The Litchfield Jazz Festival is a premier summer jazz event in Connecticut happening Aug. 9th - 11th at the Goshen Fairgrounds. We love sharing music and culture with our children and this is a terrific way to enjoy jazz while keeping the kids entertained throughout the day. Kids 12 and under are free on the lawn and they can enjoy the fun new Kids Zone sponsored by Mommy Poppins CT! Kids Zone activities are free as well and include graffiti artist Ryan Christiansen creating an epic mural at the Festival, stilt walking, juggling and other thrills by Matica Circus Company, close up magic by Brian Miller, who performs at theaters, colleges, comedy clubs and was magician in residence at Foxwoods Resort, and hoop dancing by Karlie Dean, also known as “Miss Fly Hips” along with her partner “Miss 360” Brianna Mae. The Village Center for the Arts will be providing face painting for a small fee. Also RS Berkeley, the instrument manufacturer, is hosting demonstrations of trumpets and saxophones of all kinds by its endorsers, all of whom work for the Litchfield Jazz Camp and started their musical careers there 10 to 15 years ago! Thanks to RS Berkeley, two lucky families have the chance to win one of their trumpets or saxophones.

Mommy Poppins Boston and Nantucket Bucket are pleased to offer a series of guest blog posts about things for families to do on Nantucket. Nantucket Bucket is the premier online resource for all things child-friendly on Nantucket - events, activities, camps, classes and more. Happy travels!

When visiting an island with a population that swells from 12,000 to 60,000 in the summer months, one naturally wonders if there are any off-the-beaten-path destinations or activities that can help families escape the crowds and avoid the lines (Note: Juice Bar Ice Cream is ALWAYS worth the line). Well, there are! And below is a list of our 10 favorites. For those looking to check off a few items on their Nantucket Bucket List, check out our previous post.

Shopping with kids in NYC doesn't have to be a chore. In fact, with all the awesome stores with cool interactive activities it can actually feel like fun. And during the summer, the city's many pop-up outdoor markets make for more destination family shopping. You get to enjoy the nice weather as you peruse a wide variety of locally made goods. Plus most markets are located in or near parks and playgrounds, so you can plan a day-long outing around them.

While most people already know about long-running markets like the Brooklyn Flea, there are three new ones this season you may not have heard of featuring eclectic eats, handmade wares and even special kids' activities. From a brand-new bigger location for an old Williamsburg favorite, to a fresh Long Island City flea to a new outdoor shopping spot at the South Street Seaport, here are three cool new NYC markets to hit with the kids.

I love summer camp. And, now that I'm all grown up, one of my favorite ways to getaway with my family is to go to a family camp so that I can experience all that summer fun with my own kids. We've spent fun long weekends at Club Getaway which offers tons of activities that grow-ups don't usually get to do once they outgrow the camp bunk. We were invited to visit Migis Lodge, a family camp in Southern Maine that is completely different, so we jumped in our loaner 2014 Subaru Forester (more on that later) to go check it out.