“No, not that pumpkin. It feels too complacent.”
– Peter, age 10, pumpkin-picking in Red Hook
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20
CCE Homeschool Hub hosts Open Mic/Open House in Kingston
Whether you missed out on the Session 1 registration or you’re just curious to learn more about what the students have been up to, check out the Center for Creative Education (CCE)’s Homeschool Hub. The CCE Homeschool Hub hosts an Open Mic/Open House at the Green Palette this Thursday, October 20 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. See performances, tour the nearby CCE space and enjoy refreshments, as well as the upcoming offerings for Session 2.
The Green Palette is located at 107A Greenkill Avenue in Kingston. For more information, call (845) 338-7664 or visit https://cce4me.org/schedule/kingston-homeschool-hub.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21
History séance at Clermont
Looking for extra chills and thrills in your local history experiences this month? Skip the haunted house; go on a “Legends by Candlelight Ghost Tour” at the Clermont State Historic Site. Guests attend a 1921 Halloween party complete with a spiritual medium, a crystal ball and a Ouija Board; but something goes wrong during the séance, and suddenly ghosts appear from the house’s 250-year history, and they have (true) stories to tell. Recommended for ages 7 and up, these explorations take place after regular hours, with tours offered every half-hour from 6 to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, October 21, 22, 28 and 29. Admission costs $10 for adults, $5 for children aged 12 and under. Reservations are required, and they go fast.
The Clermont State Historic Site is located at 1 Clermont Avenue in Germantown. For reservations or more information, call (518) 537-4240 or visit www.friendsofclermont.org/copy-of-arts-at-the-cottage.
Storytime at Vassar’s Lehman Loeb Art Center
If fall is all about spice, then how about spicing up your preschooler’s storytime by going to an art museum? Head over with your 3-to-5-year-old to the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College this Friday, October 21 and again on Friday, November 18 from 1:30 to 2:15 p.m. Kids will enjoy stories, poems and a simple hands-on activity that connects with the art on display. October’s theme is “Nature,” and November’s theme is “I Spy/Observation.” These storytimes are free and open to the public, and no registration is required.
Vassar College is located at 124 Raymond Avenue in Poughkeepsie. For more information, call (845) 437-5632 or visit https://fllac.vassar.edu.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22
Book & music fest at High Meadow School
Want to encourage your child’s love of books? Or do you wish you could reach past their resistance and entice them in some way? Try simply spending time together at a fun event that’s all about celebrating books and music!
This Saturday, October 22, the High Meadow School presents Meadow Fest, a free book and music festival, including a barn dance with Mike + Ruthy’s Family Band (I love them!). Meadow Fest takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes readings, signings and workshops by authors and illustrators, a literary nature trail walk, books for sale and more.
The High Meadow School is located at 3643 Main Street in Stone Ridge. For more information, call (845) 687-4855 or visit www.highmeadowschool.org.
Natalie Merchant sings for Maya Gold Foundation at SUNY-New Paltz
Adore live music? How about for a meaningful cause? Then you’ll want to be at “Natalie Merchant and Friends: A Benefit Concert for the Maya Gold Foundation,” happening this Saturday, October 22 at 7 p.m. at the Studley Theatre at SUNY-New Paltz. And check out this stellar lineup of “and Friends”: Amy Helm, Elizabeth Mitchell, Gail Ann Dorsey, Rachel Loshak, Simi Stone and Uri Sharlin. Tickets purchased in advance cost $80 for premier seating in the first six rows of center orchestra, $50 for orchestra seating and $40 for balcony seating; tickets at the door cost $10 more. The proceeds support teens in New Paltz and surrounding areas, as well as education and essentials for young people in Nepal.
SUNY-New Paltz is located at 1 Hawk Drive in New Paltz, and the Studley Theatre is at 51 Plattekill Avenue. For tickets or more information, call (845) 418-5227 or visit www.mayagoldfoundation.org/programs/events.
