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 Hub nights are canceled until April 20

     Get your teens involved in a program promoting health & wellness, education, employment readiness, and creativity.

     Once you’ve signed them up, your kids can attend Uptown Hub programs at the Y. For those 14–24 years old who live, work, or go to school in Washington Heights or Inwood.

     Not sure if it’s for your family? Visit during program hours to learn more, or to contact Karina with questions at kmunoz@ywashhts.org or (212) 569-6200, x239.

     Free. Monday through Thursday nights through June from 6 to 9 at the YM & YWHA in Fort George at 54 Nagle Avenue. As of March 13, the Hub remains open.

     Kids who want a taste of dancing on stage are invited to audition for The 12 Dancing Princesses. The summer performance by Pied Piper is adapted for stage and directed by Colleen Hawks-Pierce.

     Chilren ages 6 to 13 should have a dance prepared. You need to attend only one audition night.
     Monday night, April 6, from 5:30 to 8 at the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights & Inwood in Fort George at 54 Nagle Avenue.

The New York Public Library is closed until further notice

     Give your pre-schooler a chance to learn and play with neighborhood friends.

     Toddlers from 18 months to 3 years old and their parents or caregivers can enjoy interactive stories, action songs, fingerplays and spending time with other Uptown toddlers.

     Free. Wednesday mornings at 10:30 at the Fort Washington branch of the public library in Fort George on 179th Street at St. Nicholas Avenue.

The Mansion is closed until April 1; events are suspended until April 20

     The Morris-Jumel Manson marks the birthday of one of its great hostesses with free admssion all day.

     Eliza Jumel was born this day in 1775. She was also known as Eliza Burr, for her marrage to Aaron Burr; their divorce was finalized on the day of his death. Although she was born into poverty, a marriage to a wealthy merchant made her one of richest women in New York.

     Free. Thursday, April 2, at the Morris-Jumel Mansion in Lower WaHi in Morris Park on Jumel Terrace.

The New York Public Library is closed until further notice

     Pre-school kids and their parents or caregivers can enjoy interactive stories, action songs, fingerplays and spend time with other growing kids in the neighborhood at the branch library.

     This month, the children’s musican Ian Hayes leads the group with seasonal favorites.

     For children 3 to 5 years old.

     Free. Story time Friday morning at 10:30 at the Fort Washington branch of the public library in Fort George on 179th Street at St. Nicholas Avenue.

The show has been postponed

     Will the princess notice the pea?

     Find out in Pied Piper’s production of Once Upon a Matress, staged by Uptown kids. 

      $20; students and seniors, $10. Friday night at 7, Saturday at 3 and 7, and Sunday afternoon at 3 at the YM & YWHA in Fort George at 54 Nagle Avenue. Also on April 3–5.

The bookstore is closed until further notice

     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.

     $10. Friday evening, April 3, starting at 5:30 at the Word Up Community Book Shop in Lower WaHi on Amsterdam Avenue at 165th Street. On the first Friday of the month.

The Ivy League has canceled all spring sporting events

     The Bulldogs challenge the Lions when they make the trip from New Haven to Upper Manhattan.

     The three-game Ivy League homestand takes place over the weekend, starting with a double-header.

     Saturday, April 4, at 11:30 and 2:30, and Sunday afternoon, April 5, at 2 at the Baker Athletic Complex in Inwood on 214th Street.

The museum is closed

     Family tours bring the medieval world to life for kids and adults alike.

     Free with museum admission; kids 12 and under pay no admission. Saturday afternoon, April 4, at 1 at The Met Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park.

The museum is closed

     Family tours bring the medieval world alive for childs and adults alike.

     Free with museum admission; kids 12 and younger pay no admission. Saturday afternoon, April 4, at 1 at The Met Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park. Also on April 18, and Creating Colleges on May 2 and 16.

The Ivy League has canceled all spring sporting events

      The Lions host the Crimson in an Ivy League lacrosse matchup.

