Thumbs Up at the Fowler? I give it two thumbs up!
The Alvin Ailey celebration at the Music Center?  It's got a good beat; you can dance to it!
Kids Run the Bases at Dodger Stadium? An out-of-the-park home run!

What? You think you can do better?  Sigh. Everyone's a critic. No really,  I mean that. Everyone's a critic. Especially kids. (If you doubt that, ask mine for a review of my cooking prowess).  (Double sigh.) If you think your kid has what it takes to be the next Siskel & Ebert / Leonard Maltin/ Pauline Kael, you should check out our Kid Critic opportunity. We're looking for a few kids who call 'em as they see 'em, to review short films that are being shown at the the Los Angeles Children's Film Festival. Fame and fortune (or at least a free seat at the movies) could be theirs.

Now give us your opinion of this weekend's highlights...

Circus hijinks continue this week with the Big Apple Circus at City Hall Plaza; the Harlem Globetrotters bring their world tour to the TD Garden; and the Boston Children’s Museum kicks off its 100 year celebration with a Family Fest on Saturday. These big events, plus concerts by performers like Liz Buchanan and SteveSongs, plus a calendar full of events means there are plenty of ways for families to keep busy this weekend.

Have you heard about the new Kidville in Wellesley that opened just last weekend? Kristin Quinn took her daughter, and they had a blast! (I can’t get that song out of my head now…)

We update our Camps Guide on a regular basis, this week with details on summer camps: 5 Sleepaway Summer Camps for Kids with Food Allergies; Summer Camp Options for Boston-Area Kids who Love Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM); and Summer Camps in Boston, Brookline, & Cambridge. We also have Part II of our April Vacation Camp series.

Finally, have you completed our survey yet? We want to know what you want to know. Tell us what you think in this quick, 5-question reader survey. We appreciate your input!

Enjoy!

Spring break may be over but spring is just getting underway. With the new season comes a slew of festivals and fairs, starting with this Saturday's free Scotland Festival in Central Park. Other outdoor fun this weekend includes Wave Hill's no-cost Drawn to Nature weekend, the annual free Pillow Fight Day in Washington Square Park, Little League opening day and opening weekend at the Queens Botanical Garden.

There's also some great culture on tap for families. The New Victory Theater debuts The Intergalactic Nemesis, the Little Orchestra Society fuses cartoons and classical music at the Magical Musical Pencil concert, the awesome Story Pirates mount an interactive show at Symphony Space and BAM kicks off its two-weekend Hayao Miyazaki animated film festival.

All of our best bets for the weekend are below. There are lots of other options in our Event Calendar. And if you're looking to plan out your entire month, be sure to check out the latest edition of our NYC Go List, which highlights the absolute best things to do with kids throughout April.

Sometimes there is nothing better than a nice family-friendly canyon hike, whether it is a hot summer day or a chilly December weekend. Topanga State Park's Santa Ynez Canyon offers a shady, easy-to-follow, and relatively flat trail along Santa Ynez Creek, with the option to go all the way to the park's main parking lot and activity center at Trippet Ranch. This is a great hike for kids, though a baby must be in a carrier, as much of the trail is single track—but LA is full of stroller-friendly hikes if that's what you need.

(For more hike ideas, check out our family hiking guide!)

I would love for my kids to have a sleepaway camp experience, but food is an issue – a big one. We have multiple intolerances and allergies, including nuts and gluten. I’ve done some research and found a few sleepaway camps where kids with food allergies can have a traditional summer camp experience without food worries (or feeling out of place).  If you’re looking for peanut-, nut-, gluten-, or dairy- free camps, check out these places within a reasonable driving distance from Boston. Some of them also have Kosher, vegetarian, and vegan options too!

If the idea of sending your child to an overnight camp is still too daunting, take a look at our Camp Directory in the Boston Summer and Vacation Camps Guide -- you'll find an abundance of fun day camps in the Boston area. 

This weekend is all about shows!  Head on over to the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Greenvale to see Zoo Zoo Performed By Imago Theatre, a show about penguins playing musical chairs, a cat trapped in a giant paper bag, hippos with insomnia, and anteaters as waiters.  At the Showplace at Bellmore Movies in Bellmore catch Dora the Explorer Live, where you’ll see the Pirate Adventure on stage, and you’ll have the opportunity to meet the cast after the show. In Garden City at the Long Island Children's Museum, you won’t want to miss Brady Rymer Presents Jump Up, It’s a Good Day, where Rymer and the Little Band That Could perform high energy, interactive, and uplifting songs. The Arena Players Repertory Theatre Company Presents Treasure Island at the Vanderbilt Carriage House Theater in Centerport, where you’ll follow the adventures of Jamie who falls heir to a treasure map and sails to Treasure Island. Also on tap: Farmer for a Day at the Suffolk County Farm and Education Center in Yaphank, and Ocean Science Sunday: Most EGGS-Cellent Celebration at the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum in Cold Spring Harbor.  As always, check out our events calendar every day for fun activities for the family!

It's been about a year and a half since we launched our Boston, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut sites, and we added Family Travel last spring. We constantly work on improving our sites, filling our calendars with exceptional events and posting great content like our new Go Lists. Apparently, you've been enjoying it all, because I keep getting emails asking for more Mommy Poppins. Families from Westchester, who use our site to plan their trips into the city, have been clamoring for a site of their own. And our readers who spend their weekends or summer out on the North Fork and the Hamptons say they miss having Mommy Poppins as a guide when they are there. So we're expanding our Long Island coverage to add weekend activities and guides for the Hamptons and North Fork, and launching a new site just for Westchester. You can already sign up for these soon-to-start newsletters here.

But we need your help: We're looking for savvy local parents to help bring our readers the best activities and events in these areas. If you're interested in joining the Mommy Poppins team, read on to learn more about this editorial opportunity, or pass it on to friends who you think fit the bill.

Well, hello spring! Glad you finally decided to arrive! March was pretty darn dreary and I don’t know about your kiddos, but mine are ready to shed their coats and have fun. Get some fresh air at Alstede Farm Spring Fun Days or get familiar with amphibians at Cape May Park’s Frogfest. If you’re looking to kick back, take in Discovery Theatre’s modern twist on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or Casey Carle’s Bubblemania. Read on for our top picks and find a listing of all NJ activities in our Event Calendar.