Helmet heads. Summertime is bike-riding season, and kids on bikes need safe, well-fitting helmets to protect their tender noggins. On Saturday, June 6 (10 a.m.–2 p.m.), head to Sand Point Metropolitan Market for bargain-priced helmets. For a cool $10, get a new helmet with a custom fit; sizes available, while they last, range from toddler through adult. If you already have one in good working order, bring it in to make sure the fit is correct. Wearers must be present for purchase/fitting. 5250 40th Ave. N.E., Seattle. 206-987-2836.
Pure camp. Time-pressed parents, take note. You don’t have to make big plans and schlep a ton of gear to go camping — do it in your own backyard! The National Wildlife Federation’s third annual Great American Backyard Campout on Saturday, June 27 encourages folks to turn off all their screens and spend the night at home but outside, looking at the stars, telling stories and — where it’s legal — building a fire for a s’mores fest. Check out the Web site for camping tips and tricks, nature guides, activity suggestions and news of multifamily campouts in your area (the more, the merrier, right?).
Seedy characters. Don’t know about you, but I wait all year to get my hands on the local strawberries, which make every other berry on the market taste like pink, seedy cardboard. At Biringer Farm’s annual Strawberry Harvest Festival, you can take a trolley ride out to the fields to pick the goods for a nice strawberry pie — only this year, you’ll have to drive to Arlington. Yes, Biringer’s strawberry fields have moved. But all the usual fun stuff is still there: bouncy houses, pony rides, a strawberry ride, something called “pig butt bowling” and plenty of strawberry shortcake. The festival runs Saturday and Sunday, June 27–28, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Admission is free, but there’s a fee for some activities. If you’re set on picking, call 425-259-0255 for a berry update, because Mother Nature is unpredictable. Get directions to the new fields. 21412 59th Ave. N.E., Arlington.
—Kris Collingridge
