Fun and Free Things to Do with Kids in Boston: Topsfield Fair, BCM's 100th Birthday, and More Oct 5-6

10/3/13 - By Audrey Trieschman

The fall festival “season” is in full swing this weekend, and families can choose from the Topsfield Fair to the north to the Cranberry Festival to the south, plus the Franklin Park Fall Festival, the Boston Local Food Festival, and many others in between. Read on for details of these and other fun and free things to do this weekend, and be sure to visit our Events Calendar for even more happenings.

Also on Mommy Poppins Boston this week:

Enjoy!

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Topsfield Fair - Topsfield
Fri 10/4-Mon 10/14
Weekday $11; Children under 8 with adult FREE. Weekends, & Oct 14 $15; Children under 8 with adult FREE). Parking $10

The Topsfield Fair is the quintessential country fair - traditional agricultual exhibits, big entertainment, rides, games, shopping, and great food. Special events include New England Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off ; Military Day (10/8); and Dock Dogs (10/4-10/6). [Details]


Big 100th Birthday Weekend - Boston Children's Museum
Fri 10/4-Sun 10/6
Included with admission

Celebrate Boston Children's Museum's 100th birthday with a weekend festival of music, dance, art, science, culture and fitness.

  • Oct 4, 5pm-9pm: An evening of surprises and delight, sound and light, participation and performance. A Museum-wide celebration of music and dance, led by youth and supported by adults. The Boston Children’s Chorus sings an original piece in honor of the anniversary.
  • Oct 5, 10am-4pm: A festival of music, visual and performing arts and science activities featuring the National Grid Tinker Tent.
  • Oct 6, 10am-4pm: A festival of music, visual and performing arts, and New Balance Games. [Details]

Let's Talk About Food - Copley Square, Boston
Sat 10/5
FREE

Let’s Talk About Food is a celebration and exploration of what we eat and why it matters. Enjoy cooking demonstrations and food talks, learn how to grow an edible garden, and speak with local chefs and nutritionists. Activities especially geared towards children include: cooking classes for kids, an Edible Garden to teach kids about planting things that grow (staffed by kids from City Sprouts), a school bus re-made into a mobile grocery store that they can climb on, and exercise programs for kids and family put on by Healthworks and a Yoga studio. [Details]


Rock 'n' Romp Boston - The Sinclair, Cambridge
Sat 10/5
Adults $10; Children (12 and under) $5        

Rock-n-Romp is a family friendly concert showcasing fantastic local-area musicians and bands. Please note that this show is all ages, but all children must be accompanied by an adult, adults must also accompany a child to enter. [Details]


Celebration for National Fire Prevention Week - Boston Fire Museum
Sat 10/5
FREE

Visitors can join a LEGO Master Builder and Boston firefighters at the Boston Fire Museum for a day of building and learning on the eve of National Fire Prevention Week.

  • Explore the museum and check out an antique fire truck
  • Help the LEGO Master Builder complete a 4’ Fire Department fire badge made of LEGO bricks
  • Get your picture taken with a solid brick 6’ LEGO CITY firefighter
  • Explore 3’ LEGO CITY-scape diorama complete with brick-built vignettes of fire prevention tips
  • Learn best practices from real life firefighters

[Details]


Amazing Archaeology at Harvard - Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, Cambridge
Sat 10/5
Free with museum admission

Enjoy a day of archaeological exploration drawn from work at Harvard. See how archaeologists produce 3-D scans of Maya monuments in the gallery or try archaeological illustration and sketch real Maya glyphs. Meet archaeologists and learn about their recent finds. Watch potters shape the large vessels known as amphoras, used in the ancient world for storage and transport. Reserve a seat and don your 3-D glasses for an immersive tour of the pyramids and tombs of Giza (12:30pm, 1:15pm, 2pm), available at the Peabody Museum admissions desk on the day of the event. [Details]


Franklin Park Fall Festival - Boston
Sat 10/5
FREE

Celebrate the season and outdoors with art, nature and recreation. Hike through the Wilderness or let kids, 9 and under ride the bike rodeo (1pm-4pm; bikes for loan or bring your own). Take a wild edible tour led by wild foods enthusiast (2:30pm-4pm). Capture the Franklin Park’s beauty at a watercolor landscapes workshop (1pm-3pm). [Details]


National Cranberry Festival - Carver
Sat 10/5-Sun 10/6
Festival admission & unlimited train rides $10; Festival admission, unlimited train rides, unlimited amusement rides $19

A two-day event that includes a harvest marketplace of handcrafted goods and goodies featuring all things cranberry and live musical entertainment. Take a scenic, authentic train ride through working cranberry bogs; visit the Cranberry World Museum; enjoy an artists’ marketplace of handmade goods and seasonal delights, plus a variety of live music and other entertainment, helicopter rides, and pony rides. [Details]


Karen K and the Jitterbugs - Regent Theatre, Arlington
Sat 10/5
Adults $10; Children $8        

Karen K & the Jitterbugs plays retro-rock for the whole family and gets tots and their parents dancing in the aisles with their upbeat, danceable and totally catchy tunes. The concert features songs from their newest album, Big Ol’ Truck, as well as favorites from their beloved debut CD, Pancakes for Dinner. [Details]


Boston Local Food Festival - Boston Waterfront at Fort Point Channel, Boston
Sun 10/6
Free Admission; $5 tastings        

Festival-goers can find farmers, fishermen, producers and chefs selling and showcasing local food - $5 tastings! Music, craft activities and workshops are also planned. Look for the Family Fun Zone, with great activities for the kids. [Details]


Josh and the Jamtones CD Release Dance Party - Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center, Newton
Sun 10/6
$10 for members. $13 for non-members. Children under age 2 are free

Boston-based Josh & the Jamtones celebrates the release of their second kids'/family CD, Bear Hunt, with a rocking CD Release Party. [Details]


Art Around Town

Two outdoor art exhibitions opened this week:

  • lucy Light Forest (Esplanade, through 10/13) is a “forest” that’s a bit larger than a football field and consists of more than 10,000 solar powered LED lights
  • Play Me, I’m Yours (various locations, through 10/14) is dozens of pianos vibrantly decorated by local artists for the general public to play and enjoy.

A Look Ahead

Our calendar is filling with plenty of things to do over the three-day Columbus Day weekend, but if you’re looking for more, Einstein’s Workshop may have the answer. On Columbus Day, it has extended hours (1pm-6pm) and two Halloween-themed workshops: Light Up Your Costume (grades 2-8) and Zombie Makeup Effects (grades 6+, Grades 4-5 welcome with adult helper). Sign up in advance via the website.