Free Family Events This Holiday Weekend! (December 30-January 1)

Celebrate New Year's Eve with fireworks in Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza. Photo by Russell Bernice via Flickr. — Celebrate New Year’s Eve with fireworks in Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza. Photo by Russell Bernice via Flickr.

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

Friday, December 30

Seasonal Arts and Crafts: Snowman Bottle
2:30-4pm
Poe Park, Bronx
All Ages
This Friday, visitors to the Bronx’s Poe Park can create a snowman bottle out of plastic containers and jars! For inspiration, kids can check out the park’s new “Whimsical Winter Wonder…Exhibition.” Participants must bring their own bottles. Containers should have labels removed and be clean and dry. Please do not bring jars that are larger than 16 oz.

Saturday, December 31

3rd Annual Coney Island New Year’s Eve Celebration
9pm-Midnight
Coney Island, Brooklyn
All Ages
Ring in 2017 on Coney Island! There will be free rides on Deno’s Wonder Wheel, the Thunderbolt, and the B&B Carousel (weather permitting), ice skating at Abe Stark Rink (6-10pm), fireworks, and live music and performances. To insure a good time is had by all, the New York Aquarium will be open late.

New Year’s Eve Fireworks
11pm-Midnight
Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn
All Ages
Are you still looking for something to do on New Year’s Eve? This year, ring in 2017 by viewing a spectacular firework display in Prospect Park, and help kick off the Park’s 150th anniversary! The festive celebration includes live performances and tasty hot chocolate that will help keep the family warm into the New Year. Don’t forget your blanket! Registration is required.

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Sunday, January 1

Early Morning Bird Walk: Bring in the New Year with Birds
10-11am
Prospect Park, Brooklyn
All Ages
Start your New Year by exploring the fascinating birds of Prospect Park! On New Year’s Day, the Brooklyn Bird Club is hosting a tour of the park’s nature trails and sharing interesting tales of the ducks who call the park home during the cold weather months while visitors admire their beautiful plumage. This experience is sure to delight the birdwatchers in the family!

Annual New Year’s Day Swim
1-2pm
Coney Island, Brooklyn
Ages 18 and up; children under 18 must have a parent/guardian register for them
Here’s your chance to swim with the polar bears! Join the Coney Island Polar Bear Club and Camp Sunshine for this annual New Year’s Day swim. Families who are willing to brave the frosty weather can take a plunge in the Atlantic Ocean and help raise money to send children with life-threatening illnesses and their families on a retreat. If you’re too scared to “freeze for a reason” and take the plunge, do the “Chicken Dip” where you just wiggle your toes in the water. Either way, the money raised is going to a great cause! Please note: This event is free, however there is a suggested donation fee of $40 per swimmer.

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The Language Workshop For Children

After offering both group and private lessons for many years and analyzing the results over&nbsp;time, The&nbsp;Language Workshop for&nbsp;Children, founded&nbsp;in1973, has decided&nbsp;to emphasize private remote lessons at shorter intervals.&nbsp;Our skilled educators&nbsp;will&nbsp;focus their attention exclusively on the&nbsp;unique needs, learning style, and interests of your child.&nbsp;This allows a&nbsp;bond&nbsp;to develop&nbsp;between teacher and student, which&nbsp;has been&nbsp;shown to&nbsp;drastically improve retention.&nbsp; OUR METHOD&nbsp; Developed by the pioneers of language education for children, our programs bring decades of&nbsp;experience to your living room with individualized, active language classes. Each lesson is based on proven methods and materials perfected to capture your&nbsp;child&rsquo;s attention during the ages when he/she absorbs information the fastest. &nbsp;&nbsp; While other online language classes rely on videos for passive learning, we deliver interactive, and engaging lessons with native-fluent teachers. In addition, all our teachers are certified in the Thibaut&nbsp;Technique which has been featured&nbsp;in the New York&nbsp;Times, the&nbsp;Wall Street Journal, and many other well-respected&nbsp;publications.&nbsp;&nbsp; Our short one-on-one lessons give kids the chance to focus, hear pronunciation clearly, and practice speaking in their target language.  THE PROCESS&nbsp; First, students have a short meeting with our Director&nbsp;Francois&nbsp;Thibaut, in&nbsp;English, with&nbsp;their parent(s)&nbsp;present.&nbsp;Mr. Thibaut&nbsp;will determine&nbsp;the best course of study, including&nbsp;class length and&nbsp;frequency, the&nbsp;right&nbsp;teacher, lesson&nbsp;format and materials (or action games for younger students.) Then the learning&nbsp;begins!&nbsp;Mr. Thibaut will continually check in on your child&rsquo;s learning to assure they are getting the most&nbsp;of&nbsp;their&nbsp;classes.&nbsp; OTHER OFFERINGS&nbsp; We can also help your child prepare for: the French subject tests for SAT, AP &amp; CLEP, the European DELF/DALF, the Canadian TEF and other standardized testing, college entry exams, studying or traveling abroad,&nbsp;cultural changes when moving abroad,&nbsp;and much more!&nbsp; &nbsp;

Laurissa Jane Music

Laurissa Jane Music Studio is a dedicated institution that offers a solid foundation for students to explore the captivating world of music and arts. With experienced instructors, we offer private and group lessons in piano, voice, and guitar, for all ages and skill levels. We provide year-round training for renowned programs such as NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) and ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music). LJMS runs an annual Summer Musical Theatre Arts Program from July-August which offers a creative environment for young individuals with a passion for acting, singing, and dancing. We are proud to serve the vibrant communities of Jamaica Queens and can also provide classes virtually. At LJMS, we firmly believe in the transformative power of the arts. Call us today!

Atlantic Acting School

Looking for a fun and exciting theater program for kids and teens? Join us at the Atlantic. Our programs are intense, exciting and fun!