Welcome to The Nassau Dad Drop, the free weekly guide to Nassau County family life - written by a dad who got tired of missing stuff.
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🧔🏽♂️ Dad Thoughts: Ring and Run
My son gave me a toy ring yesterday.
He came in my room excited, hair all messy.
I didn't really hear him and said, "Hey bud, I'm busy."
"I got this for you, papa. It's something for you." He tried again.
"Something for me?" I asked, surprised. Hearing it just then.
"I love it," I told him. A gift from my child; I'd want nothing more!
"Ok," he shrugged. As he kicked me and ran out the bedroom door.
And now I'm running after him with this pain in my knee,
all because I love my son and I was guilty of being busy.
⏰ ON THE CLOCK
Old Westbury Gardens "Afternoon Tea at Orchard Hill" Member Pre-Sale - Member pre-sale opens May 4 for the June 4 tea event. Public sale (if seats remain) opens May 7. Members get 20% off.
USPS First-Class Mother's Day shipping cutoff - Drop in the mail by Friday May 1 for guaranteed Mother's Day delivery (May 10).
Local florist Mother's Day order cutoff - Most Nassau florists need orders in by Thursday May 7 or Friday May 8 for Saturday delivery. Order now!
Clark Botanic Garden Plant Sale - Two days only: Fri, May 8 and Sat, May 9. Free admission; cash, credit or check. Best plants go fast Friday morning.
🚗 FAMILY FUN FIELD TRIPS
Dad-approved outings.
This Saturday → Long Island Marathon Festival - 1K Just for Kids 🏅 The kid-only race at Eisenhower Park during marathon weekend.
💰 $15 Registration fee
📅 Sat May 2 | Kids’ 1K starts 11 AM
🔗 runlongislandmarathon.com
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical 🚌 Mo Willems' picture-book hit with singing, mischief, and buckets of audience participation at the Long Island Children's Museum Theater. Weekday shows fill with school groups - book ahead.
💰 $15 Theater ticket
📅 Multiple dates
🔗 licm.org
Hicksville Summer Carnival 🎡 Dreamland Amusements rolls into Broadway Commons with rides, carnival games, and fair food. Free admission and parking. (No unaccompanied minors under 21.)
💰 Free admission; unlimited rides wristband $42 on-site, single ticket $1.50
📅 May 7-17
🔗 dreamlandamusements.com
Astronomy Night at Jones Beach ENC 🔭 Free, family-friendly outdoor stargazing on the Center's back deck with the Amateur Observers' Society of NY. Multiple telescopes set up. RSVP required; weather-dependent.
💰 Free
📅 Fri May 8 | 8:30 PM - 10 PM
🔗 jonesbeachenc.org
🌹 MOTHER’S DAY SUNDAY BRUNCHES
Reservations going fast - lock these in!
The Mansion at Glen Cove 🏛️ Gold Coast brunch on the historic estate - lavish buffet with breakfast favorites, live cooking stations, live piano music.
💰 $80 adults / $40 kids 3+ / babies 0-3 free
🔗 themansionatglencove.com
Rothmann's Steakhouse 🥂 The classic Gold Coast steakhouse opens early for its annual brunch - buffet stations, prime rib, made-to-order omelets, the works.
💰 $79.95 per person
🔗 rothmannssteakhouse.com
Milleridge Inn 🍳 Long Island's storybook colonial inn does Mother's Day three ways: prix-fixe brunch and dinner in the main restaurant, plus a Grand Buffet in The Cottage with carving stations, omelets, and waffles. Walk the village and the bakery afterward.
💰 $78.95 adults / $36.95 kids 2+
🔗 milleridgeinn.com
Heritage Club at Bethpage ⛳ Lessing's Hospitality Group's elegant venue on the Bethpage State Park grounds (home of the 2025 Ryder Cup) opens for Mother's Day brunch.
💰 $75 adults / $35 kids 2+
🔗 heritageclubatbethpage.com
Palm Court at the Carltun 🌴 Eisenhower Park's most romantic restaurant runs its Sunday brunch with Mother's Day extras.
💰 Sunday brunch pricing applies
🔗 palmcourt.net/mothers-day
✏️ PENCIL IT IN
Future you will be glad you read this.
Cradle-Con 🦸 Pop culture con at Cradle of Aviation. 2026 theme: Celebrating GI Joe. Cosplay, 60+ free-play arcade cabinets, vendors, kids' activities.
💰 At the door Adults $30, Kids $20
📅 Sat May 16 & Sun May 17 | 10 AM - 5 PM
🔗 cradleofaviation.org
Bethpage Spring Street Fair 🎪 75+ vendors, food trucks, bounce houses, live music on Broadway between Benkert and Washington.
📅 Sun May 17 | 10 AM - 5 PM
🔗 nassaucountyfairs.com
Jones Beach Revolutionary War Village 🪖 Revolutionary War Village featuring revolutionary reenactors portraying the four signers of the Declaration of Independence from NY.
💰 $4 per person
📅 Sat May 23
🔗 parks.ny.gov
🔥 Worth the Scroll
The good stuff buried in the feed.
The Daily Dad: 366 Meditations on Parenting, Love, and Raising Great Kids by Ryan Holiday 📖 Fans of The Daily Stoic will recognize Ryan Holiday. This is the parenting version - one short meditation per day, 366 of them. Recent one that stuck with me, from the April 23 entry:
“Kids can feel your energy changing, even if they can’t put words to what it is they are sensing or how it makes them feel. And what’s most difficult about all this is that it very well might be this painful, confusing feeling - as provoked and instinctual that it is - that sticks with them forever.”
💰 $19.26 (on sale!)
🔗 amazon.com
Two Things:
Forward this to Nassau County parents you think would appreciate it.
Hit reply and tell me anything - what you liked, what you want more of, what I missed. I read every single reply.
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See you next Thursday,
Akash