Category — Community

I linked to a couple of places for hurricane relief, and here are a few more.

A reader wrote me with this:

I am a teacher in the Schalmont School District and many of our families in the Rotterdam Junction area lost everything in the flooding after Irene.  The district has set up a donation center at Jefferson Elementary School (100 Princetown Road, Schenectady, NY 12306).  For more information you can follow this link to the district homepage.

Many of these families have small children and lost everything so we are really hoping the community support will turn this tragedy into something positive.

Here’s a Facebook page for helping Schoharie County with hurricane relief.

Here are a bunch of links that the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp. sent out via email:

• The Chamber of Schenectady County will be accepting donations of non-perishable food items, canned goods, diapers and more. Call 518-372-5656 for information.
• The Galesi Group is offering short term warehouse provisions to local businesses for temporary real estate and warehousing needs. Call 518-356-4445.
• 1st National Bank of Scotia is offering special loans for those in our area affected by Tropical Storm Irene. Call 518-370-7200. More…

We hit not one, but two fests today. First it was the Schenectady Kids Arts Fest, then the St. Basil Greek Festival in Troy. We usually try to visit the arts festival, and I’ll tell you more about it later, but since this was our first time at the Greek Festival and it continues tomorrow afternoon from noon to 5 pm, I’ll tell you a little bit more about that one.

So, M has a final social studies project, and it’s on Greece. She tends to think of serious questions and answer them diligently. It’s just her style. This is a great deal of work for her, and it isn’t necessarily the best suited for the project, in this case a tri-fold poster display that they’ll be presenting to 2nd graders. So on Thursday, she was asking for details about the difference between the Prime Minister and the President of Greece. I  Wikipediad as well as I could, but then I gently tried to sway her toward something more fun, like Greek food or the fabulous islands themselves or Greek Gods. We ran to the library, she checked out three interesting-looking books for kids about Greece, and then when we arrived home, she set them aside, sat at the computer, and started typing about how the president’s powers are largely ceremonial. I am not kidding.

So yesterday I remembered that there was a Greek Festival this weekend. Perfect, right? We decided to go for dinner, because really, food is the center of the whole thing.

We arrived and there were a few carnival games (most $1 each) and two bouncey-bounces $3 or 2/$5). The girls each played two games.  They were especially kind to J and let her stand extra-close since she was so little, and she cleaned up, prize-wise, and then M lost her games and there was Tragic Drama. There were also a few vendors, including one who had groovy bags that M loved. I managed to purchase one and then fold it up so small that she has no idea that it was shoved in my purse. Yay. Her birthday’s in two weeks.

Anyway, food-wise, we tried some Chicken Souvlaki (meat on a stick-$7), Pastitsio (lasagna-esque-$7), Spanakopita (spinach-feta pastry-$3.50), Gyros (beef & lamb on pita bread with tzatziki sauce-$7), and Loukoumathes (fried dough-$4/small order) for dessert.

Gyro

For their main dish, the girls both liked the Souvlaki best, I thought the Spanakopita was awesome, and Cute W was a sucker for the Gyro. All of which I could have predicted. For the full selection of all possible foods, we went inside, but  you could easily just feed yourself under the tent outside. Between the Souvlaki and the fries, you could keep most kids happy, and they also serve beer and wine (woo, hoo!).

Loukoumathes

They had two groups of youth dancers, and the girls really loved watching them. A couple were pretty young, plus they had on traditional costumes, so my kids were enthralled.

Senior Dance Group

There was some pre-recorded and some live music, and M decided that she definitely needs some Greek music for her display project, so that will liven things up, right? Another favorite part was that spectators approach the dancers and shower them with money while they’re dancing as a traditional sign of appreciation.

Dancers with Money at their Feet

Anyway, especially if it’s another beautiful day tomorrow, it seems like an excellent way to spend a Sunday afternoon: under a tent along the river, clapping along to the music, watching the dancers, and eating a bit too much. In fact, just now I looked at my notes to add food prices for you and I thought, “Damn! The cheapest thing we ate was that Spanakopita! I should have bought another one!”

