Up for Grabs: FREE Family Pass to MoMA and Three FREE Tickets to PS 1

A free Museum of Modern Art family pass (good for five people; valid through Sept. 1, 2009) and three FREE tickets to PS 1 MoMA (valid for one month from today) are available first come, first served. Please contact Nina Chan Jalowayski to claim!

October KidFest on Roosevelt Island

Spend every Saturday in October on Roosevelt Island with the family!
Dance and sing to live musical performances by popular kids' bands - including PS 29 parent Audra Rox! - during Kidfest. Performances will be located on the lawn at Riverwalk Commons, located 5 minutes from midtown. Food, live music, fun rides, and exploration of Roosevelt Island!

Bands perform from 2pm to 4pm:
October 4th-The Deedle Deedle Dees
October 11th-Broadway Babies
October 18th-Uncle Rock & The Playthings
October 25th-Audra Rox (PS 29 parent!)

Transportation:
• F Train to Roosevelt Island
• or The Roosevelt Island Tram (only 4 minutes) at 60th St. & 2nd Ave.

Click here for more information.

FREE Back-to-School Party at Habana Outpost

Habana Outpost (New York's first solar-powered eatery) and the Brooklyn Public Library team up on Labor Day, Monday, September 1st, to present a FREE back-to-school party for parents, students, and teachers, featuring eco-friendly crafts, story time, face painting, dancing, live DJ music, free gifts, food, and more. Adults can sip frozen mojitos, too! See the schedule.
718.858.9500

Ages: All Ages
Time: 12n-5pm
Cost: Free; food/drinks for purchase
Habana Outpost
757 Fulton Street

Free Family Film Fest This Summer at UA Court Street Stadium Theatre!

Enjoy the Free Family Film Festival this summer at UA Court Street Stadium 12, 106 Court Street, between State and Schermerhorn Streets (718-246-8170)! Shows are at 10:00 AM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in July and August.

7/08/2008-7/09/2008

Pirates Who Don't Do Anything - Veggie Tales (G)
Evan Almighty (PG)

7/15/2008-7/16/2008

Arctic Tale (G)
Bee Movie (PG)

7/22/2008-7/23/2008

Mr. Bean's Holiday (G)
Shrek The Third (PG)

7/29/2008-7/30/2008

Everyone's Hero (G)
Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)

8/05/2008-8/06/2008

Clifford's Really Big Movie (G)
Happy Feet (PG)

8/12/2008-8/13/2008

Charlotte's Web (G)
Hairspray (PG)

8/19/2008-8/20/2008

Wallace And Gromit (G)
Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep (PG)

8/26/2008-8/27/2008

Curious George (G)
Surf's Up (PG)

Food for Thought -- and for Free

Every summer since the mid-70s, the DOE's Summer Meals program has provided free breakfast and lunch for city youth at neighborhood schools and youth centers. This year, in light of rising food prices and ever-increasing economic pressures on New York City families, the free meals will be on offer at sites ranging from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to the Red Hook Pool.

Starting Friday June 27th and through August 29th, anyone younger than 18 can eat for free; no application or school registration is required. Call 311 or click HERE to find the location nearest you.

Celebrate Summer on Thursday Evening with "E.T." and Fireworks in the Park!

Thursday, June 26, 8:30 P.M.
School’s out! Start your summer off right by enjoying the classic flm "E.T." in Prospect Park. Sponsored by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. Park concessions will be on hand, selling hot dogs, ice cream, and other great summertime refreshments.

Enter the Prospect Park Long Meadow between Grand Army Plaza and Third Street. Click here to see the Long Meadow on the Park's Interactive Map.

NEW 826NYC SUMMER WORKSHOPS ANNOUNCED - Sign Up Fast!

