For many of us, picture books are what first sparked a lifelong joy for reading and crafting stories. 

     In this bilingual workshop, you’ll revisit our favorite children's books through the eyes of a writer and illustrator, getting to the bottom of what makes some books so memorable.

     Then you’ll develop and write our own books: mapping out characters, plot and narration. You’ll consider pacing, illustrations, and what special details we can add to keep readers coming back again and again.

     Part of the Uptown Stories workshops that will spark young writers' imaginations held online using Zoom. For ages 7 to 12. Register here.

     $600 or pay what you can. Monday afternoons from 3:30 to 5:30. Through December 7.

     Spur your child’s creativity with this play-making workshop that explores the archetype of the Trickster in folk tales and poems from around the world, and the expression of the trickster in the guise of nature and animals.

     Children will become Play Makers, collaborating to create a culminating performance in mid-December. The focus of this workshop will be the process of theater creation rather  performance, although the children will create performances to share.

     Participants  will also participate in the process to create their own costumes, props, and backdrops to use in the sessions hosted by Pied Piper.

     For children ages 5 to 13. The workshop will be conducted over Zoom beginning with ensemble building and drama games.

     $300. Classes on Monday through Thursday afternoons from 4 to 5:15 and Sunday afternoons from 3:30 to 6. Performance on Sunday, December 13, at time to be announced.

     If you can’t wait to turn the page, the writer has succeeded in telling you a great story.

     What does it take to develop characters, settings, dialogue, and plot elements that have you on the edge of your seat? This workshop answers those questions and more.

     You’ll breakdown the parts of fiction writing each week and test out what you’ve learned with some on-the-spot writing.

     Part of the Uptown Stories workshops that will spark young writers' imaginations held online using Zoom. For ages 10 to 12. Register here.

     $600 or pay what you can. Monday evenings from 4:30 to 3:30. Through December 7.

     Musical Storytimes are short children’s tales sung by the delightful Stephanie Bell with accompaniment by the tuneful Jonathan Bell and co-starring the handsome Walter Bell. 

     A different story is featured every week.

November 3 I've Been Workin' on the Railroad
November 10 This Land is Your Land
November 17  Inch by Inch
November 24 Over the River & Through the Woods

     Free. Tuesday mornings at 10 on Inwood Art Works’ social media feeds.

     Relax with art at home when the historic house museums of New York host a weekly series online.

     Suncatchers, textile-making, chemistry in art, and more are the projects.

October 13 Sew Your Own Pouch with Old Stone House
October 20 Suncatcher Design with Morris Jumel Mansion
October 27 Paper Marbling with Lewis Latimer House Museum

November 10 Cardboard Loom Weaving with Wyckoff House Museum

November 17 Traveling Kitchen with Dyckman Farmhouse Museum
November 24 Make Your Own Board Game with Historic Richmond 

     Free. Tuesday afternoons at 4 through November through the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum’s website.

     The difference between a good writer and a great writer is the willingness to step outside your comfort zone. This workshop will push you toward greatness.

     Regardless of your preferred writing genre— the workshop welcomes them all—the group gathers with two goals in mind: improving your own writing and supporting each other.

    In short, we’re here to work.

     Part of the Uptown Stories workshops that will spark young writers' imaginations held online using Zoom. For ages 13 to 17. Register here.

     $600 or pay what you can. Tuesday evenings from 5:30 to 7:30. Through December 1.

      City College continues its after-school program for high school students looking to improve ther math and science skills.

     Part of the STEM Institute, it was launched specifically to meet the needs of students who either live or attend school in Upper Manhattan.

     The program offers sessions Tuesdays through Fridays and on Saturdays too.

     Find out more here.

     Learn the basics of dance or improve your skills with classes in ballet/ tap and modern.

     The Dance Project of Washington Heights opens its autumn schedule for students every day of the week. The classes are taught online during the pandemic from the group’s Lower WaHi studio.

     Prices and times vary depending on the class. For more information click here.

     A line of poetry is more than words in a row on a page.

     It’s a certain number of words, drawn in a certain way that invites the reader to see something original in the ordinary, similar in a way to how an artist uses line to make a picture that lets you see the subject in a new way.

     The workshop will use surreal pictures to encourage your own surreal connections that lead you to a poetic line of thinking. Poetry asks us to take risks as readers and writers. It’s the most daring form of writing. Lines represent boundaries, and in poetry we find them and cross them.

    Part of the Uptown Stories workshops that will spark young writers' imaginations held online using Zoom. For ages 10 to 14. Register here.

