Weekly Wrap Up: June Fairs and Festivals, Outdoor Summer Concert Series, Boat Rides

6/2/11 - By Raven Snook

Hot enough for you? It's hard to believe that less than six months ago we were enjoying snow days. Now we have 80-plus degree temperatures and hurricane warnings.

The upside to summer seemingly arriving early is you can start enjoying warm-weather activities, like beaches, sprinklers and boat rides. Plus, looks like we have clear skies for all of the incredible fairs and festivals taking place this weekend.

And that's just a bit of what's going on. Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut.  

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

New York City

We jump-started the week with a trip to the American Museum of Natural History to check out all of the Frogs.

We also visited the lovely City Island in the Bronx, a fantastic NYC staycation destination.

Festival season is in full swing. We rounded up 24 fairs, carnivals and other outdoor fetes for June, 14 of which are this weekend! Most are free.

Free outdoor concert series like SummerStage and Celebrate Brooklyn! kick off this month. We've highlighted the performances of particular interest to families.

We really have outdoor activities on the brain: We also shared our favorite family-friendly restaurants with alfresco seating.

This is also a great time to take a boat ride in or around New York City.

If you're expecting, congratulations! Now read our post about what you really need to pack for the hospital when you're having a baby.

Kids obsessed with Pirates of the Caribbean? Might be time to enroll them in a fencing class.

And of course we shared our best family events for the weekend, which include the World Science Festival Street Fair, the Howl! Festival, and Dora and Diego at the Central Park Zoo.


New Jersey

A single mother of twins on the autistic spectrum shares wonderful support groups for special-needs children in NJ.

Another parent details his experiences chaperoning a field trip to Sterling Hill Mining Museum.

Weekend events include the annual West Cape May Strawberry Festival and the Berenstain Bears in Family Matters at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn.


Long Island

Our LI site highlights five awesome playgrounds and parks.

Best bets for the weekend include a pair of strawberry fests and a turtle walk.

Connecticut

Over in CT, a family talks about the perks of living on a small farm in Litchfield County.

Weekend fun
includes BooZoo's Canine Carnival and the Strawberry Festival at Orange Green.

Cool Deals and Giveaways

Our Sizzling Summer Camp Sale is still going on over at Poppins Perks. Save up to 50% on 13 cool camps. We've got all kinds of programs, day and sleep away, for all ages. Spots are filling up fast so if you're interested, now's the time to buy. Plus you get to feel really great about the bargain: 10% of the proceeds of our sale will help send a NYC kid in need to summer camp, too.

It's also your last chance to enter to win four Total Experience passes to the Bronx Zoo, plus a behind-the-scenes tour. We'll be giving it away on Friday!