Hi everyone,
It sounds like it is going to be a brisk fall weekend but there are lots of fun event happening in Brooklyn & NYC so dress warm and head out and enjoy the weekend.
This weekend take the kids to CityParks PuppetMobile: Tales of Brier Rabbit at Thomas Boyland Park, the Monster Mash-Ups Movie Series: Young Frankenstein at Brooklyn War Memorial in Cadman Plaza Park, Astrograss for Kids at the Jalopy Theatre, Sing-a-long History LIVE with Lloyd H. Miller at at the Brooklyn Historical Society, Spellbound Theatre: Grow! at The Old Stone House, St. Ann’s Warehouse Opening Weekend in Brooklyn Bridge Park, the 2015 Kids Fest: Stages in the Square in Madison Square Park, The Gruffalo at The New Victory Theater, the October Storytime: Jack-o-Lantern at Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden, Movies @ the Library: Frankenweenie at the Greenpoint Brooklyn Public Library, Private Picassos’ Art Studio & Shop Opening Party and the Harvest Fest & Pumpkin Patch at the Queens Botanical Garden.
Also happening this weekend is the start of the Fall 2015 Ready, Set, Kindergarten! at various Brooklyn Public Library branches and also check out the ongoing Boo at the Zoo: Mystery & Mischief at the Bronx Zoo, The Velveteen Rabbit: A New Family Musical at the Linda Gross Theater, the Halloween Harvest at Luna Park, Amazing Maize Maze at Queens County Farm Museum and Family Discovery Weekends at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
There are even more events happening this weekend check the calendar and plan your weekend! Also remember to like us on Facebook for last minute events and news!
Have a fabulous weekend!
~ Deirdre (mom to O & C)
Friday October 16th
October Storytime: Jack-o-Lantern at Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden (UES)
Friday October 16th 1030a. Free with adult admission. Historically-themed stories and crafts for ages 2-6. Storytime happens every third Friday.
Movies @ the Library: Frankenweenie at the Brooklyn Public Library (Greenpoint)
Friday October 16th 330-445p. Free. Rated PG. Run time 127 minutes. Young Victor Frankenstein is a science nerd and outsider at school, but he does have one good friend:his dog, Sparky. But then, tragedy strikes, and Sparky shuffles off this mortal coil. Victor is heartbroken, but his science teacher gives him an idea of how to jolt old Sparky back to life. The experiment is successful, and all goes well, until Victor’s fellow students steal his secret and use it to resurrect other dead animals — with monstrous consequences.
CityParks PuppetMobile: Tales of Brier Rabbit at Thomas Boyland Park (Highland Park)
Friday October 16th 4-445p. Free. The CityParks PuppetMobile’s original production, 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!
Monster Mash-Ups Movie Series: Young Frankenstein at Brooklyn War Memorial in Cadman Plaza Park
Friday October 16th 630-8p. Free. Location Details: At the base of the monument. Join NYC Parks for free, spoofy horror movies in our city’s parks! Respected medical lecturer Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) learns that he has inherited his infamous grandfather’s estate in Transylvania. Arriving at the castle, Dr. Frankenstein soon begins to recreate his grandfather’s experiments with the help of servants Igor (Marty Feldman), Inga (Terri Garr) and the fearsome Frau Blücher (Cloris Leachman). After he creates his own monster (Peter Boyle), new complications ensue with the arrival of the doctor’s fiancée, Elizabeth (Madeline Kahn). Rated PG. Know Before You Go: You should come before 6:30 p.m. to get your spot. Please bring your own picnic blanket or chair. Food is OK, but no alcohol or smoking. Reservations are not taken (except for pre-movie activities -see link below). So space is available on a first come first served basis. Food is OK, but no alcohol or smoking. Reservations are not taken, so space is available on a first come first served basis. All are welcome!
For more Friday events please click here!
