Hi everyone
Hard to believe this is the last weekend of the summer. There are lots of fun events happening this weekend and the weather looks great!
This weekend take the kids and and enjoy the first ever Brooklyn Book Festival Children’s Day, the Kite Festival at Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Sunset Park 5th Ave Street Festival, Reading Rangers in Madison Square Park, do some bike shopping at New York Bike Jumble at The Old Stone House, have a blast at the 40th Annual Flatbush Frolic, a September Storytime: Autumn Leaves at Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden, check out Stand Clear of the Closing Doors, Please at at Old Stone House, dance at Suzi Shelton Backyard Concert at Norman & Jules and have fun at FamilyDay@theSeaport: The Brooklyn Bridge at the Seaport Culture District.
Also enjoy ongoing events like Rabbit Hole Theatricks: Superbunny’s Pirate Vacation at The Actors Fund Arts Center, Family Discovery Weekends at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, play:ground Adventure on Governors Island, Transforming Food at the Lefferts Historic House in Prospect Park, the 33rd Annual Queens County Fair at Queens County Farm Museum and Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor Grand Opening Weekend.
Be sure to check the calendar for all the NYC events going on this weekend! Also remember to like us on Facebook for last minute events and news!
Happy weekend of the summer!
~ Deirdre (mom to O & C)
Friday September 18th
Reading Rangers in Madison Square Park (Flatiron)
Fridays at 10a until September 29th (also Tuesdays). Free. Adult supervision is required. This Friday, join Alison, our Mad. Sq. Park teaching artist, for Tales with a Twist storytime in the Police Office Moira Ann Smith Playground.
September Storytime: Autumn Leaves at Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden (UES)
Friday September 18th 1030a. Free with adult admission. Historically-themed stories and crafts for ages 2-6. Storytime happens every third Friday.
Moxie Spot Music Singalong at First Unitarian Congregational Society (Brooklyn Heights)
Fridays at 11a (doors open at 1045a) and also Tuesdays $10/child, siblings 2 for $15. Singalongs are back! Good music + people + interaction = fun, empathy and community. PERFORMERS (other than you!) Tuesday: Phil Cohen and Friday: Nat and his son.
Rabbit Hole Theatricks: Superbunny’s Pirate Vacation at The Actors Fund Arts Center (Downtown Brooklyn)
Friday September 18th 11a (also Saturday-Sunday September 19th-20th at 2p). Free. Reservations: (917) 563-9830. The show is filled with exciting moments of audience participation like swimming with an octopus at the bottom of the see and joining a pirate crew on stage for a musical number… someone might even have to walk the plank! It’s certain to bring smiles to everyone from age 6 to 60 and beyond. In this musical tale, Superbunny goes on vacation to a tropical island and soon finds it’s not all fun in the sun. Someone is dumping garbage in the ocean and ruining the beautiful beaches and clean water. It’s up to him to get to the bottom of this crime, but his efforts may be doomed when he unexpectedly tangels with a band of pirates in this song filled children’s musical that condemns stealing and polluting our oceans.
For more Friday events please click here!
Saturday September 19th
Brooklyn Book Festival Children’s Day (Downtown Brooklyn)
Saturday September 19th 10a-4p. Free. Enjoy beloved and cool writers and illustrators all day at beautiful MetroTech Commons in Downtown Brooklyn, on two tented stages and in the auditorium of NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering. Books by participating authors and other new and beloved children’s books will be on sale with author book-signings after each program. Come listen to your favorite children’s book authors read! Also come see beloved children’s book illustrators go to toe to toe with in a live action drawing competition featuring Kevin Sherry (Monsters on the Run), Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet), George O’Connor (If I Had a Triceratops), Aimee Sicuro (Bright Sky, Starry City), Frank Morrison (Little Melba and her Big Trombone), and Raúl Colón (Draw!). Moderated by Ayun Halliday (Peanut). See the website for the full schedule of events.
New York Bike Jumble at Old Stone House/JJ Byrne Park (Park Slope)
Saturday September 19th 10a-4p. Free admission. Join us again at the Old Stone House at Fifth Avenue and 4th Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn for back-to-school bargains, replacement parts, and new and used bicycles. Gear up for commuting season, test out a new ride, and buy your children early holiday gifts. Park Slope will be buzzing with the sound of happy cyclists!
The Mad Tea Party at the Central Brooklyn Public Library (Grand Army Plaza)
Saturday September 19th 11a-1p. Free. Location: Central Library, Plaza. Join us for a theatrical reading of “The Mad Tea Party” chapter from Lewis Carroll’s beloved book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, presented by the Lewis Carroll Society. Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the original publication of the book.
