Newport News Parks, Recreation & Tourism will present the twenty-eighth Newport News Children's Festival of Friends on Saturday, May 6, 2017 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Newport News Park. Children can meet their favorite book characters including Curious George, Clifford, and the Berenstain Bears; see animals from the Virginia Living Museum (native Virginian animals), ZooPro (exotic animals), and Gum Tree Farm (farm animals). The youngest festival guests can play in a special “Happy Campers” Pre-school Play Area. At noon, a special “Elephants Gerald” performance about Ella Fitzgerald by Jennifer Gammill (Young Audiences of Virginia) will celebrate the centennial of the “First Lady of Song” who was born in Newport News on April 25, 2017.
The festival features over 100 hands-on activities including make-and-take crafts, rides (pony rides, trackless train, tiki rock wall, moon bounce, slide, obstacle course), fitness activities (gymnastics, obstacle course, tennis), educational exhibits (science experiments, gardening, farm animals and sheep shearing), and displays by City Departments and community organizations that serve children.
Children from the Newport News Parks, Recreation & Tourism Instructional Class Programs will showcase their talents on stage: 2:00 p.m. Newport News City Arts (dance) and 3:00 p.m. Newport News Flipateers (gymnastics).
There is a $5.00 parking fee per vehicle. Festival admission and all activities (including all rides) are free. Food vendors on site ($). No pets permitted in the festival area. Newport News Park is located at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Ft. Eustis Boulevard. From I-64E, take Exit 247 and turn left onto Jefferson Avenue. From I-64W, take Exit 250B and follow the signs to Newport News Park. For more information, call 757-926-1400.