The 2010 Sendak in Spring Festival, honoring the work of children's author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, will be celebrated on Saturday and Sunday at the Rosenbach Museum and Library.
Workshops from noon to 4 p.m. each day will explore the art of storytelling, illustration, spoken word, and bookmaking, taught by Philadelphia storyteller Linda Goss and book artist Jude Robison.
From 1 to 3, Wild Things Whirligig, created by Karen Saillant, artistic director of the International Opera Theater, will be performed. The interactive children's musical weaves together characters from Sendak's works with music by the author's favorite composers. Kids can relax and eat in the Snack, Beanbag and Book Room, and visitors can explore Rosenbach's Sendak exhibition, "For Ruthie: Ruth Krauss, Maurice Sendak, and Their Young Philosophers," on display through June 21. The Rosenbach shop, which has the largest collection of Sendak's books in the area, will have his and other children's books available.
Sendak, creator of classics such as In the Night Kitchen and Outside Over There, chose Rosenbach in the early 1970s to be the repository for his work. His Where the Wild Things Are was made into a critically acclaimed live-action film last year directed by Spike Jonze.
Workhorse Rides
Kids can ride horses and enjoy crafts Saturday at Howell Living History Farm's Workhorse Rides event.
Children 5 to 12 can perform chores such as grinding corn, pumping water, making a wooden fence rail, and more; then they can sit on or ride a horse. Kids can also make horseshoe letter-holders in a craft workshop. The events are from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
SMG Sportsplex
On Saturday, SMG Sportsplex will celebrate its Warminster grand opening with children's events and a silent auction, benefiting American Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.
The free event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. will have a moon bounce, activities, demonstrations for youth basketball, and soccer classes. The silent auction will feature sports memorabilia.