Ah, the holidays. A time of giving, of spending time with family, and spending the money. Between travel, family gifts, office gift exchanges, having to buy a last minute present for that neighbor that sent you a fruit basket, and holiday dinners, it adds up quickly. No doubt, the holidays don't leave much wiggle room in the budget for post-December entertainment. But never fear! Dance to EvOLvE is here to make sure broke ≠ bored in San Diego now that January is here.
For starters, if you're near Mission Hills, you can bring the kids to scenic Balboa Park, close to downtown San Diego, where there's lots to see, whether it’s the talented street performers, beautiful gardens, or even heading in for Free Museum Tuesdays! Balboa Park has something for everyone in the family, even the dog! Nate’s Point is a cool, well-maintained off leash dog park in the heart of Balboa, where lots of San Diegans bring their pups. Your four legged pal is bound to make some friends, and bonus, you get to pet all the dogs you want! Pro tip, go in the mornings, there are lots of puppies there.
Look at these cuties!
A fun family friendly museum, The Museum of Contemporary Art Downtown, has free daily admission for anyone under 25, and free for all ages on the third Thursday of every month. It's conveniently located within a two minute walk from the America Plaza trolley station. The trolley, but the way, is an excellent activity for the kids. Who knew preschoolers and kindergarteners would
Just a hop, skip and a jump away is Mission Beach, one of the many beautiful beaches in San Diego, where there’s lots of space to set up camp for the day, have a picnic, a sunset bonfire, and watch the SeaWorld fireworks on summer nights. There’s a bike trail, and another off leash dog park too, Fiesta Island. Bring a flashlight if you go to Fiesta later in the day, it gets dark early nowadays!
Closer to Point Loma? A five minute drive from Liberty Station is the Pearl Hotel, where the Dive-In Theater is offered. Every Tuesday, guests can gather around or lounge in the vintage oyster shaped pool, and enjoy kid friendly favorites like Elf, Frozen, or a Christmas Story. It is recommended that you make a table reservation for your family in advance, and while tableside viewing is free, pool access requires a drink purchase. Showtime is 8:00 PM!
It’s a well known fact that food tastes better when it’s free. For tons of free samples, check out the Little Italy Mercato Famer's Market every Saturday morning! One of the largest weekly farmer's markets in San Diego, free samples of delicious fresh prepared food and farmer’s finest fruits, good music, family friendly arts and crafts for the little ones, are spread out over several blocks. This is also a great way to expose your kids to different fruits and vegetables without having to prepare a whole meal!
A most plentiful bounty.
For the cheese enthusiast, go tasting at Venissimo, where delicious cheeses from around the world are sold. This is a great way to discover new ingredients for your grilled cheese sandwiches, without breaking the bank! We all know kids love cheese, so let them sample some more exotic varieties like manchego, chimay, or little boy blue.
Got a pair of binoculars at home? Take the kids to the Torrey Pines State Nature Reserve, and spend the day doing some bird watching! An extra fun twist, bring some colored pencils and a sketchbook along, and take turns drawing the colorful birds you’ll see. All done bird watching for the day? Take a hike! No, really, this place is great for hiking, and has some seriously spectacular views.
If you’re looking for some springtime landscaping inspiration, the San Diego Botanical Gardens have got you covered. On the first Tuesday of every month, free admission is offered, and family friendly bonus: if you have more than four people in your car, the parking charge is waived too. Score! There's lots of green space to run around and play in, as well as tons of rare and exotic flowers to ooh and ahh at, so this is bound to be a hit with kids and adults alike!
Looking for a park experience that just keeps on giving? Sunset Park near San Elijo offers 19 acres of free kid friendly activities, with walking trails, lots of green space to run around, playgrounds aplenty, a soccer field, volleyball and basketball facilities, a picnic area, and a dog park, you’d be hard pressed to run out of things to do here.
Last, but certainly not the least, there are free children’s dance classes happening in all of these areas! In Grantville, at the Party Fitness Studio, in San Elijo, at the San Elijo Park & Recreation Center, in Liberty Station at the new Kid Ventures, and in Mission Hills, at RISE Studio. All of these locations feature our EvOLving Dance Days, where our instructors offer free classes! This is a chance for your kids to try out several types of dance for free! We will be collecting donations benefiting the Rady Children's Hospital of San Diego. The minimum suggested donation is $3.00.
And feel free to schedule a risk free trial dance class at any of our locations, so you can see what kind of dance your little one likes best!
