“and together we are witness to the wonder that there is.”
– Thorneater Comics
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29
Winter break fun
Looking for something unique and interesting to do with the family during winter break, that’s also fun and educational? Here are some ideas that will appeal to a variety of ages and preferences!
• Fiberflame is crafting paradise for all ages and abilities, creatives and non-artists alike. And the best part? No messiness at your house! Choose your item to craft, select your colors and textures for enhancement and thrill in your newly finished piece! Walk-ins are welcome at both locations, and you simply pay for your blank piece (generally $8 to $20), along with a $10 fee for studio time.
Fiberflame is located at 1776 Route 212 in Saugerties, (845) 679-6132; 18B East Market Street in Rhinebeck, (845) 516-5123; or online at www.fiberflamestudio.com.
• Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site housed our first president during the Revolutionary War (the same era as Hamilton: An American Musical!). Stop by during their special extended holiday hours this week, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and participate in a different hands-on craft each day, free with museum admission: Make a whirligig, candle-dipping and make your own badge of military merit. Admission costs $4 for adults, $3 for seniors and students, and is free for children aged 12 and under.
Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site is located at 84 Liberty Street in Newburgh. For more information, call (845) 562-1195 or visit https://nysparks.com/historic-sites/17/details.aspx.
• Locust Grove Estate was once the residence of Samuel F. B. Morse, artist and co-inventor of Morse Code. This week, you and yours can take a look around the house while challenging your super-sleuths to “Vintage Christmas,” featuring a scavenger hunt through 25 decorated rooms for antique toys, games and crafts. Five of the rooms are even themed around Christmas carols! Tours are available this week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through December 31. Admission costs $11 for adults, $6 for youth ages 6 to 18 years.
Locust Grove Estate is located at 2683 South Road in Poughkeepsie. For more information, call (845) 454-4500 or visit www.lgny.org.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31
Alt-NYE celebrations for kids
Wish you could celebrate New Year’s Eve with your kids, but you haven’t found the right festive fit? Ring in 2017 with one of these daytime or evening parties for all ages taking place this Saturday, December 31!
• The Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum hosts “New Year’s at Noon” from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., including kid-friendly interactive countdowns, a deejay dance party and hands-on activities. The cost of $14 per person, $10 per member and $1 per baby under one year includes museum and party admission, and advance ticketing is recommended.
The Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum is located at 75 North Water Street in Poughkeepsie. For reservations or more information, call (845) 471-0589 or visit https://mhcm.org/event/new-years-noon.
• Hyde Park Roller Magic announces its New Year’s Eve Day countdown party from 12 noon to 3 p.m. Admission includes skating, games, trivia, face-painting, noisemakers for the first 100 kids and a balloon drop at the end! The cost is $7 for kids, plus skate rentals cost $2 for quad rentals and $4 for blade rentals; admission is free for non-skating adults.
Hyde Park Roller Magic is located at 4178 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park. For more information, call (845) 229-6666 or visit www.hydeparkrollermagic.com/category/announcements.
• Wood’n Wheel roller rink invites families to its Family New Year’s Eve Party from 12 noon to 3:30 p.m., with hats, horns, games, prizes, refreshments and a grand finale balloon drop! Admission costs $10.50 per person, and skate rentals are extra.
Wood’n Wheel is located at 365 Route 9W in Ulster Park. For reservations or more information, call (845) 331-9680 or visit www.woodnwheel.com.
• New Year’s Eve Millbrook offers puppet theater from Arm-of-the-Sea, magic with Steve Johnson, entertaining antics from the Bindlestiff Cirkus, live music from a host of bands and more! It all takes place at the north end of Franklin Avenue in Millbrook from 4 to 8:15 p.m. Buttons, event maps and programs are available at the Thorne Building, and refreshments are at VFW Post 9008.
For more information, call (845) 264-7256 or visit www.millbrookrotary.org.
