SATURDAY ONLY

WONDERS, INC. At the Barrow Mansion (Jersey City)

A young boy is bored with his town, until he discovers a factory he's never seen before: a factory that manufactures such things as time, space and dreams. WONDERS, INC., the Attic Ensemble’s  fourth and final Junior production of the season, uses music and fantasy to enthrall children and adults alike. The 45-minute production ends with a 25-minute “hands-on educational talk-back,” allowing budding thespians to ask questions about the performance, and about theater performing in general.  Watch out, they’ll want to audition for “Glee” next. Saturday, May 7 at 1pm.  Tickets: Kids/$5 ;  Parents and guardians/FREE.  To make your reservations by phone, call 201-413-9200 (option #1) and leave the following information: Name, date of show, number of tickets, and your phone number with area code.

Explore the Farm: Fosterfields Living Historical Farm (Morristown)

Springtime on a farm brings lots of activity, and this weekend is no exception. Fosterfields Living Historical Farm offers horse-drawn wagon rides with an educational twist: riders learn about farmer Charles Foster and explore the methods, equipment, crops, and enterprises of Fosterfields in the early 1900s. Re-enacters bring the lesson to life dressed in Victorian Era attire and demonstrating honey-collecting, quilting and open-hearth cooking. Spend a little time going back in time, and maybe the kids’ll not only want to eat their veggies, but grow them, too. Saturday, May 7, 10:15am–Noon.  FREE with admission: Adults/$6.; seniors/$5.; children 4-16/$4; children 2-3/$2.; children under 2/FREE. Preregistration is required, please call 973-326-7645

May Day Celebration at Hoffman Center for Conservation and Environmental Education (Bernardsville)

Take 276 acres of scenic woodland, add a field and flood plain habitat supporting over 200 species of wildlife, throw in live music, a Natural Treasure Hunt, storytelling, crafts, games and live animal/reptile demonstrations, and you have a May Day celebration worth celebrating! Tour the art gallery and stop by the Nature Store for special May Day discounts while you’re at it.  Who knows? Your kids might surprise you by chipping in for Mother’s Day and finally getting that mounted moose head you’ve been dreaming about. Saturday May 7, from 10am-4pm. FREE. Call  Mike Anderson, Director, or  Stephanie Foster, Teacher Naturalist, at 908-766-5787 for more information.

Free Comic Book Day at Dewey’s Comic City (Madison) (NOTE: Additional. shops/cities participating)

What? You didn’t know? Well, put this on repeat in your Blackberry calendar now! Free Comic Book Day is a single day - the first Saturday in May each year - when participating comic book shops around the world give away comic books absolutely FREE to anyone who visits their stores. Many New Jersey shops are participating (check here for additional locations and goings-on, but Dewey’s Comic City in Madison is really living it up! Kids under14 years old can choose up to 30 FREE comics from a wide variety of publishers, all published especially for this day. (See store website for details. ). Yes, 30 FREE! Archie Comics artist Fernando Ruiz will meet fans, provide free sketches and sign copies from 1:30pm-3:30pm. Also sketching for aspiring young comic creators and providing art tips to budding comic book artists will be Kubert Art School instructors and students.  Star Wars characters come to life as members of New Jersey’s Star Wars costuming organizations roam the shop.  Now, if your hair was only still long enough for those Princess Leia hairbraid buns. FREE. Call 973-593-0042 for more information.

Sheep Shearing Festival at the Valley Shepherd Creamery (Long Valley)

What’s wooly, smelly, and needs a good haircut?  No, it’s not Grandpa Joe, it’s sheep, ewe silly. And the Annual Shearing Festival at Valley Shepherd Creamery  is the place to find them–600, to be exact.  All needing a shave. Many pregnant and due, so chances are you’ll glimpse a new life entering the world, too.  There’s farmstead cheeses to taste, wine to sip, homemade gelato to lick, storytelling, singing, live bands, yarn-spinning, blacksmithing, weaving, woodcarving, broommaking, basket-weaving, kids’ wool crafts, and more.  Whew! The kids (and you) won’t need to count sheep to get to sleep after this event.  Saturday, May 7, 10am-4pm. Adults/$10.; Children/$6.; Infants being carried/FREE. It’s recommended that visitors purchase tickets online in advance to save 20 minutes of waiting in line at the event, and because ticket sales are limited.  FREE parking available at Long Valley Middle School, with FREE shuttles to the event.  Call 908-876-3200 for more information.

Spirit of the Jerseys State History Fair at Allaire State Park (Farmingdale)/

History buffs, rejoice! Experience five centuries of New Jersey’s history all in one place. New Jersey’s history comes alive with exhibits, period music, military encampments, open hearth cooking, an 1864 baseball game, an authors’ tent and lots of hands-on activities for kids. After this, maybe that next school history report won’t be such a struggle after all. Saturday, May 7, 11am-5pm. Rain or shine. FREE, but a $5./car parking donation is requested. Call 732-919-3500 for more information.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

The Secret Garden at the Kendall Theatre at The College of New Jersey (Princeton)

If the last beautiful story of hope and renewal your kids watched was “Dora To the Rescue,” it’s time to bring on the dance! From the classic book The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett comes this original ballet performed by the area's most talented dancers, and incorporating unique moving projection art as its backdrop.  Lucky for you, if you hit Sunday’s performance, you can cash in on their “Buy Three, Mom goes Free” promotion.  Now that’s a happy ending you can live with. Saturday, May 7, 7pm, and Sunday, May 8, 2pm. Advance tickets: Adults/$20.; Seniors and students/$15. At the door tickets: Adults/$25.;  Seniors and students/$15.  (To take advantage of the May 8^th Mother’s Day promotion, order 3 tickets only. When you arrive on Sunday, bring mom (or another loved one) and she will be admitted to the show FREE.) Tickets may be purchased by calling 609-520-1020 or online at www.dancevisionnj.org.

Don’t forget to check out our listings of amazing Mother’s Day events–hey, it’s your day–take advantage of it!