There’s a wild variety of fun FREE activities in New Jersey this weekend, so leave the wallet at home and head out to play chess on a 3-foot tall chess board, walk through the inside of a hot air balloon, pan for gold in the Musconetcong River, or be inspired by the athletes at the Special Olympics Summer Games. If you willing to spend a bit of dough, you can also take in a rodeo and Daddies can have a special tea party with their little princesses. Enjoy!

After the crush of events the past few weekends I can happily say that things have slowed down event-wise around the city.  Does that mean there is nothing good going on? No way! Shakespeare is being performed all around town: by an all-girl troupe in the Village and by an ensemble that roves through Central Park and in a Brooklyn playground. The parks are offering a range of activities from scavenger hunts to bike repair.  We have live kiddy concerts, storytelling, planting and even some older-set stuff like photography and dissecting a Sony Playstation to keep you busy this weekend.

Some more big annual celebrations that we love are on deck, The Big Apple Barbecue is hunkered down in Madison Square Park while the uber-creative arts festival, Figment, is taking over Governors Island.. Over in Brooklyn we have some new festivals to try, the 100th Anniversary of the Botanic Garden and The FAB Fest in Fort Greene.  Or maybe try unlocking one of the secret doors planted around the Big Apple with your own Key to the City.

Read about this and a whole lot more to do this weekend and have a great time:

Ah, the romance of the drive-in… smooching with your sweetie, eating stale popcorn, not caring what the movie is… Oh. Wait a minute. We have kids now. Well, the drive-in is still a blast! (though not quite as steamy…) And did you know that New Jersey is the birthplace of the drive-in? The very first one opened in Pennsauken in 1933 with the slogan “The whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are!” Still a big selling point, right? There are a mere five drive-in theaters accessible to Manhattanites and Jerseyites (under a two hour drive), so drive over, drive in, grab your snacks and enjoy!

NJ WEEKEND EVENTS JUNE 12-13: POKEMON, PANERA BREAD’S CHESS FOR LIFE, AND PANNING FOR GOLD, ALL FREE!

There’s a wild variety of fun FREE activities in New Jersey this weekend, so leave the wallet at home and head out to play chess on a 3-foot tall chess board, walk through the inside of a hot air balloon, pan for gold in the Musconetcong River, or be inspired by the athletes at the Special Olympics Summer Games. If you willing to spend a bit of dough, you can also take in a rodeo and Daddies can have a special tea party with their little princesses. Enjoy!

Pokemon Video Game Championships (Secaucus)
http://www.pokemonvgc.com/en/events/newark.php

Did you know there were Pokemon video game competitions that can lead to a national championship?! Well, you do now. So gather your team and head over to the Meadowlands Exhibition Center for a chance to qualify for the Nationals. Come as a competitor or spectator and come for FREE. Saturday, June 12. Junior registration 8am to 8:30am, Senior registration 1pm to 1:30pm. Call 201-330-1172 for competition rules and regulations.

Chess for Life at Panera Bread (Montclair)
http://www.westorangenavigator.com/events/chess-for-life-is-coming-to-1

Panera Bread of Montclair invites children, teens, and adults to learn all about the game of chess and play against professional chess masters. You’ll have a chance to win a beautiful glass chess set and play on a 3-foot tall chess board game. Cost is FREE, but they probably would appreciate it if you bought a little bread. Saturday, June 12 from 3:30 to 6:30pm. Call 973-233-1703 for more info.

Hot Air Balloon Walk-Thru (Piscataway, Flemington)
http://www.rainbowacademy.com/

Do an actual walk-through of the inside of a hot air balloon and learn how to fly one from a licensed pilot! This FREE event is sponsored by the NJ Balloon Festival and Rainbow Academy. There will be refreshments, giveaways and a balloon artist (we’re assuming of the small ‘birthday party’ variety). At the Flemington Rainbow Academy location at 10am and at Piscataway at 1pm. Call 732-699-1700 for more info.

2010 Special Olympics NJ Summer Games (Ewing)
http://www.sonj.org/General/SpecialEvent.php?FileId=863

There aren’t many events that are more inspiring than the Special Olympics and this weekend, more than 2,000 athletes from across NJ will compete in aquatics, bocce, gymnastics, powerlifting, softball, tennis, and track & field. Opening ceremonies take place at 7:30pm on Friday, June 11, followed by a full weekend of events. FREE. For more info, registration and schedule, call 609-896-8000.

Panning for Gold in Stephens State Park (Hackettstown)
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/getoutdoorsnj/index.html

Ever wonder what it was like when early pioneers panned for gold in the 1800s? Well, on Sunday you and your family can become prospectors and wade in the Musconetcong River, looking for fool's gold. Wear “wet-able” clothes and old shoes. FREE. The “fools” will gather on Sunday, June 13 at 1pm and 2:30pm.
Call 908-852-3790 for more info.

