The events this week are presented on a need to know basis. For instance, National Doughnut Day was started in 1938 to honor the women who served donuts to servicemen during WWI, but you don’t need to know that. All you need to know is that there’s a free donut in it for you. Do I have your attention now?

Charles Lummis went to school with Teddy Roosevelt; he walked from Cinncinnati to Los Angeles (and wrote a book about it), had a distinguished career as a journalist, and was an activist for Native American rights; but again, that’s neither here nor there. What does matter is that the festival housed in his namesake home is this weekend, with music ranging from tex-mex to hip-hop; dance from Irish step to Brazilian capoeira, and a backdrop of historic buildings.

Remember last week when the moon blocked the sun and we were all pitched into complete blackness and chaos and Cthulhu emerged from the bowels of the earth?  No? Not important. Anyway,  it’s happening again.  Minus the chaos, the blackness, Cthulhu  (though wouldn’t that be something!)  And minus the moon, because this time it’s Venus that’s bogarting our rays. You can read all about the Venus Transit, but here's all you really need to know: no looking at the sun without protective eye gear!

Is it too early to start thinking about Fathers' Day? (It’s on June 17, and yeah, maybe that is one you need to know.)  There are a number of free art projects your kids can do this weekend that would make great gifts:  check out the craftiness going on at the Petersen, Home Depot, Lakeshore Learning, (yes, maybe Dad wants a snazzy garden snail. You get what you get and you'll like what you get, remember?)

Read on for the events you need to know this weekend...

This weekend is the 20th anniversary of the Connecticut Trails Day Celebration. There's your excuse to get out and go for a hike with the kids! There are over 193 events all over CT and we've listed a few of them in our calendar: Flat Stanley's CT Outdoor Adventure, Hike at the Audubon Society at Glastonbury, Litchfield Community Greenway, Walk with Bethlehem Land Trust, Nature Walk at Earthplace, CT Trails Day at Sharon Audubon Center, and Roaring Brook Nature Center.

When we posted our roundup of June festivals and fairs earlier this week, we pointed out that a lot of our annual favorites take place this month. And guess what? A bunch of them are happening this weekend, and most of them are FREE. We wish we could clone ourselves so we could hit the World Science Festival's Ultimate Science Street Fair in Washington Square Park, the Howl! Fest's Great Howl Out Loud Carnival for Kids of All Ages! in Tompkins Square Park and the Puppetry Arts Festival of Brooklyn in Park Slope's recently renovated J.J. Byrne Playground. Plus there's a brand-new fest to add to your list: Family Fun on the Williamsburg Pier & Frolic! Rock Fest, where you can say hi to the Mommy Poppins gang—we're media sponsors so we'll be there dancing to all of the great kindie bands.

Speaking of cool music, this weekend you can also catch no-cost concerts by Dan Zanes, Elizabeth Mitchell and Mil's Trills.

Those are just a few of the great things going on this weekend. All of our best bets are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Summer Fun Guide, which is jam-packed with info on NYC beaches, awesome water playgrounds and other ways to cool off.

If you invested in a pair of eclipse viewing glasses or welder's glass last week for the solar eclipse, we have great news: you're about to get to use them again! As unlikely as it seems, we are to be treated to yet another once-in-a-lifetime celestial event in the sky over southern California, on the afternoon and evening of June 5, 2012. This time instead of the moon passing between us and the sun, our neighbor planet Venus makes a far rarer shadowy appearance known as the Transit of Venus - viewable in LA for the first time since 1882 (and the last until 2117!).

[UPDATED: December 1, 2012]

For our final post about visiting Chelsea with kids, we're taking a look at family shopping in the area. While there are a lot of popular chain stores on Sixth and Seventh Avenues like T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and infant emporium Buy Buy Baby, you'll find homey children's toy and clothing boutiques on the side streets filled with eclectic wears and playthings, and in one case a perpetually busy train table. Chelsea is also home to one of New York City's best bookstores for kids, Books of Wonder, which hosts free storytimes and author readings every single week. Here are our top stores for families in Chelsea, NYC.

This week we have a few school tidbits (including one piece of news that should thrill students if not working parents), plus info on Summer Reading 2012, Lemonade Day and Dan Zanes' new line of dishware. And while we're sad one of our favorite water play areas will be dry this summer, we're psyched to see one of the South Street Seaport Museum's long-grounded historic boats back out on the water.

There’s nothing like a summer movie to give families refuge from the heat, a break from the beach, or the opportunity to just sit still for two whole hours. Summer schedules afford us the opportunity to catch all of the latest flicks, but let’s face it, a trip to the theater and the concession stand really adds up. We’ve rounded up Long Island movie theaters with affordable movie programs for the whole family. Whether it’s just mommy and baby or the entire family, there are baby-friendly theaters, matinees screening the biggest blockbusters of the summer, and theaters showing some oldies but goodies. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show,