This week we were all about Halloween. Not only have we updated most of the posts in our NYC Halloween Fun Guide, our New Jersey and Connecticut sites launched their own guides filled with the kind of holiday fun you can only find outside the city, like haunted train rides and massive corn mazes.

If the Bronx Zoo's Boo at the Zoo is on your must-do list this month, you'll want to enter our Boo at the Zoo giveaway—we'll be posting the winners on our Facebook page on Saturday, so make sure you enter by Friday! It's also the time to sign up for FREE fall swimming lessons for kids. The Parks Department is holding an online lottery for spots through Tuesday, October 16.

Finally, since we often look to our readers for inspiration, information and new ideas, we'd like to hear your thoughts about some exceptional events Mommy Poppins is planning on hosting in NYC. Please take our very short survey so we can find out what kinds of activities you're interested in and what neighborhoods are most convenient for your family.

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

While the summer months are full of free outdoor shows, once fall arrives theater moves inside and ticket prices go from zero to unaffordable. That's why we were so excited to find out about Urban Stages' Outreach Octoberfest, a festival of FREE family performances that takes place throughout the month.

Urban Stages has a 20-year history of touring productions to local schools and libraries, and you can catch a bunch of those offerings over the next few weeks, including Blown Away by Poetry, which my daughter and I saw earlier this year at the New York International Fringe Festival and just loved. The lineup is quite diverse. In fact the only thing these shows seem to have in common is that they're all kid-friendly and educational. If that makes you roll your eyes, don't worry: From what I've seen, Urban Stages' shows are quite engaging and are as entertaining as they are enriching. Plus during this fest, you'll find interactive offerings for younger kids on the weekends, and more mature history-based productions for middle-schoolers on weeknights.

Missing those tastes of summer? BBQ is just as delish in the fall! Whether it’s Texas, Kansas City, Memphis, North Carolina or Portuguese style, barbeque is a fantastic choice for a family outing. From ribs to chicken sandwiches; sweet tea to mac & cheese, the variety of menu options will satisfy all taste buds. While New Jersey may known for its diners and pizzerias, there are plenty of garden state options to whet your appetite for some finger lickin’ good food and southern hospitality!

This weekend, the circus comes to town; Ben Rudnick and Friends kick off the Regent Theatre’s Family Fun series; Big Joe the Storyteller performs at Barefoot Books; and harvest festivals take place from Rockport to Newton, from Concord to Hingham.

Our best bets for the weekend are below, and be sure to check our Event Calendar for plenty of other things to do. And stay in touch with us on Facebook and Twitter for giveaways (there’s still time to enter the Mister G ticket giveaway!), updates and tips on family fun.

And what would October be without Halloween? The fun for kids is getting underway in and around Boston - we have some not so scary fun for younger kids, as well as highlights of Salem’s Haunted Happenings. You’ll find all our Halloween posts in our new Fall Fun Guide - a single place you can go to find everything fall, from pick-your-own pumpkins to parties on the farm, from fall museum exhibits to Halloween fun.

Enjoy!

It’s hee..eere. The orange and black color schemes. The sudden emergence of pumpkin as the number one vegetable. The punny and playful neologisms like spooktacular and fright-tastic. We have begun the month-long observance of the most child-centric of holidays: Halloween. No worries if you're not ready to hit the ground screaming on this one: our Halloween Guide can point you to all the best shrieks and giggles around Los Angeles.

It would really take something out of this world to overshadow All Hallow's this weekend. Out of this world? Ha! Try been there and back! It brought our entire city to a halt a few weeks back as we tilted our heads skyward to catch its final glorious flight. Now it pulls a Carmageddon, closing some roads,  but instead of grumbling, we want to line up to see it pass. The Space Shuttle Endeavour is traversing our surface streets en route to its new home at the California Science Center, and we've got the lowdown.

Oh, and there's a few other things going on too, involving the circus, antique tractors, The Next BIG Thing, Indiana Jones, free pumpkins, and more more more!

Keep reading for our favorite picks for this weekend!

Got your costumes ready? We hope so, because you're going to get lots of chances to use them this weekend since the Halloween season is in full swing. Families can hit annual favorites like Ascarium at the New York Aquarium, the Haunted Pumpkin Garden at the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo's Boo at the Zoo—we're actually giving away tickets to that last one. Details are in our free newsletter.

There are also a bunch of seasonal celebrations this weekend, including Madison Square Park's popular Fall Kids Fest, a Harvest Festival at Queens' King Manor Museum and Carl Schurz Park's Children's Harvest Festival on the Upper East Side. It's also a great weekend for music, with concerts by Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players, The Deedle Deedle Dees, Astrograss and Battery Park City's annual Harmony on the Hudson Family Music Festival.

Those are just a few of the great things going on this weekend. Read on for all of our picks and remember, you can find additional options in our Event Calendar, our Fall Fun Guide and our Halloween Guide.

Has it really been 29 years? I can remember the very first Oyster Festival celebrated in Oyster Bay. At the time, we couldn't believe the crowds that descended on our sleepy little hamlet. The festival has since expanded exponentially to become the biggest maritime festival in the Northeast, with two tents of handcrafted items, a petting zoo, tall ships, sailboat rides, pirate treasure hunts, seaside yoga, three stages with ongoing entertainment, and of course, oyster-shucking, slurping and gulping. With the variety of activities, the seaside venue, the quality of live entertainment, free admission, and a world-class food court not to be missed, this is no ordinary festival.

Now that Halloween is just three weeks away, I feel like it's acceptable to gear up for the holiday. (Hear this, retailers: I will not shop for candy or costumes in August!) For those who are also in the Halloween spirit, make sure to check out the South Jersey Pumpkin Show, a Green Halloween Costume Swap or a Pumpkin Carving Demonstration. For even more weekend fun, read on for our top picks and remember you can find a listing of all NJ activities for kids in our Event Calendar.