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Mothers ride free with a paying child of any age on Mother’s Day Weekend! See Mother’s Day schedule.
The Snoqualmie Valley Railroad is located at the Northwest Railroad Museum. Purchase railroad tickets at the original Snoqualmie Depot 1890 ticket window. Wander through the depot exhibits about railroad history and the Victorian railroad experience. The Snoqualmie Depot is open to the public 7 days a week year ’round (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day). There is no admission charge. The Museum is open 10am to 5 pm.
The Northwest Railway Museum is a Washington non-profit corporation and is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation. The Museum operates the Interpretive Railway Program called the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad. This five mile common carrier railroad allows museum visitors to experience a train excursion aboard antique railroad coaches through the Upper Snoqualmie Valley. Trains operate on Saturdays and Sundays from April through October. In 2010, trains also run on Memorial Day and Labor Day.
The Museum was founded in 1957 as the Puget Sound Railway Historical Association. In September 1999 the name was formally changed to The Northwest Railway Museum. It is the largest and most comprehensive railway museum in Washington State and is visited by over 80,000 people each year.
Mother’s Day from 1-4pm is always a special time at the Washington Park Arborteum. Kids and families can enjoy fun, plant-themed activities and a walk along Azalea Way, with beautiful azalea bushes and cherry trees in full bloom. There is a free, guided walk from 1 – 2:30pm led by guides who take visitors on a tour of some of the amazing trees and shrubs blossoming in the park this month!
Location for the Mother’s Day event is at the Graham Visitor Center, 2300 Arboretum Drive E, Seattle, 98112. (Google map). Admission and parking are free. For directions and maps click here.
The annual Kirkland Artists Studio Tour (KAST) occurs every year on Mother’s Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00am to 5:00pm. The free self-guided tour includes dozens of local artists showing in unique home studios throughout Kirkland. Explore the scenic neighborhoods of Kirkland on the beautiful shores of Lake Washington. Tour visitors are invited into a variety of different studios, representing dozens of local artists. Browse among new works; watch art making demonstrations; and purchase art directly from the artists themselves.
To pick up a brochure which includes a map of the KAST 2012 Studios and Artists, please visit the Kirkland Arts Center, 620 Market Street, Kirkland WA 98033 (Google map). Smart phone users can directly access our KAST 2012 Google Map for help in navigating the tour.
KAST began in 2004 when a small band of artists decided it was time Kirkland had its own artist studio tour. The artists open their studios once a year on Mothers Day weekend to give the public a rare opportunity to see artists create in their studios. Kirkland Arts Center took on the management of the tour in 2008 as part of new programming initiatives designed to support the arts within the local community.
Here’s a list of places to find a map for Seattle bicycling, a King County bike map or Washington state bike map, plus bicycle maps for other regional and local areas and plenty of useful bicycling information:
Bellevue Botanical Gardens celebrates Public Gardens Day on Friday, May 11, 2012, in keeping with National Public Gardens Day. National Public Gardens Day is an annual celebration of public gardens across America, to raise awareness of the important role botanical gardens play in promoting education and environmental stewardship, plant and water conservation, and green spaces. Like many public gardens around the nation, Bellevue Botanical Garden will celebrate with fun activities throughout the Mother’s Day weekend. Why not make it a family trip and take Mom to Bellevue Botanical Gardens as a surprise? It’s a whole new way to give the gift of flowers, and it’s a FREE gift, too, if you take advantage of a promotion by Better Homes and Gardens magazine and the American Public Gardens Association. Get National Public Gardens Day FREE admission on May 11 when you sign up online, select the garden you’d like to visit, and indicate how many people you want to take with you. You can get FREE admission for up to ten people.
Everyone is welcome to the Earthworks Inaugural Ride for bicyclists to celebrate the restoration of the Herbert Bayer Earthwork Park in Kent on SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012 at 9:00am. Following the Inaugural Ride on June 2, the Earthworks Tour will become a permanent bicycle route and remain open to the public for self-guided tours. The Earthworks Tour will be expanded upon within the coming months and years as new routes become available to bicyclists. Check the earthworks website for trail updates before you head out.
Inaugural Ride:
- When: SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012 at 9:00 AM
- Where: Herbert Bayer Earthworks, Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks Park, 742 East Titus Street, Kent, WA
- Preregistration: It’s free and simple to sign-up for the Inaugural Ride.
Riders can choose from three routes:
- The Easy Ride, recommended for families, is a flat, 12 mile ride to the Green River Natural Resources Area and back. Beginning riders and families with children can ride in a group with experienced ride leaders.
- The Intermediate Loop is a 20 mile ride that takes riders through the Green River Natural Resources Area and out to Lorna Jordan’s Waterworks Gardens. It is also mostly flat with a single, long incline approaching Waterworks Gardens.
- The Advanced Ride follows the 20 mile route but includes a steep hill climb up to the Robert Morris Earthwork that adds 3 miles.
All of the roadways and trails along the tour are paved. Visitors can bike to each location but should plan to walk through the earthworks. Rest areas will be located at the Green River Natural Resources Area and Waterworks Gardens.
