Celebrate Valentine’s Day at Jacksonville Zoo with B1G1 Deal until the 14th!

February 12, 2018 By Marijean

Come and celebrate Valentine’s Day at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens!!

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is offering an admission special. Buy one regularly priced adult ticket and receive one free general admission ticket of equal or lesser value. Download coupon here, or be green and show your coupon on your phone. Coupon valid Feb. 10 – 14 only. Cannot be combined with any other coupon, discount or offer including Zoo Value Tickets. One free admission per coupon. One coupon per transaction.

Also, make sure to check out the new tiger cubs that just made their first public appearance on February 10th! the are adorable!

Marijean

My name is MJ. I have two wonderful children and work part time as well as volunteer at my children's school.

Florida Residents receive half off Ripley’s Believe It or Not Tickets until December 20th

December 8, 2017 By Marijean

Florida residents can get all the fun that Ripley’s Believe It or Not! has to offer for half the price.

Ripley’s Florida attractions are offering half price tickets for Florida residents at all Ripley’s Florida attractions from now through December 20.

Participating attractions include:

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Key West Odditorium
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Orlando Odditorium
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! St. Augustine Odditorium, daytime Red Train Tours and Ghost Train Adventure
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Panama City Beach Odditorium

Residents will need to show a local photo ID in order to receive the discount. All adults in the party will need to have proof of residency in order to receive the discount.

Ripley’s Key West Odditorium is located at 108 Duval Street. For more information, please visit www.ripleys.com/keywest.

Marijean

My name is MJ. I have two wonderful children and work part time as well as volunteer at my children's school.

Color Me Mine Studio Opens at Avenues Mall on August 30th!

August 25, 2017 By Marijean

Color Me Mine at The Avenues Mall, Jacksonville, FL

The highly anticipated Color Me Mine Paint-It-Yourself Ceramics Walk-in Studio soon opens on Wednesday August 30, 2017 at The Avenues Mall, Jacksonville, FL. Grand opening is planned for Saturday September 23, 2017.

This walk-in studio will boast well over 400 ceramic items to choose from, including Disney licensed pieces and many other Color Me Mine exclusives, a Design Center featuring 22,000 images and over sixty colors to paint with! Customers will design and paint their pieces however they like. Staff members will be ready with painting tips, tricks, and techniques. Color Me Mine is a perfect outing for families, date night, or even solo. It’s great fun to relax and paint, and even more fun to take the glazed and fired work of art and enjoy it forever!

Color Me Mine is great for birthday parties, showers, handprint keepsakes, fundraisers, Scout events, school programs, and much more! It’s a great way to spend quality time while creating gifts and masterpieces that will last a lifetime. Everyone’s an artist at Color Me Mine!

For more information about Color Me Mine at The Avenues Mall, please visit: www.jacksonville.colormemine.com and on Facebook.

For groups of less than 6 – NO APPOINTMENT NEEDED!

About Color Me Mine Inc.: Color Me Mine is the leader in the paint-it-yourself ceramics industry with 136 studios franchised throughout the world. Each location is an upscale art-as entertainment studio offering unfinished ceramics and other craft media. Customers enter a relaxing environment, choose one of 400 unfinished ceramic pieces, and spend an hour or two painting it to explore their own artistic vision.

Marijean

My name is MJ. I have two wonderful children and work part time as well as volunteer at my children's school.

Cirque Du Soliel’s OVO Returns To Jacksonville In August!!

May 25, 2017 By Heather Little

OVO

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL’S OVO RETURNS TO JACKSONVILLE

FOLLOWING HURRICANE MATTHEW

Cirque du Soleil returns to Jacksonville with its touring arena show OVO after having to cancel shows in October due to Hurricane Matthew.

To honor its commitment in Jacksonville, OVO will be performing at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena from August 2 to 6, 2017.

Thrilling more than 5 million people worldwide since the show premiered in 2009, OVO has embarked on a new journey, performing the same captivating production, now in arenas, giving more people the opportunity to enjoy a Cirque du Soleil show in their hometown.

Ticket Information

Advance tickets for OVO are now available online exclusively to Cirque Club members. Cirque Club membership is free and benefits includes access to advance tickets, special offers and exclusive behind-the-scenes information. To join, please visit www.cirqueclub.com.

Just in time for the holidays, tickets for the general public will be available starting Friday, December 9th, 2016 at www.cirquedusoleil.com/ovo . Adult tickets start at $35 and child tickets start at $25 (subject to change).

About The Show

OVO, meaning “egg” in Portuguese, is a headlong rush into a colorful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement.

When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives. It is love at first sight when a gawky, quirky insect arrives in this bustling community and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye – and the feeling is mutual.

The cast of OVO is comprised of 50 performing artists from 12 countries specializing in many acrobatic acts. One highlight of OVO is the stunning Flying Act where group of scarabs soar high above – from each corner of the stage – and land together on a platform in the middle.

