Family Fun This Weekend

Once again, here is your guide to fun for this weekend. But first, a look at the bizarre things to celebrate over the next few days:

Did you know that today, Friday, March 22, is National Goof Off Day? Be sure to relax and do something fun!

Grab your favorite tortillas and salsa (or kettle chips and onion dip) because Saturday, March 23 is National Chip and Dip Day.

Make a yummy snack mix on Sunday, March 24 for National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day. Throw in some dried fruit, mini pretzels, and of course some chocolate-covered raisins.


ONGOING
  
Race: Are We So Different?
Daily through Sunday, April 28, 2013
Rochester Museum & Science Center, 657 East Avenue, Rochester, NY
Explore the stories of race from biological, cultural, and historical points of view. This new exhibit features hands-on activities, 3-D animation, and more. Included with regular museum admission.

LEGO Travel Adventure
Daily through May 12, 2013
National Museum of Play at The Strong, One Manhattan Square, Rochester, NY
Hands-on LEGO and DUPLO building stations, racing ramps, tons of LEGO displays by LEGO Master Builders, and even a spot to take a photo of your own creation and email it to yourself or friends and family. Included with regular museum admission. Check out the ROCmomma review here.

FRIDAY

Game Night
Friday, March 22 from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. (repeats on Fridays through June 14, 2013)
ArtsROC, 3462 Monroe Avenue, Pittsford, NY
Kids ages 5-12 can enjoy movies, Wii, Xbox, Minecraft, tons of LEGOs, and a pizza party for $25 at ArtsROC. Call (585) 218-9125 or email info@artsroc.net for more information. Or click here to register.

Free Family Night: Family Kickball
Friday, March 22 from 5:30 - 9:00 p.m.
YMCA- Southeast, 111 East Jefferson Road, Pittsford, NY
The Adventure Center is open until 9 p.m. (remember your socks!), enjoy pizza in the Lobby at 5:45 p.m until it runs out ($1/slice), join in a Family Kickball Game at 6:15 p.m., and swim in the pool until 9 p.m. Free and open to the community.

SATURDAY

Easter Egg Hunt and Pancake Breakfast 
Saturday, March 23 from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
YMCA Camp Arrowhead, 20 Arrowhead Road, Pittsford, NY
Enjoy a yummy pancake breakfast, meet the Easter bunny, play games, make arts & crafts, and more. There will be two separate egg hunts - one for ages 5 and under, and one for ages 6 - 12. Register online or at the Southeast YMCA (111 E. Jefferson Road, Pittsford, NY) up until March 22nd; $7.50 per person or $32 per family (up to six people). Registration at the event is $12 per person or $45 per family (up to six people). Children under age two are free and should be included in the family count. This event is open to the community; you do not have to be a member of the YMCA.

Easter Party

Saturday, March 23 from 10 - 11:30 a.m.
Created by Us Ceramic Studio, 3 Railroad Street, Fairport, NY

Join the Easter Party for an Easter Egg Hunt, pottery painting, and cookie decorating. Open to ages 5 and up for $20 per child. Younger children welcome with an adult. Reservations required: (585) 223-8210.

5th Annual HUGE Easter Egg Hunt Benefit

Saturday, March 23 at 11:00 a.m.

Bloomfield Elementary School, 45 Maple Avenue, Bloomfield, NY

Three indoor Easter Egg Hunts for ages 0-3, 4-8, and 9 & up, with over 4000 eggs and 3 prize baskets per age group. All participants win a prize bag filled with goodies. Take pictures with the Easter Bunny,  play in the bounce house, or stop by the bake sale, carnival games, crafts, and face painting.  Admission is a $3 donation per child; donations benefit the Patrick Parrish Memorial Scholarship Fun in memory of a local student.

Meet LEGO Easter Bunny

Saturday, March 23 from 12 - 3 p.m.

ArtsROC School of Art, Music, & Language, 3462 Monroe Avenue, Pittsford, NY

Bring your 5-cent recyclables to ArtsROC to help support Catherine's Peace Team with your donation. You'll have a chance to get your picture taken with LEGO Easter Bunny, take home a free LEGO chocolate, and help build a LEGO Easter scene. 

Open Gym & Extreme Sports Practice Night
Saturday, March 23 at 6:30 p.m. (repeats Saturdays through May 25)
Sports Academy of Victor, 6385 Route 96, Victor, NY
Have fun with mats, sports equipment, tumble track, foam pit, turf field, batting cages, spring floor, and inflatables. Instructors are available to help. For ages 6 and up; cost is $10.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY 

Maple Weekend

Saturday, March 23 - Sunday, March 24, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Various Locations Throughout New York State (use the zip code search to find a location near you)

Enjoy a pancake breakfast, or just find out how maple syrup gets from a tree to your table, at one of the many Maple Weekend celebrations in New York. Several locations also have activities for kids, such as  Genesee Country Village & Museum. Check out ROCmomma's review of Maple Weekend 2012 here.

