Gustafer Yellowgold live show returns to KidTopia in Woodstock this Saturday
KidTopia is a series of live concerts for young people featuring different bands. This Saturday your family can see Gustafer Yellowgold, a fantastic show centered around the life and adventures of this eponymous cartoon character from the Sun. Created and performed by Morgan Taylor, whom Time magazine has called a “star of kindie rock,” the music and accompanying animated visuals are so much fun, whether you’re a new fan or have been to multiple shows like our family. Taylor plays and teaches all over the US, but he says that he is “really looking forward to performing in Woodstock again, since we live here now.”
Gustafer Yellowgold takes place on Saturday, January 12 at 11 a.m. Tickets cost $9 for adults and $6 for children. KidTopia is sited at the Utopia Soundstage, located at 293 Tinker Street in Woodstock. For tickets or more information, call (845) 679-7600 or visit https://radiowoodstock.com/home. To learn more about the performer, visit https://gustaferyellowgold.com.
This Saturday is Community Free Day at Dia:Beacon
How are your New Year’s Resolutions going? Did they include anything about spending more time with your family? Saving money? Dia:Beacon is here to help, with its Community Free Day. This Saturday, January 12, residents of Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester Counties are admitted free with identification.
Resolved to be healthier this year? Just walk around and take in the art: “Dia:Beacon’s expansive galleries have been specifically designed for the display of the artworks to which Dia is committed, many of which, because of their character or scale, could not be easily accommodated by more conventional museums.”
Dia:Beacon’s Community Free Day runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Reservations are recommended for the one-and-a-half-hour free children’s program at 11 a.m., “Exploring the Materiality of Sound and Space” with the Beacon Music Factory, where participants will use their bodies and voices to make sonic interpretations of the art around them.
The very word Dia comes from the Greek word for “through,” from preserving the artists’ vision through time to helping connect people through art. Since the next Community Free Days aren’t until May and July, make time to stop in this weekend and get to know this gem in Beacon.
Dia: Beacon is located at 3 Beekman Street in Beacon. For more information, call (845) 440-0100 or visit www.diaart.org.
WinterFests this Saturday at Kingston’s Hasbrouck Park, Sunday at Highland’s Hudson Valley Rail Trail
Love winter so much that you want to celebrate it? Here are two back-to-back festivals that you’ll enjoy with the whole family. On Saturday, January 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., it’s WinterFest at Kingston’s Hasbrouck Park. At 11 a.m., 12 noon and 1 p.m., enjoy free snowshoeing lessons and hikes that include the history and basics of snowshoeing, animal tracking, winter survival and fun. Snowshoes are provided. There will also be refreshments inside the Hasbrouck Park Stone Building, as well as a variety of free children’s arts and crafts including peanut butter pinecones, a winter bean mosaic, paper snowflake and a winter activity book.
Admission to this event is free, but the food, spin-art and sand-art crafting have nominal fees to help support the Forsyth Nature Center. Hasbrouck Park is located on Delaware Avenue in Kingston. For more information, call (845) 339-3053 or visit the Forsyth Nature Center on Facebook.
On Sunday, January 13 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., stop by the Hudson Valley Rail Trail Depot for WinterFest 2013. Our family happened to catch this event by noticing it as we drove by one year, and we’ve been going ever since. We always enjoy WinterFest because even though it gets chilly, we warm up with chili! Everyone gets to taste and vote for their favorite chili, plus there’s a children’s crafting tent, hayrides, an ice-carving demo, roasted chestnuts and marshmallow-toasting.
Dress in extra layers for this one, because you want to enjoy your hayride. Plus, while the fires help, this is an outdoor event. Admission costs $2; ages 6 and under get in free. The Hudson Valley Rail Trail Depot is located at 101 New Paltz Road in Highland. For more information, call (845) 691-9911 or visit www.hudsonvalleyrailtrail.net.
Paper Bag Players perform this Sunday at Orange County Community College
Join the Paper Bag Players for Saddles & Sunshine this Sunday, January 13 at 2 p.m. This group sounds like it puts on a great show, and I think that the Western theme is a dynamite idea! The family-friendly hand-clapping hoedown is designed for children from 3 to 9 years old. I hope that they do the Spin-a-Dance number, where an audience member spins the wheel to determine the sequence of dance steps that everyone learns together!
Tickets cost $8.25 for adults, $7.25 for seniors and $5 for children. Saddles & Sunshine takes place at Orange Hall Theater at Orange County Community College at 115 South Street in Middletown. For tickets or more information, call (845) 341-4891 or visit https://sunyorange.edu. To learn more about the performers, visit https://paperbagplayers.org.
New Girl Scout troop forms for Hudson Valley homeschoolers
Calling all homeschoolers! You are invited to join the new Hudson Valley homeschool Girl Scout group. New scouts from 5 to 17 years of age are welcome, as well as Girl Scouts who currently belong to a troop. This homeschool group meets regularly for a wide variety of activities and community service.
Juliette Gordon Low, known to friends and family as Daisy, began the Girl Scouts in 1912 with 18 girls, and now your family can be a part of the 3.2 million Girl Scouts who are members today. For more information about the homeschool Girl Scout group, contact Karen Gilgert at karemore@hotmail.com. To learn more about the Girl Scouts or to inquire about additional troops in our area, visit www.girlscoutshh.org.
Erica Chase-Salerno celebrates Clara Peller’s 1984 catchphrase this week! She lives in New Paltz with her husband Mike, and their two children: the inspirations behind hudsonvalleyparents.com. She can be reached at kidsalmanac@ulsterpublishing.com.
Join the family! 
