What’s On
In collaboration with our host, Isabella Rossellini, our 4th festival brings families a delicious mash up of interactive storytelling, enchanting children’s theatre, unusual live creatures, wild music and a host of creative workshops spread across MAMA Farm.
The Tent Village
Puppet Shows, Workshops, Stories & Crafts
Meadow
Live Animals, Games & Tea Parties
Wild Woods
Forestry, Witches & Scavenger Hunts
Picnic Area
The Runcible Spoon
The Tent Village
Showtime!
Three Little Pigs Puppet Show
WonderSpark is proud to continue the tradition of non-moving-mouth hand puppets, aka "Mister Rogers style."
"Little Pig, Little Pig, Let Me In!" Three Little Pigs build their houses of hay, wood and bricks - but will they withstand the Big Bad Wolf? The classic tale retold with hilarious puppet pigs and a silly wolf - with an emphasis on 'being prepared'. 35-40 mins, ages 3 and up.
Songs of Unusual Creatures Show
Quirky composer and author, Michael Hearst, and his band take the whole family on a musical adventure, investigating our planet’s bizarre beasts, like blobfish, elephant shrews, and blue-footed boobies. Oddball instruments like the theremin, claviola, and stylophone, and video projections bring these unusual creatures to life. The show draws from Michael Hearst's critically-acclaimed series of books, albums and PBS series. 40 mins, all ages.
Featuring: Michael Hearst, Ben Holmes, and Melinda Faylor.
Story Corner
Snuggle on our soft sheep, Dolly, Molly and Folly, as master storytellers tell tales of curious creatures.
My Chickens & I
by Isabella Rossellini
Isabella will be reading her book, My Chickens & I and talking about her beautiful brood of heritage hens.
My Tiny Pet
by Jessie Hartland
Author/illustrator, Jessie Hartland, brings you her hilarious new book on keeping the world’s tiniest pet. Can you guess what it is?
A Curious Menagerie
by Carin Berger
A Tower of Giraffes? A Leap of Leopards? A Mischief of Mice?
Carin Berger's A Curious Menagerie is an exuberant exploration of the poetry and play of collective nouns. Ages 5 and up.
Storytime
by Storystock Circus of Stories
Come and snuggle in our cozy corner and listen to favorite stories from Drew Daywalt, Adam Rubin and Mo Willems. Ages 2-5.
Workshops
Time to get creative at these fabulous workshops led by artisans, authors and aadvarks, no wait, we mean artists.
Imaginamals with Parrish Art Museum
Resident Parrish artist, Pam Collins, returns to invite children to imagine an animal in her hands on workshop. Children will collage animal body parts and then fill in the rest with their imagination and a variety of art materials. Great for all ages.
Tiny Pets with Jessie Hartland
Explore the world of miniature and make your tiny pet their own home. Microscope and materials available. For all ages.
Fantastic Feathers with StoryStock
Make like the Wild Things and get creative in this fabulous headdress making workshop so you are all ready for the big parade finale. For all ages.
Sock Puppets with WonderSpark Puppets
Holey sockaroley, what’s that pong? No need to use your own stinky socks ‘cos WonderSpark has all the materials. Their master puppeteer will show you proper technique too. Great for ages 5 and up!
Wood working with Little Miss Workbench
Younger children will work with prefabricated and unassembled pieces, while older children will create pieces using various hand tools. Ages 5 and up.
Cartoons with HeyItsTomDuffy
Librarian by day. Cartoonist by night. Tom Duffy conjures universes with a flick of his pen. Apparently it’s all in the lines. Come create your own comic. Ages 6 and up.
Spinning Yarns
Come try your hand at spinning wool or words into something wonderful.
Wool
Can you spin straw into gold, like Rumpelstiltskin? Will the spindle make you fall asleep, like Briar Rose? Ask our spinning teacher, Lisa Konnerth, as she demonstrates on her old fashioned spinning wheel how to spin raw wool into yarn. Ages 5 and up.
Words
BARREL OF MONKEYS workshop: Come make a collage of a LEAP OF LEOPARDS, FLAMBOYANCE OF FLAMINGOS, or TOWER OF GIRAFFES or invent your own silly name for a group of animals. Carin Berger will have scissors, glue and a wild assortment of paper. Ages 5 and up.
