PlayDate: Openings, Closings, Sales and Things to Do the Week of April 18th

Photograph of the Week: The new 20th Anniversary Pop-Up Version of Dr Seuss' Oh, the Places You'll Go has some pretty fun pages, but is it lame that I prefer the baby version, Oh, Baby! Go, Baby! which eliminates the dark side of the story and replaces it wih fun, tactile and optical interactive pages a toddler or baby will love?

Read on for the news this week, sales and store openings, event news, and my personal activity pick for every day of the week:

Weekend Round-Up of Long Island Family Events April 17th-18th

Earth Day isn’t officially until April 22nd, but there is no shortage of events going on this weekend to commemorate the occasion. Additionally, there is a family fun day taking place at Hofstra University to celebrate the Irish culture. There is also an opportunity for children to view the pages of their favorite storybooks projected onto the dome of a planetarium. Enjoy!

April 17 - 18, 2010: Fun, Free Weekend Events and Activities for Kids in New York City

Aaaaah the weekend is almost here, I can’t wait.  My family and I love to explore the city together and this weekend there are just so many activities to choose from, rock and roll kiddie concerts, cool new book release parties, nature activities and crafts, the opening of the children’s room at Poet House, fun and free Healthy Kids Day at all the city YMCAs, plus the really excellent sounding StreetGames 2010 – and this is just the regular stuff.  New York City is going all out in planning fun events for Earth Day with concerts, readings, creative projects and a lot more planned for the weekend.

If you are Jersey bound, check out the 33rd Annual Cherry Blossom Festival taking place in Newark. Yes, Newark, who knew, but their are more Cherry Trees in Newark than they are in DC.  Essex County has a Bloomfest scheduled for Sunday with lot of Japanese cultural activities and fun for kids. 

Plus, there are a lot more fun Earth Day activities and events on Long Island and New Jersey.  

Here are our picks for the weekend and we hope you have a great one:

Cirque du Soleil's Ovo in New York City

Note: This show returns to NYC in July 2017 at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, and to Long Island in August 2017.

Typically, this site is all about how you can enjoy the riches of the city without being rich. There are so many things to do that are inexpensive, yet amazing. But there are also some things that are worth dropping some dough on, cause they're just that fabulous. In my opinion, Cirque du Soleil is one of those experiences.

NJ Weekend Events April 16-18: Lots of FREE Fun! Earth Day, Stories in the Sky, Tot Sculptures and Colonial Games and Crafts!

It sure isn’t easy being green, is it? So how do you start your kids off on the right carbon foot(print)? The weekend before Earth Day 2010 offers tons of eco-friendly fun to get your family rolling on a commitment to conservation, recycling, and a general “greening” of your lives. But hey, if you’re already doing your part to save the planet, there’s other fun stuff to do this weekend, too! Grounds for Sculpture teaches your tot about an ancient art form; Morris Museum plays Colonial Games and Crafts; and the Tenafly Nature Center offers a “take-home tour” of the night sky. So going it green or not, get out there!

Going to a Mets Game with Kids, A Cautionary Tale

With the coming of Spring comes the start of the Major League Baseball season.  I decided to celebrate both events by taking my 1-year old son Henry and his grandfather to Henry’s first baseball game at Citi Field for the Mets opening day.

 

Family Friendly Murray Hill: Restaurants and Things to Do

Murray Hill is famously and rightfully known as the after work hangout for the post-college crowd, but if you visit during the afternoon (or live here for more than a decade like I have.) you will find a real neighborhood with tons of families.  It is not a bad place to live or even visit just for the day.  The tiny enclave boasts nice parks, wide sidewalks for bike and scooter riding, family friendly eateries and even its own museum. 

Technically, Murray Hill is the hill north of 34th street on Lexington Avenue.  If you’ve ever walked from Park Avenue to Third Avenue on a cross town block above 34th Street you walked a pretty steep hill. Back in the day when the area was bucolic and 36th street had a stream running on it instead of lots of tunnel traffic, this is where the Murray’s had their family farm.  Today the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood has been granted its own historic district and is full of pre-war buildings on tree lined streets, historic churches and alleyways with cool carriage houses that have been converted into homes.  FDR, J.P. Morgan and the descendants of Honest Abe have all lived here.

 

Here are some family friendly highlights for a day of fun in Murray Hill:

A Night Out at Amateur Night at the Apollo

Before there was American Idol there was Amateur Night at the Apollo, right here in NYC. So instead of watching Simon Cowell in the judge's seat on TV, all you need is $20 and a ride on the A train to become a judge yourself at Harlem's historic talent competition on 125th Street.

Amateur Night at the Apollo is a highly entertaining show that's actually pretty kid-friendly if you want to plan a family night out, or it's also a fun choice for a kid-free parents night out with friends. Every Wednesday night at 7:30 the Apollo theater becomes a showcase for wanna-be stars. Singers, dancers, comedians, poets and more put on their best acts and the audience decides who the winner is by applauding for their favorites and booing the others off the stage.

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