This Week: Maker Faire Preview, Lower Manhattan Preschool Fair, Pumpkin Patches & Apple Orchards Near NYC

9/18/14 - By Raven Snook

As a cliched jaded New Yorker, I am rarely starstruck. But I found myself grinning like a baby when I met Bob, Maria, Oscar the Grouch and Abby Cadabby at a special preview of the Sesame Street exhibit that just opened at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. (Look for my full review on Sunday.) When I was growing up in NYC in the '70s, Sesame Street was my preschool experience. But early childhood education today is a whole other world. That's why we're proud to be sponsoring this Saturday's Lower Manhattan Early Childhood Education Fair with HRP Mamas, where parents can meet preschool directors from some of downtown's most prestigious programs while tots have fun making adorable WeeWork clothespin critters at the Mommy Poppins table. The fair is FREE but preregistration is required.

Fall officially arrives next week, which means apple- and pumpkin-picking season are about to kick into high gear. This week we updated a bunch of posts in our Pick Your Own Guide including the best apple orchards in Westchester and Rockland County, and the top pumpkin patches in New Jersey, on Long Island and in Connecticut's Hartford County. And if you're on the hunt for giant corn mazes, try Long Island and Fairfield County, CT.

Happen to know a few kids in Massachusetts who are doing great things for their communities? Then nominate them for our Beantown site's Kids Who Really Rock contest. Finalists will be featured in a Mommy Poppins Boston post and get to appear on stage at the Boston Kids Really Rock music festival. One grand prize winner will also receive a $500 donation to a charity of his or her choice. We're accepting names through Saturday, September 27 so tell all your friends in MA.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

Want to hear something scary? Tickets for Historic Hudson Valley's signature Halloween event, The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze in Croton-on-Hudson, are already selling out! Click through our slide show and you'll see why.

Speaking of can't-miss events, NYC's fifth annual World Maker Faire explodes with creativity at Queens' New York Hall of Science this weekend; we've got the scoop on the best booths to hit.

Autumn brings cooler temperatures and colorful leaves so it's a great season to plan a family day trip to New Jersey's Delaware Water Gap for a fall foliage hike.

For the second year in a row, Mommy Poppins is proud to be partnering with the New Victory Theater. This week, we shared the highlights of its new season, plus tips on how to save money on tickets.

Our news post this week includes info on a two-for-one Off-Broadway ticket deal, the beloved Bank Street Bookstore's upcoming move and the cancellation of one of Central Park's biggest Halloween events.

We continued our series of posts on Midtown East with a roundup of places to play in the neighborhood, both indoors and outside.

In preparation for the Lower Manhattan Early Childhood Education Fair we're sponsoring on Saturday, we asked directors from participating preschools to share their expert insights about the admissions process.

Best bets for the weekend include the Queens County Fair, the Brooklyn Book Festival and the aforementioned World Maker Faire.