Long Island Kids' Activities April 28 and 29: Spring Festivals, Arbor Day Celebrations, and Gustafer Yellowgold

4/26/12 - By Dara Stewart

(Image courtesy of Cinema Arts Centre.)

Long Island is celebrating Spring and Arbor Day this weekend (let's hope the weather holds up...). Heckscher Park will be holding its Spring Festival, there's a Spring Fair at the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery, and Stony Brook is having a Spring Appreciation Day. The Planting Fields Arboretum is having an Arbor Day Family Festival, and Old Westbury Gardens and Bates House in Setauket are also celebrating Arbor Day. Also, Gustafer Yellowgold will be at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington. Have a great weekend!

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Saturday

Spring Fair
Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery & Aquarium
10:00am
Free with admission
Join the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery & Aquarium for a day, games, refreshments, and Tim Fital's Sumpwamp Creek Band's live nautical music! Children under 12 can fish for trout in our Tidal Raceway with all gear provided. Local environmental and conservation groups will also be present.

Spring Appreciation Day!
Stony Brook Village Center
Free admission
Petting zoo, horse-drawn carriage rides, Three Village schools K-12 art show, sales, free demos, free samples, and more! Enjoy the day in Stony Brook Village—7 restaurants, 35 stores: It's all here...

Saturday and Sunday

Heckscher State Park Spring Festival
Heckscher State Park
East Islip
11:00am
Free
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary invites you to join them at the annual Heckscher Spring Festival at Heckscher State Park in East Islip. Many exciting activities have been planned to make this a fulfilling and enjoyable weekend. Be sure to visit the Coast Guard display and have fun with “Coastie the Safety Boat” and “PDF Panda” as they interact and teach boating and water safety to kids of all ages. The festivities kick off at 11AM and will continue through 4PM on both days. The festival will be filled with children's events, environmental displays and presentations, animals, arts and crafts, and more.

Arbor Day Family Festival
Planting Fields Arboretum
Oyster Bay
10am–5pm
$20 per car
Planting Fields Arboretum has a fun-filled weekend planned for the celebration of Arbor Day. Families will enjoy crafts, face painting, a petting zoo, live music from Peat Moss and the Fertilizers and Strummin’ and Drummin’, a special performance by Muttville Canine Comedy Show, tree seedling giveaways, and very special guest Smokey the Bear! Bring a canned food item to support the Interfaith Nutrition Network to receive 10% off at the Planting Fields Gift Shop. For more information click here or call 516-922-8678.

Sunday

March for Babies (walk-a-thon)
Eisenhower Park, East Meadow
8:00 AM Registration; 9:00 AM Walk Start
More than 30,000 babies are born premature in New York each year; more than 4,000 of those babies are born right here on Long Island. The money you raise supports programs in your community that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies. March for Babies is a fun, family-oriented event that kicks off with a 3- or 6-mile walk inside the park. Local sponsors provide snacks and drinks, as well as other "freebies." Register and raise money easily and securely online today at marchforbabies.com or call 516-496-2100 for more information!

Gustafer Yellowgold's Year in the Day
Cinema Arts Centre
Huntington
12:00pm - 1:00pm
$12           
That little guy from the Sun will return to Long Island in April on the national tour of his all-new, out-of-this-world, multimedia show, featuring songs and videos from the brand-new DVD, Gustafer Yellowgold’s Year in the Day, along with plenty of Gustafer “fan favorites.” Here, we find former Sun resident Gustafer Yellowgold experiencing his unique take on a year's worth of Earth holidays, both classic and unusual. New Year's Day, Groundhog Day, Pancake Day/Fat Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day and many more receive the one-of-a-kind Gustafer blend of blissful pop-music, lyrical poignancy, and cartoon absurdity.

A Tree-Mendous Celebration!
Old Westbury Gardens

10am–3pm

Free with admission

Old Westbury Gardens is hosting a fun-filled day celebrating one of Earth's greatest treasures, the tree. Families can participate in both drop-in craft activities from 10am to 3pm and a 2pm family nature walk to understand the basics of tree biology and how trees influence our everyday lives. From 10am to 11am families are encouraged to participate in the Crazy Crayons Initiative, which will turn old crayons into new ones, as more than 61,000 pounds of crayons annually fill our landfills. Arrive early and receive one free admission when you donate a box of used Crayola or American-brand crayons. Call 516-333-0048 for more information.

Tree Party
Bates House at Frank Melville Memorial Park
Setauket

11am–3pm

Free

The Four Harbors Audubon Society is celebrating Arbor Day with a family-friendly Tree Party.
Fun children’s activities, live forest animals from Sweetbriar Nature Center, refreshments, and even a free tree to take home are all on the agenda for the celebration! Click here for parking information and event details.