Photo: NYRA
The New York Racing Association, Inc.
(NYRA) today announced an all-new attraction that will stretch the length of
the 2012 Saratoga Race Course season: Family Fun Fridays – a series of
weekly family festivals held each Friday of the meet in the backyard playground
area from noon to 4 p.m. beginning on Opening Day, Friday, July 20.
“Saratoga
has always been a family destination, as personified by the popularity of the
picnic scene in the backyard,” said NYRA President and COO Ellen McClain.
“Our all-new Family Fun Fridays are designed to offer yet another
entertainment option to appeal to this core audience. We are proud of our
commitment to families, and beginning Opening Day, kids and parents have a new,
weekly attraction for their summer outings together.”
Family Fun Fridays features Coca-Cola's Best Bet offer, which includes:
adult grandstand admission, a Post Parade program, a hot dog and Coca-Cola, all
for only $5 with a voucher found on Coca-Cola
displays at participating retailers. The voucher can be redeemed at the
Reserved Seats Office on Union
Avenue on any Friday during the season.
Admission to Saratoga Race Course is free for children under 12 when
accompanied by an adult any day of the meet throughout the season.
The day-long Friday events will uniformly include a variety of
activities, a bounce inflatable, and arts and crafts for all ages. Additional
activities specific to designated weeks will include a live reptile show, a mad
science show and the FOX 23 karaoke booth.
Families will find, at all Family Fun Fridays throughout the season, the Tiny Tots Tea Room
craft table, providing all the materials kids need to make a variety of fun
projects. Craft activities will correspond with themed Family Fun
Fridays events, such as turtle rocks on the day of the reptile
exhibit, and bubble painting when the Scotia-Glenville Traveling
Children’s Museum presents its Let's Make Bubbles interactive
presentation. There will also be an activity booth with something new for kids
each week, provided by Binx, an organization that offers new parents tips for
babies and toddlers.
The lineup for Family Fun Fridays is as follows (subject to change,
current at time of release):
Friday, July 20.
Family Fun Fridays kick off on Saratoga’s
Opening Day. The FOX 23 karaoke booth will provide visitors the opportunity to
sing to their chosen songs to the applause of their families and friends, just
like stars on FOX favorites American Idol
and The X Factor. Booth visitors can register to
win a pair of tickets to American Idol Live at the Times Union Center August 30.
Friday, July 27.
Racing fans can have their day at the races commemorated with a special photo
laminated on a 3”x 4” photo magnet by Picture Perfect.
Friday, August 3. The
Children’s Museum
of Science and Technology
(CMOST) will present its educational and explorative Leaping Lizards and
Rocking Reptiles exhibit. Kids and families will have a chance to meet these
fascinating cold-blooded creatures, while learning about their behaviors,
habitats and lifestyles.
Friday, August 10.
The Scotia-Glenville Traveling Children’s Museum presents
its Let's Make Bubbles interactive exhibit, which includes a variety of
bubble-makers and everything it takes to fill the air with shimmering spheres
of every imaginable size.
Friday, August 17.
Kids can enjoy the Mad Science interactive exhibit, with putty, slime, dry ice,
and other hands-on activities.
Friday, August 24.
This Friday lands in the midst of the 17th annual Travers Festival,
which celebrates the 143rd running of the Grade 1, $1 million
Travers Stakes. Kids this day can enjoy the CMOST presentation of Small Science
– a fun, hands-on exhibit introducing children to the “teeny,
tiny” nanosciences.
Friday, August 31.
The last of the Family Fun Fridays, when the FOX 23 karaoke booth will return
to give visitors one more chance to sing out the summer season.