NEW-Kids Class! Ice Cream Sundae Decorating in Queen

Looking for indoor family fun this spring? Sign up for an ice cream sundae decorating class at the new Tipsy Scoop in Astoria! 

During this 1.5 hour class they show  kids how to make their "Cool Kids Club" sundaes* with non-alcoholic ice cream and fun candy toppings. Plus! parents will get unlimited tastes of their boozy flavors while your kids create their masterpieces! 

Items made during the class are 100% alcohol free. This class is appropriate for all ages. All minors must be accompanied by an adult on weekends various times from 1-7 pm. Fee $35.

Tipsy Scoop Queens -38-15 23rd Avenue, Astoria, NY 11105

https://tipsyscoop.com/collections/queens-classes-events/products/kids-class-sundae-decorating-in-astoria

Celebrate Black Dance in New York

This May New York  becomes a center for Black dance and music offering an opportunity for families to celebrate this artistic legacy.

 

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the company that defines artistic excellence and Black cultural legacy concludes its national tour at The New Jersey Performing Arts Center - 1 Center St, Newark, NJ for three unforgettable performances from May 8–10, including a special Mother’s Day performance on May 10. The weekend features five premieres, and every performance concludes with Alvin Ailey’s masterpiece Revelations, the ultimate anthem to resilience and joy! Be reminded why Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is one of the most moving and joyous experiences you can have in the theater. https://www.njpac.org/event/alvin-ailey-american-dance-theater-3/

Celebrating Judith Jamison Workshop

Celebrate Mother’s Day at the Ailey Studios on May 10 as we honor Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison on what would’ve been her 83rd birthday and is now recognized as Judith Jamison Day in New York City. Led by Ailey instructor and former Ailey dancer Linda Celeste Sims, participants will learn choreography from Ms. Jamison’s most iconic solo, Alvin Ailey’s Cry; and excerpts from Divining, Ms. Jamison’s first choreographic work. This workshop is open to dancers of all levels ages 13 and up. https://ailey.org/

Join members of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater on May 30 at 2 pm outdors in The Plaza at Brooklyn Academy of Music 300 Ashland, Brooklyn, for a special workshop during the company’s season at BAM. Inspired by Ronald K. Brown’s powerhouse work Grace, this free workshop will introduce participants to Brown's unique movement style through a guided warm-up and choreography. Explore themes of transformation, healing, and compassion through movement and discover how grace can be embodied in dance and in everyday life. https://ailey.org/

Audition for The Ailey School Junior Division

Auditions for the Alvin Ailey Junior Division’s Pre-Professional Program for the 2026-27 school year are being held on June 9–11 at The Ailey School for prospective students ages 7–17. 

Students experience a highly structured curriculum of world-class training through after-school and weekend classes. All levels include training in ballet and at least one other technique. As students progress, more techniques are added to their training such as jazz, Ailey Horton, Graham, pointe, tap, and West African.

Registration for the June auditions opens on May 19. Mark your calendar to secure your child’s spot for audition day.

Harlem Mouse/Country Mouse                                                                                        Featuring the Dance Theatre of Harlem School and Company                                        Narrated by Darryl Quinton and Sunny Hostin

Dance Theatre of Harlem at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts - 250 Bedford Park Blvd W, Bronx, NY on Sunday, May 17 at 3pm  presents their annual family matinee, Harlem Mouse/Country Mouse—an enchanting retelling of Aesop’s “City Mouse and Country Mouse.” Referencing the rich traditions of the Black South and the vibrant energy of modern-day life in Harlem, this joyful story-ballet celebrates the unique expressions of dance, music, and poetry that arise when cultures meet.

