Weekend Wrap-Up June 9-11

Bikes and planes, gardens and nature…prepare to get on a bike, in a plane, and dig into our natural world! Go ahead and pedal as fast as you can, but don’t forget to take the time to smell the roses.

 

1. Celebrate this weekend on your bike because it’s Bike Week, Halifax! Ride around the neighbourhood on a nice evening, ditch the car when you can, and participate in one of the many family-friendly cycling events in the city! The Halifax-Dartmouth Ferry has been free all week and will be until Sunday; it’s Bike to School Day on Thursday; a Making Tracks Workshop for cycling safety and confidence will be hosted at the Captain William Spry Public Library Thursday evening from 6-8; MEC will be personing a Mobile Bicycle Maintenance Station from 2:30-4:30 at Alderney Gate Public Library; and a Bike Scavenger Hunt starts at the Dalhousie Bike Centre at 12 on Saturday. There’s a Bike Rodeo at Mulgrave Park from 1-3 on Saturday; a Bicycle Carnival at the Deanery from 1-6 on Saturday; and there’s a Bike-In Movie on the Halifax Commons, the event runs from 6-10 and the movie, Wadjda, about a young Saudi Arabian girl determined to get a bicycle, will start when it’s dark enough. Finally, the week reaches the finish line with the Southwest Sunday 3km Family Ride, sign in at 10 at the Oval and start riding at 11. Happy trails!
2. For the third year in a row, the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum is hosting a Family Fun Day and BBQ! It begins at 10 on Saturday and there is something to wow anyone of any age! The fact that humans have figured out how to put something that weighs hundreds of thousands of kilograms in the air and have it stay there is nothing short of an engineering miracle. There will be a team of volunteers standing by to entertain the kids, feed you a burger, and explain how the phenomenon of flight works, so propel your family down there and support this fantastic museum!
3. We are sure you’ve gathered by now that our spiffy country is turning 150 years old, but did you know that the Halifax Public Gardens is also celebrating their sesquicentennial? Count your 150 lucky maple leaves that we have such a beautiful, elderly, flowery space right in the heart of the city and celebrate with the Friends of the Public Gardens at this free event from 11-5.
4. The kids can discover the fascinating world of nature in a most delightful way with the Young Naturalists Club who are celebrating their 10 year anniversary with a NatureBlitz! Meet at Sir Sandford Fleming Park (AKA the Dingle) at 1 to complete nature challenges with local nature experts, then partake in cake and claim prizes!

Missing a road-trip suggestion? This Weekend Wrap-Up’s road-trip worthy recommendation was a little buried in Bike Week—The Deanery Project Bicycle Carnival, in beautiful Lower Ship Harbour, 65km east of Halifax, is where we are sending you this Saturday afternoon. Bring a bike or borrow one of theirs and participate in group rides, clinics, performances, crafts, and more! Admission is $25 for families.