Weekend Planner: January 3-5

PlanetHopping — “Planet Hopping” at Symphony Space

The snow is coming. Here’s our handy list of great sledding spots from Central Park to Prospect Park. For more winter fun inside and outside the city, check out our complete guide to the best skating rinks, tea and cocoa spots, cultural oases, and more. Plus, below is our survey of this weekend’s many happenings. Happy New Year!

STARTING FRIDAY

Watch the world’s top 35 bull riders perform daring feats at Madison Square Garden. Giddy up! (Friday through Sunday)

Enjoy “Patience,” a classic love triangle with a virtuous milkmaid in the middle brought to you by the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players at Symphony Space. Cheers to romance! (Friday through Sunday)

In “The Shell-Shocked Nut” at La MaMa, “The Nutcracker” gets a unique spin, complete with an East Village setting and an eclectic soundtrack featuring everyone from Stevie Wonder to Duke Ellington. Starring the East Village Dance Project. Think beyond ballet! (Friday through Sunday)

STARTING SATURDAY

Journey through the solar system with a young pilot and her robot companion in “Planet Hopping” at Symphony Space. The production was dreamed up by the puppet troupe Belle et Bête and children’s music band Lunch Money. Enjoy the show! (Saturday)

The timeless tale of Little Red Riding Hood and her adventures in the woods will be re-imagined by La Piccola Opera in an abridged format at Lincoln Center. Beware the big bad wolf! (Saturday)

Celebrate Asian American culture with the Children’s Museum of the Arts unique festival. The two-weekend-long event kicks off this Saturday with an ancient Chinese Lion Dance performance from PS 124, among other festivities. Party time! (Saturday through Sunday)

The Galli Theater presents a modern adaptation of the classic fairytale Hansel and Gretel. The pair, of course, stumbles across a tempting gingerbread house, inhabited—to their misfortune—by a witch. Be careful what you wish for! (Saturday through Sunday)

Listen to percussionist Dendê and his band combine rhythmic Brazilian music with Afrobeat, reggae, merengue and other world music into an upbeat dance party groove at the Brooklyn Museum. Tap your toes! (Saturday)

SUNDAY

Honor the owl at Wave Hill with Native American legends about these mysterious creatures and with crafts and activities, including a musical pow-wow. Soar to creative heights! (Sunday)

Explore the brass section of the New York Philharmonic with a special concert for little ones at Merkin Concert Hall. Musicians are on hand before curtain call to greet families with creative activities, and children can play with the instruments post-show. Follow the music! (Sunday)

Bake one of America’s favorite cookies—the Oreo—from scratch with this Freshmade NYC class. Ready the icing! (Sunday)

Yuletide Factory

Fill your hearts with circus cheer&mdash;the merry daredevils of Cirque Mechanics (Zephyr, 2023) are back with an industrial-strength spectacular for you and your kin. Sparkling with holiday spirit, the ever energetic ensemble of acrobats transforms a drab assembly plant into a holly jolly Yuletide Factory! From the wonder of the German wheel to festive flips from the trampoline wall, they dash and dance through a pageant of powerhouse stunts with grins and goodwill. It&rsquo;s high-flying fun, comfort and joy for the whole family!

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.

Speakitaly NYC

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.&nbsp; Small classes capped at 6 students to make sure each one gets the needed attention and facilitate learners' progress.&nbsp; 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. 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&hellip; Who doesn&rsquo;t love what Italy represents in the kitchen, in history &amp; in the arts? Speakitaly wants to support multilingual families who want to learn a new language or pass along their ancestor&rsquo;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!"