Weekend Planner: Best Weekend Events for Families (February 1-3)

Theater for the New City will present its 44th annual Thunderbird American Dancers Dance Concert and Pow Wow through February 3, 2019. There will be dances, stories and traditional music from Native Peoples of the Northeast, Southwest and Great Plains regions. The event has become a treasured New York tradition for celebrating diversity by honoring the culture of the first Americans. This event is suitable for children ages 5-12, as well as older teens and adults. Times vary.

Grab your BFF and some glitter for a workshop that will give you heart eyes! Make 5-6 Valentines for your classmates, friends and family using your favorite stickers, stamps, washi and more!

X (2019), Reddymade’s winning design for the eleventh annual Times Square Valentine Heart Design Competition, explores how love emerges within communities where difference meets equality. An “X” evokes many expressions of interpersonal and civic love, including the written symbol for a kiss, and even the mark of a vote. People from all backgrounds cross paths in Times Square, and Reddymade’s design offers them a meeting point for further exchange and connection. X takes its titular form with two crossed aluminum planes, creating a passageway through or a snug meeting place within the 18-foot-tall structure. Round openings at the centers of the planes combine into heart shapes when viewed from different angles. X will be up in Times Square throughout the month of February.

From Watson Adventures comes this super-cool event that blends the magic of Harry Potter with the wonder of the Met! Both wizards and muggles (i.e., people who aren’t Potter experts) can play and enjoy this game. The hunt is not an addition to or variation on Harry’s adventures; instead, references to the books will provide a bridge to many surprising and spectacular works of art. It’s a great birthday-party activity for your favorite Harry Potter fan. Even hunters who know nothing about Harry Potter can play and have fun. This hunt is suitable for ages 10 and up.

The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) is excited to announce MOCA FEST 2019, an 8-week Lunar New Year celebration at MOCA to welcome the Year of the Pig and the start of year 4717 on the Chinese calendar. Festivities will include the launch of MOCA’s new shop in partnership with Pearl River Mart; Lunar New Year-themed programs, speakers, and children’s activities; MOCA’s popular Night Market showcasing cuisine from famed Asian American chefs; a Family Festival; and a glamorous Lunar Soiree. The Museum invites people of all ages to take part in its uniquely designed celebration aimed at providing a genuine and deep understanding of this famed holiday and what it means in American society. All proceeds go towards supporting the Museum of Chinese in America, the largest institution of its kind. Through its critically acclaimed exhibitions and collection of over 65,000 artifacts, the Museum provides an immersive approach to learning about the multi-faceted identity and untold stories of Chinese people in America and their contributions to the American historical and cultural narrative.

Children’s Museum of the Arts (CMA) is pleased to announce A Way With Words: The Power and Art of the Book, an exhibition that presents artworks which draw attention to the long and remarkable history of the book, on view from November 29, 2018 to April 29, 2019. The invention of the printing press in the 1440s launched the book into the industrial age, increasing the production and distribution of the written word, and with it, knowledge and literacy. Today, our libraries are filled with millions of books, and the digital age allows us to access literature instantly in the palm of our hand. Because the book has been produced around the globe, it has become a versatile and creative source of artistic inspiration.

Including works by Cara Barer, Doug Beube, Long-Bin Chen, Casey Curran, Brian Dettmer, Ann Hamilton, Andrew Hayes, Lisa Kokin, Guy Laramée, Mike Stilkey, and Robert The, A Way With Words will show the transformation of everyday books into expressions of identity, community, environmentalism, memory, and reconstructed narratives. Families will see unconventional treatments such as cutting, weaving, tearing, burning, and shredding, as artists transform books into sculptures, animation, drawings, and paintings that capture the book’s significant history and power to inform the public. Children and their families will also create their own artworks inspired by the exhibition.

Bring the kids to this futuristic rock musical set in the world 2211. There are no adults, technology, or running water in this world for Aurora and her friends. Meanwhile, a girl named Claire wonders if there’s anyone else out there on the planet. Runs through February 24: Fridays at 7pm, Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm and 4pm. $15 kids, $30 adults. TADA! Youth Theater, 15 W 28th St. 212-252-1619. tadatheater.com.

New York’s rich visual vernacular is a colorful setting for illustrated stories, so it comes as no surprise that our iconic transportation system plays a starring role in comics and graphic novels. Drawing on satirical cartoons, comic strips and comic books from the 19th through the 21st centuries, Underground Heroes: New York Transit in Comics is a raucous ride through New York’s transit system from a range of visual storytellers. The exhibit includes such luminaries as Winsor McCay, Will Eisner, Bill Griffith, Roz Chast, Ronald Wimberly and Julia Wertz whose work demonstrates the influence that mass transit has on the stories that are irrevocably woven into the cultural fabric of New York City. Through 3/17. $10/adults, $5/children. New York Transit Museum 99 Schermerhorn Street. nytransitmuseum.org

The Thing is being so loud that Emily can’t sleep, but all he wants is to find his Cuddly. She sets out to help him be reunited with his friend so they can all go to sleep. Repeats on Jan. 27, Feb. 2, and Feb. 3 at 11am, with a talk-back performance on Feb. 2 at 3pm. For ages 4-7. Tickets start at $25. The New Victory Theater, 209 W 42nd St. 646-223-3010. newvictory.org.