Conceived by Artistic Director Robert Garland and School Director Tai Jimenez, this lively production set to music from R&B to folk, with costumes by Katy Freeman, is a heartwarming spring treat for audiences of all ages. Ticket information https://dancetheatreofharlem.org/

DanceAfrica 2026                                                                                                                Uganda’s Ndere Troupe

This Memorial Day weekend May 23-25, the nation’s largest festival dedicated to African diasporic dance and music opens Brooklyn’s stages and streets to the rich culture and artistry of Uganda. Now in its 49th year, this year’s festival honors the East African nation’s past, celebrates its present, and rejoices in its future.

Anchored by heart-pounding performances from Uganda’s Ndere Troupe, the long weekend unfolds with a mix of dance, music, film, and visual art—plus plenty of food, crafts, and fashion at the outdoor bazaar. Enjoy traditional dance and music from Uganda, view visual art, sample FilmAfrica’s cinematic offerings, participate in classes, attend late-night dance parties, and mingle with neighbors from around the block—and around the globe—in the iconic outdoor bazaar. It’s all waiting for you at Brooklyn’s most unmissable summer celebration at Brooklyn Academy of Music - 30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY For ticket information https://www.bam.org/danceafrica-community-day

Free Tickets to 2026 FIFA World Cup for Youth Teams

 

Send your kid’s team to the game!

Every kid deserves to feel the energy of a live event. That’s why StubHub’s Access: New York program is offering young New Yorkers the chance to attend world-class live events in-person, for free. Through this program, selected groups can receive free group tickets to concerts, theater performances, and professional sports games including matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at MetLife Stadium.            Access: New York offers youth teams free tickets to live events across our state – helping build team spirit, reward hard work, and bring communities together.      Coaches, teachers, mentors, and group leaders are invited to nominate eligible youth teams, clubs, and community groups from anywhere in New York State. Know a youth team, club, or group that deserves this experience? Nominate your group or team at www.stubhub.com/accessny.

https://www.stubhub.com/accessny/?utm_source=schneps&utm_medium=eblast&utm_campaign=nyc&utm_content=schneps_eblast_genpub&utm_term=spring

Bilingual Birdies Duo Concert in Spanish & English

 ¡Hola, hola! ¿Cómo estás? Get ready to sing, dance, jump, shake, laugh, march, run, freeze, tap, smile, and have the most fun ever en español with Bilingual Birdies! Families go on a joyful adventure with songs, dance, and puppetry, to learn new words in Spanish while they're having a blast in this 45-minute live music interactive experience. Whether you know a bit of Spanish already or are completely new to the language, this is the perfect way to celebrate diversity and embrace Latin American cultures! The session is led in English and Spanish and all are welcome. Bilingual Birdies has been rocking the early childhood world in NYC since 2006 and can't wait for your family to join their upcoming fiesta! at the Brooklyn Central Library, Plaza - 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11238 on Oct 10 at 10:30 am

Mooncakes Festival

 The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. Similar holidays are celebrated by other cultures in East and Southeast Asia. This year the Moon Festival will be celebrated on September 29, 2023. The following books will help everyone share the holiday with young children.

Moon Festival Wishes

by Julian Lin

In this beautifully illustrated book, children aged 2 to 6 will follow Mei as she and her family prepare for and celebrate the Mid-Autumn, Mooncake, or Moon Festival. They will also enjoy reading the story behind one of the most important Chinese celebrations. More interesting facts and questions for discussion are included at the back of the book.

Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival

by Eugenia Chu and Y Y Chan

The Mid-Autumn Festival celebrates the warmth of family, the joy of togetherness, and the enchantment of the moonlit sky. With captivating illustrations and engaging storytelling, this nonfiction book aims to introduce young readers to the vibrant and fascinating world of one of Asia's most celebrated holidays by delving into its history, traditions, and activities.

Our Moon Festival

by Yobe Qiu

The story highlights different families and their diverse traditions as they observe Zhong Qiu Jie, Tết Trung Thu, and Tsukimi! In all three stories, children will learn about foods, traditions, dances, parades, and poetry involved in the celebration of the Moon Festival. Just like "Our Lunar New Year" by the same author, children will be so captivating by the celebrations that they will feel part of holiday too!

