Hi everyone! Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is one week away. November is flying by!
This weekend head out and enjoy The Giant Hoax at Theatre Row – Theatre One, the Thirteenth Annual Brooklyn Children’s Book Fair at Brooklyn Museum, Family Concert: Hopalong Andrew & Band at The Jewish Museum, The Knights: Family Show at BRIC House Ballroom, New Families, New Traditions at Museum of Jewish Heritage, Turkey Bowl at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, 1619 Project: Dancing in Togetherness at Midwood Brooklyn Public Library, Wilderness Skills: Fire Building in Fort Greene Park, Crafty Afternoons: Turkey Crowns at Columbus NY Public Library, Leaf Fest in Madison Square Park, Family Fun with Suzi Shelton at Jalopy Theatre, Holiday Food Science Festival Weekend at New York Hall of Science, Happy Pawlidays in Union Square Park and Girl Power: How Clara Lemlich Changed the World at the Museum at Eldridge Street.
Don’t forget to check out long running events like the 18th Annual Holiday Train Show at Grand Central Terminal, NYC Winter Lantern Festival at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, Survival of the Slowest at Brooklyn Children’s Museum, NYC Winter Lantern Festival x WTC Pop-Up in Liberty Park, MUMMENSCHANZ in RE:PLAY at the New Victory Theater, Holiday Express: All Aboard to Richard Scarry’s Busytown at New-York Historical Society, Aladdin at Galli Theater New York, T. rex: The Ultimate Predator at American Museum of Natural History, The Sleeping Beauty at Puppetworks, Conservation Heroes at Prospect Park Zoo, Ice Skating at LeFrak Center at Lakeside Prospect Park, Historic Games at Lefferts Historic House in Prospect Park, Film Forum Jr. Matinee at the Film Forum, The Art of the Brick at New York Hall of Science, Yeti, Set, Snow! at Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre and GingerBread Lane at New York Hall of Science.
These are just some of the events so check the calendar to see everything going on this weekend. Also like us on Facebook for last minute events and updates.
Have a fabulous time this weekend!
~ Deirdre (mom to O & C)
Friday November 22nd
Opening Weekend of the 18th Annual Holiday Train Show at Grand Central Terminal (Midtown East)
Ongoing until February 23rd 2020. Free. Hours: Monday–Friday 8a–8p, Saturday and Sunday: 11a–6p. Closed for special events and major holidays. Every holiday season, the New York Transit Museum’s Grand Central Gallery plays host to a city within a city with the display of a miniature electric railroad running over, through, and beneath some of New York’s most magnificent landmarks. Celebrating its 18th year of operation, this beloved annual holiday exhibit features model trains traveling along a 34’ long, two-level, “O” gauge model train layout. This year’s exhibit is set against a mural designed by cartoonist Julia Wertz. Departing from a miniature replica of Grand Central Terminal, the Transit Museum’s collection of Lionel trains including Metro-North, Polar Express, and vintage subway train sets will dazzle the eyes of children and adults alike as they make their way past New York landmarks and on to the North Pole!
Ice Skating Season Opening Weekend at LeFrak Center at Lakeside Prospect Park
Friday November 22nd 10a-8p, Saturday November 23rd 12n-9p, Sunday November 24th 12n-5p.
The Winter ice skating season at LeFrak begins Wednesday, November 20th! In the coming days, we’ll introduce a new fleet of rental ice skates, and welcome our new Skate School Program Directors and former Olympic skaters, Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov. See the website for the skating prices and skate rental pricing.
1619 Project: Dancing in Togetherness at Midwood Brooklyn Public Library
Friday November 22nd 3-4p. Free. From Past to Present: Dancing in Togetherness – how to travel from the past to the present and move in togetherness? During this one hour workshop, we will learn the story of Frederick Douglass and embark on a journey of movement. In a circle and with rhythms from the continent of Africa, we will create and perform a common dynamic dance.
Crafty Afternoons: Turkey Crowns at Columbus NY Public Library (Hell’s Kitchen)
Friday November 22nd 3p. Free. Children ages 3+ are welcomed. Gobble Gobble !! Join us as we make these super cool turkey crowns.
See all the Friday events here.
Saturday November 23rd
Turkey Bowl at Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Saturday November 23rd 10a-1245p. Free. Location: Al Oerter Recreation Center. What goes better with a big Thanksgiving dinner than some football? Join us at Al Oerter Recreation Center to play in the Turkey Bowl football games. Youth teams and individuals interested in playing should be on the field 15 minutes prior to the start of the age group’s game. Schedule: 10a Ages 9 – 10 Coed, 11a Ages 11 – 12 Coed, 12p Ages 13 – 14 and 15 – 17
Leaf Fest in Madison Square Park
Saturday November 23rd 11a-2p. Free. Spend the afternoon with our Mad. Sq. Park team as we rake, collect, and bag leaves throughout the Park. The rain date for this program is scheduled for November 24. This is a family friendly, community service event open to all. Join us in keeping the Park clean, beautiful, and healthy for everyone to enjoy!
