There will be a free one-day event with a wide variety of entertainment at the World Financial Center Winter Garden for the History and Heritage Downtown Family Fun Day.
The festival, which celebrates Downtown cultural institutions and is organized by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., includes crafts for children and musical performances from both established and emerging artists.
More than a dozen cultural institutions are participating in the event at 220 Vesey Street, on Sunday May 16, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Eldridge Street Project will talk about their efforts to preserve the landmark 1887 synagogue and kids will be able to make synagogue rose windows from a variety of craft materials.
Ellis Island Immigration Museum will present “A Taste of Freedom,” a live play of a young girl and her mother.
Fraunces Tavern Museum will display a full-scale reproduction of an 18th-century field cannon, along with musical performances by the Colonial Musketeers Junior Fife and Drum Corps.
Lower Eastside Tenement Museum will be handing out entry forms to guess the “mystery artifact.”
The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council will present performances of Brazilian self-defense techniques hidden in dance and distribute home-baked treats.
Museum of American Financial History will help children design their own currency and learn about counterfeiting.
Museum of Chinese in the Americas will help children make paper masks and puppets. They will also put on a live Lion Dance.
Museum of Jewish Heritage will have an introduction to Klezmer music and Yiddish.
The Museum of the American Indian Smithsonian Institute will have a hands-on presentation including native fruits, vegetables and musical instruments.
The New York Fire Museum offers people the chance to dress in firefighter uniforms and have their picture taken.
The New York City Police Museum will be giving away photos and caricatures of visitors dressed in an authentic N.Y.P.D. uniform, while the famous Emerald Society bagpipers will be entertaining the crowds.
The Skyscraper Museum will present a live demonstration of methods used for constructing steel frame skyscrapers such as the Empire State and Chrysler building.
South Street Seaport Museum will be holding craft activities on board a 1930 wooden tugboat that will be docked just outside the Winter Garden.
The New York Goofs and the Bindlestiff Family will pay tribute to Mr. P.T. Barnum, a Downtown New York legend, with a comedy performance and music.
For more information go to www.nystartshere.org or www.worldfinancialcenter.com.
—Melanie Wallis
