Try out some events to get a feel for fall

Autumn is here, but the temperatures are still screaming July. Maybe by Halloween the kids can wear a costume without suffocating. In the meantime, here are a few outdoors ideas after a summer in hibernation.

Sacred Heart Church, 8001 46th St. N, Pinellas Park, is having its 31st annual fall festival Wednesday through next Sunday. A professional carnival company will operate rides such as a Ferris wheel and Tilt-a-whirl.

Besides the snow cones and cotton candy, hot dogs, hamburgers and wings, soft drinks and beer, the church will have an international food court. Live music is scheduled every night. A $1 raffle ticket might win you a 1991 Jaguar, a Caribbean cruise and trips to Las Vegas, New Orleans and Biloxi, Miss.

A roll of 20 tickets costs $10 in advance and $15 during the carnival. Most rides are 2-4 tickets. Call 541-4447.

St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 1200 Snell Isle Blvd., St. Petersburg, is having its first Fall Festival, 5-9 p.m. Friday. The games and prizes for children include bobbing for apples, a tattoo parlor, a duck pond, darts and a cakewalk. Most games are $1 or more. And then there's the food. The menu includes ooey-gooey s'mores, candied apples, caramel apples, snow cones, popcorn, hot dogs and a bake sale.

The church will sell pumpkins from the "patch" on the front lawn from Monday through Halloween. Discounts will be offered the night of the festival. Call 896-9641.

Clearview United Methodist Church, 4515 38th Ave. N, St. Petersburg, is selling pumpkins 9 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. If you have a group of children, call ahead and arrange for a storyteller to read books and teach them a little about how pumpkins grow. The children get coloring books and pumpkin seeds. There are also hay bales with scarecrows for photo opportunities.

Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, 600 49th St. N, St. Petersburg, is hosting a fall festival 4-6 p.m. Oct. 27. Free activities, geared for preschoolers and elementary-aged kids, include games, crafts and pony rides. Call 327-3353.

Congregation B'nai Israel, 300 58th St. N, St. Petersburg, is having its Hanukkah Fest Nov. 10. Besides the games, carnival rides and food, there will be a craft and holiday gift sale, football on the big screen, a silent auction and prize drawings. Call 381-4900.

Pasadena Community Church, 227 70th St. S, is having its annual Hollyfest Arts and Crafts Show, 5-9 p.m. Nov. 15 and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 16. Vendors will sell woodwork, quilts, paintings, holiday decorations and country crafts. Call 381-2499.

Beyond the festival circuit, we've found you can catch a nice breeze at War Veterans Memorial Park, 9600 Bay Pines Blvd., St. Petersburg. The park is just across the bridge past Tyrone Square mall, but once through the stone walls you feel miles away from civilization.

There are three playgrounds, one just yards from Boca Ciega Bay with a view of John's Pass. Plentiful green grass, shrubs and trees are good for tag, kite flying and hide-and-seek. One of the picnic tables sits on a point surrounded by water on three sides.

The other two playgrounds are more wooded but feature plastic dinosaurs and monkey bars designed to look like dinosaur skeletons. There also is a real tank, but no climbing is allowed. My girls enjoyed the sundial, the first I've been able use to tell the time.

We started down the one-mile pedestrian trail but lost interest when we found it was just a straight path running next to a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. Our discussion of spider webs and falling leaves turned into an explanation of barbed wire and how it's used at prisons and jails.

But we had a great morning. A few degrees cooler, and you could bring a picnic and stay for several hours. It's also a great place to ride bikes from one area of the park to the next.

On a smaller scale, but almost as fun, is the playground next to the Kenneth City library and police department at 4600 58th St. N. It's almost completely shaded by trees and has a variety of climbing, swinging and sliding apparatus that I haven't seen at other parks.

For older siblings, a basketball court and tennis courts next to the playground have been unoccupied when we've been there. There are several picnic tables and a bathroom.

You also can stop in the library to read a book to your kids, but you can't check one out unless you live in Kenneth City or nearby. Library hours 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday and Saturday and 4-7 p.m. Thursday.

We recently tied in a trip to the playground with a haircut at Karmen's across the street. For $8, kids get a shampoo and cut. They take appointments, so there's no waiting. Call 544-8185.

The Canterbury School is having a free parenting skills panel, "Why Not Ask the Experts?" 6:30-8:30 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Knowlton Campus, 901 58th Ave. NE, St. Petersburg. Clinical psychologist Patricia Shiflett and developmental pediatrician Eric Tridas will discuss the healthy physical and emotional development of children and answer questions from the audience. The event is free and open to the public.

-- You can reach Katherine Snow Smith by e-mail at Oliviachar@aol.com; or write Rookie Mom, St. Petersburg Times, PO Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731.

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