FamilyDay@theSeaport: The Brooklyn Bridge at the Seaport Culture District
Saturday September 19th 11a-1p or 2-4p. Price: $20/family of up to 4 people; $10 for Center for Architecture Dual/Family Member families; additional guests accompanying a Family Admission are $5 each. Join us at our South Street Seaport location for a new take on our Building Bridges Family Day! Join us at our South Street Seaport location — 181 Front Street (between John and Fulton Streets) — for a new take on our ever popular Building Bridges family day. Using the nearby Brooklyn Bridge as our focus, families will learn about the exciting story of its design and construction, then build their own model suspension bridges to take home.
Kite Festival at Brooklyn Bridge Park
Saturday September 19th 11a-3p. Free. Location: Harbor view lawn.
Watch your kite soar above the Manhattan skyline! Kites will be available for purchase or you can bring your own. Don’t forget your camera, this is a magical day for photos!
For more Saturday events please click here!
Sunday September 20th
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors, Please at at Old Stone House, JJ Byrne Park
Sunday September 20th 10a & 1115a. Child $12, Adult $15. Spellbound Theatre’s one-of-a-kind storytelling performance follows a lost toy, Catbear, as he travels through the tunnels of New York City on six different subway lines, looking for his owner. Each train has it’s own story, and Catbear experiences all the sights and sounds of New York City before landing home again. Interactive and intimate, this show is ideal for children ages 2-5. Performance time: 35 min. Crafts are available in the welcome area 15 minutes before the performance.
Sunset Park 5th Ave Street Festival
Sunday September 20th 11a-6p. Free. Festival will be along 5th Avenue from 44th Street to 59th Street. Enjoy live entertainment all day on 2 stages – 44th and 53rd Street. Free rides, free face painting, giveaways, games, information and look for bargains, enjoy special foods.
Suzi Shelton Backyard Concert at Norman & Jules (Park Slope)
Sunday September 20th 11a. Price: $12 per child – grown ups are FREE. Tickets purchased in store and at the door. For info: 347-987-3323. Celebrate back to school at Norman + Jules magical backyard for Suzi’s last outdoor show of the season. Suzi will be singing songs from her latest album, Smile In My Heart, featuring songs like “Cinnamon Bear” and “Go, Fire Truck, Go!”
40th Annual Flatbush Frolic
Sunday September 20th 11a-6p. Free. Join us on Cortelyou Road, between Ocean and Coney Island Avenues (in the heart of Victorian Flatbush). This year for our 40th anniversary we plan on taking the Frolic to the next level. This year the Flatbush Frolic will feature food, dance, live music, a pizza eating contest, craft fair, children’s area, main stage, beer garden, a non-for-profit area, local businesses and more!
Shinnyo Lantern Floating for Peace at Hearst Plaza, Lincoln Center (UWS)
Sunday September 20th 1p-9p. Free. On Sunday, September 20th, take part in a collective quest for peace and a celebration of the arts at the Shinnyo Lantern Floating for Peace, held at the Paul Milstein Reflecting Pool at Hearst Plaza, Lincoln Center. This free day-long, family-friendly event will feature live music & dance performances by: Misty Copeland, Principal Dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, Decadance, the popular Brooklyn-based hip-hop crew, Decoda, Affiliate Ensemble of Carnegie Hall, Shinnyo Taiko Drummers, LaGuardia School Dance, The Dalton Singers, and more…You will also have an opportunity to construct a paper lantern, inscribe it with a personal message of peace and set your lantern afloat in the Milstein Pool. Lantern decorating begins at 1:00 PM in the Grove, and there will be plenty of picnic tables for kids to sit at while they craft. Thousands of lanterns will be floating on the water throughout the day and into the evening. At dusk, a special evening ceremony will celebrate the peace-building efforts of prominent New York civic, interfaith and community leaders. See the website for the full schedule of events.
For more Sunday events please click here!
All Weekend
play:ground Adventure on Governors Island
Saturday-Sunday September 19th-20th 11a-4p. Free. Build a house. Build a village. Build a city! This free two-day adventure on Governors Island provides young people with the opportunity to use their imaginations to build and create, and through self-directed play, to make their own decisions on how to use materials, space, and time. Collaborate to build an entire city, imagined and built by young people, ages three to twelve. All materials will be provided, including cardboard boxes, fabric, markers, string, tape, and more. We’ll be outside playing, solving, building, drawing, folding, shaping, stacking, laughing, and creating. Come join the fun!
