This weekend kicks off a whole host of special events, starting with April vacation and Patriots Day, to the Boston Marathon, the opening of the Swan Boats and Earth Day celebrations. Read on for our top picks, and be sure to check our calendar for more activities.

This week, we launched our Weekend Getaway series with some great ideas of things to do with kids in Portland, ME. Look for future posts about great weekend family destinations, and please let us know if there’s an area you’d like us to investigate! And Tara gives some insights into her daughter's experiences with the Boston Children’s Chorus, a wonderful organization in which kids from all around Boston come together to make beautiful music.

This weekend it’s a little hard not to feel overcome by a sense of doom. We’ve got Friday the 13^th.  We’ve got April 15^th, which, though it isn’t Tax Day this year, is the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. And then, on April 17^th, we’ve got Tax Day. (They say 17 is the new 15). Luckily, we’ve found family events filled with fun to brighten your outlook and lift your spirits, and even score you some free food.

If your tax bill has been a burden, maybe it’s time for your kids to learn a trade. You don’t have to pull them out of school just yet; you can wait until summer. Our intrepid camp researchers have found Sewing  Camps and Classes for LA Kids.

You know what I’d like to tell the tax guys?  Go fly a kite!  Seriously, they must be way overworked this time of year, putting in long hours, and nothing is quite as relaxing as sending a fluttering kite aloft to drift on the breeze. Luckily, Mommy Poppins has the lowdown on the way up there activity. Check out our list of Kite Festivals and Places for LA Kids to Fly Kites.

All things considered, this weekend might be a good time to go to a galaxy far, far away. And you’d better go now, because this is the closing weekend for Discovery Science Center's exhibit Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination.

And finally, since every tax cloud has a silver lining, we’ve found a few tax day freebie offers to soften the blow.

Keep reading for our favorite picks for the weekend, and to find out about the freebies.

With many schools on Spring Break this week and or next, loads of museums and nature centers have planned great activities for the kids each day. This weekend is no exception. Bring the kids to sing and dance with the Irish Youth Folklore Troupe from County Clare, Ireland at Stepping Stones Museum. Wish you knew how to add a hinge to this or that? Bring your budding carpenter to a Mr. Fix It Workshop where everyone will learn fastening techniques. For the future Olympian runner in your family, take your choice of entering the 5K, 10K or Kids Fun Run in Bloomfield's Burn Calories for Fuel Race. The Noah Webster House in West Hartford is hosting A Colonial Girl's Day Out. All girls age 6-12 and their dolls are invited to attend an afternoon of colonial games, crafts, dancing and even a tea party.

Spring kicks into high gear this weekend with the start of festival season and the debut of a few wonderful new family shows. Enjoy kiddie rides, magic and more at the Queens Country Farm Museum's annual Children's Carnival, or check out two kids' theater productions we're really excited about: The Butterfly by Making Books Sing and the New Acting Company's irreverent adaptation of Jack & the Beanstalk.

This weekend also marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, and we've found age-appropriate ways kids can learn about the tragedy. In other water-related news, the Parks Department holds its online lottery for free spring swimming lessons this weekend. We've got the scoop on how to vie for a spot for your kid.

These are just a few of the great things going on this weekend. All of our best bets are below. You can find additional suggestions in our Event Calendar and our Spring Fun Guide.

As New Yorkers, we realize that businesses (especially kid-centric ones) are constantly opening and closing. But it really broke our hearts when one of our favorite haunts, Moomah, announced that it was shutting its doors at the end of March.

But it's a woman prerogative to change her mind, and that's just what Tracey Stewart did. Due to public outcry, she's decided to reopen Moomah, albeit in a different form.

Our winter season was short-lived so the anticipation of Spring may not have been as longed for as in past years but we are still happily welcoming the warmer weather. With Spring and nicer weather comes along many outdoor festivals that include food, music, fun and more!

If you are a Mommy Poppins CT subscriber you have a great chance to win 4 Tickets to see Sesame Street Live at the Palace Theater in Stamford! Your children will love singing and dancing with Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Big Bird and all their favorite Sesame Street Live friends! This high-energy musical will transport audiences to far away places as Ernie captains the high seas, Elmo dances to the rhythm of the African rainforest and Bert meets an octopus who has the blues. It's a story of adventure and fun that teaches children they can be anyone, do anything and go anywhere with the power of imagination.

Do you have a cool DIYer on your hands? An all-around crafty kid? A tween or teen interested in fashion design? This is the perfect summer to try a sewing or quilting camp. Sewing camps offer kids the opportunity to learn a useful skill, express themselves, and make new friends who keep them in stitches. Not sure your child is ready for a full camp of sewing? All of the sewing centers below also offer kids sewing classes year-round.  (Of course, if you don't opt for sewing camp, you really ought to check out the dozens of other summer camps we know about!)