“I like best of all autumn, because its tone is mellower, its colors are richer, and it is tinged with a little sorrow.”
– Lin Yutang
Museums for All
Do you love spreading joy? So do the folks at the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum! The new Museums for All initiative began November 15, offering $2 admission to entrants with an Electronics Benefit Card (EBT) and a photo ID. That means lots more fun and learning for area families, especially with kids from 0 to 6 years, for a lot less! Maybe your crew has climbed the Mastodon, but have you checked out the Fort Sifter sand play or the Rigamajig construction space, complete with oversized pulleys and bolts? Or race to a pretend blaze in the Fire Truck area, equipped with real tools that firefighters use and more?
And remember to mark your calendars this week for Tuesday, November 22 at 2:30 p.m. for “Afternoon ABC 123: The Turkey Takeaway” for toddlers and caregivers, including a reading of the very silly book, Ten Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston, as well as Thanksgiving-inspired math activities for counting backwards and very simple subtractions. “The Turkey Takeaway” is a free program included in museum admission. Or add some handcrafted holiday decor to your Thanksgiving by coming on Wednesday, November 23 at 2:30 p.m. for “Making Masterpieces: Harvest Wreaths,” using items from nature. “Making Masterpieces” costs $5 material fee per child, in addition to museum admission. Regular museum admission costs $8 per person, and is free for children aged 0 to 12 months.
The Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum is located at 75 North Water Street in Poughkeepsie. For more information, call (845) 471-0589 or visit https://mhcm.org. For more information about Museums for All, visit https://mhcm.org/visit/admission.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18
Veteran Arts Showcase at Wallace Center in Hyde Park
Last Friday, we honored veterans and their families. This Friday, and all weekend long, let’s be in dialogue with them, with their art as the inspiration. The Veteran Arts Showcase takes place at the FDR Presidential Library’s Wallace Center and begins this Friday, November 18 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. with an Opening Reception and Ceremony; Saturday, November 19 from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Sunday, November 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Showcase conveys how arts heal, communicate emotions and foster personal interactions. In addition to the visual artists, crafters, writers, poets, musicians and performers who are veterans, family members of veterans or connected to the military, workshops take place all weekend, along with performances and presentations related to military service and reintegration into civilian life: “Visitors will experience a unique and powerful commingling of multiple arts that touch our deepest connections to war and community,” presenting the idea that “the creative arts are among the most effective post-trauma interventions, providing a non-threatening modality that benefits artists and audiences alike.”
The Veteran Arts Showcase is free and open to the public. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum is located at 4079 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park. For more information, e-mail veteranartsshowcase@gmail.com or visit https://veteranartsshowcase.org.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19
The Industrious Mr. Franklin at Kingston Library
Got any history buffs in your household? Or wish you did? Everyone will have a good time learning and hanging out with that guy out in the rain with a key and a kite, Ben Franklin, at The Industrious Mr. Franklin: Lightning, Wit and Statesmanship by the Traveling Lantern Theatre Company at the Kingston Library this Saturday, November 19 at 10:30 a.m. Get to know more about this “intrepid inventor, quipping author, productive scientist and founding father” in a unique and humorous way. This program is free and open to the public with school-aged children.
The Kingston Library is located at 55 Franklin Street in Kingston. For more information, call (845) 331-0507, extension 7, or visit www.kingstonlibrary.org. To learn more about the performers, visit https://travelinglantern.com.
Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck presents Grace the Pirate
Did you know that pirates in world history arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr also women? Have you ever heard of Grace O’Malley? You and your crew will have a great time learning about this Irish swashbuckler in Grace the Pirate, a Family Series production at the Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck this Saturday, November 19 at 11 a.m. You’ll feel like a part of the story as Grace the Pirate teams up with Blackbeard to find the hidden treasure! Tickets cost $7 for children and $9 for adults and seniors.
The Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck is located at 661 Route 308 in Rhinebeck. For tickets or more information, call (845) 876-3080 or visit https://bit.ly/2eXeJHj. To learn more about the performers or to print up show study guides, visit www.kitsinteractivetheatre.com.
Sinterklaas Crowns & Branches workshops in Kingston & Rhinebeck
Don’t just pile up those branches in the yard; use them for crafting scepters to be carried by the children in the November 26 Sinterklaas procession! The Sinterklaas Crowns and Branches workshop takes place this Saturday, November 19 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Kingston Library, located at 55 Franklin Street in Kingston. Additional dates include Friday, November 25 from 1 to 4 p.m. and Saturday, November 26 from 12 noon to 3 p.m. at the Rondout Neighborhood Center, located at 105 Broadway.
Closer to Dutchess County? Join the Celebration Space at the Rhinebeck United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall at 83 East Market Street in Rhinebeck to make puppets, as well as crowns and branches. For a complete schedule and more information, visit www.sinterklaashudsonvalley.com.
Meet live turkeys at Catskill Animal Sanctuary in Saugerties
Meant to get to the Catskill Animal Sanctuary one more time this season? Here’s your chance, as well as an opportunity to hang out with real turkeys! Head over to Gobble & Groove this Saturday, November 19 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Spend time in the fields learning about the turkeys’ lives, then feed them at 12 noon. And don’t forget the pigs, who have a special 2 p.m. feeding.
Explore the grounds at your own pace. What will you eat, though? Don’t worry: Chef Sara has samples of delicious fare, and a booklet of turkey-free recipes to send home with you. Tickets cost $8, and children 5 and under get in free.
