Arbor Annie’s End of School & Father’s Day Weekend Picks June 14-16

Today is the real start to summer with the last day of school for the 2018-2019 school year. It’s also the start of Top of the Park. It is finally strawberry season. Sunday is Father’s Day and the start of Japan Week. Check out all of Arbor Annie’s Picks for the weekend.

Arbor Annie’s Weekend Picks

The big event this weekend is the start of Top of the Park which runs through July 7. The event kicks off with music and fun KidZone tents on Friday and Saturday and the first movie (Frozen) of the season on Sunday. Check out our Kids Guide for all the activities and our tips for attending.

Other Friday highlights are Saline’s Mini Mastodon, Zingerman’s Sundae Social and the Mayor’s Green Fair on Main Street. Friday is also the last day for Ann Arbor Restaurant Week – a great lunch or dinner option to celebrate the last day of school.

Our top event pick for Saturday is the Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival with activities at the Downtown Library, Vault of Midnight, Robot Supply, & the Ann Arbor Art Center. Other Saturday events are Autism Spectrum Disorder Swim Day at Rolling Hills and The Third Annual GrieveWell Kite Festival, but the weather might not cooperate.

After a cool, wet spring it is finally strawberry picking season. Be sure to check out the options for strawberry picking.

Have you checked out the Peony Garden yet? It is a gorgeous spot to visit with all the peonies currently in bloom.

The weather continues to be iffy for pools – a high of 70 on Saturday with a chance of rain and a high of 75 on Sunday with scattered afternoon thunderstorms. If the weather improves, check out our list of local pools, water parks, and spray grounds.

This is also a big week for carnivals. Beyond the Ann Arbor area, there is Belleville Strawberry Festival, Canton Liberty Fest, and Hamburg Fun Fest. Then on Wednesday, the Ann Arbor Jaycees Summer Carnival starts.

Both Canton Liberty Fest (Saturday) and Hamburg Fun Fest (Friday and Saturday) have fireworks this weekend.

And now I need to issue an apology to all the great dads out there. For Mother’s Day we had an article on all the special activities. There are not as many activities planned for Father’s Day. With the end of school, there just are not the same level of activities around town. Here are some Father’s Day activity ideas.

Top Weekend Event Picks

Friday Picks

10:00am-10:00pm Belleville Strawberry Festival at Downtown Belleville

1:00pm-11:00pm Canton Liberty Fest at Heritage Park

2:00pm-3:30pm Mini Mastodon at Mill Pond Park

7:30pm-9:00pm Friday Family Fun Night at USA Hockey Arena

Saturday Picks

9:00am-11:00am Autism Spectrum Disorder Swim Day at Rolling Hills County Park

9:30am-9:00pm Motor Muster at Greenfield Village

10:00am-12:00pm Amazing Amphibians at Hudson Mills Metropark

10:00am-10:00pm Belleville Strawberry Festival at Downtown Belleville

10:00am-11:00pm Canton Liberty Fest at Heritage Park

10:00am-3:00pm Community Open House at Growing Hope Urban Farm

11:00am-8:00pm Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival (A2CAF) 2019 at Downtown Branch of AADL

12:00pm-2:00pm #GetOutsideDay at Rolling Hills County Park

1:00pm-4:00pm The Third Annual GrieveWell Kite Festival at Pioneer High School

5:00pm-11:00pm Top of the Park Music at Top of the Park

Sunday Picks

9:00am-8:00pm Belleville Strawberry Festival at Downtown Belleville

12:30pm-5:30pm Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival (A2CAF) 2019 at Downtown Branch of AADL

6:30pm-8:00pm Fireside Fun – A Good Old-fashioned Campfire Circle at Leslie Science & Nature Center

Movies

New this weekend is Men in Black International. My daughter enjoyed watching the previous movies in the series, but it’s a busy summer movie season.

Last weekend’s new releases Secret Life of Pets 2 and Dark Phoenix are still in theaters. I still want to see Aladdin, but with our busy schedule and more movies arriving, it may have to wait for a summer weekday matinee once school is out.

We discussed seeing a movie this weekend, but my daughter prioritized the Comic Arts Festival when we talked about our weekend plans.

If you haven’t seen Avengers Endgame, it now includes a post-credit scene that is basically a trailer for Spider-Man Far From Home.

Over Memorial Day weekend we saw Pokemon Detective Pikachu. Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) reminds me of a G-rated Deadpool.

Godzilla King of the Monsters is also still in theaters.

Upcoming Family Friendly movies are (updated from earlier this month since Disney/Fox/Marvel changed some dates after their merger):

• June 21 – Toy Story 4
• July 2 – Spider-Man Far From Home
• July 19 – The Lion King
• August 2 – Dora and the Lost City of Gold
• August 16 – The Angry Birds Movie 2
• April 3, 2020 – The New Mutants (was August 2, 2019)
• May 29, 2020 – Artemis Fowl (was August 9, 2019 )

Quality 16, Cinemark, and Emagine kick off their discounted Summer Movie series. Be sure to check out all the details.

Looking Forward to Next Week

With school out there are plenty of great events all week. Top of the Park continues (except for Monday), AADL starts their awesome summer events, AAHOM kicks off a summer of fun activities and extra workshops, and much more.

All Weekend Events