Wizard of Oz for Kids at Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck
Did you know that author L. Frank Baum named his famed fictional city Oz after looking at a file cabinet labeled O-Z? You can delight your crew with that tidbit on your way to see a live performance of The Wizard of Oz for Kids at the Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck this Saturday, October 22 at 11 a.m. In this performance, Dorothy is captured by the Wicked Witch of the West, and it’s up to the audience, who are transformed into Munchkins, to oil the Tin Man and to rescue Dorothy! And one lucky child will even be chosen as the Wizard of Oz! Tickets cost $7 for children, $9 for adults and seniors.
The Center for Performing Arts is located at 661 Route 308 in Rhinebeck. For tickets or more information, call (845) 876-3080 or visit https://bit.ly/2dvVo2N.
Feldenkrais workshops for special-needs kids in Stone Ridge
Could your child benefit from support for mental clarity, relief from body pain or self-regulation? Children up to age 6 with neurological, developmental or orthopedic issues are invited to attend the free Children’s Feldenkrais Clinic at Yoga on Duck Pond this Saturday, October 22 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 23 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Using specialized movements, experienced and trained practitioners are ready to help your child. This workshop is free, but advance registration is required.
Yoga on Duck Pond is located at 70 Duck Pond Road in Stone Ridge. For registration or more information, call (845) 679-5226 or e-mail kidsmovementproject16@gmail.com. To learn more about this healing modality, visit www.feldenkrais.com/whatis.
Byrdcliffe Guild hosts Wicked Woodstock
Looking for ways to get more mileage out of this year’s Halloween costumes? You and your family will want to be at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s “Wicked Woodstock!” Held at White Pines on Saturdays, October 22 and 29, all ages are welcome from 3 to 5:30 p.m. for the costume contest, apple-bobbing contest, pumpkin-carving contest, Art Bus and refreshments, all for $5 per child. Then, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., ages 14 and up can walk through the haunted house (if they dare) at the home of Byrdcliffe founders Ralph and Jane Whitehead at a cost of $10 per person.
White Pines is located at 454 Upper Byrdcliffe Road in Woodstock. For more information, call (845) 679-2079 or visit www.woodstockguild.org/event/wicked-woodstock.
Bat talk & exploration at Merlin’s Cave Preserve
Sure, it’s high season for vampires right now, but have you ever gotten to learn about bats in their own natural habitats? (I’m not counting the ones that you’ve shooed out of your house.) Come on out and “Get a Little Batty” this Saturday, October 22 at 1 p.m. at the Merlin’s Cave Preserve, located on Tunnel Hill Road in Canaan. Local bat researcher Joseph Hoyt will speak about our area’s native bat species, which hibernate in Merlin and Dragon Bones caves during the winter, and explore the property.
This event is free and open to the public of all ages, but registration is required. For more information or to register, call (518) 392-5252 or visit https://clctrust.org/events/128/get-a-little-batty-with-clc-and-the-cave-conservancy.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23
Fall Family Fun Festival at Ashokan Center
Be honest: How many more years of autumn weekends do you have with your kids to attend a family festival together before life gets even more in the way? Make some special memories with your crew at the Ashokan Center Fall Family Fun Festival this Sunday, October 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Basically, if it’s a fall thing, it’s happening here: Make apple cider, take a hayride, hike the trails, paint pumpkins, do blacksmithing, craft a broom, square dance and more. And the music? Jay & Molly’s Family Band with Mike + Ruthy, as well as Wind and Stone, Aldo Lavaggi and the Hawthorne Valley Fiddlers. Admission costs $5 per person and is free for children under age 3.
The Ashokan Center is located at 477 Beaverkill Road in Olivebridge. For more information, call (845) 657-8333 or visit https://ashokancenter.org/events/fall-family-fun-festival-2016.
Bicycle Awareness Day at New Paltz’s Water Street Market
So, as some of you already know, it turns out that bike safety doesn’t have to be based on luck. Communities around the US are making essential changes to traffic patterns to support both bicycles and motor vehicles alike, and New Paltz is among them, currently prioritizing “complete streets” and other measures to make it safer to ride a bike around here. Support around this issue grew astronomically after young adult Gaby O’Shea was struck by a hit-and-run driver in New Paltz last month, and this weekend’s Bicycle Awareness Day is intended to educate and raise funds for Gaby’s long recovery.
