As far as I’m concerned, summer doesn’t officially start until the backseat of my car has a fine layer of melted popsicles and smooshed cotton candy covering it.  To that end, I’m on the hunt for some local fairs and festivals, where I hope to find said ice cream and cotton candy – amongst other things.  Happily, the month of June has numerous local Fairfield County fairs scheduled – surely I’ll find some sticky sugar at one of them!

In my pre-parenting days, I worked down the block from Madison Square Park and I remember waiting on line for Shake Shack when it was just a food truck grilling up dogs. Once I became a mom, the park became my go-to destination with my noisy, active toddler, and I recall arriving super early so we could avoid the Shake Shack lunch rush.

Much as my son and I still love the outdoor eatery's burgers and shakes, it's not the only choice for hungry families in the neighborhood. Over the past few years, a whole new crop of casual, kid-friendly restaurants have opened up around park, plus my family and I discovered a golden oldie that predates Shake Shack by, oh, 75 years. So this summer, after you hit the fantastic playground, check out the cool public art and groove to the free kids' concerts, skip the Shack and try one of these other dining destinations near Madison Square Park.

The music scene for teens is huge this summer in New Jersey! Disney Channel alums such as Demi Lovato and Ross Lynch are breaking away from their cable television shows and heading out on tour. It’s a tough call for parents as to when their tweens are the right age for their first concert; however, many of these upcoming shows feature bands with a more “wholesome” act. It helps that they are widely popular with younger fans as well! Enjoy!

After a taste of that New Jersey summer weather, I'm already fantasizing about the end of school and the beginning of carefree summertime fun. We have a few more weeks of responsibility left, but thankfully there's lots of great outdoor fun to keep me in that almost summer mode.  This weekend there's some really huge fairs and fests like Riverfest in Red Bank, Greek Fest in Westfield, and Strawberry Festival in Hackettstown. Of course there's also a slew of indoor events, like the popular "Baby Loves Disco" tour that is finally making a stop in NJ. Read on for our top picks and remember you can find a listing of all NJ activities for kids in our Event Calendar.

With June starting this weekend, summer camp is on all of our minds. Not only did we put together a diverse list of quality programs that still have availability, we also launched our annual summer camp sale. Save up to 65% on 15 different programs, all vetted by Mommy Poppins moms.

Drop-in summer fun is also on the agenda. On the NYC site, we rounded up 30 festivals and fairs in June, free outdoor music and culture series and reviewed the brand-new, open-air attraction Field Station: Dinosaurs just across the Hudson River.

Our other sites are focusing on summer fun, too. Connecticut shared 25 free and cheap things to do in Fairfield County this summer and Boston rounded up 25 things to do in Springfield, Massachusetts this season. And over in New Jersey, we spotlighted the family-friendly beaches of the Jersey Shore.

Here's what else we shared this week on our NYC site.

Festivals and more festivals - the summer festival season kicks in to high gear this weekend, from shores of the Charles at the Cambridge River Festival (Saturday) and the streets of Salem for the Salem Arts Festival (Saturday and Sunday) to the Rose Kennedy Greenway for Figment Boston (Saturday and Sunday), Central Wharf for World Oceans Day (Sunday) and City Hall Plaza for the Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl (Tuesday through Thursday).

Strawberry season has also arrived (a few weeks early!), and we’ve rounded up some places to pick-your-own, as well as - you guessed it - 3 strawberry festivals. And if “sign kids up for summer camp” is still on your to-do list, check out Tara’s last-minute finds - spaces are still available! We also have a great list of places to go and things to see in the Springfield area. Summer day trips, anyone?

Read on for our picks of the week, and be sure to check our calendar of events for more happenings.

Enjoy!

June 1 Update: Due to heavy rain forecast, Figment Boston has been canceled. Please check with the organizers before attending any outdoor event this weekend.

Photo: Long Island Children's Museum

Happy June! There are lots of festivals and fairs around the island this weekend to keep you busy, including a strawberry festival in Bellmore, a Nature and Craft Fair at Sweetbriar Nature Center, and the Brookhaven Fair in Farmingville continues. Plus Long Island Children's Museum is putting on a Blue's Clues production and having a summer celebration in its outdoor space, "Our Backyard."

Schools out for summer! Can you believe another year has passed us already?! With the end of the school year and start of summer just around the corner many families are eager to fill the (long) days with fun things to do. The Hartford county area has many exciting outdoor festivals to help us ring in the warm weather season this June.