Tomato
justice in Sterling
They
say those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. Like that’s a bad thing.
At the Sterling Renaissance Festival, repeating history is fun.
           Want to relive a time when scores
were settled by men on horseback wearing what looks like twice their body
weight in armor? A time when women’s career options were limited to washer
wench or serving wench? Sure! I’d even relive middle school to get a roasted
turkey leg for lunch.
           The great thing about the
Renaissance Festival is that it’s part history lesson, part family therapy
session. Where else can you meet Queen Elizabeth I, enjoy such authentic
Elizabethan pastimes as the Mud Beggar Show, and work out your frustrations
with other family members while having a pillow fight on a log?
           If you’re fortunate enough to have a
jaded teen, I recommend Tomato Justice. She can hurl tomatoes at a wisecracking
convict locked in the stocks. My kids find this endlessly entertaining.
Clearly, it’s the Renaissance equivalent of Play Station 2.
           Adults footing the bill for all this
merriment and revelry will have ample opportunities to enjoy themselves, too.
And we’re not just talking about admiring the wenches. Personally, I plan to
visit the tarot readers. But I won’t need a psychic to tell me I’ll be taking
an exciting trip. I already know I’ll be visiting artisans’ row for some
shopping.
           Visit the 28th annual Sterling
Renaissance Festival Saturdays and Sundays until August 15th. Information:
www.sterlingfestival.com, 800-879-4446.
— Linda
Kostin (www.junkstorecowgirl.com)
This
week for families:
Arts in Action Program Full
scholarships available for Hochstein’s summer arts camps. 454-4596,
www.hochstein.org
City
Summer Kids Club Mon-Fri through Sept 3. For ages 6-10, various recreation
centers, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. $50 per week. 428-6767, www.cityofrochester.gov
Comic
Book Swap Thurs, July 15. Wood Library, 134 N Main St, Canandaigua, 7-8
p.m. Free. 394-1381
Cool
Kids Thurs, July 15: The New Trendsetters, 7-9 p.m. | Fri, July 16: Majestic Birds of Prey, 7-8 p.m. | Sagawa Park,
Main and Erie Sts, Brockport. Free. 637-3984
Henrietta
Public Library Toddler storytime, Wed, July 14 and 21, 10:30-11 a.m. |
Celebrate the Erie Canal with NYS Heritage Music, Wed, July 14, 2-3 p.m. |
Preschool storytime, Thurs, July 15, 10:15-10:45 a.m. | Storytime, Thurs, July
15, 5-year-olds, 11-11:30 a.m. | Movie, Fri, July 16, ages 4 and up, 2 p.m. |
Family pajama storytime, Mon, July 19, for ages 2-8, 7 p.m. | Jumbles, Tues, July
20, grades 1-3, 10:30-11:30 a.m. | Mr. Beau The Clown, Wed, July 21, 2-3 p.m.
455 Calkins Rd. 359-7093
Arnett
Branch Library Princess Pam, Wed, July 14, storytelling, 2:30 p.m. | New Life Music, Wed, July 21, 2:30
p.m. | Arnett Branch Library, 310 Arnett Blvd. 428-8114
RMSC
Strasenburgh Planetarium 657 East Ave. A
Trip to Saturn and Pluto, Saturdays 1 p.m. | The Sky Tonight, Sat 10:30 a.m. | I See The Sky, for ages 3-5, Sat 9:30 a.m.| The Beatles Laser, Sat
10 p.m. | Reserve seats. Tix: $4-$7. See “Movies” section for large-format film
showings. 271-1880
Rochester
Museum and Science Center 657 East Ave. Surprise!
It’s Science, through May 2005. | Body
Carnival: the Science and Fun of Being You, ongoing. | Rochester’s Frederick Douglass, through Jan 2006. | Live Science
Demos, Wed-Fri 3:30 p.m., Sat 2, 3, 4, Sun 1:30, 2:30, 3:30. | Hours: Mon-Sat 9
a.m.-5 p.m., Sun 12-5 p.m. Tix: $5-$7. 271-1880, www.rmsc.org.
Seneca
Park Zoo 2222 St Paul St. Snakes and Friends Day, Sat, July 17, 10 a.m.-4
p.m. | Moonbeam2Earth Project, Sat-Sun, July 17-18, 3 p.m. | Hours: daily 10
a.m.-5 p.m. Tix: $5, $4 seniors, $2 kids. 467-9453, www.senecazoo.org.
Strong
Museum 1 Manhattan Square. Summertime Musical Fun, Wed-Fri, July 14-16. |
Long-term exhibits include National Toy
Hall of Fame, Can You Tell Me How To
Get To Sesame Street? and Super Kids
Market. | Hours: Mon-Thurs 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fri 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat 10
a.m.-5 p.m., Sun 12-5 p.m. Tix: $7; $6 seniors, students; $5 children. 263-2700
Summer
Food Service Program Free lunch and breakfast for kids under 18, Mon-Fri,
various sites. Call for registration and info. 428-7872, 325-1440
Volunteers
of America Universal Pre-K Programs Openings available, for 4- and
5-yr-olds, free to city residents, 100 State St or 214 Lake Ave, 9 a.m.-11:30
a.m. 647-1344, 263-3103
Youth
Talent Event Thurs, July 15. 19th Ward Community Association, Ebenezer
Baptist Church, Community Garden, Thurston Rd and Ravenwood Ave, 6 p.m.
328-6571
The politics of truth
The Master
said, even when walking in a party of no more than three I can always be
certain of learning from those I am with. There will be good qualities that I
can select for imitation and bad ones that will teach me what requires
correction in myself. — The Analects of Confucius, Book VII.21
           Why do you see the speck in your
neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? — Matthew
7:3
           The
political season provides a great test for parents. Campaigns devolve into
horse races, and as we approach the finish line, we throw off the handicap of
nuance for the speed of over-simplified dichotomies. With blinders on, I
stubbornly pound at my opponent’s hard-headedness, vilify his slanderous
nature, and cut off dialogue with someone who refuses to consider another view.
In short, I become the mirror image of what I detest. And my child learns
either to emulate my hypocrisy or to define hypocrisy by pointing to a picture
of me.
           Our
children learn adult ways not primarily through instruction, but observation.
Forget the lectures. Watch what your kids hear from the backseat or witness at
the dinner table. Model enlightenment. Humbly accept and carefully consider
opposition. Don’t root truth on from your sideline. Root truth out side-by-side
with your opponent.
           That by which one sees the one
indestructible Reality in all beings, not separate in all the separate beings
— know thou that knowledge to be pure. — Bhagavad Gita XVIII.20
— Rev. Corey Keyes
This article appears in Jul 14-20, 2004.