     $600 or pay what you can. Wednesday afternoon from 4 to 6. Through December 2.

     Get ready to run faster and jump higher, one frame at a time.

     The POW! class takes your stories and transforms them into comics. You’ll take an ordinary day (or the wildest story you can imagine) and use comic-book language, illustration, and frames to share with everyone the next super-adventure.

     Part of the Uptown Stories workshops that will spark young writers' imaginations held online using Zoom. For ages 10 to 14. Register here.

     $600 or pay what you can. Wednesday afternoons from 4:20 to 5:50. Through December 16.

     Girls, it's time.

     Time to be smart, time to be creative, time to let your voice be heard!

     Every girl has a story that she needs to shout from the mountain tops—that includes you. Come write, discuss, and revel in what you love, in what inspires you, and discover how you're going to change in the world.

     During this girls-only writing-intensive workshop, you'll get energized by a few lady rebels from history, and be surrounded by girls who are ready to take on the world, just like you.

     Any and all kinds of writing are welcome, from real-life to poems to fiction. You just need to bring the unique girl you are. All awesome girls (and those who self-identify as a girl) need to apply soon because space is limited, unlike your potential.

     Part of the Uptown Stories workshops that will spark young writers' imaginations held online using Zoom. For ages 11 to 15. Register here.

     $600 or pay what you can. Wednesday afternoons from 4:30 to 6:30. Through December 2.

     Burn some calories before you burn through that meal.

     Get going for Manhattan’s only official turkey trot. You can run or walk!

     All proceeds will benefit a local charity. Shirts will be sold at the event (not included in ticket price).

     Sposored by the Indian Road Café. Register here.

     $15.38 per runner (free to cheer). Thanksgiving morning at 8 at the café in Inwood on Indian Road at 218th street.

    Tired of being inside? Do you want to be wild and break out of the limitations that are always being set?

     Poetry is the answer. Put on your mask, meet in the P.S. 187 school yard and go on a poet's adventure.

     Poetry is a way of seeing things outside the boxes they are always being put in. You’ll be rejuvenated by the nature of Fort Tryon Park and emboldened by a resilient neighborhood. You’ll explore the wilds of language out in the world (safely!), allowing a stream of poetry to flow from the river of possibility. 

     Part of the Uptown Stories workshops that will spark young writers' imaginations. For ages 10 to 14. Register here.

     $600 or pay what you can. Thursday afternoons from 3 to 5. Through December 3.

     The Song of Solomon is a collection of love poems spoken alternately by a man and a woman, celebrate the joy and goodness of human love between the sexes and the sense of inner fulfillment and harmony with God’s creation. Uptown Stories sponsors an online marathon reading of the story.

     Featuring Brit Bennett, Edwidge Danticat, Hilton Als, Jacqueline Woodson, Jason Reynolds, Jennifer Egan, Jesmyn Ward, Lorrie Moore, Louise Erdrich, Margaret Atwood, Ocean Vuong, Robin Coste Lewis, Tayari Jones, Tommy Orange, Yaa Gyasi.

     Register here using code wsow2020.

     Free: use code wsow2020 at registration. Friday night from 8 to 11. Also on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 2.

     It's time for you to be the master of your universe!

     Comes explore worlds of your own creation, inhabited by beings that only you can imagine. Whether you prefer fantasy, science fiction, magical realism, or dystopia, you’ll work as a team to bring your ideas to life.

     Map out stories rich in symbolism, unleash your hidden storytelling skills, and be each other’s sounding boards along the way. If you've ever dreamed of another world, this is the workshop where you can make it happen.

     Part of the Uptown Stories workshops that will spark young writers' imaginations held online using Zoom. For ages 7 to 13. Register here.

     $600 or pay what you can. Saturday mornings from 10 to noon. Through December 12.

     Pow!

     Boom!

     Smash!

     Your stories and illustrations are the next must-read issue. This workshop goes deeper into the art of  making comic books, so you can expand upon adventures and epic stories in progress or start a whole new storyline.

     You'll build on the skills you learned in the intro class.

     Part of the Uptown Stories workshops that will spark young writers' imaginations held online using Zoom. For ages 10 to 14. Register here.

     $600 or pay what you can. Saturday afternoons from 2 to 3:30. Through December 19.

     Come share your ideas and help improve Fort Tryon Park.

     Join new Fort Tryon Park Trust board member and avid dog run user, Shah Ally, for a morning of stewardship at Sir William’s Dog Run.

