Community Corner
Weekend Planner: The Nutcracker, Family Ice Skating, Hudson Valley Thanksgiving
Plenty of fun to be had on the long holiday weekend.
Hess Clydesdale-Drawn Carriage Rides at the Bronx Zoo
When/Where: Friday, November 25–27 (& Dec. 3–4, 10–11, 17–18, and 26–31) at the Bronx Zoo, from 11:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Rides picks up on Astor Court.
Why Go: The Clydesdale—a high-stepping draft horse—is in its element when at work, whether in the field or at the head of a cart. Take festive ride through the zoo.
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Price: $5 per person (or $3/member) for ages 3 and over
Find out what's happening in Yorktown-Somerswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
20th Annual Holiday Train Show and Film Festival
When/Where: Weekends through January 16: 10 a.m.–7 p.m., including Friday, Nov. 25 (day after Thanksgiving) Holiday Weeks (Monday, Dec. 19–Monday, January 2): 10 a.m.–7 p.m. at the New York Botanical Garden Closed: Nov. 24 (Thanksgiving) and Dec. 25 (Christmas)
Why Go: This is the New York Botanical Garden's 20th year anniversary of the Annual Holiday Train Show. The popular exhibit features an abundance of model trains, bridges, and replicas of New York landmarks from the past, such as the original Yankee Stadium, Statue of Liberty, and Brooklyn Bridge. A holiday film festival will be featured as a part of the train show.
Price: Adults: $20, Students/Seniors: $18, children 2-12: $10, children under 2 and NYBG members are free
Day After Thanksgiving Family Ice Skating
When/Where: Friday, November 25 from 12:45 p.m.-2:45 p.m. at the Harvey School’s ice rink in Katonah
Why Go: After the big meal, skate with the family on Friday at the Harvey Ice Rink. It is sponsored by the Town of Bedford Recreation and Parks Department who will provide DJ music.
Price: $5 admission
Hudson Valley Thanksgiving
When/Where: Friday, November 25 through Sunday, November 27 from 10 a.m. -4 p.m. at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson
Why Go: During Hands-On Heritage Crafts this Thanksgiving weekend, you can try your hand at more than a dozen colonial-era crafts and tasks. Visitors are encouraged to learn about traditional winter work of the 18th century in an interactive way with the help of guides wearing period clothing demonstrating each task. Visitors can help make candles, churn butter, and stitch brooms. Try wool spinning, cider-pressing, soap making, cheese-making, and open-hearth cooking and help Cortlandt Manor’s blacksmith forge iron hooks.
Price: Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $6 for children 5-17, and free for children under 5 members
Hike off the Turkey/Adult Hike
When/Where: Saturday, Nov 26, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining
Why Go: Pack a lunch of leftovers and hike with a Teatown educator on the Croft Trail into the Back Forty. Walk off some of big meal and enjoy a fall day outside.
Price: Free for members; $5 for nonmembers
New York Metro Reptile Expo
When/Where: Sunday, November 27, 11 a.m. at the Westchester County Center in White Plains
Why Go: Last week was the cat show, now it is time for the reptiles. Thousands of live pet reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates are on display and for sale with more than 200 vendor tables. You can buy direct from breeders and also purchase supplies. All children must be accompanied by an adult over 21.
Price: Admission for adults: $10, children 7-12: $5, under 7: free
The Nutcracker—Abridged Version, by New York Theater Ballet
When/Where: Saturday, November 26, 3 p.m. at Paramount Center for the Arts, in Peekskill
Why Go: This is family-friendly, shorter version of The Nutcracker that runs one-hour long. Come see the New York Theater Ballet (NYBT), a New York City-based dance company, perform this holiday ballet. NYTB is the most widely seen chamber ballet company in the United States.
Price: Tickets: Adult $25.00, senior/student $15.00, children under 12 $15
Unveiling of Bridal Suite at
When/Where: Black Friday, Friday, Nov. 25 from 8:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. at 2008 Crompond Rd. in Yorktown Heights
Why Go: The store owner, with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 3 p.m. Between 8:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. customers can enjoy a complimentary breakfast, afternoon hors d'oevres with Mimosas, wine, chair massages and hourly give-aways.
Twenty percent of the proceeds will go to Stephanie’s Mission, an organization established after Stephanie Crispinelli was tragically killed by the Haiti Earthquake while traveling on a the “Journey of Hope” mission, working and caring for the poor. Stephanie’s Mission is dedicated to raising money to continue her passion for helping the poor by supporting non-profit, US-based charities and humanitarian missions. The proceeds from purchases at Yorktown Jewelers on Black Friday will help build an elementary school in a poverty-stricken Jamaican town that Stephanie had visited multiple times.
Contact: 914-245-1023
Storyteller Jonathan Kruk Performs Dickens`s Christmas Carol
When/Where: Friday, November 25, Saturday November 26, December 3, 10 and 17, at 4, 5, 6 and 7 p.m. at the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow, NY
Why Go: This is a brand-new event at the Old Dutch Church to kick off the holiday season as master storyteller Jonathan Kruk stars in a new performance of Dickens`s `Christmas Carol.` Kruk will welcome visitors into the historic, candlelit interior of the circa-1685 Old Dutch Church. This lively re-telling, complete with musical accompaniment, brings to life Charles Dickens`s classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.
Price: Tickets are $16 for adults and $12 for children under 18. Members of Historic Hudson Valley receive a $5 discount per ticket. Parking for the event is across the street at Philipsburg Manor.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
When/Where: Friday, November 25- Sunday, November 27, showings at 12 noon at Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville
Why Go: The classic and endearing collection—including Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!—is perfect to re-live with your young ones.
Price: Kids tickets $1
Chinese Acrobats Perform in Stamford
When/Where: Saturday, November 26, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Stamford’s Palace Theater
Why Go: See Cirque D’Or, performed by one of China's premiere acrobatic companies, The Golden Dragon Acrobats. Their traditional, breathtaking performing skills—bending, spinning umbrellas with their feet, scaling poles, leaning at 45-degree angles and building human pyramids on moving bicycles—will thrill audiences.
Price: Tickets are $10-$40
