The Ridge Creative Center

EASTER/PASSOVER BREAK 2026
Vacation Days @ The Ridge Creative Center

Tuesday, April 7th - Thursday, April 9th
The Ridge Creative Center is offering a full day Cultural Arts Program for students during the Easter/Passover Break on: Tuesday, April 7th, Wednesday, April 8th & Thursday, April 9th.

Each day is theme based and will include: a trip, an art project and a snack. Students need to bring their own lunch. Our themes can be found below and trips will be tied to each theme. We are located in Union Church on the corners of 80th Street & Ridge Boulevard.

The cost is $110 per day and we are open from 8:30 - 4:00. In order for us to plan appropriately, we are asking parents to register and make payment by Friday, April 3rd. Those who cancel are still responsible for payment.

Our themes include the following:

Eggstravaganza - We will be learning about how eggs are used throughout the world as a symbol of spring. We will focus on the Ukrainian pysanky technique. A traditional batik process to decorate eggs and our project will be inspired by the designs and symbols found in Ukrainian eggs. Our trip will be to the Bay Ridge Pizzeria to eat their delicious frittatas (a type of egg dish with potatoes.)

Cherry Blossoms With spring finally returning we will be immersing ourselves in the Japanese tradition of Sakura Hanami Cherry Blossom Viewing. This will include looking at the many Japanese images (mostly woodcuts) of cherry blossoms, including one that depicts the cherry trees in Washington D.C., which were a gift from Japan. Students will choose whatever form or medium they wish to depict cherry blossoms. Our trip will be to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to see the return of spring, with a special focus on their amazing Cherry Blossom collection.

Leonardo da Vinci - In honor of Leonardo’s birthday on April 15th, 1452, we will be learning about and celebrating this unique talent - who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. google We will be learning about the breadth of his work in a variety of fields. We will also learn about the rides that were in Busch Gardens Amusement Park in Virginia that replicated Davinci’s designs. Our project will be based on his designs. Students will be asked to recreate one in a 3-dimensional form.

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To beautiful not to share

Yosemite National Park in California 😍

Mid-Winter Break Vacation Days
@ The Ridge Creative Center

February 17th - 19th
The Ridge Creative Center is offering a full day arts program for students during the February Mid-Winter Break on: Tuesday, February 17th, Wednesday, February 18th and Thursday, February 19th. (We can also open on Friday, February 20th if there is an interest)

Each day is theme based and will include: a trip, an art project and a snack. Students need to bring their own lunch. Our themes can be found below and trips will be tied to each theme. We are located in Union Church on the corners of 80th Street & Ridge Boulevard.

The cost is $110 per day and we are open from 8:30 - 4:00. In order for us to plan appropriately, we are asking parents to register and make payment by Friday, February 13th. Those who cancel are still responsible for payment.

Our themes include the following and not set to a specific date, so we can adjust if the weather does not cooperate.

Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday - We will be learning about the American tradition of Mardi Gras. There will be a focus on the music, processions and other traditions. For our trip we will be getting zeppole (the closest we have to beignets.) For our project students will have a choice of making a jester crown, mask or min-float. (If your child would like to do the latter, please bring in a shoebox.

Franz Marc- In honor of German Expressionist artist Franz Marc’s birthday, on February 8th we will be learning about this unique artist’s life and his work. The students will create their own image of an animal inspired by Marc’s use of color and shape, using pastels. For a trip we will be going to get apple strudel and black forest cake. Although I could not find any info about Marc’s favorite foods, we know that these would have been popular desserts in Germany during his lifetime.

LUNAR NEW YEAR - In recognition of The Year of the Horse we will be learning and celebrating the many fun traditions associated with Lunar New Year. One such custom is to eat long noodles for a long life and dumplings for prosperity as they have the same shape as coins. We will be going to Cathy’s Dumplings to sample both. Our project will involve horses.

, , , global studies, global citizens

TO: FAMILIES / COMMUNITY
FROM: The Ridge Creative Center
& Scandinavian East Coast Museum
RE: Annual Swedish Santa Lucia Children’s Party
& Community Lucia Sing Along

On Thursday, December 11th from 3:00 - 6:00 we have a wonderful program around the Swedish Santa Lucia Tradition. This is part of our Global Citizenship Series.

The students will learn about the holiday, make Swedish cookies and an art project. All who attend will learn 2 songs sung for Lucia Day. At 5:30 participants will perform for their parents & friends who will be encouraged to join in our Lucia sing along

We are located @ Union Church - 7915 Ridge Blvd. The cost is $40 per child. Parents, families & friends are invited to join at 5:30.

For further info call Victoria at 929 - 745- 4839
[email protected]

I have attached a flier about the program, as well as one about the Lucia Procession & Community Sing Along that begins @ 5:30. .

This event is sponsored by The Ridge Creative Center
In partnership with the Scandinavian East Coast Museum

November Vacation Days
@ Ridge Creative Center

The Ridge Creative Center is offering a full day arts/cultural program for students on Tuesday, November 4th - Election Day and Tuesday, November 11th - Veterans Day. Each day will be organized by a theme related to the holiday: a local trip, an art project and a snack. Students need to bring their own lunch. The cost is $125 per day. We are located in Union Church on the corners of 80th Street & Ridge Blvd and will be open from 8:30 - 4:00.

There is limited space. In order for us to plan appropriately, we are asking parents to register and make payment a week before the date. Those who cancel are still responsible for payment. Please respond to this email address or you can call our temporary number @ 929 - 745 - 4839.

