Join us on October 13 from 11am-2pm for Mad. Sq. Park’s annual Fall Kids Fest in celebration of the Conservancy’s 10-year anniversary! Bring your young ones for a free fall-festive day especially dedicated to them and have the whole family enjoy live music, arts and crafts, face painting, snacks, and much much more!

Big-kid hearts and kindie fans can enjoy live performances by groovy faves The Pop Ups, KBC Kids and Songs for Seeds, a special performance of Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Musical Mystery, march around the park in a costume parade led by a Big Apple Circus clown (costumes encouraged but definitely not required), pick a perfect pumpkin from the patch to decorate and take home, fill up on treats and eats, and face painting is a must. Don’t forget our arts and crafts section - it’s a Kids Fest favorite and a guaranteed creative time.

Fall Kids Fest is rain or shine and takes place in beautiful Madison Square Park at 23rd Street between Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenues. This free event is presented by World Class Learning Academy, an international school for children ages 2-11, and Time Out Kids.
Sponsored by New York Life, Appleseeds, Marimekko, UrbanSitter, Plum Organics, Deer Mountain Day Camp, Hill Country Chicken, Rubin Museum of Art, The Museum of Mathematics, The Little Orchestra Society, Big Apple Circus, DiMenna Children’s History Museum, The Treats Truck, Hurds Family Farm, Poland Spring and Pirate’s Booty.

Start time: 11:00 am

End time: 2:00 pm

Contact phone: (212) 325-2101

Location: Southern End (in Madison Square Park)

Volunteering is a great way to make new friends and to give back to your city. Volunteer opportunities usually involve manual labor and may not be appropriate for all ages. Some opportunities require pre-registration. All equipment is provided.

Start time: 11:00 am

End time:

Contact phone: (718) 548-0912

Location: Pelham Bay Ranger Station (in Pelham Bay Park)

We offer birding programs throughout the year and our Exploration series focuses on unique wildlife viewing opportunities during particular seasons. Birding programs are appropriate for all skill levels and beginners are welcome. To enhance your experience we encourage you to bring binoculars and field guides, or ask a Ranger to borrow a pair.

Start time: 11:00 am

End time:

Contact phone: (718) 967-3542

Location: High Rock Ranger Station (in High Rock Park)

For more than ten years, the Corinne May Botz searched for ghost stories in buildings across the United States. She ventured into these haunted places with both camera and tape recorder in hand; her photographs, accompanied by first-person narratives, reveal a rare glimpse into American interiors, both physical and psychological.

She says, “The first thing that inspired the project were writers like Edith Wharton, Charlotte Bronte and even Toni Morrison. Often these ghost stories were written by women as a means of articulating domestic discontents. I was interested in the idea of a woman being trapped in the home or by domestic space and how this was expressed in history."

Start time: 11:00 am

End time: 5:00 pm

Contact phone:

Location: Alice Austen House Museum (in Alice Austen Park)

IPAD/IPHONE Photo art and photo editing workshop. Gain massive skills and learn a ton of editing techniques!

Join expert educator, artist and designer Lyle Foxman in this workshop and photo walk funded by COAHSI as he takes you into the world of IPad/IPhone photo art. Packed with tricks, techniques, demonstrations and hands-on tasks, it’s an easy approach for IPad/IPhone and Android Tablet users. Hang on tight as you’re guided through comprehensive exercises on resizing, layers, textures and resolution, color correction, and image touch up. Master advanced techniques for creating eye-popping visuals, tilt-shift photography, panoramic images, sizzling photo effects, and workflows with print, social media, blog and cloud storage service providers. Participants will be encouraged to share their work and create a community blog at http://snapnapp.tumblr.com.

Who Should Take This Course

• Amateur, home photographers/tablet users or anyone looking to improve the quality of their images and their workflow techniques.
• Anyone with and IPad, Iphone or Android tablet device that has access to photo and art apps.
• Anyone who wants to know how to get full quality results using your I-pad, I-phone or mobile device

Staten Island professional photographer Flint Gennari had this to say about Lyle’s September workshop “ With the advent of apps and the availability and ease of smart phones and tablets, a little bit of knowledge will allow anyone to create works of art. No need to reinvent the wheel Lyle’s class offers the information of what’s out there and provides examples of what you can do even if it is your first time transforming your photos into something all will admire”.
Lyle Foxman, has over 15 years experience in the arts, technology and education. He has won numerous arts in education grant awards involving photography, animation and technology. Lyle is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts and has just completed his Master's Degree from Touro College in Instructional Technology.