Thirteenth Annual Brooklyn Children’s Book Fair at Brooklyn Museum
Saturday November 23rd 1130a-4p. Free and open to the public. Location: Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, 1st Floor. Meet your favorite Brooklyn authors and illustrators at the annual Brooklyn Children’s Book Fair! This free event features author readings, illustrator presentations, and book-related art-making opportunities with over forty creators presenting storybooks, picture books, and graphic novels. See the website for the schedule of the events.
Wilderness Skills: Fire Building in Fort Greene Park
Saturday November 23rd 1-230p. Free. Discover NYC’s storied past with our expert Urban Park Rangers as your guide to historical events, people, and communities that have shaped our city and Parks. Learn to use creativity and ingenuity to start a fire and keep it going. Participants will learn unique and unusual ways to start a fire using unconventional methods. Meet at Fort Greene Park Visitor’s Center.
The Knights: Family Show at BRIC House Ballroom (Fort Greene)
Saturday November 23rd 2p. $10 Adv / $14 Day of Show. General Admission: Seated. Buy tickets here. At this one-hour Family Show with The Knights, your little ones will be introduced to classical music in a fun, relaxed, and interactive setting. Families with young children: we’d like to introduce you to The Knights! At our one-hour Family Shows, your little ones will be introduced to classical music in a fun, relaxed, and interactive setting. The Knights are known for connecting with audiences of all ages and educating while entertaining, so even if your little ones arrive sleepy, cranky, wiggly … they’re guaranteed to leave happy and inspired!
See all the Saturday events here.
Sunday November 24th
New Families, New Traditions at Museum of Jewish Heritage (Battery Park City)
Sunday November 24th 1030a. This is a free, drop-in program. For infants to age 4. Join the musical group Yellow Sneaker and their puppet pals for entertaining programs that nurture family bonds and bridge connections to Jewish life and traditions. Mark your calendars for upcoming New Families, New Traditions programs: December 15, January 12, and February 16.
Family Fun with Suzi Shelton at Jalopy Theatre (Red Hook)
Sunday November 24th 11a. Tickets: $5 kids, $10 adults, $25 family ticket. Suzi Shelton is multi award-winning singer/songwriter who has been making catchy and meaningful music for families in NYC and beyond for more than a decade. She has performed at such prestigious venues as The White House, Lincoln Center, Madison Square Park and Symphony Space in NYC, to name a few, and is a favorite among the hip tot set in her home turf of Park Slope, Brooklyn. Suzi’s family shows are filled with smiles, laughter and joy, and make you feel warm and fuzzy all over.
Girl Power: How Clara Lemlich Changed the World at The Museum at Eldridge Street (Lower East Side)
Sunday November 24th 11a-1230p. Tickets: $14/adults; $10 children. Recommended for children five and up and their adult companions. Learn what life was like for young garment workers on the Lower East Side in 1909 through the eyes of Clara Lemlich, who worked 11-hour days making dresses. A costumed actor portraying Clara will provide a first-person perspective about working in sweatshops and why, in November 1909, she gave a fiery speech at a union meeting, sparking a strike of young garment workers that newspapers called the “Revolt of the Girls.” Clara couldn’t have known that she would inspire more than 20,000 garment workers to walk out of their factory jobs in protest of harsh working conditions – or that the massive strike would lead to important improvements. But she and “the girls” changed the world, and you won’t want to miss this special family program that makes this stirring episode in labor history and women’s history come alive by introducing you to the person at the center of it all.
Happy Pawlidays in Union Square Park
Sunday November 24th 11a-1p. Free. Join the Union Square Partnership to celebrate the start of the Holiday Season in Union Square with fun for families and furry friends! Take professional holiday portraits in an outdoor Union Square photo experience with your family, friends and pets, presented by JustFoodForDogs! Kids can enjoy a storytime performance and photo-op with Paddington Bear! Enjoy special performances by The Jingle Belles (11:30 AM + 12:30 PM). See the website for all the event details.