Britin & Nick from All Good Bakers sent me an email asking if I’d be willing to spread the word about their new Community Supported Bakery.   They also offered me free samples!  Yes, please! So, of course I wanted to like them–what a good idea.  You already know that I belong to a CSA, and that occasionally it feels like a time-consuming hobby.  But it’s difficult to imagine feeling burdened by croissants.  Right now I’ve got one and a half heads of cabbage judging me from the refrigerator, and yet my remaining Free Sample cinnamon bun rests easy, confident that someone will consume it before it spoils.

So it was all yummy.  Trust me on this.  Friends know that I’ve received free samples in the past that I declined to mention because I couldn’t endorse them.  Even though other bloggers apparently could hold their noses and write posts and get delightful additional merchandise and giveaway items.  Not like I’m bitter.  Okay, I’m a teensy bit bitter, but perhaps I’m just cranky because I hosted a party for six-year-olds a few hours ago?  It was lovely, thank you–I’ll show you the fairy gardens later.  Meanwhile, back to the bread!  Here’s what I got:

Rustic Italian Bread

The bread was moist and tasty and basic.  Soft instead of crusty, which is good with the kids, because isn’t it irritating when they just poke holes in your baguettes?  We had it with some butter with dinner, but it would have worked great sliced up for sandwiches.  It’s vegan.

Crispy Brown Rice Energy Treats

These funny-looking balls were my personal favorite.  They’re brown rice with peanut butter, maple syrup, seeds, coconut, & chocolate chips.  J and I had the same reaction when we saw them:  we immediately took a bite.  Then J became distracted by the other baked items, but I finished one pretty quickly.  And then I couldn’t stop myself:  I ate the other one as breakfast.  I was thinking about how shameful this was prior to posting, but then I looked at the ingredients list, and maybe it was reasonable.  It’s just a good thing I didn’t receive more of these.

Vegan Cinnamon Buns

The cinnamon buns were tasty.   W kept saying that they were pretty good “for vegan” in a tone of voice which began as insulting (it wouldn’t be the first time) and evolved into admiring.  Yum-a-licious and flaky.  They’re way too huge–that’s a dinner plate that those are sitting on, so you could pretty much divide one between the four of us.  But usually I’m not a huge cinnamon bun fan because I feel sick pretty much as soon as I take a single bite, so these were a lovely version for me.

All Good Bakers is looking for members to join their CSB for a winter membership.  Memberships run 26 weeks from November through April, and pick ups are on Wednesdays from 5-7 pm in Albany or Delmar.  It’s $6 per unit, which is equivalent to, say, one loaf of bread or two cinnamon buns or 4 bialys.  They use organic and local ingredients whenever possible.  When you sign up, you can pre-order your choice of items, and your membership can include 1, 2, or 3 units per week.  If you’re interested, you can email them at allgoodbakers@gmail.com and they’ll send you more detailed information.  They’re also at the Delmar Farmers’ Market on Saturdays.  Sign-up for membership is available until October 24th or they reach their limit, whichever comes first.

While I was reviewing the regularly scheduled events, I noticed that Explore in Glens Falls has a special program in September and October.  Adults enter free if they bring in 4 non-perishable food items in September or 4 sealed toilet items in a ziploc bag in October.   The usual adult admission is $3.95, so it’s not a ton of savings, but you’ll have the Joy of Giving included, free.  Admission is $9.95 for kids and infants under 1 & seniors are free.

Meanwhile, Kristi over at the TU’s On the Edge Blog passed on a reminder that on Thursday the 30th, Coldstone Creamery will be handing out free ice cream from 5-8 pm.  Yeah, okay, it will be a mob scene, I’m sure.  And yet. . . tasty.  Just don’t actually come with no money, because then you’ll feel extraordinarily guilty when everyone around you is giving it up to the Make a Wish Foundation.   It’s also one specific flavor for free, so who are we kidding?  If you take the kids, you’ll end up paying for them if they’re not into, say, baked apples.  Maybe you should just ditch the family and run over with a friend real quick?

This is from one of our readers, Amy:

When my neighbor and friend tossed around the idea of having a block party just for fun, I initially balked. But as I never say no to a party, I agreed to give her a hand. After all, she had already paid for and obtained the necessary permit from the city. But the date was set for a mere month away. Was there time enough to pull this off?

