What To Do Thanksgiving Weekend

admin Posted OnNovember 20, 2018

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Lyndhurst Mansion Holiday Tours one of USA Today's Ten Best

What To Do Thanksgiving Weekend: There’s a lot more to do Thanksgiving Weekend than turkey and football. Here’s 15 of the best local what to do’s this weekend.

Local! Ice Skating at The Harvey School, Fri, 11/23 & Thurs, 12/27: 12:45-2:45pm: In cooperation with The Harvey School, Jim Whiting and his staff at Bedford Recreation offers two hours of public skating for all ages at The Harvey School ice rink on the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas. There will be a DJ spinning fave tunes and requests. Admission is just $5 and you must provide your own skates and no hockey playing. (The Harvey School, 260 Jay St., Katonah; www.bedfordny.gov)

Bedford Turkey Trot, Sat, 11/24: 9am: Billed as “the hardest 5K in New York”, the Turkey Trot raises funds for Bedford Community Table/Pantry. The course begins at Bedford Village Elementary School, climbs to the top of Indian Hill Road, not for the faint of heart, and finishes at Bedford Village Memorial Park. There is also a 2-mile walk. Pre-registration required. (Bedford Village Elementary School, Court St., Bedford; www.bedfordturkeytrot.org)

Last Week! The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, Van Cortland Manor – Select evenings from Fri, 9/28-Sat, 11/24: Walk through a path of 5,000 hand-carved, illuminated jack o’lanterns set against an historic, 18th-century riverside landscape. Highlights include a headless horseman, a working doomsday grandfather clock, and gourd filled jack in the boxes, and dinosaurs from Jurassic Park – all made out of jack-o-lanterns. With sound effects, synchronized lighting and an original soundtrack by recording artist Richard Christy. Advance tickets required. (525 S. Riverside Ave., Croton on Hudson; www.hudsonvalley.org)

Twiddle: Friendsgiving, Capitol Theater, Fri-Sat, 11/23-24: 8pm: Standouts at festivals such as Red Rocks and Bonnaroo, Twiddle comes to the Cap for two nights. The Bozeman, MT-based bluegrass quartet Kitchen Dwellers will open for them on Friday night and The Rrik Krasno Band will open for them on Saturday. Guitarist Fresno (Lettuce) has written, performed and produce Grammy-winning efforts with worked with Tedeschi Trucks, The Derek Trucks Band, Ledisi and Roberth Randolph. (149 Westchester Ave., Port Chester; www.capitoltheatre.com)

Terrapin & Soulshine, Dead/Allman Tributes, Tarrytown Music Hall, Sat, 11/24: 8pm: A jam-filled evening celebrating two of the most iconic rock acts in music history, The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers. (13 Main St., Tarrytown; www.tarrytownmusichall.org)

Hot ticket Alert! Acoustic Hot Tuna, Ridgefield Playhouse, Sun, 11/25: 7:30pm: See acoustic Hot Tuna in the intimate Ridgefield Playhouse. This iconic duo who presaged the Americana movement performed Tuna classics and a virtual history of traditional American music at Caramoor two years ago in an event we were fortunate to catch. Great show! (80 East Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

WTD Fave Rave: New York Botanical Garden’s Train Show: Sat, 11/17-Mon, 1/21/2019: NYBG’s Holiday Train Show in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory features more than a dozen large scale model train sets (some super-sized) zipping across a quarter mile of track and a landscape of 140 scaled replicas of iconic New York City buildings made of bark, twigs, fruit, seeds and pine cones. Including, the original Penn Station and Yankee Stadium, Radio City Music Hall, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and the Brooklyn Bridge. An absolute must do event! (2900 Southern Blvd. Bronx; www.nybg.org)

Local! Westchester’s Winter Wonderland, Kensico Dam Plaza: Fri, 11/23-Mon, 12/31: 5-10pm Fri-Sat, 5-9pm on Sun & weeknights: Friends of Westchester Parks & Westchester Medical Center’s Winter Wonderland features a Holiday Circus, Santa Experience, Musical Light Show, outdoor ice rink, a FUNderland Village with 12 rides and food trucks. Plus special events including a Tree Lighting on Fri, 11/23: 6pm and a Family New Year’s Party with pyrotechnics and a ball drop 12/31. (1 Bronx River Parkway, Valhalla; www.winterwonderland.com)

USA Today’s Ten Best Holiday Tours: Family Friendly Holiday Mansion Tours at Lyndhurst: Fri-Sun, 11/23-15: If you want to take your kids to see Lyndhurst’s holiday displays this is weekend is the best time to do it! This year, Lyndhurst dispenses with the guided tours that can make kids a bit antsy. Instead, it opens the holiday season with an “Explore at Your Own Pace” event. Visitors can walk through the mansion without a guided tour and view the holiday decorations in this historic mansion at their own pace. (635 S. Broadway, Tarrytown; www.lyndhurst.org)

Local! Santa Comes to Katonah on Shop Small Saturday – Sat, 11/24: 10am-2pm: How convenient. Start your shopping locally, say hey to the jolly old elf and get a free candy cane.

Local! Small Business Saturday: 11/24: American Express card members can earn up to 2X rewards at qualifying small businesses with an enrolled American Express card. Hundreds of local shops and restaurants will participate. To register your card and see who is playing go to www.americanexpress.com)

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center: Fri, 11/23-Sun, 12/30:check times: Balanchine’s Nutcracker premiered at Manhattan’s City Center in 1954 and has been staged in NYC every year since. It is the most famous staged production of the ballet set to Tchaikovsky’s legendary score in the US. The production features elaborate stage elements, the most famous of which is the one-ton Christmas tree that grows from a height of 12 feet to 40 feet. (62-65 St. at Columbus Ave., NYC; www.nycballet.com)

Polar Express in Imax, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk : Fri-Sun, 11/23 -12/23: check dates & times: The Polar Express returns to the six story high IMAX® screen at the Norwalk Aquarium. Based on the Caldecott Award-winning book by Chris Van Allsburg about a boy who doesn’t believe in Santa Clause, and his magical trip to the North Pole. Polar Express has become a holiday classic on big screens and small. (10 North Water Street, Norwalk, CT; www.maritimeaquarium.org)

Local Santa! Armonk’s Frosty Day Parade, Sun, 11/25: 12:30-4:30pm: Activities begin at 12:30pm with train rides, clowns, magicians, Build-A-Frosty, face painting, cookie decorating, dance & music in Armonk Square, Frosty cartoons at the library, Frosty photo opps and a visit from Santa. The parade begins at 4pm and features more than 40 local groups, floats, music, costumes and an invitation to everyone to join the march down Main Street. Followed by a tree lighting ceremony at 4:30pm. Please remember to donate to Frosty’s Winter Warmth Project. (Downtown, Armonk; www.armonkfrosty.com)

A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Palace Stamford, Sat, 11/24: 1 & 4pm: the Emmy® and Peabody award-winning story by Charles M. Schulz, has warmed the hearts of millions of fans since it first aired on television over fifty years ago. Now the classic animated television special comes to life in this faithful stage adaptation featuring all of your favorite characters and classic Vince Guaraldi score. Join, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the Peanuts gang as they mount a play , save a tree and uncover the true meaning of Christmas. (61 Atlantic St., Stamford; www.palacestamford.org)