MIGHTY MOM: Family fun not contained to Labor Day weekend

September must be the kickoff to the festival season. There’s so much going on it’s difficult to fit everything in this week.

•Dream Factory pancake breakfast at Applebee’s from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday. This event is a fundraiser for The Dream Factory, which is an organization that is working towards granting wishes for local kids that are terminally ill.

•With school starting and schedules returning to “normal” for many area families, things planned during the day are out. But if you stay at home and have preschoolers, the library has a whole list of awesome programs that happen every week. Some require signing up, check out their website or stop in your favorite library location for more details.

•Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 4 p.m. at the Northside Library they are holding a “Minute to Win It” styled game show event. Free to sign up. Play against friends and family, and you can win prizes. This is bound to be lots of fun even if you are just watching.

The weekend of Sept. 10-13 is a big weekend. Multiple events are happening and they all sound fun.

•From Thursday through Saturday, the Southern Ohio Storytellers Festival is being held in Yoctangee Park at the Pump House Center for the Arts. Every year this event gets cooler and cooler. This event isn’t free but is pretty reasonable, $10 for adults, $5 for kids, and Under 5 is free. Take a look at the schedule and find out more.

•On Friday and Saturday, Bishop Flaget is holding their annual Flaget Festival. Also not free but with attractions like kid’s games, inflatables, a beer garden, and live music, this still seems like a winner.

•From Friday to Sunday, the Salt Creek Valley Festival is being held in Richmond Dale. It’s a local festival you can’t miss. And if you are going through greasy food withdrawal since the fair is over, you can cure your craving here.

•If you have horse lovers in your family, Charles and Daisy Black Equestrian Farm will host the Black Farm Festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12. It’s a celebration of Appalachian culture and who doesn’t love clog dancing and cool horses?

•Also on Saturday, United Way of Ross County is conducting its Live Healthy, Live Happy event at the Majestic Theatre courtyard. It’s a fun event designed to get you up and moving, but kickoff the annual United Way fundraising campaign and have some fun while you do it. It starts at 9 a.m. It’s not free, but $15 for adults and $10 per child.

There were so many great events happening in the upcoming weeks I couldn’t fit them all in. Check out the visitor’s bureau calendar to see a more complete list of all the great stuff our community has to offer.

Kelsey Throne is a mom and community activist who lives in downtown Chillicothe. Send her events at mrs.throne@gmail.com