Family Concert: Hopalong Andrew & Band at The Jewish Museum (UES)
Sunday November 24th 1130a-1230p. Tickets: $18 General; $14 Jewish Museum family members. Includes Museum Admission; admission is free for children 18 and under. For ages 2 to 7. Embrace the down-home fun of Hopalong Andrew as his crackerjack band of world-class Americana musicians playfully adapt beloved traditional folk and classic country songs. Clap and stomp to the fiddle, banjo, harmonica, and hear contagious tunes such as “The Yodeling Ranger of Central Park” and “Outside” reflecting on city life for urban cowpokes. Former NYC Park Ranger Hopalong Andrew is a fixture of the New York City family music scene with his successful weekly classes and regularly appears at curated events such as Summerstage NYC, Bryant Park, Hudson River Park, The Oldtone Roots Music Festival, The Brooklyn Public Library, and more. Hopalong Andrew has received press from Time Out, ABC, CBS, and praise from the parenting blogosphere.
See all the Sunday events here.
All Weekend
The Giant Hoax at Theatre Row – Theatre One [sponsored]
Saturday November 23rd 2p & Sunday November 24th 3p & 7p and various dates until December 7th. See the website for details. Tickets: $40 Rear Orchestra, $55 Regular Orchestra & $75 Premium Seating. The runtime is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission. Step back in time with us to 1869! Emily, a bright young girl with an overactive imagination, has run away from home to prove that there are wonderful things in the world out there! Before long, she finds herself in the employ of a shady showman, William “Stub” Newell, the owner of a prehistoric, petrified giant! She and the Giant become instant “imaginary friends,” but all is not well. When the unscrupulous circus impresario, P.T. Barnum, offers a hefty sum to buy Newell’s profitable, prehistoric attraction and is refused, he comes up with a scheme to steal Stub’s business right out from under his nose forcing Emily to sort through what is fact, what is fiction, and what’s all in her imagination. Kit Goldstein Grant’s new musical, based on the true story of New York’s famed Cardiff Giant, features a catchy score packed with wonderfully whimsical music and clever lyrics making for a fun, family musical that bursts with excitement – and even a bit of history – as a cast of colorful characters takes you on a journey to the past by way of a young girl’s imagination.
Holiday Food Science Festival Weekend at New York Hall of Science
Saturday-Sunday November 23rd-24th 12n-4p. Free with Museum admission. Join us for a weekend celebrating the wonders of food. Enjoy the opening weekend of GingerBread Lane with a series of demonstrations that celebrate some of the foods, traditions and science that happens around holiday dinner tables. Each hour of the event will bring a different topic and taste for you to enjoy and maybe influence your holiday menus! See the website for the schedule of events. Also check out GingerBread Lane Workshops this weekend and GingerBread Lane ongoing until January 12th 2020.
MUMMENSCHANZ in RE:PLAY at the New Victory Theater
Fridays 7p, Saturdays 2p & 7p & Sundays 12n & 5p until December 1st. Tickets: start at $17. RE:PLAY has a running time of 60 minutes with no intermission, and is recommended for ages 6 and up. Creature conjurors! Shape shifters! Material manipulators! The masked mimics of MUMMENSCHANZ make their New Victory debut with RE:PLAY. Inspiring audiences across five continents over four decades with three stints on Broadway, the “Musicians of Silence” will surprise you with each artful scene. A playful production of timeless vignettes, RE:PLAY is as much about what you don’t see as what you delightfully do!
NYC Winter Lantern Festival at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden (Staten Island)
Hours: Wednesdays-Thursdays 5-930p. Fridays-Sundays 5-1030p until January 12th. Also open Monday-Tuesday December 30th-31st 5-10p. Tickets: $25 general admission, $17 youth ticket (ages 3-12y), $20 Senior/Military/Student. After our success last year, the NYC Winter Lantern Festival is back to transform Staten Island’s Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden into a whimsical world of light. There will be over 1,000 lanterns on display, sculpted into magnificent figures of luminescent art. Bring your whole family to revel in eight acres of lights, live cultural shows, interactive exhibits, and more. For those of you who attended last year’s event, prepare yourself for a completely fresh, new, and unique display! Purchase tickets here.
Yeti, Set, Snow! at Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre (Central Park)
Tuesdays-Fridays 1030a & 1130a and Saturdays-Sundays 1p and ongoing at various times until February 23, 2020. See website for the full schedule. Tickets: $12 adult, $8 child. An original story and production from the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, Yet, Set, Snow! is the story of a young girl named Widget, and her friend, Twig, who encounter a yeti named Pascetti on the first snow day of the winter season. Pascetti, who lives on a mountain top nearby, dislikes the snow. Through songs and snow day activities, Pascetti discovers not only that snow can be fun but also the value of friendship.
