Got Kids? O+ Festival Offers Family-Friendly Fun

This year’s O+ Festival schedule is bigger and more diverse than ever. To help you plan your itinerary, we’ve asked members of the O+ Festival team for a list of their must dos. Here are some family-friendly picks from O+ Festival Partnership Director Liz Harrington:

  • PARADE – (Friday 5:30 p.m.) Meet at the Kingston Library starting at 4:30 p.m. to learn a flash mob dance routine. My 3 1/2-year-old son loves to kick off the weekend with the Mardi Gras-style parade.  Make sure you wear red, black or white and bring a parasol for some dancing in the streets! I will be sending the grandparents and our visiting friends to Sante Fe (5-7 p.m.) for the parade watching/Lagunitas Happy Hour party on their outdoor deck!
  • BIKE RIDE – MURAL TO MURAL/GREENLINE RIDE (Saturday 9 a.m. – noon) Begins and ends at the YMCA on Broadway and wraps up with a family-friendly picnic.
  • KIDS YOGA – (Saturday 2:15 p.m.) at The Kirkland.
  • BIKE RODEO+ – (Sunday noon and 1:30 p.m.) – Stop by the Fall Festival going on Forsyth Park for a free bike helmet fitting.
  • MUSICAL PLAYING ZOO – (Sat / Sun 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m.) at Old Dutch Church graveyard.
  • MUSIC – Saturday’s shows at Alebrijes (298 Wall St.) — MADARKA and LEVANTA, and any of the outdoor concerts in the Somewhere Alley (behind BSP) are all great options.
  •  PUPPET THEATER AND WORKSHOPS – (Sat / Sun 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.) at Peace Park.
  • TEMPORARY TATTOOS – (Sat / Sun 2-4 p.m.) at Peace Park.
  • ANYTIME – Stop by the MURALS to see the artists working. The multi-artist exhibit, “MOTHERS OF INVENTION,” at the O+ Gallery at Tech Smiths. There will be an interactive ROAD SIGNS exhibit in BSP’s parking lot and the THE (P)OPTIMISM SHOPPE exhibit will be really cool to check out on Broadway.
  • WELLNESS EXPO+ – (Saturday 9 a.m.-2 p.m.) on Wall Street right next to the Kingston Farmer’s Market is a must hang. Kids love this one! There’s facepainting, a Teddy Bear Clinic, where he can climb in a real ambulance, and dancing in the street with POOK (the Percussion Orchestra of Kingston) and the Energy Dance Co. A group tai chi warm up followed by a demonstration of “Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention”, will start around 10:45 a.m. Plan on getting your car seat checked for safety (Sat 11 a.m.-2 p.m.) by pulling into the Fair Street loading dock between North Front Street and Schwenk Drive.

Partnership Director’s O+ Itinerary Mixes New Wellness Experiences With Favorite Bands, Artists

This year’s O+ Festival schedule is bigger and more diverse than ever. To help you plan your itinerary, we’ve asked members of the O+ Festival team for a list of their must dos. Liz Harrington, partnership director of O+, offers an itinerary that combines EXPLO+RE classes with personal favorite bands and artists.

  • Friday – After the kick-off parade I plan on hitting up WILL LYTLE‘s opening reception followed by the CHRIS MAXWELL show, both at Keegan Ales. Then right around the corner at Seven21 I’ll be checking out THE WHAT INSIDE multi-media installation and very excited to see CALDER MANSFIELD‘s set.  It’s an easy walk across the street to The Anchor, where SCI-FILES is playing followed by local band and a personal favorite, SHADOW WITCH.
  • Saturday – After the EXPO+, I will find time to stop by Tech Smiths for an ART/LIFE COUNSELING session with LINDA MARY MONTANO. She is really amazing and something you have to experience.  After the EXPO+ I plan on eating some Fleisher’s BBQ, then hit the O+ Gallery opening reception at Tech Smiths.  Afterwards to re-set and really kick-off the evening in the right mindset, I’ll be attending a GONG BATH class at 8:30 p.m. at The Kirkland.  Then onto the amazing Old Dutch Church venue to see SONDRE LERCHE followed by TWISTY BON BON at Stockade.  Then if I can fit it in, I plan to do a pop-in at BSP to check out DIRTY MOSES and PAVO PAVO before heading over to see my all time FAVORITE… local guitar hero and my all around amazing husband Pat Harrington’s, band GEEZER, who will be playing The Anchor on Saturday at 11:30 p.m. – so this is a must see!  If I’m still standing, I will take the free Trolley back over to BSP to catch CHAOS CHAOS (back) and get funky with FUNKRUST BRASS BAND (front).
Whew!  Here’s where you can plan your weekend by checking out the full online schedule. There are nice features on the schedule that will let you sort by event type or save a must see event into your gmail calendar.
You can pre-order wristbands here. We only ask that you give what you feel O+ is worth to our community.  But … $50, $75 or $100 donation levels all come with great thank-you gifts.
A wristband is all-access for the weekend to more than 60 bands, 30 artists, Literary SALO+N and CO+LLAGE Cafe, cycling events, Wellness EXPO+ and CO+NFERENCE, and classes in yoga, dance, meditation and sound healing.  Our “What’s It Worth to You?” model for a 3-day all-access wristband catalyzes a new way to think about how much we value community. Our year-round efforts culminate in a weekend long celebration, during which artists and musicians create and perform in exchange for a variety of wellness services donated by local doctors, dentists and complementary care providers. The entire community experiences the healing power of art and music as well as wellness education and offerings that take place throughout the weekend.
Spread the word – The O+ Festival is Oct. 7th-9th in uptown / midtown Kingston.  Tell all your friends to come out and I hope see you all there!