Send a message to learn more

September Vacation Days @
The Ridge Creative Center
September 23rd & September 24th

The Ridge Creative Center is offering a full day arts/cultural program for students during the DOE Rosh Hashanah Vacation Days. These include: Tuesday, September 23rd & Wednesday, October 24th.

Each day will be organized by a theme related to the season and include: a trip, an art project and a snack. Students need to bring their own lunch. The cost is $125 per day. We are located in Union Church on the corners of 80th Street & Ridge Blvd and will be open from 8:30 - 4:00.

There is limited space. In order for us to plan appropriately, we are asking parents to register and make payment by Friday, September 19th. Those who cancel are still responsible for payment. Please respond to this email address or you can call our temporary number @ 929 - 745 - 4839.

Free Autumn leaves play Image | Download at StockCake Found on Google from stockcake.com

SAVORING SUMMER

We hope you and yours have been having an enjoyable summer. The Ridge Creative Center is offering a late summer session the last two weeks of August, running from Monday, August 18th - Friday, August 29th.

We are located in Union Church on the corners of 80th St & Ridge Blvd. and offer a project-based program, with a focus on cultural exploration. All of our learning is articulated through the arts.

We run from 8:30 - 4, with an option of extended day until 6 pm. You can read more about our program below. If you have any questions and or are interested, please contact Victoria @ 929 - 754 - 4839. (Additional info follows)

Inspiring Global Citizenship
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The Ridge Creative Center
Summer Program 2025

Our program begins on July 7th, running through August 29th. We offer flexible schedules, where you can choose your weeks and or days. Our weekly 8:30 - 4:00 fee is $480 Our weekly 8:30 - 6:00 fee is $550.

We designed a small camp environment, in order to provide substantive experiences and one to one instruction. We cap at 10 students daily, have a ratio of 1 staff to every 5 children on Trip Days and a 1 to 8 ratio during onsite days.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8:30 - 12:30, we will also be offering a part-time creative arts program for those in Pre-School for the price of $160 weekly. Please note that children must be potty trained. These students will participate in: performing arts, movement and visual arts every week.

Our program is organized around weekly themes, using blended learning.weekly activities include the integration of: visual art, movement, performance art and environmental projects. Camp on the Go is held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, where we explore the amazing city in which we live, traveling to places that are pertinent to our weekly themes. Students ages 6 and up are welcome to attend. Younger students can participate by request.

Theater Arts
In 2016, our theater piece was an original play entitled, “Our Community.” Our older students were asked to interview a family member who had emigrated to the United States. These stories were made into dialogues so the students could portray their family members.

We began with local Native American history and included national trends that impacted Bay Ridge. The production was further enhanced with ethnic musical and dance performances representing the many cultural groups who live in our neighborhood.

More recently our Summer Productions were melded from a compilation of our weekly themes. The students: learned to play handbells, practiced voice and learned, as well as assisted in creating choreography.

Each year, all campers have the opportunity to learn and participate in various aspects of The Theater Experience: Drama, Voice, Dance, Choreography and Set/Costume Design. This culminates into 2 performances. In July we assess our enrollment to determine what type of performance will be the best fit for those enrolled.

Additional Program Information
Our Program
We offer a creative learning based program, organized around theme-based weeks. Our projects are derived to allow student exploration of the arts, culture, language, history and science and all articulated through the arts. At the end of the program we host a student exhibit. You can see more about our program on our page The Ridge Creative Center

Our Philosophy
We believe that every child needs and deserves time to explore, innovate and create. We encourage this through the study of art, culture, language, history and science, by honing existing skills and fostering new discoveries,

Our Facility
We have an amazing space at Union Church that includes: a contemplative creative space; an outdoor playground; and a large outdoor area that is used for free play, as well as an area to cool off in our sprinkler or participate in water gun fights. There is a large playground 5 minutes away.

Our Staff
Our staff has over 30 years of combined experience in: teaching arts, education and in providing creative OST programming. We partner with New York City arts and education focused organizations and bring in performing and visual artists, so that we can provide our students with the best possible creative learning opportunities.

For example in 2016 we had the opportunity to work with Ceramic Artist, Rutvij Mistry, who was visiting from India. He held two classes with our students. The students, as well as Mistry’s work, were included in our annual Summer Student Art Exhibit.

Opportunities to Tour Our Facility
We are hosting Open Houses on Wednesdays between 4:00 and 5:30, please call for an appointment. We can also offer Saturday tours by appointment.

Press Links
Children’s Art Exhibit
http://brooklynreporter.com/story/autumn-free-fall-exhibit-by-ridge-students-celebrates-change-of-seasons/

Santa Lucia Performance 2016 http://brooklynreporter.com/story/santa-lucia-procession-and-celebration-in-dyker-heights-shine-light-on-scandinavian-tradition/

Embrace Winter Festival - TRCC Artwork on Display
http://brooklynreporter.com/story/annual-embrace-winter-festival-warms-third/

“Three rings of fun at circus show” - Summer 2017 Performance https://www.brooklyndaily.com/stories/2017/35/bn-ridge-creative-center-circus-2017-09-01-bk.html

Education article Norwegian American TRCC Featured “Innovative Learning” Innovative learning

Bay Ridge Scandinavian groups hold St. Lucia Procession https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2024/12/09/bay-ridge-scandinavian-groups-hold-st-lucia-procession/