Hi everyone!
Hope all the NYC children that headed off to school today had a great morning! Can’t wait to hear all the news at pick up today from my 4th grader and 1st grader!
This weekend there are a lot of back to school events happening! Check out Back to School Block Party at Old Stone House in JJ Byrne Park, Back to School Show with Little Laffs at the Jalopy Theatre and the Back-to-School Festival at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan! Also happening this weekend is the last FAB Friday Kid Concert & Activities at Putnam Plaza & Fowler Square, New York Clown Theatre Opening Day Parade in Union Square Park, US Open Viewing Picnic at Brooklyn Bridge Park, Circus Amok in Coney Island, 12th Annual West Side County Fair and the Mid-Autumn Moon Family Festival at The Museum of Chinese in America!
There are more weekend events so check out the calendar and see what else is happening in Brooklyn & NYC! Please remember to check with venues to see if there are any schedule changes. Remember to like us on Facebook for last minute events and news!
Happy weekend!
~ Deirdre (mom to O & C)
Friday September 5th
FAB Friday Kid Concert & Activities at Putnam Plaza (Clinton Hill) & Fowler Square (Fort Greene)
Fri Sep 5th 10-11a and 2-7p. FREE! Bring your little ones out for a FREE CONCERT at Putnam Triangle Plaza (Fulton Street and Grand Avenue) in Clinton Hill. This Friday Enjoy FREE Live Music Featuring: Jon Samson. Then 2-6PM The Uni Project, pop-up reading room with children’s picture books for browsing and a variety of activities such as making origami and reading aloud by volunteers will be available at Fowler Square (Fulton Street and Lafayette Avenue) and 4-6p there will be FREE games and arts and crafts with New York Cares volunteers. At 6p Come out to FABs LAST FAB FRIDAY NIGHT Live Music Featuring: DJ Ali Coleman! at Fowler Square (Fulton Street and Lafayette Avenue) for live music, dancing, and food from local FAB Businesses.
Drop in Sing Along with Lloyd H. Miller at Lark Cafe (Flatbush/Prospect Park South)
Fridays 10-1045a & 11-1145a.
Join Lloyd H. Miller of The Deedle Deedle Dees for a wonderful, interactive sing along filled with original songs about the history of new york city and beyond! Lloyd is a LARK favorite and is loved by both the little ones and their grown-ups too! Suggested $5per child.
New York Clown Theatre Opening Day Parade in Union Square Park
Friday Sep 5th 530p. Free.
Free clown parade and pie fight (around 630p) for all! Dust off the big shoes and red noses. The invasion of the clowns is back! Children of all ages are invited to join us as we fill Union Square with playful noise and foolishness. Then we’ll pack the clowns into the L train , and they will pour out in Williamsburg at the Bedford Stop and take over the street, marching, skating, biking, dancing and plain ole silly-walking all the way to The Brick. Once there, line-up to watch or participate in our massive public pie fight!
For more Friday events please click here!
Saturday September 6th
Back to School Block Party at Old Stone House, JJ Byrne Park
Sat Sep 6th 10a-4p. Free.
Get ready, get set, it’s back to school for parents too! Join WITS and a host of other wonderful kid and family friendly organizations at this Back to School Block Party hosted by Kid Klass. There will be FREE activities for kids of all ages and tons of great resources for parents, including Parent Forums to help you through School Admissions (10:30am-12:00pm) and PTA/PA Fundraising & Program Advice (12:30pm-2:00pm). Lunch and childcare are provided during the forums. Click here for more info about the event and KidKlass.
Mid-Autumn Moon Family Festival at The Museum of Chinese in America
Sat Sep 6th 12n-4p. Fee: $10 per person. $8 for all MOCA Dual and Individual Level Members. Free for MOCA Family Level Members and above, children under 2, and Cool Culture families. RSVP: Space is limited, advance purchase highly recommended. Click here to buy tickets. E-mail any questions to education@mocanyc.org. Mooncakes, lanterns, & the Jade Rabbit in the moon! Join MOCA for a fun filled afternoon of activities celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, including drop-in arts and crafts, storytelling, and a mooncake tasting. See the website for more details on the schedule of events.
Mad. Sq. 200: Historic Fair in Madison Square Park
Sat Sep 6th 3-6p. Free.
