Saratoga Reads offers bee-themed activities for all ages

Whether you are a movie-goer looking for a bargain, a family with a passion for nature, or a fan of Southern cuisine, Saratoga Reads has an event for you.

All the activities are related to the Saratoga Reads book of choice for 2009, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. Published in 2002, the book logged more than two years on the New York Times best-seller list.

The activities will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 15, on the Skidmore campus with two concurrent movie matinees, one for a PG-13 audience and one for young children. The recently released film, The Secret Life of Bees, starring Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, and Dakota Fanning, will be shown in Gannett Auditorium of Palamountain Hall. In nearby Davis Auditorium, there will be a showing of the animated feature film Bee Movie and selected shorts, in a supervised setting.

Parents are invited to sign in their children (kindergarten and up) at 3 p.m. for the Bee Movie and then attend The Secret Life of Bees, which will begin at 3:15. Parents are requested not to leave the premises while their children are in attendance. Both matinees are open to the public free of charge.

The events will continue on Friday, March 20, with an afternoon and evening of bee-themed activity at the Children?s Museum of Saratoga, 69 Caroline St. The event, from 4 to 8 p.m., will offer hands-on activities throughout the museum for children ages 2-8. The goal of the program is to teach children about bees and beekeeping through creative play, crafts, and stories.

?Families who buzz over to the museum on March 20 may be inspired to dress-up like a bee, move to the sounds of bees, explore the tools of the beekeeping trade, and listen to stories,? said Chris Stock, education director for the Children?s Museum. ?Families can feed their need to be curious and make new discoveries about the fascinating world around them through the eyes of their young children.? For more information call the museum at 518-584-5540.

On Tuesday, April 7, Saratoga Reads will team up with Hattie?s Restaurant, 45 Phila St., for an evening of great food and Southern hospitality. The fundraising celebration, to benefit Saratoga Reads, will take place from 5 to 10 p.m. More information on the event will be available soon on the Saratoga Reads website.

Saratoga Reads is a Skidmore College?Saratoga collaboration.