Who: Children ages 3-12

When: Saturday, February 11

Where: Geyer Family Center YMCA

Time: 1-2 p.m.

Fee: $25  members/per family
$30 non-members/per family

Please call to register in advance: 973-783-7640

**Please be aware that the YMCA is a nut-free facility, but that some of the products they use may be processed in a facility that processes nuts.

And now it’s the first Monday in a new month and we have a new contest photo to share. But where, oh where, did Fred Goode take it?

If you’re a Where In Verona veteran, you know the drill. If you’re a newbie to the contest, here are the rules: Put your best guess about the photos we show you in the Comments field below, along with your real name and real e-mail address. (Don’t worry, we won’t show your e-mail address to the world or sell it to spammers.) Every so often during the week we will add more photos to the contest in progress, so be sure to bookmark this page and check back often.

If you guess correctly, you will win a newly designed “Where In Verona” T-shirt.

UPDATE: We’ve added a second third fourth photo to the slideshow.

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One lucky visitor (14 or older) will win the chance to experience circus magic from a unique perspective — as a full-fledged, baggy-pants clown. Get made up by an actual Ringling Brothers clown, be outfitted in an authentic clown costume and make the audience roar with laughter, as you perform with Clown Alley during the All Access Preshow at the Prudential Center on Friday, March 2 at 6:30 p.m. The lucky winner will also receive a family four-pack of tickets to that evening’s show. Other prizes include an original work of art by the “Pachyderm Picasso” of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey and family four-packs of tickets to the Greatest Show on Earth.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. all weekend long, the museum’s garden and galleries will be transformed into a three-ringed extravaganza. Kids can learn to juggle, spin plates in the air, take a turn on a trapeze and even walk a tightrope as they learn the theories of balance, centrifugal force, motion and gravity. This is a very popular weekend, so if you’re going to go, you should get there early.

There will be Ringling Bros. clown shows at 11:30 a.m., 1:30 and 3:30 p.m., and magic shows at 12:30, 2:30 and 4:40 p.m. Admission to Circus Science, including either the
clown or magic show performance, is $10 for adults and $6 for seniors and children under 12. Tickets for additional performances may be purchased for $3 each. Members are admitted free of charge. All Museum workshops and exhibitions, including guided tours are free and open to the public. Tickets for programs and performances are provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Groups of 25 or more may call 973-596-5150 for advance ticket purchase.

A winter trip to the zoo is not normal for me, but this wasn’t a normal day. It was like spring. From what we saw at the zoo, the animals felt the same way. While some zoo residents, like the crocodile and the birds in the aviary, spend summers in warmer climates, there were plenty of others to see. The wolves had beautiful full coats and were happily basking in the sun. The prairie dogs were wagging tails and playfully jumping around their habitat. In the penguin pen, the penguins were walking around spreading their small wings to warm themselves. The red panda was curled in a ball right on the outside edge of his habitat with his face in the sun. We saw one of the black bears, I’m not sure if it was Jelly or Jam, up close as he came to the window to visit.

What I loved most about the zoo was that I think we were one of eight to ten sets of people visiting. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a great parking space. Inside, there was plenty of open space for running, jumping and spreading arms. Freedom to roam as I like to call it. This was my kind of day. Our total time in the zoo was probably not more than 90 minutes, but with a membership (which pays for itself within a few visits) I didn’t mind. It was a great way to get some fresh air, talk about the animals and really feel like we had the place to ourselves.

If you’re looking for an outdoor activity on a warm winter day, this is a great option. Keep in mind though that it is winter. The zoo’s hours are 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The train, carousel, aviary, pony rides, and animal feeding areas are closed. The Zoo Café is also closed, which was OK for us; we had our hot chocolate at home.

All shows take place on select Saturdays and begin at 10 a.m. Tickets are $15-$20 for orchestra and box seats and $12 for mezzanine seats, and may be purchased by calling 973-376-4343, at the Paper Mill Box Office at 22 Brookside Drive in Millburn, or online.

So your task today is to put the puzzle back together again, then see if you remember where this picture was taken. Hint: It was during the original “Where In Verona” series

Online jigsaw puzzles from JigsawSite.com

Kids can create a portrait of their favorite animal

The Montclair Art Museum has got a full calendar of events in January, for art toddlers to adults.

For parents with young children there is MAM Park Bench, a program that introduces children to the museum and serves as an artistic social outing. It meets on the second Wednesday of the month, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. The January 11 ­program is called “Wild Shapes”. There are also two home school days this month: Thursday, January 19 for ages 9 to 13 and Friday, January 20 for ages 4 to 8, from noon to 2 p.m. both days. The cost for all these programs is $6 per child, $12 per adult. The home school days include a gallery tour and a studio art project led by MAM educator Emily Kenselaar. RSVP by e-mail to attend.

The kids might also get a kick from the pet portraiture workshop on Sunday, January 29 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Open to children 8 and older, it will cover drawing basics and animal anatomy. The cost is $30 for members and $50 for non-members.

For adults, the museum will initiate a new special interest group on contemporary art on Thursday, January 12, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. “MAM Contemporaries: The Cute, the Bad, and the Ugly” will be a participatory food performance involving artist Marina Zurkow and celebrity chef Gene Rurka. Tickets are $40 for members and $50 non-members. To purchase tickets, please contact Talia Selove at 973-259-5147 or by e-mail. On Wednesday, January 25, there will be a free panel discussion at 7 p.m. with the creators of the new play “Stick Fly”, now at the Cort Theatre in Manhattan.

