Hi everyone
Another fun busy summer weekend here in Brooklyn & NYC with lots of events for families!
This weekend take the kids to go see PuppetMobile: Tales of Brier Rabbit at Pier Kids in Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6, Dan Zanes and Friends Live in Concert at the Bronx Zoo, SummerStage Kids: Marika Hughes & Bottom Heavy at Brower Park, High Bridge Festival, Celebrate the Caribbean Islands Day! at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Lincoln Center Out of Doors Family Day, Puppetry: Clementine the Hipster at the Family Performance Festival in Central Park, enjoy FAB Friday Kids Activities Finale at Fowler Square, have a blast at The Art Yard: Story Pirates Junior Puppeteer Workshop in Madison Square Park, Second Annual Antique Car Rally and Family Day at Jeppe Hein: Please Touch the Art in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Also check out some events that are all weekend like the New York City Poetry Festival on Governors Island, the Space & Science Festival at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, Family Discovery Weekends at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Theatreworks USA Presents: Skippyjon Jones Snow What (& the 7 Chihuahuas) at Lucille Lortel Theatre and Princess Phooey at Tada! Youth Theater.
That is just some of the events socheck the calendar for all the Brooklyn & NYC events happening this weekend! Remember to like us on Facebook for last minute events and news!
Have a great weekend!
~ Deirdre (mom to O & C)
Friday July 24th
SummerStage Kids: Marika Hughes & Bottom Heavy at Brower Park (Crown Heights)
Friday July 24th 1030-1130a. Free. The performance will take place on the basketball courts, located at Brooklyn Ave. & Prospect Pl. Bottom Heavy instantly established itself as a strong new sound; flowing freely between funky instrumentals, dreamy lullabies in soul and blues inflected songs. Marika Hughes fronts the band with such ease and so naturally it makes one wonder why cellos haven’t always fronted bands. Her stylings are reminiscent of her classical upbringing yet defy expectation as she moves us with her supple vocals through jazz, funk, soul, rock, and back again. The band can tip its hat to some of our greatest artists as influences; Gil-Scott Heron, Roberta Flack, Don Pullen, Charles Mingus and Cassandra Wilson, The Staple Singers, to name only a few. As you are charmed by her cello, her voice, and her band, you will be charmed by Marika herself: fiercely authentic, her audience an old friend invited along for the fabulous ride.
Community Heroes : A Storyplay Special Edition at the Brooklyn Public Library (Greenpoint)
Friday July 24th 11a-12n. For ages 3-5y. This week, we’ll be introduced to Donut Makers! Meet some of the people who help make Greenpoint great! We’ll learn about their jobs, read stories, and do fun and creative activities. Click here for the full lineup of the Community Heroes who will be visiting the branch.
FAB Friday Kids Activities Finale at Fowler Square (Fort Greene)
Friday July 24th 3-6p. Free. Join FAB for FAB Friday Kids Activities Finale and enjoy free afternoon kids’ activities and games, hands-on art workshops with professional local artists, urban croquet, games, jump rope, sidewalk chalk drawing, checkers, FDNY safety training demonstrations, Brooklyn Public Library reading circles, hula hooping, and more. Plus, pop-ups & demos by FABulous businesses! Bring the whole family and let’s have some fun!! At 3p our friends from The Uni Project will have a pop-up reading room with children’s picture books & their newly added DRAW cart for children & families ready to go. You can spend some time reading before the event kicks off at 4p! See the website for all the details.
Piper Theatre Summer Youth Performance: Music Man Jr. at the Old Stone House & Washington Park (Park Slope)
Friday July 24th 830p. Free and outdoors. It is that time of year again. Go see the Piper Theatre Youth Summer Performances. Performances also happening 6p & 7p. See the full schedule on the website. Bring your folding chairs and blankets. Children will be asked to sit in front. Soft drinks, beer, wine and snacks available for purchase. No glass containers or dogs please.
For more Friday events please click here!
Saturday July 25th
The Art Yard: Story Pirates Junior Puppeteer Workshop in Madison Square Park
Saturday July 25th 9a-12n. Free. Watch your kids turn into master puppeteers before your very eyes! This workshop is designed to give children and their caregivers the tools to make detailed puppet characters, write stories about them, and be confident in performing short puppet shows in front of the group. Story Pirates teaching artists will provide puppet making materials, graphic organizers for planning characters and stories, and lots of hilarious modeling of how to perform with confidence. Adult supervision is required and promptness is encouraged. Workshops happening every Saturday until August 22nd. See website for information on future workshops.
