How has the last weekend in May crept up on us so quickly? Although, that being said, this humidity has me feeling like we’re in July already!! The weekends seem to be jam packed with birthdays, weddings, graduations and other wonderful family gatherings. If you have some spare time, I hope you check out some of these fun activities the whole family can enjoy together!
Playland
Always a fun activity for the whole family, Playland in Rye NY is open for the summer! The park offers rides, food, entertainment and an arcade! What more could a kid want?! This weekend the hours are as follows, Friday, May 29th 10am-10pm, Saturday, 12-11pm and Sunday, 12-7pm.
Westchester Children’s Museum
While you’re at or near Playland, why not check out the all new children’s museum! Admission price this summer is “Pay-What-You-Wish.” “The Westchester Children’s Museum, located on the Boardwalk at Playland in Rye, is open for the season. The museum’s hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Mondays and Tuesdays are reserved for by-appointment groups.
Among the exhibits this year are:
- “Build Your Own Roller Coaster” - an interactive, hands-on experience that involves the creation of your own roller coaster from design phase to testing phase. Visitors will have a chance to make discoveries about force, energy, friction, and stability - all while having a great time. Sponsored by Con Edison.
- KEVA planks - an interactive experience comprised of thousands of small, uniform building planks yielding endless creation possibilities. Incorporating elements of art and architecture, the exhibit will challenge children, fuel creativity, and allow for collaborative interaction.
Make things fly - The fun begins when junior inventors use odd materials to create a flying object and then experiment with it in the museum’s fantastic wind tunnel.”
For more info, visit their website.
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Heritage Festivals at Kensico Dam This weekend check out the Heritage Festivals going on a Kensico Dam in Valhalla. There will be live entertainment, music, arts and crafts and of course food! On Saturday, the Asian festival begins at noon and runs till 6pm. And on Sunday, the Albanian Heritage Festival, will be held from noon – 7pm at Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla. |
Festivals will be held rain or shine. Seating is informal so bring blankets or folding chairs for seating on the lawn.
For more info, call(914) 864-PARK or visit www.parks.westchestergov.com
Rye Library
On Saturday, May 30th from 11-12, children ages 3.5 and older can come to the library with their caregiver to “listen to age-appropriate stories and participate in fun games, rhymes and other activities to develop pre-literacy skills and an interest in books and reading. Felt boards and other props are sometimes used to enhance stories and model future classroom experience. A fun craft project is designed around the Story Time's theme or a seasonal topic. Parents and caregivers are asked to assist younger children using scissors, glue and other art materials. 60 minutes.”
Click here to learn more
Click here to learn more about any of the Rye Library’s programs.
Pleasantville Farmer’s Market
From Saturday, May 23rd (8:30-1) through December 5, the Pleasantville Farmer’s Market is open for all to enjoy in Memorial Plaza, next to the train station. There will be “farm-fresh foods, prepared foods created with regionally sourced ingredients, as well as many other unique offerings. It's a great way to support local agriculture and eat healthy year-round.”
And this Saturday, May 30th from 9:30-11, there will be “a visit from the neighboring Katonah Museum of Art. Stop by with the kids to enjoy a creative start to the weekend.”
Also on Saturday, from 10-12pm, don’t miss the musical entertainment of the “The Good Morning Nags…an American roots rock band based out of New York City with an arsenal of old-timey, Appalachian, bluegrass, blues, country, ragtime, and Irish folk songs. Their unabashed exuberance has cantered up from the warm sleepy towns of Georgia and the serpentine banks of that wayward uncle, the Ohio River. And now they'll arrive at Pleasantville with a heartfelt "Good Mornin'!"
Lightscapes
LAST WEEKEND! From the fabulously creative people who brought us the Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze comes an amazing and exciting new experience, “An immersive journey into a springtime garden fantasy featuring colorful creatures and fantastic flowers! Van Cortlandt Manor springs to life during this incredible nighttime display of sculpture, light, sound, and special effects. LIGHTSCAPES is an elegantly enchanting evening event featuring all-original sculpture designed and hand-made on site.
