Let your toes do the tapping! The top eight youth tappers in the country dance their way to Kent to perform the hit dance show TAP KIDS on Friday, Jan, 11. Save $8 by purchasing the family pack (two adults, two kids). Adults $24, students/seniors $20, family pack $80. Kentwood Performing Arts Center, 25800 164th Ave. S.E., Kent. 253-856-5050, www.ci.kent.wa.us/arts/spotlight
Snow flurries and rain showers can’t keep you locked inside all winter. Step out for nature sleuthing with the family at Enviro-Explorations: Parenting in Nature on Saturday, Jan, 13. Parents learn how to make hiking and outdoor activities fun and engaging for the family while kids examine different ecosystems. 1-3 p.m. Suggested donation $5. IslandWood, 4450 Blakely Ave. N.E., Bainbridge Island. 206-855-4300, www.islandwood.org/programs/community/schedule.php
Pack up your own little critters and take them to the annual Kids ‘n’ Critters Naturefest at Northwest Trek from Jan, 19-21. The first 1,500 visitors can hop the tram for a trip around the park. Afterward, partake in plenty of animal-themed activities, including a chance to compare your own wingspan and winter coat to those sported by creatures from around the Northwest. $15 per adult, up to four kids free. Gates open at 9:30 a.m. each day. Northwest Trek, 11610 Trek Drive E., Eatonville. 360-832-3117, www.nwtrek.org/page.php?id=127
You don’t have to wait until March to celebrate springtime! Chinese lion dances and a performance by the Seattle Chinese Orchestra, the only traditional Chinese orchestra in the Pacific Northwest, mark the start of spring in Chinese culture at the Lunar Spring Festival on Saturday, Jan. 26. 2 p.m. Adults $20-$25, students $10. Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts, 2011 Mottman Road S.W., Olympia. 360-596-5501, http://www.spscc.ctc.edu/CFA/events/world-stage.html