Lincoln Center Out of Doors Family Day (UWS)
Saturday July 25th various times. Free. The Annual Family Day for Lincoln Center Out of Doors is back and features day-long dance and music events for children of all ages, starting with Baby Loves Disco from 10a-1145a. Get down to favorite tunes from the ’70s and ’80s spun live for toddlers, preschoolers, and their grown-ups, with interactive elements from face painting to egg-shakers. See website for more information on Family Day events.
Celebrate the Caribbean Islands Day! at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum (Crown Heights)
Saturday July 25th 10a-5p. For all ages. Free with museum admission. On July 25th, 2015 the Brooklyn Children’s Museum will host award winning performances and fun activities that celebrate the Caribbean Islands and Cultures! Make a Puerto Rican Vejigante mask, learn how to stilt walk Moko Jumbie style and meet real live Caribbean critters. Catch a carnival inspired music, dance, and poetry performance by Something Postitive INC and dance the afternoon away with Jamaican-American children’s music sensation Father Goose—“The King of the Dance Party.” See website for details on the schedule of events.
Dan Zanes and Friends Live in Concert at the Bronx Zoo
Saturday July 25th 1130a & 2p. Free with zoo admission. Location: Astor Court. Grammy Award winner Dan Zanes occupies a unique place in American music where sea shanties, English music hall, North American and West Indian folk music, play party songs, the spirit of early rock-and-roll and soulful originals collide. With his band, Dan Zanes and Friends, he has toured the world sharing handmade 21st century social music with enthusiastic crowds of kids and kid sympathizers. His widely-acclaimed music has been featured on Sesame Street, Playhouse Disney, Nickelodeon, HBO Family and Sprout. *In the event of inclement weather, the performance will be moved to Sunday, July 26.
High Bridge Festival (Manhattan/Bronx)
Saturday July 25th 12n-4p. Free. Join NYC Parks for The High Bridge Festival at Highbridge Park, on both the Manhattan and Bronx sides of the Harlem River! The High Bridge Festival celebrates the historic reopening of the High Bridge, NYC’s oldest standing bridge. This free event has something for everyone to enjoy. Activities include: bridge making workshop by the Bronx Children’s Museum, walking tours of the High Bridge and more. See website for details on the event.
For more Saturday events please click here!
Sunday July 26th
Second Annual Antique Car Rally (DUMBO)
Sunday July 26th 10a-4p. Free. The DUMBO Antique Car Rally is back by popular demand for a second year! On Sunday July 26, from 10am – 4pm, the Model A Ford Club of Long Island will bring out twenty gorgeous, hand-restored Model As to Anchorage Place for all to see – a treat for car buffs and passersby alike. Jan Bell and The Maybelles perform from 1-3pm under the Archway, plus Gatsby-era Gangster & Glam hat crafts for the kiddos thanks to Creatively Wild. Location: The address is Anchorage Place between Pearl Street and Plymouth Street. That’s the F to York Street, A/C to High Street and 2/3 to Clark Street.
Pier Kids: PuppetMobile in Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6
Sunday July 26th 11a-1p. Free. PuppetMobile presents Tales of Brier Rabbit. Tales of Brier Rabbit follows the adventures of notorious trickster Brier Rabbit, who is once again up to no good. Deceiving and stealing from his fellow animal friends, Brier Rabbit thinks he’s much too clever to ever get caught. However, in this modern adaptation of the American folk tale, Brier Rabbit’s pals are on to his tricks, and set out to teach him a lesson he won’t soon forget! The program is followed by art activities from Private Picassos at 12 pm and an outdoor pop-up reading room from the Uni Project.
Family Performance Festival in Central Park (UWS)
Starting Sunday June 26th at 12n and every Sunday until September 6th. Programs are free and between 60-90 minutes long. Each summer, the Conservancy hosts a series of eco-education and multicultural performances for the whole family to enjoy. This year’s Family Performance Festival is chock-a-block full of fun and learning through music, storytelling, Park adventures, puppetry, and more! Programs happen near the most natural playground, the Great Hill (located inside the Park near West 106th Street). Pack a picnic, grab your blanket, and get ready to discover Central Park in a whole new way! RSVP to let us know you’re coming; all ages welcome. In the case of inclement weather, programs will be canceled. For weather-related changes and accessibility information, call 212-208-4111 or check the event on our online calendar. July 26th: Clementine the Hipster explores Central Park Puppetry by Puppetsburg. Clementine has travelled all the way from Williamsburg to explore Central Park! Learn about water co nservation; repurpose litter to MAKE ART the BROOKLYN way, help to build our very own RECYCLE/REUSE ROBOT, then wind down with a lovely picnic— the remains of which you can compost at home, of course. See the website for all the information on future performances.
