The Little Rock Zoo is celebrating gorillas this weekend from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Trudy, the second oldest gorillas in captivity, is celebrating her 55 birthday.   The only known gorilla older than Trudy is Colo at Columbus Zoo.   She was born December 22, 1956, and is famous for being the first gorilla to be born in captivity.   Trudy's estimated birthday is April 1st of 1957.  She came to the Little Rock Zoo in 1988.  In the wild, the average lifespan of gorillas is 35-40 years.

The zoo is also throwing Mosi, the first gorilla born in Arkansas (pictured above in August of 2011), a going away party.  Mosi is moving to a bachelor group in Chicago.   Mosi was born on October 10, 2006.

Trudy has a birthday list if you want to bring her a gift.  At 10:30 a.m., Trudy is getting presents.  From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the zoo is serving ice cream and at 1:30. Mosi is getting some going away gifts.

I spent this weekend updating my list of summer camps with current links and costs.  Some of the camps are already accepting registration, and many fill up quickly!

I went to UALR's SLUFY when I was a kid (I think it was still called SLUFY back then).  I had the most fun summer ever.  It's been a while, but we did a lot of fun, hands-on, science-geared activities.  I remember dissecting owl pellets, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.  The current offerings have a little bit from every subject including literature, science, math and sports.

My niece used to do the Arkansas Arts Center Summer Theater Academy every year. She loved it, especially the big performance at the end.  Auditions for that program are already closed, but the Arts Center has other fun summer classes that will allow your kids to learn a new art skill.   They have classes in painting, fabric arts, drawing, jewelry making, clay, theater and more.

Another program I have experience with is the Little Rock Zoo's Summer Zoofari.  I volunteer at the zoo, and sometimes end up guiding a class or two.  The photograph is from last year's "Wanna be a Keeper" class.  Kids in that class go behind the scenes and learn what the zoo keepers do on a daily basis.  The zoo also has classes for younger kids that have animal interactions and some behind the scenes experiences.

The Arkansas Museum of Discovery has some fun looking classes too.  Their summer offerings take advantage of the newly remodeled building, and concentrate on science in a fun way.  They even have a class on rocket science!

Instead of me blogging about them all, why don't you check out the entire list and find one your child would like to participate in.

The big news this weekend is the Greek Food Fest, but there's plenty of other fun stuff to do.

Today and Tomorrow:

• Maumelle Friends of the Animals has teamed up with some business in Maumelle for some promotions.  From 4 to close tonight (Wednesday), visit the Maumelle American Pie and mention the shelter and they will donate a portion of the proceeds.  From 4-8 on Thursday, visit Beef O'Brady's in Maumelle and mention the shelter for the same.  More info.
• A Calera wine dinner is being held at Ashley's at the Capital on May 17.  Tickets are $135.  It starts at 6:30, call 501-370-7011
• Around the World Thursdays at Forty Two takes you to Hong Gai, Vietnam with authentic foods.  501-537-0042.
• Barefoot Studios, on Cantrell, is having their annual open house and anniversary party on May 17. Lots of fun stuff and food, and  CARE will be on hand with adoptable dogs.  More info.

Friday, May 18

• All weekend the Arkansas Festival Ballet will present Aladdin.   It's aimed at children at the Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theatre.  Tickets are $20-25. More info.
• Antiques:  Trash or Treasure will be at Argenta's Laman Library (506 Main St in NLR) at 6 p.m.  Nancy Dunning will discuss the basics of antiquing.
• Crusin' in the Rock is a car show at the River Market.  It's at 6 p.m.
• The Peabody Rivertop Party features Exhale.  It's $8.

Saturday, May 19

• It's the Museum of Discovery's Dino Dash 5k. Proceeds benefit science education and there's a fun 1k walk too.  There's a Discovery Fest along with this event that is free.  More info.
• Buzz-B-Q is back from 10 a.m.-7 p.m.  Lots of BBQ and live music.  $10.  It's at the North Little Rock RV Park at 250 S. Locust St.

I have a weakness for chocolate, and chocolate chips are probably my favorite my to eat it.  I'm not a big fan of cookies unless they are chocolate chip.  Today is the day to celebrate the cookie, so I'll run down some places you can find great cookies in Little Rock.

The DoubleTree hotel chain is famous for their cookies and they have one here in downtown Little Rock too.   The chain hands out approximately 60,000 chocolate chip cookies each day adding up to more than 21 million cookies annually.  That's a lot of cookies!

They aren't my favorite cookies in Little Rock.  For that, I go to some of the bakeries around the city.   My bakery list is mostly centered on cakes and cupcakes, but many of them, like Community Bakery, Sweet Love Bakery and Brown Sugar Bakery, also have cookies. Dempsey's makes pretty good gluten free and vegan chocolate chip cookies, so even people with food allergies and special diets can get a chocolate fix.

Let me know if you've found the perfect cookie locally.

Chocolate chip cookie photograph copyright Getty Images.