OK, I should have known not to post right before going to the downtown Schenectady library. I always find more good stuff on the bulletin boards there.
So, there was an activity that screamed out, “Katie!!!” Someone’s organizing a “skate in” at Central Park in Schenectady from 1-3 pm on Saturday, Jan. 16th. This is because the City of Schenectady has decided not to clear the ice for skaters since not enough people skate, anyway. Well, personally, I sort of understand where they’re coming from, because not too many people skate there, and of course practically every municipality is in a fiscal crunch. But the skate in appears to be partly a “we’ll show them” move and partly a “let’s do it ourselves & build community” sort of event.  People are asked to bring their own shovels to help clear. According to the note, they are attempting to get the Schenectady PTO to help by providing free ice-skates, but of course you can also slide on your boots. Anyway, I am so there! This includes so many elements of my favorite things:
- ice skating, which my girls love
- embracing winter, which I try to do
- getting the kids involved in something political
- building community
- using our fabulous Dakota Sno-Blade
Now watch, this will be the one day ever that my girls are not in the mood to skate. We’ll see. .  . .
If you simply don’t want to do this, you can take in a free Young Person’s Concert–14-year-old George Lee will be playing the piano at Niskayuna Library at 2 pm on Saturday. It’s not on their website, but I checked and double checked, so it’s on.
Finally, if you were wondering, like I was, about any big, official observances of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, wonder no more. There’s a ginormous observance followed by a “Beloved Community March” in downtown Albany. You might recall from the last post that there’s also an MLK craft going on at the library downtown. The New York State Museum will also be open. The Albany Institute of History & Art and the Albany Art Room, alas, are always closed on Monday. (I am not linking to everything here. . . do you resent me? Feeling a little lazy–they’re all on the links page).