Saturday October 17th
Private Picassos’ Art Studio & Shop Opening Party (Park Slope)
Saturday October 16th 10a-6p. Free. Private Picassos, the Tri-State area’s premier mobile art studio, is opening their first bricks and mortar location in Park Slope, Brooklyn. This Art Studio & Shop will open on Saturday October 17th. Families are invited to come by for FREE art activities, DIY photobooth and much more! Private Picassos is a visual art program, providing personalized art lessons for children and adults at homes, schools, offices and wherever our clients find convenient. We believe in the intrinsic power of the arts and strive to help build self confidence in our students. In addition to refining our students’ fine motor skills, our program also improves their verbal and visual vocabularies and helps them discover new and exciting art techniques. All of our classes focus on exploration of materials and creative problem-solving rather than mimicry of adult-level art mechanics. We emphasize art instruction grounded in the intuitive elements of the fine arts, not merely on arts and crafts. Westrive to provide our students with a better appreciation of the arts and their own thoughts and abilities.
2015 Kids Fest: Stages in the Square in Madison Square Park (Flatiron)
Saturday October 17th 10a-3p. Free. For childre ages 0-12y and their families. . Kids Fest: Stages in the Square is a Madison Square Park Conservancy’s first-ever performing arts festival for children and their families. The day revolves around a diverse lineup of performing arts programming including music, dance, theatre, puppetry, and circus performances. There will be three stages teeming with a variety of performances including music performances where children can learn simple skills and the appreciation of music while dancing along and having fun. In addition to the fantastic stage performances, there will be entertaining and interactive workshops where attendees will learn a variety of performance skills. Last, but not least, there will be a food area with tasty bites for you and your little ones. Join us on the Park’s gravel where children and their families will be able to enjoy food from neighborhood favorites including Hill Country Barbecue Market, Hill Country Chicken, Melt Bakery, Burger & Lobster, Melt Shop, and Andy’s Italian Ices.
Sing-a-long History LIVE with Lloyd H. Miller at at the Brooklyn Historical Society (Brooklyn Heights)
Saturday October 17th 11a-12n. For children 3-7. Program admission is $5 per participating child; accompanying adults and siblings are free! Lloyd H Miller is performing this week at the BHS Family Program! Make sure to arrive early, as admission will be first come, first served. The debut show of the 2015-16 season of Lloyd H. Miller at the family programs at Brooklyn Historical Society. This year he’ll be focusing on oral history and the stories of Brooklynites he has found in the BHS archives and interviewed in person. This show is all about activists — from the abolitionists of the 1800s to the present.
St. Ann’s Warehouse Opening Weekend in Brooklyn Bridge Park
Saturday October 17th 12n-6p. Free. Yes, the new St. Ann’s Warehouse goes live this Saturday, Oct 17, with our first Open House. And you’re invited! Please bring your friends and family to come see our beautiful new theater and enjoy music (live and dj’s), puppetry (live and on film), plus our new building. Special events: 12n-115p Brooklyn Youth Chorus & Kronos Quartet & 5-530p & 550-620p Live Puppet Performance (30 mins). All day: Food Trucks on New Dock Street and Picnic Seating on the St Ann’s Warehouse North Plaza. Also free Doggie Portrait Studio by Michelle Pedone – bring your pooch! Tours of the Theater, Music and Puppet Shorts Screening Room: (55 minutes) For adults and brave children 8+.
Peter Rabbit™ Tales at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center
Saturday October 17th 130p. Tickets: $25. Ages 3 and up. Based on The Original Peter Rabbit Books™ by Beatrix Potter. Using fantastic masks, whimsical puppets, gorgeous scenery and original music, the magical, marvelous world of Beatrix Potter comes alive on stage. When Benjamin Bunny’s children disappear, he goes to his cousin, Peter Rabbit, to help him find the bunnies. Squirrel Nutkin, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, Jemima Puddle-duck and Thomasina Tittlemouse all gather in on the fun. Enchantment Theatre Company.
For more Saturday events please click here!
Sunday October 18th
Spellbound Theatre: Grow! at The Old Stone House
Sunday October 18th 10a & 1115a. Adults $15 Children (6 months and older) $12. Performance time: 35 min story + 15 minutes of craft. Craft activities begin 15 minutes before each performance (9:45am and 11am). Follow the life cycle of an apple seed through four seasons in this lovely, interactive performance for very young children. Young audiences and the storyteller plant a seed together and help it grow, while learning gentle and charming songs and ASL signs to help tell a story of seasonal growth.
