In my house we don't just carve a pumpkin in October.  We head to the pumpkin patch and fill an entire wagon with those orange gourds.  Our favorite farms are those where you can cut them right off the vine. We choose all shapes and sizes and sometimes like to speculate about what the pumpkins remind us of.  My favorite find last year was a pair of small pumpkins, one perfectly orange and round and the other a taller oval shape that I couldn't help but imagine would make the perfect "Bert and Ernie" Sesame Street themed pumpkins.  When we get home from our collecting trip we break out the yarn, pipe cleaners, paint, google eyes and of course our imaginations and turn that pile of pumpkins into creatures.  Past pumpkins have been transformed into a witch, mummy, spider, ghost - the possibilities are endless.

We've compiled lists of area farms where you can choose the perfect pumpkins for your porch and many of them offer additional activities like corn mazes, hayrides and my family's favorite - apple cider donuts.  Get the scoop here on area pumpkin patches in Western CT and Fairfield County. It looks as though it may be a cloudy weekend, but in the Northwest Corner of CT the fall foliage is definitely starting its glorious display. Kent, CT has been named the #1 Fall Foliage town in all of New England by Yankee magazine for two years in a row. Great place for a daytrip this time of year.

Fall family fun is in full swing in New Jersey this weekend. There's so much going on, you might not know what to do first. Head down the shore for Margate's Fall Funfest or Chowderfest in Beach Haven, "go" to Go, Dog, Go in Hoboken, or sample some amazing free events such as Hub City Sounds, Public Lands Day, Devil's Family Fun Day and National Museum Day Live. Read on for all our top picks and remember, you can find a listing of all NJ activities for kids in our Event Calendar.

The Regent Theatre in Arlington kicks off its Family Fun series on October 13 with a Ben Rudnick and Friends concert, and a Mommy Poppins Boston family can win free tickets to the concert.

Expect to hear a tasty selection of songs from Rudnick's new CD, Love is a Superpower,  along with BR&F favorites and to see some wonderful new videos as well.

Mister G plays songs from his brand new bilingual (English/Spanish) CD, Chocolalala, an irresistible collection of songs that blend Latin rhythms, traditional instruments, and Mister G's uniquely catchy song-writing for children. The concert is at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline on Saturday, October 20, and we're offering two readers the chance to win a pair of tickets to the show plus a CD of Chocolalala. Bailamos!

We have several ways to enter:

• Send us an email and let us know you're interested in attending the MISTER G show
• Post a comment on our Facebook page
• Leave a comment at the end of this post.

The deadline is Friday, October 12. Two winners will be drawn at random and notified on Monday, October 15.  If winners don't respond to our email notification within 48 hours, another winner will be drawn. (Email addresses of entrants will not be collected, sold or otherwise abused.)

Sadly, the Dumbo Arts Fest was discontinued in 2014 after 18 years. Brooklyn's Dumbo neighborhood is full of funky, family-friendly art experiences all year-round. But every September, the area's creative spirit explodes onto the streets as part of the three-day Dumbo Arts Festival. Although this free fest isn't specifically aimed at families, most of it is kid-friendly, and over the past few years the organizers have added a bunch of hands-on activities for children to the lineup, making it even more enticing.

This year, the fest takes place Friday, September 28 to Sunday, September 30 (yes, the same weekend as the equally awesome World Maker Faire. Terrible timing!) and there are a lot of new attractions for families. We're particularly excited to check out the brand-new Art Village, a section of interactive projects being curated by the Children's Museum of the Arts. We've got the scoop on this new attraction and all of the other cool things to do with kids at this year's Dumbo Arts Festival.

Head out to the Connecticut Renaissance Faire for a unique family outing. The Faire opens this weekend and runs through October 27-28th. If you so desire, dress up as a knight or fair maiden and get into the medieval spirit. Feast on turkey legs while watching armored knights jousting on horseback. The best part is that you can WIN FREE TICKETS right here. If you've never been to a Renaissance Faire - here's the scoop:

The Connecticut Renaissance Faire recreates a medieval English village at festival time, and their guests of honor are none other than King Arthur and Queen Guinevere themselves. Meet the royal couple, sing and dance along to period music, check out a variety of handmade wares in the medieval marketplace, test your skill as a warrior at the Hitting & Stabbing Emporium or in a safe and friendly contest of arms.

There are some movies that really don't need sequels, but in LA even epic traffic jams get the sequel treatment. Yes, we're headed for another weekend without the 405. To call Carmageddon a weekend blockbuster would be to use the term unforgivably literally, and yet we are about to be subjected to Carmageddon II, Return to Mulholland Bridge. Thinking of running away to go camping for the weekend or to hide at a resort? You may be wise to do so. But if you're planning on staying in town, there are a few things you should know about this weekend's closure of the 405 (aka the busiest highway in America).