Columbus Day Activity Guide 2014

For those of you lucky enough to have this Monday off, we’ve compiled a list of fun events to make the most of the three-day weekend!

Columbus Day Parade

main — Come out to the Long Island Fall Festival! photo via lifallfestival.com

October 13
44^th street and 72^nd Street on 5^th Avenue
[All Ages]
Free
Check out one of the largest celebrations of Italian-American culture in the world, predicted to attractt almost one million spectators. This family-friendly celebration is going to be filled with colorful floats, a variety of musical performances and many Italian traditional dances.

Gone Betty! Live Bat Encounter At The Haunted Pumpkin Garden
October 11-13
2900 Southern Blvd, Bronx
[All Ages]
Free
In the spirit of Halloween, the New York Botanical Garden will be hosting a family-friendly bat encounter. You can come face-to- face with different bats from around the world, including the North American Big Brown bat, the endangered Rodrigues bat, and the Malayan Flying Fox. You will also learn the importance of bats in our lives, as they keep our environment healthy. Come and make friends with these fascinating nocturnal creatures!

Little Red Lighthouse Festival
October 11
Fort Washington Park
Check out Manhattan’s only remaining lighthouse at the Little Red Lighthouse Festival. There will be a tour of the lighthouse, a fishing clinics, live musical entertainment, a kids fitness workshop with PopFitKids, food vendors and many more activities available for the whole family to enjoy.

Pumpkin Festival at Willowbrook Park
October 11
Willowbrook Park, Victory Blvd, Staten Island
[All Ages]
Free
Celebrate fall in the heart of pumpkin season. On Columbus weekend, Willowbrook Park is hosting an old-fashioned fall festival for family and friends. The festival will take place around the carousel for the kids to enjoy. In addition to this, puppets will visit at 1 and 3 pm, and there are going to be plenty of fall inspired activities available for the family. And, of course, pumpkins will be up for sale in the patch.

Hispanic Day Parade
October 12
44^th Street and 72^nd Street on 5^th Avenue
[All Ages]
Free

Celebrate Hispanic cultures and tradition at the New York Hispanic Day Parade. This colorful march represents the rich arts, cultures, and traditions of Hispanic people in the United States. Come watch the hundreds of bands, floats, dancers and celebrities be part of this spectacular parade. The parade will also have commercial vendors, children’s entertainment, and food.

The Amazing Maize Maze
All weekend
73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Floral Park
[All Ages]
$5 per child and $10 per adult
Celebrate Columbus Day with the kids would be trying to find the way out of the American flag designed 3-acre corn maze! How awesome is that? Kids and adults will begin their adventure here with a few challenges to solve which will help them escape the maze. This will definitely be a fun and great challenge to experience with your family.

Arts and Craft Session at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan
October 13
Children’s Museum of Manhattan
[4 and Younger]
Free
Keep your kiddos occupied with some creative expression at CMOM! At their Monday arts and craft session, kids will make a cardboard telescope that they will use to journey through the museum.

Long Island Fall Festival
October 10-13
164 Main Street, Huntington
[All Ages]
Free
The annual Long Island Fall Festival at Huntington attracts tens of thousands of families from all over New York. Come out to the fest to enjoy live entertainment, a world-class carnival, hundreds of arts and craft vendors, international food courts, a beer and wine tent for the parents, a farmer’s market, and more activities.

