The chill in the air, colorful piles of leaves and blooming chrysanthemums are all indications that October is here in Philadelphia. But the surest sign of the season is our Events Calendar as it is filled to the brim with fall fun. There are fall festivals, apple celebrations and pumpkin picking opportunities this weekend.

After making your apple pie and picking your pumpkins, consider a visit to the Academy of Natural Sciences for its Philadelphia Shell Show or head to Chestnut Hill College for its Harry Potter Festival & Quidditch Tournament. On the other hand, if you have completed your fall fun list already and want an escape, consider checking on one of the many consignment sales going on in the area.

Read below to find our weekend highlights and be sure to sign up for our newsletter to be delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday morning. Enjoy the weekend!

Fall into family fun this weekend with a wide array of events and activities that will keep your group entertained. Check out amazing carved pumpkin displays at Rise of the Jack O'Lanterns, watch The Avengers at the Flick & Trick Festival and talk a walk through haunted woods at Spooky Fest (just to name a few).

Be sure to peruse our complete roundup of Fall Fairs and Festivals. And with Halloween fast approaching, you'll also want to check out our Halloween Guide for plenty of spooky (and not so spooky) fun with the kids.

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If your kids love witches, ghosts, and candy as much as mine do, you'll want to take advantage of some of the fun Halloween activities going on this weekend. Most of these events are fine for all ages, but the smaller tykes might really dig the special trick-or-treating at Stone Zoo while the older kids trek through a Haunted Trail (pictured).

It's also high time to start getting creative with costumes, and you can jump start that creative thinking at several free art events this weekend. From a family museum day to art classes to workshops at a comics expo, we've got you covered.

Also on Mommy Poppins Boston this week:

• These New England pumpkin festivals offer wonderful fall fun for families.
• If you're looking for trick or treating alternatives, look no further!
• Spooky adventures are lurking around every corner at these unique haunted houses and trails near Boston.

Enjoy your weekend and don't forget to check out the full Event Calendar!

Here we are in mid-October, when Halloween is just around the corner and fall fun peaks. In addition to all the big Halloween events recurring throughout October, there are also numerous local festivals celebrating autumn and Halloween, including the Children's Halloween Festival and Halloween Carnival and Ragamuffin Parade (see also our roundup of other ragamuffin parades happening in our area). Perhaps the granddaddy of all festivals this weekend is the two-day NY Sheep and Wool Festival, which features fiber-arts workshops and such eccentricities as llama acts.

This is also an exciting weekend for those who love dance, with the Krasnoyarsk National Dance Company of Siberia taking the stage and a unique museum Family Day program inviting the public to Celebrate Dancers Among Us. For more theatrical highlights this season, consult our hot-off-the-press guide to the best family fall performances in Westchester so you can claim the performances and seats you want.

Read on for our top weekend picks, visit our Event Calendar, and check out our October Go List for our top choices for the rest of the month!

Your kids may mean the sun, moon and stars to you, but how about teaching them about these orbiting planets around us as well? There are a few museums on Long Island offering an engaging learning experience that is simply out of this world. And for more enrichment programs, be sure to check out our Long Island Classes Guide.

Halloween is just around the corner and New Jersey is getting into the spirit in a big way! Check out glowing pumpkins during Brite Nites at Wagner Farm, head to Cape May’s Boo at the Zoo to trick or treat amongst the animals or take your little ones to a fun Halloween Story Time at Words Bookstore. And for more autumn outings to keep the whole gang entertained, celebrate New Jersey’s other famous fall fruit during The Chatsworth Cranberry Festival, sit back and watch glow-in-the-dark puppetry during a special performance of Goodnight Moon or take a break from all of the seasonal frenzy with a relaxing Family Woodland Hike at the Botanical Gardens. Whatever you decide to do this weekend, we hope you enjoy it with family and friends. For even more activity options, check out our Event Calendar.

There are many reasons not to take your kids out for traditional, around the neighborhood, nighttime trick-or-treating: Your little one is too young, you have a sensory-sensitive child who is not amused by cackling animatronic witches, you’re trying to move toward a more earth-friendly or less sugary Halloween, or you just want your kids to think more about giving than getting.

Whatever the reason, there’s no need to feel left out on Halloween. There are plenty of alternatives to traditional trick-or-treating for Boston area families, and they may be even better than the real thing!

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In between taking advantage of all the great outdoor activities the fall brings, Westchester is offering a multitude of enticing children’s shows sure to entertain not only the little ones, but their chaperoning adults alike. This fall's lineup includes returning family favorites like Click, Clack Moo, but also numerous novelties, like Black Violin and Krasnoyarsk National Dance Company of Siberia. An added twist on tradition is Olate Dogs - Winners of America's Got Talent.

Read on for our list of the best family shows and performances happening across Westchester this fall season. For even more fall fun, check our October GoList and Event Calendar for all of the other exciting activities for you and your family this season!