Taking place over 15 May evenings and perfect for all ages, LIGHTSCAPES is a walk-through, land-art experience.
Enter through a rainbow and emerge from a bubbly haze into a dreamland of curiosities spread throughout this historic landscape as far as the eye can see. Recycled elements serve as eco-friendly building blocks for intergalactic flora and friendly woodland creatures. Otherworldly mushrooms, immense insects, and brilliant butterflies are among the thousands of treasures you’ll find.
Explore the Colorwheel Castle and squiggle through the Caterpillar Cavern. You’ll discover larger-than-life elements like a colossal praying mantis and a massive mayfly. Smile at scores of delightful dragonflies, cute ladybugs, and an avalanche of pinwheels!
State-of-the-art illumination will highlight these incredible works of art and showcase Van Cortlandt Manor’s gorgeous natural landscape and specimen trees.
In the clear-top, artfully decorated LIGHTSCAPES hospitality tent, enjoy spring-themed sweets including organic sorbet and ice cream sandwiches from Blue Pig of Croton and homemade candy and baked goods (plus savories!) from Geordane’s of Irvington.”
Recommended for all ages.
Bruce Museum
Just up the road from us is the Bruce Museum in nearby Greenwich, CT. Check out the museums’ special events going on this weekend and then head across the street to a super fun playground the kids are sure to love!
On Friday, May 29th, from 2:30-245pm, don’t miss the Marine Tank Animal Feeding!
And on Sunday, May 31st, 2015 from 1-4pm, check out this program “designed especially for families and children to foster appreciation and understanding of art related to current Museum exhibitions and based on the Learning to Look® curriculum developed by Diane W. Darst and Sue Ann Massey Williamson. Today’s program will be presented in conjunction with the Bruce Museum exhibition Walls of Color: The Murals of Hans Hofmann.
The lessons will be led by a Learning to Look Instructor beginning at 2:00 pm, and will focus on Hans Hofmann. There will be printmaking activities in the Education Workshop.
All activities are free with Museum admission, are fully accessible and suitable for people of all abilities and ages.”
West Side Story at Westchester Broadway Theatre
From now until July 5, 2015, West Side story comes to the Westchester Broadway Theatre. This could definitely be one of the greatest musicals ever made with fabulous music, lyrics and choreography, as well as a plot that’s relevant today!
“A modern version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet set on the mean streets of New York during the turbulent fifties. Caught between two warring street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, Tony and Maria attempt to create a life together. This brilliant collaboration by Broadway greats Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim combines music, lyrics and dance into a timeless tribute to young love. "Something's Coming", "Maria", "America", "Somewhere", "Tonight", "I Feel Pretty.”
For tickets and showtime information, click here.
Michael’s
Most Saturdays, from 10-12pm, Michael’s offers a fun crafting opportunity for kids to participate in while their parents shop! This Saturday’s project gets in the summer spirit by having kids create a ”DIY Paper Fan.” For just $2, kids can spend 30 minutes at this drop-in program, have fun, express their creativity, and take home a completed project. Supplies include. For more information click here.
Crafts at Lakeshore
Lakeshore will also be holding a fun, free crafting workshop this Saturday from 11-3pm. Their project is creating a “Hello Sunshine Mobile.” It will be so much fun!! Click here to learn more.
Stepping Stones
Stepping Stones museum is an amazing place for the kids. Located about 20 minutes north of Rye Brook, in Norwalk, CT, it’s perfect for the whole family! Check them out here, then head on over for a fun filled day of learning and hands-on activities the kids will adore!
Also at Stepping Stones, the My Sky, experience will be on until Memorial Day!
“Come look up, explore the Sun, the Moon and the Stars and be inspired by the wonder of it all in the new exhibit My Sky! Get your hands on an enormous 5-foot wide model of the Moon. Explore close-up images of what the Sun looked like on your birthday last year. Invent your own new constellations and get to know YOUR sky like never before.
