Eggscellent
This year, Easter falls on April 20 and you know what that means: the Easter Bunny is back! The New City Center starts the festivities early with an Easter Carnival, followed by Comptoirs de France’s annual Easter egg hunt at East Lake Villas. During the break, House of Knowledge is leading an Easter-themed camp for the little ones.
Easy Rider
As the days get warmer, dust off your bicycle and take it for a much-needed tune-up. Up for a challenge? Hosted by The Schoolhouse at Mutianyu, the fifth annual Bohai or Bust charity cycling event is back and taking place on April 12. To sign up, visit www.bohaiorbust.org.
Common Ground
Every year on April 22, Earth Day is observed to raise awareness of environmental issues. Put nature front and center by visiting one of the many organic farms around Beijing that provide local and pesticide-free produce, such as TooToo Organic Farm or Green Cow Organic Farm.
In Full Bloom
Spring is the best time to enjoy the city’s flora. Beyond Yuyuantan Park’s famous cherry blossoms, nature lovers can also spot pear blossoms, magnolias, peonies, apricot blossoms, and more.
Get Off on the Right Foot
ClubFootball’s spring soccer programs kick off on the weekend of April 12 for both boys and girls. Kids can take free tester classes before committing to a ten-week course.
Love at First Sight
On the second and fourth Sunday of every month, Bethel China opens its doors to visitors at the Doudian school and foster home in Fangshan District, which houses visually-impaired children (ages 0-6). Visitors will play with the kids, learn about Bethel’s projects, and find out how they can get involved. The tour is free, but RMB 50 is required to cover roundtrip bus transportation from Wudaokou. For more information, visit www.bethelchina.org.
Spring Fever, Not Hay Fever
Mark your calendars now for upcoming spring fairs! Both the International School of Beijing and Beijing City International School are holding events on May 10 that are open to the public. These family-friendly events will feature a day of games, fun, shopping, and performances.
Mayday, Mayday! It’s May Day!
Labour Day (May 1-3) is slowly creeping up, but the options tend to be more limited when it’s such a short break. For spring, we decided to spotlight 15 destinations within easy reach of Beijing.
Turn the Creativity Up to 11
Observed in over 50 countries, World Creativity and Innovation Week runs from April 15-21 and is dedicated to creative thinking. The new UCCA Creative Studio has lots of artsy workshops and classes for ages 2-11, and can also host private events. And last but not least, look out for next month’s issue, which is all about arts and crafts in Beijing.
Camp It Up
Summer is just a stone’s throw away, and many families are already starting to investigate holiday camp options. Luckily, Beijing has a host of language camps, school camps, sports camps, outdoor camps, and everything in between. Stay tuned on the beijingkids website (www.beijing-kids.com) for our annual roundup of summer camps.
Want your family-friendly event to appear in our next issue?
Upload it at www.beijing-kids.com/events by April 11.
Photos: Celeblung, Courtesy of The Schoolhouse at Mutianyu, Pink Sherbet Photography, Ladydragonflycc, and ClubFootball
This article originally appeared on p12-13 of the beijingkids April 2014 issue. Check out the PDF version online at Issuu.com
