Halloween season is here! Are you scared yet? Well, you will be once you see how many fantastic Halloween events there are to choose from this weekend. The New York Aquarium transforms into an Ascarium, Staten Island hosts a costume parade for dogs, and the Bronx has a Haunted Pumpkin Garden and Boo at the Zoo.

Of course there's plenty of non-holiday fun, too. Enjoy fall festivals in Rockaway, Greenwich Village's Jefferson Market Garden and Madison Square Park. Or if NYC architecture is your thing, check out OpenHouse NY and the Historic House Festival, which are teaming up this year to offer a slew of free tours and activities. Plus, the New York Comic Con invades the Javits so expect costumed characters to take over Midtown.

And that's 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.

The leaves are finally changing and beauty is all around us. This will be the last weekend full of Fall festivals before the Halloween craze officially takes over. Fall festivals consist of the stuff that makes great family memories. Hay Rides, apples and pumpkins, pie eating contests, car shows, you name it. Read below so that you can find a festival that suits your fancy this weekend!  

Ready for some fun this weekend? In addition to our 10 Best Halloween Events for Kids on Long Island and Best Haunted Houses on Long Island for Kids, we've got pumpkin carving contests, apple festivals, adventures with Hansel and Gretel and fairy house building.  Read on to see what other fun activities lie ahead for Long Island families this weekend.

And if you are looking for a pumpkin patch, check out Pumpkin Picking Farms and Corn Mazes on Long Island.

Not that we need another reason to love Turtle Back Zoo, but we were given one anyway. It’s called “The Treetop Adventure Course”, an awesomely challenging obstacle/ropes course set 35 feet above ground. This is serious exercise and serious fun for the whole family. You want to make a memory with your kids? Strap on a harness and climb through the trees together.

By Monica Nika

As the cool October winds chase withering leaves down our streets at night while the pale lights of Halloween jack-o-lanterns flicker on the porches neatly decorated with frost-bitten mums, let's remember the 'real' ghosts and tell the stories of the 'truly' haunted places of Western Connecticut.  Read Connecticut's 'truest', spookiest and saddest haunted tales below.

What self-respecting kid wouldn’t want to see a movie called Flying Monsters in 3-D?

The California Science Center reminds us once again how lucky we are to have the California Science Center, with the arrival of David Attenborough’s IMAXsterpiece, Flying Monsters. It was almost too easy answering my son’s “What are we doing today?” with the hero-making reply, “We’re going to see a 3-D movie called Flying Monsters.” I confess, though, I harbored a small doubt; what if he felt conned when he discovered that this impressive sounding title was in fact a cover for a documentary film narrated by some old English guy?

I know that for some people, mathematics is the supreme beauty of the universe; let me just say that I am not one of these people. However, the new carnival-themed “Math Midway” exhibit at Liberty Science Center came very close to making me a believer. Colorful, marvelously interactive and just plain fun, Math Midway will appeal to all ages, with different levels of appreciation and comprehension.

We've crossed a few more Halloween updates off our to-do list. If you look at our Halloween Fun Guide, you'll see we now have info on this year's haunted happenings in Westchester, parties and events in Fairfield, Connecticut and a wonderful post about the Bronx Zoo's Boo at the Zoo, which includes a giveaway: four sets of family four-packs to the animal spot. You've got to hurry: We're picking the winners this Monday so enter right away.

Of course Halloween isn't the only game in town. We also updated our post about Columbus Day weekend getaways and staycations just in time for the three-day break, and we took a family walking tour of Chinatown. It's the first in series of posts we are doing on the neighborhood this month.

And that's just a bit of what's going on. Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut, as well as selected stories from our brand-new sites in Boston and Los Angeles.