Things to Do in Maple Shade

Abington Kids Creative Arts Studio's lively instructors foster the burgeoning minds of youngsters with classes focused on building creativity and imagination. The team allows little ones aged 4–14 to disconnect from their phones, computers, and robot teachers to engage in fun, hands-on activities during afternoon open sessions.

Two-hour sessions allow kids to express themselves artistically and exhaust internal sugar reserves through drawing, molding pottery, playing music, and acting in theater performances. My Adult & Me sessions invite grown-ups to stay-and-play with their children, while the Drop Off Program's extended studio hours free up time for parents to run errands or triathlons. As children exercise their brain biceps, adults can relax and indulge in complimentary coffee and tea.

Abington Kids Creative Arts Studio also hosts summer camps to occupy up to 15 youngsters at once when school is on break and their Miami beach house is being renovated. Weekly themes range from Fantasy Week to Music Week to Puppet Week, each filled with crafts and fun projects.

Owner Nancy Nagle stocks a colorful rainbow of knitting supplies in her bright and eccentric gallery, which has become a go-to outlet for the local knitting community. To meet the demand, she constantly stuffs her shelves with new styles of material, ranging from traditional yarns to luxury fibers—banana, recycled silk, and Wookiee fur—to carry-along yarns with sequins, flags, and lash. Nagle’s passion for fiber arts has introduced her to a community of artists who dye and spin some of her more than 20 brands of yarn. She uses the shop as a gallery to display the work of these local artists—including Philadelphia native John Stango—as well as share her own bold collection of woven work such as hats, shawls, and sweaters.

City Paper's A.D. Amorosi describes the two-floor Nangellini as a "doubly colorful" space as "bright and open as a bay window in Sag Harbor." Amorosi admires the gallery's art collection, and between the vibrant space's "faux-tin ceiling" and "matronly rugs," Nancy leads open and privately scheduled classes on knitting, crochet, and lace work. Classes cover all the basic techniques required for newcomers to begin creating their own woven pieces, such as scarves and felt toupees.

Pubcrawls.com arranges safe, lively walking treks to popular, bustling watering holes in dozens of cities across the United States and Canada. The jovial jaunts have earned ample press and a Guinness World Record for shepherding revelers to multiple bars and clubs throughout the course of a day or evening. At each venue, bartenders regale participants with exclusive drink specials and conversations with sentient beer mugs. Many events are tailored around holidays, such as Christmas and Halloween, or costume-friendly themes such as Michael Jackson and superheroes.

Its expansive facilities stuffed to the gills with Charles Brand and Vandercook printing machines, Second State Press grants the community access to self-stamped art. Members gain access to studio time for rent by the hour, month, or year, as well as invitations to special events, talks, and demos. Additionally, anyone can sign up for one of Second State Press's many beginner-friendly classes. Those especially committed to the craft might be honored with Fob Holder status, which awards 24-hour access in exchange for a few responsibilities around the studio, such as cleaning or finally shredding the newspaper monster lurking in the basement.

When Brian McInerney reflects on the humble beginnings of Wheel Fun Rentals, he points to his childhood passion for bikes. "As far back as I can remember, I had a real love affair with bicycles," he recalls. During a trip to Italy in 1987, Brian's affinity for cycling blossomed into a full-fledged obsession when he spotted locals' transporter of choice, the surrey. Inspired, he began importing the Italian four-wheelers to a rental business in the U.S. that eventually expanded into Wheel Fun Rentals, now a nationwide web of shops that also loans out bikes, electric cars and mopeds, and man-powered watercraft. Atop bicycles and surreys built for solo riders or entire families, patrons embark on self-guided tours of major U.S. cities. Led by maps and lists of nearby sites of historical or cultural significance, riders zoom down bike paths and safe, lightly trafficked streets. Adventuresome athletes can also compete in activities such as surrey scavenger hunts and blindfold obstacle courses navigated via shouted instructions from a seeing teammate or exceptionally long rounds of trial and error.

Owners Beryl Herrin and Ben Long bring their love of yoga to all portions of the population. They introduce beginners to the exercise form with gentle and friendly classes. They tailor their programs to kids, seniors, and those suffering from Parkinson’s. They found each of their classes in the practice of Anusara yoga, which incorporates chants, breathing exercises, and asana meant to reveal the beauty in each practitioner. To complement this education, they turn to yoga’s related art forms, such as the meditative practice qi gong or the spiritually freeing ritual of yogurt wrestling.