KidsOutAndAbout Weekly Newsletter |
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Fri, Jun 12: Homeschool Art Education Program *NEW* Creature Creation Series
Sat, Jun 13: Warp & Weft: Kids Loom Weaving - Mabee Farm Historic Site Sat, Jun 13: 2026 Summer Craft Fair
Sat, Jun 13: Say It Loud! BIPOC Pride Celebration - In Our Own Voices
Wed, Jun 17: Saratoga Outdoor Markets at High Rock Park
Fri, Jun 19: Hamilton Hill Arts Center's 26th Annual Juneteenth Celebration!
Sat, Jun 20: Summer Craft Fair! - Walker's Farm, Home, &
Tack
Sat, Jun 20: Strawberry Festival at the Farmers Market in Menands
Sun, Jun 21: Big Bounce America 2026 at Ellms
Family Farm
Sun, Jun 28: 2026 Saratoga Pride Festival
Fri, Jul 3: America’s 250th Birthday
Celebration — Presented by Schenectady County
Sat, Jul 4: Summer Hike-a-thon Scavenger Hunt |
Dear KidsOutAndAbout readers: When I was homeschooling Madison and Ella, one of my favorite sanity-saving tools was the Theme of the Week. If the theme was "Birds," then yes, we'd go on a bird walk. But we'd also read my favorite-ever children's book, talk about the physics of flying and of colors, and probably also do some math and logic involving eggs and
baskets. The theme made ordinary learning feel like an adventure, but more important, it gave us a focusing tool: It helped the girls connect with what they were seeing and doing, and it helped me feel that we weren’t wandering randomly through our days. Summer planning can benefit from that same kind of gentle structure. Last week, I wrote about how summer is not supposed to be a guilt-inducing race to cram in every concert, splash pad, festival, hike,
camp, road trip, library program, ice cream stand, and sunset before the school buses roll again. Trying to grab everything is a good way to miss the point; instead, to plan the summer without overstuffing it, we need to consider the kinds of experiences that make our family feel more awake, connected, and alive. The five summer lenses I keep coming back to are: music, motion, making,
nature, and food. Music helps kids hear the world differently and live what they love. Motion lets bodies teach what words cannot. Making reminds us that we can bring something new into the universe. Nature offers perspective and wonder. And food connects us to place, culture, and each other. Over the next
few weeks, I’ll address these one at a time—not as assignments, but as invitations. Even as the days fly by, a summer seen through some useful lenses can still be lazy, loose, spontaneous, and wonderfully imperfect.
—Debra Ross, publisher of KidsOutAndAbout.com, co-author of The Eclipse Effect: How to Seize Extraordinary Moments to Build Strong
Communities
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KidsOutAndAbout.com: Discover more. Do more. Connect more. If you like my publisher's column, you can easily scroll through past columns in the "Notes from Deb" section of our site. |
Please click through to our 2026 survey to vote for your top 3 places to take kids... it will be used to compile our 2026 Top 20 Places to Take Kids in the Capital Region. Voting is live through June 20; believe me, winning a place on the Top 20 list matters to the people
who create amazing family-friendly experiences. Take 3 minutes to choose your favorites as your way of saying thank you... and use the list to build your summer bucket list at the same time! |
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Join us for the Summer Craft Fair at the historic Shaker Heritage Society! Shop handcrafted goods from more than 65 regional artisans, enjoy live music, craft demonstrations, a petting zoo, sheep shearing, and delicious local treats at America’s first Shaker settlement. Brook’s BBQ will be onsite Sunday, with online preorders available. The fair runs Saturday from 10am–4pm and Sunday from 10am–3pm. Admission is a suggested donation of $5 and supports vital restoration projects and programs at the site. Come celebrate local creativity and community with us!
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Summer is a great time to try a class at The Music Studio, the celebrated music school that has offered uniquely comprehensive music education for children for almost 50 years. The Music Studio's school-year Foundation Program teaches children the fundamentals of music, as well as the rewards of steady effort and achievement and the joy of music making. (Fall enrollment is open now.) But if you'd like to see what class is like before committing to a year-long course, try a summer class first! These four-session classes for children ages 2–7 provide a perfect balance of active fun and satisfying skill acquisition, taught by highly experienced faculty, and limited to just 8 students per class. Grab a spot for your child today at a Capital Region institution! Visit our website today to learn more about our summer programs!
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Say It Loud! BIPOC* Pride was built for us. For 20 unapologetic years, we've held space for LGBTQ+ Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to gather, celebrate, and access what we need to thrive. And you’re officially invited! The main celebration is on Saturday, June 13 from 12-5pm at Washington Park in Albany.
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Come experience Hicks Orchard and Slyboro Ciderhouse on a warm summer Friday night! Start your weekend off right by relaxing on our gorgeous deck, enjoying live music, delicious food, vintage board games & yard games and a picturesque atmosphere. We've curated a sampling of the top local offerings unique to our area so there's fun for everyone!
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The Pride Center of the Capital Region is excited to announce the 2026 Capital PRIDE Parade and Festival on Sunday June 14, 2026 in Albany's historic Washington Park featuring David Archuleta, the 2024 GLAAD Media Award winner for Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist. Capital Pride 2026 is Presented by Hannaford Supermarkets. Capital PRIDE and the Capital Pride Parade and Festival benefit the critical programs and services of the Pride Center of the Capital Region. Please join us in 2026 by marching in the Capital PRIDE Parade, Advertising your business in the Pride Guide, become a Festival Vendor, Becoming a Corporate Sponsor or enjoying the Capital PRIDE Festival!
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Come view the stars and planets in Landis' dark skies with members of the Albany Area Amateur Astronomers. A variety of telescopes will be set up for viewing the heavens, revealing nebulae, star clusters, galaxies, double stars, planets, and other celestial objects. Visit our website for more information and to register to be notified if skies will be too cloudy.
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Join us for the Battenkill Valley Pride Festival on Saturday, June 13, 2026, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Pompanuck Farm in Cambridge! Enjoy an afternoon of entertainment, local vendors, and community activities. This event is produced by the Battenkill Valley Pride Committee, a regional committee of Lower Adirondack Pride.
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Calling all aspiring weavers! This program introduces kids to the timeless craft of textiles. Sarah Boink, expert weaver of Sizz Handmade will join us for a hands-on day with live weaving, and exploration of wool, linen, and hemp. Participants will discover how weaving technology evolved from hand-powered tools and how creativity has always been essential to survival. We’ll explore all these materials and the historic tools used to process them. We’ll also weave our own bookmarks to take home.
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Click here to discover Birthday party locations in the Albany area. From Arcades to Ziplines our Big List will help you think outside the box and plan the party of your kids' dreams! KidsOutAndAbout has dozens of ideas!
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The KidsOutAndAbout annual guide to summer camps in the Albany area is back! You can search by date, age, or categories like day/overnight, sports, drama, music, theatre, arts & crafts, technology, robotics, horseback riding, preschool, & more. Our
guide puts summer fun right at your fingertips!
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Fruit picking is a great activity to do together as a family. It helps little ones understand where their food actually comes from, and it's a fun tradition to share every year right through the teens. Capital Region: Albany, Schenectady, Troy: Here's where
you can go for strawberry picking, cherry picking, blueberry picking, raspberry picking, peach picking, and other pick-your-own opportunities.
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Have a wonderful weekend!
Debra Ross
Publisher, KidsOutAndAbout.com
Mom of Madison and Ella |
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