This weekend, head on over to the EMCON3 Anime Festival at the East Meadow Public Library in East Meadow where you'll enjoy game board demonstrations, anime screenings and workshops, lectures, and more.  It's the opening weekend of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Theatre Three in Port Jefferson, a musical tale about quirky competitors and oddball adults in the championship of a lifetime.  The Long Island Fleece & Fiber Fair is taking place at Hallockville Museum Farm in Riverhead, where you'll see demonstrations including sheep herding, sheep and llama shearing, yarn spinning, dyeing, weaving, and more.  Family Fun Day is taking place at Camp Jacobson at Robin Hood in Old Westbury, where you can check out the School of Rock, plant seeds at the Shavuot Planting Day, and shoot hoops at the basketball clinic.  Also on tap: The Pet Fest & Doggie Treat Bake-Off at the Garden of Eve Organic Farm & Market in Riverhead, and the Wildlife Baby Shower at Sweet Briar Nature Center in Smithtown.  As always, check out our events calendar every day for fun activities for the family!  Long Island is home to many beautiful parks so please be sure to check out our articles on Suffolk County Parks and Nassau County Parks.  If you are a new mom who is looking to get back into shape, please be sure to check out our article on Fit4Mom in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

It’s starting to look a lot like summer this weekend, because suddenly there is so much to do! (That and the mercury’s unexpected leap into the triple digits.) We’ve got festivals celebrating everything from bugs to banjos,  strawberries to seals. We bid a fond adieu to the Renaissance Fair and REDCAT International Children’s Film Festival, and say hola! to Anatolia.

Hm, wait a minute, do they speak Spanish in Anatolia? Probably not. I’d know a lot better if we had one of them bi-lingual kids around here to translate. Since mine are strictly monolingual (unilingual?) I’d better start looking into some serious language instruction. Luckily, Mommy Poppins has the scoop and low down on language immersion and bilingual schools in LA. Què bueno!

One word that never needs translating is free. As in gratis, keep yer paws outta my wallet. If you were wondering how long you could bring your kids along to Southern California attractions for zero dollars cheap, look no further. Our handy-dandy guide tells you the cut-off ages for free admission!

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks for this weekend... (some of which are free even for old folks like Moms and Dads!)

There’s plenty of fun and free things to do in and around Boston this weekend. From EarthFest at the Hatch Shell, the Franklin Park Kite Festival, and the Hot Dog Safari on Saturday to the Japan Festival Boston and the Mystic River Herring Run and Paddle on Sunday, the weekend is filled with festivals and celebrations. Read on for more of our weekend picks, and be sure to check our Events Calendar for more ideas.

Looking for more things to do? Rachel, our newest contributor, recently took her two year old to the Arnold Arboretum and has five simple ways to occupy a toddler (or two) and connect with nature in one of the city’s most beautiful and peaceful green spaces. Kristin describes her “love affair” with Baby Wiggle Little Groove - great classes, fun birthday parties and more. Plus, the Highland Street Foundation's Free Fridays schedule is out - Tara has chosen five to highlight, taking into consideration whether other significant discounts (such as library museum passes) are available at another time, how much money is saved, proximity to Boston, and whether the place is good for young children.

Finally, a big thank you to all the families, volunteers, sponsors and supporters who helped make last week’s One Family Music Festival such a success - thanks to everyone’s generosity, we were able to raise over $23,000 for the One Fund Boston. We also brought the families of Boston together to sing, dance, create art, and celebrate the strength and beauty of our great city. It was a day that allowed many families to begin healing from the pain caused by the tragic events surrounding this year’s Boston Marathon, and to reclaim the city for our children.

Enjoy the weekend!

Do you like outdoor festivals? Then you're going to love this weekend. A bunch of our annual favorites take place on Saturday and Sunday, including the Fleece Festival in Prospect Park, the Ninth Avenue Food Festival in Midtown West, downtown Manhattan's free New York Dance Parade, Madison Square Park's no-cost Spring Kids Fest and Brooklyn's ride-filled Kings County Fair.

It's also a great weekend for enriching multicultural fun like El Museo del Barrio's Spanish lit-themed Super Sabado, the National Museum of the American Indian's Hawaiian celebration and the Children's Museum of the Arts' Caribbean Fest.

These are just a few of the great things going on this weekend. All of our best bets are below. Remember, there are even more options in our Event Calendar and our Spring Fun Guide.

One of the things I love about living in Connecticut is that I can be in downtown Hartford in ten minutes, and If I drive ten minutes in the other direction, I can be on a rural, working farm that feels like I'm far away from any hustle and bustle. 

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, CT has nearly 5,000 farms. They are wonderful places to show your children where our food comes from, and why local agriculture is crucial to the environment and the economy. If you would like to get out and see for yourself, check out our post on Where to See Baby Farm Animals in Fairfield County.

Hands down, May is my family’s favorite month. Gorgeous weather and outdoor events make for perfect late-spring weekends. Got a truck lover in your life? Head to Nutley’s Big Truck Day. Princess in the house? Try the Afternoon Doll Tea at Just Bead Yourself. And for the whole gang, there's Smithville Village’s Mayfest or a Woodland Walk at the NJ Botanical Gardens. Read on for our top picks and find a listing of all NJ activities in our Event Calendar.

What's the one neighborhood in NYC that has not one but two children's museums? If you guessed the Upper West Side or Park Slope, try again. Crown Heights, Brooklyn is home to the super-popular and interactive Brooklyn Children's Museum as well as the lesser-known Jewish Children's Museum, which features an entire floor of games including an indoor mini-golf course. So while there may not be any traditional kiddie gyms in Crown Heights (yet—it's only a matter of time), there's certainly no shortage of places for kids to play and learn.

In addition to the aforementioned tot spots, there's the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Brooklyn Museum, which are both very kid-friendly and offer wonderful family programming year-round. Plus the historic Weeksville Heritage Center is about to debut its brand-new Education and Cultural Arts Building. We continue our month-long spotlight on Crown Heights with a look at everything these institutions have to offer families, including lots of opportunities for enriching drop-in fun.

Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer and the busy season for family vacations.  It’s not too late to score a discount holiday weekend getaway or too early to start planning a bigger summer trip.  We’ve found deals up and down in the Northeast, Florida, Virginia, Arizona and Costa Rica.