Hi everyone,
Just a few more hours left in 2015!
Enjoy the last weekend of Winter break and take the kids to the Coney Island Polar Bear Club & Camp Sunshine New Year’s Day Swim, First Saturdays for Families: Unfamiliar Faces at New Museum, Just Kidding: Sonia De Los Santos with Dan Zanes at Symphony Space, Target First Saturdays: New Year, New Futures at the Brooklyn Museum, PJ Party at NY Kids Park Slope Club, The Trummytones at Little Laffs at the Jalopy Theatre and a Teddy Bear Tea at Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden.
Also check out some ongoing events that are ending soon like Nutcracker Sweets & The Steadfast Tin Soldier at PuppetWorks, Pedal Punk at The New Victory Theater, the Gingerbread Lane at New York Hall of Science, Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center and Amore Opera Presents: Hansel & Gretel at the Sheen Center.
There are more events on the calendar so check it out to see everything happening in Brooklyn & NYC this weekend! Don’t forget to like us on Facebook for last minute events and news!
Happy New Year!
~ Deirdre (mom to O & C)
Friday January 1st
Coney Island Polar Bear Club & Camp Sunshine New Year’s Day Swim
Friday January 1st. Swim time 1p sharp, arrive early. There is no fee for swimmers or observers but you must register in order to swim. $20 suggested donation to Camp Sunshine for each participant. Assemble on the Boardwalk at Stillwell Avenue, Coney Island. Free parking at MCU Park. Free admission to NY Aquarium to all registered attendees. Bring warm clothes, surf boots or old sneakers, towels and definitely bring your camera. The NYC Parks Department provides changing facilities on the Boardwalk at Stillwell Avenue. Deno’s Wonder Wheel will be open for the first time on New Year’s Day, weather permitting. Take a ride for $5.00 and half of that will benefit Camp Sunshine.
Screening: Shaun the Sheep Movie at the Museum of Moving Image (Astoria)
Friday January 1st 1230p. Tickets: $12 ($9 for senior citizens and students / free for members at the Film Lover level and above). All tickets include same-day admission to the Museum. Recommended for ages 5+. Dirs. Mark Burton, Richard Starzak. 2015, 84 mins. DCP. Aardman Animations’s beloved sheep Shaun made his debut in the Wallace & Gromit short A Close Shave, had his own TV series, and now winningly stars as the center of chaos in a big-screen stop-motion feature. Bored with the routine of life on the farm, Shaun decides to go on a vacation with his flockmates and triggers a series of mishaps culminating with the Farmer lost in the big city. Their hilarious and heartfelt attempts to rescue him take them undercover as humans while stalked by a ruthless animal catcher. Inspired by Jacques Tati and Buster Keaton, this dialogue-free movie elicits plenty of laughs using music, sound effects, and brilliant physical comedy. Also check out the Winter Recess Family Workshop: Claymation Creatures!
Amore Opera Presents: Hansel & Gretel at the Sheen Center (NoHo)
Friday January 1st 230p and also Saturday January 2nd 230p. Tickets $25. Hansel & Gretel is a favorite of children and families everywhere, and this holiday season, the Amore Opera will present Humperdink’s beloved opera in a sparkling English translation for four daytime performances during the week after Christmas. This tuneful opera follows Hansel & Gretel’s adventures in the forest as they try to outwit the Witch and free all of the Gingerbread Children. Amore Opera’s charming production at the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture is directed by Sarah Moulton Faux, and features both an adult cast of some of the country’s best young opera singers along with the children from the Amore Opera Academy.
Pedal Punk at The New Victory Theater
Friday January 1st 2p also Saturday January 2nd 2p & 7p & Sunday January 3rd 12n & 5p. Last weekend! For ages 5+. Tickets start at $19. Performance is 2 hours including one intermission. This holiday season, the spectacular Cirque Mechanics (Boom Town, New Vic 2011) rolls into town with moxie The New York Times calls “exceptional, evocative, eye-catching, ear-catching and, to keep the list short, engrossingly entertaining!” In the steampunk-styled PEDAL PUNK, featuring a 20-foot-high, pedal-powered mechanical masterpiece, the powerful performers amaze with a heart-pounding pole drop, awesome aerial acts and high-flying tricks (on a trampoline!). With every spin of a sprocket and rattle of a wrench, the quirky cast of characters transform a bevy of bikes into an astounding assortment of acrobatic apparatus in this adrenaline-fueled circus for the whole family.
For more Friday events please click here!
Saturday January 2nd
First Saturdays for Families: Unfamiliar Faces at New Museum (Lower East Side)
Saturday January 2nd 10a-12n. Free. New Museum First Saturdays for Families are free of charge. This program is designed and recommended for families with children aged between four and twelve years, and includes free New Museum admission for up to two adults per family. Children under eighteen are always admitted free. Join us for a family workshop offered in conjunction with the exhibition “Barbara Rossi: Poor Traits,” which is closing on January 3. “Poor Traits” presents a selection of Rossi’s enigmatic graphite and colored pencil drawings from the late 1960s and her meticulously rendered reverse paintings on Plexiglas from the early 1970s. After viewing the exhibition, families are invited to produce portraits of each other that are inspired by the cartoonish characters seen in Rossi’s reverse Plexiglas paintings. To emulate the exaggerated forms within Rossi’s work, families will create their images using the method of blind contour drawing—an exercise in which an artist draws a subject without looking at the paper. Then, mimicking Rossi’s reverse painting technique, families will overlay their drawings with clear plastic, embellishing the surfaces of their works by adding color and sparkling texture. No preregistration is required. Space is limited, and tickets are given out on a first-come, first-served basis. Your entire party must be present; tickets will not be given to partial parties.
