October, with Columbus Day Weekend and Halloween, is a classic time for East Coast families to get out and enjoy the changing colors. Deals are plentiful in favorite fall getaway locations like Vermont, Saratoga, Hershey PA, Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Plymouth and Boston MA and Philadelphia. Farther afield, the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and the beaches of Hawaii beckon with bargains.  If you are craving Caribbean paradise, try your luck by entering a Facebook contest to win a vacation for four to Paradise Island, Bahamas.  Here are some great deals for fall family vacations.

Breakfast and brunch are the meals we tend to eat out most often; toddlers are early risers, so by 10 or so, we're ready for (second) breakfast, and kids really, really like breakfast food. I enjoy whipping up muffins or pancakes, but I will gladly pay for the privilege of getting someone else to make them for me while I happily sip a mimosa or bloody Mary. It may only be 9am, and I may have a weekend's worth of stuff to fit into one day, but hey! If you're looking for fancy brunches to celebrate a birthday or special event, check out Tara's piece from last spring, but here are a few of our family's favorite casual neighborhood spots around town.

Last week, we announced our brand-new partnership with the New Victory and gave you an in-depth preview of the theater's unique, globe-spanning season of family shows. As part of our collaboration, we're proud to announce the first-ever Mommy Poppins Night at the New Victory Theater on Sunday, October 20, an exclusive event where our readers will enjoy a terrific family production, Me and My Shadow, participate in an interactive pre-show workshop and meet the performers afterward.

Read on to find out more about the show, the special kids' activities and how you can save 20% on tickets.

When my son first asked to taking acting classes, I was floored. He was such a shy and timid kid, even as a toddler. I actually asked him if he knew what acting was. He assured me he did and he wanted to take classes so I signed him up. I was surprised and delighted to see my quiet little boy flourish on stage. He became more confident and took to the stage with enthusiasm and excitement that I had never seen in him before.

Acting can be lots of fun and a great way to build public speaking skills and foster teamwork. It's also great to experience seeing a production brought to life and being a part of the process. Westchester has great choices when it comes to acting programs and we've listed them for you here. Instruction ranges from acting and film making to musical theater with dancing and singing incorporated. 

The government may be shut down but we here at Mommy Poppins are still hard at work, especially with Halloween on the horizon. (Ah, if only we ran the world.) All of our sites published October Go Lists this week, so you can get a jump on the very best things to do throughout the month in NYC, Westchester, Long Island, New Jersey, Connecitcut and beyond. Most of our sites have jam-packed Halloween Guides, too, which we're in the process of updating. Just this week, we published posts about kid-friendly haunted houses in NYC and Westchester, haunted walks on Long Island, easy-to-make Halloween crafts and where to find costume swaps around the country. And we've got a frightening number of additional Halloween posts on the way.

Of course the biggest news around here is the official launch of our FREE Mommy Poppins App, which is available for download in the iTunes store. Now you can find the best places for kids to learn, create, shop, eat and play indoors and out while on the go in NYC. Don't have an iPhone? Don't worry: We plan to release a version for Android soon, plus we're also working on servicing the other regions our sites cover. So stay tuned.

Finally, this week's giveaway is sure to please young soccer buffs: five family four-packs to see a New York Cosmos home game plus Cosmos backpacks. The giveaway ends soon so enter now.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

Once upon a time, charming bed and breakfasts, antique-filled inns and romantic boutique hotels held lots of vacation appeal. That was before you had kids. When you’re traveling with children, your needs change and choosing the right hotel is an important part of a successful family vacation. Parents want bigger rooms, convenient amenities, and a clear idea of what they can expect when they check-in, regardless of what city, town or country they are in.  The following hotel chains are all family-friendly, each with a specific strength that distinguishes them from the pack.  Here are our picks for the best hotel chains for family travelers.