Looking for local and nearby activities to do to kick off summer vacation? Here's a few local suggestions:

Remembering on Memorial Day

The Walk of Heroes Foundation will hold a ceremony at the Walk of Heroes veteran's memorial at Black Shoals Park in north Rockdale on Monday, May 27, 11 a.m. The park itself will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. This year, the Rehorn Family Foundation will award its first ever Medal of Freedom at the ceremony to World War II veteran and former county commissioner Bud Soesbee. Soesbee, the former chair of the Walk of Heroes board, was a driving force and spearhead in creating the memorial. Soesbee will receive a $10,000 grant from the Rehorn Family Foundation. The featured speaker will be Winston Menzies, a Vietnam Veteran, former Army Captain and current pastor of Greater Grace Church in Covington and head of the Shepherd's House and Shepherd's thrift stores. The memorial will also unveil a new 9 foot tall color-coded map of the Walk of Heroes to help visitors envision what the finished memorial will look like.

A fundraising raffle with prime prizes will be kicked off at the ceremony. The featured prize is an all-expenses-paid trip package for two to Branson, MO on Veteran's Day weekend in November, a $2,200 value. Other prizes include a Kel-Tec PMR 30 .22 magnum pistol ($600 Value), $500 Coupon to be applied to any cruise offered by GalaxSea Cruises in Conyers, and a Stauer Compendium hybrid watch with two year replacement guarantee ($400 Value). The drawing will be held August 7 (Purple Heart Day). Tickets are $5 each or $10 for three. For more information or purchase raffle tickets, call 770-786-2302.

The American Legion Post 77 will also hold a Memorial Day Ceremony Monday, 11 a.m. at the Post 77 hall, 674 Legion Road NE, with a luncheon served afterwards. The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive afterwards as well. For more information on the American Legion Post 77 ceremony, call 678-949-2490.

Belmont Baptist Church, at 3275 Iris Drive, will host the fourth annual Memorial Day-themed production called “Nothing in this World is Free,” honoring fallen and missing service men and women.  The production will be Sunday, May 26, 10:30 a.m. and is free and open to the public. Organizer and Navy veteran Tom Witcher spent $20,000 out of pocket on the productions, which has 22 segments, including the raising of 5,000 flags, live bugler, live bagpipes, an 80-foot Wall of Remembrance and more. .

Baseball on a budget:

Do you love baseball but hate driving into Atlanta? Or do you shudder at the thought of paying so much money to go see the Braves? Then try baseball on a budget and start small with the Gwinnett Braves! They might be a minor league team, but the stadium and the players are nothing to scoff at, and you still get hot dogs and beer, just for less money and a shorter wait in line. It's the perfect place to take your kid for their first game, that way if they hate it, you're not out an obscene amount of cash. And if you're really trying to do a game on the cheap, they have lawn seating on the hill above the field. You can't beat that. Plus, I'm pretty sure they still have peanuts and cracker jacks whether it's major league or not. Just saying...
 
Price: $7.50-$20

All that jazz:

For more than three decades the Atlanta Jazz Festival has been filling Piedmont Park with the sounds of jazz. Old school, newfangled and every style in between, spend the weekend reacquainting yourself with the old and experiencing the new faces in jazz music, as dozens of musicians, from international to local high school bands, take one of the many stages for the festival. You can also participate in jazz education workshops, an interactive kid zone and an eco-village. They will also have tons of vendors, but if you are so inclined you can BYOB - but no glass. FREE! Look, they don't call us Hotlanta for nothing! Rain or shine, go out and enjoy something different this weekend.

Price: FREE!

Learn more here

Art Fandango

The Hen House ’Tiques and Uniques will be hosting the Art Fandango Show June 1 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with more than 50 artists showcasing everything from yard art to folk art to bird houses. Commercial Street and Center Streets will be closed for the event, which will also have food from local restaurants mixed among street performers and children’s activities. Entry to the festival is free and artwork will be available for purchase. Restaurants including Bradley’s BBQ, Mellow Mushroom, Mandarin Garden, AWAKE Coffee and others will have tasty treats for sale throughout the event.

Lemon Bee

On the same day, June 1, the eighth annual Lemon Bee Festival will be held in the Olde Town Pavilion beginning at noon and lasting well into the night. Eight bands and two acoustical acts will perform as fans can lounge on couches or peruse the arts and crafts vendors. There will be a children’s play area, hot dogs and hamburgers for sale and even a Honey Pot serving cupcakes and lemonade. Admission is $10, and $2 from each ticket will be donated to the Kim Chance Atkins Foundation for the prevention of breast cancer.