Just Kidding: Sonia De Los Santos at Symphony Space (UWS)
Saturday January 2nd 11a. Expected Run Time is 60 minutes. Tickets: $15; Members $13. Joined by special guest Dan Zanes, she is performing this year in celebration of her first solo family music album, Mi Viaje: De Nuevo León to the New York Island, a collection of songs that reflect her experiences growing up in Mexico, moving to another country, learning about other cultures, and in the process, feeling closer to her own heritage. This unique collection of old and new songs is a personal, and yet universal, musical story from this soulful and important new voice in family music, and the messages of joyful community music making and cultural bridge building will inspire and excite children and grown ups of all backgrounds.
Target First Saturdays: New Year, New Futures at the Brooklyn Museum (Prospect Heights)
Saturday January 2nd 5-11p. Free. Join us for Target First Saturdays and enjoy engaging and eclectic free art and entertainment programs every month (except September), from 5 to 11p. Our new B Café offers artist-created sandwiches, as well as salads, sweets, and a variety of beverages. Parking is a flat rate of $6 starting at 5p. (All other Saturdays, we close at 6p.) Some Target First Saturday activities take place in smaller and more intimate locations in the Museum, so you’ll need a ticket for those programs. Ticket lines often form 30 minutes before tickets are distributed at the Admissions desk. If you’re a Member, pick up tickets from the Membership Desk while supplies last. While we do our best to keep our listings as up-to-date as possible, sometimes last-minute program changes are unavoidable. See website for full schedule of events.
PJ Party at NY Kids Club (Park Slope)
Saturday January 2nd 603-830p. $36 first child, $24 sibling. Start 2016 off right with this brand new PJ Party! Children will perform in a New Year’s concert, navigate their way through a Times Square themed obstacle course, and engage in subway races. Partiers will decorate festive spin drums and work together to allow the New Year’s ball to drop before enjoying a pizza dinner and celebrating the new year with a disco dance party.
For more Saturday events please click here!
Sunday January 3rd
Light in Winter: First Sundays at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Sunday January 3rd 10a-12n. Free with garden admission. Join us for special Sundays in honor of the 100th anniversary (the first Sunday of the month) of BBG’s Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Get cozy in the pop-up Japanese Craft House with an array of hands-on workshops and activities for all ages. Celebrate the beauty of the Garden with a variety of special guided walks and yoga classes. January 3rd: Origami Academy, DIY Origami, Pine-Pillow-Palooza, Lego Cherry Esplanade and Nature Walks with Brad Klein: Winter Birding. See the website for all the event details.
Little Laffs at the Jalopy Theatre (Carroll Gardens/Red Hook)
Sunday January 3rd 11a (and first Sunday of every month) Tickets: $5 Kids, $10 Adults, $25 Family (adult/family tix include a Bloody Mary or Mimosa!) Little Laffs, “Big Fun for Little Ones” is a fun and entertaining variety show for kids ages 3-9y, that mixes juggling, balloon art, music, comedy, and more. Located at the Fabulous Jalopy Theatre in Carroll Gardens/Red Hook, Brooklyn. Little Laffs – Big Fun for Little Ones! Kids Show featuring: Music: The Trummytones, Juggling: Will Shaw, Balloons: Twistin’ Todd.
Arty Facts at the Brooklyn Museum (Crown Heights)
Sundays through May 11a-130p. $10 materials fee for up to four participants. For ages 4-7y. (Please don’t bring siblings older than seven or younger than four). Meet in the Rubin Lobby. In the thirtieth anniversary year of this art program for children ages four to seven, you and your family will explore the galleries through fun activities and engaging conversations, then head to the studio to create an artwork of your own. January theme: “Transformation” Artists combine, transform, and rearrange objects and ideas to create in innovative ways. What materials will you mix up to create unique works of art? Note: Artist Gordon Hall visits Arty Facts on January 24. Families will move their bodies and use their voices to explore this month’s theme of transformation. See website for information on future themes.
Teddy Bear Tea at Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden (UES)
Sunday January 4th 1-230p. $10/Adults & $5 children under 12y. Banish post-holiday boredom with an event for ages 3 to 6y. Bring your favorite teddy bear (or doll) to meet Mrs. Woodhull, the hotel proprietor’s wife, and role-play the daily activities at the Mount Vernon Hotel in 1830. Play with her son’s toys or help her daughter with the chores. Afterward, enjoy fruit tea and cookies. Reservations recommended.
For more Sunday events please click here!
