Evening Frog Walk at Hudson Highlands Nature Museum in Cornwall
Here’s another frog opportunity: Join in on an evening frog walk. On Friday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m., the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum presents its annual Evening Frog Walk, geared for ages 5 years and up. Attendees will learn to recognize frogs by their looks and sounds, followed by a twilight wetland walk to practice what they learned.
This program is weather-dependent, and a flashlight is required. Admission costs $7 for adults, $5 for children, with a discount for Museum members. The Outdoor Discovery Center is located at 100 Muser Drive in Cornwall. For reservations or more information, call (845) 534-5506 or visit https://hhnaturemuseum.org.
Cheetah conservation program at Millbrook’s Trevor Zoo
Have you made it over to the Trevor Zoo yet? It’s located at the Millbrook School, and it’s a terrific local treasure to visit with your children and grandchildren. Its size strikes the perfect balance between being able to feature a variety of animals while feeling manageable and not overwhelming to young children.
Aside from being a great spot to see these special animals, the Zoo is partnering in an effort to save cheetahs! On Saturday, May 4 from 4 to 6:30 p.m., Dr. Laurie Marker, founder and executive director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, will inspire, educate and inform attendees about the state of cheetahs. From 6 to 6:30 p.m., the movie Across the Pond will be shown, sharing about the 75-year history of the Trevor Zoo and its leadership in wildlife conservation. Tours of the zoo will be given during the event, and a silent auction will be held for handpainted KeepSafe boxes.
Tickets cost $20 at the door, $18 in advance and are free for youth under age 18. The Trevor Zoo is located at the Millbrook School at 131 Millbrook School Road in Millbrook. For more information, call (845) 471-0039 or visit www.keepsafeproject.com. To learn more about the Trevor Zoo, visit www.millbrook.org. To learn more about Dr. Marker and the Cheetah Conservation Fund, visit www.cheetah.org.
Telling Amy’s Story screening
This is a tough topic, but talking about it can help. Among so many other hurts, domestic violence is killing women and traumatizing children, and men aren’t getting the help that they need. Part of breaking the cycle and shining some light on this issue is learning more about it, recognizing the signs of abuse so that assistance may be offered and helping all parties to heal.
On Wednesday, May 8 at 5:30 p.m., Safe Homes of Orange County and Orange & Rockland Utilities present a screening of the movie Telling Amy’s Story, a documentary that investigates a domestic violence homicide in Central Pennsylvania, and how outside intervention could have saved the life of this young mother at many different points along the way.
I’m just sick with the relevance of this movie, with the recent news headlines of the death of Sabine Icart in Cornwall last week, mother to four children between the ages of 5 and 10. Her estranged husband was a suspect in the case, and was found dead by suicide the next day.
This film is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and reservations are required. Telling Amy’s Story will be screened at the Blooming Grove Operations Center, located at 500 Route 208 in Monroe. For reservations or more information, call (845) 562-5365, extension 101, or visit https://safehomesorangecounty.org. To learn more about the movie, visit https://telling.psu.edu.
Young Writers’ Saturday Workshop at SUNY-New Paltz
Students in third through 12th grade are invited to participate in this weekend’s Young Writers’ Saturday Workshop, sponsored by the Hudson Valley Writing Project. This is an excellent opportunity for children and teens to write in community with top instruction, and a supportive student/teacher ratio of 12 to one.
Each participant will choose two genres in which to write: Fantasy, Mystery, Short Story, Personal Experience, Poetry, Letter-Writing or Dialogue. The program takes place on Saturday, May 4 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and includes materials, a healthy snack and inspiration to each writer. The cost is $15.
The Young Writers’ Saturday Workshop will be held at the Old Main Building, Room 233, on the SUNY-New Paltz campus at 1 Hawk Drive in New Paltz. To register or for more information, call (845) 943-8437 or visit www.newpaltz.edu/hvwp.
Storm King Art Center family program spotlights Momo Taro
Looking for an opportunity to share the connection of story and art with your young one? Think globally, and visit an art center locally! The Storm King Art Center offers weekly family programming every Sunday at 1 p.m. This Sunday, May 5, the theme is “Storytelling,” where the group will hear the tale of Momo Taro, and view Isamu Noguchi’s sculpture of the same name. This story celebrates the triumph of good over evil, and there’s even a Momotaro festival held in Japan on May 5.
Storm King’s family program is included in the price of admission: $12 for adults, $10 for seniors 65 and older, $8 for students and free for children under age 5. Storm King is located at 1 Museum Road in New Windsor. For more information, call (845) 534-3115 or visit www.stormking.org.
Free Comic Book Day
The idea is simple, really: Every year, on the first Saturday of May, you pick out or receive a designated free comic book at your local comic shop. But the nationwide Free Comic Book Day campaign can be even more fulfilling than at first it seems. The extra value comes from seeing what everyone else got; buying comics to catch up on a series that you got behind on; immersing yourself in the pages before you’ve even left the store; or countless other benefits to spending time with comics.
This year’s Free Comic Book Day takes place on Saturday, May 4. Our family will be at October Country in New Paltz. For more information about Free Comic Book Day, visit www.freecomicbookday.com.
Erica Chase-Salerno concurs with ShindanMaker that she “is made of muffins, rice and dedication. With a dash of karaoke.” 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! 
