Best Free Family Weekday Events (6/28-7/1)
We've got your week planned with this list of free family events happening all over the Bay. Pack up the kids and head out to enjoy summer...on the cheap!
South Bay
Alphabet Rockers
Wednesday, June 29
10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Los Altos Library
13 South San Antonio Road, Los Altos
Alphabet Rockers
The high energy Alphabet Rockers, whose highly interactive show based on the learning concepts from the K-2 curriculum, mixes hip hop, beatboxing, soul music, imagination, and dance, will be shaking things up at the Los Altos Library on Wednesday. They're sure to have every foot stompin' in the house!
Storytime in the Park
Wednesday, June 29
10 a.m.
Stulsaft Park
3737 Farm Hill Boulevard, Redwood City
(lower playground area off of Farm Hill)
Explore Stulsaft Park through a unique storytime with master storyteller Jim Howland. Hear great stories and meet new friends! Word has it that over 100 kids and parents attended the first event earlier this month. The storytime meets at a different park every week throughout the summer. (link with schedule: http://redwoodcityeblast.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/storytime-in-the-park-wednesdays-visit-parks-hear-stories-read-by-master-storyteller-jim-howland-great-for-kids/)
San Francisco
Circus Bella
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Friday, July 1
Noon to 1 p.m.
Yerba Buena Gardens Esplanade
Mission Street between 3rd & 4th Streets
The invaluable Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, which brings free music and entertainment to families six months out of the year, presents Circus Bella on Friday and Saturday. The circus features trapeze, rope walking, a nine-person juggling act, contortion, and clowning, set to live music drawing from French waltz, New Orleans jazz, klezmer, and American circus march. Kids can meet the artists following each show.
People in the Plazas
Tuesday, June 28
12:50 to 1:20 p.m.
Rincon Center Food Court
101 Spear Street
Take the kids to a lunchtime concert on Tuesday, featuring the Latin jazz rhythms of the Charles Barreda Duo, presented by the Free San Francisco Market Street Music Festival, which hosts several free lunchtime concerts per week.
Marin
Kirk Waller, Storyteller
Wednesday, June 29
3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Mill Valley Public Library, Outdoor Amphitheater
375 Throckmorton Avenue
Mill Valley, California 94941
Award-winning storyteller Kirk Waller, who's known for his ability to enrapture audiences with the spoken word, tells tales from the African American tradition through musicality, mime, and emotion.
Colibrí
Wednesday, June 29
10:30 a.m.
San Rafael Library
1100 E Street, San Rafael
Colibrí (Spanish for hummingbird), perform Latin-infused music using an array of traditional folk instruments, linking children in the U.S. with those in the Spanish-speaking world.
East Bay
Magic Around the World
Thursday, June 30his
4 to 5 p.m.
Berkeley Library
1125 University Avenue, Berkeley
Magician and comedian Phil Ackerly incorporates age-appropriate magic with music, color, laughter, and plenty of audience participation . Look for him at various Bay Area locations throughout the summer. We hope he does the "floating child" trick.
$1 Summer Family Movie Festival
Tuesday, June 28 and Wednesday, June 29
Fairfield Stadium 16 & IMAX (1549 Gateway Boulevard, Fairfield, CA)
Hacienda Crossings Stadium 21 & IMAX (5000 Dublin Blvd, Dublin, CA)
Regal Cinema is offering $1 family movies throughout the summer. This week's features include How to Train Your Dragon The Trumpet of the Swan at Fairfield Stadium 16 and Kung Fu Panda and Mr. Bean's Holiday at Dublin's Hacienda Crossings Stadium.
Leanne Maxwell is the mother of a toddler who loves checking out the many kidcentric activities the Bay Area has to offer. She's also a freelance writer, designer, and all-around web enthusiast. You can find her over at leannemaxwell.com.