Astrograss for Kids at the Jalopy Theatre (Carroll Gardens/Red Hook)
Sunday October 18th show starts at 11a. Tickets: $5 kids, $10 Adults, $25 Family of four. ASTROGRASS FOR KIDS gets kids and their parents dancing together, with a unique blend of bluegrass music and down-home humor. Astrograss concerts feature sing-a-longs, dance contests, and high-energy fiddle hoedowns. Their original songs cover topics like spelling, whether Pluto is a planet, bedtime and the many neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Working on the success of a brand new CD, “Let Me Stay Up All Night”, Astrograss recently appeared at the world famous South By Southwest festival in Austin, TX in March 2009, performing in the Family Music showcase. The band sold out the prestigious Joe’s Pub in New York City last year for the CD Release Party and has been touring the Northeast, from a home base in Brooklyn, New York.
Rock n Roll: 70’s for Kids at Brooklyn Bowl (Williamsburg)
Sunday October 18th doors at 11a & show 1115-1215p. Admission: $10 per person (child or adult). Children under one are free. Each workshop is 60 minutes long and is specifically designed for children 7 and under, but all members of the family are welcome to this family show. This ticket is for the Rock n Roll Playhouse Workshop. RRPH will present Rock and Roll for Kids, a children’s music workshop series every weekend this fall at The Capitol Theatre and Brooklyn Bowl. RRPH Curriculum Director Devlin Goldberg and Dan Griffith from Ramblin’ Dan and the Freewheelin’ Band will lead the workshops, along with special guests. The Rock and Roll for Kids series is designed to keep children moving, playing and singing while simultaneously teaching developmental milestones and listening to classic tunes. Adults will love the cool selection of genres and popular music hits through the decades, and all are encouraged to participate fully. Rock and Roll for Kids workshops will include Beatles for Kids, Grateful Rockers, World Music, Writing the Blues, Rock and Roll Story Time and more! See the website for other workshop themes.
Harvest Fest & Pumpkin Patch at the Queens Botanical Garden
Sunday October 18th 11a-6p. Admission: $4 Adults; $3 Seniors; $2 Students with ID and children over 3; Free for Members. QBG does not accept reciprocal garden memberships on event days. *Pumpkin Patch and select activities require additional fees. A fun-filled afternoon for the whole family! Enjoy live music, games, nature walks, composting demonstrations, craft and food vendors, bouncy houses, a petting zoo, pony rides, beer tent, and the ever-popular Pumpkin Patch! See the website for the schedule of events.
BAMkids Movie Matinees: The King and the Mockingbird (Fort Greene)
Sunday October 18th at 2p at BAM Rose Cinemas. For ages 6+. Tickets: $7 for children 12 and under, $10 for adults ($9 for BAM Cinema Club Members, Free for BAM Cinema Club Movie Moguls). The King and the Mockingbird: Long adored by children in France, this animated masterwork has only recently found its way stateside to enchant American audiences. Based on a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, it’s a delightfully cheeky fable about a brash mockingbird who outwits a pompous king. The gorgeous hand-drawn animation—a colorful blend of vintage Disney and fantastical surrealism—has been acknowledged as a major influence on Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli. Rated G. Run time 83 minutes.
For more Sunday events please click here!
All Weekend
Fall 2015 Ready, Set, Kindergarten! at various Brooklyn Public Library branches
Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays until November 22nd at various times. Free. See the flyer for more information on the 30 locations and times. In this special six session series, families will enjoy stories and activities designed to encourage the development of early learning skills. Exploring literacy, science, and math through music, stories, and play will help you and your child get ready for school!
The Gruffalo at The New Victory Theater
Saturday October 17th 11a & 3p and Sunday October 18th 11a and an Autism-Friendly performance at 3p. See website for showtimes next weekend. All tickets $25. For ages 4-7y. Performance is 55 minutes with no intermission. See below for additional showtimes. Mouse takes a stroll in the deep, dark wood, and along comes smirking sly Fox, eccentric old Owl and maraca-shaking Snake—all hungry for our little friend! To scare them away, Mouse invents THE GRUFFALO, an imaginary creature with “terrible tusks, and terrible claws and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws!” Adapted by London’s Tall Stories (The Snail and the Whale, New Vic 2014), the award-winning picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler gets a musical makeover with sing-along songs, slapstick comedy and scary fun for little ones. But have no fear, for don’t you know? There’s no such thing as a Gruffalo…
The Velveteen Rabbit: A New Family Musical at the Linda Gross Theater (Chelsea)
Saturday-Sunday 1030a until November 1st. Tickets $15/$20. Best suited for ages 3 to 9, while kids and adults of all ages are welcome! “What is Real?” asked the Velveteen Rabbit to the Skin Horse. “Real isn’t how you are made. It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.” So begins the story of a very shy toy Rabbit made of velveteen and sawdust who longs to be loved. Newly adapted from Margery Williams Bianco’s beloved children’s tale of nursery magic and the secret life of toys, The Velveteen Rabbit takes us on the Rabbit’s musical journey from loneliness to friendship, from loss to Love, from innocence to wisdom, and finally…to becoming Real.