As things were already set in motion, another neighbor friend got to work on a “Save The Date”, with a list of potential activities, etc., which she promptly hand-delivered with kids in tow. (Thankfully this neighbor friend is a graphic designer who also made a “Reminder” flyer the week of the block party!) Then came the slew of phone calls to the police and fire departments, local businesses, entertainers, and non-profit organizations. With the requests and little time we had, what surprised us most was the overwhelmingly positive response we received from nearly all, that YES, they would support us. Not to mention what both they and our neighborhood contributed in time, money, and expertise. (Some groups contacted declined to support us either because there was not enough notice, we were not affiliated with a non-profit, or simply because “it wasn’t something they did.” And that was okay too.)

Firefighters! We love 'em!

And it happened.  A week ago, on Saturday, it happened and then some!!  Through both rain and shine, all had a good time. With real live policemen, a police horse and police dog, real live firemen and a fire truck to explore, a kids road race, face painting, a mass tie-dying activity, ice cream sundae making, a children’s musician, chair massages, soil testing, grilling in the middle of the street, drawings for floral arrangements and children’s CD’s, and other fun-filled activities, who couldn’t have fun???  We spent time with old friends and made some new ones. Friends of friends came as did a few relatives. Yet, without the collective efforts of our neighborhood and the community at large, this day would not have been possible.  We may even do it again next year. If we made all this happen over the course of a month, just think what we can do with a whole year of planning!

Getting Crafty

The wonderful people, organizations, businesses, and non-profits that so graciously supported us:

• Donations of time/services: Albany Police Department, www.albanyny.org, Albany Fire Department, www.albanyny.org, Spear Design, www.spear-design.com , Cornell Cooperative Extension of Albany County, www.ccealbany.com, Albany Massage Therapy Associates, www.albanymassage.com
• Donations of food: Uncommon Grounds, www.uncommongrounds.com, Honest Weight Food Coop, www.hwfc.com, DC’s Pizza, www.dcspizza.com, and mini-cupcakes from Sweet Sisters in Guilderland
• Donations of goods: Price Chopper, www.pricechopper.com, Splendid Stems Floral Designs, www.splendidstems.com , Albany Artroom, www.albanyartoom.com, Andy the Music Man, www.andysings.com, Fingerprint America, Inc., www.fingerprintamerica.com
• Non-Profit Collections: Food Pantries for the Capital Region, www.foodpantries.net, Bright Red Bookshelf Community Literacy Program, www.centersquare.org

For more than 30 years, ice cream trucks have been banned in Niskayuna after a girl was hit by a passing vehicle.  After kids submitted a petition asking to get the ice cream trucks rolling around town, they’ll be discussing the issue at the regular Town Board meeting Tuesday at 7 pm.

I am generally quite pro-ice cream, and I do like the idea of the ice cream truck roaming throughout the neighborhood.  It’s fun, it’s tasty, and it encourages all of those kids to come outside and gather together.  Maybe they’ll hang out and play.  On the other hand, we’re on a main thoroughfare, and that ice cream’s gotten expensive!  If they’re around too much, beyond enduring the tinkling music, I’ll have to establish an Official Ice Cream Truck Response Policy. . . .  I’d love to see them once or twice a week, maybe.  Enough so that it’s still an exciting occasion, and I can say yes every time.

I laid the paper copy of the Spotlight news article out where the girls would notice it and, when they didn’t take the bait, mentioned it in passing to M.  I pointed out that the original petition was pretty skimpy and that if someone took a petition to town camp, they’d probably get loads of signatures.  Secretly I was hoping that she’d get all excited about it and hand around a petition and then we could present it to the town board and it would be a wonderful Lesson in Democracy.  Instead, her reaction was:  1) Ho, hum; followed by a smidgen of: 2) What-ever.  Sigh.  Just as well:  we’ve got plans tomorrow night.

Incidentally, as I was looking into this, I learned that you can get a Mr. Ding-a-Ling truck to come to your party or special event!  I know!  At the risk of  being redundant, I’ll have to pronounce that fun.

Phew!  So much is going on this week.  Here’s what I’ve found:

All Week:

• Don’t forget that there’s plenty more going on at William K. Sanford (Colonie) Library and Albany Public Library.
• The Clifton Park Not-So-Common Players are performing Once Upon a Mattress in Clifton Commons at 7:30 pm from 7/22-7/25.
• It’s the Saratoga County Fair in Ballston Spa from July 20-25.
• The Schenectady County Library has a puppet show version of Rumpelstiltskin showing at various branches throughout the week.