All Weekend
Nutcracker Sweets & The Steadfast Tin Soldier at PuppetWorks (Park Slope)
Saturday & Sunday January 2nd-3rd 1230p & 230p. Admission for a Child is $9, an Adult $10. Groups of 20 or more: $8 per person. 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). Nutcracker Sweets – Tchaikovsky’s Land of Sweets dances & The Steadfast Tin Soldier – Andersen’s Toy Story. adapted for Marionettes by Nicolas Coppola (suggested for ages 3 and up)
Pedal Punk at The New Victory Theater
Friday January 1st 2p, Saturday January 2nd 2p & 7p & Sunday January 3rd 12n & 5p. Last weekend! For ages 5+. Tickets start at $19. Performance is 2 hours including one intermission. This holiday season, the spectacular Cirque Mechanics (Boom Town, New Vic 2011) rolls into town with moxie The New York Times calls “exceptional, evocative, eye-catching, ear-catching and, to keep the list short, engrossingly entertaining!” In the steampunk-styled PEDAL PUNK, featuring a 20-foot-high, pedal-powered mechanical masterpiece, the powerful performers amaze with a heart-pounding pole drop, awesome aerial acts and high-flying tricks (on a trampoline!). With every spin of a sprocket and rattle of a wrench, the quirky cast of characters transform a bevy of bikes into an astounding assortment of acrobatic apparatus in this adrenaline-fueled circus for the whole family.
Holiday Train Show at The New York Botanical Garden (Bronx)
Ongoing until Monday January 18th. Various times and prices. See website for information. Advance reservations are strongly recommended as tickets do sell out. Purchase tickets here. NYC’s Favorite Train Show Is Bigger Than Ever! Enchanting model trains zip through a display of 150 landmarks, each re-created with bark, leaves, and other natural materials—all under the twinkling glow of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Marvel at G-scale locomotives humming along among familiar sights such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, and Rockefeller Center—surprising at every turn—on nearly a half-mile of track. This year’s exhibition features 3,000 square feet of additional exhibition space, making room for dozens of new trains, bridges, and tracks; a captivating short film of the show’s behind-the-scenes magic; and a stunning multisensory finale of light and sound. Explore a winter wonderland across our 250 acres with special tours, musical performances, and activities for kids, plus take care of your gift list at NYBG Shop and stop for a bite at one of our exciting new dining venues. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind holiday outing!
Gingerbread Lane at New York Hall of Science (Flushing Meadows)
Ongoing until Sunday January 9, 2016. Tuesday–Friday 930a–5p & Saturday & Sunday 10a–6p. Free with Museum admission. Museum closed on Thanksgiving Day & Christmas Day. Marvel at homemade gingerbread houses made entirely of edible gingerbread, royal icing and candy. The houses are drafted, designed, baked, planned, built and decorated by chef Jon Lovitch over the course of an entire year. GingerBread Lane has won the Guinness World Record for the largest gingerbread village for 2013 and 2014 and will compete for its third consecutive Guinness World Record this year. Lovitch’s creation will again contend for this year’s Guinness World Record. The all-new 2015 version of GingerBread Lane will cover 500 square feet and will have more than 1,050 houses and structures including a double-decker carousel reminiscent of one on the Coney Island boardwalk in days past and the S.C. Kringle & Co. Department Store which hearkens back to Gimbels department store in the early 1900s. GingerBread Lane 2015 will also have new twists like The Pumpkin Spice Latte Coffee Shoppe, The EveryDay’s Thanksgiving Café, a second train (for the first time), and a 10-square-foot candy factory you can see inside of as you climb the stairs to view GingerBread Lane. While the exhibition’s layout and composition change yearly, GingerBread Lane always includes Eggnog Bay, Gum Drop Row, Peppermint Central Park, Candy Cane Place and Toffee Boulevard. As a grand finale, Lovitch will give away all houses on January 10.
14th Annual Holiday Train Show at Grand Central Terminal (Midtown East)
Ongoing until February 21st. M–F: 8a–8p, Saturday and Sunday: 10a–6p. Free. Location: NY Transit Museum Gallery Annex and Store Shuttle Passage. Presented annually by the New York Transit Museum, this popular model railroad exhibition features Metro-North, New York Central, and subway trains departing from a miniature Grand Central Terminal on a 34’-long, two-level “O” gauge layout. The Museum’s store and booth at the Holiday Fair also offer great gifts for your holiday shopping. Transit gifts are available online at www.nytransitmuseumstore.com.
Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center
Ongoing until January 10th at various times. Tickets start at $25. For more information please see the website. Big Apple Circus returns to the Big Top at Lincoln Center for the company’s 38th season with the World Premiere of its all-new show, The Grand Tour! The Grand Tour transports audiences to the Roaring 1920s, the advent of the modern travel era, when the most adventuresome began to tour the world in ships, planes, trains, and automobiles. With every seat less than 50 feet from the stage, audiences will be awed by the world-class entertainers as they perform breathtaking acts from the four corners of the globe. Clowns, jugglers, acrobats, and aerialists from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America appear with ponies, puppies and more; the troupe sets off on their own whirlwind adventure, accompanied by the live, seven-piece Big Apple Circus Band at each of more than 100 performances.
For a full calendar of events please click here!