826 NYC has announced new FREE summer workshops! Sign up fast!!

Dance Dance Rock Band Hero!
4 sessions (Tuesdays and Thursdays): July 1, 3, 8, 10 | 1-3pm | Taught by John Flansburgh and Patrick Daughters | For ages 6-8
Rockstars: It's time to set your dance pads, guitar grips, and fret buttons aside. This July, get your real rock on at 826NYC. In four sessions - with the help of experts John Flansburgh and Patrick Daughters - we will dance, revolutionize, and rock the music video world with actual singing and dancing. By the end of this summer, you'll have written and recorded an original song and music video. Students must attend ALL FOUR SESSIONS of this workshop!
PLEASE NOTE: Enrollment for this workshop will be determined by LOTTERY. Please submit the information below by or on June 25th to be considered for this class. The lottery will be conducted on June June 26th. Parents will be notified of enrollment by email (so please be sure to include your email address when signing up!).

Writing Short Fiction
3 Sunday sessions: July 13, 20, 27 | 3-5pm | Taught by Matt Goodman | For ages 11-16
Fiction can be terrifyingly long, and writing your lengthy epic can seem both noble and scary. But fiction can also be short, and in this workshop, that's the way we'd like to keep it. If you want to practice writing short stories so you can move on to crafting Moby Dick-length epics or to refine your ability to pack the best writing into the shortest length, then this workshop is for you. Throughout the workshop we'll examine a few short story writers and how they formulate plot and define character in their work. We'll also have writing sessions where we simply sit and write - how else are we going to get better?

I'm SOOOOO Bored
3 Monday sessions: July 14, 21, 28 | 3-4:30pm | Taught by Kate Ackerman | For ages 9-12
School's out for the summer! Now what? Help us write a kids-only guide to exploring NYC's five boroughs. Contribute your expert advice as we create a guidebook that will reveal the city's best-kept secrets. From YOUR perspective. Maybe you'll let us in on the best place to go in NYC when you need a good laugh? Or your favorite scooter routes? Or perhaps the most delicious Italian ice cart in your neighborhood? Above all else, you will leave this class with a comprehensive guide to banishing boredom!

Scrapbook Your Brooklyn!
2 Wednesday sessions: July 23, 30 | 4-5:30pm | Taught by Rebecca Huval | For ages 9 -11
Ever wanted to hold your memories of Brooklyn in the palm of your hand? Well now you can! With this workshop, you'll write about your
neighborhood and save mementos like ticket stubs and leaves between the pages of your own scrapbook. Doodle away and make your journal a work of art!

Free Junior Golf Center Opens in Brooklyn

The City Parks Foundation this month opened the CityParks Junior Golf Center, a state-of-the-art six-hole course, free of cost for all NYC youth ages 6-17, located next to the Dyker Beach public golf course in Bay Ridge. The CityParks Junior Golf Center is a new, state-of-the-art facility that offers free golf instruction to New York City children between the ages of 6-17.

Highlights include a 6-hole golf course, practice putting and chipping greens, covered driving range and clubhouse with classroom space.

Click here for complete details about the facility and for information about how kids can participate.

Swedish Midsummer Festival on Friday in Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park!

The 2008 Swedish Midsummmer Festival is this Friday, June 20th, starting at 5 PM, in Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park! Click the poster for details on the many child-friendly and FREE activities or go to the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy website.

Dymaxion Map Intergenerational Workshop: One Earth Island - One Earth Ocean

"Dymaxion Map Intergenerational Workshop: One Earth Island - One Earth Ocean" explores how interconnected we all are...on Buckminster Fuller's giant Dymaxion world map. For ages 9-99.
(Session I) Saturday, 06/28/2008, 11:00am–1:00pm RSVP
(Session II) Saturday, 06/28/2008, 2:00–4:00pm RSVP

Earth Voyage, an experiential education organization based in Asheville, North Carolina is a special project of the Buckminster Fuller Institute in New York. The Earth Voyage mission is to inspire people of all ages to experience the world with a new perspective. EV programs engage participants with multi-media environments, life-size educational tools, kinesthetic activities and service learning to cultivate a deep understanding of environmental and social interconnectedness, systems thinking, science literacy, and encourage active participation as global citizens.

Organized by: Center for Architecture and Center for Architecture Foundation with Earth Voyage
Sponsored by: Center for Architecture Foundation
Location: Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place (Directions)
Price: FREE!

