Adventure, excitement and fresh air — all for free, at the Tribeca Family Festival and Sports Day.
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Move over, Union Square Zip Line! Take that, Super Bowl Boulevard slide!
Pop Up urban adventure is about to get a serious sports and movie-themed upgrade — when the annual Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair and Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day return, to take over Downtown streets for this rain-or-shine event that’s always packed but rarely waterlogged.
Tribeca Film Fest’s street fair is a real free-for-all
Live Broadway performances, socially conscious arcade games, a bubble garden, kite making, puppet shows, storytelling, chess, chalk art and great local food (with plenty of sports activities to burn it off) have all been designed with families in mind.
THE TRIBECA FAMILY FESTIVAL STREET FAIR
On Greenwich St. from Chambers to Hubert Sts.
TRIBECA/ESPN SPORTS DAY
On N. Moore St. (btw. Greenwich & West Sts.)
Both events are FREE
Sat., April 26, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For info: tribecafilm.com/family and tribecafilm.com/espn
For the first time in festival history, the street fair’s Studios Backlot will use movie magic to give a Tribeca street the Hollywood makeover treatment. Learn all about what really happens when the director yells, “Lights, camera, action!” There will be “Red Carpet” photo ops and “Animation Chefs” to help you cook up animated films on iPads and other mobile devices. At the ‘Take Two Film Academy,” kids 7-15 can play the “Pitch Your Movie” game (the winner gets a free summer workshop to help make their great idea a big screen reality). The whole family can sit in the director’s chair (one at a time, please), when the Tribeca Film Institute’s “You Call the Shots!” activity challenges you to create a film of your own by using interactive storyboards.
Nearby, at the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day, hang out with members of the New York Knicks, New York Rangers and WNBA New York Liberty — with the busy Mr. Met on hand from 12-1 p.m. only. ESPN New York will get you ready for baseball season, with interactive challenges for all ages. The Fathead entertainment graphics company will have life-sized cut outs of famous athletes, for sports fans to pose with. Test your QB accuracy IQ at the New York Jets football toss, assess your putting skills at a City Parks Foundation practice green and perfect your swing at the at the Chelsea Piers Golf Hitting Bubble. You’ll also get some great basic instruction from members of The National Lacrosse League, elite fencing athletes, and The National Hockey League Foundation. Reps from New York Women’s Baseball, Tribeca Sailing, the Downtown United Soccer Club and Sure Skateboards will be on hand to provide tips and perform demonstrations.
Sure, there’s plenty of fun outside — but there’s no place like home, and nobody understands that better than a little girl from Kansas. If you already know her story, you’ll probably want to see it again. Follow the road of your choosing, yellow brick or otherwise, to BMCC/Tribeca Performing Arts Center. There, at 199 Chambers St., “The Wizard of Oz” screens on Sat., April 26. Admission is free and ticketed on a first-come, first-served basis. Lines at BMCC begin 30 minutes prior to the 11 a.m. start time.
