Monday, May 23, 2011

Summer Staycation Fun in Mount Vernon Ohio



With my husband's work schedule and the rising cost of gas and expenses, we have decided to stay close to home for our summer fun in the sun! That means that we are going to be doing things in and around Mount Vernon, Ohio.

There are tons of things to do either for free or inexpensively in and around our community. Here are some of the activities that are on our summer staycation to-do list:

First up is our list of things to do in town:

FARMER'S MARKET
Every Saturday from May to October, the town holds a farmer's market on the square (in the center of town) from 9am- 12pm. We will definitely be going to this most weekends, as I have a black thumb and can't even keep cacti alive. The farmers market offers a wide range of locally grown produce and fresh baked goods. There is one vendor there who sells the best zucchini sour cream bread! YUMMY!!!


 CHILDREN'S GARDEN
Located at the Knox County Career Center, a Children’s Garden courts kids of all ages. The whimsical garden boasts a multi-colored open-air steel amphitheatre, a giant’s garden with oversized corn stalks and sunflowers, a wishing well, a butterfly house and forts overlooking a model Serpent Mound. It truly is a delight for all ages in every season.


RIVERSIDE PARK and Community parks
One of my childrens' favorite places since we have moved to Mount Vernon is the local parks. Their favorite is Riverside Park with it's newly redesigned playgrounds for big kids and little kids. We will definitely be making weekly trips here.

FAIRS AND FESTIVALS

Every summer Knox County hosts the Knox County fair featuring lots of activities for all ages and a big concert on the last night. This year they are featuring Country music stars Lee Brice and Steel Magnolia. There is something for everyone at the fair--tractor pulls, 4-H kids showing off their projects, fair food and games and lots of other things to do and see.
There are also other festivals and fairs around town, including the Dan Emmett Music and Arts Festival held downtown, the Danville- Howard Turkey festival, Fredericktown Tomato show, and many others!

There are many other activities that we may do around Knox County, Ohio. For more information, please visit: visitknoxohio.org.

Things to do within 30 minutes to an hours drive:
We don't plan on spending ALL of our summer here in town. We do plan on doing a few day trips. The to-dos on our day trip lists include:

We plan on attending the annual Velvet Ice Cream Festival in Utica Ohio during Memorial Day weekend. Ye Olde Mill in Utica is home to Velvet Ice Cream and their 20 acres of activities, including watching them make ice-cream, walking through their museum, a children's playground and of course an ice-cream parlor where you can enjoy many of your favorite flavors.

Every summer we make at least one trip to the Columbus Zoo. It is a great zoo and I am looking forward to seeing their new exhibit--Polar Frontier, featuring 2 wonderful polar bears.

So that is some of our plans for our summer staycation activities in our area. We are going to have fun, not spend a lot of money and just enjoy being with our family and enjoying exploring our community!

What do you have in mind for your summer plans??

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