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Sure, you can go a fabulous water park, like Water Country USA or Great Wolf Lodge. You can visit an amusement park like Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Kings Dominion. Or you can check out a fantastic attraction or city Luray Caverns, Virginia Beach, or Washington DC.
But what if you want something really cheap (or free) and close to home?
Check out these cheap or free summer and spring activities!
Free or Cheap Summer Movies
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| See a free movie in the morning, and go to a free beach in the afternoon! |
Regal Cinemas is offering its annual Summer Movie Express starting the last week in June at all locations nationwide, including 24 locations in Virginia. Movies are offered Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 10 am, with two movies to choose from each week. This year's movies include,"Megamind," "Despicable Me," "Chronicles of Narnia," "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," "Karate Kid," and "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs."
One slight change: This year they are charging $1 per person, BUT they'll send that money directly to the Will Rodgers' Foundation. For details, click here.
Unfortunately, AMC Theaters no longer offers its Summer Movie Camp due to low turnout. However, if you go before noon, you can still get cheaper-priced movies.
And for cheap movies year-round near Virginia Beach, check out Cinema Cafe, where you can see first-run movies for $1-$4 every day.
Kids Bowl Free!
Want a great free summer fun activity? Try free bowling.
Sign up for the Kids Bowl Free event. You can sign up for a free summer bowling pass, which lets kids bowl free all summer long. Most locations start the program as early as mid-April.
Just find a participating bowling center near you by clicking here. When you find one, register on that center's page.
When you do, you'll be taken to a page where you can buy a Family Pass. The Family Pass starts at @$25 and lets you bowl two games per person per day all summer (good for up to four members).
Note: You do NOT have to buy the Family Pass to get the Kids Bowl Free deal. If you just want the Kids Bowl Free deal, click the link that says "No thanks" at the bottom of the page. Keep clicking and you'll get to a page where you can print your coupon. Thereafter, just go on the website and enter your password and you'll get passes for two free kids games each week.
AMF "Summer Unplugged" Free Bowling for Kids
Like the Kids Bowl Free deal, the AMF "Summer Unplugged" program lets kids bowl two free games per day when you sign up for their program. Plus, if you register your kids, adults can save with an AMF Summer 17 Plus Pass good for up to 4 people ages 17 and older. For details, go to http://freebowling.amf.com/.
Free Books for Kids!
In my book (pun intended!), the only thing better than a book is a free book. Which is why my family always participates in summer reading programs through Borders and Barnes and Noble.
For some educational but free summer fun, kids can read 8-10 books and get a paperback book absolutely free!
Barnes and Noble - Kids in grades 1-6 read any 8 books and bring in a completed form to the store to receive a free book. They'll be able to choose from over a dozen popular paperback titles. Program starts around May 24th.
To download a pdf of the form with all the details, click here.
Borders - For free summer fun, kids ages 12 and under can read any 10 books and bring in a completed form to the store for a free book. There are about 20 popular paperback titles to choose from. You can start bringing in forms for a free book around June 1st.
Click here to learn more about Border's reading program.
Half Off Books - Half Off Books is offering a $5 Back-to-School Bucks reward to kids ages 14 and under when they read 600 minutes between July 5 and August 7.
Sound too hard? Actually, it's doable if you read just 15 minutes each day! Unfortunately, they don't have locations in Virginia, but maybe they'll have one where you're on vacation or where Grandma lives? Here's the link for their book log.
Free Family Adventures & Movies at the Beach
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| All ready to watch a movie at the beach! |
Free Family Great Adventures Series
Dates: Friday, May 27, Friday, June 3, Thursday, June 23, Thursday, June 30, Thursday, July 14, Thursday, August 4, Thursday, August 18, Friday, September 9
Time: 6 pm to 10 pm on the Beach at 27th Street
Families can join an interactive scavenger-like adventure that will lead you to spots along the boardwalk and Atlantic Avenue as you solve a mystery. End with a family-friendly movie shown on a huge screen on the beach.
Here's more details on the Family Great Adventures Series.
Free Fireworks
Think "fireworks" and you naturally think about the Fourth of July. But Virginia offers free summer fun fireworks all season long, including the following:
Free Fireworks Shows at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront - at 20th Street on select evenings in June, plus Wednesdays and Sundays in July and August, and Labor Day weekend.
Click here for more free fireworks events.
Free Concerts
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| Catch a concert near the romantic Smithfield Inn. |
Check out this list of free concerts in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Norfolk, Williamsburg, and more.
Free Crafts & Sports Workshops
Michael's free summer fun projects range from American Girl crafts, Father's Day mugs, Klutz projects, and glass bead bracelets. See what's coming up near you by going to www.michaels.com.
Lowe's Build & Grow projects usually include woodworking crafts, like wooden race cars and birdhouses. They don't post project dates on their website, so call your local Lowes to check out dates and projects near you. www.lowes.com
New! Free Summer Fun at Bass Pro Shops Summer Camp!
Select Bass Pro Shop's nationwide are offering Free Summer Camp activities Tuesdays and Thursdays and weekends from the end of May through July 10.
Events range from crafts, to a free shooting range, archery, and fishing skills, to s'mores and shooting gallery activities.
Activities and workshops are offered Tuesday & Thursday afternoons from 2 pm to 6 pm, and on Sat/Sun from noon to 4 pm. Crafts are offered Tues/Thurs from 4 pm to 6 pm, and Sat/Sun from 2 pm to 5 pm.
Just go to www.basspro.com for details.
Whatever You Do This Summer, Do it For Less!
I'll show you:
Check out these pages:
Free or cheap things to do in Virginia
How to plan the perfect Virginia Beach vacation
Virginia Beach restaurant deals
Can't decide where to go or what to do? My Attractions page is chock-full of my personal reviews of the best attractions for your buck, from aquariums to amusement parks to presidents' homes!
And whether you're traveling in Virginia, or to anywhere in the US, I'll give you the secrets of how to travel or get entertainment for less, from how to visit museums for "free" to amazing coupon deals.
Just go to my Discount Travel Deals page.
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