DC Thrifty Mom’s
FREE Things To Do
THIS WEEKEND
in the Washington DC Metro Area:
October 11-13, 2014
Always call or check the event website before heading out;
Event information is subject to change.
***Visit our Calendar for more FREE & Cheap happenings.***
***Washington D.C.***
Hispanic Heritage Day: Innovators in Air and Space
Air and Space Museum in Washington DC
Saturday, October 11 ∙ 10:00 am ∙ FREE Admission!
This annual event celebrates the contributions of Latinos to aviation and space exploration. Learn about early aviators from the last century who took great risks flying the first planes and breaking records. Meet current Hispanic scientists and engineers. Many of the activities and presentations are available in English and Spanish.
International Day of the Girl Child
Tenley-Friendship Library
Saturday, October 11 ∙ 11:00 am ∙ FREE!
Celebrating Hope with Creativity and Inspiring Stories that highlight the Importance of Investing in Girls around the World. This is a free family friendly event including arts and story time.
Interested in putting your own personal touch to the community-based arts project?
We’ll be creating an artwork to be donated to the library for display. Grandmothers, aunties, moms, and daughters please bring to the event your ‘childhood’ photo, size no larger than 1 x 1 inch.
8th Annual Columbia Heights Day Festival
11th St NW (from Park Rd to Kenyon St NW) & Harriet Tubman School Yard
Saturday, October 11 ∙ 11:00 am ∙ FREE Admission!
Columbia Heights Day is a fun, one-day annual festival to celebrate the neighborhood of Columbia Heights. The festival highlights the local businesses and artists, and it has several activities to entertain all ages. Ranging from eating contests, local musicians, a dunk tank, face painters, an adult tricycle race, family fun field day, and much much more – Columbia Heights Day will entertain you and leave you cherishing the wonderful neighborhood of Columbia Heights! Rain or shine. View festival schedule here.
Fall Family Festival
American Art Museum – Kogod Courtyard
Saturday, October 11 ∙ 11:30 am ∙ FREE Admission!
Celebrate the changing seasons with stilt walkers, ghost stories, and a performance by the Banjo Man, Frank Cassel. Enjoy fall-themed craft activities like leaf rubbings or a scavenger hunt to find autumn scenes in the museum’s galleries.
Performances at 11:45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. on stage.
Portrait Story Days: Roy Lichtenstein
National Portrait Gallery – 1st Floor, education center, E151
Saturday, October 11 ∙ 1:00 pm & Sunday, October 12 ∙ 2:00 pm ∙ FREE!
Young visitors and their families may drop in to listen to a story about an influential person in the Portrait Gallery’s collection and create a piece of art inspired by his or her portrait.
Celebrate Columbus Day with “Discovery: Land, Sea and Space.”
Library of Congress
Monday, October 13 ∙ 10:00 am ∙ FREE!
Book displays, activities and crafts will be featured.
Conversation Table
Postal Museum – The Atrium
Monday, October 13 ∙ 10:00 am ∙ FREE!
Our friendly museum expert will talk to visitors about interesting facts, answer questions about the museum, and give them a chance to touch historical objects.
DC PUBLIC LIBRARY Activities - Find FREE things to do for kids in every library in D.C.:
Star Wars Reads Day ∙ Mt. Pleasant Library ∙ Saturday,all day – Dress up as your favorite characters and enjoy Star Wars activities throughout the day!
Wordless Book Family Story Time ∙ Tenley-Friendship Library ∙ Saturday, 10:30 am – Join us for an interactive Story Time that includes songs, rhymes and wordless picture books. Librarians will demonstrate ways to have fun conversations around picture books without words that develop early literacy skills such as vocabulary, sequencing, storytelling, and creativity. All of skills these will help little ones get ready to learn to read and ready for school.
Biography Book Club ∙ Lamond-Riggs Library ∙ Saturday, 11:30 am – We are reading titles that deal with the world’s stimulating past events and people.Hope you will join us in the second floor meeting room for an entertaining and enlightening discussion on the people we will meet through our readings.
Kids Euro Fest 2014: Trip to Scotland ∙ Southwest Library ∙ Saturday, 1:00 pm – Come see pictures of Scotland and hear about what it is like to attend the Festival Fringe in Edinburgh.All ages welcome, though it will be most appropriate for ages 8-12.
Another Play Dough Play Day! ∙ Rosedale Library ∙ Saturday, 3:30 pm – Our Sept. 16 celebration of National Play Dough Day was a wonderful, family-oriented play day during which several young dough sculptors used common household items, guidance from Ms. Tea and gently-instructive play mats to stimulate ideas for creating and learning with play dough. As a result of the enjoyment, we are scheduling another play dough program on a Saturday to accommodate the schedules of our working families!
Children ages 4-8 will LOVE making play dough to squish, knead and create new things with! We will follow a simple non-toxic recipe that requires no cooking.