Bicycle Awareness Day takes place this Sunday, October 23 from 12 noon to 4 p.m. at the Water Street Market. Activities include the cool opportunity to try group classes in Barre, Pilates and Gyrokinesis between 8 and 11 a.m.; get some chair massage; listen to music by the Bernstein Trio at 12 noon; watch a dance performance by the Vanaver Caravan Kids at 2:30 p.m.; write a letter for Safer Roads for Cyclists; learn bike safety information from the Bike Depot and Table Rock Tours; plus several Water Street Market shops and restaurants are offering specials, giving the proceeds to Gaby O’Shea.
The Water Street Market is located at 10 Main Street in New Paltz. For more information, call (845) 255-1403 or visit https://bit.ly/2dJDUxq. For updates about Gaby’s progress, visit https://posthope.org/gabriela-oshea.
Animal Art Day at Woodstock Artists Association
Is your crew inspired by the array of animals that we see this time of year, from migrating geese to squirrels tucking away nuts to deer preparing for winter? “Family Art Day: Animal Art” at the Woodstock Artists Association and Museum is one way for your budding artists to express themselves. Family Art Day takes place this Sunday, October 23 from 12 noon to 3 p.m. Tied in with the “All Creatures Great and Small” exhibition in the Towbin Museum Wing, “Animal Art” explores the depiction of animals in art. Family Art Day is free and open to the public of all ages. The Woodstock Artists Association and Museum is located at 28 Tinker Street in Woodstock. For more information, call (845) 679-2940 or visit www.woodstockart.org/october-23.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26
See Embrace at Hudson Valley Mall
Let’s bring our daughters and our sons to the Embrace movie this week, because some (many? most?) of us need some healing and support around body image; and maybe, just maybe, with this kind of awareness, we can give our kids a chance to sidestep the insanity of hating our bodies. I asked health coach Katy Weber of Worth It with Katy how she came to set up this special screening: “So, the backstory for this showing is simple: I’ve been following Taryn’s story since she first announced via Kickstarter that she wanted to make this documentary. I really, really wanted to watch it, and hosting a screening seemed the only way. So I set about trying to get enough people to come to see it with me. With my own health coaching, I work with women who (like me) have spent their lives frustrated and defeated by the merry-go-round of dieting and weight gain. I help them ditch the dieting mentality, and instead love their bodies and nourish their bodies with good food and healthy habits. It’s time to end the shame and guilt associated with eating and learn to love ourselves again! I could go on and on. I’m so excited about this screening and taking an evening to turn off our inner critic and to simply celebrate ourselves for the beautiful women we are.”
Embrace takes place this Wednesday, October 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Regal Cinemas in the Hudson Valley Mall at 1300 Ulster Avenue in Kingston. Tickets are still available for $11, but they must be purchased online in advance, since they are not for sale at the theater, so click here for tickets or more information: https://gathr.us/screening/16661 or www.facebook.com/events/1120342494704639. To learn more about the story behind the body image movement and to see the movie trailer (I’m not crying, you’re crying), visit https://bodyimagemovement.com/embrace. To learn more about the organizer, visit https://worthitwithkaty.com or e-mail katy@worthitwithkaty.com. See you there!
New Paltz Halloween Parade Band seeks musicians
Got a young musician in the family? Do your kids’ food allergies make it tricky to celebrate Halloween? I offer to you the Halloween Parade Band. Open to all ages and abilities from any community, the New Paltz Halloween Parade Band performs the theme from The Addams Family on Halloween night, October 31, from the beginning of the parade route at 6 p.m. at the New Paltz Middle School to the end, at the New Paltz Firehouse on Plattekill Avenue.
Interested? Performers simply need a band or percussion instrument; then attend band practice on Wednesday, October 26 at 6:30 p.m. at the New Paltz Community Center at 3 Veterans’ Drive, off Route 32/North Chestnut Street, behind the former New Paltz Town Hall; and they play in the parade. Participants receive five hours of community service for their efforts. For more information, contact New Paltz Halloween Parade Band organizer Dr. Lori Morris at doctorlorimorris@gmail.com.
Erica Chase-Salerno thinks you’re terrific. Thank you for reading Kids’ Almanac! She can be reached at kidsalmanac@ulsterpublishing.com.
Join the family! 
