Kid Stuff

“When is the Kids Expo?"

That’s what my daughter has been asking me since last December. She loves the Kids Expo in Poughkeepsie. In the past, she’s most enjoyed the music and dancing, the fun science exploration activities offered by IBM and especially – getting all the free stuff that’s handed out in the Mid-Hudson Civic Center. (What is it about kids and free stuff?)

Well, Kids Expo takes place this weekend (in downtown Poughkeepsie) and we’ll be there, as usual. We make a day of it, usually ending up at the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum in the afternoon. She also loves the museum (we even held her birthday party there). We've visited children's museums around the country, but the one in our home region is our favorite!

Speaking of the Children’s Museum, they’re offering a great lineup of family concerts this spring, with traditional singers and musicians from a variety of regional ethnic cultures. All are free and all begin at 4 p.m. Here’s the schedule: April 21: Traditional Native American song and drumming with the Cloudbreakers Society and Red Feather Singers (Intertribal Association of Native Americans of the Hudson Valley). May 19: Traditional and contemporary African-American gospel music with veteran gospel singers and musicians in the Hudson Valley's Spirit of Unity Gospel Ensemble. June 16: Traditional songs and dance music of the Andes by the multi-instrumental Ecuadorian band IntiAndino. July 21: Folk songs and folk music of Puerto Rico by Ron Figueroa and Friends.