Families are given the chance to practice science skills such as observing, communicating, noticing patterns, predicting, imagining and more — skills that are fundamental to astronomy, scientists and engineers and are used every day.
- Touch craters, mountains and valleys on a giant Moon.
- Sit by a campfire and watch the stars race across the sky.
- Observe beautiful solar events like flares, eclipses and even solar tornados.
- Learn about what causes the phases of the Moon.
Meet scientists, artists and other people who are inspired by the sky.”
Stamford Nature Center
The Stamford Nature Center is a fabulous destination just up the Merritt! There are a couple of fun activities going on this weekend, starting tonight!
At 7:30pm, tonight, Friday, check out Astronomy Nights: The Summer Triangle: The Gateway to the Milky Way.
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“Head to the Observatory to explore the night sky, planets, stars, and more! Start by learning about The Summer Triangle: The Gateway to the Milky Way, followed by a visit to view the night sky through the Observatory's 22-inch research telescope. The presentation portion of the program will be held rain or shine. Viewing hours are weather permitting. This program is suitable for children ages 5 & older. Members: Free | Non-Members: Adults $5, Children (5-17) $3.” And on Sunday, May 31st from 3-4:30, take the Compass Challenge! |
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“Assess your navigation skills with our outdoor compass challenge! Discover the basics of orienteering to improve your outdoor skills and test yourself on our challenge course. We'll learn the proper way to take a bearing and how to set and maintain a course to ensure you are going in the correct direction. Participants will also learn how to read basic maps and how to interpret other directional aids, such as cairns. Compasses provided. Recommended for ages 6 and older. Members: $5/person | Non-Members: $8/person.” |
Maritime Aquarium
There are so many amazing exhibits on display at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT.
Love butterflies? You won’t want to miss “Flutter Zone” which opened last weekendand goes until September 7th. “It's an immersive walk-through butterfly exhibit, accompanying IMAX® movie, "Flutter Fun" kids activities and demonstration pollinator garden!
The exhibit features hundreds of exotic tropical butterflies of dozens of varieties from Asia, Africa and South America. Walk among them as they flitter and flutter about. Some may even choose to land on your head or arm!
You also can watch the life cycle of butterflies unfold, in a special section of the exhibit featuring the chrysalises whose metamorphoses will keep the exhibit stocked with flittering butterflies throughout the summer. Displays also emphasize the horticultural and agricultural importance of butterflies and other pollinators.
Plus, kids can enjoy our "Flutter Fun," daily, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Newman's Own Hall. Make a butterfly hat, help support monarch butterflies by planting milkweed in your backyard ($1 donation), learn about metamorphosis, play a caterpillar to butterfly matching game, learn how to tell a butterfly from a moth, or conduct a butterfly symmetry exercise. Activities rotate so come back for something new each day.
Plus, adjacent to “Flutter Zone,” we're growing a demonstration “pollinators’ garden” filled with flowering plants that native butterflies – including monarch butterflies – specifically seek for food and egg-laying. The "pollinator's garden" will be a certified monarch way station designated by Monarch Watch.
Entry into “Flutter Zone” is free with Aquarium admission.
Plus, round out your butterfly experience by also seeing our new IMAX® movie “Flight of the Butterflies," about the incredible migration of monarch butterflies. (Additional charge for the movie; save with Discount Combo ticket!)”
Dragons! Real or Myth?- Meet the nine varieties of real dragons in our new exhibit and “see a baby black dragon – one of only an estimated 31 in the U.S. – in the only place in the country to exhibit one: in our new special exhibit, “Dragons! Real or Myth?"
The exhibit stars the black dragon and other animals that have the word dragon in their names. The black dragon is a water-monitor lizard that has a “melanistic” gene that makes it all black. (Similar to what makes an albino animal all white.) You won’t find one in any other U.S. aquarium or zoo; all other known black dragons are privately owned.
