Kids Culture 04.19.12

Family Festival

    The Parrish Art Museum will host a Spring Family Festival on Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m., featuring a stage show by Slapdash Comedy.

    The performance, which stars Ray and Erin Grins, who have appeared on the David Letterman show, will begin at 1 p.m. It will include fast-paced balancing and juggling, music, and plenty of audience participation. After the show, the Parrish will continue the festivities with face painting, spring art activities, caricature portraits, stilt walking, and refreshments.

    The event is free and no advance registration is required.

Springs Celebration of the Arts

    On Tuesday, the Springs School kicks off its fifth annual Celebration of the Arts at Ashawagh Hall. The show, which runs through next Thursday, features the artwork of all grades at the Springs School and includes video selections from this year’s fourth-grade opera and the student film festival.

    The show will also spotlight the visiting artist program and the studio in art class, two new programs that the school put into effect this past year.

    The opening reception will be held at 5 p.m. on Tuesday. The show can be seen on Wednesday and next Thursday from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Stages Does “Seussical”

    “The Cat in the Hat,” Horton and the Whos, and others will come to life this weekend when Stages, a Children’s Theatre Workshop, brings “Seussical the Musical” to the Bay Street Theatre stage.

    The cast of young actors will be directed by Helene Leonard, with musical accompaniment provided by Amanda Jones and James Benard, sets by Goran Petmil, and costumes designed by Barbara Oldak.

    Performances will run tomorrow at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15, and can be purchased by calling the Bay Street box office.

For Young Musicians

    Any pint-sized prodigies who are members of the New York State School Music Association have been invited to the stage at Southampton Cultural Center’s Levitas Center for the Arts on Sunday.

    Students have been invited to perform their NYSSMA piece for friends and family at 4 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

    Piano accompaniment will be available, and preregistration is required. Those who have a tune to play have been asked to contact the Southampton Cultural Center to book a spot.

Family Fun Day

    The Children’s Museum of the East End will be the site for a Peconic Family Fun Day on Saturday.

    A free event for families with children from five to 10, the day will feature live music from the Bridgehampton School marimba band, with educational games and workshops, like bird-box building, fish prints, seed planting, guided hikes, and more.

    Attendees will also learn about the local water table, sustainability, and the importance of environmental stewardship.

    Free admission to CMEE is included in the event, which runs from 10 a.m. to noon. The museum is located in Bridgehampton on the Bridgehampton Sag Turnpike.

    Across the street at the South Fork Natural History Museum, there will be Peconic Family Fun Day Adventures at 10:30 and 11:15 a.m. for all ages.

At the Library

    With Mother’s Day around the corner, stories about mothers and a chance to make a special craft will be the highlight of today’s activity at the East Hampton Library.

    For children ages 4 to 6, the Mother’s Day story time and craft will be held at 4 p.m. for one hour. Sign-up is required in advance.

Cinco Celebrations

    Cinco de Mayo, or the Fifth of May, is sometimes called Mexican Independence Day, but it isn’t. It is celebrated in Mexico as the day that the Mexican Army, against all odds, overcame and defeated the French in 1862. Mexican Independence Day is on Sept. 16.

    However, it is a great opportunity to honor the United States’s neighbors to the south, and the local libraries are doing just that.

    The East Hampton Library will give kids ages 4 and up the chance on Saturday to design a sombrero and learn the Mexican hat dance, perfected in this country by Bugs Bunny in the mid 1950s. Stories about Cinco de Mayo will be read. Advance registration is required. The event will be held at 10:30 a.m.

    The Hampton Library in Bridgehampton will host a two-hour party starting at 2 p.m., featuring a pinata, crafts, food, readings, and a cultural performance by the Tenochtitlan Dance Group on the back deck.

    At the Amagansett Library at 3 p.m. there will be a fiesta featuring stories and craft time with Mexican themes.