17 Ways to Get Out of the House This Weekend

September is finally starting to turn toward fall (it will cool down soon, right?), and this weekend brings the first real proof of it. Lowe's free workshop hands your kid a wooden haunted house to build and decorate, which is about as early as Halloween season can respectably start. Saturday morning belongs to the Nocatee Kids Farmers Market, where every single booth is run by a neighborhood kid between 10 and 17 — worth the cart ride just to watch them work a customer. Then Sunday, Collectorfest fills a hall off Legacy Trail with toys, comics and die-cast, and anyone under 12 walks in free. 👇

Nocatee Kids Farmers Market
📍 Nocatee Station Field (Cartable 🛒)
🕐 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Saturday
🎟️ Free
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

Every booth here is run by a local kid between 10 and 17, selling baked goods, crafts and whatever else they have talked their parents into financing. Bring small bills and let your kids do the shopping themselves.

Lowe's DIY-U Kids Workshop: Haunted House
📍 Lowe's, St. Augustine (~25 min 🚗)
🕐 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Saturday
🎟️ Free | Registration required
🧒 Ages 4–11
🔗 More info here

Kids build and decorate a wooden haunted house to take home, and the apron and badge come with it. Register ahead through a MyLowe's Rewards account — one parent can sign up as many as four children.

North Florida Collectorfest
📍 500 S Legacy Trail, St. Augustine (~26 min 🚗)
🕐 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM | Sunday
🎟️ Kids under 12 free / $10+ for everyone else
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

One day only, with tables of toys, comics, die-cast cars and games to dig through. Under 12 gets in free, which makes it an easy, low-stakes Sunday morning.

9/11 Ceremony of Remembrance
📍 Plaza de la Constitución, downtown St. Augustine (~25 min 🚗)
🕐 8:30 AM
🎟️ Free
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

A 15-minute program for the 25th anniversary, with an honor guard, a moment of silence at 8:45, the ringing of the four fives, and bagpipes to close. Short and solemn — a real one to bring older kids to.

Spanish Farm Club
📍 Chicos Y Chicas On the Coast (~30 min 🚗)
🕐 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
🎟️ Drop-in $30 / Semester $100
🧒 Ages 4–10
🔗 More info here

An outdoor Spanish immersion morning built around farm animals, gardening and sensory play. Kids pick up vocabulary by using it rather than studying it.

Clay Creations
📍 Creative Me Art Studio (~23 min 🚗)
🕐 4:00 PM – 5:15 PM
🎟️ $17 per participant
🧒 Ages 5+
🔗 More info here

Sculpt with air-dry clay and real clay tools, then paint the finished piece. RSVP online ahead of time so your sculptor is on the roster.

Families Unplugged: Family Pickleball
📍 Brown Family YMCA, 170 Landrum Ln, Ponte Vedra Beach (~11 min 🚗)
🕐 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
🎟️ Members free / Non-members $10
👪 Children & families
🔗 More info here

Phones away, paddles out — two hours of family pickleball with no skill level assumed. One of the closer options on this list.

Food Truck Friday
📍 Nocatee Station Field (Cartable 🛒)
🕐 5:30 PM
🎟️ Free
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

The twice-a-month Nocatee staple — trucks on the field, room for kids to run, and no reason to cook. Cart over and stay as long as it holds their attention.

Night Market
📍 St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park (~37 min 🚗)
🕐 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
🎟️ Kids 10 & under free / $10 per person
👪 Children & families
🔗 More info here

Wander part of the Alligator Farm after hours while local vendors and conservation groups set up along the boardwalks. Kids 10 and under get in free.

Family Paint Night
📍 Creative Me Art Studio (~23 min 🚗)
🕐 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
🎟️ $20 per participant
🧒 Ages 5+
🔗 More info here

A step-by-step guided painting on an 8x10 canvas with every supply included, and no experience needed. This is a family class, not a drop-off — a parent stays and paints too.

Free Dental Day
📍 St. Augustine Family Dentistry (~36 min 🚗)
🕐 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
🎟️ Free
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

Free exam and X-rays plus one service per patient — a cleaning, a filling or an extraction. Walk-ins only and first come, first served, so go early if you need it.

Family Seining
📍 Guana Dam, 505 Guana River Rd, Ponte Vedra Beach (~23 min 🚗)
🕐 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
🎟️ $3 per vehicle | Advance registration required
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

Drag a seine net through Guana Lake and see what comes up — fish, crabs, and whatever else is hiding in the grass. Waders and boots are provided, so nobody needs their own gear.

Nocatee Kids Farmers Market
📍 Nocatee Station Field (Cartable 🛒)
🕐 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
🎟️ Free
👪 All ages (vendors are ages 10–17)
🔗 More info here

Every booth is run by a local kid between 10 and 17, with live music and food alongside. Bring small bills and let your kids handle the transactions.

Lowe's DIY-U Kids Workshop: Haunted House
📍 Lowe's, St. Augustine (~25 min 🚗)
🕐 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
🎟️ Free | Registration required
🧒 Ages 4–11
🔗 More info here

Build and decorate a wooden haunted house, then take it home along with the apron and badge. Register through a MyLowe's Rewards account — one parent can sign up four kids.

Stacked Sculptures
📍 Lightner Museum, 75 King St, St. Augustine (~25 min 🚗)
🕐 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
🎟️ $5 per child
🧒 Ages 5–10
🔗 More info here

Kids tour the museum's sculpture collection, then build their own 3D stacked sculpture out of found materials. An hour, five dollars, and inside air conditioning.

Children's Art Class
📍 The Art Studio, 370A A1A Beach Blvd, St. Augustine Beach (~43 min 🚗)
🕐 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
🎟️ See event link | Pre-registration required
🧒 Young children
🔗 More info here

Two hours of hands-on projects and technique in a real studio. You have to pre-register, and it is the longest drive on this weekend's list.

Kids STEM Time!
📍 Ponte Vedra Beach Branch Library, 101 Library Blvd (~5 min 🚗)
🕐 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
🎟️ Free
🧒 Kids
🔗 More info here

A monthly hands-on hour of science, technology, engineering and math with a new theme each time. Free, close, and indoors.

Parent's Night Out: Olympic Games
📍 Prime Sports Arena, 104 Liberty Center Pl, St. Augustine (~27 min 🚗)
🕐 5:30 PM – 10:30 PM
🎟️ $50 per child
🧒 Ages 5–13
🔗 More info here

Five hours of drop-off: this month it is Olympic Games across the courts, plus arcade time, a pizza dinner and The Sandlot to wind down. You get the evening back.

North Florida Collectorfest
📍 500 S Legacy Trail, St. Augustine (~26 min 🚗)
🕐 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
🎟️ Kids under 12 free / $10+ for everyone else
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

A one-day-only collector show packed with toys, comics, die-cast vehicles and games, plus special guests. Kids under 12 get in free, so it costs almost nothing to browse for an hour.

Sing Out Loud Festival at Colonial Oak Music Park
📍 21 St George St, downtown St. Augustine (~25 min 🚗)
🕐 Fri 6:00–10:00 PM / Sat 6:00–10:00 PM / Sun 3:30–9:00 PM
🎟️ Free
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

Weekend two of St. Augustine's free music festival, under the 300-year-old oak on St. George Street. Sunday is the family-friendly one — music starts at 3:30 in the afternoon, admission is free, and you can come and go as the kids allow.