Half the battle as a parent in 2020 has been finding out what's still happening.
You want it to be safe. You need it to be convenient. But if you don't know it's there, you can't do it.
As a mom of a five-year-old and seven-year-old, once the initial shock and drama of the pandemic wore off, I realized that I needed a way to find out what was still going on. One of the first things I looked for was the trusty Macaroni Kids local event calendar. And it was still there, albeit struggling at the time to pull together events. When the local mom publisher retired over the summer, I was crushed--and applied for the unpaid job. That's how important this calendar is to me and my family.
But I know that organizations are still reeling from the changes that 2020 has brought. And parents are still reeling from the fallout of a changing world.
And every family situation is different.
- Some families need super-safe options to protect vulnerable family members
- Some families need childcare options to let essential workers keep working
- Some families need support and assistance to make it through right now
- Some families are able to help others
Macaroni Kid local publications exist for one reason: to bring parents and local organizations together. In the next year, you can expect to see more hosted local Macaroni events and activities, and information-packed directories, all designed to do the same thing.
Bring parents and local organizations together.
And while I'm proud of the Event Calendar we've got rolling, I know there are more events and more details that could be provided. That's why I'm asking for YOUR help.
That's why I'm asking you to be my eyes and ears, and help me bring the information to the parents.
Here at Macaroni Kid Franklin/Spring Hill (WillCo), our Event Calendar listings are FREE. We don't charge local organizations for the listings, and in fact WE WANT MORE.
Which brings me to my "big ask"--can you please help spread the word? Every week (sometimes every day!) I'm searching for new listings to put on our calendar, but I know we could get more kid-tivities on our calendar!
So if you know someone who's in charge of local event scheduling for your church, your daycare, your favorite restaurant--send them my way!
It's EASY and FREE to submit events for our calendar.
Content for the Event Calendar can include:
- Kids Eat Free Events (send the manager my way or message me yourself with the intel!)
- Free Introductory Classes
- Food drives
- Try-outs for Local Shows
- Vacation Bible School
- School Break Camps
- Essential Worker Support
- Recurring Free Events for Kiddos
- Online Workshops
- Homeschool Activities
- Longterm Homeschoolers
- COVID Homeschoolers
- Remote Learning Support and Tutoring
- Classes for Kids or Kids and Parents
- Cooking
- Crafts
- STEM
- Fundraising Events at Local Restaurants
- PTO Events for Local Schools
- Membership Drives with Activities
- Festivals and Events
- Is it an Event for Kids? Bring it On!
If you know of someone putting events together for kids, or a business owner making specials available to kids and their families (hello, kids eat free nights!), it would be the hugest favor in the world to me if you'd help me bring them together with the moms and dads and grandparents in the area.
And while putting the free Event Calendar is a huge labor of love for me at the moment, I can't possibly do as good a job at putting the event information together as the event sponsor or business owner could do! While I do the best I can, I'm largely reading tea leaves from dozens of sources. Meanwhile, organizations that use our Event Submission Form can tailor their submission with details and links with far more information than I can.
And once your event is on the calendar, then we're using all our resources to get those events in front of the eyes of the community. It's a win-win for everyone.
Do you know someone with local events? Please, send them my way! Share this article! Send them my links.
With your help, we'll get all of our local organizations and parents working together to make 2021 a fantabulous year!