Monday, July 19th:

• Take a Nature Trail Hike at 10 am at Moreau Lake State Park.  Or Learn How to Cast at 10:30 am.
• From noon to 4 pm it’s Dino Day at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga.
• At 1 pm, it’s Library Tots, a drop-in program for 0-24 months at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library.
• At 1:30 pm, kids can choose a building project to do with the Home Depot at the main Albany Public Library.  Call to register.  If this appeals to you but you can’t make it, remember that both Home Depot and Lowe’s offer occasional Saturday workshops in-store.
• At 2 pm at the Delaware Branch Library, kids 6 and up can learn about buying healthy foods, and they’ll decorate their own cloth bag and make a healthy trail mix snack.  Sponsored by Honest Weight Food Co-op.
• At 2 pm, there are programs for elementary-school kids at the Mont Pleasant, Glenville and Rotterdam branches of the Schenectady Public Library.
• The Colonie Town Band will be playing at 7 pm at the Crossings in Colonie.

Tuesday, July 20th:

• At 9:30 am, take a Luzerne Mountain Trail Hike at Moreau Lake State Park.
• Regal Cinemas’ free movies at 10 am.  For this week, it’s Arctic Tale and Shrek the Third at Crossgates and Wallace and Gromit and Bee Movie at Clifton Park.
• At Bowtie Cinemas in Schenectady, this week’s free 10 am movie is Hotel for Dogs.
• From 10 am to noon it’s Summertime Tots at the Children’s Museum of Saratoga.  This is an outdoor, drop-in program geared toward younger visitors.
• Do a Scavenger Hunt at noon at Moreau Lake State Park.
• At 1:30 pm at the Albany Public Library, kids can do a craft with folks from the Tang Museum.  Call to register.
• There are crafts for ages 6 and up at 2 pm at the Pine Hills Branch and the North Albany Branch of the Albany Public Library.
• At 2 pm, kids can participate in a songwriting workshop with River Jack Z (as in Zucchini) at the Guilderland Public Library.  Tickets are required.
• At 2 pm, it’s Dazzle Dogs at the Niskayuna Public Library.
• At 3 pm, it’s Twinkle, Twinkle, What’s That Star? at the Children’s Museum of Technology.  For ages 4 and up, pre-registration required, and it’s $2/non-member.
• From 3-4:30 pm, kids in grades 3-6 can participate in Guess What I Collect? at the Crandall Public Library.  Pre-registration required.
• There’s a Friends of Guilderland Athletics Family Fun Night from 4-10 pm.  I found this on Fit Albany.  $2/person.
• At 7 pm, The Tichy Boys are playing at the Town of Brunswick Community Center.

Wednesday, July 21st:

• Regal Cinemas’ free movies at 10 am.  For this week, it’s Arctic Tale and Shrek the Third at Crossgates and Wallace and Gromit and Bee Movie at Clifton Park.
• At Bowtie Cinemas in Schenectady, this week’s free 10 am movie is Hotel for Dogs.
• At 2 pm, kids can get crafty at the new Bach Branch of the Albany Public Library on New Scotland Avenue.
• From 2-4 pm, it’s an Ice Cream Extravaganza at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga.  Pre-registration is required, and it’s $4/person.
• At 2:30 pm, Matthew McElligott, author of the Blackbeard the Pirate series, will be talking and signing books at the Bethlehem Public Library.  Sign-up is required.
• At 6 pm, kids in grades 6 and up can do a little Teen Tokyo at the new Bach Branch of the Albany Public Library with Japanese animation and yummy Pocky.
• The Audiostars will be playing at 7 pm at Freedom Park in Scotia.
• Cavanaugh and Kavanaugh are playing at 7 pm at the Green at Bethlehem Public Library.
• The Zucchini Brothers are playing at 7 pm at Clifton Commons Park in Clifton Park.

