This Week: Best Things to Do in June, Summer Festivals and Fairs, Summer Camps with Availability

5/30/13 - By Raven Snook

Are you ready for June? I know our kids are. Every morning, my second grader excitedly crosses off another day on the calendar as we count down to summer. If you're still trying to figure out what to do with the kids over school break, we just put up a list of high-quality summer camps that still have availability for all ages and interests. If you've got camp covered, then start poking around our Summer Fun Guide. We're still in the process of going over all of our popular seasonal posts from years past, but a lot of the big ones have already been updated like NYC beaches, water playgrounds, free outdoor sports programs for kids, June fairs and festivals and carousels—we even have info on the just reopened B&B Carousell in Coney Island.

Speaking of June, we just posted a brand-new Go NYC List, which highlights the best things to do with kids throughout the month. Many of our FREE annual favorites take place in June, like the Coney Island Mermaid Parade and the Figment arts fest on Governors Island. My family already has both of those marked in our calendar. If you're expecting or have a newborn, you'll want to put this Sunday's Brooklyn Baby Expo in your calendar, too. Hosted by A Child Grows in Brooklyn, the event features seminars, top baby gear, fun for the kids and more. And you can save 15% on tickets by using the discount code MP-BBE2013.

Our New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut sites are also all about summer fun. It's worth checking them out for great day trip and vacation ideas, like western heritage theme park Wild West City in Sussex County and Chatham on Cape Code. Our NYC Family Day Trips and Weekend Getaways Guide and Travel site also have detailed info on hundreds of destinations near and far, including what makes each one special for kids and families.

And if you're feeling lucky, it's almost your last chance to enter to win a children’s birthday party package at the brand-new Fantasy Forest at the Flushing Meadows Carousel—a $500 value. Enter on our Giveaways page. We're also excited to report that our Mommy Poppins App IndieGoGo campaign is at 26%. Help us get to 50% by next week and earn cool rewards for your support.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

We rounded up 30 cool family fairs and festivals in June, many of them FREE.

The must-do fests made it to our June NYC Go List, which highlights the absolute best things to do with kids all month long.

Planning your child's first trip to MoMA, the Met or another art spot? Get them psyched for the visit with these children's books about NYC art museums.

Our biweekly links post included info on the Sing for Hope Pianos, golf at Bryant Park and the death of the kids' author behind Lyle the Crocodile.

Totally unprepared for the upcoming school break? Don't worry: Lots of awesome NYC summer camps still have availability.

Our Bronx blogger, Sonia, and her family visited the just opened Starlight Park and took lots of lovely photos.

Tennis anyone? We found FREE tennis lessons for kids this summer throughout the five boroughs.

Best bets for the weekend include the Great Howl! Out Loud Kids Carnival in Tompkins Square Park, the FREE Maddie’s® Pet Adoption Days event and The Ultimate Science Street Fair in Washington Square Park.