     Wear sturdy shoes and your face mask, and take a filled water bottle to care for this key feature of Manhattan’s largest dog run.
     Come help out and get some Fort Tryon Park Trust swag for your pups. Volunteers 18 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

     Save your spot (and help ensure there are enough goodies) sane an email to info@forttryonparktrust.org.

     Sunday morning from 9 to 11:30 at Sir William’s Dog Run.

     With kids at home all the time, Patience and Fortitude will get parents only so far!

     The New York Public Library offers ways to keep your family occupied and engaged no matter their age.

     Pre-school: Ideas for playing at home, from music shakers to no-mess finger painting.

     Pre-teens: A range of chapter books that meet the requirement for 30-minute independing reading.

     High school: Books and videos chosen for teens who want more than just an assignment to fulfill.

     The full list of resources is here.

     The NYPL offers free online homework help from one-on-one tutors, daily from 2 to 11 p.m. through a partnership with Brainfuse.
     Available in English and Spanish, for early elementary through high school students, in core subject areas. Explore more from the Library's academic resources 24/7, including its wide array of online learning aids for all ages and teaching resources for educators.

     Join Cassie Xu, Director of the Office of Education and Outreach at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, as she builds the simple paper diorama of the Thwaites Glacier.

     Get your colored pencils, scissors, and tape or glue ready and follow along. Share your final creation with on social media (#LDEOtoGO) or email it to events@ldeo.columbia.edu.

     Download the PDFs of the diorama in color or in black and white to print at home. 

     So you’re stuck doing chares at home when you’d rather be playing in the park.

     How about a little experiment?

     Turn an egg into a rubber ball … make nectar for hummingbirds … maybe figure out how focus binoculars.

     They’re all here, courtesy of the Greenbelt Conservancy, our friends in Staten Island who take care of the parks and open spaces on Richmond.

     Here’s a way to make your next outing with the kids a little different.

     Print out a family scavenger hunt booklet and take a walk through Fort Tryon Park’s historic estate remnants.

     Find, draw, and map natural marvels and constructed treasures while you explore the path network that leads from Billings Lawn to the Palisades Overlook.

     The booklet is provided by the Fort Tryon Park Trust.

     Need something new for the kids to do?

     The Hispanic Society of America offers several coloring pages, each based on one of the most famous paintings in the museum’s collection. Recognize the Duchess of Alba? Download the pdf below.

      And here’s a recap of the Society’s summer camp for kids.

      For adults, the society has posted several lectures here.

¿Necesita algo nuevo para que hagan los niños?
      La Hispanic Society of America ofrece varias páginas para colorear, cada una basada en una de las pinturas más famosas de la colección del museo. ¿Reconoces a la duquesa de Alba? Descargue el pdf a continuación.
       Para los adultos, la sociedad ha publicado varias conferencias aquí.

     Have someone at home who needs a bigger stage?

     The Pied Piper Children’s Theatre offers a 35-minute musical theater introductory class to take kids through a typical vocal warm-up, stretches, dance warm-up, and even some funny tongue twisters and other facial and speech exercises. The troupe’s artistic director, Colleen Hawks-Pierce, leads, with guest appearances by Uptown teens.

     Free. Watch it here.

     With miles of trails and the best vistas in Manhattan, Uptown is lucky to have amazing parks. Getting out in one can help you relax and excercise at the same time.

     Just be sure to follow these common-sense guidelines:

• Go out in small groups no bigger than three, making sure that everyone remains at least 6 feet from each other at all times. 
• If you go out at night, stay near the street, and go with a friend — and maintain that distance of at least 6 feet. 
• Bike or stroll  on the Greenway along the Hudson or Harlem Rivers. 
• Do not engage in team sports or other group games. 
• Use playgrounds at your own risk. Although playground bathrooms remain open and are disinfected daily, the playground equipment is not disinfected. Avoid using playground equipment, but you do, take wipes to sanitize anything you or your child may touch and play on equipment only if you can remain at least 6 feet apart from anyone not in your household.

     The Washington Heights Music Fest in collaboration with Washington Heights Artists’ Movement hosts a monthly open mic for artists, poets, singers, writers and performers. Refreshments will be provided.

     All ages are welcome, so the acts should be appropriate for everyone. Hosted by Lethy Liriano.

     Friday evening, December 4, starting at 6 on the Zoom page of Word Up Community Book Shop in Lower WaHi on Amsterdam Avenue at 165th Street. On the first Friday of the month.

