Family Time

It’s amazing how much that “patter of little feet” changes your outlook on life. Those of us who are parents have learned this lesson all too well. We go from the two-door sports coupe to the four-door family wagon or van. A night at the movies is more apt to be experienced in your own living room, unless you’ve remodeled it into the kids’ room.
The family outlook has far-ranging effects on everyone and parents are only the starting point. Here at the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC), our creativity and planning is greatly affected by the lifestyles of our visitors. While many of MAC’s popular tours and events are slated for the shoulder seasons of spring and fall, as well as the holidays, in the summertime we build our programming around families. With the beach as our biggest summertime attraction, even for those of us who don’t have much time to enjoy it, it makes sense that families would be a large part of our audience. After all, wasn’t the yearly summer vacation at the beach the carrot at the end of a long school year for most of us? I know it was for my family and me when we lived in New England. By the time my son, David, got off that final school bus, I was as ready as he was to sink my toes into South Jersey sand!
Knowing that no one can, or should, spend their entire vacation working on a sunburn, creative minds at MAC turn to tours and activities that will entertain anyone from five to 95, no easy task.
We start with a Children’s Trolley Ride, as well as a Physick Estate Children’s Tour, both of which approach Cape May’s history and architecture and the story of the Physick Estate in a manner that children not only understand, but find engaging. It’s always amazing to watch a child (who so easily resists paying attention to his or her parents) listening with interest to one of our guides. It doesn’t hurt that many of these guides are retired teachers, of course.
Coming up on June 28 is our annual Victorian Family Fair, on the grounds of the Physick Estate, and for this we go all out to provide a day’s worth of fun from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the young and young at heart. There are games, dress-up fun, pony rides and face painting, and lots more. There are also two Teddy Bear Tea Parties that day at the Carriage House Café & Tearoom, and those continue throughout the summer on select dates.
The Cape May Lighthouse is always a popular attraction for families. It’s a chance to get the kids out in the fresh air and doing something physical (and wear them out, I say). You’d think climbing 199 steps would sap the energy of anyone, but most kids put their parents to shame when it comes to a climb of this sort. That’s why my favorite parts of the Lighthouse are the landings.
The Lighthouse also becomes the centerpiece for a variety of summertime activities, such as National Lighthouse Day, Aug. 7 every year, when we add to the interest with pirates, crafters and free entertainers and amusements on the grounds. Along the same lines are the weekly Family Fun Days at the Lighthouse, every Wednesday from July 2 to Aug. 13. So, instead of worrying about how you’re going to keep the kids from getting bored this summer, let us give you a hand. Don’t tell them this: They might even learn something, too!
– Barraclough is director of publications and website at MAC.