Rafiki is Ra-Fun

Rafiki? What's Rafiki? Rafiki is one of Boise's newest play places for kids. It means "friend" in Swahili. (The other new place is called Monkey Bizness).

A couple of weeks ago, we had some really awesome friends in town so we decided to give Rafiki a try. We're glad we did because we all had a fabulous time. There was a lot for the kids to do. Here's a run down of some of the activities on site. There's a climbing structure with a slide that's fun. A train table with Thomas trains. A play kitchen with lots of plastic food. Baby dolls and accessories. Dress-up clothes. Costumes. Puppet Theater. Books. Games. Toys. Air hockey table. Ping- pong table. Climbing wall. Wii Room. Arts and Crafts table.

Besides the great activities for the kids, I appreciated the clean bathrooms, healthy snacks, comfortable sofas, magazines, espresso bar, and the fact that it was an all around clean facility. And it wasn't crowded either. And you know how I love places that aren't crowded.

My friend Emi and I relaxed on the sofas while they played for TWO hours. With 7,000 square feet, Rafiki is very large and open. It was easy to keep an eye on all four kids while they did their various activities. We went at 4 pm and got in for a discounted rate of 5.49 per child. I thought that was a great price. We will definitely be back again. ****Four out of four stars.

Things to know before you go. Make sure your child is wearing socks.

How to get there. 6202 State St Boise Idaho 83703. Look for the Zamzows on State St and you'll see Rafiki. It sounds far away if you live in south Meridian like I do, but it's only 12.8 miles from my house and if you take the freeway to Curtis Rd, it only takes 25 minutes. It's worth the drive.

See their website for more info.

Meridian Dairy Days Going On Now

It's one of our family traditions. You can't go a year without attending the Meridian Dairy Days Parade. I remember going to the parade as a kid and it's something my kids look forward to every year. They love getting candy and waiting for the milk truck to toss them free chocolate milks. The parade is on Friday evening and other various activities are scheduled throughout the weekend. Besides the parade, we love going to the Pancake Feed and then listening to the Meridian Symphony perform for free in Storey Park. The carnival is also fun when it's not too hot or crowded.

Here is some information I took from their website. Click here for a schedule of events.

Meridian Dairy Days is held the third full weekend of June each year, and celebrates our community’s heritage when Meridian was the dairy center of Idaho. The event has been celebrated in some fashion since 1929. The Meridian Chamber of Commerce produces the Dairy Days Festival with a full slate of events, which combines with dairy-related events produced by the Meridian Dairy Show Board. The 80th Annual Meridian Dairy Days will be held on June 16-20 in 2009.

Entries in the COW WOW Art Contest start appearing throughout the City the weekend before the Festival. Based on the 2009 theme: Moo-sicians, businesses, groups and individuals decorate plywood cows to show off their creativity and vie for cash prizes.

The Dairy Days Festival begins on Thursday night in Storey Park with a Pancake Feed followed by a free concert by the Meridian Symphony Orchestra.

On Friday, the Festival Marketplace opens, with 80 vendors selling food, crafts, art, and various other products and services. For the children, the “Kids Corral” provides free fun activities and games.

Friday evening, the “Real Dairy Parade” begins at 7 pm with 100 entries focusing on a dairy theme. (www.meridiandairydays.info)

Saturday morning begins with the annual “Milk Run” fun run at Meridian Speedway. Little tykes can participate in a ¼ mile run around the track, and then the older kids and adults do a 5K race that starts and ends at the Speedway. Vendors open at 10 am. At noon the "Dairy Dash", a kid's bicycle race, takes place at the Meridian Speedway. In the afternoon, area coffee shops and restaurants participate in the “Milk Mocktail” Contest, and the public votes for their favorite dairy-based drink. Join us at 2pm to sample the recipes and vote for your favorite.

Other events for 2009 include: the 60th Annual Dairy Princess Contest a carnival, a farm animal education exhibition and dairy cattle and dairy goat shows.