Family Day at Jeppe Hein: Please Touch the Art at Brooklyn Bridge Park
Sunday July 26th 12n-4p. Free. Get crafty with the Children’s Museum of Arts at the new art installation, Mirror Labyrinth. Bring your creativity! Public Art Fun invites children ages 1-10 and their families to drop in for a fun and engaging look at this park-wide art exhibition through hands on art-making activities with Teaching Artist from the Children’s Museum of the Arts.
Warmth Presents Sunday Sessions at Redwood Studios (Gowanus)
Sunday July 26th 2-9p (happens 2nd & last Sundays through September). $10 for adults; $25 per family (two adults and kids). For dance music fans of all ages, Sunday Sessions promises to be the perfect way to wind up the weekend during the summer. We invite you to park your stroller, grab some grub, and get your groove on. Doors open at 2pm and the party will heat up till 9pm. With a festival-like environment, Sunday Sessions will have food and drink available for purchase, plus kid-friendly activities such as misting hoses, bubbles, balloons, and sidewalk chalk.
For more Sunday events please click here!
All Weekend
Family Discovery Weekends at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (Crown Heights)
Saturdays & Sundays 1030a-230p until August 23rd. Free with Garden admission. This is a drop-in program for families with children of all ages. Stop by the pavilion to create a nature-based craft, artwork, or invention. Experiment, learn, and play together in the Discovery Garden. Hands-on stations throughout the garden’s meadow, woodland, and marsh habitats, and in the vegetable garden encourage families to explore nature together. All programs are outdoors and canceled in inclement weather; for updates, call 718-623-7200, ext. 7801. See website for additional days in the fall.
New York City Poetry Festival on Governors Island
Saturday-Sunday July 25th-26th 11a-a530p. Free. Location: Colonels Row. The Poetry Society of New York will once again invite New Yorkers to come together for this two day festival to celebrate NYC’s vibrant poetry community. The event will include over 60 poetry organizations and 250 poets on its three stages; a Vendor’s Village where local booksellers, artists and craft makers will sell their wares; a beer garden sponsored by Brooklyn Brewery; healthy and delicious food options; poetic installation art throughout, the Ring of Daisies open mic; and last but not least, the Children’s Poetry Festival, complete with writing games and its own fourth, all-kids stage. For more details please see the website.
Space & Science Festival at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum (Hell’s Kitchen/Midtown West)
Friday July 24th-Sunday July 26th various times. All activities taking place on Pier 86 are free to the public, while programs and activities inside the Museum and the Space Shuttle Pavilion require Museum admission. See website for schedule of activities. Join us at the Intrepid Museum for the fourth annual Space & Science Festival! Hear an astronaut’s stories about flying into space, experience the movement of satellites in real time, and glimpse into the future of space exploration, all during this four-day celebration of science, art and innovation! Throughout the festival, enjoy displays and activities by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Final Frontier Design, FIRST Robotics and our other partners, as well as special Tour Guide Talks and demos from the Museum’s stellar team of educators! And don’t forget to check out HUBBLE@25 in the Space Shuttle Pavilion, an exhibition celebrating 25 years of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Jack and the Beanstalk at Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre (Central Park)
Saturday & Sunday 11a & 1p until July 26th and then 1p on weekends in August. See website for additional weekday show times this summer. Tickets are $7/children and $10/adults. Based on the classic English fairytale, this fresh retelling of the Swedish Cottage original production takes Jack on an enchanting adventure up a magical beanstalk. In this starry new world, Jack encounters the notorious Giant, Milford, whose thieving ways have brought misfortune upon Jack and his mother. Determined to make life better for his family, Jack, with help from friends old and new, risks his life to take back what the Giant stole.
Kids Corner at Habana Outpost (Fort Greene)
Saturdays & Sundays until August 30th 11a-3p. Free. Presented by Sean Meenan and Habana Works. The Kid’s Corner is a weekend program that offers free, creative workshops and crafts that teach environmentalism, wellness and community to neighborhood kids. July 25th & 26th- Cardboard Robots! Create funky robots from recycled toilet paper rolls.
