What's hot aside from the weather this month? Summer festivals, fairs, and carnivals, and more are all cooking in Connecticut. Our July GoList highlights the best things to do with kids throughout the month including Shakespeare, parades, and space-themed mini golf. Kids will love listening to music and maritime lore at Sailfest in New London, noshing at a food truck festival in Hartford, and plucking pie ingredients at Blueberry Fest in Middlefield. Of course, Fourth of July fireworks shows belong on your don't miss list, too.

Craving more? Check out our Summer Fun Guide as well as updates on our Facebook and Instagram page. If there's ever a month to max out on family fun, July is it!

Universal Studios Hollywood brings the magic of the movies—plus the magic of Harry Potter—to life. But you may feel like you need a little magic of your own to navigate the park without collapsing from exhaustion. There’s a lot to see and do, especially when visiting the park with kids. Of all the LA-area theme parks, Universal Studios is the one where the rides and activities are easier to separate into what is appropriate for which age group. This makes a game plan easy when visiting with a gaggle of kids who are all the same age, but trickier for family visits with kids of multiple ages. But we’ve got you covered.

Also, Universal is a big park, as your calf muscles will no doubt remind you the day after your visit. While parks like Knott's or SeaWorld can be approached with a devil-may-care, keep-your-stinkin'-map sort of spontaneity, Universal's Jurassic size is better served by a plan. Consider including these ten tips when you form yours.

Summer fun is in full swing for families in Westchester and the Hudson Valley! Our July GoList features all the best events happening in July, including the colorful Hudson Valley Hot-Air Balloon Festival and a high-end Jazz Festival developed in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center.

The month kicks off with a slew of 4th of July fireworks and also features scads of FREE outdoor concerts and movie screenings, plus various summer festivals.

Notably, July 20 marks the 50^th anniversary of the first moon landing. Various venues are commemorating the occasion, including Westchester libraries, which are putting their own spin on ways to provide out-of-this-world fun. July also marks Harry Potter’s fictitious birthday, and various Potter birthday celebrations are planned.

Now get your calendars ready and read on for our top picks for July. And there’s plenty more where that came from in our Event Calendar (updated frequently!) and weekly newsletters.

Welcome to the first full month of summer! Our monthly GoList of the absolute best things to do with kids throughout July includes some of our favorite FREE annual events—happenings my family and I mark on our calendar every year. Enjoy the always FREE Fourth of July fireworks spectacle and no-cost boat rides thanks to City of Water Day. There's also Bastille Day on East 60th Street, Come Out & Play Family Day, and the  — all are FREE, too!

In addition to family-friendly festivals, we're also looking forward to some spectacular performing arts—from dance to theater to music—as well as the world's biggest bounce house, so get your calendars ready! Here are the top 18 things to do with kids in New York City this July—most of which are 100% FREE.

Somehow, summer is already about halfway over. But the good news is July is full of fun things to do around Houston for the whole family. You can still catch a free (or cheap) outdoor movie, or see a flick for cheap at an area theater in the comfort of air conditioning, or roam through a candy wonderland at Candytopia. This month is also full of kid-friendly shows like "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing," "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown," and "Annie," the latter performed at the historic Crighton Theatre in Conroe.

There are lots of options for dazzling Fourth of July fireworks across Houston as well as celebrations without fireworks at the children's museum downtown and Fort Bend locations. Read on for more family fun in Houston this month.

Every year, the Navy Pier fireworks over the lakefront are a highlight of summer in Chicago. While sparklers light up the night sky over Navy Pier every Wednesday and Saturday from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the extra-long, super-sized Fourth of July display is one not to miss. With July 4 falling on a Thursday in 2019, you'll want to make plans in advance for how and where your family will catch the big sparkler show. We've rounded up a few of the best ways to watch the Fourth of July fireworks downtown, plus a list of well-worth-the-drive fireworks displays in the near suburbs.

Princes and princesses take note: Following a comprehensive 15-month restoration project, Belvedere Castle reopens to the public today in Central Park, bringing with it structural and decorative upgrades and familiar views waiting to be explored, just in time for summer. For families, new kid-friendly nature programs encourage exploration of the castle's lovely grounds. For a look at what's new (and renewed) at this treasured Central Park landmark, read on.