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Minecraft Adventures organizer Mason Cohen.[/caption]
Bay Street Theater has announced the first “Minecraft Adventures at Bay Street,” hosted by Mason Cohen and Miller Croke, on Sunday, April 12 from 2 to 4 p.m. Students aged 11 and older are invited but reservations are required. Only the first 10 students will be able to participate, but the afternoon will be open to anyone who wishes to watch the adventure.
The first event of its kind on the East End, the 10 children registered for Minecraft Adventures will join together via their own laptop computers and will appear on Bay Street’s large film as a character. After logging into a secure server gamers will embark on a custom Minecraft journey in a new world created just for Bay Street Theater. Participants will race to complete various tasks and challenges including ‘farming, mining and exploring’ in a custom world displayed for all to see. Parents can rest assured that the content is safe, and that the tasks and scenarios found within this ‘world’, will be fun, sometimes humorous, and lacking only in the violence commonly found in today’s gaming marketplace. Participants will need to bring their own fully charged laptop, must be 11 years old or older and should have prior experience playing in a variety of Minecraft environments. They will need to have a purchased Minecraft account and have previously downloaded a game launcher onto their laptop. Parents, siblings, and friends are encouraged to come and watch the fun … and learn a little about the Minecraft mania that has swept the county.
Mason Cohen is an eighth grader at Pierson and will be joined by Southampton eighth grader Miller Croke as hosts. The two have been creating worlds and hosting private Minecraft events for the past two years. Mason’s mom, Joyce Shulman, brought her son’s skills to light during a meeting with Bay Street Theater’s COmmunity COnnections COuncil (3CO) on which she serves, a group of residents who work with Bay Street’s management on initiatives related to the “Center for the Arts” side of Bay Street’s expanded brand and mission. When discussions turned to kids and gaming, Ms. Shulman’s experience as both mother of a teenage gamer, as well as her role as CEO of MacaroniKid.com, brought the Minecraft ‘amazing race’ idea to light, and the new program kicked into high gear with Mason instructing the adults on how it might work.
“Since this is the very first time we’ve done anything like this before, we are considering this day a beta test of sorts,” explains Bay Street Executive Director Tracy Mitchell. “The 3 CO committee was charged with helping us expand on the notion that the “Center for the Arts that has a little something for everyone”, and so a new teen or kids program that wasn’t being offered on the East End seemed like an interesting concept. And this is exactly the kind of programming we had hoped would arise from our work together. If it’s a success, we will certainly look to expand it to other age groups and ‘worlds’—as I’m told there are plenty still to explore. ”
For reservations for Minecraft Adventures at Bay Street, call (631) 725-9500 or email syoung@baystreet.org.