Theatreworks USA Presents: Skippyjon Jones Snow What (& the 7 Chihuahuas) at Lucille Lortel Theatre (West Village)
Ongoing at various times until Friday August 7th. See website for full schedule. Free. For ages 3-9y. This summer Theatreworks will present Skippyjon Jones Snow What (& the 7 Chihuahuas). Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the bravest Chihuahua of them all? Skippyjon Jones the Siamese cat who thinks he’s a Mexican Chihuahua of course! While his sisters listen to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Skippy heads off for the REAL adventure awaiting him in his closet. There, as his alter ego Skippito Friskito, and with the help of his friends the Seven Chimichangos, Skippyjon must rescue the beautiful princess Nieve Qué (Snow What), battle the evil dragon and defeat the Bruja. A brand new musical based on the book by Judy Schachner, Skippyjon Jones Snow What is a twist on the classic fairytale Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Geared for children in K-3rd Grade, this musical adaptation was written by Kevin Del Aguila with music by Eli Bolin. Since this is a free performance please read the details on how to get tickets and the rules here on the website.
Princess Phooey at Tada! Youth Theater (Chelsea, Midtown West)
Friday July 24th 12n & 2p and Saturday July 25th 2p & 4p. Running at various times until August 1st. See website for additional showtimes. Tickets: $20-$25 for adults, $10-$15 for children. An original musical performed by kids. Before Elsa and Anna and Sofia the 1st there was Princess Ermangarde! Join us for this musical fairy tale like no other with a rebellious princess, and a gaggle of kooky chambermaids and stable boys- and of course a handsome prince! Book & Lyrics by Lisa Diana Shapiro & Music by Eric Rockwell.
Subway Symphony at the NY Transit Museum (Downtown Brooklyn)
Saturday-Sunday July 25th-26th 130-215p. For ages 4+. Free with museum admission. A ride on the subway is sometime like a musical performance – there are bell chimes, people chatting, and the whirr and hiss of wheels and brakes. Join us for an interactive “sound-along” to recreate joyful, noisy travel by train!
Splash Pad at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park
Monday-Saturday 10a-7p & Sunday 10-6p. Free. The Splash Pad, offically known as the Matilda Raffa Cuomo Water Playground, is the LeFrak Center’s free water play area for kids 12 and under. Open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the water feature welcomed over 30,000 visitors last summer. Featuring 47 water spray jets and covering 16,000 square feet, Splash Pad is largest water play area in Prospect Park. In addition, the LeFrak Center offers roller skating, the Bluestone Café, and surrounding landscapes for picnicking and relaxation.
Jack & The Beanstalk at Puppetworks (Park Slope)
Saturdays & Sundays 1230p & 230p until August 23rd. For 3y+. Admission for a Child is $9, an Adult $10. No credit cards accepted. Reservations are suggested: 718-965-3391 (current day or advance reservations) or e-mail us: puppetworks@twcmetrobiz.com (NO same day e-mail reservations). Jack & The Beanstalk with an Original Song Score and a “live” Giant. Adapted for Marionettes by Nicolas Coppola
CMA: Free Art Island Outpost on Governors Island
Saturday & Sunday 11a-3p until September 27th (and Labor Day September 7). For ages 1-15y. Free. Location: Outside Building 14 in Nolan Park. Bring the whole family and join CMA’s Teaching Artists, as we spend the summer making artwork inspired by Governors Island itself! Participants will create works that show the importance of nature and parks, and our place in between those two. We will be influenced by the works of Andy Goldsworthy, Nils-Udo, and Richard Shilling as we scavenge for what nature has to offer, collaborating with site specific installations, and showcasing interactions with the sun, trees, water, and rocks. And be prepared to exploit the creative potential of everyday trash, repurposing it away from the landfills and oceans, by making it into clever and meaningful art. For more information on Governors Island, please visit www.govisland.com.
Pinkalicious, The Musical at Culture Project’s Lynn Redgrave Theater
Saturdays & Sundays 1p until August 30th. Tickets: $36.50. For ages 2 to 7y. Pinkalicious can’t stop eating pink cupcakes despite warnings from her parents. Her pink indulgence lands her at the doctor’s office with Pinkititis, an affliction that turns her pink from head to toe – a dream come true for this pink loving enthusiast. But when her hue goes too far, only Pinkalicious can figure out a way to get out of this predicament.
Ready, Set, Kindergarten at various Brooklyn Public Library branches
Summer Session 2015 starts Friday-Sunday July 10th-12th at various locations and every weekend until August 16th. Free. Have fun at the library and help your child get ready for school. For children 3 to 5 years and participating parents or caregivers. Families enjoy stories and activities designed to encourage the development of early learning skills. Exploring literacy, science, and math through music, stories, crafts, and play will help you and your child get ready for school! Families will receive free materials to continue the learning and fun at home. See the flyer for all the information on branches and times.
For a full calendar of events please click here!