Family notes: Festival offers family activities

Here in Spokane, we don’t need a reason to celebrate. Sometimes we just meet in the park and have fun.

One of those times is this weekend when the Allegro Baroque and Beyond Royal Fireworks Festival and Concert will be held in Riverfront Park.

On Saturday, you can learn how to swashbuckle like a pirate at 5:30 p.m. in the Lilac Bowl meadow. When the class is over, the King and Riverdell Players will entertain the crowd with juggling, magic and a duel at 7.

Scottish and Mystic Gypsy Dancers will take the stage at 8:15 and at 8:45 there will be scenes and sonnets from Shakespeare. At 10 the day will conclude with a fireworks display.

Sunday will bring another swashbuckling class, at 3:30 p.m. The afternoon performances include a Maypole dance, ribbon dancers and more juggling and magic.

Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession and his wife, Jane, will welcome the crowd at 6:15, and the audience can watch a live chess game at 6:30. From 7:45 to 8:45 there will be performances by the Baroque Ballet, Handel’s Chorus, dancers, jugglers and magicians.

The grand finale is at 9 Sunday with a performance by Allegro’s Royal Band on the Floating Stage. The band will perform “Musick for the Royal Fireworks,” written in 1749 by George Fredrick Handel, accompanied by fireworks.

For more information about this weekend of events, call the Spokane Convention and Visitors Bureau at (509) 747-3230, or visit www.allegrobaroque.org.

Preschool registration

Spokane County Head Start/Early Childhood Education Assistance Program/Early Head Start centers are now accepting registrations for preschoolers for the upcoming school year.

Full-day and part-day sessions are available and include free breakfast and lunch. Some sites offer infant and toddler care. These services are available to income-eligible families with children 5 years old and younger.

For more information, call (509) 533-4800 or e-mail headstart@iel.spokane.edu.

Mobius Kids classes

Mobius Kids, 808 W. Main Ave., continues with its classes for kids in science and the arts. Classes this week are aimed at kids ages 4 to 6.

First up is Colors and Kaleidoscopes, which will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesday. Kids will learn about prisms and rainbows, and they will make their own kaleidoscope.

On Thursday, from 10 a.m. to noon, kids can explore different cultures and tackle art projects in a class called Children Around the World.

The cost for each class is $15 for Mobius members and $20 for nonmembers.

For more information, call Mobius Kids at (509) 624-5437.