Free Family Events This Weekend! (October 6-8)

The Little Red Lighthouse Festival will take place this Saturday in Fort Washington Park! Photo by gigi_nyc via Flickr.

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

Friday, October 6

Family Fridays: “A Construction Toy Revolution: Introducing Lux!”
6:30-8pm
National Museum of Mathematics
All Ages
Think toys and math don’t go together? Think again! Toy creator Mike Acerra will be showing and demonstrating Lux, his latest creation, at the Museum of Mathematics. The toy, built with hinges and links, provides a new way for children to learn while they play. Pre-registration is required.

Saturday, October 7

The Happy Racers
11am & 2pm
Lincoln Center
Ages 2-5
The Happy Racers will be performing at Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium! The kindie rock trio will perform tracks from their “Sidewalk Chalk” EP and their debut album “Ready Set Go.” Fan favorites include “Lovabye Dragon” and “I Can Do Anything.”

FamJam: Picture This
11am-2pm
BRIC House, Brooklyn
Ages 7 and up
Learn about the time before digital cameras with BRIC House’s teaching photography artists. Enjoy a fun hands-on workshop for families as you make your own pinhole cameras and sun prints. Discover how early photographers used to capture images before advanced technology. Space is limited, so admission is on a first-come, first-served basis. Don’t forget to bring an object that can cast a silhouette! Pre-registration is required.

Children’s Harvest Festival
11am-2pm
Jefferson Market Park
All Ages
As the days cool down, head over to Greenwich Village for an afternoon of pumpkins, crafts, and more fun activities. Bring the kids to the Jefferson Market Garden to enjoy a day surrounded by beautiful plants and the outdoors. Don’t miss an opportunity to enjoy nature right in your backyard!

8th Annual Harlem Harvest Festival
11am-4pm
St. Nicholas Avenue (between 117th and 118th Streets)
All Ages
Come up to Harlem for an re-imagined state fair! There will still be fresh produce and harvest food, but with a slight twist! Local restaurants will be on hand to serve their food alongside the farm fresh fare. A Kids Corner will have games, arts and crafts and pumpkin carving. There will also be music pumping and performances on display.

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Little Red Lighthouse Festival
12-4pm
Fort Washington Park
All Ages
Bring your family to the Little Red Lighthouse Festival in Fort Washington Park to enjoy food, music, and storytelling. The festival celebrates Manhattan’s only lighthouse which has inspired two children’s books. Children can also attend a fishing clinic, go on a tour of the lighthouse with the Urban Park Rangers, and enjoy a host of other activities.

Diwali at Times Square
2-9pm
Times Square
All Ages
Celebrate Hindu culture in Times Square! Don’t miss free concerts from Bollywood artists, stars, and performers, and local and international cultural performances celebrating South Asian culture! Enjoy this huge celebration of the Festival of Lights with delicious food and drink and a bazaar featuring ethnic clothing, jewelry, accessories, and more.

Sunday, October 8

Sky High Sukkah Party
10:30am-12pm
14th Street Y
Ages 5 and under
Join the 14th Street Y and the Town and Village Synagogue as they celebrate Sukkot as a community. Bring your young children and enjoy a pizza party and concert. Play, sing, celebrate, and create on the rooftop under the sunlight! Reservations are recommended. Please note: While admission is free, a $5 donation is appreciated.

The Annual Narrows Botanical Harvest Festival
12-5pm
Narrows Botanical Gardens, Brooklyn
All Ages
Bring the entire family to Narrows Botanical Gardens for a day of fun and dancing. Enjoy their best crafters and artisans and some country music with the Al “e” Mo Square Dancers. Don’t forget your dog and their costume if you wish to participate in the Annual Canine Costume Contest. There will even be a Great Pumpkin Patch.

Cultural Festival and Lantern Parade
12-5pm
Leif Ericsson Park, Brooklyn
All Ages
Enjoy a day of cultural events and fun at the Cultural Festival and Lantern Parade. Come out to Brooklyn to check out booths, food, and a stage performance in Leif Ericsson Park.

