Puppetonia is now called Puppetsburg. Read all about its new incarnation and schedule here.

Pop quiz: How do you please a roomful of toddlers?

a. Puppets
b. Singing and dancing
c. Bubbles
d. Parachute play
e. All of the above

The answer is, of course, e., and Puppetonia at The Brick Theater in Williamsburg cheerfully delivers all of that fun and more. This puppet show-playtime hybrid is one of those rare events that worked for both my baby and toddler.

When we entered, we were greeted with stickers (always appreciated by the preschool set) and given name tags. After a few minutes of free play with assorted toys, our hosts Sarah and Liz invited the kids to sing and dance to a couple of toddler standards ("Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and the like). Then the puppet stars made their way to the spotlight.

Despite the dreary weather, we've been feeling upbeat all week. On Wednesday, we celebrated the International Day of Peace with pinwheels for peace. (The photo above is from my daughter's East Harlem elementary school.) On Friday, fall officially arrives, which means we have lots of harvest festivals to look forward to. Plus, we found out that Mommy Poppins has been nominated as best local blog by Parents magazine! If you think we should win (and we hope you do), please vote for us at Parents.com. You'll need to register (boo!) but it really only takes a minute.

We're also really looking forward to this weekend. There are so many incredible annual festivals and events, like the amazing Dumbo Arts Festival and Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day, when 35 NYC cultural institutions offer free admission. 

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.

Fall is officially here and with it comes cooler temps and family fun! We’ve got some exciting events and activities to help kick off the season right. Fall festivals and fairs abound right about now, and if you haven't been apple picking, or you are looking to visit a pumpkin patch or get lost in a corn maze, we've got you covered.

Also, some exciting news: Mommy Poppins has been nominated by Parents.com in the Best Local Mom Blog category! Please vote, we'd sure appreciate it.

How do you know it’s Fall in Los Angeles? Certainly not by the weather; another scorcher is due this weekend. Nope, it’s the harbingers of Halloween that warn us of Autumn’s approach, from the costumes lining the drugstore aisles to the TV ads trumpeting horror fests at our amusement parks.

Soon enough we’ll be sharing the most spooktacular events of the season. But for this weekend we're serving up the events without a side of scary. Among the highlights are festivals celebrating Italian and Hispanic culture, the Jewish New Year, two fundraising doggy walks, and an exhibit filled with hundreds of spiders.  (Okay, maybe we get a little bit scary). Also, if your family doesn't celebrate the Jewish New Year, you might want some ideas for camps that are in session for next week's school holiday.

Keep reading for some of our favorite choices for the weekend. And some exciting news - Mommy Poppins has been nominated by Parents Magazine in the Best Local Blog category. Please vote for us if you agree!

Boston has a particularly musical sound this weekend, from the free, outdoor Berklee Jazz Festival in the South End to the two-day Life is good Music Festival in Canton with kiddie favorites Laurie Berkner Band, Ben Rudnick and Friends, Keller Williams and Imagination Movers on the Kids Stage. Kids even the opportunity to ask Laurie Berkner questions about her music - be sure to plan ahead for that!

Admission to over 60 museums in Massachusetts is free on Saturday, thanks to the Smithsonian Museum Day program. A diverse group of museums is participating and includes the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, the Blue Hills Trailside Museum in Milton, the EcoTarium in Worcester, Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History in Weston, Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury, the MFA and Old South Meeting House in Boston, and Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge.

If the rain keeps you at home, you can check out our favorite apple recipes - a perfect fall activity.

Read on for some of our top choices this weekend. And some exciting news - Mommy Poppins has been nominated by Parents Magazine in the Best Local Blog category. Please vote for us if you agree!

Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer - talented singers, songwriters, instrumentalists, and educators  who play dozens of instruments perform for Boston-area kids at The Center for the Arts in Natick on Saturday, October 15. Mommy Poppins Boston is offering its readers the chance to enter the drawing for a Family 4 Pack of tickets to the show!

To enter, send me an email and let me know you're interested in attending the show. One winner will be drawn at random and notified on Tuesday, October 11.  If winner doesn't respond to our email notification within 48 hours, another winner will be drawn. (Email addresses of entrants will not be collected, sold or otherwise abused.)

And subscribe to our weekly Boston newsletter to be sure you stay up-to-date with what's going on in and around Boston!

And you thought the end of summer meant the end of fun? Forget that! This weekend’s jam-packed with picks for everyone.  There’s a small-town harvest fest in Tewksbury; a family campfire in Tenafly; Superheroes in Florham Park; Fairies in Camden; a Fungus Fest in Morristown; cider-making; an open-air musical; a monster garage-sale and more.  Dig those jackets out of the closet, dust off the boots, and hit the road–the fun has just begun.

This weekend we've listed loads of fun things to do with the kids here in CT. The weather looks iffy so check the forecast before you head out. If some activities get rained out there's still plenty of indoor options for you such as Free Museum Day, Kent Library story time, an open skate session, “What To Do When a Bully Bothers You” performance,  as well as the SkippyJon Jones musical. Stepping Stones Museum will debut its new CyberChase Math exhibit on Saturday. You can also refer to our indoor playspace guide. But dear readers, we really hope the sun shines through because we have quite the roster of incredible fairs, shows, festivals and celebrations. The CT Renaissance Fair opens it's doors this Saturday, as does the Norwalk Boat Show, Durham Ag Fair and the CT Antique & Machinery Festival (just to name a few)!

This week we listed 13 Fun Things to Do this Fall with Kids in Litchfield County. We also posted about After School Activities and Classes for Tweens and Teens in Fairfield County. Fairfield Library has a great FREE tutoring program it is offering to students of all ages so we did a post of Free tutoring resources. Hope it helps!

Have you heard? Parents magazine has nominated Mommy Poppins for Best Local Blog! Please take a minute to vote for us. We'd REALLY appreciate it. Now, back to this upcoming weekend. Read more to see the extensive listing we've corralled for you. You can find even more events on our events calendar. Share the love and friend us on facebook and twitter to get daily insider scoops. Have a great weekend!