Arts festivals, maritime festivals, world festivals - the weekend offers more outdoor celebrations (most free!) in and around Boston than there is time to enjoy. Whether its the Massachusetts Marketplace Festival in Wellesley, the Salem Maritime Festival in Salem, One World Day at the Franklin Park Zoo or Family Day at Newburyport’s Yankee Homecoming Day, families have plenty to choose from.

We’ve also added to our series of day trips and family getaways: a boat ride on the Concord River; 40 things to do on Martha’s Vineyard; and top things to do on the lower Cape.

For indoor things to do, the Highland Street Foundation’s Free Fun Friday series continues with free admission at the MFA this Friday. Be sure to check Tara’s tips for visiting before you go.

Enjoy!

This week, inspired by events happening a great distance away, Mommy Poppins is striving for excellence. We aspire to greatness, to be at the pinnacle of our field, to earn for ourselves a spot in the record books. What has gotten us so fired up? Simply this: at 10:31pm on Sunday evening, the Curiosity Rover lands on Mars, marking yet another giant leap for our esteemed space program. (We are lucky to have two places locally where we can gather to watch the landing, Planetfest and the Griffith Observatory).

And oh yes, the Olympics. There is that, too. Inspired by that little sporting affair across the pond, we want to give our kids every opportunity to shine. Whether you dream of seeing your child on that gold medal platform, or are just hoping to get him to dunk his head underwater, we can point you to the classes to achieve your goal. We’ve got roundups of the best swimming, fencing, gymnastics, ice skating (it’ll be winter before you know it!) and yoga classes around.  (Yoga’s not in the Olympics? Are you sure? How about dance? Not that either? Um… sewing?) No matter; whatever their sport, they’re all winners in our eyes.

The events this weekend are all winners too: keep reading for our favorite picks …

It's the first weekend of August and while some New Yorkers are leaving the city for far-flung destinations, we're planning a fun-filled staycation for the rest of the summer. This weekend brings FREE annual favorites like the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in Queens' Flushing Meadows Corona Park and the first installment of Manhattan's car-free Summer Streets.

There are also some fabulous FREE kids' concerts like Rolie Polie Guacamole in Bryant Park and Jam on Dumbo's Family Music Festival. Plus your family can go all retro with a disco and roller-skating party at the Brooklyn Lyceum in Park Slope.

All of our best bets for the weekend are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Summer Fun Guide, which is jam-packed with info on the best NYC beaches, pools, water playgrounds and other ways to cool off.

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is on the rise all over the U.S., even in New York City. (Guess that explains why NY1 has seemingly played that whooping cough PSA on a loop for the last month.) Incidents in NYC have gone up 300 percent and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that this may be the worst season for it in half a century.

Well, hello August - we meet again! Not sure how you got here so quickly, but we're ready for all the fun (and back to school shopping) you bring. This weekend there's the NJ State Fair, a Summer Social at the Grounds for Sculpture, Wizard of Oz Sing-a-long, as well as a Honey Harvest at Howell Living Historic Farm to get you in the late summer (GULP!) spirit.  Read on for all our top picks and remember, you can find a listing of all NJ activities for kids in our Event Calendar.

There really is no place quite like Rye Playland Amusement Park in Westchester. So close to New York City, Playland is more than an amusement park—there's also a beach on the Long Island Sound, a pool, a lake with pedal boats, a boardwalk, mini-golf, an indoor skating rink, daily entertainment and more. All those amenities just add an extra layer of fun to a day spent riding roller coasters, the log flume, the Ferris wheel, Super Flight, plus all the kiddie rides in Kiddieland.

In this household, summer months are very predictable year after year.  June is filled with enthusiasm, excitement, sibling fun and happiness.  July brings less enthusiasm, lots of excitement, little sleep, and less sibling love.  By August we are downright sleep deprived, sunburnt, and ready to throw our siblings under the nearest train.