The weekend is almost here and there are lots of great things to do in Westchester. The Hudson River Days Festival kicks off on Saturday with tons of events happening all along the Hudson Valley. Mamaroneck Shares summer block party is Friday and Sunday is the Hispanic Heritage Festival in Valhalla.

Looking to escape the heat for a bit? Check out a show! Once Upon This Island, a Caribbean adaptation to The Little Mermaid is showing this weekend at the White Plains Performing Arts Center. The Wiz is also showing at Rosenthal JCC. 

Expect boy band mania at Rye Playland on Saturday with The Pop Explosion Tour featuring Midnight Red, an up-and-coming American boy band that recently opened for and toured with New Kids on the Block. 

On Sunday, head to the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art and let your history inspire art at Family Art Day Workshop: 'Portraying Your Personal History'.  

If you see an event you like, be sure to click through to the event for full details. Also, check out our event calendar for even more happening this weekend and beyond! 

Looks like the heat wave is going to break just in time for the weekend. And even if it rains that will be a relief! Regardless of what the weather brings, my family and I are excited to go on a FREE boat tour on Saturday as part of the City of Water Day festivities on Governors Island, and we plan to stick around to hit the rides at the awesome Fête Paradiso.

Other fabulous FREE fun this weekend includes the art-filled New Museum Block Party on the Lower East Side, top-notch entertainment at SummerStage Kids Queens Family Day in Long Island City and TheatreworksUSA's brand-new educational show The Civil War in the West Village.

All of our best bets for the weekend are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Summer Fun Guide, including our favorite FREE places to cool off like public pools, beaches and water playgrounds. And if you're craving air conditioning, check out our Indoor Activity Guide for great ways to beat the heat.

We’re about at the halfway point of summer, so we’ve had some time to (hopefully) relax but there’s also a stretch of hot, lazy weekends ahead. What to do? Keep cool at the 11th Annual NJ Ice Cream Festival in Toms River or the City of Water Day at Liberty State Park. For outdoor fun, check out Buzz Into Action at the Essex County Environmental Center or the Burlington County Farm Fair in Springfield Township. And remember, you can find a full list of weekend activities in our Event Calendar.

When we revisit the classic experiences of childhood, sometimes they lose their rose-tinted luster, while other times they are just as good, if not better than we remembered. The ice cream truck holds up well. Lemonade stands are still pretty darn neat, too. And, as it turns out, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus really does have a right to its boastful tagline, The Greatest Show on Earth.

July and August are prime festival months here in New Jersey. On any given weekend (and sometimes weekdays) you can find a town offering a craft fair, a 4-H festival perfect for children and adults, or some street party with a bounce house and grilled meat on a stick. If you're the kind of person who travels off the beaten path, however, you'll also find some other lesser known events that are pretty darn neat. Here are a few of our favorite "offbeat" summer festivals in NJ.

Wow…I had forgotten how summer eats into our savings.  Literally, eats into it.  My kids are so active all summer that their appetites are enormous…just like my grocery bills!  Our solution?  Well, we’re eating in a lot, planning our meals in advance, and, when we do go out, frequenting restaurants where kids eat free.  Yup, you read that right…there are a few area restaurants that offer free meals to kids with the purchase of adult meals. We've also made a list for Central CT. Bon appetit!

The North Fork of Long Island is known for its lush farmland, quiet beaches, farm stands, and vineyards. There are plenty of family friendly activities to enjoy in this quaint part of Suffolk County. From Riverhead to Orient Point, there are indoor and outdoor activities that are suitable for kids of all ages. Don't forget to check out our Hamptons and North Fork Family Guide for expanded coverage on regional activities.   

In my college intro to art history class, I learned how to examine and really 'read' a painting, its symbols, icons, and contexts.  I loved how all the details contributed to a greater understanding of the composition as a whole. Since kids have an uncanny ability to observe (and remember) the most obscure details, why not help them practice on a painting? When summer days are hot (or winter days, miserable), we trek out to the Museum of Fine Arts with our daughter. Read on for tips we've learned from our visits. For more tips on ways to engage your children before and after your visit to the MFA, check out Tara's post from last summer.