• The Castle is so good at fun that it presents an entire evening itinerary at its tenth annual Family New Year’s Eve Party from 6 to 9 p.m. We’re talking dinner buffets, lazer tag, arcade along with a $5 game card, rock wall, laser maze, Free Fall, Ballocity, Go Karts, roller-skating, dancing and a “midnight” countdown with a balloon drop and confetti cannons. The cost per person is $55 at the door, $45 in advance by December 30, and free for children age 4 and under.
The Castle is located at 109 Brookside Avenue in Chester. For reservations or more information, call (845) 469-2116 or visit https://thecastlefuncenter.com.
• The Ashokan Center offers a chance to celebrate as long as you like, including staying overnight! The New Year’s Eve Dance & Dinner Party begins at 6 p.m. with a family-style meal, followed by two rooms of dancing at 8 p.m.: swing, Cajun, zydeco and waltzing in one room, and contra dances and squares in the other. The costs for dance are $30 for adults, $15 for teens and under, dinner costs $30 and bunk-and-breakfast costs $75.
The Ashokan Center is located at 477 Beaverkill Road in Olivebridge. For reservations or more information, call (845) 246-2121 or visit https://ashokan.org/new-years-eve-dance-party.
• Saugerties’ New Year’s Eve in the Village features a stage right on Main Street with live performances, restaurant specials, a deejay and Boy Scouts handing out hot chocolate! Stay for the midnight countdown and ball drop with the mayor and police chief on Main and Partition Streets. It all takes place from 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
For more information, call (845) 246-2321, extension 1, or visit https://discoversaugerties.com.
• Uptown Kingston’s New Year’s Eve Celebration begins at 8 p.m. and culminates in a midnight ball drop and fireworks at the corner of Wall and North Front Streets, with lots of live music and restaurant specials for the 21-and-over set. BSP has some excellent performances scheduled by Lara Hope and the Ark-Tones and the Felice Brothers, along with entertainment by Hudson Valley Circus Arts and more! Tickets for BSP cost $34.35 per person (21 and over), and it’s located at 323 Wall Street.
For more information, visit https://kingstonhappenings.org/events/uptown-new-years-eve-2017-celebration.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 1
Start a New Year on the right foot
What are your family’s intentions for setting the tone for the New Year? Here are some ideas to explore for Day One of 2017!
• Day One: We Walk United’s motto is “No Agendas, No Politics, No Division.” This community walk through Kingston creates the opportunity for dialogue with others for connection over divisiveness. Day One: We Walk United takes place from 1 to 4 p.m., begins at Dietz Stadium and ends at the Kirkland. This event is free and open to the public of all ages, and folks are encouraged to spread the word.
Dietz Stadium is located at 170 North Front Street in Kingston. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/day1united.
• “New Year’s Day: Stepping into Your Potential” offers time for yoga and contemplation for the New Year. You dress comfortably and bring a pen and paper, and the self-expression will surely flow, right? The workshop takes place from 11 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. at YogAlive at 71 Main Street in New Paltz. The cost is $20.
For more information or to register, call (845) 256-0465 or visit www.facebook.com/yogaliveny.
• The Bear Mountain Ice Rink means skating outside surrounded by mountain scenery. Work off some of those holiday carbs and head over for this seasonal exercise and fun for all ages! Start times for 90-minute sessions on January 1 begin at 10 a.m., 12 noon, 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. The costs are $5 for adults ages 12 and up, $4 for children 4 to 11 years, $2 for non-skaters and seniors and free for children aged 3 and under; skate rentals cost $4. Parking costs $8 per car (if you don’t have the Empire Passport).
Bear Mountain is located along Route 9W. For more information, call (845) 786-2701, extension 266, or visit www.bearmountainicerink.com.
• Minnewaska State Park Preserve gets your energy flowing with not one, but two hikes on January 1! The “First Day Hike: Peter’s Kill” snowshoe hike takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This two-mile jaunt includes stunning views, as well as a couple of challenging hills. The “First Day Hike: Awosting Falls” snowshoe hike happens from 1:30 to 4 pm. and lasts for 2.5 miles, ending with dramatic visuals of frozen falls. These hikes are free and open to the public of all ages, included in park admission at $10 per vehicle, and participants may rent snowshoes for $5 from the Preserve office.