Meet Martha at Literature Live

Saturday, March 23 from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday, March 24 from 1 - 5 p.m.

National Museum of Play at The Strong, One Manhattan Square, Rochester, NY

Meet Martha the Talking Dog, and enjoy story time featuring Martha books. Don't forget your camera! Included with regular museum admission.

SUNDAY

Annual Easter Egg Hunt

Castle Creek Farm, 3760 Rush Mendon Road, Mendon, NY

Sunday, March 24 from 11:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Easter Egg Hunt from 12 - 12:30 p.m. is held in the indoor ring and outdoor facilities (rain or shine). Get your picture taken with the Easter Bunny, go on a pony ride, make arts and crafts, enjoy face painting, and check out the farm and petting zoo. Homemade baked goods and snacks will be available.  Admission is $8 per child, or $5 per child for families with 2 or more children.

Salseros
Sunday, March 24 from 12 - 3 p.m.
Rochester Museum & Science Center, 657 East Avenue, Rochester, NY
Experience Hispanic culture through dance with the University of Rochester's Spanish and Latino American Student Association. Included with general admission.

Family Movie Day: Wreck-It Ralph
Sunday, March 24 from 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Rochester Public Library (Central Library), 115 South Avenue, Rochester, NY
Families are invited to come to the Children's Center of the Central Library to watch Wreck-It Ralph (rated PG). This program is free, so bring the whole family. No registration required.

Have a great weekend! As always, thanks for reading.

Maple Weekend Festivities in New York State

Do you like maple syrup? Real maple syrup? Then you may want to check out a Maple Weekend. Over the next two weekends - March 16-17 and 23-24 - the New York State Maple Producers Association invites families to learn about maple syrup production and to taste real maple syrup. Find out how maple syrup goes from tree to table, and taste some maple sweetness along the way.

More than 110 maple producers across New York State will host open houses for visitors of all ages. Search your zip code to find a sugarhouse near you.

Last year, we visited the Genesee Country Village & Museum for their Maple Sugar Festival. We started with a self-guided walk to the nature center's sugar bush. Along the way, we saw demonstrations of sap-managing and syrup-making techniques from the good ol' days through today. Maple-leaf markers on the trees helped us stay on track, and the kids had fun spotting those leaves to lead us through.

We even had a chance to drill into a tree stump and push in the tap.

Then we continued our walk through the woods to the maple sugar camp. Village volunteers were on hand in period costumes demonstrating the process of making maple syrup as well as maple sugar candy.

The kids had fun making a maple leaf craft - and warming up - in the nature center building.

Once we had our fill of the nature center and maple walk, we headed toward the Toll House and into the village. Many of the homesteads and buildings were open for us to explore and to watch demonstrations. 

We also had the opportunity to complete a scavenger hunt. There were yarn dolls hidden throughout the village; we had to record the color of the doll we found at each of the locations. The scavenger hunt itself was fun for the kids. However, they were promised a prize for turning in their completed cards. The prize was a single Tootsie Roll. Yep: one. My recommendation is to enjoy the scavenger hunt; don't even let the kids know about the prize.

During our village exploration, we stopped at the Romulus Female Seminary building where the tinsmith had set up shop. The kids could complete a craft there for $1 each (not included with admission). We were given a tin ornament, a template for a maple-leaf design, a hammer, and a nail. We placed the template on the ornament, and used the hammer and nail to punch the design. Parental assistance is pretty much required on this one. Watch those fingers!

Samples were available at a few stops in the village - a chocolate here, some maple-based cough syrup there. The one place my ROCpoppa and I were really hoping would be offering samples was the Hop House (below).

We learned all about maple beer, but sadly, we were not able to taste it. Below is part of the machinery used in the brewing process. Such a tease.

If you are looking for some maple-related fun, I recommend the Genesee Country Village & Museum for their Maple Sugar Festival. Admission is $8.50 per adult, $6.50 per child (4-16), and free for children 3 and under. They also offer a pancake breakfast during the festival for an additional $8 per adult, $6 per child (4-16), and free for children 3 and under. We passed on the breakfast during our visit since my children are extremely picky eaters, and decided to eat before we left home.

What else should you know before you go? Genesee Country Village & Museum is located at 1410 Flint Hill Road in Mumford, NY. Parking is free. The village is stroller-friendly, however the nature center trails are not. The nature center building has restrooms, and there are restrooms throughout the village. I would recommend bringing your own snacks since the dining options in the village were closed. 

No matter where you are in the New York State area, be sure to check out a Maple Weekend near you. As always, thanks for reading.