Mooncakes

by Loretto Seto

The story highlights different families and their diverse traditions as they observe Zhong Qiu Jie, Tết Trung Thu, and Tsukimi! In all three stories, children will learn about foods, traditions, dances, parades, and poetry involved in the celebration of the Moon Festival. Just like "Our Lunar New Year" by the same author, children will be so captivating by the celebrations that they will feel part of holiday too!

Thanking the Moon

by Grace Lin                                                                                                               

This simple, young, and satisfying story follows a Chinese American family as they celebrate the Mid-  Autumn Moon Festival. Each member of the family lends a hand as they prepare a moonlit picnic with  mooncakes, pomelos, cups of tea, and colorful lanterns. And everyone sends thanks and a secret wish  up to the moon.

                                                                                                                                     

A Charlie Brown Christmas

 The holidays wouldn’t be complete without watching the classic specials we grew up with. Peanuts fans will have even more ways to watch Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang as Apple and PBS team up for special, ad free broadcasts of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas. But take note, because both air on broadcast TV for one day only! 

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving will be live on PBS and PBS KIDS on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m./6:30 p.m. CT. You can catch A Charlie Brown Christmas on PBS and PBS KIDS on Sunday, Dec.19 at 7:30 p.m./6:30 pm CT.

The classic holiday Peanuts specials are also available to stream ad free and in HD on Apple TV+, after the TV provider acquired the rights last year. You’ll need a subscription, though you can also start a free trial to view the two classics. 

"Imagine Your Story" Queens Library Summer Reading 2020 Project

This year, our Summer Reading theme is Imagine Your Story. We are inviting children in grades 2-6 to participate in our Tell Your Tale: Share Your Stories program. Every week, we’ll share creative prompts that children can respond to by submitting 400 words or less on our website. Every Thursday at 5pm, we’ll share some of the stories we receive on our Facebook Live program! This week’s prompts are:

Option 1: 
In older stories, the characters don't have the cool technology we do today. Think of a story in which you could save the day with our tech!

Option 2: 
You have access to a time machine and you can go anywhere at any time (future or past). Where (and when) do you go? What do you do when you get there?

We can’t wait to read your children’s imaginative responses and to share them with our community!

Strictly Germ-Proof

April is Poetry Month and we definitely need a poem that puts a smile on our face.

         Strictly Germ-Proof

The Antiseptic Baby and the Prophylactic Pup
Were playing in the garden when the Bunny gamboled up;
They looked upon the Creature with a loathing undisguised;—
It wasn't Disinfected and it wasn't sterilized.

They said it was a Microbe and a Hotbed of Disease;
They steamed it in a vapor of a thousand-odd degrees;
They froze it in a freezer that was cold as Banished Hope
And washed it in permanganate with carbolated soap.

In sulphurated hydrogen they steeped its wiggly ears;

They trimmed its frisky whiskers with a pair of hard-boiled shears;
They donned their rubber mittens and they took it by the hand
And elected it a member of the Fumigated Band.

There's not a Micrococcus in the garden where they play;
They bathe in pure iodoform a dozen times a day;
And each imbibes his rations from a Hygienic Cup—
The Bunny and the Baby and the Prophylactic Pup.

Arthur Guiterman

Celebrate Earth Day 2020

Haitian Born Artist and Naturalist James Audubon   

After 50 Years of celebrating Earth Day we see pollution rising and the earth replenishing itself. While a pandemic has made us realize we have a lot to learn about ourselves and the planet we live on, let us celebrate that change is possible.

Happy Earth Day 2020!

During this time when home should be a place of safety and  refuge many women and children maybe experiencing violence and fear for their safety. If you or anyone you know is experiencing mental or physical abuse please reach out for help for your own safety. 

The Hotline provides lifesaving tools and immediate support to empower victims and survivors to find safety and live free of abuse. They also provide support to friends and family members who are concerned about a loved one. Resources and help can be found by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). 

