Fun and Free Things to Do with Kids in Boston - Family Fest, Globetrotters and More, April 6-7

4/3/13 - By Audrey Trieschman

Circus hijinks continue this week with the Big Apple Circus at City Hall Plaza; the Harlem Globetrotters bring their world tour to the TD Garden; and the Boston Children’s Museum kicks off its 100 year celebration with a Family Fest on Saturday. These big events, plus concerts by performers like Liz Buchanan and SteveSongs, plus a calendar full of events means there are plenty of ways for families to keep busy this weekend.

Have you heard about the new Kidville in Wellesley that opened just last weekend? Kristin Quinn took her daughter, and they had a blast! (I can’t get that song out of my head now…)

We update our Camps Guide on a regular basis, this week with details on summer camps: 5 Sleepaway Summer Camps for Kids with Food Allergies; Summer Camp Options for Boston-Area Kids who Love Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM); and Summer Camps in Boston, Brookline, & Cambridge. We also have Part II of our April Vacation Camp series.

Finally, have you completed our survey yet? We want to know what you want to know. Tell us what you think in this quick, 5-question reader survey. We appreciate your input!

Enjoy!

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

Family Fest - Boston Children's Museum, Boston
Sat 4/6
Free with admission

Boston Children’s Museum turns 100 this year and kicks off with a Family Fest. Costume characters Curious George, Arthur, Peep, and Buster make an appearance; award winning celebrity chefs Ming Tsai and Joanne Chang demonstrate their culinary expertise; and moms and dads can explore parenting concepts with Rick Weissbourd, acclaimed author of The Parents We Mean To Be: How Well-Intentioned Adults Undermine Children's Moral and Emotional Development and technology and learning with WGBH Digital Producer, Jillian Orr, while their little ones play next door watched by certified care specialists.

In addition, families can enjoy programs throughout the day like world music, drum circles, youth orchestras, and KidStage productions, and the Art Studio is transformed into a magical Paper World.


Harlem Globetrotters - TD Garden, Boston
Sat 4/6 & Sun 4/7
Tickets: $22.50-$164        

The basketball team known around the world returns to the TD Garden for two shows complete with its famous ball handling wizardry, basketball artistry and one-of-a-kind entertainment.


Liz Buchanan - Regent Theatre, Arlington
Sat 4/6
Adults $10; Children $8        

Liz Buchanan and her band celebrate the release of her third CD, Once Upon a Tune. Children can have fun dancing and singing along to Liz’s new songs, including “The Three Bears” and “Rockin’ in the Rabbit Hole,” as well as award-winning favorites such as “Catch the Beat” and “The Antelope Dance.”


Family Walking Tour: Boston Bridges - West End Museum, Boston
Sat 4/6
Cost: $15/family        

Boston is full of amazing bridges: some are huge, some that move, some are old, some are new. Every one of them has a story to tell. This tour starts at South Station, explores the bridges along Boston's beautiful Harborwalk along the Fort Point Channel and ends by the Zakim Bridge and the new double helix North Bank Bridge.

This tour takes a little bit of walking, so wear some comfortable shoes. Sign up online.


Kids' Shows: Eric Herman - Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline
Sat 4/6
Tickets: $8 children, $10 adults        

Eric Herman’s family show is bursting with comedy, creativity, audience participation and outrageously fun songs that will have kids dancing from limb to limb, smiling from ear to ear and laughing from nose to foot!


Karen K and the Jitterbugs - Newtowne School, Cambridge
Sat 4/6
Tickets: $10        

Karen K & the Jitterbugs celebrate the release of their new album Big Ol’ Truck with a concert full of genre-swirling, retro-rock tunes. The happy, humorous, well-crafted and totally catchy tunes make the band one of the rising stars in the “kindie” music world.


Tom Angleberger Art2-D2's Guide to Folding and Doodling - Brookline Booksmith, Brookline
Sat 4/6
FREE

The ever-entertaining Tom Angleberger (Strange Case of Origami Yoda, Darth Paper Strikes Back) brings a new activity book. Children learn to fold, draw, and do.


Family Concert - Temple Ohabei Shalom, Brookline
Sun 4/7
Tickets: Adults $10; Children $8        

The 6th annual Family Concert stars the sensational music of celebrity children's musicians Vanessa Trien (Vanessa

Trien and the Jumping Monkeys) and Philip Alexander (Philip Alexander and the Family Band), partnered together for this special performance.


The Composer is Dead Family Concert - First Baptist Church, Newton
Sun 4/7
Tickets: $10-$15        

New Phil is in the middle of a musical mystery and needs help from the audience. Nathaniel Stookey's The Composer is Dead, based on the book by Lemony Snicket, is a musical "whodunit?" that introduces each instrument to the audience in a fantastic new way. Kids learn the difference between first and second violins, what the tuba does on his night off, just how sneaky the oboe is, and, of course, who killed the composer.


SteveSongs to play Kids Rock for DFMC - American Legion Nonantum, Newton
Sun 4/7
Tickets: Online: $12 + Service Fee; At the door $15        

SteveSongs brings his signature brand of seriously good music to the Kids Rock for the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) show to benefit Innovative Basic Cancer Research. The event includes face painting, kids crafts tables, refreshments and snacks for purchase, as well as some great raffle drawings.