Fourth of July Fun

   
     Looking for things to do on the Fourth? There is no shortage of fun activities in and around St.Cloud. 
     What would the Fourth of July be without fireworks? The sparkles start at 10pm. Head down to Hester Park for a sweet place to watch them. The St.Cloud Municipal Band will play there from 8:30-10:00. Or you might want to go to Wilson Park which is another great place to watch the fireworks. Robby Vee and His Rock-n-Roll Caravan will play from 7:00-10:00 there. If you are feeling adventurous you can take your boat on the Mississippi River to watch the fireworks. 
     Reserved Seating Areas for members of the US military and their families is available at Wilson Park.  There are FREE activities in both parks. Local vendors will be selling food and beer.
     For more info go here.

     

     Ready to Rock the Fourth? The town of St. Joseph (one of our neighbors) has a big Fourth of July celebration that actually starts on the evening of July 3rd. It's called Joe Town Rocks. Starting at 5pm  you will find Bingo, games and food on the parish grounds. 

5:30 the Festival opens with prayer.

6pm The FREE Joe Town Rocks concert begins with The Graduates.

7pm The Crown Jewels, a Queen tribute band performs.

8:30pm Matt Vee Family & Friends perform a celebration of Neil Diamond songs.

10:15pm Fireworks

10:30 Maiden Dixie performs

     Then on the Fourth St. Joe has a parade at 10am. There are activities going on all afternoon on the parish grounds. 

You can check it all out here.

A Gardener's Delight

     Have a green thumb or wish you had a green thumb? This is your place to shop!! Woods Farmer Seed & Nursery has everything you need. (Technically they are not in St.Cloud but they used to be!)

     You will find:

  Pots

Tools

Seeds

Fertilizers to help boost your plant growth.

Help for those unwanted pests.

 And of course...PLANTS!!

     Woods has lots of annuals, perennials, vegetable plants, trees and shrubs to name a few! Their landscape team can help assist you with your landscape projects. 

They also carry unique gifts.

Love the frogs! Woods also has an extensive collection of items for Fairy Gardens. Every garden needs some whimsy, don't you think?

We can't forget our feathered friends.

     No matter what your green thumb needs the friendly and knowledgable staff will help you out. Here you see Tom Woods helping some customers. He is always ready to share his knowledge with you and get you on your way to happy gardening. I think he can answer any question you have on planting, growing and caring for your plants and trees!

Woods Farmer Seed & Nursery hours are:

Mon-Fri. 8 a.m. -9 p.m.

Sat. 8 a.m. -6 p.m.

Sun. 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

They are located at 2801 1st Street South  Waite Park

Their phone number is 320-252-5234

One Great Library!

    Do you like to read? Want to use the Internet but don't have a computer? Need a quiet place to study? Your club needs a place to meet? Wish you had some different books to read to your little ones?  Need a new ebook? This is your place...all of this and so much more!

     The Great River Regional Library is located downtown St.Cloud. 
1300 W.St. Germain Street. Most days they are open 10 a.m.- 9 p.m. Fridays until 6 p.m. and Saturdays until 5 p.m. The library is closed on Sundays. You can find more info here.

     My grandkids and I love to come here. There is a huge selection of books for little ones, elementary age and preteens. I've been bringing them here during the summer for story time since they were toddlers. Many summers they participated in the summer reading program.  

     Upstairs there is a section of Young Adult books along with Fiction and Nonfiction books for adults. 

     

         There are newspapers, magazines and computers up here too.

You'll find quiet places to study or just relax with a good book or watch the traffic go by.

          The library has meeting rooms that you can reserve. You can also shop at the Friends of the Library Bookstore.

     The friendly library staff will help you pick out a book or check out a book.

     This is a great place to come with your family or by yourself. You can cool off during the summer--and it's FREE!  Stop by and check out what's happening at the Great River Regional Library!

Oh FiDDLESTiX!

     

     Love, love the name of this cute Children's Boutique. Love, love even more the adorable children's clothing in this store! Patrice Smith the owner told me she wanted to have a store that carried unique and different clothing items for kids. That's exactly what this shop has.

