Children At The Saratoga Convention
Short Wings Over Saratoga – SWPC Convention 2013
July 1st through 4th
Are children welcome at our SWPC Convention? This is a question I’ve heard since I joined the Short Wing Piper Club in 1986 and started attending their conventions. Our Northeast Chapter has hosted 2 previous conventions. The answer is a resounding… yes!
These conventions are huge “family reunions.” Aren’t children important members of the family unit? Isn’t youth the future of our world (including General Aviation & the Short Wing Piper Club)? Of course they are welcome. Board member Larry Jenkins (head of our SWP Education Foundation) asked if there will be any activities for youngsters? That is a good point. Some of you might ask ”How could a kid be bored with a flying convention with real airplanes to see, touch, and fly in”? The answer is – easy. Hey guys, not all our spouses are ramped up about spending hours at the airport discussing GPS, VGs, Brake Kits, Lift Struts, Ceconite, or Stewart Sysytems. All they have to do is make a right turn out the door of the Holiday Inn and they will find plenty to do (and spend $$ on).
While the Holiday Inn has nice facilities with a pool (indoor & outdoor) and restaurant to keep the kids busy, and our 2 trips to the Saratoga Battlefield & Lake Geroge Dinner Cruise will hold the kid’s attention, here are some other nearby places that are “Kid friendly”:
Children’s Museum At Saratoga – 60 Caroline Street Saratoga Springs, N.Y. www.cmssny.org 518-584-5540
Six Flags The Great Escape & Splash Water Kingdom – 1172 US-9 Queensbury, N.Y. www.sixflags.com/psrks/greatescape 518-792-3500
World Awareness Children’s Museum – 89 Warren Street Glens Falls, N.Y. www.worldchildrensmuseum.org 518-793-2773
National Museum of Dance & Hall of Fame 94 South Broadway Saratoga Springs, N.Y. www.dancemuseum.org 518-584-2225
Saratoga & Northcreek Railway – 26 Station Lane Saratoga Springs, N.Y. www.sncrr.com 877-726-7245
Carousel in Congress Park – in the park behind the Holiday Inn, http://www.saratoga.com/news/carousel.cfm
These are just some of the many interesting things that will keep the youth among us occupied. Whether you are bringing your children, grandchildren, nieces & nephews, or babysitting (why couldn’t my babysitter take me to a flying convention?), there will be many interesting things for them to do and experience.Then there’s just walking through the village of Saratoga. Anyone like ice cream? As they say in my neck of the woods … fuhgedabout it. There are so many ice cream places to choose from. This, coupled with all the shopping and restaurants from McDonalds to the places my folks couldn’t afford to take me to gives you a sense of what this town has to offer for kids and adults.
A great resource for finding more activities & events is to visit the Saratoga website – www.saratoga.org.
I hope this will encourage many of you to bring the kids. If that is not enough incentive, I’ll probably play the tuba along with Frank Sperandeo on banjo and Adolph Svec on piano. Ok, Ok, – just rest assured the kids will be fine. – Andy Seligson
