From SCNow.com:



Florence School District 3 will hold a yard sale Saturday with proceeds to benefit the Florence Three Educational Foundation.

The yard sale is from 6 a.m. to noon at Main Street Elementary School gymnasium in Lake City.
Items available include clothes, furniture, household accessories and more.

Those interested in donating items should call Yvonne Scott at (843) 374-8652 ext. 1110.

From their website:

"Welcome to the first annual Pee Dee Blues Bash in Florence, South Carolina! Brought to you by the Florence Downtown Development Corp., the Blues Bash is a FREE music festival, celebrating the best of a great American art form, the Blues. We are proud to bring together a talent line-up of some of the most exciting national, regional, and local blues artists on the circuit today, performing on a variety of indoor and outdoor stages, day and night."

Click here for more info!

Today (October 24) is the Fall Frenzy at Lynches River County Park! Taken from their website:

Festival activities will take place from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Walks are scheduled for 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 3:00 PM. Other activities include: hayrides, petting zoo, canoe rides, basket weaving demonstrations, and much more. For more information, call the Environmental Discovery Center at (843) 389-0550.

FlorenceFamilyFun also has a great blog about upcoming church fall festivals and mazes in the area. Check them out!

FREE CLINIC AT LOWE’S:

Here’s the next Lowe’s Build and Grow Clinic…these are FREE to attend! Your child can build a Frankenstring Magic Trick at Lowe’s on Saturday, October 24th from 10:00-11:00 AM! This looks like loads of fun! Register online before you go to make sure you get your spot! Also…if you arrive early enough your child will get a FREE work apron, a FREE set of goggles and MORE!

Click here.

(From SCNow.com):

Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Main Street in Pamplico. There will be amusement rides, live entertainment, food, games, vendors, inflatables, bingo, a tennis tournament, a softball tournament, a classic car show and a beauty pageant. Call festival coordinator Cindy Weatherford at (843) 493-5111 or Pamplico Town Hall at (843) 493-5551.

Taken from Florence Family Fun (who you should totally check out):

"Are you a racing fan? Got kids that like racing? On September 26 and 27, 2009, the Darlington Historic Racing Festival is returning for its second year. There will be question and answer sessions with NASCAR legends, race car showcases featuring stock cars, Indy roadsters and a variety of other cars, exhibition laps, a display and vendor area, autograph sessions, and more. Tickets are free for kids 12 and under. Adults pay $15 per day or $25 for a two-day pass. You can buy tickets online at http://www.darlingtonraceway.com/"

Also, SCNow.com has a great list of all the events for this weekend. Check them out here.

*EDIT* I cannot find a location for South Carolina, but maybe they will update with new locations soon.

AVEENO® CONTINUOUS PROTECTION® Sun Care is a powerful weapon against skin cancer. Early detection is another crucial step for healthy skin. Starting this May, you can get a Free skin cancer screening by a local board-certified dermatologist courtesy of the Road to Healthy Skin Tour. Our customized tour bus will be making stops at over 80 locations across the country through September 2009. Look for it in your area!"

Free Skin Cancer Screening Event Schedule - Date Listing

Join us for our Strawberry Festival, Saturday, May 16, 2009!

Some of our festival activities include:

Field Tours Museum Tours Face Painting

Family Fun Ice Cream Games

Recipe & Art Contests Local Entertainment Horse & Wagon Rides

(This article was taken from Florence Family Fun, and can be found here. Please visit their blog as they are very informative and helpful, and always have the best events listed!)

Every year for several years now, Cornerstone Baptist Church has hosted Kidz Fest. This year’s takes place on Sunday, May 16 from 10 AM to 2 PM. I am always impressed and amazed at what an incredibly fun event they put on for kids and families in the area.

First of all, it’s free - all of it, including the t-shirt they give you when you arrive! Last year’s activities included more bounce castles, slides, and other inflatables than you can count, carnival games (think ring toss, go fish, etc.) with prizes, pony rides (yes, that’s right, free pony rides), fire truck and fire safety exhibits, skits for the kids to watch, crafts, clowns, hay rides, and I’m sure there’s something I’ve forgotten.