     FiDDLESTiX carries girls' clothing from infant to size 14. Boys' clothing infant to size 5. Prices range from about $20-$70. (There was also a clearance rack--who doesn't love a good sale!)

     FiDDLESTiX is located in the Regency building downtown St.Cloud. Their hours are Wed.-Friday  10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

          The shop features some fun things like this tea set that was Patrice's and then her daughter's. (I wonder if the table and chairs is for sale? You'll have to stop in and ask.)
  

     FiDDLESTiX also carries accessories like socks, shoes, hats, bow ties and American Girl doll clothes. 

     Patrice is so helpful when shopping in her store. My sister and I were there a few days ago. My sister was shopping for a baby gift and Patrice helped her put together the cutest little outfit! 

     

     I have my eye on a sweet little dress in the shop. My daughter is pregnant and I have my fingers crossed that she has a girl. Oh the fun we could have shopping for a little girl here!

     You can reach FiDDLESTiX at 320-761-9774 or follow them on Facebook:  www.facebookcom/FiddlestixBoutique

Granite City Days 2016

 

   It's one of our favorite weeks of the year! Granite City Days is this week and there is tons of fun happening. Here is a quick run down for you. (It all starts on Thursday and runs through Sunday.)

Thursday, June 23
SCSU Lemonade Art Fair and Concert  11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Little lemons are and entertainment at the Art Fair 11a.m.-6 p.m.
St.Cloud Symphony Orchestra Concert at 7:30 p.m. 
All of this takes place on the SCSU campus and is FREE!

Lemon Twist Tour Fine Art & Historic Homes   12-6 p.m.

Medallion Hunt

Friday, June 24
Beaver Island Canoe Rides  3 p.m.-6 p.m.  Traveling from Beaver Island to River Bluffs Park

Liberty Block Party  5-9 p.m.  Herman's Hermits headlines the concert.  It will be held at Whitney Park. This concert is also FREE!

Saturday, June 25
The Granite City Days Parade starts at 10 a.m.

The movie "Swiss Family Robinson" is being shown at the Paramount Theater downtown at 1:30 p.m.

Gran Fondo Bike Ride starts at 8:00 a.m.

Sing! St.Cloud Karaoke contest. Guest performers Tonic Sol Fa and Justin Ploof and the Throwbacks  5:00 p.m.

Sunday, June 26

Civil Air Patrol Fly-in Pancake Breakfast at the St.Cloud Regional Airport  8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Granite City Days/Scar dolls/WJON 5K run starts at 8 a.m.

Fishing Derby and Outdoor Expo  10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Optimist Family Fun Day Activities  11 a.m.-4 p.m. at Lake George

For more info go here.

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for...

     ICE CREAM!!  I think I could eat it every night! So if you are like me, you will want to find a place to get scrumptious ice cream treats. One of my favorites is here in St.Cloud is Cold Stone. If you've never eaten at a Cold Stone you are in for a treat. Here you get to choose from a menu of pre-designed treats or you can pick your ice cream flavor and add mix-ins. It's called Cold Stone because they mix your ice cream and fixins on a "cold stone".

   

     My absolute favorite creation is the Founder's Favorite. Brownies, nuts, fudge and ice cream...can't beat that. Although the Cookie Minster, Mud Pie Mojo, Banana Carmel Crunch--who am I kidding. They are all really good!!

                  You can get your ice cream in a cup or a waffle cone.

     It's a great place to find a treat for young and old. Hard part is choosing the mix-ins! So many to choose from. You can eat inside or sit at one of the tables out front.

     Cold Stone has ice cream cakes, cookies and cupcakes to take along with you.

     You can also pick up quarts of their Signature Creations.

     An added bonus is that you can sign up online to join the Cold Stone Club. Every so often I get an email with a BOGO free coupon. They also have a treat for you on your birthday. (go here to join.)

     Cold Stone is located in the corner of a strip mall at 3959 2nd St. S. Their hours are 11 a.m.-10p.m. M-Th and11:00 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri-Sun.