Workshops October 13th & 14th from 11:30am - 1:30pm (limited to 15 participants)
A free photowalk will take place after at the Alice Austen House & Fort Wadsworth October 13 from 2:00pm - 3:30pm (Open to all)
Registration is available online at http://snapnappworkshops.eventbrite.com/
You can also visit the workshop blog at http://snapnapp.tumblr.com/

** Come prepared to the workshops with your fully charged camera, cables, tablet and mobile devices.
Partial proceeds to go to Alice Austen House. This event is made possible (in part) by a DCA Premier Grant from the Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island, with Public Funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Start time: 11:30 am

End time: 1:30 pm

Contact phone: (917) 597-5263

Location: Alice Austen House Museum (in Alice Austen Park)

Look, up in the sky, it’s a bird! But what kind? Take a tour and learn about the magnificent array of birds that call Prospect Park home.

Start time: 12:00 pm

End time: 1:30 pm

Contact phone: (718) 287-3400

Location: Audubon Center at the Boathouse (in Prospect Park)

Sharpen your dribbling skills with this interactive clinic focusing on skills development, sportsmanship, and team play.

Clinics are free of charge and open to players of all abilities, aged 9 to 17. Clinics are held every Saturday from April to October at the North Meadow Recreation Center (mid-Park at 97th Street).

For more information check www.centralparknyc.org/visit/recreation/.

Start time: 12:00 pm

End time: 2:00 pm

Contact phone: (212) 348-4867

Location: North Meadow Recreation Center (in Central Park)

Celebrate the fall season with games, music, pumpkins, and more!!

Start time: 12:00 pm

End time: 3:00 pm

Contact phone: (718) 235-4100

Location: Jamaica Avenue & Elton Street (in Highland Park)

Come celebrate harvest at King Manor with Fall-themed crafts and activities for the whole family! Enjoy a food-themed celebration, including historic food demonstrations, and much more!

Start time: 12:00 pm

End time: 4:00 pm

Contact phone: (718) 206-0545 x13

Location: King Manor Museum (in Rufus King Park)

Conference House Association Auxiliary invites you to a harvest tea party in the Conference House kitchen.

Space is limited so reservations are required.

Start time: 12:00 pm

End time: 4:00 pm

Contact phone: (718) 984-2491

Location: Conference House Museum (in Conference House Park)

Bring the whole family to rollerblade to music at Faber Park to celebrate Halloween. Bring your best costumes!

This event is presented by Syfy. Syfy is the proud sponsor of 14 NYC Parks fall-themed events across the city, including Pumpkin Fest in Central Park on Saturday, October 27!

Start time: 12:00 pm

End time: 3:00 pm

Contact phone: (718) 816-5558

Location: Faber Park Field House (in Faber Pool and Park)

Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux designed the North Woods to replicate the forests of the Adirondack Mountains, with their crystal streams, tumbling cascades, rustic bridges, and picturesque pools right in New York City's backyard. Join us for a tour through the North Woods and admire their work.

Groups of seven or more people should call (212) 360-2726 or email tours@centralparknyc.org to schedule a custom tour.

Accessibility level: Hilly, stairs, and a few Park-related obstacles to negotiate - not recommended for people with disabilities

Start time: 12:30 pm

End time: 1:30 pm

Contact phone: (212) 860-1370

Location: Charles A. Dana Discovery Center (in Central Park)

Free tours of the Conference House on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1p.m. to 4 p.m. There is a charge for group tours which are booked separately. Please visit www.conferencehouse.org or call 718-984-6046 for more information.

Start time: 1:00 pm

End time: 4:00 pm

Contact phone: 718-984-6046

Location: Conference House Museum (in Conference House Park)

View significant artifacts from 19th-century family life and walk into a fully furnished 1820s bedroom. There will be tours every half hour.

Start time: 1:00 pm

End time: 3:30 pm

Contact phone: (718) 789-2822

Location: Lefferts Historic House (in Prospect Park)

Urban Park Rangers specialize in interpretation of historic turning points, both natural and man-made, in our city’s long history.

Start time: 1:00 pm

End time: 4:00 pm

Contact phone: (212) 304-2365

Location: Little Red Lighthouse (in Fort Washington Park)

All Photography programs are for digital cameras and you must provide your own camera, DSLR preferred, but all cameras are welcome.

Start time: 1:00 pm

End time:

Contact phone: (718) 846-2731

Location: Unisphere (in Flushing Meadows Corona Park)

Family Gallery Tours offer an opportunity for children and their parents or caregivers to enjoy looking at and sharing ideas about art. Tours will include discussions and activities about contemporary art that responds to the natural world. The tour begins promptly at 1pm and lasts approximately 45 minutes. A maximum of 20 visitors can be accommodated on the tour. Children ages 4 and older are welcome with an adult.