Besides highlighting the unique characteristics of these animals, the exhibit explores the facts and fictions about mythological dragons and their roles in cultures throughout time. Guests are encouraged to find similarities between the displayed live creatures and the fire-breathing dragons of lore.
Entry into “Dragons! Real or Myth?” is free with Aquarium admission.
The dragons are on exhibit in the same area as the Meerkats.”
Also, the “Jiggle A Jelly”-touch-a-jellyfish exhibit is on display weekends and holidays September to June and daily in July and August! “This unique exhibit invites you to do something you've tried to NOT do all your life: touch jellyfish!
Gently touch the tops of live moon jellies as they pulse in the exhibit. One of our trained volunteers will guide you.
How is this possible without being stung? The stinging cells of moon jellyfish are known to be relatively benign for most people.”
And finally, everyone’s favorite, the Meerkats are back at the aquarium! “The exhibit features six sibling meerkats – three males, three females – born in the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, Utah. Their Maritime Aquarium habitat offers windows into their underground burrows, so all meerkat activity is within view. A viewing bubble even lets young visitors stand up right among the meerkats.”
Click here to learn more about Maritime.
Bicycle Sundays
This Sunday the Bronx River Parkway is closed in some portions to cars so that bicylclists, joggers, walkers and scooters can enjoy the fresh air and scenery.
“One of Westchester’s longest-running and beloved recreational programs – Bicycle Sundays – rolls on on select Sundays, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., despite roadway construction on the Bronx River Parkway…The course runs from the Westchester County Center in White Plains, south to Scarsdale Road in Yonkers, a round-trip of 13.1 miles. There are many points of entry and exit along the way. Parking is available at the County Center lot in White Plains for a fee of $7.
Remaining Bicycle Sundays for 2015 are:
June 7, 14, 21 & 28
September 13, 20 & 27
For more info, including the rules and regulations, click here!
Weekends at Stone Barns Center
Weekends at Stone Barns Center are wonderful! Experience what's happening on the farm, meet the farmers and greet the season. On a Saturday or Sunday visit Stone Barns to participate in a variety of seasonal, hands-on activities and even better, now drop-in tours are included with your one-day admission ticket! Tickets sell out so be sure to get yours ahead of time!
Prices are as follows; adult (ages 16+) $20, youth (ages 2-15) $10. Children under 2 & members: FREE. Click here to become a member and learn more! Or here to purchase tickets
Greenburgh Nature Center
The GNC always has a fun array of activities for families to enjoy each weekend!
On Saturday, May 30th at 11:30 am, check out Teaching Trails- A “Guided Trail Experience through our woodland forest. Discover who left that track, which tree makes the best animal home, or who uses that fallen tree for protection. Program runs approximately 45 minutes. FREE!”
Also on Saturday, at 1pm come Meet The Animals-“Join the herd as a naturalist presents an informative program that allows you to get up-close and hands-on with some of the Nature Center's live animals! What wild fun will you have today? Members $5/person, Non-Members $8/person.”
In case you miss Teaching Trails on Saturday, not to worry, Sunday at 11:30am, there’s another opportunity for this fun, guided trail experience through the forest!
And finally, on Sunday at 1pm, come create some Wild Mosaics…”Come make your own wild mosaic using natural materials. Let nature be your guide and see what type of masterpiece you are inspired to create. Members $5/person, Non-Members $8/person “
Hudson River Museum
The Hudson River Museum, in Yonkers, boasts an amazing Planetarium, six galleries, and mansion!
In addition, this weekend HRM has Art Projects on Saturday and Sunday from 1-4pm for the kids to participate in and Science Projects on Saturday from 1-4pm. For more info, click here.
Click here to learn more.
Muscoot Farm
Muscoot farm has a few fun educational activities for the family this weekend!
On Saturday from 12-4 there will be an Art Show for all to enjoy.
Also on Saturday, from 9-2pm, check out the Blacksmithing Workshop. The fee for this wokshop is $85 and registration is suggested.