If it’s not safe for you to call, or if you don’t feel comfortable doing so, another option for getting direct help is to use our live chat service here on this website. You’ll receive the same one-on-one, real-time, confidential support from a trained advocate as you would on the phone. Chat is available every day from 24/7/365.

https://www.thehotline.org/
1-800-799-7233

Queens Library Celebrates: It's Time For Kind

Hunters Point Library*

Join the Queens Library's  It’s Time for Kind  – during this holiday season, they will focus on acts of kindness at the library.  From November 18 to December 31, the library will be hosting a food drive, having kindness story times, and offering ways for you to take action and be kind to your family, friends, neighbors, and everyone you meet.

Activities include making a kindness chain, writing cards for the homebound, participating in a memory kaleidoscope activity and kindness read-alouds on December 4. All Queens Public Library branches, are participating in a canned food drive in partnership with Food Bank from November 18 to December 7.  Share your acts of kindness, and get involved in programs for all ages.

*After much delays and controversy, families can visit and enjoy the newly opened Hunters Point Library

Town Square's Santa Brunch

Town Square's Annual Santa Brunch
Sunday, December 8th | Seatings at 9:30 AM, 11:30 AM & 1:30 PM
PSC, 176 Java Street, Brooklyn

Hey kids, what's that sound? Is it the jingle of Santa's bells? Yes, kids! Santa's coming to Greenpoint/Williamsburg! So ready your list with all your wishes, to whisper to Santa with all your kisses!

$20 pp online ($30 at door if any are available) includes a delicious homemade pancake brunch with Santa, fun crafts, live music, Queen Elsa and, of-course, precious moments and photos with Santa! Cash bar wtih yummy-licious holiday drinks for moms & dads.

Bring your camera and take your own family photos with Santa for FREE! A fabulously talented professional photographer will also be on hand to take photos for purchase along with gorgeous face paintings. What a fun low-key way to kick off your holiday season.

Tickets sold out last year...and the years before. In fact, there weren't any available for purchase at the door. So hurry and get those tickets before they sell out.

Yayoi Kusama Will Debut A New Ballon At The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Yayoi Kusama the artist known for whimiscal and quirky designs will debut a new ballon at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov 28.  Kusama’s Love Flies Up to the Sky balloon will join in the annual holiday spectacle in front of more than 3.5 million spectators and more than 50 million viewers nationwide, as the latest entry in the Parade’s Blue Sky Gallery series, which invites celebrated contemporary artists to contribute artworks to the high flying lineup.

"The Love Flies Up to the Sky balloon was developed by the artist from face motifs that appear in her My Eternal Soul series of paintings—a body of work that she began in 2009. Vibrant and animated, the paintings embody Kusama’s innovative exploration of form and revolve around a tension between abstraction and figuration. " The 90 year old artist will also feature her signature polka dots.

You can also see Kusama's work in the upcoming solo exhibition at the David Zwirner Gallery, EVERY DAY I PRAY FOR LOVE, which opens on Saturday, November 9, from 6–8 PM at 537 West 20th Street, New York. 

Other new balloons at the parade include the beagle Snoopy, which Macy’s says got an “out-of-this-world makeover” as an astronaut this year, Guy and Sam from Netflix’s “Green Eggs and Ham” and Smokey the Bear celebrating the advertising icon’s 75th birthday.

Support the New York Public Library

Librarians will read stories and sing songs related to New York City, libraries, and civic responsibility at the free outdoor event, happening right outside a New York City landmark on May 29, 2019 at 10:30 am. Kids who participate will receive free "Invest in Libraries" t-shirts (while supplies last).

Right now, lawmakers are debating the city budget, and are proposing a cut to public libraries that would impact hours, programs, and staffing. The story time right outside their door will remind the Mayor and City Council how important libraries are to New Yorkers, including and especially our youngest!

Please RSVP to participate: while the story time will start at 11 AM, it is important to arrive at 10:30 AM to gain admittance to the City Hall plaza.

