All Weekend

Asbury Park Oysterfest (Asbury Park, NJ)
Nope, it's not a celebration of oysters, it's actually a FREE dog and kid-friendly seafood and music fest on Ocean Avenue Friday through Sunday! Complete with over 20 bands (Rock, Caribbean, Gospel, and Country) throughout the weekend, beer/wine for the grownups, festival food and an "Oyster Oasis" for the seafood lovers in your family. There's also craft vendors and artists, and lots of fun for the kids, like face painting, rides, and entertainment. What a perfect way to extend your beach time!

Hoboken Italian Festival (Hoboken, NJ)
This annual Hoboken celebration is happening on Frank Sinatra Blvd this Thursday through Sunday. There's four days filled with loads of Italian music in every shape and form; pizza-eating contests; cannoli-eating contests; fireworks; grape-stomping; and a day-long procession through the streets of Hoboken, including a reenactment of the "Blessing of the Fleet" in the Hudson River. This is a true celebration of everything Italian in New Jersey, including, of course, food from many different Italian vendors including treats from Hoboken’s own Carlo’s Bakery, of TLC’s hit show “Cake Boss.” Yum!

Saturday September 8th

Behind the Scenes Tour of Jenkinson's Aquarium (Point Pleasant, NJ)
Join the staff at Jenkinson's Aquarium from 9:30-11:00am to discover what goes on behind the scenes at this Mommy Poppin's favorite aquarium while you tour the building top to bottom! This event is for children five and up and sneakers are required. Preregistration required: $14 Adults. $10 Children. Call 732-899-1659.

Open Cockpit Day (Teterboro, NJ)
Bring your airplane-loving kids to this awesome event from 10am-4pm, at the Aviation Museum. They will open the cockpits of many of the museum airplanes, helicopters and a fire truck. Visitors will experience real 'hands on' understanding, including how pilots fly and what the controls and instrumentation do. Pilots and guides are on hand to answer any questions too. $7 for adults / $5 children.

Miller's Pancake (Chester, NJ)
Come on out to the Cooper Gristmill from 1-2pm to see their live adaptation of Eric Carle's story, "Pancakes! Pancakes!" You will learn where pancake ingredients come from, see grain ground into flour or meal, and watch the miller make a pancake. Suggested donation: $3/adults, $2/seniors, $1/children. 908-879-5463.

Get Out, Explore, Get Fit 2012 (Morristown, NJ)
This FREE event from 11am to 4pm at Jockey Hollow National Park was created by a local girl scout for her Gold Award  (in partnership with the Kid Fit program at Goryeb Children’s Hospital). The event is designed to raise awareness of childhood obesity while also learning the colonial history of this Morristown park. And of course there is lots of activities and fun for the kids, such as scavenger hunts, historic games, jump rope, 3 legged races,  and potato sack races. There will also be Get Fit displays to teach kids about health, exercise and nutrition. 973-593-2431.

Seasonal Scavenger Hunt (Tenafly, NJ)
Families will receive a set of clues to help solve active nature riddles along the trails of the Tenafly Nature Center. Each family will need to work as a team to complete the hunt and receive a small prize. Program is intended for adults and children 4 and up. In case of inclement weather the program will be canceled. 2-4pm. Members $5, Family max. $20 Non-members $10; Family max. $30.

Sunday September 9th

Nature Walk (Ringwood, NJ)
Birds, butterflies and plants, oh my! Join the Bergen County Audubon Society on a FREE walk of the Skylands Botanical garden and fields to look for and identify the birds, butterflies and plants at NJBG. Meet at the Carriage House at 10am. Rain cancels.

1920's Country Fair and Harvest Festival (Morristown, NJ)
Join in the festivities as an old-fashioned country fair is recreated at Fosterfields Living Historical Farm. Live music, food concessions, wagon-rides, crafts, exhibits, demonstrations, period games, a farm market, wood stove cooking and hands-on activities are sure to please. Come anytime between 12-5pm to join in the fun! $8 adults/$4 children.

JazzFeast (Princeton, NJ)
This FREE open-air jazz festival in Palmer Square celebrates its 21st anniversary and features performances by some of the industry’s best jazz musicians and showcases many of the area’s finest restaurants. Live jazz and delicious food at the same event sounds like a perfect day to me, and a perfect way of getting some free culture into my kiddos, too. 12-6pm.

Don't forget: We have additional activity listings in our Event Calendar.  And if you are heading into NYC for the weekend make sure you visit the New York City Mommy Poppins events calendar  to get the latest on all the fun to be had NYC-style.

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