Madison Square Park Conservancy announces MAD. SQ. 200, presented by New York Life, a free event celebrating the 200th anniversary of the naming of Madison Square. The Historic Daytime Fair kicks off MAD. SQ. 200 with activities popular in the early 1800’s and 1900’s, including period-themed performances, interactive games, art, food, and refreshments highlighting these eras. Join in with popular lawn games of the past two hundred years throughout the park, including Badminton/Shuttlecock, Croquet (adult and kids versions), Hopscotch, Marbles, Jump Rope and 1914-inspired Dice Game of Hearts. See the website for more details on the event.
Open Source Gallery: Soap Box Derby 2014 (South Slope)
Sat Sep 6th on 17th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Free.
Every car built out of found material can be part of the race! All drivers have to arrive at 11am at 306 17th Street. The race starts at 11:30am for kids ages 7-15y and adults race at 1p.
For more Saturday events please click here!
Sunday September 7th
Back to School Show with Little Laffs at the Jalopy Theatre (Carroll Gardens/Red Hook)
Sun Sep 7th. Show starts at 10:30 (First Sunday of every month) Tickets: $5 Kids, $10 Adults, $25 Family
Little Laffs, “Big Fun for Little Ones” is a fun and entertaining variety show for kids ages 3-9, that mixes juggling, balloon art, music, comedy, and more. Located at the Fabulous Jalopy Theatre in Carroll Gardens/Red Hook, Brooklyn. Join us for an afternoon full of Little Laffs! Little Laffs – Big Fun for Little Ones! Kids Show featuring: Magic: Jaysin the Magician, Juggling: Justin Wood, Music: Audra Rox and Jennifer Milich
Circus Amok at Dreamland Plaza (Coney Island)
Sun Sep 7th 1p & 4p showtimes. Free.
Obie and Bessie Award-winning Circus Amok, New York City’s only one-ring, traveling political circus, once again lands in neighborhood parks throughout the city for the world premiere of its new 2014 production. All performances have a running-time of one hour and are free to the public. From the worlds of Ringling brothers Circus, Bread and Puppet Theater, the Judson dance theater, the new burlesque, and the Theater of the Ridiculous springs Circus Amok!! In this extravaganza not to be missed, the multi-talented, seven-member troupe and five-piece Circus Amok Band will amaze and astound audiences with a thrilling escapade of climate chance, dystopia vs. utopia, and the future of our own New York City.
12th Annual West Side County Fair
Sun Sep 7th 1-6p. Free. From 66th to 72nd St.
Enjoy county fair magic in Manhattan with carnival rides and games, live bands, sideshow performers, aerialists, reptile shows, greenmarket and more!
Back-to-School: Meet the Author Steve Metzger at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (UWS)
Sun Sep 7th at 2p. Free with museum admission. For all ages.
Join Author and Educator Steve Metzer for a back to school workshop. Metzger will share successful strategies for getting your kids school ready based on over 20 years of teaching experience, including his time at the Corlears School in NYC. Listen to Steve read from his book “It’s Time for School” and create your own picture book inspired by his work.
For more Sunday events please click here!
All Weekend
Back-to-School Book Art at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (UWS)
Sat & Sun Sep 6th & 7th at 10a-1p. Free with museum admission. For all ages.
Design an accordion-style book in assorted school themed shapes. Choose from a school house, a bus or a box of crayons! Bring your journal along for your first day of school!
Bessies’s Big Shot at Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre (Central Park)
Weekends until September 21s at 1p. Tickets: $7 children under 12y & $10 all others. For all ages.
Based on the famed PuppetMobile show of the same name, this popular production makes its Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre debut! Directed by Bruce Cannon and co-written by Douglas Strich, Alexander Bartenieff and Bruce Cannon, this version of the beloved show will feature several new puppets in addition to new and extended scenes. It’s a bird … it’s a plane … no … it’s Bessie the cow! CPF’s original production, Bessie’s Big Shot, follows Bessie the cow’s dream of joining the circus. Can she lift more than Ziegfried, the strongest man in the world? Fly on a trapeze high above the crowd? Train Munson the Monkey? This variety show cheers Bessie on as she attempts the impossible and searches for her special talents.
US Open Viewing Picnic at Brooklyn Bridge Park
Daily 11a until match play ends from August 30th to September 8th. Free. At the Harbor View Lawn.
Join us to celebrate the US Open on Harbor View Lawn with a live stream of the matches and special giveaways
Victorian Garden at Wollman Rink (Central Park)
Daily until Sun Sep 7th various times and admission & ride prices varies by day. See website. Enter park from 59th St. and 6th Avenue.