The museum also is offering several adult workshops in the creation of clay nesting bowls, ink wash painting and drawing, fused glass jewelry and photographing children. For more information, see the the Winter schedule for its Yard School of Art. For more information on gallery tours and exhibitions, see the museum’s Web site.

Here's the new prize

From July 2010 to the middle of last year, MyVeronaNJ.com tortured entertained you with 52 weeks of photos of Verona that probably helped you to see your town a little bit differently. We took you to places you knew well, like Towne Scoop, and others that were much further from your daily consciousness, like the water tower at the Hilltop.

And then, after generating more than 32,000 pageviews, Fred Goode, the photographer responsible for all this madness, decided to take a break.

Sort of. Since last July, Fred’s been scouting locations for a new Where In Verona contest, and we’ve got the first of the new shots for you here. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we are back–with two changes. This year, Where In Verona is going to be a monthly contest for the most part. Look for it on the first Monday of the month in its usual home page spot.

The second change concerns the prizes. If you won a MyVeronaNJ.com baseball cap in the past, congratulations–you now have a collector’s item. This year, the winners will get a “I (heart) MyVeronaNJ.com t-shirt printed up by Jimmy and Tracey Hill’s newest venture, Hill Publishing. The shirt was designed by Michelle Posner and reflects what we know about MyVeronaNJ.com’s readers: You really, really, really like us.

If you’re a Where In Verona veteran, you know the drill. If you’re a newbie to the contest, you’ve got to put your best guess about the photos you’ll see in the Comments field below, along with your real name and real e-mail address. (Don’t worry, we won’t show your e-mail address to the world or sell it to spammers.) Every so often during the week we will add more photos to the contest in progress, so be sure to bookmark this page and check back often.

UPDATE: Kathleen Seubert won it on the sixth photo, by guessing Tortilla Sunrise. With an assist from Beth Shorten. Here are all the photos:

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Skating at CitiPond

Our first trip to Citi Pond at Bryant Park was two years ago. We stumbled on it while in Manhattan when my mother-in-law was visiting. I was immediately taken with the idea of skating outdoors in a place not nearly as crowded and over populated as Rockefeller Center. Having grown up in Montclair, I used to skate both outdoors and indoors throughout the winter. As the recent winters don’t seem to offer the same outdoor skating opportunities as in my childhood, any opportunity to skate outside is both welcomed and appreciated.

The whole excursion only takes a few hours, depending on the traffic, the weather and the endurance of your skaters. We drove into Manhattan and then parked at Port Authority. From there, it’s an easy 20-minute walk across town to the 40th street entrance of Bryant Park. There is usually a line, so be prepared to wait. In our experience it did move, but I always feel like when you’re traveling with kids this is a good thing to know in advance. Once inside the “rink” there are skate rentals, a snack bar and rest rooms.

Skating is free if you bring your own skates. Let me say that again: It’s free if you bring your own skates. I love free outdoor skating. (This is the part where I deny the cost of gas, parking, and tolls because as I see it, I’d be paying that anyway even if we weren’t skating.) Lockers are also free, but you need to bring your own lock. Our first time there, plenty of people just had their boots stored under a bench which is exactly the same thing people do at rinks here. I’m inherently a trusting person and I can tell you that all of our shoes (including a pair of UGG boots) were still there when we were done skating.

The pond opened on October 27 and will remain open through February 26. The hours of operation are 8 a.m. to midnight. I don’t remember the last time I skated outside in the dark, but I think it would be fun.

For any non skaters or younger children, there is an outdoor carousel (very cool) and a plethora of small shopping kiosks (open through January with plenty of items to purchase.

And as a final thought, for the duration Citi Pond is open, there is a room for private parties. It’s heated and refreshments are served, including but not limited to, the Citi Pond signature cupcakes. So if you’re looking for a fun place to have an outdoor winter party this makes a unique venue without a doubt.

This is the 20th year for the show, which is comprised of G-scale model trains that ride along on a half-mile of track inside the Garden’s Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.

This year, as in year’s past, the trains will glide past models of a variety of New York City landmarks. MyVeronaNJ.com photographer Fred Goode went last year, and we’re showcasing his photos again here. But there are several new things happening too: This year, the Garden has an exhibit showing  how the replicas are constructed, from start to finish.

From Monday to Thursday, New York City puppet master Ralph Lee will present “The Little Engine That Could Puppet Show”, based on the book of the same name about about a very determined train. From Friday to Sunday, there’s a film festival with holiday classics and cartoons. The Garden will also be giving a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a PBS documentary on the train show.

The New York Botanical Garden is located two miles north of I-95 (the Cross Bronx Expressway), between Southern Boulevard and the Bronx River parkway and across Fordham Road from the Bronx Zoo. The show will be open from Monday, December 26 to Monday, January 2 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is $25 for adults, $22 for students and seniors, $15 for children 2 to 12. Children under 2 are free, as are members. There’s also a $12 charge for parking. The 50-acre Garden itself is also open during the show, so plan time for wandering.

If you are going this week, you really should buy your tickets ahead of time online. They are sold for timed entrances every 15 minutes.

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Fred Goode’s photos of the train show may be purchased through his Web site.