Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Free Bike Helmets, Face Painting For UWS Families This Weekend

Amsterdam Avenue will be closed to traffic between West 106th and 110th streets on Sunday for Manhattan Valley Family Days.
Amsterdam Avenue will be closed to traffic between West 106th and 110th streets on Sunday for Manhattan Valley Family Days.
View Full Caption
Courtesy of Weekend Walks

By Leslie Albrecht

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

UPPER WEST SIDE — Free face painting, music, karate, and bike helmets are headed to the Upper West Side this weekend at two family-oriented events.

On Saturday, May 21, families can pick up free bike helmets on Columbus Avenue between West 87th and 88th streets at the Department of Transportation's Bicycle Helmet Event.

Co-hosted by City Councilwoman Gale Brewer and bicycle advocacy group Upper West Side Streets Renaissance, the helmet give-away runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Helmets are available for all ages, but you must learn how to properly fit and wear a helmet before receiving one.

If you're over 18, you'll need to sign a waiver to get a helmet; if you're under 18, a parent or guardian must be present to sign a waiver for you.

Kids can get their faces painted and do art projects in the street at Manhattan Valley Family Days this weekend.
Kids can get their faces painted and do art projects in the street at Manhattan Valley Family Days this weekend.
View Full Caption
Courtesy of Columbus Amsterdam BID

On Sunday, May 22, the Columbus-Amsterdam Business Impovement District hosts Manhattan Valley Family Days from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Amsterdam Avenue from West 106th to 110th streets.

The avenue will be closed to traffic and organizers will put 60 cafe tables with chairs on the street so locals can sit and talk to each other.

The event features activities aimed at all ages, said Peter Arndtsen, the BID's district manager.

"It's a chance to come out on the street and meet people that live in the neighborhood," Arndtsen said. "The neat thing about this neighborhood is you have so much diversity. You have people telling you stories about what it was like 40 years ago and people who just moved here."

A local senior center will set up a table where people can play and learn dominoes. A karate school will give free lessons and demonstrations, local artists will lead art project for kids, and Mugi Pottery will do ceramics demonstrations.

A fire truck from Battalion 11 will be on hand for children to climb on, and a local history group will lead quizzes on Upper West Side history.

Brazilian drummers will perform, so will a group called The Rock and Roll Dads, and The Orfeo Duo, a neighborhood brother and sister musical act.

Restaurants on the avenue will open their doors and put seating outside.

Manhattan Valley Family Days is part of a city-run program called Weekend Walks. Unlike street fairs that bring outside vendors into the neighborhood, Weekend Walks highlight local merchants and cultural institutions, Arndsten said.

"It's almost like a big block party, except it's got sponsored activities and those activities provide a means of breaking the ice and getting to know each other," Arndtsen said.