The event will be held January 24-26, 2014 and will feature educational workshops, outdoor excursions, children's activities and an exhibit hall at Princess Anne Recreation Center. The Festival Kick-Off features keynote speaker, Noah Strycker, Associate Editor of Birding magazine, well-known writer and "bird man." Strycker will discuss his latest project, Bird World, a book about the fascinating parallels between bird and human behavior. There is no cost to attend the kick-off, but registration is required. 

How to Register

Registration is available online through EZreg (with your client barcode & family PIN), in-person at any Virginia Beach Recreation Center, or by mailing in a registration form. 

If you are always on the look out for fresh, seasonal produce, you may want to consider signing up for a CSA. CSA stands for community-supported agriculture and it's basically a partnership between a farmer and consumer, where the farmer offers "shares" of produce for the consumer to purchase. As a CSA member, you pay at the onset of the growing season for a share of the anticipated harvest. Once harvesting begins, you receive weekly shares of seasonal vegetables and fruits.

So why sign up for a CSA instead of just going to the grocery store's produce section? Here are a few good reasons:

- Support local farmers;

- Get the freshest seasonal produce;

- Enjoy convenient one stop pick-up of your share;

- Try new foods and new recipes;

- And last, but not least - be green! Not only do you cut out the travel, you also cut way down on the packaging of your food.

Don't wait for your food to travel around the world to get to you. Eat locally and enjoy the food less traveled! Check out Buy Local Hampton Roads' Local Food Finder to see which local farms offer CSA memberships.

Looking for a new park to explore? Want to find a kayak launch? Try out Park Finder, a tool that allows you to search for a city park by name, location and/or amenities. Search results display both in a list and on a map, and selecting a park allows you to view details including address, amenities, hours and driving directions.

You can use Park Finder on your desktop computer, laptop, tablet and on most smartphones. We've added a link for Park Finder on our homepage, or you can go directly to VBgov.com/ParkFinder. 

Bow Creek Recreation Center is closed for a long-term modernization project. 

Don't forget that your membership is good at all Virginia Beach Recreation Centers! If your usual center is closed for maintenance, take the opportunity to visit another center. Use this locator to help you find one!