What To Do: With the Kids August

What To Do: With the Kids August: Shakespeare and orangutans, butterflies, jousting knights and Noah Syndegaard … summer’s not over yet. Here’s 16 of the best August What To Dos in town and worth the trip.

August

Family-friendly Shakespeare: The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival Presents The Tempest : This family friendly 90 minute version of The Tempest from HVSF’s young artists creates a circus like atmosphere to tell Shakespeare’s enchanting tale of a magical island full of monsters and fairies. Will Prospero take revenge on his royal enemies washed ashore by a storm … or will he conjure up a hanppy ending instead. Five performances at Boscobel on Mon-Tues, 8/17-18, Mon-Tues, 8/31-9/1: 7:30pm, A sixth performance will be held at Paramount Hudson Valley in Peekskill on Sun, 9/6: 3pm. (Boscobel, 1601 Rt. 9D, Garrison; www.boscobel.org)

Imax at the Norwalk Aquarium: The Maritime Aquarium has the largest IMAX® theater in Connecticut, with a screen as tall as a six-story building!  Playing daily through Labor Day: Great White Shark: 2pm; Born To Be Wild explores the bond between humans and orphaned orangutans and elephants: 12pm; Humpback Whales: 1 & 4pm; Flight of the Butterflies: 11am and 3 & 5pm. (The Maritime Aquarium, 10 North Water St., Norwalk: www.maritimeaquariumorg)

Renaissance Faire: The Faire is a romp through Elizabethan England complete with 16th Century games, rides, arts, crafts, food, music and dance in Tuxedo Park. There’s mime, magic, music, comedy and storytellers, pirates, fairies, pole dancing, piping, acrobats, aerialists, a fire circus, birds of prey, sword fighting, knife throwing and the big one … jousting. Sat, Sun, & Labor Day: 8/1-9/27: 10am-7pm. (600 Rt. 17A, Tuxedo Park; www.renfair.com)

Marine Life Cruises at The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk: The Norwalk Aquarium’s new 63 foot research vessel is North America’s first to run on hybrid-electric power. The vessel runs silently on electric power for its 2½-hour “study cruises” on the Long Island Sound. Built in Mamaroneck, the vessel doubles the aquarium’s cruise capacity and cuts diesel consumption by 75%. They offer their Marine Life Study Cruises at 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays in May, June, September and October and daily in July and August. (10 N. Water St., Norwalk, CT; www.maritimeaquarium.org)

All Summer Long – Sheffield Island Lighthouse Cruises: Board the 45-foot C.J. Toth catamaran for a cruise to Sheffield Island on the Long Island Sound for a lighthouse tour, a hike on the nature trail through Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, a picnic and other beach front activities. Sat-Sun, 5/23-9/27: 11am, 2 & 3:30pm. Mon, Thurs & Fri, 6/29-9/7: 11am & 3pm. Tues-Wed, 6/30-9/2: 11am. Check special holiday weekend times. Or take a Clambake Tour on Thursday nights: ferry over to the island, tour the lighthouse and enjoy a clambake on the shore. Clambake Tours: Thurs, 6/25-9/7: 6pm. On Friday nights they offer with dinner optional from Mama Boy’s Southern Table & Refuge. We’re talking shrimp & grits, pecan roasted chicken, chicken and waffles, etc. Sunset Cruises: Fri, 6/26-8/28: 6pm. (Sheffield Island Dock, Washington and Water Streets, South Norwalk, Ct.; www.seaport.org)

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome: The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, a “living” museum of antique aviation, offers one of the largest collections of early aero planes (1909 to 1939) in the world weekend, plus weekend airshows, and bi-plane rides. The museum displays aircraft form the Pioneer Era, World War I and the Lindbergh Barnstorming era. Saturday airshows chronicle the History of Flight with Pioneer, World War I and Lindbergh era aircraft including a 1909 Bleriot – the oldest flying aircraft in the United States. Sunday shows feature a World War I dogfight and Barnstorming Aircraft. The museum and bi-plane rides are open June- October 1. Air shows: mid-June through mid-October. (9 Norton Rd, Red Hook; www.oldrhinebeck.org)

Muscoot Farm Dragonfly Walk: Take an interactive walk through the forest, hunt for dragonflies and learn about all the different kinds of dragonflies that make Muscoot Farm their home. Sun, 8/9: 10am (Route 100, Somers; www.muscootfarm.org)

County Center Baseball Card Show: 450 tables, thousands of autographed memorabilia, modern and vintage sports cards, autographed baseballs, on-site authentication, hobby and wax boxes, and on site autographs from the stars like Mets rookie phenoms Noah Syndegaard and Steven Matz and the all-time greats like Dwight Gooden, Mookie Wilson, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken and more. Thurs, 8/13: 4-8pm, Fri, 8/14: 11am-7pm, Sat, 8/15: 10am-5pm & Sun, 8/16: 10am-4pm. Check out the autograph guest schedule here. (198 Central Ave., White Plains; www.countycenter.biz)

