Though the mornings feel like fall, the spring-like afternoons will be conducive to checking out some of our picks for this week: An award-winning children’s book is brought to the stage, a performing arts fest takes Madison Square Park, and more! Enjoy!
Beginning Saturday, October 17
“The Gruffalo”
New Victory Theater
Various times
London-based troupe Tall Stories transforms Julia Donaldson’s award-winning picture book, The Gruffalo, into a family musical filled with slapstick humor, sing-along songs, and even some frightening fun for the little ones. Come see what happens when Mouse summons the Gruffalo (via his imagination) to guard against the creatures that roam the deep dark wood during this 55-minute performance. Recommended for ages 4 through 7. Tickets are $25. Runs Saturdays and Sundays through Sunday, October 25.
Saturday, October 17
Kids Fest: Stages in the Square
Madison Square Park
10am-3pm
Join other NYC families in Madison Square Park this Saturday for the park’s first performing arts fest for children! Throughout the day three stages will feature musical and theatrical performances, workshops, and storytelling for ages 0 through 12 and their families. Performers scheduled to appear include Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights, songs for seeds, the Catskill Puppet Theater, the Story Pirates, the Amazing Max, the Big Apple Circus’ Circus to Go!, The Little Orchestra Society, and others. There will also be face painting, a costume parade, and much more. Plus fill up on mouth-watering grub from local favorites like Hill Country Barbecue Market, the Melt Shop, Burger & Lobster, and Andy’s Italian Ices. New York Family is a proud media sponsor of this event. Admission is free.
The Laurie Berkner Band: The Greatest Hits Tour
The Concert Hall
11am-12:15pm
Best-selling children’s musician and preschool television star Laurie Berkner and her band will bring their Greatest Hits Tour to Manhattan this Saturday with a show at the New York Society for Ethical Culture’s Concert Hall. The concert will feature a blend of fan favorites along with tracks that will encourage young audience members to get out of their seats and dance intermixed with quieter tunes from the “Laurie Berkner Lullabies” album. Tickets are $37.50. Doors open at 10am.
Saturday, October 17-Sunday, October 18
Open House New York
Various locations throughout NYC
Various times
For two days each October, Open House New York opens hundreds of sites across the five boroughs—from the historical to the contemporary, and the residential to the industrial—for tours, talks, performances, and additional special events. Family-friendly sites this year include the African Burial Ground National Monument, the Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility, and the King Manor Museum. There are plenty of happenings just for kids—such as scavenger hunts, special tours, and art-making—around the city. Check the website for more details and to make reservations. This event is free and will take place rain or shine; some activities require advance registration.
Honey Weekend
Wave Hill
10am-4pm
Come out to Wave Hill for the super-sweet annual Honey Weekend! Highlights of this buzz-worthy celebration include the Be a Bee family art project, during which kids outfit themselves with wings, antennae, a pollen cup, and a kazoo before joining the bee parade and dancing in a cardboard hive; a honey extraction demonstration where you can help Wave Hill staff extract and bottle honey from the garden’s resident bees; plus a candle-making workshop and honey tastings! Free with garden admission.
Fall Family Weekend
Carnegie Hall
11am-3pm
Families are invited to Carnegie Hall for this fall’s Family Weekend, filled with free, interactive musical activities in the Judith Burton Resnick Education Wing. Activities include sing-alongs, instrument building (and playing), songwriting workshops, transforming ordinary objects into musical instruments in a digital sound playground, and more. There will also be performances in the Weill Music Room by Sbongiseni Duma, Elizabeth Mitchell and You Are My Flower, as well as Shine and the Moonbeams. Recommended for ages 3 through 10. This event is free.