A-Game Sports

<div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;"> A-Game Sports is a premier provider of sports camps, programming and instruction for kids of all ages ranging from toddlers to teens. As an instructional and recreational youth sports facility, our goal is to make athletics a rewarding experience for all kids. A-Game Sports is located in New Rochelle, NY, and offers camps, lessons, customized programs for more than 10 sports and rental space for private events. A-Game Sports was founded in 2013 by two guys who decided that it was time to do what they truly love in life. Since then, we've made the ideology of fusing hard work and fun into a reality. Our dedicated staff of professional coaches share their enthusiasm with kids of all ages and skill levels that take part in our programs. </div> <div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;"> &nbsp; </div> <div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;"> With turfed fields for soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and flag football, batting cages and tunnels for baseball and softball, and various basketball programs, A-Game Sports is one of the premiere sports facilities for kids and adults of any age. Aspiring athletes and fitness enthusiasts will benefit from our many strength and conditioning programs, while children new to sports will learn skills and techniques within their chosen sport, all while having a great time and keeping the game fun. </div>

Monster Mini Golf

Upon entering Monster Mini Golf, all perceptions of traditional mini golf will be spirited away by the indoor, 18-hole, monster-theme, glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course! The locations in <a href="https://monsterminigolf.com/deerpark/">Deer Park</a>, and <a href="https://monsterminigolf.com/gardencity/">Garden City, NY</a> invite guests to experience a host of family-oriented fun activities. Whether visiting for the first time or the one hundredth, mini golfers feel the excitement and adventure of playing mini golf amidst spooktacular monsters and custom, glow-in-the-dark, hand-painted artwork. While testing their skill on the fairways, lively music flows over the course from the unique &ldquo;WEIRD Radio&rdquo; station&rdquo; and an interactive DJ entertains golfers with contests, awarding cool prizes for the wackiest reasons. While the course is challenging enough for adults, it is also quite playable for children. Monster Mini Golf is open year-round and frightfully fun for the entire family. In addition to miniature golf and thrilling arcade and redemption games, the locations offer additional attractions. <a href="https://monsterminigolf.com/deerpark/">Monster Mini Golf in Deer Park, NY</a> offers a Laser Maze and a Virtual Reality experience. The Garden City location offers a Laser Maze, Bowling, and a Virtual Reality Experience. Two very posh, private party rooms are also available and are perfect for any event. Monster Mini Golf looks forward to making it a monstrous success. Monster Mini Golf is indoors, ensuring that the event will always take place, regardless of the weather. It is a climate-controlled, affordable source of family entertainment. For more details please visit <a href="http://monsterminigolf.com">monsterminigolf.com</a> or find them on Facebook.

New York Society of Play Summer Camp and Classes

Summer Game Camp There are many who do not feel safe sending their children back out into the world with summer camp, this year. To serve those parents and keep the children connected and stimulated during this challenging time, we are offering NYSP Digital Summer Camp. The name of the game with NYSP Summer Camp is community. We have made a large effort to make our camp feel like a living space, with features including &ndash; - Role-Playing games familiar and new, led by our master storytellers! - Enriching electives such as Chess, World Building, Character Acting, Crafts, Drawing, and more! - Discussion and media screening rooms during lunch! - A digital campus! - Moderated chat hours! &nbsp; Join us for a summer of games, friends, and more! Mon - Fri 10am - 2:30pm &nbsp; Roleplay Expeditions: Dungeons &amp; Dragons No experience is required to join one of our Dungeons &amp; Dragons games. Our game masters have pre-made character sheets, so you'll be able to start playing the game right away! We adapt the rules of traditional Dungeons &amp; Dragons to make them more approachable to children of various ages. Battle in dungeons, search for relics, and make new friends in our one-of-a-kind Dungeons &amp; Dragons workshop!&nbsp; &nbsp; Public games meet once per week, with different groups every time. Private games meet 1 to 2 times per week with the same group of kids. Since the players and the storyteller in the group are consistent, this enables us to tell epic tales of adventure together! &nbsp; Dungeons &amp; Dragons Junior No experience is required to join one of our drop-in Dungeons &amp; Dragons games. Our Dungeons &amp; Dragons Jr. game provides a D&amp;D storytelling experience without character sheets. Battle in dungeons, search for relics, and make new friends in our one-of-a-kind Dungeons &amp; Dragons workshop! A great way to introduce young children to D&amp;D so they can eventually move onto the main game.