      Sunday morning, April 5, at 11 in Satow Stadium in the Baker Athletic Comples in Inwood on 214th Street.

     Does your child love books? Enjoy creative writing? Have an unlimited imagination?

     Uptown Stories offers workshops led by professional writers and master teachers. Students ages 8 to 16 learn the craft of writing, engage their imaginations and join an exciting, supportive community.

     Workshops meet for ten weeks and conclude with a celebratory reading open to family and friends. A list is here.

     Pay-what-you-can tuition. On various days and times at Our Saviour’s Atonement Lutheran Church in Hudson Heights on Bennett Avenue at 189th Street.

     Row New York’s Row Program is a nine-month-long adventure that teaches students in 7th through 12th grades to be dynamic rowers, entrepreneurs, and community members.

     The idea is to use the skills that rowing instills—discipline and teamwork—to build strength and confidence. The curriculum pairs rowing with an entrepreneurship program which will culminate in participants’ developing an actionable business plan, which they will present in a Shark Tank-style competition.

     Row New York will deliver a rigorous and engaging learning experience, both from a fitness as well as an academic perspective. It meets three times per week for a total of nine hours: two days of rowing and workshops/speakers (an hour and a half each), and one full day of entrepreneurship training (3 hours).

     The program resumed in September and meets three days a week through June. More information is available from Denise Aquino at daquino@rownewyork.org.

     Take your kids to a community book shop to hear their favorite stories read out loud by experienced, trained readers. Just like their teachers in the classroom, but with new faces and new friends.

     Free. Saturday mornings at 11 at the Word Up Community Book Shop/Librería Comunitaria, in Lower WaHi on Amsterdam Avenue at 165th Street.

     Want to make your own animated film?

     Dr. Rurik Nackerud will teach you the basics of animation using open source software suitable for Windows or Macs to create your very own animated video short. 

     Laptop provided. Appropriate for 3rd to 6th grade students.

     The event was postponed in March and will be rescheduled.

     Literacy Inc. holds its regular bilingual story time, with a crafts activity relating to the book. Co-sponsored by the New York Public Library.

     Free. On a Wednesday afternoon at 3 at the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum in Inwood on Broadway at 204th Street.

The international mountain biking organization suggests canceling trail repair days; we’re waiting for an announcement from its New York chapter

     For now, ride in very small groups and keep your distance. Stay alert, slow down, and communicate with each other from a distance about how to proceed. With gyms and rec centers closing, there may be new users on the trails.

    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, a 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.

     Free. Sunday, April 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 Sunday.

     Celebrate Earth Day by being a great park steward—giving back to the park by volunteering with the Friends Committee of the Fort Tryon Park Trust and NYC Parks at a Beautification Day.

     Plants, tools, and gloves will be provided. Wear long pants and sturdy shoes, and pack water and a snack.
     Volunteers under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Groups of more than five must register in advance by emailing info@forttryonparktrust.org by April 12.

     Free. Sunday, April 19, from 10 to 2 at the Heature Garden in Fort Tryon Park, through the entrance at Margaret Corbin Circle in Hudson Heights.

     Join your neighbors for the monthly day of fitness, health and fun in the park for the whole family to enjoy.

     Presented by the Park in collaboration with Columbia/New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

     Free. Saturday morning, April 19, at 11 in the Highbridge Recreation Center in Lower WaHi on Amsterdam Avenue near 173rd Street. Monthly on the third Saturday.

The Ivy League has canceled
all spring sporting events

     Columbia’s lacrosse team closes out the regular season with an intra-league match hosting Brown. It’s senior day and it’s alumnae day too.

     Saturday, April 25, at noon in Satow Stadium at the Baker Athletic Complex in Inwood on 214th Street.

The Ivy League has canceled
all spring sporting events

     The boys of summer close their regular season this spring weekend.

     Penn arrives in town to play Columbia in a three-game stand, starting with a double-header.