Thursday, July 22nd:

• Take a Walk in the Woods at 9 am at Thacher Park.
• Regal Cinemas’ free movies at 10 am.  For this week, it’s Arctic Tale and Shrek the Third at Crossgates.
• At 10:30 am, it’s Color Fun! for kids 3 to 5 at the Children’s Museum of Technology.  Pre-registration is required, and it’s $2/non-member.
• At 11 am, kids K-3 can Make Music with Lisa at Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library.  You must pre-register.
• At 1 pm, there’s a free event for kids 5 and up at Schuyler House–they can dress up in Colonial clothing.  I heard about this on the New York History blog.
• It’s Craft Day at 1 pm at Moreau Lake State Park.
• At 2 pm, get Artrageous! at Children’s Museum at Saratoga.  It’s free, and recommended for kids in K-4.
• At 2 pm, Domino the Great will be performing at Crandall Public Library.  Registration is required.
• 3rd to 5th graders can make Neon Tees and Visors from 2-4 pm at the Guilderland Public Library.  Registration is required.
• Eddie Money is playing at Alive at Five at Albany Riverfront Park.
• Kyle Miller is playing at 5 pm as part of the Acoustic Sidewalk Series in front of Arbor Hill Library.
• Dan Berggren is playing at 6 pm in Wiswall Park in Ballston Spa.
• At 6:30 pm, there’s A Beach Bag Full of Stories at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library.  It’s a drop-in program for young elementary school kids.
• Keith Pray is playing at 6:30 pm at the Crossings in Colonie.
• At 6:30 pm, Hair of the Dog will be playing at the  Schaghticoke Town Hall Gazebo.
• Marty Wendell is performing on the lawn of the Malta Community Center at 6:30 pm (it’s on page 9 of this link).
• From 7-8:30, 4th- to 7th-grade Percy Jackson enthusiasts can participate in Half Blood Camp at the Guilderland Public Library.  Registration required.
• The Scotia-Glenville Community Band will be playing at 7 pm at Freedom Park in Scotia.

Friday, July 23rd:

• At 10:30 am, there are Stories for Families at the Scotia Branch Library.
• At 11 am, kids can design their own water wheel at the Guilderland Public Library.  Registration is required.
• There’s a Game-a-thon at the Bethlehem Public Library at 11 am.
• At 11 am, Something Fishy’s Going On for 4- to 6-year-olds at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library.
• From 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, the Milk Mustache tour is at the Empire State Plaza in Albany.
• At 2 pm, kids in grades 2 and up can just show up for Pop Art Experience at the Scotia Branch Library.
• At 2 pm, 1st- and 2nd-graders can see Troll Attack!, a story told in Lego pieces, at the Guilderland Public Library.  Registration is required.
• At 2:30 pm, they’re showing Alice in Wonderland at Bethlehem Public Library, with popcorn.  This one’s PG and I’ve heard it’s a little creepy.
• At 4 pm, kids in grades 1 to 5 can just show up for Pop Art Experience at the Duane Branch Library.
• It’s Parents’ Night Out at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga from 4-7 pm.  For $15 per child, you can drop them off and go have yourself a date!  Pre-registration and pre-payment is required.
• The Ron Cremisio Band is playing at Canal Square in Cohoes at 6:30 pm.

Ah, nothing like a cleansing rain in the summertime.  Was anyone else finding themselves irritable this afternoon, when it started to rain, and it was still hot and sticky?  I’d been sure that the rain was going to mean sweet release from all of that humidity, and then. . . it wasn’t.  So frustrating.  When it finally began to pour and cool off while I was cooking dinner an hour or two later,  I could barely restrain myself from pounding the counter and shrieking “Yes!  Yes!”  a la Sally/Meg Ryan.  Oh, rain, rain, you are so good.  I think I love you.

I don’t share a lot of face shots of the girls, but this is from–wow!–five summers ago, so they’re entirely different kids now.  Clearly the girls enjoy a good summer rain as much as I do.

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J had an exciting field trip to Hannaford today as part of camp.  She learned about vegetables and came trotting home with a Guiding Stars bag.   On another day of camp, M went to Petsmart, where she had the chance to hold a gerbil, a lizard, a parrot, and a frog.  She just said no to the ferret.

