York Region has cure for March Break blues

Yorkregion.com
March 10, 2016
By Lisa Queen

While a mild winter has meant we have avoided cabin fever this year, a mid-season break still comes as welcome news.

Thankfully, March Break is just around the corner, running from March 12 to 20 if you include weekends at either end.

And there’s tons going on around York Region to keep the whole family busy.

Make sure to check with the venues for prices and registration information.

• A great place to start is checking with your local town or city for March Break camps and other municipal and community events. For example, check out the mad science-flight academy camp in Newmarket, Minion Day and cardboard toboggan races at the ROC in Georgina, skating, public swimming, the indoor rock wall and The Loft for youth in Aurora, March Madness camps in East Gwillimbury featuring knights and princesses, superheroes and farmhouse themes and the art exploration camp for the curious child in Markham.
  

• If all the world’s a stage, March Break may be the perfect time to catch live theatre. The Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts is featuring Alexander, Who’s Not Not Not Not Not Not Going to Move March 10 and Daniel’s Tiger March 18. Visit www.rhcentre.ca/ for more information. Flato Markham Theatre has the Hong Kong Ballet on March 10 and Celtic Nights Spirit of Freedom March 12. For more information, visit markhamtheatre.ca The Newmarket Theatre is featuring Opera Luminata on March 18 and 19, while the Stephen Leacock Theatre in Georgina is offering a Highwaymen Tribute show on March 12 and a George Jones Tribute show on March 16.
  
  
• Tap into a sweet outing through the Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival running from March 5 to April 3, at Bruce’s Mills Conservation Area in Stouffville and Kortright Conservation Area in Vaughan. There are demonstrations, wagon rides, activities, pancakes with real maple syrup and special family-fun activities on weekends and March Break. For more information, visit maplesyrupfest.com
  
  
• Newmarket’s Elman W. Campbell Museum is offering March Break’n It, featuring activities such as a snowflake tea party, games and a Ukrainian Easter egg workshop. To pre-register for the workshop, call 905-953-5314.
  
  
• Get outside and enjoy many of York Region’s trails. If you are looking for an organized trek, check out a March 12 trail walk in Anchor Park on Doane Road in Holland Landing at 9 a.m.
  
  
• The Varley Art Gallery in Markham is offering full-day, half-day and full-week programs for kids. Super sculpture, sketchbook art, play with paint and artful expressions are some of the options.
  
  
• The McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg is hosting a camp and lots of March Break Madness activities, such as Brick Bros. Circus, Cozy Music, Imagination on the Loose, the Mask Messenger and a teen digital photography workshop. Visit mcmichael.com for more information.
  
  
• Who needs sun and sand for March Break when you can explore the wonders of snow at the Markham Museum? You can take part in interactive family-drop in activities and explore the museum’s new exhibition, Snow. The museum is also offering a family ceramic jewelry workshop at the pottery studio. Call 905-305-5970 to register for the jewelry workshop.
  
  
• There’s lots going on at your public library for March Break. For example, Newmarket is featuring a number of activities, such as the Library Strikes Back, friendship bracelets, Blox builders club with LEGO, finger knitting and Minions and Mayhem, while Aurora is offering Mad Science: Fire and Ice, the Abra-KID-Abra magic show, See Saw, Up and Down, We are going to Story Town, LEGO and games. At the Georgina library, there will be movies, a video game tourney, sew cool, Just Dance: Family Party, Crazy Crafts and Crazy Crafts: Teen Edition. And East Gwillimbury’s library will host fitness fun, a polar bear party, a minecraft building competition, family story time, tween scene and movies.