Newark, CA Outdoor Activities

Water features lace throughout Boomers! miniature-golf courses, gurgling cheerfully as putters attempt to elude windmill blades and wacky hazards. These carefully designed courses populate numerous national locations, running parallel to go-kart tracks or lawless bumper-boat lagoons abandoned by the Coast Guard. Inside old-fashioned arcade rooms, video games chirp in response to players' shouts of victory or defeat.

The parks' parent company—Palace Entertainment—maintains 8 theme parks, 11 water parks, and 21 family-entertainment centers tucked into various corners of the nation, making it an expert on providing family-style fun and laundering towels.

420 pounds of butter. 900 eggplants. 210 gallons of honey. This isn’t a recipe for a record-breaking dish, but rather, a portion of the ingredients that go into making this festival delicious. A crew of chefs and bakers spend the three-day event whipping these products and more into Greek dishes and pastries, employing the same recipes and culinary techniques that their forefathers used. This celebration of cultural history and traditions is the foundation on which the Belmont Greek Festival is built.

Hellenic enthusiasts of all ages and backgrounds descend upon the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Cross to enjoy food and festivities. A calendar of engaging events includes cooking demonstrations, performances by folk-dancing groups, and tours of the church’s Byzantine-style interior. The outdoor amphitheater hosts live plays, evoking the feel of an ancient theatre thanks to its open-air design and centaur ushers. Kids can take to the Fun Zone for games, rides, and bouncy castles, and shoppers visit the agora flea market to find Mediterranean books, artwork, jewelry, and clothing. The Church of the Holy Cross spreads cheer after the weekend is done by donating part of the festival’s proceeds to local charities, which in the past have included the Children’s Advocacy Council and Samaritan House.

For more than a decade, Team Bay Tennis's founder and director Igor Savanovic has fine-tuned the swings of athletes ranging from beginners to pros. Savanovic and two other instructors tailor their instruction to varying levels of play. They work with graduated court and racket sizes while forming a personal rapport and motivational relationship with students. Adults hone strokes in clinics or one-on-one lessons that focus on technical aspects of the game, such as how to deal with hecklers.

LeMans Karting helps visitors satisfy their needs for speed, safety, and social interaction. Nine-horsepower SODI RX 7 karts take drivers soaring at speeds of up to 42 mph across indoor and outdoor tracks as they compete for the fastest finish. High-grip track surfaces help drivers reach top speeds, and high-visibility lighting and flagmen keep everyone safe as they round corners and pass other drivers on the wide course. On certain days, the staff connects the indoor and outdoor track into a single, giant mega track that hosts extended races when it’s not busy fighting Godzilla.

LeMans Karting also offers endurance racing for drivers who want to sharpen their driving skills or land a job as Vin Diesel’s chauffer. The center also offers private parties for birthdays and bachelor parties and can help plan charity or corporate events.

At KGS Academy, founder and former MLS player Kelly Gray propels kids toward professional soccer careers. Supported by a staff of professional athletes of an equally high caliber, Kelly primes youngsters for competition during private lessons and small-group or team training sessions. Soccer programs range from the Striker Academy, which helps aspiring strikers hone their shots, to seasonal camps, where kids pick up new skills or victory-dance routines from a lineup of coaches.

Palm trees aren't normally present when Kristi Yamaguchi turns a triple axel. But that's par for the course at Downtown Ice, where the former Olympic skater has been known to circle the rink in celebration of a chilly San Jose tradition. Each year, Christmas lights wrap around the tree trunks in downtown San Jose’s Circle of Palms, lighting up the ice rink that spreads beneath the trees' fronds. Designed by rink architect Gil Garcia, the outdoor ice arena enables revelers to partake in a beloved winter tradition without being forced to partner skate with yetis. At night, the palms’ twinkling lights join stadium lighting so that skaters can practice their Scott Hamilton backflips all night long. The temporary ice rink is part of San Jose’s Downtown for the Holidays traditions, such as Christmas in the Park and the Winter Wonderland amusement rides.