Another Labor Day, another chance to honor hard work by taking a few days off—like our NYC editor, Raven, who is away in Martha's Vineyard celebrating the end of summer. Even without her here, Mommy Poppins can lead the charge away from labor this holiday weekend, and toward all that is fun, festive and/or FREE this week, in easy reach of the city. Feel free to bury your heads in the sand for one more weekend before facing the back-to-school music.

Care to escape the city for, say, Elizabethan England? It's never too late (or at least not until late September); the New York Renaissance Faire is still going strong in Tuxedo Park, including the holiday Monday. Or spend a few corny hours in Sleepy Hollow for Philipsburg Manor's CORNucopia celebration in Westchester.

If you're headed for the Hamptons this weekend, there's a Pow Wow worth stopping in on, and our New Jersey team has several suggestions for day trips in the Garden State (or you plan-ahead types can take a look at upcoming September festivals in NJ). Connecticut has fairs and festivals popping up all over this holiday weekend, including a life-affirming Labor Day parade in Newtown.

And wherever you spend this holiday weekend, make sure you take a minute to enter our Cinderella ticket giveaway. One lucky family will win four tickets to see the musical on Broadway!

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

Labor Day weekend is here and it is time to say a fond farewell to summer. This is the last weekend to enjoy some of the special programming on the Boston Harbor Islands, including  kids' tours of Ft. Warren, kite flying, and field day games. Stone Zoo and Franklin Park Zoo will both close up their summer exhibits this weekend, so if you haven't seen Birds of Prey or the Butterfly Landing yet, now is your last chance. You can celebrate Labor Day by laboring like a sailor at the USS Constitution Museum or watching fireworks over Boston Harbor. Club Passim celebrates summer with the Campfire Festival, capturing the feeling of playing music together around a campfire. King Richard's Faire opens this weekend with jugglers, acrobats, and dashing tales of lords and ladies (costumes optional, but fun).

As you make your plans for fall, don't forget to check out our September GO List with the best family activities happening in the Boston area next month (and a sneak peek at a very special event in October). Fall also means back to school; we've got ideas for DIY fashions and supplies and how to shop for school on a budget.

Also on Mommy Poppins this Week:

• Kristin gives tips for browsing the SoWa market with kids.
• Tara shares her top 25 Things to Do with Kids in Portsmouth, NH.

Be sure to check the calendar for more fun happening in and around Boston and enjoy your weekend!

It’s hard to believe Labor Day weekend is upon us and soon we’ll be picking out pumpkins and Halloween costumes. This is usually seen as summer’s last hurrah, before the back to school routine bogs us all down. Plan a getaway to celebrate the last unofficial weekend of summer and let your New Jersey kids soak up one last summer memory, while we still have great weather! And for more quick family outings, check out our NJ Day Trip Guide.

One of my favorite things to do in Boston in the summer and fall is to browse the SoWa Open Market, New England's largest outdoor weekly bazaar.  May through October, this three-block section along Harrison Avenue (South of Washington Street = SoWa) turns into an open-air crafts and art market featuring amazingly talented local small business owners and their wares.  What better way to expose your children to the arts and the outdoors...for free?  I get it: Tightly packed toddler-height tables displaying potential breakables may not seem like the kid-friendly activity you were going for, but it can be done, and it can be fun!  Here is a top 20 list of helpful tips to browse these sought-after "mini" shops with your mini people: 

With so many opportunities for hiking, biking, boating and more, it's easy to work up an appetite exploring Yorktown. Luckily, you'll find a variety of restaurants to help you satiate that hunger.

We continue our month-long coverage of Yorktown with a look at our favorite restaurants to enjoy with kids. From kid-and-vegan-friendly cafes and family BBQs to Himalayan curries and sushi, there's something for everyone to enjoy. Read on for our top dining picks in Yorktown.

My daughter has tried everything from dance lessons to cooking classes, but the one activity that has kept her interest for the past 6 years is being a Girl Scout.  We started the scouting journey together when she was in kindergarten.  She was an adorable Daisy Scout and I became an enthusiastic troop leader.  For the past 6 years I have had the pleasure of watching a group of girls mature from wild 5 year olds, who spent meetings crafting and giggling,  to enthusiastic young ladies who have learned the values of friendship, the outdoors and community service.   Just this year, the girls in our troop earned the Girl Scout Bronze Award for creating an organic garden and donating the crop to the local food pantry.  In addition to teaching valuable lessons, Girl Scouting is just plain fun.  Who doesn't love earning patches, selling cookies and making new friends? Read on for some great information on getting involved with Girl Scouts in New Jersey.  For more great after school activities, check out our Classes and Activities Guide.

Where did the summer go?  It seems like just a few weeks ago, I was finally putting away the snowblower and shovels!  The calendar doesn't lie, and Labor Day is almost here, the unofficial, last weekend of all that summer is made of. Our events calendar is full of fun stuff to do happening each day so be sure to check it out.  Labor Day Weekend is also the unofficial kick off to some of our favorite fall activities as well as the start of a huge fair season that spans all areas of Connecticut!  So, before the leaves start changing color and we fall into autumn, let the planning begin for your family's last, big weekend of summer, and make it memorable one! We've listed some fun activities for you to do with the kids as well as some great events happening this Labor Day Weekend.

While Southern Californians needn’t worry too much about impending cold weather, as the summer of play comes to its conclusion, so will the many outdoor concerts, movies, and shows we’ve been able to enjoy these last three months. It is still possible to catch Shakespeare under the stars or a moonlight movie before sweater weather turns into “winter” (a term those of us who live here should use lightly). Here are our five picks this week for giving summer one last hurrah!