We recently highlighted 11 great stage shows and 6 cool exhibits for families this spring. Now it's time to tell you about all of the wonderful kids' bands that will be performing this season. Big names include Grammy winner Dan Zanes; legendary folk singer Peter Yarrow; Seattle’s answer to The Beatles, Recess Monkey; David Weinstone and the Music for Aardvarks band and an all-day concert at KindieFest.

So put on your dancing shoes and head to one (or more) of these 13 family-friendly concerts.

Do you live roughly 20 miles from any good ethnic cuisine so deep in the wilds of Connecticut that there is no take-out save the local pizza joint? Well, I do. And after years of city living this can be a crushing situation at times.

Last week while trekking around the circumference of the local Stop & Shop, loading up on the usual for my family of five, I paused in front of the meats. Staring at the ground turkey I wondered if it would be meatballs, burgers or Bolognese. And then I sighed. And then I had a vision. I could cook ethnic food. I could choose one country a week and for the 3-4 dinners where my husband and kids were all present, I could cook from that country. Extra bonus: We might even discuss the country- where it is and what the staples are - and learn something! Not to mention that the kids would be expanding their palettes by experiencing a variety of herbs and spices in different cuisines.

We're very proud to announce the birth of our new Spring Fun Guide! Last year we launched guides for winter, summer and fall and now we're excited to highlight this special season, when NYC families wake up from their winter hibernation and start spending their days outdoors again.

Read on for a sampling of what you'll find in our Spring Fun Guide.

Even before I was a working mom, I never had time to properly clean my house. Okay, I never made time to properly clean my house, but let’s not split hairs, shall we? Honestly, I have the greatest respect for people who spend precious time to keep their homes tidy, and I do try very hard to be part of their exclusive club, but when Merry Maids contacted me and offered me a free cleaning, I jumped on it like a monkey on a cupcake. Or like a busy working mom on a maid service.

It's been a busy week at all of the Mommy Poppins sites! Must be the time of year: April brings Easter, Passover, spring break, Earth Day and a host of popular festivals like the Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair and Sakura Matsuri.

Don't worry: You won't need to try to cram all of those activities into one weekend. But since they're coming up, we wanted to give you a heads up, so you had time to mark your calendars.

Read on to see what else we covered this week on Mommy Poppins, in NYC, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Harry Potter: The Exhibition is open and ready for Muggles, wizards and Potterheads everywhere. I'm a Harry Potter fanatic: I fully admit to lining up at midnight for book releases, hitting the theater on opening day for the movies and, yes, owning a pair of plastic Potter specs. I tried to control my giddiness—which can rival that of any 12-year-old Potter geek—while exploring the exhibit at Discovery Times Square last weekend. If there's someone in your abode who dreams of studying at Hogwarts and knows the name of Ginny Weasley's first boyfriend (answer: Michael Corner), this display of props and costumes used in all eight films—including the soon-to-be-released Deathly Hallows: Part II—is an unbelievable treat.

There's Harry's invisibility cloak, beds from the Gryffindor dorm, a larger-than-life Dementor and a lot more. But before you don your cape and fly off with your brood to the exhibit, here are eight things you should know.

Break out the bikes! Springtime is the best weather for bike riding. Now that my kids have lost the training wheels and are able to ride the distance, we are ready to do some serious biking… starting this weekend with the Branchbrook Park Cherry Blossom Bike Tour in Newark! If you would rather keep both feet on the ground, there is also a nice offering of kid-only mountain biking events throughout New Jersey that you won’t want to miss. Don’t forget to wear your helmets!

There's never a dull moment in NYC and now that it's spring, great things to do are sprouting up everywhere! On Saturday, baseball fans can cheer on their favorite Little Leaguer at various opening day celebrations, in particular a huge Brooklyn parade. Or head over to the Morgan Library to participate in a cool interactive family workshop exploring the connection between Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. You can also hit up a fun outdoor festival; there are three of them scheduled this weekend, including the popular annual Children’s Carnival at the Queens County Farm Museum and the self-explanatory Touch-a-Truck fest in Brooklyn. If you're in the mood to take in a show, Boom Town opens at the New Victory, and two one-offs, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Junie B. Jones, play in Brooklyn and on the Upper West Side, respectively. And the first Easter egg hunt of the season happens at the Staten Island Zoo on Sunday.

Read on for the our best bets for the weekend, and remember, The Mommy Poppins Events Calendar is chock-full of storytimes, theater, arts and crafts programs, and lots of other fun activities for families.

Have a great weekend!