When I was a kid the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus was the circus. But now, we haven't been to the Ringling Brothers Circus in years. There's a lot of circus competition now with not just The Big Apple Circus, but Cirque de Soleil and lots of small circus acts. But this year, I have heard great things about the big Ringling Brothers circus. They've gotten rid of the three ring format and made their acts more of a visual feast a la Cirque de Soleil, but with animals. It sounds like it's beautiful, magically and truly a special performance.

We're giving away 4 tickets to the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus Zing Zang Zoom. And, while there's still time to enter our Dear Edwina giveaway, tomorrow will be our last giveaway of this event with tickets to Thomas the Tank Engine at Madison Square Garden. So check back in tomorrow, but see below for how to win the Circus tickets.

As usual, toward the end of our giveaway events, things start to heat up a little bit. There's still time to enter our La Famiglia Dimitri Giveaway. This afternoon we'll be posting a Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus giveaway, and tomorrow it's Thomas the Tank Engine. But right now we've got the critically acclaimed (and not just by my own discerning critics) Dear Edwina.

Dear Edwina is about a girl who has a rocking advice column she performs out of her garage. It is a great show with a great message and super songs. Check out our full review here. But if you want details on how to win four free tickets plus a discount code, click to read more. And stay tuned for the great giveaways coming up later today and this weekend.

Enter to win 4 tickets to Dear Edwina:

This weekend is chock full of Spring fun. You might want to try an Easter Egg Hunt in New York City or on Long Island. There are some great places to enjoy a nice day trip. But Easter could always wait till next weekend, cause there are lots of other cool events happening his weekend, from a juggling festival to a "Petacular", the season "openings" of Coney Island and Prospect Park, and the not to be missed International Pillow Fight Day or Brooklyn Kids Record Day. Check those activities out and more inside:

Hurray for the New Victory Theater which offers family friendly shows at budget friendly prices. And not just puppet shows of familiar fairy tales either. The New Vic shows fresh, interesting performances that adults enjoy as much as kids. Their latest is La Famiglia Dimitri, an European family circus.

Although the New Vic recommends La Famiglia Dimitri to children over the age of four, there were plenty of younger children sitting aloft the cushy booster cushions, clapping and laughing as the multi-faceted performers worked their magic. Hailing from Switzerland, these five men and women sang and played Latin American tunes on a variety of instruments from accordions to trumpets, while dancing on tightropes, juggling ping pong balls out of their mouths, clowning, and fully entertaining the enraptured crowd.

I felt like I’d been transported into old time Europe watching a family troupe of gypsies performing by the side of the road, using the few simple props they kept in their caravan – handkerchiefs, boxes, rope and simple pancake make-up. My four year old and I were utterly engaged and the two hour show (with a brief intermission) passed quickly.

It’s a musical extravaganza, a circus (without animals, which, being a vegetarian, sometimes vegan, I appreciated more), and a magic show. Well worth a visit.

Find out how to win 4 tickets to this show, plus a discount code inside:

If you thought this was the Year of the Ox, you are so wrong. According to the United Nations, it’s the Year of the Gorilla. In order to raise awareness about the threats to the iconic Gorilla species, the United Nations has declared this year the “Year of the Gorilla” and the Wildlife Conservation Society (the global conservation organization that owns and operates the Bronx Zoo) is helping to support these beautiful beasts with a month-long celebration of the planet during Earth Month and a fundraising run that supports their work to protect gorillas.

Check out the fun, family –friendly events that are going to be going on at the Bronx Zoo in April:

What's big and green and smells like old cheese? No it's not that spot under your sink that you keep meaning to get to...it's Shrek! And he's now on Broadway singing, and burping, his heart out in a Dreamworks musical.

Shrek The Musical is now on Broadway bringing the movie to life in a big, slightly gross, and beautiful production. Shrek on Broadway is said to be hilariously funny and incredibly like the movie with wry humor that makes it fun for adults as well as kids. Don't miss a great opportunity to win tickets to this family favorite show.

We're giving away a family pack of tickets (4 tix) to see Shrek The Musical on Broadway!

Spring Break is right around the corner and many of us are not going anywhere this year, but at Mommy Poppins we choose to celebrate the opportunity to stay home and enjoy New York CIty and all it has to offer. That's why this entire week we'll be giving away tickets to NYC's top family shows. We personally picked the best shows we wanted to see ourselves and wrangled family four packs to each one. And that's not all, we also convinced each show to offer all our readers great discount codes that everybody can use, with as much as 50% off ticket prices.

First up: Family Four Pack to The Wizard of Oz at Madison Square Garden

What, you're not following Mommy Poppins on twitter? Then you're missing out on all the cool stuff we've been tweeting that doesn't make it for a full blog post. Plus we find out about all kinds of cool stuff going on and retweet it for you. Below is just a taste of some of the top retweets from the last day or so. But don't miss out, follow MommyPoppins and follow KidBuzzNY to make sure you know the latest, coolest news for kids in NYC.