Aladdin at Galli Theater New York (Tribeca)
Saturdays-Sundays at 2p until November 24th. Tickets: $20 adult, $15 child, $35 adult/child combo. Theater for the entire Family! When Aladdin finds a genie in a lamp his dreams of riches come true. In order to win the love of the princess and save the kingdom, Aladdin will need more than a genie’s magic!
Holiday Express: All Aboard to Richard Scarry’s Busytown at New-York Historical Society (UWS)
Ongoing until February 23rd 2020. Museum hours: Tuesday-Thursday 10a-6p, Friday 10a-8p, Saturday 10a-6p & Sunday 11a-5p. Free with Museum admission. Holiday Express returns to New-York Historical this holiday season, reimagined to celebrate the 100th birthday of Busytown author and illustrator Richard Scarry. The installation showcases artwork and graphics of Scarry’s characters (like Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm!) from publisher Penguin Random House alongside Jerni Collection toys. Children and adults can also experience dynamic displays exploring the workings of the railroad, the services it provides, and the jobs required to keep people and goods moving.
Conservation Heroes at Prospect Park Zoo
Saturdays-Sundays 11a-3p in November. Free with Zoo admission. Every weekend in November Prospect Park Zoo will say thanks to the people who are working around the world to keep the amazing diversity of life on this planet safe. Join Prospect Park Zoo for fun activities and a celebration of conservation successes by Wildlife Conservation Society researchers at home and around the globe.
Historic Games at Lefferts Historic House in Prospect Park
Saturdays-Sundays 1-3p in November. $3 suggested donation. Join Prospect Park Alliance at Lefferts Historic House to play historic card and dice games. While you’re here, make a Nine-man Morris game board to take home.
Survival of the Slowest at Brooklyn Children’s Museum (Crown Heights)
Ongoing until February 2nd 2020. Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 10a-5p, Thursday 10a-6p & Saturday-Sunday 10a-7p. Free with Museum admission. Meet Roger the sloth! He has two toes, lives in Central America, and is visiting Brooklyn with his friends. Learn about how slow animals survive and thrive in our fast-paced world at BCM’s newest exhibit. Survival of the Slowest features 19 distinct habitats with live animals, including Roger the two-toed sloth, a blood python, a roughneck monitor lizard, and many more. Each day this exhibit will offer up-close experiences with slow and small species that survive and thrive in a world where large, strong, and fast animals are often at the top of the food chain. Survival of the Slowest prompts families to appreciate the different evolutionary paths of these incredible creatures, and showcases the value of deliberation in our fast-paced city. While exploring Survival of the Slowest, young visitors will explore concepts of biology and evolutionary science. Live animal presentations are offered throughout the day to educate, entertain, and most importantly, connect visitors with wildlife and nature.
The Art of the Brick at New York Hall of Science
Daily through January 26th. General hours ~ Monday–Friday: 930a-5p and Saturday–Sunday: 10a-6p. Entry to the exhibition costs $7 per person, plus NYSCI admission. Experience The Art of the Brick, the world’s largest display of LEGO® art! Artist Nathan Sawaya created more than 100 pieces for this exhibition using only LEGO bricks. The collection features original pieces, as well as re-imagined versions of some of the world’s most famous art masterpieces. More than one million LEGO bricks were used to create Sawaya’s sculptures. See the website for all the event details.
The Sleeping Beauty at Puppetworks (Park Slope)
Saturdays-Sundays 1230p & 230p until December 22nd. Suggested for 4 and up. Admission for a Child is $10, an Adult $11. Reservations are suggested: 718-965-3391 or e-mail us: puppetworks@twcmetrobiz.com (NO same day e-mail reservations). Perrault’s real Faery Tale with Music by Tchaikovsky.
Film Forum Jr. Matinee at the Film Forum (Lower East Side)
Saturdays-Sundays at 11a until December 8th. ALL TICKETS $9. Advance tickets on sale at the box office and online. Most programs appropriate for ages 5 and up. Classics For Kids and Their Families! November 23rd-24th MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET
T. rex: The Ultimate Predator at American Museum of Natural History (UWS)
Daily 10a-545p until August 9th 2020. Timed entry only. Gallery 3, third floor. General Admission + One tickets: Adult $28 / Child (2-12) $16.50 / Senior & Student $22.50. Free for members. How did T. rex evolve to become the most fearsome carnivore of the Mesozoic? T. rex: The Ultimate Predator will introduce you to the entire tyrannosaur superfamily and reveal the amazing story of the most iconic dinosaur in the world through stunning life-sized models, fossils and casts, engaging interactives, and an immersive multiplayer virtual reality experience developed exclusively for this exhibition. Warning: you may never think of T. rex the same way again.