Montgomery Rodeo (Skillman)
http://www.cowboy.com/index.php?id=19163&nav=listing

Listen, how often do you get to see a rodeo in New Jersey? Montgomery’s17th Annual Professional Rodeo for charity includes bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, girls break-away roping, cowgirl barrel racing, bull hockey, bull riding, food, drink, rides and games for kids. I’d go just to find out what “cowgirl barrel racing” could be. June 12 at 7pm and June 13 at 2pm, gates opens ½ hour before event. Admission $15/Adults, $13/Students. Call 908-359-7832 for more information

Miss Amy & Her Big Kids Band (Pennington)
http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=QHBSBLWNQAYQJE...

Miss Amy and the Kids will perform a Fitness Rock & Roll show at Princeton Community Church, so come and be a star—the show is being filmed for Miss Amy’s DVD. Saturday, June 12 at 4pm. $3 per person. Call 609-730-1114 for more info.

Daddy & Daughter Tea at Main Street Bakery and Eatery (Kingston)
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=121014794602879&ref=mf

Main Street Bakery and Eatery is celebrating Father’s Day early with a tea party for Daddy and his little princess. Register early—the first few princesses to sign up will receive a free tiara. Sunday, June 13 at 1pm. The price is $40 for the Daddy/Daughter couple which includes fresh brewed teas, gourmet sandwiches and desserts. Registration is required, call 908-239-0100 for reservations.

Dads and barbecue go together like smoke and fire, but backyard deprived urban dads can't always enjoy the pleasure of grilling themselves. What to do?  I say, dine out and let someone else do the cooking this Father’s Day. Dad can indulge in some perfectly smoked meat and mouthwatering sides at one of the great barbecue joints our city has to offer. Good barbecue used to be found only in the Southern states, but over the past decade quite a few bona fide BBQ restaurants have opened up north of the Mason Dixon line in NYC.

Read on for our favorite NYC BBQ restaurants for a carnivorous Father's Day:

For a limited time (through June 27th) you no longer have to be a big shot, win the Super Bowl or save a few hundred people's lives to be granted a Key to the City. Now anyone can get one and it will even open real secret doors all over New York. Thanks to artist, Paul Ramírez Jonas, Mayor Bloomberg and a few dozen participating sites in all five boroughs, you and your children can get a bona fide Key to the City. Not just some gold-plated trinket to stuff in a drawer but an actual key that works and will open real locks.

Your kiddos will have a blast on this city-side adventure unlocking garden gates, hidden doors, lonesome lockers, mystery boxes, secret rooms and more. Participation is free of charge, open to all who show up, and better yet, kids have got all summer to put on their explorer's caps and take part in New York artist Paul Ramírez Jonas’ new and awesome Key to the City project.

Photo of the Week: A pie eating contest at Mohonk in the Hudson Valley last weekend. I tried to convince my husband to take part, but he wasn't into it. I can't imagine why—although apparently the kids said the pies were too hot and one kid kept having to stop to pick the pie out of his nose.

Last week we launched our Family Travel Guide and it wasn't until the middle of this week that somebody asked me if there was supposed to be more than two posts in it. Uh, yeah. Apparently the only one who could see the guide was me. Nice.

So I am relaunching our Family Travel Guide with a great new feature—visibility! Woohoo.

Elsewhere in Gotham, this week was all about lists:

I am really glad we are staying in town this weekend and I hope you will, too. There is SO much to do that you don’t want to miss any of it. Seriously, not only is Governors Island opening with a huge family festival, but also, the lower east side is hosting the fabulous Egg Rolls and Egg Creams event.  And, there is the super-fun World Science Festival Street Fair in Washington Square Park plus other smaller but still very cool events, like Taste, a day of fine food tastings to support The Lab Schools or the community-minded festival at The Glass Garden in NYU or one of the other 22 festivals taking place in June.

If a huge festival isn’t quite your thing, there is also the Atlantic Avenue ArtWalk where you can visit with artists at work (and a lot more), a couple of high end craft fairs, great author-led book readings or the Fish Tales Extravaganza at the aquarium.  Parades, concerts, nature activities, chess and even an old fashioned subway ride are all on offer for you.

Don’t forget that this is the first weekend of June and some area museums have free admission and special family programming, including CMOM on Friday night, The Brooklyn Museum on Saturday night and The Queens Museum of Art on Sunday.

This weekend is packed with lots of fun events. Choose one or two from the list below and have a great weekend.