What the Village Halloween Parade is to Downtown, the Easter Fancy Hat parade is to Uptown; a chance to get dressed up and take to the streets in your quirkiest, home-made Easter bonnet. Not so much a parade, people mill about looking for the best bonnets, occasionally breaking into a waltz, swing dance or even song. It's as close as you're going to get to stepping into a classic movie.

Find out about this and other Easter Parades:

A parent in my son’s class recently said to me “We might as well be living in Little Rock Arkansas for all we do in the city.”  Although she is a really nice person with two adorable little boys - I am really glad that is not me.  Me and my family take full advantage of the city and thrive on all there is to do here.  This weekend is no different, we can choose from children’s music and theater performances, interactive story telling, scavenger hunts and live animals presentations.  Not to mention all the funegg hunts, Passover activities and events happening in the parks.  And most of it is FREE so why not take a bite out of the big apple this weekend.    

Did you miss our Spring Break post?  Click here for camps, events and fun ideas for the week ahead. and if you are traveling this weekend, kids can learn all about the amazing owl on Long Island or beekeeping, trout fishing and mineral collecting for families in New Jersey.

Have a great weekend.  

If you think 46 Circus Acts in 45 Minutes is just what it sounds like, you're only half right. Yes, the ticking of an onstage clock makes for a whirlwind of impressive tricks and tumbles. But precision is hardly the name of the game here, and the time piece is forgotten almost as soon as it is introduced. All eyes are on the Australian ensemble, Darcy, Louie and the Emmas—yes, there are two of them— who infuse the show with cheeky charm and slapstick antics that appeal to all ages.

What's happening in NYC this week for kids? There's new playground in Brooklyn, a new IMAX space show at the Liberty Science Center, a viking ship has docked in Times Square, and for parents, a revealing new TV series about the food our kids are eating. Plus it's free cone day at Ben and Jerry's and free pastries at Starbucks today only. Get the scoop!

Opening this week:

Staying up late and seeing the annual Ringling Brothers' elephants exit The Midtown Tunnel is a fairly exciting event for city kids--afterall it's not every day you see pachyderms parading down 34th Street in the middle of the night to herald the Spring opening of the circus. No secret there.

But we do have some tips on seeing the elephants this year:
 

We live in a great big city full of exciting and interesting things to do.  And this weekend is no different; it will be a weekend that reminds you why you love it here and why the kids should, too. Start off with the Children’s Museum of Manhattan's free day . If you 've bever been – admission is free on Saturday – and there are a lot of special activities planned. You could also take the 7 to Queens and visit the Math Midway at the NY Hall of Science or get your brood to Prospect Park for a family bike ride that is sure to be lots of fun.

There are also lots of great performances this weekend. On Saturday there is a choice of two classics, Shakespeare in midtown or Mozart on the Upper West Side. Or you can relive a favorite from your childhood on Sunday with the fun and funky Paper Bag Players in a show uptown.  If you are looking to catch some tunes, head to Midtown for a concert at the Turtle Bay Music School, or to SoHo for a rocking good time at The Housing Works Bookstore and Café.

But wait, there's more: a new green library in Battery Park City, unique story telling events, fun for older kids, tons of Easter Egg hunts and events for Passover.  And, who says New York City has to be expensive, the best part of this weekend – most of it is all free. Read on for lots more events. And, enjoy!

A new public library branch opened in Battery Park City this week and is holding opening celebrations today. March 18, 2010. Besides being a beautiful, light and spacious facility, the new Battery Park City NYPL branch was constructed with a focus on environmental sustainability and will be the first GREEN Library in Manhattan.

A few people have asked me to write about the Bake-In Rally that parents are organizing at City Hall on Thursday, March 18th. While I like taking a good jab at the NYC DOE as much as the next guy, I'm pointing my elbows at a slightly different target this time.

Recently, there have been several cases of parents getting up in arms over issues spawned by headlines that seem to be written for the sole purpose of provoking us...and us falling for it. And, thanks to yet another misleading NY Times headline, many parents have been riled up again, in this case, to believe that not only are they not allowed to sell home baked goods at school bake sales, but that they are required to sell packaged goods like Frito Lay products and Pop Tarts. This is just not the case.