Flight School the Musical at Marjorie S. Deane Little Theatre (UWS)
Saturday-Sundays at 1p until October 31st and also Monday October 12th at 1p. For ages 2-7y. Tickets: $49.50-$59.50. It’s the first day of Flight School, where they teach birds to fly. Penguin has the soul of an eagle and is ready to live on the wind. But he wasn’t built to soar, as the other birds constantly remind him. Penguin’s spirit won’t be grounded. With some friends of a feather, and a little help on the technical parts, Penguin follows his dreams to flip, flap, fly! With book by Cara Lustik, music by David Mallamud, and lyrics by Joshua H. Cohen, Flight School The Musical is based on the book Flight School from best-selling author Lita Judge.
Boo at the Zoo: Mystery & Mischief at the Bronx Zoo
Saturday-Sundays and Monday October 12th various times until November 1st. Free with Total Experience Ticket. The General Admission ticket does not include all attractions. Our favorite Halloween tradition, Boo at the Zoo, is back at the Bronx Zoo, weekends in October. Stop by for music, magic, and fun facts about our favorite animals that are surrounded by Mystery and Mischief. Enjoy a hay maze, costume parade, Mystery of Animals Station, 3-D Carved Pumpkins and more! Take a look at the schedule of events and plan a trip with the whole family.
Hansel and Gretel’s Halloween Adventure at The Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre
Friday 1030a & 12n, Saturday-Sunday 1p until October 31st. See website for more information. Ticket prices are: $7/children under 12, $10/all others. Hansel and Gretel’s Halloween Adventure picks up where the original Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre production leaves off; with the pair’s pet swan Samantha flying the children back to their humble home after their wild escapade in the forest. Safely back at home during the Halloween season; Hansel and Gretel experience the most vivid dreams where Central Park and the Belvedere Castle serve as the backdrop for a magical explosion of music, dance and exciting encounters with a host of lovable characters. The brother and sister team once again embark on an adventure where beautiful mermaids, adorable monsters, swashbuckling pirates, charming vampires and a fabulous witch all intertwine for one unforgettable Halloween night in New York City.
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.
Halloween Harvest at Luna Park (Coney Island)
Saturday-Sunday ongoing until November 1st. Free admission. Fees for rides and games. See website for hours. The colors are changing and it’s finally cooling down! Fall is definitely on the horizon, and that means Halloween Harvest at Luna Park in Coney Island! Join us every weekend from Sept 26 through Nov 1 for a family-friendly event filled with tons of activities, entertainment, and of course the Luna Park rides and games you know and love! Each weekend there will be FREE fun things to do such as Coney Carnival for airbrush tattoos, face painting and balloon animals, magicians strolling along the boardwalk, hair braiders, jugglers and Monster Mash Stage for dancing and contests, also Creepy Crawly Halloween themed Crafts and Camp Luna for stories and s’mores. See website for more details on the Halloween Harvest.
Family Discovery Weekends at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (Crown Heights)
Saturdays & Sundays until November 1st 1030a-230p. No programs 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.
Amazing Maize Maze at Queens County Farm Museum
Saturdays & Sundays until October 25th 11a-430p (weather permitting, last ticket sold 430p). Amazing Maize Maze: $9 adults, $5 kids age 4 to 11, free for kids age 3 and under. Ready to be amaaazed? Kids and adults alike will have fun finding their way out of this 3-acre corn labyrinth! The adventure begins with a “Stalk Talk” to prepare you for the challenge of finding clues, solving puzzles and making your way out of the maze. Feel up to the challenge? Then join us for the fun of getting lost and loving it! *NOTE: Oct 25th there is an admission fee to enter the farm grounds for the Children’s Fall Festival.
For a full calendar of events please click here!