As in our previous program, other resources, household items and Ms. Tea’s suggestions will be available to prompt creative thinking.
Please note: Adults are required to chaperone any children under the age of 9 at the library. This program is also highly appropriate for special needs children who respond to sensory-oriented play and learning.
Punk Farm Family Fun Day Sunday ∙ Mt. Pleasant Library ∙ Saturday, 2:00 pm – Bring the family to rock out during a special Punk Rock Family Fun Day Sunday! We’ll have music, share stories, and have a blast in honor of the DC Punk Archive. Children of all ages and their families are welcome to attend. The event will be held in the Children’s Room on the second floor of the library.
***Maryland***
FREE FALL BALTIMORE IS BACK FOR 2014!
Various venues
Throughout October ∙ FREE!
Free Fall Baltimore celebrates its ninth year by bringing wonderful free cultural activities to your doorstep. With more than 250 unique events anticipated, you’ll be able to find an exciting activity on almost every day in October. Note: All activities listed are FREE, but many events require advance registration. View the schedule here.
Montpelier Fall Festival
Montpelier Arts Center
Saturday, October 11 ∙ 11:00 am ∙ FREE!
Celebrate fall at the second annual Montpelier Fall Festival! Paint pumpkins, create autumn-themed crafts, have your face painted, skate in the skate mobile, and have loads of family fun! Bring a large paper shopping bag to Montpelier, and carry it with you as you create fun art projects at different stations throughout the arts center.
25th Annual Taste of Bethesda
Held along Norfolk, St. Elmo, Cordell, Del Ray and Auburn Avenues in Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle
Saturday, October 11 ∙ 11:00 am ∙ FREE Admission but fee for Taste Tickets
*Taste of Bethesda is held rain or shine.* Bethesda’s famous food and music festival brings 60 restaurants and five stages of entertainment to Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle. Each year, more than 40,000 attendees sample the delicious restaurants, enjoy the live entertainment and visit the kid’s corner for face painting and arts & crafts.
The annual Taste of Bethesda is held in conjunction with Best of Bethesda Day, which also features Come Back to Bethesda classic car show and Rescue Day.
While in the area, visit Dig-It! Games Fall 2014 Open House for a behind the scenes look at how video games are made. Learn about programming, try your hand at digital art and get a sneak peek at games in development. Play fun games and win great prizes including an iPad mini and App Store gift cards! This event is free and open to the public.
Kensington Volunteer Fire Department Open House
Sunday, October 12 ∙ 11:00 am ∙ FREE!
Celebrate Fire Prevention, car seat checks & MORE!
23rd Annual Oktoberfest at the Kentlands
Kentlands Market Square
Sunday, October 12 ∙ 12:00 pm ∙ FREE Admission & Parking!
The expanded festival now covers Kentlands Village Green, the grounds of Kentlands Mansion, Main Street and Market Square, all connected by marked walking paths and a festival-wide trolley route. READ Thrifty Correspondent’s Amy K.’s Review from last year’s event.
Family Sundays
Baltimore Museum of Art
Sunday, October 12 ∙ 2:00 pm ∙ FREE!
The BMA is the place to be for free family fun! Every Sunday, enjoy different activities—sketching tours, hands-on workshops, gallery tours, and more—designed just for families. OCTOBER’s Theme: Marvelous Matisse - October 12: Embroider a Bright Pattern
16th Annual College Fair
Kensington – AEHS Main Street
Monday, October 13 ∙ 6:00 pm ∙ FREE!
Come talk with reps from 100+ colleges and universities from all over the country.
***Virginia***
CULPEPER AIR FEST 2014 - “The Best Little Airshow in the East”
Culpeper Regional Airport – Brandy station
Saturday, October 11 ∙ Gates Open at 9:00 am ∙ FREE!
Aerobatic Flying, Wing Walking, Close-up Airplane Views, Meet the Pilots, Model Aircraft Flying, Games for Kids, Airplane rides, AND Much More!
Fire Prevention Week Open House
Saturday, October 11 ∙ 10:00 am ∙ FREE!
2014 McLean VFD Fire Prevention Open House - Fire Station Open House! Once a year, we open our firehouse to the public to showcase our apparatus, conduct live rescue demonstrations, provide fire safety education, and offer fun activities for the whole family!
Falls Church Fire Station #6 - Did you ever wonder what it’s like to use a fire hose, sit in the driver’s seat of a fire truck or have questions on how to protect your family from fire?
Join us at our annual Open House on Saturday, October 11 as we conclude Fire Prevention Week (October 5-11). Firefighters from the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department and the Arlington County Fire Department will conduct fire and emergency medical demonstrations, lead activities for those young and old, provide tours of our station, fire apparatus, tools, equipment and much more! There will also be invaluable fire safety and prevention information available to take home.
Sparky the fire dog is anxiously awaiting this exciting event!
