Do you picture February as a cold and barren month with not much to do? Think again!
These wintry activities for the whole family will make February 2016 one to remember.
1. Winter Frolic at the Mequon Nature Preserve (Free!)
Saturday, Feb. 6 from 10:00-4:00
This completely free event includes sleigh rides through a restored prairie, meet and greets with Frozen characters, tractor rides, a petting zoo, a dog sled demonstrations, ice fishing, snow shoeing, bon fires, s'mores, storytime and live music. There will also be a Winter Farmer’s Market featuring winter veggies, cheese, apples, baked goods, honey, candy, chocolate, glass jewelry, wood products, wool products, and more.
Park at Spirit Life Church (9455 N 76th St, Milwaukee) and a free shuttle will get you to where the fun begins. Handicap parking is available at the main building. You can drop off family and friends at the main building before heading to the shuttle. Volunteers will be at the main building to help direct you.
2. Winterfest in Brown Deer Park (Free!)
Saturday, Feb. 6 from 10:00 - 4:00
This event is free and open to the public. Most events take place outside the Brown Deer Club House. Sprecher Brewery is the food vendor. Enjoy geocaching, fat tire biking, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, and s'mores at the fireplace. Please bring any gently used or new winter clothing you don't need, and the items will be donated to COA Youth & Family Centers.
3. Kids Dream Winter Film Series
February 5 - March 20 at participating Marcus Theaters
Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 10 a.m.
Admission only $3.00!
Concessions Specials: $2.75 Popcorns and $2.75 Fountain Drinks
Looking to stay warm indoors? View your favorite family flicks for just $3.00 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 10:00 starting February 5th at participating Marcus Theatres locations!
For free tickets to the show, visit one of the participating agents at American Family Insurance, and you can receive two FREE tickets to your choice of this year's titles!
Schedule:
February 5-7: Minions
February 12-14: Goosebumps
February 19-21: Hotel Transylvania 2
February 26-28: Pan
March 4-6: Home
March 11-13: Too Exciting To Announce!
March 18-20: Too Exciting to Announce!
Special sizing applies to promotional $2.75 popcorns and fountain drinks. Titles and dates are subject to change. All titles will be show in standard 2D only, and are rated PG. In accordance with MPAA, PG titles should be investigated by parents before they let their younger children attend.
Nearby Participating Theaters: Hillside Cinema in Delafield
Majestic Cinema of Brookfield
Menomonee Falls Cinema
North Shore Cinema
Ridge Cinema in New Berlin
South Shore Cinema in Oak Creek
Southgate Cinema in Milwaukee
4. Family Fun Walk with Historic Milwaukee
Sunday, Feb. 7 at 1:00 p.m.
HMI Members: Free
Non-Members: $10
Ages 7-17: $2
Ages 6 & Under: Free
RSVP Required
Historic Milwaukee has created a brand new, family-friendly tour! Geared to ages 6-12, this special winter tour winds through the skywalk system overlooking downtown for a unique perspective and brings the early history of Milwaukee to life. Highlights of the tour include: early topography, Native Americans and their habitats, fur traders, explorers, early villages, the bridge wars, Milwaukee’s waterways as well as Milwaukee’s three founders, Byron Kilbourn, Solomon Juneau and George Walker.
The tour will visit the interiors of several buildings along the way.
The tour meets at 1 pm in the main atrium of the Milwaukee Center, at 111 E. Kilbourn Ave. and concludes at the Plankinton Building at 161 W. Wisconsin Avenue. The tour guide can assist you in returning to the tour’s starting location.
This tour is FREE to HMI members at the Senior Couple level or higher (limit 2 adults and 4 children 17 & under).
5. Ultimate Dinosaurs opens at Milwaukee Public Museum
Sunday, Feb. 7 - May 15th, 2016
The newest exhibit to arrive at the Milwaukee Public Museums is Ultimate Dinosaurs. The exhibit showcases some of the most spectacular dinosaur discoveries and cutting-edge scientific research from the last two decades. Evolved in isolation in the Southern Hemisphere, this exhibit reveals bizarre, unusual-looking dinosaurs virtually unknown to most North Americans. Through the use of augmented reality technology, full-scale dinosaurs are transformed into flesh-covered animated beasts.
6. Celebrate Valentine's Day with your kids
We've put together a great list of Valentine's Day weekend events for your whole family to enjoy.
7. Ice Fishing Clinics for kids (Free!)
Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016
9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Brown Deer, 7835 N. Green Bay Rd.
Dineen, 6901 W Vienna Ave
Humboldt Park, 3000 S. Howell Ave.
McCarty Park, 8214 W. Cleveland Ave.
Scout Lake, 5902 W. Loomis Rd. (wheelchair accessible)
Take your children, age 15 and under, to a free ice-fishing clinic in your Milwaukee County Parks.Members of local fishing clubs will teach ice-fishing basics to ensure safe and fun winter fishing. The indoor instructional component of the program will go on no matter what the weather; the ice-fishing component is dependent upon the weather and ice conditions. Clinics will begin on the hour from 9 a.m.–2 p.m. All fishing equipment will be furnished. Children under 5 must be accompanied by an adult. No pre-registration is required for individuals--if you have a group of 20 or more, please call in advance. This program is free and open to the public.
8. Tales by the Fire: Jack and the Beanstalk
Feb. 20th from 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts
This popular family series returns with one-hour performances for children of all ages. Join in for seasonal storytelling by the fireplace and stay for treats following the performance.
Jack & the Beanstalk tells the classic tale of a young boy you sells the family cow to a mysterious stranger for a handful of magic beans. Humor and adventure ensure as Jack learns the importance of being kind to others. Presented by the Florentine opera Company.
9. Cedarburg Winterfest (Free!)
Feb. 20-21
If there's any event that's worth a bit of a drive, it's a festival in Cedarburg. This year's theme is "Cedarburg Salutes America." Check out the glistening Ice Carving Contest along Cedarburg's main street, Individual & Restaurant Chili Contest, the Grand Parade with fire trucks & costumed characters, and the hilarious Costumed Bed Races on Ice Competition at Mill Pond.
Other fun events include the Sunday morning Pancake Breakfast, Dog Pull Competition, the Kid's Egg Hunt, and the new Snow Bowling Tournament.
10. Symphony Sunday
Sunday, February 28th at 3:00 p.m.
Pabst Theater
Price $8 seniors, students,and children, $14 adults
Festival City Symphony welcomes children to these special Symphony Sunday concerts, which are most appropriate for grades 2 and up. Prior to each concert at 2:45 p.m., Jayne Perkins presents “Children's Program Notes,” offered to help children become familiar with the music they are about to hear. Conductor Monte Perkins will also include descriptive program information from the stage.
On Sunday, February 28, 2016, Milwaukee’s Festival City Symphony will perform “Finnish with Swedish and Ilana”. The concert will open with the beloved “Dance of the Hours” by Amilcare Ponchielli, known as the ballet for hippos in Disney’s “Fantasia.” Next, the concert will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Finnish master Jean Sibelius with his brilliant “Symphony No. 5.” Then Milwaukee-based soloists Stephen Swedish, piano, and Ilana Setapen, violin, will join FCS for Felix Mendelssohn’s virtuosic “Concerto for Violin and Piano.”
Individual tickets may be purchased by calling the Pabst Theater Box Office at 414-286-3205 or online at pabsttheater.org.