Did I mention that they provide lunch for free too? The lunch menu, assuming it hasn’t changed from years past, is hot dogs with all the fixings, baked beans, chips, and homemade desserts (brownies, pound cake, cookies). Drinks are set up outside the dining tent - lots of different choices and always lots of water, all very cold (in ice, not refrigerators, so they are REALLY cold!)

If you’ve never been, one thing that might surprise you is that all the rides and games shut down for a half hour in the morning and then once again in the afternoon. It’s during this time that the gospel is presented to kids and adults alike, usually in a very entertaining manner. My boys and I are still laughing about last year’s skit which starred the lesser known super heroes Flat Man and Bobbin.

If you plan to attend, Cornerstone Baptist Church is located just inside Darlington County at I-20’s exit 137.

REG Free Family Film Festival Beginning June 2009! When school’s out, kids around the country visit selected Regal theatres for the Free Family Film Festival. It’s a fun-filled nine weeks of movies for kids and parents. Since 1991, Regal has provided this service to the community, and best of all it’s FREE!

Selected G & PG movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. First-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity. The Free Family Film Festival is safe, lots of fun and a great way for kids to spend a weekday morning in the summer.

Tickets for our 2009 Free Family Film Festival are exclusively available at select theatres’ box office on the day of the show. Swamp Fox Stadium 14 3400 Radio Road Florence ,SC 29501 843-669-5305 06/09/2009-06/11/2009 Everyone's Hero (G) Madagascar 2: Escape To Africa (PG) 06/16/2009-06/18/2009 Mr. Bean's Holiday (G) Kung Fu Panda (PG) 06/23/2009-06/25/2009 Kit Kittredge: American Girl (G) Shrek The Third (PG) 06/30/2009-07/02/2009 The Tale Of Despereaux (G) Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG) 07/07/2009-07/09/2009 Charlotte's Web (G) Surf's Up (PG) 07/14/2009-07/16/2009 Horton Hears A Who (G) Journey To The Center Of The Earth (PG) 07/21/2009-07/23/2009 Space Chimps (G) Star Wars: Clone Wars (PG) 07/28/2009-07/30/2009 Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Veggie Tale Movie (G) Spiderwick Chronicles (PG) 08/04/2009-08/06/2009 Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G) Nim's Island (PG)

The Flossip is giving away one ticket to the Humane Society's Bone-e-fit over at her blog. This is going to be a great event that you definitely don't want to miss!

Thursday, May 7, 2009
Time: 7:00pm - 11:00pm
Street: 405 Coit Street
City/Town: Florence, SC

Tickets may be purchased at Porter’s Gift Shop, Fisher Jewelers, The Horned Puffin and Woofers. T-shirts available in youth small, medium and large at Porter’s

Tickets for this event are $75.00
Great LIVE music
Included will be food from all Florence’s Best Restaurants
Full OPEN bar provided by Mickey Finn’s http://mickyfinns.com/
Silent Auction filled with spectacular items, dinners and original art work

Make sure to visit the Florence Flossip to enter for your free ticket! Enter TODAY!

Anybody want to go to Atlanta, GA for the Atlanta ALIVE! Expo? Come on, it's not that much of a drive! If you do, we've got free tickets AND $3 off of parking.

Here are the details:

Alive! Expo is "The Natural Products & Green Living" consumer event. Every year Alive! Expo brings together local and national companies that specialize in natural and organic products, natural and organic foods, environmental, Green and Eco products for the home, pets, and the whole family, recyclable products, naturopathic & alternative practitioners, chiropractors, vitamins and supplements, as well as health food retailers and community non-profit organizations. At the expo, companies showcase information about their products and services to thousands of individuals interested in leading a green, clean and healthy lifestyle. Alive Expo is a fun and exciting weekend event for the entire family.

Our mission is to inspire and encourage individuals to embrace a life of health, wellness, fitness, environmental and green living through awareness of natural, organic and alternative products and solutions, advanced medicine research, education, nutrition, exercise and lifelong benefits of living a green, clean and healthy lifestyle.

May 16-17, 2009
Saturday: 10:00am - 7:00pm
Sunday: 11:00am - 6:00pm

Georgia World Congress Center
Hall C1
285 Andrew Young International Blvd., NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30313-1591

For tickets, click here and enter the promo code COMCAST. They will email you the ticket.

For the $3 off of parking, click here.

