Flower fun: Carlsbad Flower Fields hosts Kids' Day event

By PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer | Saturday, March 22, 2008 10:04 PM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ---- Santa's village, snow-sledding and a hillside of spring flowers may seem like an odd combination, but that's what families will find when the visit Kids' Day at The Flower Fields next weekend.

A new Santa's Village play area was added over the winter and to celebrate its opening, a host of winter-themed activities are planned at the annual Kids' Day event, organizers say.

The 50-acre Flower Fields opened its 10-week spring season early this month, but the full rainbow of colors seen during the fields' peak blooming season is just now beginning. Since The Flower Fields ---- billed as the world's only working ranunculus field --- are popular spots for family photographs and a wonder to small children, Flower Fields operators schedule a children's day program every spring with a wide range of entertainment and activities.

Kids' Day will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Events include "make-and-take crystals" hands-on science project, face-painting, animal balloons, a papermaking craft and a Lego building area (courtesy of nearby Legoland California theme park). Parents can also get a free child safety ID for their children.

Coast Kids Theatre will perform a musical revue of songs from "The Wizard of Oz" from 1 to 1:45 p.m., Ronald McDonald will visit from 2 to 3 p.m. and puppet shows are planned throughout the day by the San Diego Guild of Puppetry. The Elves will perform rock 'n' roll music from noon to 5 p.m., and Khausak, a South American flutist, will perform during the afternoon.

Over the winter, The Flower Fields installed a Santa's Play Area that once occupied the now-defunct Santa's Village play park in Lake Arrowhead. The three whimsical playhouses and 10 giant mushrooms were purchased at an auction in 1998 by Fields co-owner Paul Ecke. For several years, the play structures were lodged in Ecke's sister's yard, but just in time for Kids' Day, the playground equipment has been installed at the Flower Fields.

"I am really excited about sharing (the buildings) with the next generation of kids," said Ecke, who couldn't resist buying the whimsical structures because he used to visit Santa's Village as a young boy. To celebrate the addition of the holiday-themed play structures, a truckload of snow will be brought in for sledding and snow play at 11:30 a.m. (warm weather may make the snow's visit brief).

Kids' Day visitors can also enjoy the other attractions at The Flower Fields, including tractor wagon rides, a sweet pea maze, sluice-mining, rose and theme gardens and picnic areas. New this year is an American Flag of Flowers, made with red, white and blue anemone flowers planted on a 300-by-170-foot hillside.

As a special treat for local Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Brownies, Girl Scouts, Campfire Kids, Awanas and members of local Boys & Girls Clubs, anyone who wears their uniform or can show proof of membership will receive a free pot, soil, flower seeds and instructions on how to pot their own flowering plant.

Tickets for Kids Day, which includes admission to The Flower Fields, is $9 for adults and $5 for children ages 3 to 10. Children 2 and under are free. The Flower Fields are located at Paseo del Norte and Palomar Airport Road in Carlsbad. For information, call (760) 431-0352 or visit www.theflowerfields.com.

Staff writer Barbara Henry contributed to this report.