswagen raffle.

$7.00 per person. Active military, police, fire, or EMS personnel will be admitted at no charge (with proof of employment) on Sunday. Senior citizens’ with Golden Buckeye card or equivalent will be admitted at discount on Sunday. Children 15 years of age and under admitted at no charge all weekend when accompanied by a parent or guardian.

(Alcohol sales cease at 12:00 midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. Liquor available on Sunday).

Venue:
Oak Shade Grove

3624 Seaman Rd., Oregon, OH

Combine exercise and shopping and some live music and what could be better on a Thursday night?  Head out for a fun girl night out!!

Thursday, August 26, 2010;  6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

For the second installment in the 2010 Thursday Art Walk Series, the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo (ACGT) is pleased to announce the addition of new venues and street performing entertainment during the event. Art Walk will take place in Downtown Toledo on the fourth Thursday of each month through September, 6 – 9 p.m. Future dates are July 22, August 26, and September 23.

This summer series is presented by ACGT as a program of its Live Work Create Toledo initiative, which explores opportunities for economic development and revitalization through the arts.

Community members are encouraged to come out for the Art Walk, get some fresh air and exercise, and peruse and purchase the work of hundreds of local and regional artists. This month, sixteen venues will open their doors for the Art Walk.

Sit Down, Look Up

In addition to the venues, visitors are encouraged to view the ‘walking gallery’ of the Urban Forest Project (UFP), featuring the work of more than 50 local graphic designers, which features banners hung on light poles in and around the Arts Zone and Downtown. More info on the UFP is available via, www.ufp-toledo.com. Also featured in the Arts Zone are newly installed Art Benches, painted by the 2009 Young Artists at Work (YAAW) apprentices. YAAW is an award-winning program of ACGT that employs diverse and at-risk youth for the summer, offering job training, and an intense exposure to the arts. www.yaaw.org.

Street Performers

New this year to the Art Walk, ACGT is sponsoring Street Performer licenses for local performers. Each month, a small group of performers will be empowered with the ability to busk (street perform) legally, adding the ability to earn income from their craft, as well as flavor to our streets and sidewalks. In May, ACGT sponsored the folk duo Stately Mane, and in June, we will sponsor local indie-Hawaiian folk trio, The Fairly Handsome Band. Throughout the summer, ACGT will sponsor a broad variety of performers, from musicians, to dancers, and more in-between.

For more information, please contact Michelle Carlson at the ACGT at 419-254-2787 or visit www.acgt.org.

Another great place to take the kiddos on a weekend is Fossil Park, located in an abandoned quarry in Sylvania.  Fossil Park is an unusual destination for travelers who are interested in rocks, quarries or mines. The park contains some of the best fossils from the Devonian period in the world; diggers can easily find corals, brachiopods, echinoderms and trilobites. Visitors are allowed to break the fossils from the soft shale and keep any fossils that they find. No tools are allowed.  I have taken my kids and they thought it was alot of fun.  You can take shovels and pails I believe and also an old toothbrush to brush off your treasures that you find!

About Fossil Park

Travel back in time 375-million-years ago when Northwest Ohio was a great sea teeming with life. Experience that reality today at Fossil Park in Sylvania, Ohio. Fossil Park is one of just a handful of parks of its kind in the nation, and the Sylvania area is one of only two prime Devonian Era sites on the entire planet. Visit Fossil Park and search for these world-renowned fossils in an ADA-accessible 5-acre rock quarry in a safe and controlled environment.

TOPS prohibits tools of any kind in Fossil Park. The Devonians come from Hanson Aggregate Midwest’s large working quarries a mile south of Fossil Park and are already in shale soft enough to break with your bare hands.

Bring a brush to assist in cleaning your fossils, as well as something in which to carry your buried treasures home with you. An egg carton is excellent for smaller children, and a milk jug with the top removed but handle intact is great too. See the links at the bottom of the page for information on the fossils you can find and even cut-outs to put inside egg cartons for your kids.

Pets are not allowed down in the fossil pit, though they are allowed in the parking lot and on the bike trail that circles the pit.

Admission is FREE! Parking is FREE!  The fossils you find are FREE!

Fossil Park Hours:

     May 29 to August 29:            8:30am to 8pm

     August 30 to September 6:    8:30am to 7:30pm

     September 7 to 30:               8:30am to 7pm

     October 1 to 17:                   8:30am to 6:30pm

On WEEKENDS from May 29 to October 17, a staff peson will be at Fossil Park. They will be there to answer your questions and help you find fossils.

Staffed Hours:

     Saturdays & Sundays:           11 am to 5 pm

     Memorial Day, May 31:         11 am to 5 pm

Fossil Park is located at 5705 Centennial Road, Sylvania.

Wow, I wish I had come across this sooner.  For anyone out there looking for a walking partner or running partner, check out this information!

Group Runs

7/7/2010 – 9/29/2010

Join us every Wednesday evening for a group run/walk starting at 6:30pm near our family restrooms (behind Red Robin). The run includes a 3 mile loop through The Shops at Fallen Timbers and is free and open to all skill levels. Different door prizes and coupons will be offered weekly.

Show identification that you are a runner/walker or present the Group Run location card at Bath & Body Works the night of the run, and receive 15% off your total purchase!

