If the Kids Are Happy, Everybody's Happy...

By Molly Harrison | Monday, July 5, 2010
Support the N.C. state horses at Corolla Wild Horse Days

Whew! What a wild July 4 weekend. If one more car had driven over one of our bridges, I think our little sandbar would have sunk. * Now that we've all survived July 4 weekend intact, there's only one question - what's next? * Let the good times keep rolling...

If you can get them out of the ocean, you have a lot of options for keeping the kids happily entertained this week:

-- Big on the kid to-do list (but really it's for all ages) is the Corolla Wild Horse Fund's Wild Horse Days on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Corolla. * On Tuesday at the Wild Horse Museum starting at 10 a.m., there will be games and activities, food and sweets, music, carriage rides and more. * On Wednesday at Currituck Heritage Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., there will be a chance to meet and see the horses in action with pony rides and demonstrations. The same day at Corolla Light Town Center starting at 11 a.m. is a great silent action with some really cool loot (including a stay in an oceanfront beach house in Whalehead), plus games and activities for children. * On Thursday starting at 10 a.m. at the Wild Horse Museum there will be games and activities, horse petting, carriage rides, music, food and more...

-- Roanoke Island Festival Park is offering two family friendly shows this week - and both of them have three-day runs. * The Sesame Street Children's Show is on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 10:30 a.m. and features songs and other children's learning musicals with all the well-known characters. The show is indoors and is free. * Also on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday but at 8 p.m. is the play You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. That one is in the Outdoor Pavilion and it's also free. Bring a chair or blanket. * On Saturday at 2 p.m. (indoors and free), see the documentary film Rescue Men: The Story of the Pea Island Life-Savers - a bit of local history presented in an entertaining format. After the show, stop by the Outer Banks History Center at Festival Park to see their collection of documents, photos and materials related to the Pea Island Life-Saving Station...

-- Kitty Hawk Kites is hosting its 31st annual Wright Kite Festival at Wright Brothers National Memorial on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. * There'll be giant kites dancing in the air, stunt kite demos, games, kite making for kids, contests and a lot more...

-- The Lost Colony has got its kid-friendly on, too. * Children love The Lost Colony show itself (Monday through Saturday at 8 p.m.) and they have special child-friendly deals: On Monday and Friday nights one child gets in free with each full-paying ticket; on Saturday one child gets in for half price with each full-paying ticket. * But that's not all The Lost Colony has for kids. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 9:30 a.m., kids can see the play The Tale of the Frog Prince, which is staged by The Lost Colony crew at Waterside Theatre. * On Wednesdays kids can join Waterside Art Wednesdays at 2 p.m. to paint like John White did when he first saw the new world. * On Thursdays from 3 to 5 p.m. they can act like a pirate at Simon's Pirate Adventure or meet the queen at The Queen's Fairy Quest...

-- To connect kids with nature, the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island, Jockey's Ridge State Park and the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education offer special nature-oriented programs every day; Frisco Native American Museum on Hatteras Island offers Birding for Kids on Fridays at 2 p.m.; and Alligator River and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuges have special programs like Seining the Sound, Canoeing, Birding and tram rides during the week...

Teens like the Whalehead Club's Moonlight Legend, Lore and Ghost Tour on Thursday at dusk. Tour the Whalehead Club by lantern light and hear stories of pirates, shipwrecks and ghosts. * Get your tickets early because this tour sells out...

For those of us whose frontal lobes have fully developed, there are many other things to do this week. Some highlights:

Duck's Summer Music Series has acoustic music with Watson & Calhoun on Tuesday and bluegrass with Sandy Mountain Boys on Thursday. * Corolla's Concert Series has rhythm and blues with Pairadocs. * The Whalehead Club also has its Whalehead Wine Festival on Wednesday from 3 to 7 p.m... * Downtown Manteo has its Manteo Wine Festival on the waterfront on Thursdays from 3 to 7 p.m...

The OBX Summer Arts Festival is being held Wednesday at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kitty Hawk from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and features numerous local artists...

The Pit Surf Shop in KDH has its S.A.M. Festival, which stands for Skate, Art and Music, on Friday and Saturday. * Live music, professional skate demos, charity skate events for Surf Aid International, an art show and more...

Your night-out options are off the charts. See our By Night listings for something to do every night whether you're into casual acoustic music and a sunset or a Wet N Wild party...

See our Shopping section for a rundown of sweet deals offered this week, and see our Restaurants section for a showing of daily restaurant specials...

And if you want a good laugh, click here for a hilarious rundown of driving maneuvers seen on the Bypass in the summer months, thanks to Rob Morris of Outer Banks Voice...

About the Author Molly Harrison
Molly Harrison is managing editor at OneBoat, publisher of OuterBanksThisWeek.com. She moved to Nags Head in 1994 and since then has made her living writing articles and creating publications about the people, places and culture of the Outer Banks.