Madison Square Park Kids Fest, Saturday, May 31st

Saturday, May 31
10:30 am - 2:00 pm
Madison Square Park
FREE! 

Join the Madison Square Park Conservany at Spring Kids Fest, presented with Time Out New York Kids! Come dance to music, touch live animals, win raffles, eat child-friendly snacks, make a work of art to take home, and do yoga!
EAT • Refreshments from Whole Foods, cotton candy and popcorn
COVER STORY • live animals!
SHOP • apple seeds, skiphop, Madison Square Park Conservancy, and raffles
ART • Preview Mad. Sq. Kids Exploration Kits, make butterfly bracelets and self portraits with MSPC, OOOHHH…AAAHHH…IIICCCKKK and built it! break it! fix it! with apple seeds, Peace Flags with the Rubin Museum of Art, face painting, and balloon animals with Skatz the Clown
BOOKS • TOONS in the Park and Storytime Yoga with Karma Kids Yoga
MUSIC/STAGE • Vital Children's Theater at 11:00 am, The Dirty Sock Funtime Band at 12:00 pm, and AudraRox & their Kids! at 1:00 pm
FILM • TONY Kids Free Flix give-away

FREE World Science Festival Street Fair, Tomorrow, Saturday, May 31st

World Science Festival Street Fair
Saturday, May 31, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
The World Science Festival takes to the streets with a non-stop program of interactive exhibits, experiments, games, and shows that will entertain and inspire – and don't miss local hero, Carmelo the Science Fellow! Head to the streets around Washington Square — it's fun, it's science, and it's FREE! Check HERE for the full lineup of events throughout the packed day!

Veggie Tasting at Tonight's Block Party!!!!

The first-ever Veggie Tasting from the new PS 29 Children's Garden will take place at tonight's FREE-admission Block Party, generously underwritten by Brooklyn Bridge Realty and The Collection at Court Street, with additional funding from Excel Builders & Renovators Inc., our 2008 Dunk Tank Sponsor, andApple Bank. 

DON'T MISS THE FUN! 

Here's a poem from the kids:

Radishes

Red, purple
Pink, violet
White spheres

Growing,
Bunches of green
Swifting
Side-to-side

A home for
Ladybugs,
Jumping
Leaf-to-leaf

Cut it open,
Looks like an
Apple
Tastes fresh
Then....
The HOT burn!
Radishes

by John, Oybek, Rron, Aidan, Nouhayla, Shaminah and Edwin

Humorphous - FREE Dance Performances @ Prospect Park Zoo This Weekend, May 31st and June 1st!

Humorphous, a group of dancers who embody animal behaviors, is getting ready to migrate this coming weekend to the Prospect Park Zoo, performing, Saturday, May 31st and Sunday, June 1st, 2008 from 11:30 AM - 4:30 PM. If you can't make it this weekend, slate in their upcoming shows, also at the Prospect Park Zoo, for Saturday July 19th and Sunday 20th, 2008 from 11:30 PM - 4:30 PM. All shows are FREE with zoo admission!

DanceAfrica Bazaar This Weekend — Children's Village and African Tales Film Festival

Sat, May 24, 12noon—10pm
Sun, May 25, 12noon—8pm
Mon, May 26, 12noon—7pm

Over 250 vendors from around the world converge on the streets surrounding BAM for this weekend's DanceAfrica Bazaar, which transforms the neighborhood into a global marketplace offering African, Caribbean, and African-American food, crafts, and fashion. Rain or shine!

As part of the festivities, BAM presents a live showcase of roaming drummers, dancers, and stilt walkers inspired by the spirit of Africa. Special for kids: FREE storytelling, face painting, and crafts at the DanceAfrica Bazaar Children's Village.

Plus, check out:

BAMCINÉMATEK
DanceAfrica Film
African Tales for Children 72min
Fri, May 23 at 2pm; Sat, May 24 at 2pm; Mon, May 26 at 2pm
This short film program features animated and live action films exploring traditions of the African Diaspora. Films include The Magic Lion, The Cora Player, and The Red Glasses. Buy tickets. 