All of which reminded me that, if you’ve got young kids, say toddler to young elementary school, you can arrange visits to all sorts of local businesses for fun.  With various moms’ groups or our nursery school, we’ve taken tours of Price Chopper (look at the lobsters!  walk in the big freezer!), Panera (make your own loaf of bread!  sample some cocoa!), Coldstone Creamery (see how they make waffle cones!), and the airport (see firetrucks & airplanes! and you’ll still see me walking around with my PABA-ful official water bottle).  Unlike many outings to museums or orchards, these are generally absolutely free!  Now, it will vary from location to location and manager to manager, but many clever managers know that sucking up to a bunch of parents for an hour or two during the slow period before the lunchtime rush pays untold dividends in good karma and profits later.  So next time you’re looking for something entertaining to do with a group, give a business a call & see if you can arrange a little visit.  If it’s food-oriented, you might want to ask about food choices ahead of time.  Case in point:  J and her group did so well on their “nutrition test” that they won a prize:  a big bakery cake.  Couldn’t they have gone with berries or something?

Of course the granddaddy free tour of them all is no longer available–did anyone ever take the Krause’s Candy tour?  It was super-fun, offered two days a year I think, with activities,  sample after sample, and the occasional prize basket. I remember that one year one of the girls balked at putting on the hair net, which was absolutely required for entrance.  And I was standing there at the door thinking to myself, “For the love of all that is good and holy, child, do not keep me from the free chocolate.  Verily you shall know my wrath!”    Fortunately for all concerned she bowed to the intense peer pressure before I had to go all Crazy Mommy on her.  Anyway, I think that the tour was so popular that it just got to be too much for them.  Still, every July, I mourn its passing.  But I suppose it’s just as well if I’m going to grouse about nutrition, right?

Anyone else been on a tour of a business with kids that they’d recommend?

On Thursday I picked up my CSA share.  Frankly, I’m a little intimidated.  Really, it’s almost like a hobby when you’re getting started, and I haven’t done it in a while (as I explained here).    I’ve eaten five or six different kinds of green vegetables today alone. Since the pick up, I’ve made two different brand-new recipes, neither of which were what I’d call a success.  Tonight for dinner I went with the old standby, sauteed with olive oil & garlic & salt.  That hardly ever sucks.  Of course, by the time dinner rolled around I was feeling fussy with all of that healthy fiber, so I threw in some kalamata olives and sundried tomatoes until I considered it yummy.  I think I just have to pace myself better with next week’s pick up.

Meanwhile, stopping by the farmers’ market was informative.  First, the folks from Roots & Wisdom were there talking up their programs.  I thought that you might be interested in a couple of them.

They’re doing  Roots, Shoots, Flowers and Fruits from 7/12 to 8/9, Monday to Friday, 9 to 11:45 am.  Cost is $25 a week with limited need-based scholarships, but dude, do you see that that’s a bargain.  It’s for kids 6-11.

They’ll also have a farm stand open on Tuesday afternoons (rain or shine) from 3:30-6:15 pm at the corner of Fehr Avenue & Central Park Road.  You can buy stuff, but you’re also free to tour the garden.  This sounds like a lovely little after-nap outing, and/or a great way to kill some time on the days that you’re nutty waiting for another adult to come home and be patient with your young child(ren).  What, that never happens to you?

Meanwhile, when I popped over to the Schenectady Cornell Cooperative Extension website to link you up to Roots & Wisdom, I also noticed that Schenectady children from 5-11 can also help do some gardening as part of the Edible Playground Crew.  It’s a free program.

Someone from the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy was hawking Enjoy Our Preserves brochures, and I thought that some of you might, in fact, enjoy their preserves.  I’ll add the link and all, but in case you’re so At One With Nature that you can consider hiking in this weather, click the link above for some new spots.  Anybody visited some of these and want to recommend favorites for families?

And if this post has made you crave a little Famers’ Market action and you don’t know where to go, remember that I made a list of local Farmers’ Markets a while back.

Meanwhile, anyone doing a bit of gardening and feeling overwhelmed by produce already?  We are currently wading in basil (remember back when we first got some?), and when my CSA farmer handed me a bunch I tried to say no, but she just looked so disappointed, I was like, Okay, I’ll make more pesto to freeze, I guess.  Thank you.   Come to think of it, I hope that she didn’t think that I was un-gracious.  I should have been all, “Yay!  Beautiful greens!” and instead it was more like: “Jeepers!  It’s way too hot to cook this stuff!”  I will try to be better next time.  Of course, it’s probably too late and now she thinks that I’m some pain-in-the-ass that she has to tolerate for the check.   But, I’m off track.  I meant to say that if you, too, are overwhelmed by your garden’s bounty, you should know about the Squash Hunger program.  You can drop off your fresh produce and it will get to folks who could really use some fresh produce, unlike your next-door neighbors who are really just being polite when you hand over 3 or 4 zucchini.   I’m pretty sure that there are more drop-off points than are currently listed on the website, so it’s worth it to check in with them.

