BY VICTORIA GRANTHAM | Spring has arrived. It’s official. We made it. Hallelujah.
And what better way to kick off the season than with an earthworm race? At least that’s what the good folks at the Hudson Park Library on Leroy St. are suggesting. On Saturday, March 28, you too can “celebrate the beginning of spring with a highly competitive, edge-of-your-seat exciting, SLOW worm race!” No need to bring your own worm as they’ll be provided if you pre-register.
If you’re in a musical mood, head to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian at 1 Bowling Green for a free weekly (Wednesdays) music and movement class led by Taino musician Irka Mateo, or consider a Music Together class. If you haven’t done Music Together before, you can try a free class at either Imagine Swimming or at the Pine Street School.
Pine Street is also partnering with Children’s Museum of the Arts to host CMA Day on March 29. The event will feature a pop-up museum. If you have a little Energizer bunny, that same day at noon you could head to the Baby Loves Disco for some booty shaking. Also on the 29 at 2 p.m., there will be an early Passover celebration at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City. The “engaging model Seder” will feature interactive storytelling, live music, and traditional Passover food.
Celebrate National Poetry Month (April) by taking your little poet (1-3 years old) to Poets House for Tiny Poets Time (now every Thursday at 10 a.m.) in Battery Park City. Or, head to the B.P.C. Library on Saturday April 4th to hear Mike from Poet’s House as he shares a few of his favorite poems and encourages your kids how to perform them.
Speaking of performances, there are a couple new live shows that sound like a lot of fun. One, at the Linda Gross Theater on 20th Street, called “Camp Kappawanna,” is a Lisa Loeb musical inspired by the Grammy-nominated artist’s summer camp memories. Another, a version of Robin Hood that’s good for four to nine-year-olds, will be performed at the Gloria Maddox Theater.
Also, “Rapunzerella White” the Rapunzel/Cinderella/Snow White princess mash up, continues, and Eric Carle’s beloved “Very Hungry Caterpillar” is being performed at N.Y.U.’s Skirball by the inventive Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia.
On Easter, The Church of St. Luke in the Fields on Hudson St. will be holding a service followed by an egg hunt with the Easter Bunny. (You can attend the hunt without attending the service if you’d like.) For older kids (ages 10+) who’ve eschewed the traditional hunt, there’s a wacky-sounding event called “Full Bunny Contact”. This bizarre fest involves a “bunny warrior joust” and an “insane Easter Carnival”. Good times. Enjoy!
Children’s reading at the Poet’s House.
THURSDAY, MARCH 26
POETS HOUSE
10 River Terrace,
poetshouse.org
Tiny Poets Time: a poetry reading for toddlers, every Thursday morning.
Ages 1-3 years | Free | 10:00 am
MUSIC TOGETHER IN THE CITY TRIAL CLASS
40 Harrison St,
MusicTogetherNYC.com
Imagine Swimming: Based on the premise that all children are musical and that parents/primary caregivers play a crucial role in activating their child’s music development. Demo classes are for new students only. Pre-Registration is required.
Ages birth-4 years | Free | 10:00 am – 10:45am
MUSIC TOGETHER IN THE CITY TRIAL CLASS
The Pine Street School, 25 Pine Street, MusicTogetherNYC.com
Demo classes are for new students only. Pre-Registration is required. Use the demo scheduler on their website to reserve your spot.
Ages birth-4 years | Free | 10:00am – 10:45am
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH
175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city
Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers: Enjoy simple stories, lively songs and rhymes, and meet other babies in the neighborhood. Limited to 50 babies and their caregivers; first-come first-served.
Ages 0-18 months | Free | 11:30 am
Gross Biology: Students discover what’s inside of them and how their body works. Presented by Children’s Museum of Manhattan. First come, first served to the first 25 children with an adult.
Ages 5+ | Free | 4:00 pm
FRIDAY, MARCH 27
NEIGHBORHOOD MOVIE NIGHTS AT ST. PAUL’S
‘Goonies’ ‘PG’
St. Paul’s Chapel, Broadway and Fulton Street,
trinitywallstreet.org/movies
Give Netflix, Hulu and Amazon a break and head to St. Paul’s Chapel in Lower Manhattan on the fourth Friday of each month. Doors open at 6:30 pm, show time begins at 7 pm. Snacks (popcorn and drinks) are free.
All ages | Free | 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
SATURDAY, MARCH 28
‘RAPUNZARELLA WHITE’
50 West 13th Street
13thstreetrep.org
Mixing Bullwinkle with Carol Burnett, follow three baby triplets, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Snow White that are kidnapped by an angry witch.
Ages: 4+ | $35/ticket | 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
‘ROBIN HOOD’
Gloria Maddox Theater, 151 W. 26th Street, 7th Floor,
gallitheaterny.com
Robin Hood´s risky adventures have him taking from the rich to give to the poor.