Finally, on Sunday, May 31st from 10-3, don’t miss the Farmer’s Market.
Rye Nature Center
The Rye Nature Center is another fabulous destination, so close to Rye Brook. Aside from hiking their trails and exploring the grounds and playground, this weekend the RNC has a few additional activities you’re sure to enjoy!
On Saturday, May 30th at 10am, check out Miners 101! “Take a peek inside the earth and see what Rye is really make of at the RNC Quarry. $5.00/person members, $8.00/person non-members.”
And later Saturday, there’s a fun family campout from 5pm Saturday- 10am Sunday! “Stargazing, campfire stories, roasted marshmallows and falling asleep under the starts to the calls of crickets and owls are on the agenda. The is the perfect way to introduce your spouse and children to the joys of the outdoors while still having a Starbucks within a 5 minute drive. Includes dinner, breakfast and a guided hike. Bring your own tent or borrow one of ours. Suggested for ages 5 and up. Advanced registration required, members only. Limited Space$30/person”
Movies
While the weather is predicted to be pretty good this weekend, sometimes you just need to head indoors to a dark, quiet place and just veg out! New this weekend to the big screen, “The Avengers: Age of Ultron,” from Walt Disney. Not sure how appropriate it is for the littlest superhero fans though, as it has a PG-13 rating. It’s out in 3D, Imax 3D and regular format. Also in theatres, Disney’s ”Monkey Kingdom” rated G! While this is a documentary, and not an animated movie like many kids are used to, it looks adorable and I can’t wait to take my kids! Also still out, “Home.” My kids and I LOVED this movie! This animated, science fiction movie with voices we will all recognize, is absolutely adorable! I love the take-home message, to “understand that being different and making mistakes is all part of being human.” In 3-D and regular format. Also out, Tomorrowland in regular and IMAX version, rated PG.
Check out showtimes here!
Other good weekend ideas include baseball games!! Check out the Met's and Yankee's schedules!
Or maybe the Bronx Zoo?
The NY Botanical Gardens are beautiful destination right now, and always! http://www.nybg.org
And Bowlmor bowling alley is now open in White Plains!
The beaches in Rye and Greenwich are a close, easy option that the whole family will love!
Relay for Life
Relay for Life Port Chester Rye Brook will take place this Sunday, May 31 from 12-8 at Port Chester Middle School on Bowman Ave!
Teams will begin setting up at 10am at the Port Chester Middle School field.
The opening ceremonies will begin at 12 noon with Brooke Pietrafesa on trumpet.
Linda Greco, BMP Ridge Street School teacher and Rye Brook resident, along with Jack Pastor, first grader at BMP Ridge Street School, will be our survivor speakers.
There will be entertainment throughout the day, including performances by Spirit Zone, The Dance Pointe, Zumba compliments of Crunch Fitness, Drumming with Greg DiMiceli and a performance from the Port Chester High School Marching Band. There will also be theme laps, food trucks and onsite fundraisers.
There will be a Reflection ceremony at 6PM with speakers, Michael Williams and Stephanie Pagnotta, followed by a balloon release and silent lap to remember loved ones lost.
All community members are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Anyone who would like their loved one's picture included in the Reflection Tent can email the picture to Chrissie Onofrio at CEOnofrio@gmail.com
Relay for Life Each is an event where "more than 4 million people in over 20 countries raise much-needed funds and awareness to save lives from cancer through the Relay For Life movement." (relay.acsevents.org) It's a chance to celebrate what the survivors have overcome, remember those lost and honor those who have fought or are fighting and fight back to take action against a disease that has claimed way too many lives! Click here to learn more!
If you would like to donate to one of our fabulous Rye Brook Port Chester teams, click here!
Remember, it’s always a good idea to call ahead to ensure a scheduled activity is still running. Email me at ryebrook@hamlethub.com and let me know if we missed any super fun, family friendly events and/or if you would like to advertise with us!
Photo Credit: Kelly Schwark