The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) has helped us discover local playgrounds with shade, easy Boston area hikes for preschoolers, nearby farms, and family friendly tent camping. Now, AMC has a new endeavor: A unique kind of prescription program called Outdoors Rx. Through the program, healthcare professionals at MassGeneral Hospital for Children give families in Waltham and Framingham prescriptions for regular outdoor physical activity. Then AMC fills the prescriptions with free, easy, and fun local outdoor programs.

Pam Hess, AMC’s Director of Youth Engagement, is one of the primary architects of Outdoors Rx and is AMC’s Outdoors Rx Program Director. We interviewed her to find out how the program started, why she’s so passionate about getting families outdoors, and what her family does for fun.

The Columbus Day holiday weekend is the big to-do on all of our sites—and probably at your family dinner table, too. Three whole days off! The perfect time to take a family day trip (our Travel site has some great holiday weekend discounts), or go pumpkin picking, or prepare for the Halloween season by hitting a costume swap, making some creepy crafts and putting the absolute best seasonal celebrations in your calendar.

Our Halloween Guides in NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut are already filled with fearsome fun, from the obvious (best Halloween celebrations, kid-friendly haunted houses, etc.) to the offbeat (NYC cemetery tours, Halloween train rides and amazing outdoor jack-o'-lantern installations). Speaking of unique Halloween events, our Mommy Poppins Halloween Family Cruise is coming up next Saturday, October 19. Hit New York Harbor on Manhattan by Sail's haunted Clipper City Tall Ship with the hilarious Dr. Blood, who'll perform kooky science experiments, creepy magic tricks and lead a kids' costume parade. Other attractions include face painting, nautical skills, incredible views and treats for all. Buy your tickets before they're gone.

Other good things to do today? Enter our soon-to-end Created by Kids art class giveaway and book your tickets to our Mommy Poppins Night at the New Victory Theater next Sunday, October 20—read on for details.

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

Happy Birthday to (mumble). Happy birthday to (cough cough).  Happy Birthday to (I really should know your name), Happy Birthday to yoooou. October birthdays: there sure are a lot of them. (That’s sign of the pumpkin, right?) Seems everywhere I turn I’m hearing about another shindig. From the cute little parks celebrating their first to the retail darling turning 10. We even have a few middle-aged celebrants on our calendar (can you believe the Fowler is 50? It could pass for a museum half its age!).

And then there are those so old they stop keeping count. What’s a few million years when you’re a fossil? Or a moon? Or the stars? At that age, it doesn't matter whether they remember your birthday, as long as they still visit.

If it's visitors you want, there’s no better way to draw kids to your door than to lay out the orange and black carpet. Advertise your Halloween spirit with a few well-placed dismembered body parts, and you can rest assured that come October 31, li’l pirates and princesses will be beating a path to your door to relieve you of your tempting treats. And possibly to t.p. your lawn.

Keep reading for some of our spookiest picks for the weekend…

It seems like this Columbus Day Weekend in Westchester it’s all about the “towns”...and it’s almost all FREE! On Saturday, you can celebrate Harvest in the Village in Briarcliff Manor and learn about living “green” in Tarrytown at the Eco Fair. The South Salem Fire Department is celebrating its 75th Anniversary by hosting an Open House throughout the village. On Sunday head up to Yorktown for the Fall Festival and Street Fair where you can enjoy a Kidville Concert.

Harrison and Eastchester have events throughout the entire weekend. Harrison residents love their town so much they are celebrating over the entire weekend with "It’s Great to Live in Harrison." The Eastchester Columbus Day Carnival and Parade will bring with it over 10,000 visitors and hosts a magnificent Grucci Fireworks show on Sunday evening. There is also a meatball contest and I’m wondering if that’s a “who makes the best meatballs contest” or a “who can eat the most meatballs contest” – I believe I could be in the running for either!

And, of course, don’t forget about all the fun Halloween events in Westchester and beyond that are going on throughout the entire month of October. I think this weekend we’re going to check out the Scarecrow Invasion at Lyndhurst Castle in Tarrytown and head up to Katonah to get our pumpkins at Muscoot Farm’s Pumpkin Picking Weekend. If I have any energy left, or my sanity, we may take a ride up for Boscobel’s Family Bonfire Night in Garrison and roast some marshmallows.

Read on for top weekend picks. If you see something interesting, click through to the event listing to view full details. Looking for more options? Be sure to check out our Event Calendar for more fun happening this weekend and beyond.

Apple picking, pumpkin picking, and fall festivals make the East End of Long Island the perfect place to enjoy the fall season. During Columbus Day weekend, there are plenty of special events that are enjoyable for the entire family. Many of the venues that offer apple picking and pumpkin picking also offer additional fall festivities, which includes hay rides, corn mazes, and seasonal treats. Read on for our family friendly picks for this holiday weekend.

When you think about going on a fun family outing, hitting a cemetery probably isn't at the top of your destination list (unless your last name happens to be Addams). But perhaps it's time you reconsidered. New York City is home to many historic and surprisingly beautiful cemeteries that are open to the public and enjoyable to explore, especially as the fall leaves are changing. Some also come alive through tours and special events that take place throughout the year.

My family and I attended an awesome concert and picnic at Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery this past spring and had a blast walking through the gorgeous grounds. So now that my kids' favorite holiday, Halloween, is nigh, I decided to find out what was happening at five New York City burial sites to help get you into the spooky seasonal spirit.

With Halloween just two weeks away you can count on all things pumpkin in the Garden State this weekend – check out the 10th Annual South Jersey Pumpkin Show or Four Sisters Winery Fall Harvest Weekends. But for something a little more low-key, you can sign up for a Low Tide Beach Walk at Liberty State Park or see a neon-filled performance of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. And remember, you can find a full list of weekend activities in our Event Calendar.

Apparently, eight years old is the age where Halloween really begins to matter.  In previous years, we settled for a rushed trip to the department store costume department and grabbed whatever fit from the disheveled, picked over displays.  Decorations were minimal and the pumpkin never saw a knife.  It did, however, see the outside of my front door for long, long after it was considered "fresh".  This year?  Not so much.  My kids are ON the BALL.  My children chose their costume choices (an obscure Minecraft character and a soccer fairy) in early September, and are expecting the full decoration treatment.  They've even begun decorating their rooms.  So, I'm guessing they're also anticipating the entire Halloween/Fall experience, which for me, includes a trip to the pumpkin patch, and lucky for us, (and you!) we've got lots of options to choose from in Eastern Connecticut!