Jimmy Buffet Tribute Show

Parrotheads rejoice — the A1A Official and Original Jimmy Buffet Tribute Show will perform at the Conyers-Rockdale Council for the Arts’ summer fundraiser under the stars on June 8, 8 p.m., at the Olde Town Pavilion. A1A’s three-hour show will cover Jimmy Buffett favorites along with classic reggae and original pieces. Tickets are $20 for a seat at a table, or $160 for a table of eight. Lawn seating is $15. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at conyersarts.org or by calling 770-922-3143. Food and beverages (beer, wine, non-alcoholic) will be available for sale including A1A Burgers/ “Cheeseburgers from Paradise” and “Rita Dogs” (hot dogs). Attendees can also bring their own food and beverages. ~ Staff Reports

Your heart will go on:

Are you a closet Titanic freak? Have you been obsessed since Leo and Kate graced the silver screen with their oh-so-romantic love story (until we saw what a mean girl she was and let him drown, rather than scoot over on the board)? Well, you won't hear Celine sing during this program, but you can see a little bit of pretty spectacular history at the Titanic Exhibit. Over 200 artifacts recovered from the wreck site, untold stories from passengers and crew, historically accurate room recreations and the most recent 3D video from the wreck site. It's a little less romantic than the movie, but it's still fairly amazing. 

Price: $5-$24

Click here for the website

Screen on the Green:

Grab a blanket and the family and head over to Ashton Hills Golf Club for Screen on the Green next Friday night. Snuggle up under the stars and watch "Parental Guidance," and get there early so you can enjoy family-style meals being served picnic style from the Village Grille. It's the sort of thing that kicks your summer off right, being with family, watching a movie that will (hopefully) make you laugh, and enjoying life. You can pick your meals up faster if you make a reservation, so make sure to call. Dinner is from 6-8 p.m., and the movie starts at dusk.

Price: $5 for adults, kids are FREE

Click here for more info

Booze and Baboons:

I'm super sad I won't be able to partake in what promises to be an epic event, so I need you guys to go so that I may live through you! It's time once again for Zoo Atlanta's annual Brew at the Zoo, where the grownups can kick the kids out, have unlimited samples of beer and wine and check out the more than 1,500 animals that call Zoo Atlanta home. Not only do you get to drink and make silly faces at the monkeys, there will also be a variety of bands and music and free rides on the train and carousel. You'll want to get tickets as soon as possible, because an event this amazing typically sells out quickly. If you want to drop the cash on a VIP ticket, you get a t-shirt, access into the air-conditioned VIP lounge and something called an "exclusive animal experience," which sounds amazing! And don't fret if the weather looks iffy, it's rain or shine!

Price: $38-$85

Click here for more

Quality Time:

Chances are someone you know is graduating from high school this weekend. It's a bittersweet time for everyone, from parents to kids - well, maybe not everyone. Teachers are probably pretty stoked to be getting rid of some of your precious angel babies. But I digress. And with graduation comes the end of school for kids from kindergarten through college, but what to do with the little buggers when they aren't in school for the better part of the day?

Well, for your graduates, practice letting go, but try to get a little family time in there as well. It will be nice to have some recent memories to take with them, and for you to keep with you, when they are away at school. At least for a while until they run out of money and start calling, pretending to miss you in a desperate ploy to get cash.

For the little ones - or the younger ones - it can be tricky. It's hot, so you don't really want to spend a lot of time outside, but it's summer, so you hate to be stuck inside the house. It's a sticky, sweaty Catch 22, I know. This makes places like White Water and all of the rivers and lakes around this area perfect. I was just told about the Porterdale YAK Club, and how for pretty cheap, you can rent a kayak and take a paddle down the Yellow River. Bonus: You don't have to know what you're doing because it's an easy ride. Perfect for the kids, and if they get hot, they can jump in the river.

But how about having an at-home day? Take a day off, or use a weekend if you need to, and get on Pinterest. There are crafts to make - even for the woefully uncrafty like me, treats to bake, ideas that you can share with your kids to spend the day together and all done with the AC running! End the evening with popcorn and a movie in bed. It's quality time AND you get to actually do something as well.

Most of all, remember that even though it's sticky and gross outside, you can still enjoy your time together. For the parents of those kids graduating and heading off to start the next chapter of their lives, don't you wish you'd had popcorn in bed just one more time with your kids before they got too cool to hang out with you? Don't miss out while they're little, and don't ever think they are too old to have fun with mom and dad. And if they think they are, well...they still live under your roof and YOU make the rules. At least for the next couple of months!