Ways to celebrate Mother’s Day are as different as moms are

This is not your grandmother’s Mother’s Day.

Cards, candies and kids’ cute crafts still are welcome – the crafts even treasured – but when it comes to celebrating the big day, many moms are up for much more than breakfast in bed or lunch at a tea room.

Modesto-area moms shared with The Modesto Bee on Facebook that they are – or are hoping to be – doing everything from going to the San Francisco Giants game, the Whole Earth Festival in Davis or the beach at Santa Cruz to taking camping trips, rafting and more.

“Moms are free at Funworks!” posted Tiffannie Fayad Raney. “Moms and grammas bowl free at McHenry Bowl on Mother’s Day!” exclaimed Stacey Marckese. (More on those later.)

If you’re trying to think outside the chocolate box, consider a Saturday session at the Extreme Paintball park, out on Dusty Lane. The park is closed Sunday because, well, paintball apparently has not been a hugely popular Mother’s Day activity.

“On Father’s Day, we’re packed,” said Gina Telford of Extreme Paintball. “But on Mother’s Day, we had maybe 20, 30 people. A normal day is about 150.”

But Telford said Tuesday that she’ll offer a deal to moms who are game to start their special weekend with a splat. “If a mom comes out with a child Saturday, the mom plays free,” she said.

The messiness of paintball a bit extreme for Mom? If she’s otherwise up for being treated more like a target than a treasure, she might enjoy dodgeball with a twist – on a trampoline at the Rockin’ Jump in Modesto’s McHenry Village.

Many area parents have shown they love leaping around just as much as their kids, said Rockin’ Jump employee Jacqueline Miller. “We get a lot of moms and dads who go out and jump with their kids,” noting that there’s even a special tot time a few days a week for parent and child to enjoy some bonding and bouncing.

On Mother’s Day, kids can test Mom’s throwing arm in the designated dodgeball zone. To guarantee jumping time on Sunday, reservations are recommended and can be made online.

At McHenry Bowl, mothers and grandmothers accompanied by kids get to bowl free between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. And at Funworks Fun Co. on Coffee Road, Mom gets a free wristband with purchase of the same wristband for a child. There are three types of wristbands – the three-attraction wristband, the five-hour playpass and the Extreme Funpass for unlimited admission to attractions, said employee Trenten Nielsen. “As far as I know, this is the first time we’ve done this,” he said.

A Saturday event that will help moms feel good and benefit several local organizations is the fourth annual Ride for Mom, starting at Johansen High School.

The event will offer 10-, 35- and 77-mile bicycle rides, rest stops and support, plus lunch. “In addition to Modesto bicycle trails, the routes traverse the rich farmlands and scenic rivers of eastern Stanislaus County,” organizers said in a news release.

Hundreds of cyclists of all ages and abilities are expected to gather. Check-in is available Saturday morning starting at 6 at Johansen, or on Friday night at the Seasons on McHenry Avenue. Start times Saturday are 7 a.m. for the longest ride, 8 for the 35-mile ride and a staggered start between 9:30 and 10 for the 10-mile route. Prices for the benefit range from $25 to $70. Get details at http://rideformom.com.

Proceeds from the event will support Teens Run Modesto, The First Tee of Central Valley, Bi-National Health Fair (El Concilio), Valley Recovery Resource, Redwood Family Center and the Children’s Crisis Center of Stanislaus County.

“Our goal is to have fun participating in a fun and healthy activity while raising community awareness on how to live healthier,” says event coordinator Bob Fores, who lost his mother to cancer.

Questions? Email info@rideformom.com.

Should Saturday’s ride not fit your schedule, Modesto’s several bikeways certainly still will be there Sunday. Modesto has more than 34 miles of paved bike routes, including the Dry Creek, Hetch-Hetchy, Tuolumne River and Virginia Corridor routes.

Other ways to spend the day run the gamut from a short day trip to Columbia State Historic Park, with stops along the way, to creating a masterpiece with Mom at a paint-your-own ceramics shop.

Here are a few other events planned for mothers this weekend:

▪ Railtown 1897 State Historic Park – Moms who take an excursion train ride will get a free commemorative Belgian chocolate bar, while supplies last, and more. “With beautiful wildflowers still in bloom on Mother’s Day, the 6-mile, 45-minute round-trip ride takes passengers through the rolling Gold Country foothills,” says a news release from the park. “ ... “For those wanting to treat mom extra special on Mother’s Day, there will be a first-class train ride available as well.”

With train ride departures at 10:30 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Mother’s Day, capacity is limited and visitors are encouraged to arrive early. Train ride tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for youths ages 6-17 and kids 5 and under are free. All train ride tickets include park admission and are available for advance purchase at www.railtown1897.org as well as at the ticket window beginning at 10 a.m.

▪ Mother’s Day breakfast – The La Grange Odd Fellows, LaFayette Lodge 65, are offering breakfast at the IOOF Hall. The menu includes biscuits and gravy, sausage, ham and cheese omelets, and French toast all for $6. Complimentary coffee and orange juice round out the meal, served from 7 to 11 a.m. The address is 30018 Yosemite Blvd., which is Highway 132, just east of the intersection of Highway J-59. For more information, call Chris at (209) 853-2128.

▪ Mother’s Day Brunch – The Sportsmen of Stanislaus Club is offering the meal from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, at $25 per person, $15 for children ages 4 to 11. To learn more, call (209) 578-5801.

▪ Mother’s Day Breakfast – On Saturday from 8 to 11 a.m. at the Old Schoolhouse, Cemetery Street and Broadway in Coulterville, omelets and the traditional pancake and egg breakfast will be available. A choice of omelets – strawberry, cheese, ham or veggie – or a combo of any two of the latter three, complete with pancakes and fresh fruit, costs $7.50. Eggs cooked to order, all-you-can-eat pancakes, ham or sausage and fruit are $5 for adults, $3 for children or $15 for a family of four (two adults, two children). All moms will receive a flower. There will be a raffle for a watercolor painting of violets by local artist Maryanna Kingman.

This story was originally published May 7, 2015 at 10:31 AM with the headline "Ways to celebrate Mother’s Day are as different as moms are."