Brooklyn Bridge 125th Anniversary Celebration: FREE Events All Weekend!!

Check out the packed calendar of FREE events celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge this holiday weekend!

FREE KidsDay Celebration on Thursday, June 5th in the Heights

KidsDay
Thursday, June 5, 2008 11am to 3pm (Note: SCHOOL HOLIDAY!)
FREE!

Don’t miss KidsDay, a day-long celebration for artists of all ages. Held on the Brooklyn-Queens Day school holiday, KidsDay features FREE events throughout Brooklyn Heights, presented by BRIC Rotunda Gallery, the Brooklyn Historical Society, the Brooklyn Heights Branch of the Brooklyn Pubic Library, and the New York Transit Museum.

PS 29 Music Celebration This Thursday Evening, May 22nd @ 7 PM!!

PS 29 Music Celebration!!
Thursday May 22nd @ 7pm in the PS 29 Auditorium
Come support our outstanding Band and Chorus as they give their final performances of the school year!
Free! All welcome! Refreshments in the cafeteria following!

Free Opening Day Festival: Museum of Natural History Show, The Horse

OPENING DAY: THE HORSE
Festivities and Demonstrations all day in the 81st Street Driveway

American Museum of Natural History. 
Saturday, May 17, 2008*
12:00 noon - 4:00 p.m.
West 81st Street driveway
FREE!

What to expect:

Thumbelina
See Thumbelina - the World’s Smallest Horse!
In 2006, Guinness World Records certified Thumbelina as the world’s smallest living horse. At 17½ inches tall, she is the smallest horse on record.

Walter Varcoe, Farrier at work:
Walter Varcoe will be shoeing NYC Parks Enforcement Patrol horses and explaining why proper foot-care is essential to a horse’s health. Touch a real horse skeleton and learn horse anatomy.

Liz Austin and Olivier, winners of the 2006-07 USEF/Collecting Gaits National Dressage Championship Brentina Cup.

Equus and the Equestrian Sport Foundation - Grooming & Braiding: 
Members of the Equus Equestrian Sport Foundation will be demonstrating horse grooming and braiding for dressage. Visit their booth for storytelling and equestrian “dress-up.”

ASPCA Vintage Equine Ambulance:
The ASPCA was started to care for NYC’s working horses. See a reproduction of the first ambulance designed for horses and learn about the history of horses in the City.

State-of-the-art Equine Ambulance:
HEART (Humane Equine Aid & Rapid Transport) State-of-the-Art Equine Ambulance:
HEART provides state-of-the-art emergency transportation services for injured or ill horses. Meet their staff and go inside one of their ambulances for horses.

PEP Mounted Units
Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP) Mounted Units
Volunteer riders go through extensive training to be part of the Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP). The unit’s presence helps ensure the park’s safety. Meet some of the riders and their horses.

If the event is canceled due to rain, Thumbelina will be on view in the first floor, Linder Theater from noon - 4:00 p.m.

SAVE THE DATES! Carroll Park Concert Series Returns With AudraRox on June 21st!

SAVE THE DATE! Back for summer 2008, the free CARROLL PARK CONCERT SERIES, featuring bands suitable for the whole family, will kick off its season and celebrate the end of the school year with a very special performance by PS 29 parent AudraRox on Saturday, June 21st at 4pm in Carroll Park! (Suggested donation: $5 per family goes along way towards supporting this great neighborhood series.)

Other concert dates are Wednesdays @ 4PM: July 9, July 23, August 6, August 20th.
Check HERE for more information or to make an online donation to help support the series.

Concert volunteers are still needed to see the concert series to completion, including:

• To staff the donations table;
• To take photos of the concerts;
• To solicit food donations from local merchants to give away on concert days; any contacts will be well appreciated;
• Also very much needed are local printers who can help produce flyers and other promo materials.

For additional information, please contact PS 29 parent Simmi Degnemark. Enjoy the shows!