Am I the only one who can’t wait for a monster rainstorm?   Bring it on!

Holy crap! Just when you were saying, please, somebody deliver me from this heat and rescue me from my sweaty, messy house, and just give me something besides the pool to do so that I can give the kids a break before their eyes turn permanently bloodshot and their hair turns green due to overchlorination, guess what’s happening this weekend?

Proctors is having their (first annual) Animation Festival!  With a huge range of child-friendly features, and $3 tickets! Or $15 if you just want to spend the whole time (from the 10th to the 16th) there!  Which I’m tempted to do!  And on Monday & Wednesday night they have Oscar-Nominated Shorts, which I always want to see in a theater, and so I think I might have to see if I can drum up a babysitter.

Or just stay home & run the sprinkler. Done.

Here’s what else is going on this weekend:

All Weekend:

• From July 7th to 11th, the Family Players of North-Eastern New York are showing Seussical the Musical at 7:30 pm at Tawasentha Park in Guilderland.  If anyone goes, will you fill us all in?
• Annie Get Your Gun continues at the Park Playhouse on Tuesday the 6th at 8 pm.
• The Tioga County Fair continues through the 10th.
• Keep in mind that we’re now into the super-short Ballet Season at SPAC.  I desperately want to go when it’s not so freakin’ hot, but we have such a packed calendar that I don’t know if we’re going to make it. . . .

Friday evening, July 9th:

• From 5-10 pm, it’s Schenectady County SummerNight in Downtown Schenectady:  music, activities, and fireworks.
• It’s Family Night at SPAC.  Before the NYC Ballet’s performance there will be activities for kids beginning at 6 pm.
• At 6:30 pm, there’s a drop-in Chess Club at Guilderland Public Library.
• At 7 pm, they’re showing Pollyanna at Guilderland Public Library.   And yes, there will be popcorn.
• Take a Ghost Walk through Saratoga. $10/adult, $5 kids 7-11,  This is every Friday through the summer.
• They’ll be showing Monsters vs. Aliens at Tawasentha Park in Guilderland at 8 pm.

Saturday, July 10th:

• From 10 am to 6 pm there’s a Wags and Whiskers Family Fun Fair at Maple Ski Ridge.  It’s a free fundraiser for the SPCA, and pets are invited, too.
• Fossils Rock! at 10 am at Thacher Nature Center.
• It’s Countryfest at the Altamont Fairgrounds.  $40 at the door, kids 10 and under free.
• From 10 am to 5 pm, there’s Art in the Park in Congress Park in Saratoga.
• The Town of Wilton is having a Community Day from 11 am to 9 pm.  Food, music, rides, ponies, fireworks.
• Learn about Karner Blue Butterflies at 11 am at Albany Pine Bush.  This park gets really very hot.  I’ve got to recommend against this one for today.  Cal to register; $2/person, $5/family.
• The Delaware Branch Library is having a free Summer Splash Party from 1-4 pm–they promise wet and wild fun outside, including a free bounce house, misting tent, and water slide.
• At 1 pm the Schenectady Museum is doing a preschool-oriented planetarium show.  $4 in addition to museum admission.
• At 2 pm Andy the Music Man will be playing at Henry Hudson Town Park in Bethlehem.  Free, with a bounce house, too.
• At 3 pm & 7 pm you can see Steps to Suffrage: Musical Youth Drama at Boght Arts Center in Cohoes.  $6/adults, $5/students.
• The Powers Park Concert Series in Troy kicks off with a Cryin’ Out Loud Dance Party from 6-8:30 pm.
• Ernie Williams will be playing blues at Freedom Park in Scotia at 7 pm.
• There are Poets in the Park from 7-9 pm in Washington Park on Saturdays in July.

Sunday, July 11th

• Take a Native Plant Tour at noon at Thacher Park.
• There’s a Kids’ Puppet Show from The Puppet People at Freedom Park in Scotia at 7 pm.
• Running the River is playing at 7 pm at Clifton Common Park.
• Alex Torres and His Latin Orchestra are playing at Music Haven at Schenectady’s Central Park at 7 pm.