Events: Top Kid-Friendly Activities For The Week

The Big Apple Circus will begin its run at Lincoln Center this Wednesday!

Take advantage of the final days of daylight savings time to take in some of our picks for this week. The circus is in town, plus we have four Halloween-themed events to get you in the holiday spirit–pun fully intended. Enjoy!

Beginning Wednesday, October 21

The Big Apple Circus: The Grand Tour
Lincoln Center
Various times
The Big Apple Circus brings “The Grand Tour,” a 1920s-themed circus spectacular to the Big Top this fall. This awesome extravaganza features acts from around the world—including jugglers, clowns, aerialists and acrobats from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America, in addition to domestic and rescue animals. Set against a roaring twenties transportation-themed backdrop of ships, trains, and automobiles, this international consortium will perform to live music played by the seven-piece Big Apple Circus Band. The show runs two hours with an intermission. Tickets start at $25, children under 3 are free if they sit on the lap of a paid adult, one child per lap. Runs through Sunday, January 10, 2016.

Beginning Saturday, October 24

Día de los Muertos Weekends
New York Botanical Garden
10am-6pm
In honor of the final closing weekends of its current exhibit “Frida Kahlo: Art Garden, Life,” the New York Botanical Garden will host a Día de los Muertos Celebration over two weekends this month. Garden visitors can enjoy a parade of giant skeletons, live music, stilt dancers, and more. Craft activities include mask making and face painting. Plus be sure to check out master carver, Ray Villafane at work (October 24-25) on the annual Giant Pumpkin Carving Display (open through November 1). Free with garden admission. Also occurs on Sunday, October 25, Saturday, October 31, and Sunday, November 1.

Saturday, October 24

Haunted High Line Halloween
The High Line
11am-3pm
Delve into the High Line’s spooky past during its annual Haunted High Line party! Journey back in time to when freight trains rumbled past 10th Avenue, or “Death Avenue,” as it was nicknamed in the 1890’s. Families with children of all ages can trick-or-treat with ghosts, such as the West Side Cowboy and the Mad Cookie Baker, listen to terrifying tunes and tales, snap a photo in the photo booth, and journey through a haunted train tunnel. This event is free.

Ghouls & Gourds 2015
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
12pm-5:30pm
This year’s Ghouls & Gourds festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden will be one for the books. Festivities will include games, arts and crafts, live musical performances, the Book Barn featuring signings and readings by local children’s authors and illustrators, and, of course, the annual Halloween costume parade for all ages, featuring giant puppets and massive drums. This event is free with garden admission and will take place rain or shine.

Sunday, October 25

Halloween Parade and Pumpkin Flotilla
Central Park
3:30pm-7pm
Join Central Park for its annual Halloween Parade and Pumpkin Flotilla this Sunday. In addition to the costume parade and pumpkin float on the Harlem Meer, there will be live music, scary storytelling, pumpkin carving demos, Discovery Station arts and crafts, and more. This event is free.

Thalia Kids’ Book Club: Guys Read Terrifying Tales
Symphony Space
4pm
Six of the contributors to the newest book in the Guys Read series—including Jon Scieszka (The Stinky Cheese Man) and Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants)—will read from a new collection of original ghost stories at “Terrifying Tales,” a Halloween-themed installment of Symphony Space’s Thalia Kids’ Book Club series, co-presented with Bank Street Bookstore. In addition to the readings, this afternoon of spooky fun will include a costume contest, an audience Q&A, and a writing activity where kids will have the opportunity to draft their own scary story. Recommended for ages 8 through 12. Tickets are $15.

Dance Workshop - NY

Nestled in the heart of the UES, Dance Workshop is a community-focused studio committed to dance education in a loving and safe environment. Dance Workshop offers Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Hip-Hop, Musical Theatre and Acro for ages 2+. They also offer a Pre-Professional Company track for dancers interested in taking their technique to the next level. Trial classes may be scheduled with the studio at the start of the season. Dance with Dance Workshop! MaryAnn Grasso founded Dance Workshop in 1979. Her daughter Nanci later joined her at the helm and in 2016 established Dance Workshop on the Upper East Side of NYC. MaryAnn and Nanci have devoted their lives to dance education, community and the development of children; raising dancers and sound human beings alike. Dance Workshop has seen thousands of dancers pass through the doors. They believe dance has the power to elevate and change lives!

Adventuring Portal

<a name="m_-1473885667065203258__Hlk72147528"></a>Adventuring Portal runs Dungeons and Dragons (D&amp;D) games for kids.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;We have created a safe online space for tweens and teens to learn and play D&amp;D. Our D&amp;D Summer Camp session are a one-week experience.&nbsp;&nbsp;Monday &ndash; Friday.&nbsp;&nbsp;Each day will be 3 hours of gaming (with 2 breaks build in).&nbsp;&nbsp;15 total gaming hours for $180.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you have played with us before, you are entitled to 10% off.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Need your kids, nieces or nephews, grand kids or neighbor&rsquo;s kids to be occupied for a bit so you can get work done &amp; take care of your to-do list? Maybe your tween or teen is still a bit isolated and craves connection with their peers? Whether your teen/tween has played D&amp;D before or is brand-new to the experience, this safe space brings players together to have fun and solve problems as a team in ways few other online opportunities do. All our games focus on experiential learning.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Our players leave knowing all the basic game play as well as experiencing: teamwork, bravery, compassion, generosity, negotiation, improvisation, gamer etiquette, strategy, critical thinking, problem solving, cartography and probability - all through online D&amp;D adventuring! We are an inclusive organization and welcome gamers who are LGBTQIA+ and those on any spectrum.&nbsp; All girls&rsquo; groups available.&nbsp; I am a parent, a certified elementary school and middle school math teacher and last summer in the midst of the mess started&nbsp;Adventuring Portal, an&nbsp;online Dungeons &amp; Dragons&nbsp;business&nbsp;for kids. There are so many benefits to playing D&amp;D and I hope you will consider us as a great way for your child to safely socialize, grow as people and have a great time.

Academics West

Academics West is an accredited high-support college preparatory school designed to meet the academic and social-emotional goals of its students. Our unique model allows for each student to benefit from a customized educational experience to ensure they are acquiring the skills necessary to navigate their post-secondary lives whether they attend college or pursue another path to future success. Students can select different tracks to construct the most beneficial program to suit their needs and goals. Unlike conventional education, this innovative model enables students to prepare for an ever-changing world that requires young people to have advanced executive functioning, interpersonal and leadership skills to become independent and resilient adults. &nbsp;