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Speakitaly NYC

<p>SPEAKITALY NYC offers stimulating and entertaining lessons for children 0 to 16 years through a wide combination of activities based on the communicative approach anchored in the Common European Framework of Reference: active learning (group work, role plays, etc.) and practice exercises aimed to improve listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Kids will start speaking and using Italian in a very natural way.  Small classes capped at 6 students to make sure each one gets the needed attention and facilitate learners' progress. </p> <p>Our method is driven by a didactic method that is the result of constant updates, professional certifications and more than 10 years of experience in working with non-native speakers from different native languages and levels of knowledge.</p> <p>Our aim is to develop a range of Italian language skills while improving accuracy that will enable the students and participants to interact without stress or feeling rushed. We want to help those in the community really embrace not only the true culture in Italy but the Italian culture within New York City… Who doesn’t love what Italy represents in the kitchen, in history & in the arts?</p> <p>Speakitaly wants to support multilingual families who want to learn a new language or pass along their ancestor’s heritage and culture. Raffaella, the founder said: "We see language awareness and intercultural sensitivity as the milestones for an inclusive society. Italian, like all other languages, is an enrichment and a growth in every way. Vi aspettiamo!"</p>

Brooklyn Music School

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For over a century, we at The Brooklyn Music School have strived to make the joy of music, dance and performance accessible to everyone no matter their age, background, or financial status.</span></p> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition to offering affordable in-person and online private and group music lessons, dance classes, after-school programs, and community outreach, we also provide space for </span></p> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brooklyn and NYC artists to perform in our 250-seat Spanish-style theatre. Come by for a night of live music, or join us for a class!</span></p> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Visit BrooklynMusicSchool.org to learn more, register for classes, or view our calendar for upcoming events. </span></p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-4b378613-7fff-f89d-3c88-fe6beaabeb55"></span></p>

Explore MetroWest Boston

<p><span style="white-space: normal;"> </span></p> <h1>Turn Whining into Winning in MetroWest Boston</h1> <p>From beer gardens to corn mazes, state parks to beautiful art, MetroWest Boston is a great destination for a weekend trip! Enjoy <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/get-outside/?imgoing-place=hopkinton-state-park-61a91acef30b531a665ab64d">Hopkinton State Park</a>’s gorgeous foliage while kayaking on the lake or hiking, mountain biking, or snowshoeing on the amazing trails.</p> <p>In the evening, catch a play, musical, concert, art exhibition, dance performance, or immersive theatrical event at <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/culture/?imgoing-place=hopkinton-center-for-the-arts-63c03d7e0d792d753263b4d1">Hopkinton Center for the Arts</a>.</p> <p>Get a great night’s sleep at one of the region’s hotels, such as <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/where-to-stay/?imgoing-place=the-verve-hotel-boston-natick-tapestry-collection-by-hilton-61aa4790f30b531a666119e4">The VERVE</a>, with its fun and funky pop art décor, or <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/where-to-stay/?imgoing-place=aloft-framingham-6216279ccc891d1d0862c8c2">Aloft</a> with their pool tables and lobby games. In the morning, visit the <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/culture/?imgoing-place=danforth-art-school-61a8e11cf30b531a66592d90">Danforth Art Museum</a>, a jewel box housing 3,500+ artworks from three centuries, including groundbreaking sculptures depicting the African and African American experience by Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller.</p> <p>Cross the street to the <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/culture/?imgoing-place=framingham-history-center-61a8e11cf30b531a66592d92">Framingham History Center</a> to explore their new multilingual exhibit that traces the city’s immigration story, from those fleeing the 1690s Salem Witch trials, to the Irish and Italian influx in the 1800-1900s, to the current migration of Brazilians. “Framingham’s Collective Journeys” includes oral histories, interactives, and artifacts.</p> <p>No visit to Framingham is complete without stopping at legendary <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/eat/?imgoing-place=jacks-abby-craft-lagers-61a8e11cf30b531a66592da0">Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers</a>, one of 17 breweries in MetroWest, where you can enjoy a flight with a schnitzel sandwich or their famous Framinghamburger. Afterwards, spend a few hours at <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/activities/?imgoing-place=level99-64a8389c51f92a351a6a3f06">Level99</a> testing each other with 50+ mental and physical escape rooms and challenges.</p> <p>The next day, tour the <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/where-to-stay/?imgoing-place=longfellows-wayside-inn-61aa7aa3f30b531a66621f57">Wayside Inn</a>. The oldest inn in America’s 100-acre property includes the Old Barn, now a farm stand with displays of antique farming tools, the historic Grist Mill, and beautiful grounds containing the Longfellow Memorial Garden, the Redstone Schoolhouse from the poem “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, the Martha-Mary Chapel, and Josephine's Pond for fishing. Stay for a delicious gourmet meal in their historic dining room.</p> <p>Spend the afternoon at the <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/culture/?imgoing-place=american-heritage-museum-61a92852f30b531a665b17bf">American Heritage Museum</a>. Start your tour in the depths of a WWI trench listening to a nurse’s first-hand account from the Western Front while bombs explode above you and the floor begins to shake. This extraordinary museum features one-of-a-kind historic aircraft, tanks, cars and rare relics from the Revolutionary War to today, in immersive exhibits and living history events. Afterwards, wander the charming shops and boutiques of downtown Hudson.</p> <h3>MetroWest Boston offers these and many other attractions, activities and events for the whole family!</h3>