Youth Appreciation Week Kicks Off Monday in Livingston

Youth Appreciation Week beings Monday and celebrates Livingston's youngest residents and recognizes their contributions to the community. 

Here is your rundown of what events are happening this week and where. If you don't see an event listed, let your neighbors know about it by leaving a comment below. 

Monday

• Youth volunteers can adopt a "grandparent" between 3 and 4 p.m. at East Cedar Street Commons, at 156 East Cedar St. The Commons is a senior living facility where youth volunteers can hang out and play games with senior residents. 

• Tune into Livingston TV between 7 and 8 p.m. for the kick off of Youth Appreciation Week. 

Tuesday 

• Youth volunteers can adopt a "grandparent" between 3 and 6 p.m. at CareOne senior Livingston facility, at 68 Passaic Ave. Volunteers are encouraged to can hang out and play games with senior residents. 

• A Scavenger Hunt for children 12 and under will be from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. around the Seward Johnson sculptures. The hunt will begin at town center, at 10 N. Livingston Ave., in front of Baumgart’s Cafe on the parking lot side, where participants will be handed the clues and a map of all the statues.

The scavenger hunt will take children to all 12 sculptures and will challenge them to discover Livingston in a new way.

All participants must be 12 years of age and under and must have an adult accompanying them during the entire time of the scavenger hunt.  

A registration form must be filled out, which can be found in the photo gallery of this article, and turned in at the registration table at Baumgart’s. They also can be filled out at the registration table at the beginning of the hunt.

All participants who return completed clue sheets will receive a $5 gift card to a Livingston ice cream, frozen yogurt or Italian ice store. The prize for the best new names for the sculptures will be awarded a $50 Gift Card to Toys-R-Us.

• A Building Blocks Workshop will take place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Livingston Senior Community Center, at 204 Hillside Ave. 

Architect Stephen Schwartz will lead the workshop and teach families with children 4 years of age and up about windmills and wind technology from 60,000 Legos. Beverages and pizza dinner will be served at 5:30 pm, and the building will begin at 6 p.m. The workshop will be limited to 50 families.

There is a fee of $25 per family (up to a family of six).

Register in advance online with CommunityPass at http://livingstonsyls.org or in person at the community center by Tuesday. Registrations will not be accepted at the door.

Wednesday

• Youth volunteers can adopt a "grandparent" between 3 and 6 p.m. at Inglemoor Rehabilitation & Care Center, at 311 S. Livingston Ave. Volunteers are encouraged to can hang out and play games with senior residents. 

• The Livingston Advisory Committee for Disabilities will host programs throughout the evening for children with special needs at the West Essex YMCA, at 321 South Livingston Ave.

A wiffle ball clinic will be from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by a balloon artist, magician, and music clinic from 7 to 8 p.m. The programs are free of charge. For more information, call (973) 970-4441.

• A movie about Livingston's war heroes will be shown at the Livingston Public Library, at 10 Robert Harp Drive, between 7 to 9 p.m.

Thursday

• The Diversity Festival will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. at the West Essex YMCA, at 321 South Livingston Ave.

There will be live music and cultural performances, a kids fashion show and food samples from around the world. The event is free. All members of the public are invited and encouraged to attend. This is an excellent opportunity for your children to learn about other cultures, take pride in their own heritage or just hang around with friends. 

Families are also encouraged to participate in this townwide event. Those who attend can join in the fashion show, put on a cultural performance or bring food for the community to taste. 

If you would like to participate, call (973) 992-7500, or contact Cheryl Francione cfrancione@metroymcas.org or John Kane jkane@metroymcas.org.

Friday

The fourth annual Livingston Love-In Music Festival will take place at the Town Center, at at 10 N. Livingston Ave., between 3 and 10 p.m. The music festival feature 19 bands this year.  

The festival will kick off with the Little People’s Concert between 3 and 4 p.m. featuring Mr. Ray. This performer, who has a large following of youngsters, engages young children to participate and dance.

Between 4 and 10 p.m., youth bands will take over and perform on two outdoor stages.  

The event will feature food vendors will be selling popcorn, hot dogs, ice cream, lemonade, root beer and more.

A large turnout is expected for these popular bands, which include headliners Brick+Mortar, Cash Cash, Reverse Order, and The Greens NYC.

• Parents Night Out will be from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Senior Community Center, at 204 Hillside Ave. Children ages 4 to 12 years old are invited to spend an evening at the Livingston Senior Community Center while parents enjoy a night out at a local restaurant. 

The Department of Senior, Youth and Leisure Services will be providing a supervised mini-camp for Livingston’s children. Games, activities, healthy snacks and a movie will be part of the evening’s entertainment for kids.

Local participating restaurants will be giving a Youth Appreciation discount to parents who take advantage of Livingston’s Parents Night Out.

A complete list of participating restaurants will be distributed at drop-off on Friday and will be posted online at www.youthappreciationweek.org.

There is no fee but pre-registration is required.