Start time: 1:00 pm

End time: 1:45 pm

Contact phone: (718) 549-3200

Location: Wave Hill

Upper Manhattan is gearing up to celebrate autumn with a cornucopia of fun during Saturday’s Harvest festival in Fort Tryon Park.

The eleventh annual festival features an array of country-fair-style activities, including judges for pie baking, scarecrow making and pumpkin painting contests, games and performances. A table of delectable cupcakes will also be at hand.

A processional of performers playing kazoos, buckets and other instruments will also bid “goodbye to Persephone, daughter of Demeter, the Greek goddess of the harvest, as she begins her journey to the underworld, where she will spend the winter months,” according to organizers.

Community volunteers organize the free event with support from local businesses and the Parks Department. Participants are asked to bring a donation for a canned food drive for the hungry.

The event takes place Saturday, October 13, from 1 to 4 p.m., at the New Leaf Café lawn in Fort Tryon Park.

Start time: 1:00 pm

End time: 4:00 pm

Contact phone: (212) 795-1388

Location: Cafe Lawn (in Fort Tryon Park)

Spend time outside enjoying nature while helping to keep Prospect Park clean. Families can take a tour of the Park and its waterways and help keep it clean along the way. Gloves, garbage bags and trash grabbers will be provided.

Start time: 2:00 pm

End time: 3:00 pm

Contact phone: (718) 287-3400

Location: Audubon Center at the Boathouse (in Prospect Park)

Join an exhibition interpreter for one of our regularly scheduled tours of Wave Hill’s fall exhibition Foregrounding the Palisades, sculptural installations by artists Isidro Blasco, Blane de St. Croix and Paula Winokur that focus on the cliffs across the Hudson River, a quintessential feature of Wave Hill’s vista—and history. In the Sunroom, Crystal Z. Campbell and Yeon Ji Yoo fill the space with site-specific works inspired by local social and natural history.

Start time: 2:00 pm

End time:

Contact phone: (718) 549-3200

Location: Wave Hill

Growing figs in New York City often evolves from a garden pastime into a garden passion. Fruit expert and fig fancier Charles Day shares cultivation information for growing your own Ficus carica in the ground or in a container. A chef from Great Performances shares cooking tips and figgy recipes for your anticipated backyard bounty.

Start time: 2:00 pm

End time:

Contact phone: (718) 549-3200

Location: Wave Hill

Local poet John Maney offers a free poetry series for teens and adults. Read and discuss poetry with your peers, and work to create your own poetry in a group setting.

Start time: 2:00 pm

End time: 3:00 pm

Contact phone: (718) 365-5516

Location: Poe Park Visitor Center (in Poe Park)

Help water and care for the 80,000 new street trees that have been planted across New York City! Join the MillionTreesNYC Stewardship Corps and help keep New York City green by coming to a free MillionTreesNYC stewardship workshop.

• We will care for young MillionTreesNYC trees using hand tools (trowels, cultivators, weeding tools), watering, and removing garbage. All supplies and gloves will be provided by NYC Parks.
• Workshop portion will cover the basics of urban street tree planting, benefits of trees, and urban ecology
• Please dress for light gardening work and wear close-toed shoes

Pledge to take care of a specific street tree and get a Free watering toolkit and volunteer card.

Please register online for this workshop.

Start time: 2:00 pm

End time: 4:00 pm

Contact phone:

Location: Build It Green! NYC Reuse Center

During this overnight program, learn to pitch a tent, build a fire, and cook out like a pioneer. Make s’mores, tell stories, and sleep under the stars. Enjoy kayaking, marine nature study, and hiking with National Park Service rangers. Bring the whole family: parents, kids, grandparents! The program is heart-healthy and free, but reservations are required, and space is limited. Call (718) 338 – 4306 for more information and reservations.

Start time: 2:00 pm

End time:

Contact phone: (718) 338-4306

Location: Ecology Village (in Jamaica Bay Park)

Walk through a scenic area on the western edge of the Park, much of which is off the beaten track for most visitors. See rolling meadows, lake views, bridges of different styles, and a garden with flowers and plants mentioned by Shakespeare.

Groups of seven or more people should call (212) 360-2726 or email tours@centralparknyc.org to schedule a custom tour.

Accessibility level: Moderate inclines and stairs, paths clear and negotiable - only parts accessible to people with disabilities

Start time: 2:30 pm

End time: 3:30 pm

Contact phone: (212) 772-0210

Location: Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre (in Central Park)

Imagine yourself in the past. Learn games, pastimes and tasks that were common 200 years ago. At Lefferts Historic House, you can try your hand at needlepoint, games, and more.

Start time: 2:30 pm

End time: 3:30 pm

Contact phone:

Location: Lefferts Historic House (in Prospect Park)