Thanks to Macy’s, Arts Wave is offering 6 Saturdays full of FREE arts events around town.  What to know what’s up on Feb 12th?  Check out the 9 page PDF.  It’s chocked full of information about some great performances around town.  It looks like there’s something for everyone including:

• backstage tour at Playhouse in the Park
• This Little Light of Mine by the Cincinnati Opera
• Origami Meets the Price is Right at the Fairfield Community Arts Center
• Watch Artists at work at the Greenwich House Gallery
• Young musicians in Silver Strings will perform at Lakota East Freshman Campus
• and so much more

What art event did you bring into your life this weekend?  We’re going to have to take a family vote.  There’s so many great options to choose from.

Stay tuned for more arts events around town.

Here’s how it works:

• Find a participating bowling alley near you
• Sign up your kids (up to 6 per e-mail address)
• Coupons would be e-mailed to you
• print out coupons and take them with you…

Seriously…it’s that easy. Each kid can play 2 games fore FREE each and EVERY DAY. You will probably have to pay to rent bowling shoes.  Mine charges $2.

We’ve had a great time this summer and hope you can enjoy the last few days of summer bowling for FREE!

Did you know that this week is National Bowling week?  Neither did I.  And on Saturday (Aug 7th) many participating bowling alleys are trying to break a world’s record for the most games played on a single day.  And — they are giving away free games.  Check out GoBowling.com for more details and join my family in helping break a world record!

It’s hot and muggy in many parts of the country including right here in SW Ohio.  A great way to get away from that is to visit Mammoth Cave National Park.

Mammoth Cave is located about 4 hours south of Cincinnati off I-65.  The area is full of beautiful rocks and caverns created log ago by nature.  This is an area that should be visited by everyone at least once.

During busy times (summer, Spring Break, etc) advance Reservations are recommended.  I wish I would have known about this before I went.    Be sure to read the descriptions of the tours online and decide what works for your family.  There’s many cave tours to choose from and one or two that’s probably perfect for your family.

Discovery Tour is a Self Guided tour.  It was a great introduction to the cave.  Park Rangers are available throughout the cave to offer information and answer questions.  This area is also seen on the guided Mammoth Passage Tour.  We enjoyed the self-paced nature of exploring the cave.

Since the caves stay a constant temperature year round, I’d recommend jeans, tshirt and sweatshirt or jacket.

I just got a note about the latest deal on Entertainment books. You know I love them. They are a great way to save up to 50% off on hotels, restaurants, sporting events and more. You can buy one for your hometown, or for a vacation city. Traveling later this year? You should look into an Entertainment book for your destination city.

This sale is only good through July 14th.

Note: Most coupons in the book expire in November. If you’re traveling for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, or Christmas, you’ll probably want to buy next year’s book.

1. Choose a hotel location
2. Pick your dates
3. Make sure you’re looking at ALL rate options.  At Best Western I saw:

• Best Available Rate
• AAA (if you have a AAA membership, typically 10% savings)
• Internet Only Rate (if you book online 10% savings)
• AARP/Senior (if you’re a member, or over 55 save about 10%)

So, without much work, I can book online and save just as much as the AAA and AARP discounts.  Sounds like a win for me.  This little habit saved our family $6.50/night for a “we just want a clean room and a place to lay our head” hotel.

Watch for more travel discounts as I use them.

Happy Savings!

photo credit: Cincinnati Zoo

Remember me telling you about buying a membership to the Cincinnati Zoo?  Did you miss last year’s deal?  Have no fear.  Through March 31st, the zoo is now offering 20% off all memberships.  Check out the membership levels.   You could get

• free parking
• free train and carousel rides
• free guest passes
• discounted guest passes

If you’re staying around town for Spring Break, I think this is a good deal and can provide some fun activities throughout the year for your family.  Come, join me at the Cincinnati Zoo!

Want to save money on Spring Break?  You might want to look into getting an Entertainment Book for your destination.  Entertainment is now offering them at 50% off AND free shipping!

Popular destinations I saw on the list include:

• Orlando $17.50
• Hawaii $17.50
• Tampa $17.50
• Washington DC $17.50
• Orange County CA $20

And if you’re staying home, you can still save with a local edition.  Most editions are $17.50 — shipped free.

The Entertainment Book has saved our family money when we’ve visited Aquariums, Zoos, Museums, ate dinner, and even rented hotel rooms.

Please note, that Entertainment doesn’t not ship quickly.  They are most likely going to mail this media mail which can take 10-15 days.  They do offer faster shipping for a fee.

Related post on the Entertainment Book. And more about vacations.

Going on a trip this Spring?  If so, you might want to save a few dollars while you’re there.  Did you know that you can buy an Entertainment book for the area you’ll be visiting?  And right now Entertainment is having a SALE!  50% off plus FREE SHIPPING! Most of the books are under $20 shipped.  Every time we travel, I check out a local book.  It can save us tons of money while having fun.

Traveling to see the Mouse in Orlando or LA? There’s a book for that. Family in Texas? There’s 7 books. There’s even books for Puerto Rico, and Canada.

Get Discounts (many 2 for 1 or 50% off) at:

• Fancy Restaurants
• Bagel and Donut Shops
• Fast Food
• Hotels
• Attractions

Go ahead, make a cake, read a book, CELEBRATE!

Cool Seuss inspired cakes, or make one that looks like the book.