Free Family Events This Weekend! (February 17-19)

Losar Family Day will take place this Sunday at the Rubin Museum! Photo by Michael Palma via rubinmuseum.org.

Have an amazing weekend without opening your wallet! For even more activity inspiration, check out our Weekend Planner.

Friday, February 17-Sunday, February 19

The Harlem Gymnastics Invitational
9am
The Harlem Armory Children’s Zone
All Ages
The Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation will present the 4th Annual Harlem Gymnastics Invitational this weekend at the Harlem Armory. The competition will feature gymnasts in the disciplines of trampoline and tumbling, rhythmic gymnastics, and women’s all-around. Families with children of all ages won’t want to miss this dazzling display of agility and artistry.

Friday, February 17

Crafty Afternoons: Rockets
3pm
Columbus Library
Ages 3 and up
Celebrate Black History Month at the Columbus Library this Friday by building rockets in honor of Mae Jemison, the first African American woman to travel in space. This stellar arts and crafts workshop is recommended for ages 3 and up.

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Saturday, February 18

Neighborhood Concert: Antibalas
4pm
El Museo Del Barrio
All Ages
The international music of the Brooklyn-based band Antibalas can be heard this Saturday at El Museo del Barrio. The 12-member group combines American soul and Latin dance rhythms with Nigerian Afrobeat inspired by Fela Kuti to create a unique sound that’s all its own.

Saturday, February 18-Sunday, February 19

New York Sword Dance Festival
Various times
Various locations throughout Manhattan & Brooklyn
All Ages
The 32nd Annual New York Sword Dance Festival is back! The event will feature 10 teams, as the performing groups are known, in an exciting weekend of performances in public spaces across various locations throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn. The festival, which the New York-based Half Moon Sword first organized in 1986, was the first such event in North America to focus on English-style sword dancing. The fest will include both mystical, stately longsword and vigorous rapper sword dancing, with live music on fiddle, accordion, and other instruments.

Sunday, February 19

Losar Family Day
12-4pm
The Rubin Museum
All Ages
Come to the Rubin Museum for an afternoon of arts, crafts, food and music in celebration of Losar, the Himalayan New Year. Watch a master artist create a sand mandala, build colorful butter sculptures, drink Himalayan butter tea, go on a family gallery tour, and enjoy traditional Tibetan music.

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Manhattan Mandarin

Manhattan Mandarin runs the Mandarin after-school programs at over 40 schools nationwide, including St. Bernard's, Chapin, Allen-Stevenson, and Buckley. Whether in schools, students' homes, in the office, online, or on our beloved China trips, our teachers and tutors have helped hundreds of students of all ages master the Mandarin language on their own unique paths to fluency. Our philosophy has always been to make private lessons and classes perfectly tailored for each individual student. We look forward to working with you. - Jamie Keyte, Founder

Adventuring Portal

<a name="m_-1473885667065203258__Hlk72147528"></a>Adventuring Portal runs Dungeons and Dragons (D&amp;D) games for kids.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;We have created a safe online space for tweens and teens to learn and play D&amp;D. Our D&amp;D Summer Camp session are a one-week experience.&nbsp;&nbsp;Monday &ndash; Friday.&nbsp;&nbsp;Each day will be 3 hours of gaming (with 2 breaks build in).&nbsp;&nbsp;15 total gaming hours for $180.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you have played with us before, you are entitled to 10% off.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Need your kids, nieces or nephews, grand kids or neighbor&rsquo;s kids to be occupied for a bit so you can get work done &amp; take care of your to-do list? Maybe your tween or teen is still a bit isolated and craves connection with their peers? Whether your teen/tween has played D&amp;D before or is brand-new to the experience, this safe space brings players together to have fun and solve problems as a team in ways few other online opportunities do. All our games focus on experiential learning.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Our players leave knowing all the basic game play as well as experiencing: teamwork, bravery, compassion, generosity, negotiation, improvisation, gamer etiquette, strategy, critical thinking, problem solving, cartography and probability - all through online D&amp;D adventuring! We are an inclusive organization and welcome gamers who are LGBTQIA+ and those on any spectrum.&nbsp; All girls&rsquo; groups available.&nbsp; I am a parent, a certified elementary school and middle school math teacher and last summer in the midst of the mess started&nbsp;Adventuring Portal, an&nbsp;online Dungeons &amp; Dragons&nbsp;business&nbsp;for kids. There are so many benefits to playing D&amp;D and I hope you will consider us as a great way for your child to safely socialize, grow as people and have a great time.

Aviator Sports Summer Day Camp

Aviator Sports Summer Day Camp offers five daily rotating activities such as swimming, ice skating gymnastics, rock climbing, parkour, indoor/outdoor turf, and courts plus more in its ample 175,000 sq. ft. facility and 35-acre outdoor area. Aviator Summer Camp also offers off-site and on-site field trips such as a day at Green Meadows Farm, Launch Trampoline Park, and a Brooklyn Cyclones game. The summer camp runs from 9 am-5 pm with early drop off and late stay available. Bus transportation is also available throughout Brooklyn. Lunch and an afternoon snack are included. Sign up by February 28th to receive up to $300 off camp with early bird discounts.