Ages: 4-9 | Adults $20/Children (2-17 years) $15 | 2:00 pm
EARTHWORM RACE
Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy St.
nypl.org
Celebrate the beginning of spring with a highly competitive, edge-of-your-seat exciting, SLOW worm race! Pre-register before the day of the event in person or by phone (212-243-6876) so the library has a worm ready for you.
Ages: 4+ | Free | 2:00 pm
SUNDAY, MARCH 29
‘CAMP KAPPAWANNA’
Linda Gross Theater, 336 W 20th St.
Following the misadventures of 12-year old Jennifer Jenkins, inspired by Lisa Loeb’s own nostalgic summer camp memories.
All ages | $15 for kids, $20 for adults | 10:30 am
CMA DAY
AT PINE STREET SCHOOL
Pine Street School, 25 Pine Street, greenivy.com
A pop-up museum, featuring Children’s Museum of the Arts and Figment artist-in-residence Yung Lee Page. During the day there will be two workshops for kids.
All ages | Free | 10:00 am & 11:00 am
BABY LOVES DISCO
Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St.,
There is music spun by the DJ with bubbles floating over the dance floor to get the mamas, papas and little ones moving.
6 months to 7 years | $20 or 4 for $60 | 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
STUPENDOUS MODEL SEDER WITH SHIRLALA
Museum of Jewish Heritage,
36 Battery Place,
Join ShirLaLa for an engaging model Seder featuring interactive storytelling, live music, and traditional Passover food.
Ages: 3-10 years | $10, $7 children 10 and under | 2:00 pm
MONDAY, MARCH 30
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH
175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city
Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers:
Enjoy simple stories, lively songs and rhymes, and meet other babies in the neighborhood. Limited to 50 babies and their caregivers; first-come first-served.
Ages 0-18 months | Free |9:30 am
Toddler Story Time:
A librarian shares lively picture books, finger plays, and action songs with toddlers and their caregivers.
For ages 12-36 months. All ages | Free | 4:00 pm
TUESDAY, MARCH 31
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH
175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city
Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers: Limited to 25 babies and their caregivers; first-come first-served.
Ages 0-18 months | Free |11:30 am
Picture Book Time
All ages | Free | 4:00 pm
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH
175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city
Toddler Story Time: A librarian will share lively picture books.
Ages 12-36 months | Free | 10:30 a.m.
EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 10:30 am
Crafternoon: Listen to “Dinosaur Rescue” by Penny Dale and create Play-Doh dinosaurs to take home.
All ages | Free | 4:00 p.m.
FULL BUNNY CONTACT: NYC’S EXTREME EGG HUNT & INSANE EASTER CARNIVAL
The Clemente, 107 Suffolk Street, Aimed at adults but a good bet for kids too old for traditional Easter egg hunts.
Ages 10 and up | $20-$60 | 6:00 pm
TODDLER MUSIC
WITH IRKA MATEO
National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green.
Weekly music and movement class for children each Wednesday with Irka Mateo. Learn about Taino culture through stories, song and movement. First come, first served.
Ages: 18 Months – 4 Years | Free | 10:15am & 11:15am
THURSDAY, APRIL 2
POETS HOUSE
10 River Terrace,
poetshouse.org
Tiny Poets Time:
See 3/26 for info
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH
175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city
Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers:
See 3/26 for info
FRIDAY, APRIL 3
FULL BUNNY CONTACT: NYC’S EXTREME EGG HUNT & INSANE EASTER CARNIVAL
See 4/1 for info
SATURDAY, APRIL 4
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH
175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city
Celebrate Poetry Month with Poet’s House: Mike from Poet’s House shares a few of his favorite poems and teach you how to act them out. Poems will be followed by a hands-on writing exercise.
All ages | Free | 11:00 a.m.
THE 2014-2015 BIG RED CHAIR SERIES: ‘THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR’ AND OTHER ERIC CARLE FAVORITES
NYU Skirball Center, 566 LaGuardia Place,
Three beloved stories by Eric Carle, award-winning children’s book illustrator and author.
Age 4+ | $20-$28 | 10:00 am and 2:00 pm
SUNDAY, APRIL 5
EASTER EGG HUNT
Church of St. Luke in the Fields,
487 Hudson St.,
stlukeinthefields.org
Attend the 9:15am Easter service at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields and then follow the Easter Bunny into the garden to join in a festive egg hunt. The hunt is open to the public even if you don’t attend the service
Free | 10:30 am | All ages
FILM FORUM JR. SUNDAY MATINEE SERIES: ‘The Sound of Music’
Film Forum, 209 West Houston St.,
A weekly Sunday matinee series.
Age 5+ | $7.50 | 11:00 am
MONDAY, APRIL 6
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH
175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city
Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers and Toddler Story Time. See 3/30 for info
TUESDAY, APRIL 7
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH
175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city
Singing Stories with Baby: The program by talented singer and songwriter Lou Gallo takes place before the library is open to the public on Tuesday mornings in April. Latecomers will not be admitted.
Ages 0-4 years | Free |11:15 am
Picture Book Time
All ages | Free| 4:00 pm
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH
175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city
Toddler Story Time See 3/30 for info
