Kids’ Almanac (December 6-13)

Holiday activities for kids at Locust Grove

FWIW (For What It’s Worth), the use of speedy abbreviations didn’t begin with cell phone texts, but rather with Morse Code communications more than 100 years ago. The creator of this electronic alphabet, Samuel F. B. Morse, had a house in Poughkeepsie called Locust Grove. Bring the kids and learn more about this famous inventor and painter as well as hear passages from the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” On Sundays until December 23, children can tour the mansion’s decorated rooms and search for clues. Gifts, refreshments and story- readings will take place at the visitor center.

Admission costs $8 for children, $10 for adults. Locust Grove is located at 2683 South Road in Poughkeepsie. For more information, call (845) 454-4500 or visit www.lgny.org. TTYL! (Talk to You Later!)

“Warm Up at the Washingtons’” this Sunday in Newburgh

With average area temperatures being in the 20s and 30s in December, we all look for places to warm up after being outside. Why not warm up at Washington’s Headquarters? On Sunday, December 9 from 12 noon to 4 p.m., you are invited to “Warm Up at the Washingtons’.” You and your family can literally walk through the same decorated rooms that George and Martha did back in 1782, the last winter of the Revolutionary War.

This event is free and open to the public and includes music and refreshments. Washington’s Headquarters is located at 84 Liberty Street in Newburgh. For more information, call (845) 562-1195 or visit www.nysparks.com.

This Sunday is Chinese Culture Day in Wappingers Falls

Are you familiar with the Mid-Hudson Chinese Language Center (MHCLC)? It hosts weekend Chinese language and culture classes for all ages at the Roy C. Ketcham High School. On Sunday, December 9 from 3 to 5 p.m., the MHCLC presents Chinese Culture Day, and there is something for everyone. Get a load of this lineup: local Chinese youth orchestra; traditional Lion Dance; Wushu Kung Fu; interactive exhibits; arts and crafts and so much more. All of the performers are members of the MHCLC community. Admission costs $2, and all are welcome. The Roy C. Ketcham High School is located at 99 Myers Corners Road in Wappingers Falls. For more information, visit www.mhclc.org.

Hanukkah celebration in Rhinebeck

This year, Hanukkah begins at sunset on Saturday, December 8. Join the Northern Dutchess Community Hebrew School midway through this Festival of Lights on Wednesday, December 12 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. With so many weekend activities, I think that it’s wonderful to have a chance to attend a celebration on a weeknight.

The Northern Dutchess Community Hebrew School is located at 6436 Montgomery Street in Rhinebeck. For more information, call (845) 471-7715 or visit www.jccdc.org.

Erica Chase-Salerno is singing “May I Suggest” and eating lots of chocolate as she celebrates another spin around the Sun this week. Special shout-out thank-you-for-birthing-me hugs go to her parents. She can be reached at [email protected]. “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” – Joseph Campbell