Muscoot Farm Faerie Walk: Take an interactive walk through the forest at the farm to discover the fairies that live at Muscoot. Dress up like fairies, make a fairy craft and listen to fairy stories. Sun, 8/23: 1-3pm. (Route 100, Somers; www.muscootfarm.org)

Dutchess County Fair: 144 acres of bucolic fairgrounds in Rhinebeck plays host to nearly half a million patrons and thousands of farm animals, agricultural exhibits and horticultural displays at the second largest county fair in New York. Plus, carnival rides, racing pigs, diving dogs, a horse show, petting zoo, pony rides, Oscar the robot, a timber show, goat milking, chicken clucking, horse shoeing, Frisbee dogs, jugglers, arts & crafts, woodworking and weaving demonstrations, a painted pony rodeo, championship bull riders, a bikes, blades and boards show, food and musical entertainment including the Felice Brothers, The Doobie Brothers and the Spin Doctors. Tues-Sun: 8/25-30: 10am-10pm. (6550 Springbrook Ave, Rhinebeck; www.dutchessfair.com)

Living History: Military Reenactment Day at Boscobel: Since 1804, Boscobel House, its founder loyalist Morris Dyckman, and his descendants have played a role in the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Civil War.  To honor its historic ties, Boscobel presents, “The Dyckman Family at War: An Encampment of Soldiers from the American Revolution through the Civil War”.  Re-enactors from the three wars will demonstrate military camp life including tactical weapon demonstrations, inspections, formations, musket firings, artillery demonstrations and drills, all which take place on the grounds of Boscobel House & Gardens, overlooking the majestic Hudson River and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Sun, 8/30: 11am-4pm. (Boscobel, 1601 Route 9D (Bear Mountain Highway) in Garrison; www.boscobel.org)

Muscoot’s 40^th Birthday Celebration: Music, face painting, birthday cake, crafts, games, a farmer’s market and … of course, the animals, the historic buildings and the miles and miles of nature trails. Sun, 8/30: 12-3pm. (Route 100, Somers; www.muscootfarm.org)

September

Lime Rock Park Historic Festival: The east coast’s premier vintage racing and concours event. Three days of on-track racing. More than 300 cars and drivers, racing everything from pre-WWI racers to the best competition machines from the 1920s to the 1970s. How cool is that? Thurs-Mon, 9/3-7: check schedule. (60 White Hollow Rd., Lakeville CT: www.limerock.com)

CORNucopia at Philipsburg Manor: This novel corn festival offers an inspired bounty of corn-centric delicacies, demonstrations and hands-on, corn-related activities. Kids play games like Konk-a-Crow and Ring-a Cob in the CORNival area. There are corn-shucking races, a mini maize-maze, and crafts – make a cornhusk doll. Plus house tours, cooking, barrel making and corn grinding demonstrations, bluegrass and folk music and English country dancing in the barn. For those with the corn munchies there’s cornbread, corn salsa and chips, corn chili, popcorn and sweet corn ice cream. Sat-Mon, 9/5-7: 10am-5pm. (381 N. Broadway, Sleepy Hollow: www.hudsonvalley.org)

Norwalk Seaport Association Oyster Festival: Arts & Crafts show, harbor tour cruises, vessel tours, a Ferris wheel, a New England Seaport Village, Go Green environmental demonstrations, and a Kids Cove with circus and puppet shows, music, and arts & crafts (for the kids), an International Food Court with craft beer (for the adults), celebrity oyster slurping contests and … OYSTERS, OYSTERS, OYSTERS. With musical entertainment on Saturday night (last year the headliner JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS) and Family Day specials on Sunday including free admission, discount rides, kids’ specials at food courts and special entertainment. Yowza! How did we miss this all these years? Fri, 9/11: 6-11pm, Sat, 9/12: 11am-11pm, Sun, 9/13:11am-8pm. (Norwalk Veterans Park, 42 Seaview Ave., Norwalk: www.seaport.org)

Local! Community Family Camp Out at Katonah Memorial Park: Bedford Recreation, together with community organizations, serves up this first family camp out event. They provide tent set-up assistance, a large campfire, 2 large grills for cooking, picnic tables, S’mores, hot chocolate, coffee and tea, ghost stories, breakfast bagles, donuts, and beverages, clean rest rooms, supervision, and a Sunday morning swim at the Katonah pool. Campsite registration begins June 1. Sat, 9/12: 5pm. Contact the recreation office at 666.7004 or Recreation@Bedfordny.gov)

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