     When Covid-19 hit, Pied Piper was only two weeks away from opening night of its spring musical, Once Upon a Mattress. 

     The kids had been rehearsing for months, so you can imagine the devastation when all their performances had to be cancelled. To console them and to keep their spirits up, the troupe continued to rehearse on Zoom and then recorded their parts at home—editing all the video into a virtual version of the show that the kids could share and be proud of. 

     The final version debuts online Saturday, December 5, at a time Pied Piper will announce in the autumn.

     After having to cancel the Spring Gala, Pied Piper Children’s Theatre is pleased to announce its (virtual) gala.

     This year it will happen over two weekends and include games, a silent auction, raffle, and the premiere of our virtual version of Once Upon a Mattress.

     $28.12; families $54.12. Saturday nights, December 5 and 12, at 8 online.

    Do some digging, then get in some riding with your BMX buds.

      Meet up for a day of work and play in the woods and learn what it takes to build, maintain, and ride the most progressive urban bike park in America, with the help of the New York City Mountain Bike Association.

     There will be light trail maintenance tasks for all ages in the morning. Every volunteer receives a free 20-minute clinic and, in the afternoon, a guided ride throughout the trails from 12:30 to 3. Even better, bikes and helmets are provided, so you don’t need your own.  

     Uptown is the home of the city's first mountain biking course, 3 miles of trails of varying difficulty and a free-ride trail that includes drops, steeps, and berms. The park also features a dirt jump park and pump track, making it a good place to develop different skills at all levels.

     Updates on trail work posted are on the New York chapter’s web site.

     Free. Saturday, December 12, from 10 to 3 in Fort George at the BMX trailhead in Highbridge Park, on Fort George Avenue, just northwest of the Buxzek Ballfield. Monthly on the second Saturday.

     Mark the holiday season in Uptown’s private park with Christmas carols and Hanukah songs.

     The Riverside-Inwood Neighborhood Garden ordinarily lights its Christmas tree and menorah with a countdown, snacks, and hot cocoa. 

     This year, crowding into the garden and singing are unsafe, but you can enjoy the lights from a short distance.  

      Take a thermos of your favorite winter refreshment.      

      Free. Saturday afternoon, December 12, at 4:30 at the RING garden in Inwood at the confluence of Broadway, Riverside Drive, and Dyckman Street.

     It.

     Is.

     On.

      Saturday Write Live is the biggest fundraising party of the year (with just a bit of healthy competition thrown in). Uptown Stories is the sponsor and beneficiary.
     Hosted by Jane LeCroy and Kate Reuther, the adults will be taking over the Uptown Stories Zoom rooms. Wordplay and drawing with the Uptown Stories family … what could be better?

     Adults only.

     $52.80. Saturday night, December 12, from 7 to 10 online.

     Celebrate Chanukah with family and friends old and new. A special table will be set up for Russian speakers.

     Free. Wednesday, December 23, at the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood in Fort George at 54 Nagle Avenue.

     Which side of the ledger are you on?

     Fans of Santa will find out on Christmas morning. and you can watch him as he crosses the Atlantic, visits homes in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, New England, and the Hudson River Valley before descending on our neck of the woods.

     The North American Aerospace Defense Command will share live updates here.

     The autumn performance from Pied Piper’s merry band of troupers was Robin Hood.

     Uptown kids take all the roles in the timeless tale of taking from the rich and giving to the poor.

     The play takes the virtual stage for opening night in February, with streaming details to follow.

     The annual Drums Along the Hudson began in 2002 as a traditional Pow Wow to celebrate Native American heritage and culture, and also to commemorate the Lenape people who first inhabited Inwood Hill Park, or Shorakapok (“edge of the water”).

     The event features dancers and drummers from around the world, combining Native American heritage, culture and art with the diversity of New York City. Activities include a Tree of Peace planting, international cuisine, Native American storytelling, a Pow Wow and crafts.
     The event has attracted a growing audience, numbering from 400 in the first year to over 8,000 in recent years.
     Free. A Sunday in June in Inwood Hill Park at Indian Road and 218th Street.

    The Medieval Festival is the most famous event in the Heights, drawing tens of thousands of visitors to the neighborhood.

     Lords, ladies, knights and commoners bring to life the customs and spirit of the middle ages, transforming a slice of Upper Manhattan into a medieval market town decorated with bright banners and processional flags. Visitors are greeted by period music, dance, magic, and minstrels, as well as jugglers and jesters. The day concludes with a joust among four knights on horseback.

     Free. A Sunday in late September or early October in Fort Tryon Park.