The Catskill Animal Sanctuary is located at 316 Old Stage Road in Saugerties. For tickets or more information, call (845) 336-8447 or visit https://casanctuary.org.
Winter Botany Walk at Hawthorne Valley Farm
Just because we’re heading into winter doesn’t mean that outdoor walks are any less interesting – especially with some extra information to boost your green thumb! Round up your crew for the Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program’s Winter Botany Walk this Saturday, November 19 at 10 a.m. This gathering begins with an indoor session, followed by exploring the Hawthorne Valley Farm’s Schnackenberg Road property. (Afterwards, I suggest shopping in the farm’s awesome market!) All ages and levels of experience are welcome for this free excursion, but numbers are limited, and preference is given to folks signing up for all three monthly walks.
Hawthorne Valley Farm is located at 327 Route 21C in Ghent. For more information or to register, call (518) 672-7994, e-mail fep@hawthornevalleyfarm.org or visit https://bit.ly/2fCGOp8.
Carousel Celebration, Preparing for St. Nick at State Museum
When’s the last time you took your family up to the New York State Museum in Albany? I’m not talking about just the lower floors; how about the Carousel? Every third Saturday, families can enjoy Family Fun Day, including games, crafts and other activities, and this weekend’s theme is “The New York State Museum’s Carousel Celebration!” This Saturday, November 19 from 1 to 4 p.m., head up to the fourth-floor terrace, choose from among 40 animals and enjoy some rides on this early-20th-century treasure! Our family’s Carousel photos over the years are special souvenirs.
But that’s not all! Take your kids to the downstairs classrooms between 1 and 3 p.m. for “Creative Art Day: Preparing for St. Nicholas.” Just in time for our area’s Sinterklaas celebrations in Rhinebeck and Kingston, “Preparing for St. Nicholas” is a chance to learn about holiday Dutch traditions and to create their own ornaments with reproduction cookie molds.
The New York State Museum is located at 222 Madison Avenue in Albany. For more information, call (518) 474-0575 or visit https://bit.ly/2f1iyyw or https://bit.ly/2eCp8Nu.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20
Upstate Films in Woodstock screens Screenagers
Screen time: How does your family navigate it? Looking for dialogue and support as you work out something that might work better? Do you relate to Woodstock Day School Parents’ Association member Kate Miller? “It’s increasingly difficult to establish boundaries for both parents and kids. Without vilifying our new reality, Screenagers opens a dialogue for kids and parents for a healthy approach to integrating social media, recreational video gaming and tech-assisted communications.” Then you may want to check out this free showing of Screenagers: Growing up in a Digital World this Sunday, November 20 at 1 p.m. at Upstate Films in Woodstock. Bring your teens to this one, because at the end of the film, students from the Woodstock Day School’s Media Arts Lab will host a 45-minute panel discussion.
Upstate Films is located at 132 Tinker Street in Woodstock. For more information, call (845) 246-3744, extension 128, e-mail rbwarren@woodstockdayschool.org or visit https://bit.ly/2fUOJkJ. To watch a trailer of the film, visit https://bit.ly/2eX7jUB.
West Point’s Eisenhower Hall presents The Colonial Nutcracker
A family-friendly, full-length version of the Nutcracker ballet, with humor and even narration to help even the youngest audience members follow along? Exactly what sugarplum dreams are made of! Start off your holiday season with The Colonial Nutcracker this Sunday, November 20 at 3 p.m. at the Eisenhower Hall Theatre at West Point. Geared for ages 3 to 103, this performance costs $38 per person.
The Eisenhower Hall Theatre is located at 655 Pitcher Road at West Point. Remember to leave extra time for the military entrance, and to have ID for everyone ages 16 and up. For tickets or more information, call (845) 938-4159 or visit www.ikehall.com/artists.htm#06.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21
Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil at Kingston’s Old Dutch Church
In “Born this Way,” Lady Gaga sings, “Don’t hide yourself in regret / Just love yourself and you’re set.” But people are dying. Would you like to show your support for the transgender community? You and your family will be honoring those who have passed, as well as demonstrating your commitment to equality for those who continue to struggle, at the Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil this Monday, November 21 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Old Dutch Church.
And here are two other offerings this week at the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center: a “Know Your Legal Rights as a Transgender Person” workshop on Tuesday, November 22 from 6 to 8:30 p.m., and a “Legal Name Change Clinic” on Wednesday, November 23 from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
The Old Dutch Church is located at 272 Wall Street in Kingston. The Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center is located at 300 Wall Street in Kingston. For more information, call (845) 331-5300 or visit https://lgbtqcenter.org.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23
Holiday Gobble Hike at Olana
How about some new conversation around the Thanksgiving table this year? You and your kids can talk all about your Holiday Gobble Hike at the Olana State Historic Site! The Holiday Gobble Hike takes place on Wednesday, November 23 from 6 to 8 p.m. You’ll learn about turkeys, hike the carriage roads and even learn a wild turkey call! Open to all ages, this experience costs $10 for members, $15 for non-members and $25 per family.
The Olana State Historic Site is located at 5720 Route 9G in Hudson. For more information or to register, call (518) 828-0135 or visit www.olana.org/calendar/holiday-gobble-hike.
Erica Chase-Salerno is excited about her gluten-free Banana Moon Baking Company pies this Thanksgiving! She can be reached at kidsalmanac@ulsterpublishing.com.
Join the family! 
