(Photo: Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center)

Long Island seems to be decompressing from the Fourth this weekend, though the Independence Day celebration is going strong through the weekend--you'll find still more fireworks this Saturday. So grab a blanket, take the kids, and enjoy the fireworks shows! There's also a great toy show at Hofstra for all those collector dads (they might even bring the kids along!), and the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center is offering an essential camping skills class.

Anyone conscious the day the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Healthcare Act couldn't help but hear lots of opinions about what it all meant. Surprisingly, the cheers and jeers on both sides did little to help clarify how "Obamacare" is going to affect us as individuals.

Embrace your child’s inner Bam-Bam and Pebbles! Organic, holistic, eco-friendly...these words appeal to those moms who seek baby products that are all-natural and contain no harmful dyes, sprays, or materials. New Jersey moms are sassy, savvy, and not afraid to do research—and realizing sometimes green is the way to go when purchasing baby products. Below is Part 1 of our series on New Jersey-based companies that are riding the green wave and embracing Mother Nature!

Whether your family celebrated Independence Day last weekend, on the Fourth itself, or is taking advantage of the mid-week holiday to get a full week’s time off, we hope you had a happy and safe Fourth of July.

Although summer officially arrived over two weeks ago, many summer programs move in to gear in the days ahead. We’ve highlighted several of these programs below, and be sure to check our posts about outdoor movie screenings, free museum admissions, and our list of 50 free things to do this summer for more ideas. It’s also blueberry picking season (have you tried our blueberry buckle recipe?), and Tara has a review of the new World’s Only Curious George Store - if you find yourself with a free afternoon, it’s worth the visit!

As always, you can find more things to do by visiting our Events Calendar.

Enjoy!

I don't know about you, but as I plan for this weekend, I still have a little bit of a fireworks hangover. You know: echoing booms and elusive flashes of light around the edges of my vision. No worries - the fun that's in store for us this weekend will make all those red, white, and booms a thing of the past.  We've got multi-generational drum circles,  movies for everyone from tots to tweens to polar bears, stories from the Silk Road, magicians, puppeteers, and cowboys.  We've...hold the phone...

Okay,  that's weird. Could have sworn I saw a Jedi in a track suit.  Perhaps those fireworks addled my brain more than I realized. Anyway, did I mention the music festivals?  There's LevittLA and Manhattan Beach; and Santa Monica Pier's Twilight Dance begins this Thursday,  and ...

...There!  On the Pier!  You can't tell me I didn't see that: Jabba the Hut is stretching his hamstrings!  There can only be one explanation: a 5-day light saber relay from Santa Monica down to San Diego. The Course for the Force raises funds for Make-A-Wish Foundation and gives aspiring Jedi a chance to strut their stuff. Now if only the room would stop spinning.

Keep reading for our favorite picks for this weekend...

If your family is into music, you have a lot of rocking activities to choose from this weekend. SummerStage hosts its free Central Park Family Day featuring Justin Roberts & The Not Ready for Naptime Players while Celebrate Brooklyn!'s free Ezra Jack Keats Family Concert in Prospect Park stars Sweet Honey in the Rock. Plus you can catch a kid-friendly Fishbone concert in Williamsburg, the Hip Tot Music Festival in Gowanus and Danna Banana rocking out on a Circle Line Kids Cruise.

Other weekend highlights include free outdoor screenings of Grease on Roosevelt Island and Transformers in the Bronx, and Williamsburg's long-time tradition the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

All of our best bets for the weekend are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Summer Fun Guide, which is packed with info on NYC's best pools, beaches, water playgrounds and other ways to cool off.

If I hadn't wanted updates from the people, places and businesses that I Liked on Facebook, I wouldn't have clicked Like in the first place.

Facebook, apparently, doesn't agree.

Do you remember back in April, when The Curious George Store opened with much fanfare? You didn't make it to the grand opening? Well, that's OK, neither did we. Mommy Poppins Boston got a sneak peek of the store before it opened, but we hadn’t been back until just recently. I thought the place looked like it was going to be quite fabulous, but I wanted to see it through the eyes of my children, so we recently hopped on the T and headed to Harvard Square for a summer field trip to The World's Only Curious George Store.