Friday, April 29, 2011

Go to Zoo and Help a Child

panda

It’s all happening at the zoo this weekend!  This Sunday, May 1st, The 20th Anniversary Big-To-Do at Zoo Atlanta, benefiting Visiting Nurse/Hospice Atlanta’s Children’s Program and CampSTARS. This afternoon of family fun includes a delicious barbeque dinner, an African band, interactive zoo exhibits, orangutan feeding, cotton candy, snow cones, face painting, crafts, rides on the zoo train and carousel, and climbing wall.  The fun starts at 4pm and lasts until 9 at night. 

Friday, April 22, 2011

Happy Easter!

chocegg

Hoping everyone has a peaceful and candy-filled Easter/Passover weekend.  Here are some fun facts about the season: 

  • When taking a bite into a chocolate bunny, 76% of Americans prefer to bite off the ears first. 5% eat the feet first and 4% eat the tail first.
  • During the Easter season, Americans buy more than 700 million Peeps - making Peeps the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy.
  • Ham came to be the traditional favorite for Easter dinner because in pre-refrigeration days, hogs were slaughtered in the fall and cured for six to seven months. Just in time for Easter dinner.
  • Each day throughout the year, 5 million marshmallow chicks and bunnies are produced in preparation for Easter.
  • 16 billion jelly beans are made specifically for Easter which is enough to fill a plastic egg the size of a 9-story building.
  • Eggs, like rabbits and hares, are fertility symbols of antiquity. Since birds lay eggs and rabbits and hares give birth to large litters in the early spring, these became symbols of the rising fertility of the earth at the Spring equinox.
  • The most famous decorated Easter eggs were those made by the well-known goldsmith, Peter Carl Faberge. In 1883 the Russian Czar, Alexander, commissioned Faberge to make a special Easter gift for his wife, the Empress Marie.
  • 57% of kids get up super early on Easter to see what the Easter bunny has brought them.
  • 80% of parents carry on the tradition of the Easter bunny by preparing a surprise Easter basket filled with goodies for their children and 90% of adults hope for their own Easter treat.
  • The first chocolate eggs were made in Germany in the 19th century and remain one of the most popular Easter candies today.
  • In the old days pretzels were associated with Easter because the twists of the pretzel were thought to resemble arms crossing in prayer.
  • The name Easter comes from Eostre, an ancient Anglo-Saxon goddess, originally of the dawn. In pagan times an annual spring festival was held in her honor. Some Easter customs have come from this and other pre-Christian spring festivals. Others come from the Passover feast of the Jews, observed in memory of their deliverance from Egypt.
  • The Easter egg roll on the White House lawn has been a tradition since 1878.
  • After Halloween, Easter is the biggest candy consuming holiday.

 

You can read more Easter Fun Facts here and here.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Monsters on Campus!







Looking for a little magic in you day?  Check out the new exhibit at the Carlos Museum.  Now until June 19th you can wander amongst the monsters of ancient civilization on view now as part of the Carlos' Monsters, Demons, and Winged-Beasts exhibition.  See the Cyclops, peer at a Pegasus, or gander at a Gryphon.  And don't worry; these ancient artifacts probably don't bite!      

Friday, April 8, 2011

Here Comes Peter Cottontail!

The Decatur Business Association is hosting an Easter Egg Hunt next Saturday, April 16th on the square in downtown Decatur.  The Easter Bunny will arrive by firetruck at 10:30am and the Hunt begins at 11am... sharp!  This FREE event is a perfect activity for children ages 0 to 10yrs.  So get your basket ready!   Check out the Decatur Business Association webpage for more details. 
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