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Not every summer day is perfect on Long Island’s East End. In fact, there are those rainy days in July and August when Mother Nature just refuses to cooperate.
When those moments occur, parents have to get more creative in minding the little ones. The good news is that as the Hamptons and North Fork have become more year-round destinations, entertainment options for children have grown.
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Independently minded almost from our inception, we Long Islanders have come to appreciate the month of July. After a lengthy winter and a dreary spring, it’s an annual call to celebrate all we cherish about our country and our Island.
And yes, we will celebrate this year, with a thank-you to the 2019 calendar, which placed July 4 near the end of the work week. With school out and the holiday on a Thursday, we have the benefit of an extra-long Fourth of July weekend. That gives us plenty of time for fireworks, barbecues, beach days, and parades. What a great way to usher in a month chock full of family fun.
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Do you ever fantasize about living in a perpetual state of June?
Think about it: In what other month on Long Island are the flowers blooming so brightly; is the sky a more colorful blue; are the temperatures quite so, temperate?
June on Long Island is a month of transition—from spring to summer, from the end of the school year to the beginning of vacation time. But it also a month of remarkable possibilities, 30 days to celebrate all we love about life on our overcrowded, traffic-strewn stretch of real estate.
At the start of the month, a mere four weeks remain in the school year. That’s still plenty of time to cherish dad, enjoy a seasonal festival, tap into your inner STEM self, or even join in the celebration of our most celebrated literary celebrity. Whatever your preference, there’s plenty to keep you and your kids engaged until the school year concludes.
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Short on syllables, long on possibilities.
That would seem to the story of May on Long Island, would it not? Though only three letters, May offers 31 days of family adventures, as outdoor activity becomes a reality and kids can see the end of the school year on the horizon.
So what makes May so appealing, notwithstanding the sunshine, of course?
Well, there’s nature, as in the Greenport Cherry Blossom Festival in the North Fork harbor community. There's the outdoors at state park celebrations across the Island. Add in a touch of multiculturalism and a spring festival or two and you see why we at Mommy Poppins greet this month with such enthusiasm.
This year too, on the final day of the month Long Island begins a celebration of the 200th birthday of one of its most esteemed citizens — Walt Whitman, the celebrated poet, journalist, and humanitarian.
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Congratulations. You’re made it through March and all of the madness of winter. April begins our journey into spring and all of its majesty.
We on Long Island are blessed with four distinct seasons, and April, of course, begins the transition to warmer weather and outdoor activities. By the end of April's 30 days we will have experienced Easter Sunday, Passover, the return of leaves to our trees, and even baseball played on our Little League fields. (Reminder to tune up your lawn mower; by the end of the month you are sure to need it.)
We at Mommy Poppins are here to assist you in your march toward April. We’ve got the lowdown on Easter Bunny brunches and egg hunts, spring break fun, seasonal festivals, even the start of carnival season. When you see our lineup of special events, you'll hardly even remember we just exited the winter.
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Few regions celebrate their Irish heritage better than Long Island. After a two-year pandemic pause, St. Patrick's Day parades are gearing up to step off this March with grand fanfare.
From Rockville Centre to Montauk, from the first weekend of March till the last, Main Streets across the Island come alive with pipers, parade marchers, traditional food, music, dance, and more. Huntington itself swells with visitors on the second Sunday of March when one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day gatherings in New York State kicks off in the village downtown. That Huntington parade is dwarfed perhaps only by New York’s City’s celebration (NEEDS UPDATE), which this year is Thursday, March 17.
Most of these events are low cost or FREE, ideal for families, and appropriate for first-generation Irish-Americans or those who are just Irish for a day.
Read on for our favorites from among the parades that will take place in Patrick’s honor this month on the Island. Click through for details, including parade routes, dates, times, and more. As always see our Long Island Events Calendar and March GoList for the best in family entertainment all month long.
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It’s expensive to expand a ski resort. The folks at Hunter Mountain invested $9 million to construct an 80-acre addition to New York’s second most-visited ski destination.
Did they get their money’s worth without compromising all that made Hunter one of the top ski destinations for families near New York City?
After visiting the now 320-acre Catskills resort that is 2½ hours north of the city, one is tempted to say, yes.
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Here on Long Island, kids who play outside also can learn outside. A number of venues in Nassau and Suffolk counties provide children with the opportunity to experience nature in an educational environment unrestrained by classroom doors.
For the most part developed by landscape architects, these nature-friendly learning areas encourage the use of the senses to help children develop a love of the outdoors. Access is generally FREE, but check websites to ensure that regular schedules are not interrupted by special programs.
