We had one of those weekends where you actually do the things instead of just having them on the calendar and quietly moving them to next weekend. Saturday we were in the bleachers at Charlotte Country Day for a high school baseball game, which Jamie was completely unbothered by and I was surprisingly into. There's just something about a warm afternoon with zero agenda and a hot dog, amirite?
Sunday we had breakfast at Copain with friends before music class, then went to Hunter Farm for strawberry picking after nap. Jamie of course treated it as his personal, all-you-can-eat buffet. To top it all off, I just got our photos back from my motherhood session with the amazing Amanda McQuaid, and I am officially ignoring a mountain of laundry so I can sit on the couch and stare at them.
It's a big outdoor week in Charlotte. Strawberry festival in Fort Mill, cardboard boats racing on Lake Norman, the Cotswold Farmers Market is back, and about thirty other things I've already done the research on so you don't have to.
🌱 What We’re Doing
Your week in Charlotte, planned.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know its officially strawberry season in the Carolinas. This week you've got two u-pick farms open right now, plus an entire two-day festival in Fort Mill with flying dog shows, a hot wing eating contest, and fireworks Saturday night. If you go to one outdoor thing this week, make it that.
The rest of the weekend is equally stacked. The Cotswold Farmers Market opens for the season, cardboard boats are racing on Lake Norman at Jetton Park (free to watch, unhinged in the best way), and 55,000 rubber ducks are dropping into the rapids at the Whitewater Center on Sunday for KinderMourn's Hope Floats race.
✨ A few standouts:
The Cardboard Boat Regatta at Jetton Park: homemade boats, Lake Norman, an award for best sinking. Free to watch and one of the more Charlotte things you can do on a Saturday morning.
Hope Floats Duck Race at the USNWC: 55,000 rubber ducks, a kids zone, and a cause worth showing up for. Leave earlier than you think you need to.
International Game Fair at University City Library Friday night: after-hours, kids get a passport and travel country to country for food and games. Registration required and it will fill.
Target Car Seat Trade-In: The Target car seat trade-in event ends on May 2. If you have been letting an expired infant seat collect dust in your garage for the past two years, this is your sign to finally let it go. Bring in any seat in any condition, and you will get a 20% discount on a new car seat, stroller, or select baby gear
Orrman's Cheese Shop is reopening at their new location on May 4 at 2901 Selwyn Avenue. The expanded space has new wine offerings, indoor/outdoor seating, and 150+ cheeses. Not a typo!
Pineville Regional Library Update: The Pineville Regional Library is temporarily closed due to damage from a car crash last week. Please be sure to check the library’s website for updates on their reopening before you plan a visit
CLT Airport Overlook Maintenance: If you were planning a trip to the CLT Airport Overlook, keep in mind that the playground is closed through May 4 for scheduled maintenance. All the climbing structures, slides, and play features are totally off limits this week. The rest of the Overlook is still open for aircraft viewing, running on the turf, and checking out the F-4 Phantom II display.
Mother's Day Gift Guide: Mother's Day is sneaking up on us on May 11. To save your family some guessing, I put together a very honest gift guide filled with things I would actually want to open this year.
🌳 Where We're Playing
One place we loved this week.
Hunter Farm has been our fall and Christmas tree spot forever, but we'd never done the spring season until this past Saturday. Strawberry picking, a wagon ride out to the petting barn, two baby goats running absolutely chaotic laps, a pig named Charlotte, and a toddler who figured out he could eat the berries straight from the vine and completely abandoned all pretense of helping fill the bucket. It was one of those outings that looked like it might be dicey and turned into the best part of the weekend. The strawberry crop is in great shape right now and the farm is open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through the end of May. I have a lot of thoughts on this one, including what to book in advance and exactly when to go.
Water tables. We are fully, completely, chaotically in the water table era.
We actually have two setups right now and I have thoughts on both
TheStep2 Rain Showers Splash Pondis Jamie's go-to. Small footprint, tons of accessories, easy to drag out and fill. It's the calmer option and it's genuinely good for independent play. His favorite part: it comes with little slingshot launchers that stick to the side so you can fling the fish and turtles into the water. We have done this approximately 400 times. One heads up on the design: there's no built-in pump to bring water from the bottom level to the top, and at this age Jamie can't reach to pour it himself, so we're on bucket duty. You can buy a separate pump, or just keep a hose close. Same note as below on assembly: no pre-drilled holes, so have a drill ready.
The Step2 Tropical Splash Water Parkis the one the older neighborhood kids lose their minds over. It has a pump that pulls water up to a coconut at the top, which fills and then tips over and dumps everything back down. The kids scream every single time. Jamie watches from the water table. A few things worth knowing before you buy: the pump only works while the hose is connected and running, but it barely uses water as long as you turn the faucet almost all the way down. Too much pressure and the coconut can't handle it. You also still need to manually fill the second level with a hose. Bigger footprint than the water table, but the two pieces stack together for storage.
If you've got a little one who isn't quite big enough to stand at a full water table yet, let me put this Activity Center Water Play Set on your radar. Jamie used this exact set last summer before he turned one, and he absolutely loved it. It's the perfect, gentle introduction to backyard water play.
I also just got the H2OGO Under the Sea Splash Pad delivered and the plan is to put the water table on top of it so kids can splash around while they play. Will report back once we've actually used it.
If I had to pick one: start with the water table. Easier setup, smaller investment, and honestly toddlers do not need more than that. It's also readily available used but pre-assembled on FB marketplace. The water park is a crowd-pleaser but it's more of a production.
Here's to strawberry season, Mother's Day around the corner, and getting outside before Charlotte decides it's August.
Have a great week!
💚 Emily
Founder, The Charlotte Sprout
P.S. We read Blueberries for Sal the night of strawberry picking and Jamie pointed at Sal like he was looking in a mirror. He knew exactly what he did.
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. 🌱
.png?upscale=true&width=600&upscale=true&name=ChatGPT%20Image%20Oct%2020%2c%202025%2c%2009_53_40%20PM%20(1).png)
.png?upscale=true&width=1120&upscale=true&name=Copy%20of%20Events%20226%20-%2031%20(4).png)
.png?upscale=true&width=400&upscale=true&name=ChatGPT%20Image%20Oct%2020%2c%202025%2c%2009_53_40%20PM%20(1).png)