About Cirque du Soleil

The company has brought wonder and delight to more than 160 million spectators in more than 400 cities on six continents. Cirque du Soleil has almost 4,000 employees, including 1,300 performing artists from about 50 different countries. For more information about Cirque du Soleil, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com. To find out more about the ONE DROP Foundation, visithttp://www.onedrop.org.

Heather Little

My name is Heather Little and my husband and I have two sweet girls and one crazy dog. We moved to Florida 6 years ago and have loved every minute of it! I enjoy crafting, good food, shopping, and of course travel!

The Easter Bunny Photo Experience at The Avenues

March 21, 2017 By Marijean

THE AVENUES HOSTS EASTER BUNNY PHOTO EXPERIENCE

Families can also visit the Caring Bunny – a unique event in a subdued environment tailored to special needs children

Simon®, a global leader in retail real estate, is hosting its annual Easter celebration festivities at The Avenues, offering families the chance to participate in traditional and unique seasonal events.

Save time and avoid the line with Bunny by Appointment! Now you can reserve your magical moment with Bunny online at http://simon.noerrbunny.com.

The Bunny Photo Experience begins March 10, 2017 and runs through April 15, 2017 in Center Court. Kids will have the chance to visit with the Bunny and take home a treasured snapshot of the fun occasion.

The sponsors for the 2017 Bunny Photo Experience are The Gymboree Corporation – including its Gymboree and Crazy 8 children’s clothing brands and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment which is celebrating the highly-anticipated release of “Sing,” available on Digital HD March 3^rdand on Blu-ray DVD March 21^st. Come visit the Simon Easter Photo Experience and receive a fun-filled activity sheet, a custom Sing holiday headband, and watch highlights from the movie.

“We love to hold family-friendly events and we always look forward to watching children interact with the Bunny at Easter,” said Ashley Nettles at The Avenues.

The Avenues’ Caring Bunny™ event will offer families that have children with special needs a subdued environment to participate in the Bunny Photo Experience. Caring Bunny, the largest program of its kind, has been developed by Simon and is guided by AbilityPath.org, a national online resource hub and special needs community. Over 90 Simon® properties will host the Caring Bunny this season. Promotional assistance for Caring Bunny has been provided by Autism Speaks.

On April 2^nd from 8 – 10:30AM many steps will be taken to reduce sensory triggers, creating a more comforting environment for children’s cherished visit with the Bunny. The subdued environment is likely to include (specific elements or aesthetics may vary):

• Turning off in-mall music, stopping escalators located near the photo set, dimming the lights and shutting down fountains for the duration of the event.

• Eliminating queue lines through the use of a numbering system whereby guests approach the set when their number is called.

• Special activities geared toward the needs of the child during the ‘wait’ period to help the child understand what activities will occur during the visit.

The Avenues

Bunny Photos: Now – April, 15

Caring Bunny: April 2, 8 – 10:30 a.m.

About Simon

Simon is a global leader in retail real estate ownership, management and development and a S&P100 company (Simon Property Group, NYSE: SPG). Our industry-leading retail properties and investments across North America, Europe and Asia provide shopping experiences for millions of consumers every day and generate billions in annual retail sales. For more information, visit simon.com.

About AbilityPath.org

AbilityPath.org is an online hub and special needs community for parents and professionals to learn, connect and live a more balanced life. The website combines social networking features with expert content fromAbilityPath.org’s team of educators, parents, therapists and medical professionals.AbilityPath.org was created by Community Gatepath, a nonprofit with over 90 years of experience serving families and children with special needs by fostering hope, dignity and independence. AbilityPath.org may also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

About Autism Speaks

Autism Speaks is the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization. It is dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. Autism Speaks was founded in February 2005 by Suzanne and Bob Wright, the grandparents of a child with autism. Mr. Wright is the former vice chairman of General Electric and chief executive officer of NBC and NBC Universal. Since its inception, Autism Speaks has committed more than $500 million to its mission, the majority in science and medical research. Each year Walk Now for Autism Speaks events are held in more than 100 cities across North America. On the global front, Autism Speaks has established partnerships in more than 40 countries on five continents to foster international research, services and awareness. To learn more about Autism Speaks, please visit AutismSpeaks.org.

About Gymboree

Gymboree has a 30-year rich heritage in dressing children, newborn to 12 years old. Gymboree offers colorful, head-to-toe clothing and accessory collections – quality clothes that let kids be kids.

Gymboree is part of The Gymboree Corporation family, which began in 1976 with Gymboree Play & Music, offering parent-child play programs. Today, along with franchised and company-operated Gymboree Play & Music locations, The Gymboree Corporation operates three specialty retail brands – Gymboree, Crazy 8 and Janie and Jack – offering unique, high-quality products delivered with personalized customer service in more than 1,300 stores worldwide and on www.gymboree.com, www.crazy8.com, and www.janieandjack.com.

About Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE) is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is a part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks, and a suite of leading Internet-based businesses. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.