LOCATION: The Shops at Fallen Timbers

TIME: 6:30pm

SPONSOR: Dave’s Running Shop

CONTACT: 419-878-6255

Not sure if registration is required for this event, but I am including a contact number to call to see!  Kids will be so excited to create their own back-to-school supply box!  This event takes place September 4, 2010 from 1-2 pm.  It’s Back-to-School with Barnes & Noble! Join us for a storytime that will sure get you in the mind-set for the start of the school year! Children will decorate their own school supplies box, and each child will receive a free Ramona and Beezus drawstring backpack filled with coupons. *While supplies last.

LOCATION: Barnes & Noble Children’s Department

TIME: 1:00-2:00pm

CONTACT: 419-878-6255

I made a trip to the Sylvania branch library yesterday and it happened to be the day that all of  their upcoming programs opened for registration.  They had story time for babies, toddlers, and one for preschoolers and families.  They also had a program where children could read to dogs that are leaders for the blind and other people who may have a disability.  How cool is that!!  They also have a great art program for school age children (this one is not open for registration yet)  I am sure they have cool programs like this at all branches of the Toledo Library so contact your library today to see what they have to offer for your children!

To visit the library’s website, please click HERE!

How about a day out with some great music to listen to!  Why not head out this Tuesday to Owens Community College to listen to some amazing bands at Fall Fest 2 Success!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010;  11:00am-4pm

Price:
$2.00 for wristband for non-students/faculty

Coke’s Battle of the Bands

Come enjoy yourself and have some fun. We will have food, games, and live bands playing from Coke-a-Cola’s Battle of The Bands Tour and also 3 lucky winners of the Coke contest from our community. It will be from 11-4pm between College Hall and Health Tech.

Venue Information

Owens Community College-Courtyard
30335 Oregon RD., Perrysburg, OH

Just when we thought we had seen the last of the county fairs, here comes another one.  Don’t you just love this time of year with all the festivals and fairs!  Don’t miss this one, there is sure to be something for everyone!

The Sandusky County fair is located at 901 Rawson Avenue, Fremont, Ohio and will be held this week from Tuesday, August 24th through Sunday, August 29th.  For more information or to see a list of events, please click HERE.

I was very surprised to see the prices for this fair were pretty low with all rides being included!  Sounds like a fun, affordable family night out!!

Daily Admission Prices:
$7 one price – all mechanical rides included for the day. 
(Height of 36" and over requires a daily admission ticket.)

Adult Weekly or Membership  $20

Youth Weekly  $12

Jr. Fair Passes $6

This fun event takes place Saturday and Sunday this weekend.  If you are looking for jewelry, ceramics, painting, glass, photography, fiber, wood, leather, mixed media and more then this is the event you will want to attend this weekend.  Admission and parking are both FREE. 

August 21, 2010 – August 22, 2010 on
Saturday 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 6:00 pm

Be sure to bring the kids along, because we’ve got fun for the whole family!  A special kids area will be open from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and includes make and take crafts, inflatables and face painting! Make an evening of it with dinner at a Town Center restaurant and music from Kerry Patrick Clark at 6:00 p.m.
Here’s a sneak peak of this weekend’s Top 10 can’t miss booths!

This Saturday is the Swanton Corn Festival.  Complete with a 5K race, crafts, food, and games, this will be fun for everyone!  For more information and a schedule of events, please click HERE.

Parade begins at 10:30 AM, Saturday, August 21, 2010
Parade route: south on Main St. (from high school), west on Garfield,ends at Munson Rd. Announcement area #1 on Main St. by Chamber building, #2 on Garfield by the bridge.

As moms we all know how hard it is to lose that baby weight!  How did you lose your baby weight?   Toledo Mom’s blog would love to hear from you for an upcoming post on losing those stubborn pregnancy pounds. 

e-mail me at brandy@toledomomsblog.com with your success story!  Thanks so much!

This week there are a couple of upcoming story time events at local Barnes & Noble stores.  This sounds like fun for the kids before school starts!

Dinosaur Delight

Storytime

Thursday August 19, 2010 10:00 AM
The Shops at Fallen Timbers
3100 Main St #1400, Maumee, OH 43537, 419-878-0652

Friday’s Creativity Corner

Storytime
Preschoolers explore their creativity as they cut and paste their way to making a craft every Friday morning. This month we feature summer-themed crafts.

Friday August 20, 2010 11:00 AM

Franklin Park
4940 Monroe St, Toledo, OH 43623, 419-472-6164

Held on the lovely tree-lined streets in historic uptown Maumee, Ohio
this event is sponsored by the Maumee Uptown Business Association.
Friday evening kicks off the weekend at the "The Taste-of-Maumee" with 
20 area restaurants serving tantalizing foods, desserts and live bands on stage.

The parade begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning with the Maumee
High School marching band leading the way, followed by clowns,
dance groups, classic cars, wild imaginative floats, singers,
pets and children on bikes. You won’t want to miss it!
In addition to 4 blocks of art and craft booths, we feature a
variety of entertainment in several areas, a great kid’s fun
zone & classic car show.  There is something for the whole
family to enjoy.

For more information, please contact Brenda Clixby / 419-893-5805 or visit the website by clicking HERE.

Found a GREAT blog post that does a comparison of school supply prices.  Check out Save at Home Mommy’s blog by clicking HERE and the fantastic chart she provides!!  Thanks Save at Home Mommy!

How would you like to win a pair of tickets to the Toledo zoo?  If you are at least 18 years old click HERE and you can enter a drawing for a pair of tickets to be used anytime in 2010.  You can enter 1 time per day so bookmark the site and keep entering to win!