Doodle Drop-In
No lines, queues or quandaries. This zone is rule-free.
DoodleTime
Color outside the lines. Scribble a silly note. Draw a dream scene. Or try your hand at illustrating the illusive Quangle Wangle*. All ages.
Hint. He looks like a bony bean with an almond shaped head.
*Character from Edward Lear’s Book of Nonsense.
Color Kindness Event
Have you seen these Crayons Won’t Quit boxes around town?
As Crayon Collection’s first Ambassador on the East Coast, we are proud to be working with Suffolk County’s local libraries, restaurants, and stores to collect gently used crayons that would otherwise be discarded in landfills.
An exciting next step in the Crayon Recycling Program is to host a Color Kindness Event at our festival. Drop in to help us bundle about 10-12 crayons in a rainbow of colors into a small pouch and include a hand-written note of positivity. We will donate these beautiful bags of up-cycled crayons to local schools and students who can put them to good use. All ages.
The Meadow
The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party
The Gateway and Storystock Circus of Stories introduce Alice, the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit where it’s always tea time, there is much madness and everyone is welcome. All ages.
Live Owls!
Meet Live Owls from the Quogue Wildlife Refuge! This program will introduce guests to live owls that live at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge and will discuss their amazing hunting abilities, adaptations, habitats, and lifestyles. Photo opportunities will be available. All ages. Photo credit: @ Kevin Ferris
Crazy Creatures workshop
Eric Powers of Long Island’s CEED is an extraordinary animal whisperer. Here’s Isabella holding his gentle boa constrictor at last summer’s festival. Come touch, inspect and respect some of his unusual live creatures. All ages.
Garden Games
Hop. Juggle. Spin. Play!
Join in old-fashioned games, like Grandmother’s Footsteps or Catch-The-Can or try your hand at circus skills, or run away and hide in our teepee forever.
Oh, and add fancy glitter.
Open all day
The Wild Woods
Red Riding Hood & The Big Bad Wolf
Bring your baskets and follow Red Riding Hood through the woods on her way to visit her Grandmother, but mind out for that wolf, he’s not far away. With words, songs and a sprinkle of magic help Red Riding Hood outwit the wolf and get safely to her grandmother’s house. Performed by The Gateway in collaboration with Storystock Circus of Stories. All ages.
Forest School
Do you have favorite memories from childhood? Chances are you were outdoors, being a bit naughty, definitely unsupervised. We are thrilled to team up with our neighbors, the Aishling Forest School (@aishlingschool) as they return the magic to childhood and allow it to run free in our Wild Woods.
Test your physical skills and swing like a monkey on their rope bridge and swing. Ignite your imagination as you make a magical fairy fire from a simple spark. All ages.
Hansel & Gretel
Brave Hansel & Gretel need to outwit the wicked witch in this immersive promenade performance through the Wild Woods. Their breadcrumb trail can’t help them so they need you! Don’t be tempted to eat that sugar coated gingerbread house until you are sure there’s no witch inside it! Performed by The Gateway in collaboration with Storystock Circus of Stories. All ages.
Forest Fairies
Fairies have always lived on Isabella’s Farm. If you walk slow and quiet you can see the clues: an old tree, a little red door, a ladder up to a window, a tiny blue teapot with matching cups. Feeling stumped? Ask Aishling Forest School, as they know the fairy leader, Finnius. Apparently he’s very mischievous and likely to throw acorns. He locked the fairy door too. Can you help find the key? All ages.
House of Sweets
Follow the trail of breadcrumbs to find Hansel & Gretel’s candy house, designed by Perilous Paper @perilouspaper
Beware of the Witch!
Photo credit: @iralippke
Picnic Area
The Runcible Spoon
Our pop-up café, run by children for children. That’s right, no adults allowed, except renowned restaurateur, Andrew Tarlow, who might lend our kids staff a few runcibles.
Kindly sponsored by Tola New York & Copper Beech
What is a runcible? Confused adults may read up on children’s author, Edward Lear’s nonsense word. The rest of us will carry on inventing our own utensils. Can anyone spare their saucelid?