Thaw Fest for Families and More
As part of the Hamptons Arts Weekend Festival, a joint venture of South Fork cultural institutions, there will be programs for families on Saturday and Sunday at museums and art centers from Springs to Southampton.
On Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., families can take gallery tours at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill and then head into its studio to create their own artwork inspired by the exhibitions. Sessions are limited to 30 minutes, and the last one will begin at 12:30 p.m.
At the Southampton Historical Museum, after seeing some examples of scrimshaw, decorative whalebone carvings that whalemen did to pass the time at sea, children will make their own modern versions. The program runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is free. The museum is on Meeting House Lane.
At Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, the Goat on a Boat puppet theater will celebrate World Puppetry Day on Saturday with a presentation of Nappy’s Puppets’ “Shadows Around the World” at 11 a.m. The show takes the audience on a journey through the history of shadow puppetry. Beforehand, families will have a chance to make shadow puppets to add to the performance. Tickets are $15.
On Sunday, Bay Street Theater and the Sag Harbor Center for the Arts will offer free family tours of the theater from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The documentary “I know a Man, Ashley Bryan,” presented at the theater at 2 p.m. by the Hamptons Take 2 Documentary Film Festival, could have appeal for kids as well. It is about an African-American puppet maker, poet, illustrator, and painter.
A family day at the Watermill Center, on Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m., will have visitors work with the arts collective House of Trees to create banners meant to be hung in public places. As the center describes them, “House of Trees projects are interventions in unpredictable sites, curated for both specific audiences and the larger public.” The workshop will be ongoing, with visitors welcome at any time, but online reservations with the Watermill Center have been requested.
The Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in Springs will have an open house for families on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. In addition to tours, families will be invited to take part in Jackson Pollock-inspired cookie decorating and Lee Krasner inspired collage projects. Admission is free.
A schedule of events can be viewed on the Hamptons Arts Network website.