     Friday afternoon, May 1, at 2, and Saturday, May 2, at 11:30 and 2:30 at the Baker Athletic Complex in Inwood on 214th Street.

     Life’s not always a whirl of fun for The Twelve Dancing Princesses.

     Staged by Uptown kids, the play is presented by the Pied Piper Children’s Theatre and is adapted for the stage and directed by
Colleen Hawks-Pierce.

           $20; students and seniors, $10. Saturday, May 9, at 3 and 7, and Sunday afternoon, May 10, at 3 at the YM & YWHA in Fort George at 54 Nagle Avenue. Also on May 16 and 17.
 

     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.

     Get off the island and on the water!

     Row New York offers a great way for kids with less than a year of rowing experience to sharpen their skills and build their fitness.

     This camp is beginner-friendly. Rowers will receive individual attention in a low-pressure environment that will aim to turn weaknesses into strengths.

     Rowers ages 12–18 will learn in wide, stable barges before graduating into racing shells, and they will build strength and stamina by cross-training, doing rowing drills, and rowing in steady-state and race-pace.

     $800 for one week, $1,500 for both weeks. Monday through Friday mornings, June 15 through 26, from 9 to noon at the Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse on the Harlem River in Swindler’s Cove.

Opening night has been postponed

     Experienced rowers can build on their abilities and compete in their first competition.

     Row New York’s extended summer camp is geared for those with over a year of rowing experience to get faster and stronger. Skills in this camp range from new varsity (over one year of experience) to advanced varsity (seven years’ experience).

     This camp is limited to grades 9–12.

     Racing is on the schedule for those who want to compete. Lineups are up to each coach’s discretion and based on rowers’ attendance, competency, and competitiveness. Races, with an extra fee, are The Philly Youth Regatta (Philadelphia) and Overpeck Summer Sprints (in Leonia).

     $3,600. Monday through Friday mornings, June 29 through August 14, from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse on the Harlem River in Swinder’s Cove.

     Why spend the summer on land when you’re surrounded by water?

     These Row New York’s camps are perfect for complete beginners and novices, with their focus on the fundamentals of the sport and build a foundation for rowing in the future.

     Rowers ages 12–18 will learn everything including the stroke, parts of the boat, rowing terms, safety procedures, and proper equipment handling and they will learn in wide, stable barges before graduating to racing shells. Rowers will build strength and stamina by cross-training, doing rowing drills, and rowing in steady-state and race-pace.

     $2,000. Monday through Friday mornings, July 6 through 24, from 9 to noon at the Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse on the Harlem River in Swindler’s Cove. Also from July 27 through August 14.

     City Sail is a week-long sailing summer camp for kids to escape the heat and noise of the city and enjoy the Hudson River while sailing on it. The camp is operated by Hudson River Community Sailing.

     Students learn new skills, make friends, build sailing skills, and have fun on the water. Students work in small groups no larger than five per boat.

     For kids in 5th through 10th grades (9–16 years old).  No boating or swimming experience is required.

     Participants may sign up for one or more of the four weekly sessions.

     $506 per week through February 15; then $595 per week (additional weeks, $550). Mondays through Fridays, July 20 through August 14, at the Dyckman Street Marina in Inwood.

     Columbia Athletics hosts Little Lions Camp, a kid-centered, fun-based day camp that keeps kids physically and creatively active.

     Programming features an ever changing combination of classic PE games, backyard favorites, sports, arts and crafts, and special surprises to keep kids happy, active, and engaged.

     A highly trained, eclectic staff includes physical education teachers, athletes, camp veterans, creative types and child care specialists who ensures that games are always changing and that counselors can tailor programming to fit children’s needs and likes. Registration required.

     Two sessions: Mondays through Fridays, August 3 through 7 and 10 through 14 at the Baker Athletic Complex on 218th Street in Inwood.

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 from 11:30 to 6 in Fort Tryon Park.