For more information on how you can support libraries, early literacy programs, children's librarians, and story times, visit investinlibraries.org.

Misty Copeland Shares her Success

Photo: Rebecca Miller/Disney Enterprises  

Misty Copeland continues to electrify the world of classical ballet and provide inspiration to young people of color.  In 2015, she made history when she became the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre (ABT).  Later she along with Brooklyn Mack became the first Black couple to play the lead roles in a full-length production of "Swan Lake" at the Washington Ballet.

"Beyond my personal goals as a ballerina, I want to celebrate, elevate and give opportunities to talented Black and brown dancers to share the stage with me while I have the power and presence that I do," Copeland told the Los Angeles Times in an email. "And to build a structure which can continue to exist beyond me."

With that goal in mind, Copeland broke another barrier at the American Ballet Theatre when she and Calvin Royal III made their debuts as Pierrette and Pierrot in "Harlequinade" at Segerstrom Hall in California early this month. Taking on the ballet's secondary leads to the main character, this marks the first time in ABT's history that an African American man and woman will dance a lead couple's roles.

Royal, who joined ABT in 2010 and was later promoted to soloist in 2017, said of the feat: "To finally be able to take the stage, two leading dancers in a production with ABT, I see it as such a huge step forward in terms of visibility."

As for Copeland, she plans to continue to spread her good fortune and inspire budding artists through the country.

American Ballet Theatre will present "Harlequinade" at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts -  2700 F St NW, Washington, DC 20566, Washington, D.C., starting Jan. 29- 31 and at Lincoln Center For the Performing Arts - 30 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023  starting May 13 - 18

One Wellesley Summer

Discover what's possible in One Wellesley Summer!

If you are a motivated young woman and a rising sophomore, junior, or senior in high school, you are invited to find out what it is like to experience college life.  Enjoy a balance of scholastic and social experiences in a safe, academically challenging, and culturally inclusive environment.  Take thought-provoking undergraduate-level courses from data and mathematics to college writing.  Connect with college staff, explore the Boston area, and form friendships with women from around the world.

Visit Wellesley College

Family Winter Day on January 26, 2019

The Harlem School of the Harlem Arts

645 Saint Nicholas Ave

New York, New York 10030

FAO Schwarz Opens in Time for the Holiday Season!

The Tree is here, the star is up—and the new FAO Schwarz has landed at Rockefeller Center! Opening today, the beloved toy store is relaunching on the Plaza with a mix of larger-than-life classics (the room-sized piano keyboard to dance on) and new attractions, like FAO Raceway, where you can build your own custom remote-control car.

A Build-a-Bear workshop, a Transformers shop and a Melissa & Doug grocery store are some of the interactive destinations inside the 20,000-sq.-ft. arrival, and FAO Schwarz is the in-house candyland, chock full of massive treats and even make-your-own gummy worm kits. Plush animals, dolls and other charming, no-assembly-required playthings also abound throughout the space, which expands across two floors and a mezzanine level.

The familiar clock tower of FAO Schwarz, whose longtime Midtown location closed in 2015, welcomes guests at the 49th Street entrance, while a rocket ship makes its first launch, inviting those entering from the Plaza to blast off. And toy soldiers stationed outside the store, dressed in a uniform designed by model Gigi Hadid, bring an extra splash of color and pizzazz.

FAO Schwarz is located at 30 Rockefeller Center (on 49th Street at Rockefeller Plaza, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues), open Monday–Saturday 9am–8pm, Sunday 11am–8pm. Hours will be extended during the holiday season.

Celebrate Giving Tuesday

Now that we have celebrated Thanksgiving with family and friends and chased the bargains on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we can join the Global Giving Movement today. On Giving Tuesday we help others through the gift of our time, donations, goods or our voice. Learn more about what you can do to participate at https://www.givingtuesday.org/

For more suggestions on activities download the Kindness Calendar

Your Voice Is Important So Don't Forget To Vote This Tuesday