Fairfax County Fire Prevention Open House - On Saturday, October 11, 2014, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the department and all 38 fire and rescue stations cordially invites the general public to participate in a community open house, spotlighting fire prevention. The theme for 2014 is “Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives. Test Yours Every Month!” It serves to remind us all of the simple actions we can take to stay safe from fire year round. Every firehouse will host activities, provide tours, and have available fire prevention educational materials. For more information, contact your community fire station or Public Affairs and Life Safety Education, 703-246-3801.
Baileys Crossroads Fire Station Grand Opening - The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department will host a grand opening and a “hose uncoupling” ceremony, Saturday, October 11, 2014, at 10 a.m. for the new Baileys Crossroads Fire and Rescue Station. Following the ceremony there will refreshments, and tours of the station and apparatus. The public is cordially invited to attend.
Farm Day
Cherry Hill Farmhouse & Park
Saturday, October 11 ∙ 10:00 am ∙ FREE!
This family event features blacksmith demonstrations, horse-drawn hayrides, pumpkin painting, scarecrow making, and a petting zoo. Children can learn basic farming skills such as corn-shelling and beekeeping. Tours of the historic Cherry Hill Farmhouse and Barn are also offered free of charge.
This annual event is a delight for the whole family! Be sure to bring a camera.
19th Annual Art Safari
Torpedo Factory Art Center
Saturday, October 11 ∙ 10:00 am ∙ FREE!
An Alexandria tradition, Art Safari is a day of hands-on craft activities for kids and families. Throughout the day, visitors can participate in activities such as origami, giant papier-mache animals, and more. The Art League and the Alexandria Archaeological Museum will offer even more engaging programming. Children should wear clothing that can get a little dirty. Most activities are appropriate for children kindergarten age with parental supervision through middle school.
Centreville Day
Historic Centreville Park
Saturday, October 11 ∙ 10:00 am ∙ FREE Admission!
Centreville Day is a celebration of community, history, and diversity. Festivities will include parade, live entertainment, tons of fun activities for kids, an open air marketplace featuring crafters, local businesses and community groups, and a great selection of food vendors.
38th Annual City of Fairfax Fall Festival
Historic Downtown Fairfax
Saturday, October 11 ∙ 11:00 am ∙ FREE Admission!
What started out as a small market for artisans to display their wares has grown to a festival with over 400 arts, crafts, information, food & gourmet food vendors, children’s activities and three stages of music and entertainment for all ages. In case of rain join us on October 12th.
Friends of the Arlington Library – Fall Book Sale
Arlington Central Library
Saturday, October 11 ∙ 10:00 am & Sunday, October 12 ∙ 12:00 pm ∙ FREE Admission!
Note: Sunday is half price day!
27th Annual STERLINGFEST
Sterling Community Center
Saturday, October 11 ∙ 11:00 am ∙ FREE Admission!
Enjoy exhibits, games, music, moonbounces, food, and fun activities planned by the festival committee!
Oktoberfest Reston
Reston Town Center
Saturday, October 11 & Sunday, October 12 ∙ 12:00 pm ∙ FREE Admission!
Admission to Oktoberfest Reston is free of charge, but food and carnival tickets are necessary to sample food and drinks or take a spin on your favorite carnival ride. You can buy tickets at the event; they accept cash and credit cards.
Clifton Day
Clifton Historic District
Sunday, October 12 ∙ 9:00 am ∙ FREE Admission!
The annual Clifton Day is a non-profit event, raising funds for a variety of local organizations. The festival includes arts and crafts, antiques, demonstrations, the Town Market, live music, children’s activities and lots of good food. Clifton Day has something for everyone. AND A FREE PETTING ZOO.
Fall Festival
Manassas Mall – parking lot off of Sudley Road
Sunday, October 12 ∙ 1:00 pm ∙ FREE Admission!
Free event with Live Entertainment, face painting, and more!
Mr. Knick Knack! Children’s Performance
Reston Town Center – In the Pavilion
Monday, October 13 ∙ 10:00 am ∙ FREE Admission!
Heart-centered music for kids!
Experience the Arts in Herndon – Kids Day
ArtSpace
Monday, October 13 ∙ 10:00 am ∙ FREE Admission!
Special art play including African Circle Drumming by Meagan Celeste Napier of The Music Loft of Herndon, and Dance Classes offered by Classical Ballet Theatre at ArtSpace. Award-winning musician Robbie Schaefer of the folk band “Eddie from Ohio” and former program director of Sirius XMs Kids Channel, will perform a child-friendly show at ArtSpace. Bring the kids and the entire family for fun, song and prizes!
Paper Pumpkin Craft
American Girl
Monday, October 13 ∙ 1:00 pm ∙ FREE Admission!
Celebrate autumn! Your girl can make a festive paper pumpkin to take home. Ages: 8+
Enjoy your weekend!
*****
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