10 Family-Friendly Activities for Memorial Day

If you're looking for something to do over the long weekend, there are plenty of fun events happening in and around Rye. Here's our list of family-friendly activities during the Memorial Day weekend:

Rye Town Beach, Opens Friday

Memorial Day Weekend is supposed to be beautiful, sunny and warm. So take advantage of the weather and head down to Rye Town Beach, which is officially opening for the season on Friday. Parking fees, which are usually $7, will be $10 per car for Memorial Day Weekend. Daily beach passes cost $7 per person on weekdays, and $8 on weekends.  Children under 12 are free but must be accompanied by an adult. 

Larchmont Memorial Day Parade, Larchmont Railroad station, May 27 at 7 p.m.

If you'll be out of town for the weekend, but don't want to miss the parade, join Larchmont for their Memorial Day Parade on Thursday, May 27 at 7 p.m.. It will leave from Lot #3 at the Railroad Station and continue down Palmer Avenue to Larchmont Avenue, ending at Village Hall. 

Meerkats Exhibit Opening, Maritime Aquarium, All Weekend

If your kids are animal lovers, then the Meerkat exhibit, opening at the Maritime Aquarium on Friday, May 28 is the perfect weekend outing. The exhibit will feature six meerkats – three males and three females – born in the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Their Maritime Aquarium habitat offers windows into their underground burrows, so all meerkat activity will be within view. A viewing bubble will even let young visitors stand up right among the meerkats. For more information, call the Maritime Aquarium, 203-852-0700; 10 North Water Street, Norwalk, CT 06854.

Veterans and Service Member Appreciation Day, Rye Playland, May 30

Head out to Rye Playland on Sunday May 30 for Service Member Appreciation Day. A ceremony will be held at 2:30 p.m. at the Music Tower, followed by a U.S. Marine Corps Helicopter Demonstration at 3 p.m. There will also be Erik's Reptile Adventure, starting at 2 pm.; 3:30 p.m.; 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Holiday Week Hours of Operation:

Rye Playland is open for special, holiday hours from May 26 to May 31.

Wednesday and Thursday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Friday: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday: 1 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Monday: 1 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Creature Encounter, Maritime Aquarium, All Weekend from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This new series, which is free with Aquarium general admission, offers encounters with live animals from the Long Island Sound, teaching children to do their part to improve the creatures' habitats. The "Creature Encounter" presentation features the diamondback terrapin, a Connecticut turtle plus the staffed "Creature Encounter" booth in the Aquarium's watershed/otter gallery where you can touch turtle artifacts and get a hands-on demonstration on how people affect the health of the Sound and its inhabitants. For more information, call the Maritime Aquarium, 203-852-0700; 10 North Water Street, Norwalk, CT 06854.

Spring Migration Bird Walk, Marshlands Conservancy, May 29 at 7:30 a.m.

Marshlands Conservancy, Route 1, Rye, NY  10580

Join the Westchester County Parks Department Saturday at 7:30 a.m. for the spring migration bird walk. You'll be sure to see nesting Marsh Wrens and beautiful Indigo Buntings, Ospreys and shore birds. Bring your binoculars (the Conservancy has some to lend) and discover what birding is all about. The event is free.

Parents without Partners Family Barbeque, Oakland Beach, May 30 at 5 p.m.

Parents without Partners is holding their annual Memorial Day Barbeque on Sunday, May 30 at Oakland Beach, starting at 5 p.m. Cost is $6 for kids ages 5 to 12 and $10 for everyone ages 12 and up. Please bring a salad or desert to share with at least 4 to 6 people. There will be activities for the kids and adults (DJ and Karaoke). Oakland Beach, 94 Dearborn Ave, Rye.

Memorial Day Ceremony, Central Cemetery May 31 at 9 a.m.

Rye will hold its Memorial Day observances at 9 a.m. on May 31 at the Central Cemetery. The guest speaker will be Captain Michael Edgar of the U.S. Navy (retired) from Hampton, N.H. Edgar recently commanded a unit within a Naval Construction Battalion (CB) in Kuwait and had responsibilities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rye Memorial Day Parade, Village Green, May 31 at 10 a.m.

Rye's annual Memorial Day Ceremony will be held on the Village Green May 31, starting at 10 a.m. Rye Post 128 of the American Legion will lead the occasion, as it has for over 90 years. The featured speaker is Captain Colin B. Wallace, Unites States Marine Corps, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

25th Annual Lasdon Memorial Day Antiques Fair

Head out to Somers for this annual event on Monday, May 31 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $7, and children under 13 years old are free.  For additional information call the Westchester County Parks Department at (914) 273-4667. Lasdon Park, Arboretum & Veterans Memorial, Route 35, Somers, NY  10589