Rabbit Hole Theatricks: Superbunny’s Pirate Vacation at The Actors Fund Arts Center (Downtown Brooklyn)
Friday September 18th 11a and Saturday-Sunday September 19th-20th at 2p. Free. Reservations: (917) 563-9830. The show is filled with exciting moments of audience participation like swimming with an octopus at the bottom of the see and joining a pirate crew on stage for a musical number… someone might even have to walk the plank! It’s certain to bring smiles to everyone from age 6 to 60 and beyond. In this musical tale, Superbunny goes on vacation to a tropical island and soon finds it’s not all fun in the sun. Someone is dumping garbage in the ocean and ruining the beautiful beaches and clean water. It’s up to him to get to the bottom of this crime, but his efforts may be doomed when he unexpectedly tangels with a band of pirates in this song filled children’s musical that condemns stealing and polluting our oceans.
Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor Grand Opening Weekend
Saturday September 19th 10a-5p & Sunday September 20th 12n-5p. Free. Join us for the GRAND OPENING! Opening day festivities will include FREE admission, the ribbon cutting ceremony (at 10a on Saturday), lawn games for the whole family, food, live music, crafts for kids, and some special surprises. Saturday will be a full festival of art, science, and history celebrating all things Staten Island! Sunday will be Part 2 of the Grand Opening Festivities! Classical Concert with the Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble, Gallery Talks, Nature Walks, refreshments (presented by the Staten Island Museum Guild), and more! See website for the schedule of events.
Family Discovery Weekends at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (Crown Heights)
Saturdays & Sundays September 19th-November 1st 1030a-230p. No programs September 26; October 10, 11, 24. 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.
33rd Annual Queens County Fair at Queens County Farm Museum
Saturday-Sunday September 19th-20th 20th 11a-6p. Admission: $9/adult, $5 child 12 & under. Gate admission does not include The Amazing Maize Maze, carnival rides/games and various other fair activities. One of our most popular events of the year! Don’t miss this traditional county fair with blue ribbon competitions in livestock, produce, home crafts, arts & crafts, and more. The fair features pie eating- and corn husking-contests, pig races, hayrides, carnival rides, midway games, and kids’ entertainment by Big Apple Circus To-Go. Dance the day away at the Bavarian Garden with an Irish band (Saturday) and German band (Sunday). Check out the ConEdison Ecology booth where you can adopt a worm for your home compost bin, get gardening & recycling tips, and enjoy free crafts for kids. Our corn maze opens this weekend, and we’ll have craft and food vendors at the farm all day.
Transforming Food at the Lefferts Historic House in Prospect Park
Saturday-Sundays 2-4p until September 27th. $3 suggested donation. Join the Prospect Park Alliance to help make tasty treats in the Lefferts wood-burning hearth. Roll up your sleeves and help churn butter, grind corn and peel apples. We will be making herb butter for popcorn and apple pie for all to share.
Pop-Up Audubon: Radical Raptors in Prospect Park
Saturday-Sunday until September 27th 10a-3p. Free. Location: Zucker Natural Exploration Area. Learn what makes birds of prey so radical and learn about different species of raptors that migrate through Prospect Park. Nature Play, 10–2 pm: Join Alliance naturalists and learn to appreciate the beauty of nature and develop self-reliance, creativity and problem-solving skills through different outdoor play-based activities. Program includes opportunities to dissect an owl pellet and paint with mud! Nature’s Helpers, 1 pm: Did you know that trees help trees? After learning how mulch protects tree roots, spend time spreading wood chips around trees. Family Bird Watching, 2 pm: Did you know that as an Important Bird Area, Prospect Park supports an exceptional diversity of migrating birds and is an essential stopover for about 250 species of birds? After learning how to use binoculars, participants of all ages can join Alliance Naturalists on a walk to learn how to identify these birds!
Jack and the Beanstalk at Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre (Central Park)
Saturday & Sunday 1p until September 20th. 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.
89th Annual Feast Of San Gennaro (Little Italy)
Daily until September 20th. Free. The 89th Annual Feast of San Gennaro will be held in Little Italy for 11 days from Thursday, September 10, through Sunday, September 20, 2015, on the streets of historic Little Italy, the lower Manhattan neighborhood which served as the first home in America for hundreds of thousands of Italian immigrants who came here seeking to improve their lives beginning in the early part of the 20th century. See the website for the daily schedule.
Beauty & the Beast at PuppetWorks (Park Slope)
Saturday & Sundays ongoing until December 20th 1230p & 230p. For ages 4+. 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). Madame Gabrielle de Villeneuve’s French Fantasy with a “live” Beast. Adapted for Marionettes by Nicolas Coppola.
CMA: Free Art Island Outpost on Governors Island
Saturday & Sunday 11a-3p until September 27th. 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.
For a full calendar of events please click here!