NJ Weekend Events June 26-27: Free Festivals, Fairies, Fireflies & Fireworks

It's official: Summer is here!  That means weekend concerts and festivals, picnics on the lawn, pie eating concerts and dachshund races, and kids dressed like fairies running after fireflies at dusk.  This weekend is the launch of several pre-fourth-of-July celebrations including the Mercer County Park Freedom Festival and early fireworks at the Battleship New Jersey.  You can also picnic on the lawn while catching some first rate and family friendly music by the NJ Symphony Orchestra at the Annual Giralda Lawn Concert Arts & Music Festival.  For those seeking a more historic event, check out the New Jersey Renaissance Festival and Kingdom, complete with swordfights and a Fairy Grotto for fairy enthusiasts.  Feeling like spending the day down on the farm?  There is a Firefly Festival at Terhune Orchards and cheese making sessions at Fosterfield Historical Farm.  Or celebrate the beginning of blueberry picking season at the Whitesbog Blueberry Festival.

Weekend Activities for Kids on Long Island, June 25th - 27th

Summer vacation is upon us! This being the first official weekend of summer, there is a wide variety of family-friendly events. Saturday brings the first Children's Summer Theatre performance of the season, this one at Caumsett State Park. The shows will continue at various state parks all summer long. Also, camps begin as early as Monday. Below are all the details for the "Sea Stars Marine Camp" and the "Ocean Explorers" camp at the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum. And if you're not camp bound, you could always check out the dragonflies and damselflies. We've got the details for you. And so the fun begins.
 

What You Need To Know About NYC Beaches and Riptides

I was so saddened yesterday to read about a 12 year old girl who drowned on a class trip to Long Beach. I have been reading with dread the stories over the past few years of adults and children drowning at the beaches around NYC, frequently due to strong currents and riptides.

We can not go back in time and save this little girl or the others that have died due to rip currents, but I hope to spread the word to all parents to educate yourself and your children to know what to do in case they are carried off in a strong current. Knowing what to do in a riptide can make the difference between life and death.

The Mommy Poppins Summer Fun Guide and Contest

Summer is one of the most exciting times on this site. I love digging up all the amazingly cool stuff to do around the city all summer long, and so much of it is free. We spend so many summer days just running around the city, checking out neighborhoods and places we don't have time to get to all year long. It's really fun and I love sharing it here with you.

Our Summer Fun Guide is where you'll find all those posts collected in one place. It's got our lists of the best beaches, swimming pools, neighborhood itineraries, music festivals, concerts, outdoor movies, sports, even places to eat and drink. And, of course, there's our list of 100 Free Things to Do this Summer with Kids in NYC (not to mention our event calendar which is jam packed with fun stuff to do too).

What more could you possibly need to have an awesome summer? How about winning a Flip Video Camcorder!

Best Summer State Fairs & Festivals for Kids in NJ

There is only so much time you can spend at the beach this summer... and when you are looking for a day of instant fun, just head to one of the many fun (and often FREE) kid-friendly festivals across New Jersey.  Who can pass up a day helping determine the best ice cream in New Jersey?  Have you ever seen a dog ride a motorcycle at the county fair?  You will be amazed at the wide variety of chickens that exist in NJ at the NJ State Fair's animal exhibits, while you kids croon over the newly hatched chicks.  And you never know, you may have a champion sand-castle builder in your household! 

Toddling the Upper West Side: 10 Spots in 10 Blocks for you and your toddler in the West 70's

We love exploring neighborhoods with our toddler.  It gives you a whole new view of NYC. My 1-and-a-half-year-old and I have been exploring every square inch from Columbus Circle up to 100th Street, coming up with itineraries in 10-block stretches for parents and toddlers. We recenly posted about 10 toddler-friendly spots in the West 60s and this week we've dug up 10 cool finds in the West 70's.

Find out what to do, where to eat and how to have fun on the Upper West Side with your tyke in tow:

Summer Solstice Celebrations and Make Music New York City 2010

Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Also called Midsummer, (as in Shakespeare's Midsummer's Night's Eve), the summer solstice has been celebrated around the world since neolithic times with traditions that are now a mix of Pagan and Christian rituals.

When I was a kid there used to be a Summer Solstice Celebration in Riverside Park that we attended every year which involved staying up all night long making music. It was one of the quirky, artsy things that I was lucky to experience growing up in NYC.

Today there are slightly less out there ways to celebrate the Solstice that still capture the sense of freedom, revelry, and hapenstance of those magical celebrations and truly are only in NYC events and are the types of cool events that your children will remember for the rest of their lives.

Fireman's Fairs & Carnivals on Long Island

Nothing says summertime like the melodic sounds of a carousel or the smell of cotton candy.  Carnival time is upon us on Long Island, offering a pleasant evening out with the family.  Some of these fairs feature fireworks displays, while others hold a parade to kick off the start of their carnival.  Here's to a great summer, enjoy!

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