The Earthworks Tour is a new bicycle route that is being organized by the City of Kent Arts Commission. The tour connects four iconic landscapes in the Green River Valley that are all internationally recognized, but not well known locally. Three were designed by artists and the fourth is a nature preserve. They are the Herbert Bayer Earthwork, the Robert Morris Earthwork, Lorna Jordan’s Waterworks Gardens and the Green River Natural Resources Area.
Join Cascade Bicycle Club on any of their free daily bicycle rides, offered every day of the year–more than 1,300 rides annually. Rides range from leisurely 10-mile jaunts to strenuous endurance events to multi-day rides and take place throughout the Puget Sound region. Members and non-members are welcome to attend rides.
Check the Cascade Free Daily Ride Calendar. Unless indicated, it is not necessary to RSVP to participate in a ride. Be sure to arrive 15 minutes early to hear the ride briefing. All riders must sign a waiver form. Riders should carry necessary equipment to fix a flat (tube, patchkit, pump). For more information, read about daily rides and ride classifications on their website.
Seattle Theatre Group offers the public a a glimpse behind the scenes at the historic Paramount, Moore and Neptune Theatres. Free tours of each theater is offered once a month on Saturday at 10:00 a.m.
- Paramount Theater tour, first Saturday, 10:00 a.m. Please meet in front of the main entrance of the theatre – on the corner of 9th and Pine – by 10 am. The tour will last approximately 90 minutes and will be lead by members of our well-versed volunteer staff. Restored in 1995 at the cost of $20 million dollars, The Paramount Theatre has been brought back to its original splendor, just as Seattle audiences would have experienced it as they passed through the doors for the first time on March 1st, 1928.
- Moore Theater tour, second Saturday, 10:00 a.m. Please meet in front of the main entrance of the Theatre – on the corner 2nd and Virginia – by 10 am. The tour will last approximately 90 minutes and will be lead by members of our well-versed volunteer staff. Built in 1907, the Moore Theatre is the oldest remaining theatre in Seattle. Twenty-five hundred enthusiastic Seattleites arrived for the opening night celebration. In the last twenty years the Moore has defined itself as a venue for both local community events, such as lectures, beauty pageants, and local dance or musical groups, and as a home for more “alternative” touring musicians and theatre.
- Neptune Theatre tours, third Saturday, 10:00 a.m. Please meet in front of the main entrance of the Theatre – on the corner of N.E. 45th Street and Brooklyn – by 10 am. The tour will last approximately 90 minutes and will be lead by members of our well-versed volunteer staff. On Wednesday, November 16, 1921 ushers dressed in Dutch costumes accompanied patrons to their seats and before a full house, the University Commercial Club presented a dedication ceremony. The opening night screening, Serenade (1921), included live musical accompaniment performed on The Neptune’s three-manual Kimball theater organ, said to be the largest Kimball on the west coast. From opening day to present, The Neptune Theatre has remained a social and cultural hub for countless students and residents.
Mountaineers offer free seminars on hiking designed to answer questions a beginning hiker may have about how to get started. The Beginning Hiking Seminar provides information about what to put in a pack, how to dress for comfort and safety, and what to expect on a hike. Experienced Mountaineer hiking leaders will discuss clothing, boots, and pack, the Ten Essentials*, seasonal trail hazards, where to shop for equipment (and save money), and how to research your hikes. There will be samples of equipment and pictures of favorite hiking places.
- Location: Mountaineers Program Center, 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115 (Google map) is located within Warren G. Magnuson Park.
- When: May 17, 2012 6:30 p.m.
- There is NO COST for this seminar!
- You don’t have to be a Mountaineers member to attend.
- However, sign-up is required for this seminar with a limit of 75.
If you are interested in attending this activity, but are not a member, you can create a FREE guest membership. Registration closes on Thu, May 17 at 2:00 PM.
The Mountaineers was formed in 1906 to explore the wild areas and peaks surrounding the still-young city of Seattle. Today, it is home to around 10,500 active members. Although The Mountaineers has a small full-time staff, nearly 1,000 volunteers run most of the programs. Volunteer leaders do everything from leading trips to teaching classes to promoting their programs. It’s easy to get involved with The Mountaineers. There are trips, classes and events for all experience levels. So if you are an absolute beginner with a desire to get outside, or you are an experienced outdoor enthusiast, Mountaineers has something for you. Members pay annual dues and most trips are free. Courses usually charge a fee, but members find that these fees are less than those of commercial institutions, and members receive a substantial discount on classes offered to the public.
*The purpose of the Ten Essentials has always been to answer 2 basic questions: First, can you respond positively to an accident or emergency? Second, can you safely spend a night—or more—out?
Experience Seattle’s 1962 World’s Fair on the 90-minute Century 21 Walking Tour of the Seattle Center Campus. Tours are led by expert guides from the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) and the Seattle Architecture Foundation. Step back 50 years and experience the cultural, architectural and historical legacy of Century 21.
Tours will be offered April 26 – October 20 every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 10 a.m. and every 1st and 3rd Saturday at 11 a.m. (except Labor Day weekend). Advanced reservations are encouraged, as day-of tickets are subject to availability. Tickets are $5; you may purchase tickets online or in person on the day of the tour. Buy a ticket for the Century 21 Walking Tour through MOHAI’s ticketing site, visit: 3365.blackbaudhosting.com.
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