Victorian Gardens will open its gates Memorial Day Weekend! Opening weekend times: May 24th 10a-9p, May 25th and May 26th 10a-8p. Victorian Gardens is a traditional family amusement park featuring one-of-a-kind handcrafted rides, games of chance, classic concessions, face painting and live entertainment.
CMA/Free Arts Island Outpost on Governors Island
Sat-Sun now until Sep 28th 11a-3p. For ages 1-15y. Free.
Join us as we spend the summer amongst the trees, with the crickets and cicadas, dreaming of far away spaces and surreal surroundings! Places with wonderful surprises and strange twists, where not making sense makes the most sense! Be prepared for theater games and film-making; painting, collage, and found object art; costume and prop-making; up-cycling, recycling, and re-purposing! And don’t forget: The Flubber Experience! Location: Governors Island, Outside Buildings 11 & 14 in Nolan Park.
Dinosaur Safari: Mysteries Revealed! at the Bronx Zoo
Now until November 2nd 10a-5p. Admission included in total experience ticket price. Dinosaur Safari: Mysteries Revealed! Nine new dinosaur species have been added this year including the deinonychus, prodohadros, stegosaurus, and edmontonia. Returning for the Dinosaur Safari: Mysteries Revealed, the ever-popular 40-foot long tyrannosaurus rex will send chills up the spines of Bronx Zoo adventurers. At the end of the experience, there is a field site that includes a fossil dig for children; a Tyrannosaurus rex photo-op; a paleontologist’s tent that includes a fossil museum; and an interactive robotic dinosaur that illustrates how the animatronics work.
Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs at the American Museum of Natural History (UWS)
Now until January 4th 10a-545p. Free with General Admission Plus One
In the new exhibition Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs, rare fossils, life-size models, and hands-on interactives bring these ancient animals to life. Step back in time to see pterosaurs, including giants such as Tropeognathus mesembrinus,with a wingspan of more than 25 feet, and find out how they moved on land and in the air. Get a first-hand look at the rare pterosaur fossils that have helped paleontologists learn all that we know about these animals. In a virtual flight lab, use your body to pilot a pterosaur over a prehistoric landscape. Encounter the exceptional creatures that flew in the age of dinosaurs.
Prospect Park Carousel Summer Hours
Now until September 1st 2014 Thu–Sun: 12n–6p. $2 per ride, $9 for a book of 5 tickets.
Kick off spring with a ride on the Park’s beautiful 102 year-old carousel. Located in the Park’s “Children’s Corner,” the Carousel features 51 magnificently carved horses, a lion, a giraffe, a deer, and two dragon-pulled chariots. Carved in 1912 by Charles Carmel, one of the foremost carousel designers of the time, and restored by the Prospect Park Alliance in 1990, the Carousel promises that classic summertime amusement will be available for generations of fun. In addition, the Prospect Park Carousel is one of the few in the world that is wheelchair accessible.
Pop-Up Audubon in Prospect Park
Saturdays & Sundays until October 19, 2014: 12n–5p. Free.
The Prospect Park Alliance presents Pop-Up Audubon, now in its second season, which invites families to directly engage with nature through outdoor learning in locations around the Park. JUNE: Incredible Invertebrates. Location: Entrance to the Ravine, downhill from the Picnic House
The Art of the Brick at Discovery Times Square (Hell’s Kitchen, Midtown West)
Now until Sep 7th. Sun-Tues 10a-7p, Wed & Thur 10a-8p, Fri & Sat 10a-9p. Tickets: $19.50/adult, $16.50 kids age 4-12y. The return of The Art of Brick!RT OF THE BRICK, and will feature a newly introduced gallery that showcases artist Nathan Sawaya’s In Pieces collection, a multimedia collaboration produced in tandem with award-winning photographer Dean West.
Sawaya’s original Art of the Brick exhibition is a critically acclaimed collection of intriguing and inspiring works of art made exclusively from one of the most recognizable toys in the world — LEGO® bricks. The Discovery Times Square exhibit will be the world’s biggest and most elaborate display of LEGO® art ever and will feature brand-new, never-before-seen pieces by Sawaya. Don’t miss the show named one of CNN’s Top 10 ‘Global Must-See Exhibitions.’
For a full calendar of events please click here!