Getting wild
The Seneca Park Zoo is hosting Afternoon ZooCamps on select Wednesdays this spring, including April 28 and May 19. Camps provide children, ages 5 to 9, with the opportunity to learn about animals and participate in related crafts and activities.
“Programs like our Afternoon ZooCamps … allow us to share our knowledge of and passion for wildlife and wild places with kids in the community in a fun and practical way,” says Donato DiRenzo, communications coordinator at the zoo. “Connecting with kids at a young age can help to foster and grow their love and respect for wildlife, conservation, and the world around us, and that will always be one of our primary goals here at the zoo.” It’s also a unique opportunity and alternative for kids who have been spending way too many hours in a virtual classroom.
The April session will focus on animals who hunt for their food and how the animals evolved over time to find food and hunt more easily. Students in the May session will learn about our local habitats and the animals that occupy them.
Camp sizes have been reduced in response to COVID-19 so campers can be seated with a safe distance between them. Following state and local guidelines, masks will be worn at all times except when eating or drinking. Classrooms and surfaces will be disinfected several times per day.
What do campers say is their favorite part of Afternoon ZooCamps? Meeting animals in-person, according to DiRenzo, followed closely by crafts and projects.
Setting the stage
For the budding young performer, OFC Creations offers a variety of opportunities for theatre education and stage time. The organization, which produces professional plays and musicals, hosts community events, and organizes the largest theatre summer camp in upstate New York, opened a new performing arts center in Brighton last year.
Despite the pandemic, July and August 2020 saw 500 campers performing in fifteen summer camp musical productions, and the fall and winter programs showed similar, heavy interest.
This year, summer camp at Kodak Center and OFC Creations Theatre Center resumes for three age groups: 4 to 7, 7 to 11, and 12 to 18. Students can choose which program they’d like to participate in, including Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast Jr., and more.
In an effort to safeguard its performers, executive director Eric Vaughn Johnson says, “students are separated into smaller cast sizes, all students wear cloth face masks, and they also wear an additional face shield on top while singing. We do temperature checks, cleaning, and more. Knock on wood, [we’ve had] no COVID-related issues since reopening!”
If your child has no interest in pursuing the stage, they can still catch an entertaining performance of The Spongebob Musical on April 30, as well as May 1, 2, 21, and 22.
The hope is to hold these performances in person—state and local guidelines permitting. Visit ofccreations.com to sign up for classes and camps, and for additional information on live performances.
Fingers crossed for Food Truck Rodeo
It’s a Rochester tradition, complete with good food, local music, dancing, and merriment. The Food Truck Rodeo at the City of Rochester Public Market always draws a healthy crowd downtown, usually 5,000 to 7,000 attendees and thirty to forty food trucks pre-COVID, which is why organizers decided to postpone the events last year.
The market is a difficult venue to monitor, an open space with multiple entrances where it’s easy for crowds to convene. It’s uncertain what spring and summer 2021 holds for these events, but organizers are staying hopeful and have released tentative dates, including April 28, May 26, and June 30.
The Rodeos are a great chance to get the kids out of the house, support local food vendors, dance to live entertainment, and more. Before you go, be sure to wear your best stretchy pants to make room for all that good grub and comfy shoes for walking and dancing on the bricks. Some lawn chairs and even a folding table are good ideas as well. Masks are required.
The Market will be offering a free shuttle from the East End Parking Garage at the corner of East Main and Scio Streets, which will run in twenty- to thirty-minute loops. The first shuttle leaves at 5:00 p.m. and the last one leaves the market at 9:15 p.m.
The City of Rochester Public Market will continue to seek guidance from New York State and the City of Rochester Office of Special Events pertaining to this and other special events at the Public Market during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dates are tentative, so check with the Market office at 428-6907 to confirm before heading out the door.
Well-read in Mendon
What organization or business hasn’t had to pivot its operations in the past year? Just like many others, the Mendon Public Library has had to get creative around alternatives for its programming.
Kelly Paganelli, assistant children’s librarian at Mendon Public Library—better known to local kids as “Miss Kelly”—has transitioned her usual Preschool Story Time to take place outdoors in the Gazebo at Harry Allen Park, across the street from the library.
Story Time at the Gazebo began at the start of the school year and will run through June 8, taking place on most Tuesdays (excluding school breaks).
Miss Kelly begins and ends each session with a song to engage the kids. There is usually a craft to take home as well, like a pinecone bird feeder kit or a hat-making craft with paper.
“It’s a blast to work with the kids, and it’s been super fun to carry on outside despite COVID,” says Paganelli. “The kids don’t mind the snow or rain. Sometimes Miss Kelly’s fingers get cold, but the kids are patient with my page-turning abilities.”
Don’t forget to bring a mask and dress appropriately for the weather.