Are you in a fun rut? You know the signs: Your weekends start to all look the same, your date nights stay within a two-mile radius of your house, and you’ve got a “been there, done that” attitude about things to do in your community.
Maybe it’s time to start thinking like a tourist.
When you go on vacation, you probably research the area to discover local activities, restaurants, special events, cultural happenings, must-see places to visit, and fun-but-affordable things to do. In other words, you think like a tourist. Why not apply the same tourist strategy for your hometown? You’ll uncover new restaurants, community festivals, concerts, cultural events, and more to keep your family busy for months. Jump-start your fun by visiting memphistravel.com or try these ideas:
Community Events and Festivals. Skip the weekly pizza-and-Netflix night for a change and head out to a special event or festival in your community. Whether you’re looking for a great ethnic/food event like an Italian festival, wine tasting, food truck round-up, Renaissance fair, model railroad exhibit, or craft show, you can find events and festivals to appeal to a variety of ages and interests. Even visiting a farmers market can be an adventure. To find area community festivals and events, check out the calendar in this issue and at memphisparent.com.
Colleges and Universities. You don’t need to wait until your kids are college-bound to take advantage of all the happenings on your local college campus. Check out many of the other college events open to the community, such as plays, a cappella performances, concerts, art exhibits, gardening workshops, guest lectures, planetarium shows, fitness challenges, book fairs, improv comedy shows, and more. For details about college events open to the public, contact your local public and private state colleges and universities, as well as community colleges in your area.
Public Library. Think beyond summer reading programs and toddler story times (although those are both great options if you’ve got younger kids). Did you know that many libraries offer book clubs, computer classes, small business workshops, teen clubs, and special events such as health seminars, book signings, puppet shows, speaker presentations, and arts-and-crafts classes? Public libraries offer most, if not all, of these events for free or very low cost to the community. To find your local public library, as well as academic, national, school and specialty libraries, visit lib-web.org.
Museums. History, science, and art — oh my! Local museums bring culture alive in your community, offering a lot more than just their regular exhibits. Museums host a variety of events all year long, from traveling exhibits to hands-on family days, 3-D IMAX movies, black-tie events, speaker series, and much more. Plus, if you join your local museum, it might be part of a reciprocal program through the ASTC Travel Passport Program that allows you to visit 280 museums across the world for free or at a discounted admission. For details, visit astc.org/passport. Many children’s museums, like the Children’s Museum of Memphis, offer a similar deal through the ACM Reciprocal Network, which includes 50 percent off general admission to 200 museums in the U.S. and Canada. For details, visit cmom.com.