Minnewaska State Park Preserve is located at 5281 Route 44/55 in Kerhonkson. For reservations or more information, call (845) 255-0752 or visit https://nysparks.com/parks/127/details.aspx.
• The “First Day Hike” sets the tone for 2017 with the gorgeous landscape of the Olana State Historic Site. Arrive at 10:30 a.m. for the 11 a.m. hike, walk for 1.5 miles or two hours, and bring your leashed pets to join in, too. This event is free and open to all ages, but advance registration is required.
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/first-day-hike.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 3
“Blow Your Own Ornament” at Beacon’s Hudson Beach Glass
Does a gorgeous glass orb encapsulating a bit of your child’s breath sound like the perfect way to mark the passage of time? Because time is running out if you’d like to “Blow Your Own Ornament” at Hudson Beach Glass. Sign up now for your 15-minute slot to create this amazing piece. The cost is $35 to make the ornament, which takes approximately 15 minutes to produce.
Hudson Beach Glass is located at 162 Main Street in Beacon. For more information or to register, call (845) 440-0068 or visit www.hudsonbeachglass.com.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 5
Nature-themed storytime at Mohonk
Distilled childhood: storytimes and playing outside year-‘round? “Thursday Tales at Ten: Story Time at Mohonk Preserve” is one easy way to start your New Year with nostalgia! The first 2017 “Thursday Tales at Ten” takes place on Thursday, January 5 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Cozy up with your youngster ages 2 to 5 in the Visitor Center’s Discovery Room for a nature-themed story and hands-on activity. After storytime, go exploring, both indoors and out! This program is free and open to the public.
The Mohonk Preserve Visitor Center is located at 3197 Route 44/55 in Gardiner. For more information or additional events listings, call (845) 255-0919 or visit https://mohonkpreserve.org/events/thursday-tales-ten.
Check it out
Girl to Goddess!
Does the very idea of discussing maturity or body awareness with your pre- or pubescent 9-to-12-year-old daughter terrify you? Then, have a look at “Girl to Goddess: Dancing with Growth for Girls 9 to 12,” because instead of taking on this task by yourself, you can partner with your daughter, without having to be in charge! This experience supports the well-being of girls by tending to the body, mind and spirit as they embark into adolescence and young womanhood with dance, guided imagery, journaling, maskmaking and more.
An Open House and hands-on information session for girls and parents interested in this series takes place on Sunday, January 8 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Wellness Embodied: A Center for Psychotherapy and Healing, at a cost of $10 for supplies. The full series takes place over six sessions beginning Thursday, January 26 through March 2 from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. for $155, led by Nada Khodlova, MA, a board-certified dance movement therapist and licensed creative arts therapist.
Wellness Embodied is located at 126 Main Street in New Paltz. For more information or to register, call (845) 532-6064 or visit https://wellnessembodiedcenter.com/girls—parents.html. To learn more about the presenter, visit www.nadakhodlova.com.
Historic Huguenot Street photography contest
Could your crew use a break from selfies and Snapchat? How about something from the 16th century, instead? Redirect those perfect angles and lighting toward an essential local legacy: Historic Huguenot Street. Introducing Historic Huguenot Street’s photography contest for all ages! Categories include “Buildings & Landscapes,” “People & Community,” “Details & Collections” and “Young Photographers,” and submissions are accepted immediately, through September 1, 2017. Contest-winners’ work will be included in the 2018 wall calendar, as well as in an exhibition at Historic Huguenot Street.
Historic Huguenot Street is located in New Paltz. For complete submission guidelines, call (845) 255-1660 or visit www.huguenotstreet.org/photocontest.
Erica Chase-Salerno is so grateful for your support this holiday season and all year ‘round. She can be reached at kidsalmanac@ulsterpublishing.com.
Join the family! 
