We're taking Jamie to Atlanta in a few weeks and I am simultaneously very excited and very stressed about it. It's a four-day trip with my mom and sister, and we've got the Georgia Aquarium, Zoo Atlanta, the Children's Museum, and the Beltline on the itinerary. Jamie is currently obsessed with camels (more on that below), so if anyone knows where to find one in Atlanta, please let me know before he finds out the zoo doesn't have any.
Here's where I need your help. If you know Atlanta, especially with kids, I want to hear from you. Best breakfast spots? A park we shouldn't miss? A restaurant that's actually easy with a toddler? A place that's not worth the hype? Hit reply and tell me everything. I'll share the best recs in a future issue so everyone benefits.
Now let's get into what's happening in Charlotte this week.
🌱 What We’re Doing
Charlotte stuff to get on your calendar this week
It's St. Patrick's week and Charlotte is going all in. The Uptown parade is Saturday, Green River Revival is back at the Whitewater Center, and there are at least three other St. Patrick's festivals happening across the area if you want to avoid the Tryon Street crowds. Saturday is honestly overwhelming in the best way. Touch-a-Truck in Matthews has a sensory-friendly first hour (9-10 a.m.) that I wish more events would steal, and there's a free CPR pop-up at The Bunny Hive if you've been putting that off (you know who you are).
Outside of Saturday, the week is quieter but still solid. Workman's Friend is doing a St. Patrick's family night Thursday with a balloon artist, which is a sneaky good weeknight outing. Park Road Books has a picture book launch Saturday morning about rescued orcas that could be great for older kids. And if your toddler has energy that needs to go somewhere, Big Air's toddler time on Thursday and Tot Time at Perfect Balance on Tuesday are both easy, cheap, no-registration-required options.
✨ A few standouts:
Touch-a-Truck (Saturday, Matthews): Free, sensory-friendly first hour, and your kid will not stop talking about it for weeks.
Green River Revival (Saturday, Whitewater Center): The big one. Kids' run, live music, green river. Free to attend, parking extra.
Betty Bookworms (Friday, Betty by Moxie): Still one of the best free storytime-plus-coffee combos in the city.
Your featured park, playground, or indoor play spot.
Darby Acres Farm is one of those Charlotte-area spots that doesn't look like much on paper but wins you over in person. A family-owned rescue farm, a guided walking tour through real (read: muddy) farm land, and animals that range from a four-week-old baby lamb to two 10-foot camels that will change your toddler's entire personality. I have opinions about the confirmation email, the shoes you should wear, and what age actually enjoys this.
Kiddiecade is doing "happy hour" on Thursdays from 1-3pm. Two-hour sessions are $35 (that's 50% off) and all pastries are half off too. If you've been wanting to check it out but the price tag made you hesitate, this is your window.
Darby Acres Farm is hosting family day events on 3/28 and 4/4. $45 gets you two hours of free range at their safari location, which is separate from the petting farm we reviewed this week. We're talking capybaras, zebras, kangaroos, camels, emus. We haven't been to this one yet but we will be there, because someone in this house now needs to see every camel in the greater Charlotte area.
The Queen Charlotte Fair runs March 12-22 at Route 29 Pavilion in Concord. Carnival rides, fair food, and all shows are free with admission. If your kid is in a "ride everything" phase, this is their moment.
Waverly Gold is back through March 20. Shop at participating Waverly stores, bring your receipts to DeSano Pizzeria, and earn tokens to spend at Waverly restaurants and services. Spend $100, get $20 back. Spend $300+, get $60. Tokens are redeemable through April 6. If Waverly is already in your rotation, this is basically free dinner money.
New Mom School of Ballantyneoffers a free breastfeeding group every Monday from 11-12pm. If you're in the early weeks and just need a room full of people who get it, this is a low-pressure way to show up. Free is free.
🐫 What Jamie's Into
What's running our household this week.
Camels. Specifically, a camel he didn't even like in person.
We went to Darby Acres Farm this week (full review above) and Jamie was not a fan. But later that day, I showed him a picture of the camel on my phone and something clicked. He was mesmerized. Not blinking. I had to physically take the phone away.
Now he says "ahmul" approximately 400 times a day. The first time he said it, I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. So he walked over, grabbed his Peekaboo Zoo book, flipped to the camel page, pointed at it, and then pointed back at my phone so I would show him the pictures again. Baby genius behavior, honestly.
He now has a camel stuffed animal that goes everywhere with us. We are a camel family now. I don't make the rules. And yes, we will be at the Darby Acres safari family day on 3/28 because someone needs to meet a camel in person and actually enjoy it this time.
My neighbor (hi Casey!) and I were swapping stories about this in her driveway while the kids played in the water table. When her daughter was little, she and her husband made a whole production out of the first ice cream experience. Drove to Ben & Jerry's, hyped it up, the works. The daughter screamed the entire time and wanted nothing to do with it.
Nobody told the toddler this was supposed to be a core memory.
If you made it this far, thank you for being here. It means a lot.
And seriously - if you have any Atlanta intel (restaurants, parks, things to skip, things we can't miss), please reply. I am actively building this itinerary and I am not above begging. Bonus points if you know where a toddler can see a camel.
Here's to the outings that don't go as planned, the neighbors who get it, and kids who'd rather play in a water table in the driveway than do the thing you drove 45 minutes for.
See you next Thursday!
💚 Emily Founder, The Charlotte Sprout
P.S. Jamie's stuffed camel has a name now. It's "Ahmul." He named it after his favorite animal: the ahmul.
Help The Sprout grow. If one idea made your week easier, please forward this email or tag @thecharlottesprout so more Charlotte parents can find us. 🌱
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