This weekend, skip the NYC museums and theaters in favor of all the great opportunities there are to enjoy the arts in Westchester and the Hudson Valley--many of which are FREE. Choose from the New Rochelle Arts Fest, the Rhinebeck Arts Festival and Smithsonian Museum Day Live!. A bilingual production of The Brave Calf also takes place on Saturday, as part of Hispanic Day Celebration.

Looking for more festivals? The Chappaqua Children's Book Festival returns with a huge selection of titles, a host of author and illustrator appearances and a surprising assortment of fun activities for families. There’s also the Fall Harvest Festival, which includes a Bungee Trampoline, and Bear Mountain Oktoberfest continues, with a different live band each day. For festivals beyond this coming weekend, check out our roundup of fall fests so you can plan ahead!

Enjoy the remaining warm days with some nature-focused events--bring a camera to Nature Photoscavenger Hunt or bring your fairy-lover to the Legends & Lore of the Little People, which should get an A for utter cuteness. If you’re up for apple picking, we’ve compiled a list of area orchards to visit.

Read on for more info and click through for additional details. Be sure to browse our Event Calendar for more events happening this weekend and beyond.

Opa! Enjoy the taste and culture of Greece at the Greek Festival on the Harbor in Port Washington on the north shore of Long Island. Or head to Lido Beach on the south side for the Festival by the Sea. The Long Island Fair at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration will combine old-time country fairs and current day competitions. Puppets, mimes, jugglers and traditional dancing are just some of what on tap. Check out the Great River for the Fall Garden and Harvest Festival at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum for demonstrations, model trains, pumpkin painting and more.

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Hello, Present You. This is Future You, telling you not to panic. I know what you're thinking. I've been there, (I'm you), and I'm telling you it all works out okay. Yes, it is Fall. Fall means Harvest, Harvest means pumpkins, pumpkins mean from now until 2015 it's Halloween-Thanksgiving-Hanukkah-Christmas-Kwanzaa-New Year's all presented in a non-stop, candy-coated, costume-wearing, gifts-piled-high frenzy...

Oh dear. That's not helping you relax, is it? Okay. Let's just focus on the now. This weekend. So much fun to be had in two little days: San Gennaro, free museums, Hispanic Heritage celebrated all around town, Abbot Kinney, a giant kids' book festival, the Day of the Drum, wiggle waggle walking, and a chance to mingle with celebs while learning how to keep your kids safe.

See? Everything is going to be okay. You'll even get that thing you want. Oh, and you won't believe what your kid is gonna do next.... but why spoil the surprise!

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

Hungry? This weekend, the Let's Talk About Food Festival will have cooking demonstrations, edible garden demos, and more. Or if you are in a sillier mood, check out SteamFluff, this year's Fluff Festival. 

It is a great weekend for the arts. Visit a number of area museums for free as part of the national Smithsonian Museum Day. Folk music is highlighted at the New England Americana Festival and the American Music and Harvest Festival, jazz gets the spotlight at the Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival, and Alastair Moock performs his family favorites at the TCAN Center for the Arts. This weekend kicks off Art Week with family-oriented events like the ICA Playdate (pictured) and Tapas and Toe-Tapping. 

Speaking of Art Week, this weekend is your last chance to nominate a kid who is doing great things in the community for our Boston Kids Who Really Rock contest. Finalists will be honored next weekend at the Boston Kids Really Rock festival.

Also on Mommy Poppins this Week:

• We've pulled together all the best events for next month in our October GO list. 
• Tara gives you the scoop on spectacular New England Pumpkin Festivals. 
• We've talked to a number of preschool directors to bring you the Do's and Don'ts of Preschool Admissions. 

For more information on events happening this weekend, be sure to check out the complete calendar. Whatever you chose to do, enjoy your weekend!

This month our neighborhood spotlight is on Rye, and while you’re out and about enjoying our list of the top 25 things to do with your family, you and your little ones are likely to work up an appetite. Luckily, there is no shortage of fantastic dining options for family-friendly meals in this area. Whether it’s pizza, classic American fare, or even Cajun seafood the family is craving, Rye and Rye Brook have it all, from appetizers to dessert.

We've rounded up our favorite local dining and dessert spots in Rye. Looking for more dining options? Check out our Kid-Friendly Restaurant Guide, full of options and reviews on the best places to eat with kids throughout Westchester. Keep checking back, as our guide is updated frequently.

Public school students have a four-day holiday thanks to Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. If you're celebrating, L'Shanah Tovah! Even if you're not, there are lots of exceptional family events that will make this weekend feel special, including eight of our top picks of the month! Five of them are 100% FREE: the super-interactive Dumbo Arts Festival, Brooklyn's largest street fair Atlantic Antic, the Medieval Festival in Fort Tryon Park, the Morningside Lights illuminated procession in Morningside Park, and Bay Ridge's 48th annual Ragamuffin Parade. Plus, the New Victory Theater kicks off its season with the wonderful rock-folk tale The Old Man and the Old Moon, the Whitney is hosting a Jeff Koons Family Day and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is throwing its annual Chile Pepper Festival.

Though most of our best bets for the weekend take place on Saturday and Sunday, you can find lots of ongoing fun in our Fall Fun Guide and our Pick Your Own Guide featuring apple- and pumpkin-picking places within an hour of Manhattan by car—some are even accessible via public transportation. And check out our Museum Guide for the inside scoop on cool kid-friendly exhibits like the Museum of the Moving Image's Chuck Jones retrospective and the brand-new Sesame Street installation at Lincoln Center.

These are just a few of the great things going on this Rosh Hashanah weekend. All of our best bets are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar.

We finish up our spotlight on Midtown East with a roundup of the best family-friendly restaurants in the neighborhood. Since the area is full of office buildings and tourist attractions, it overflows with quick lunch places and gourmet eateries that cater to business types and visitors. But if you go further east into the residential communities of Murray Hill and Tudor City, you'll find cozier, casual spots where families can enjoy a leisurely meal without worrying that your tots' cries will interrupt the next big corporate merger.

As longtime residents of Murray Hill who eat out frequently, my family and I have tried all of these restaurants personally. Frankly, it was hard to pick my favorites since there are so many wonderful diners, burger joints and other low-key, non-exotic eateries where even the pickiest kids (like mine) will find something to please. When I first started researching this post, I had two pages of possibilities! But, with my son's help, I've pared it down to the top ten places to eat with kids in Midtown East.

You can find kid-friendly restaurants all over NYC in our Family Restaurants Guide.

For some children, making friends and speaking up for themselves doesn't come easy. Seeing a child struggle at making friends or a connection with others can be heartbreaking for parents, but there are several social skills programs and classes around Long Island that can help their children break out of the shells and master steps that will help them to become more self confident around their peers. Here is a list of some of the programs offered around LI--for children both on and off the spectrum. And for other enrichment programs, be sure to check out our Long Island Classes Guide.