The 2009 Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program with Percy Jackson and the Olympians, is a fun and easy way for your children to earn free books. Your children can read any eight books of their own choosing, write about their favorite part of each book in the Summer Reading Journal (download and print out on Barnes and Noble website) and bring completed Reading Journal to a Barnes & Noble bookstore between May 26th & September 7th, 2009. Your child will then get to pick a free book from a list of exceptional paperback titles*.

This year they have also added a chance to win an Autographed Percy Jackson Novel!

From the Barnes and Noble website - "* Eligible books will be listed on the coupon. Choices must be made from available stock. No special orders. Limit of one (1) form per school-age child (grades 1-6), please. Incomplete forms will be ineligible for free books."

You can learn more about the program and print out the Summer Reading Journal by click on the Barnes and Noble Link above. Here's a direct link to the Summer Reading Journal.

This is a great opportunity to have your children get in some summer reading and earn a free book. I had many of the readers of Fun 4 The Children write in about last years program, to let me know that their children participated and enjoyed earning free books.

Happy Reading!

Our Florence location is here:



This was originally found at Fun 4 The Children. Thank you!

Our nearest location is Charleston, SC. There will be free theater performances for one night only. Click here to be notified when the schedule is up for 2009.

Good Living Marketplace on Cargill Way & Burry Park
AND "Marketplace Saturday" Downtown Sidewalk Sale are turning on the lights and opening the doors in Hartsville.

May 2
9 AM to 2 PM
Cargill Way AND Downtown Hartsville

On Cargill Way you will find something for everyone from organic products, fresh produce, brooms, flowers, old coins, strawberries, plants, to children's wooden toys, great books, fine art, handcrafted jewelry, handmade furniture, and much, much more. Plus great goodies for your tummy.

Mother's Day Specials can be found by visiting our local merchants downtown Hartsville. Look for balloons, open doors, great smiles and great prices. You'll be surprised what you'll find inside.

Bring your family and friends for another community "Marketplace Saturday" in Hartsville.

(This original article can be found here.)

A "Gardening for Wildlife" workshop will be held at the Environmental Discovery Center on Saturday, May 2 from 10:00-11:00 AM. The presentation will focus on the certification process needed to have a yard recognized as a Certified Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation. Originally known as the Backyard Wildlife Habitat program, it began in 1973 in response to an article written by the National Wildlife Federation that encouraged people to landscape and garden in a more sustainable way.

The Gardening for Wildlife workshop will help you learn how to restore wildlife habitat to your yard, no matter the size. Once you create your habitat, you can submit an application and get your yard certified as one of the thousands of Certified Wildlife Habitat sites across the country and world.

For more information, visit the website here.

Where: At the Agriculture Building/Barn, Lake City
Friday, May 1, 2009
For more information call the National Bean Market Museum (843) 374-1500

(This article is from Florence Family Fun.)



Lowe's:

• May 9: Build a Planter
• May 23: Ready-to-Go Kit

Stop by Lowe’s this Saturday morning between 10:00 AM and 11:00 AM and you and your children can take part in their Build and Grow clinic. Lowe’s provides everything free of charge, and the safety glasses and work aprons are the kids’ to keep. Lowe’s offers Build and Grow clinics on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. It’s always a good idea to check the Lowe’s Build and Grow web site to be sure, though. Last month they didn’t follow their regular schedule. (If you do go to the web site, you’ll see links to register for the clinic. You do not need to do this in order to go. Just show up between 10 and 11 AM on the designated Saturday and there will be plenty of kits available.)

Home Depot

Home Depot’s Kids’ Workshops take place on the first Saturday of every month from 9 AM to Noon. The stated age range is 5 to 12, but with a parent’s help, kids as young as 3 can enjoy it.

ALL YOU magazine will be holding a special program in 1,000 Walmart Supercenters on Saturday and Sunday, April 25th and 26th, called the ALL YOU Reality Checked Sampling Booth. Come check out our booth and receive free product samples and realistic travel tips - all tried and tested by ALL YOU readers! You may have visited our Yes, You Can! program in October, and we have worked to incorporate your helpful comments. Once again, we would love to have you visit the program and hear your feedback after the event!

The info on the Florence event is below, or you can click here for a list of other participating locations.

Walmart Supercenter
2014 SOUTH IRBY STREET
FLORENCE, SC 29505
Event Date: 04/25/2009
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM