Weekend Fun: Flower Show, Purim, Kids' Theater, Circus...and Desserts!

Astonishing athletes defy gravity and execute breathtaking feats in the spellbinding New Shanghai Circus. Photo courtesy of the circus

It's officially spring! While the weather might not have gotten the memo (yet), the Macy's Flower Show is blooming again with a space-inspired floral fantasy featuring marvelous celestial blooms, and kids can take a trip to outer space with Peppa Pig on opening day this Sunday.

This weekend dishes up plenty of great theater for kids too, including Colors at BAM, The Magic SchoolbusWhile You Were Out at LaMama Kids, and Underneath a Magical Moon, a re-imagining of Peter Pan (sign up for the interactive pre-show workshop). The New Shanghai Circus takes a bow in Queens on Saturday and Staten Island on Sunday. 

If you're looking for FREE fun (who isn't?), make balloon cars at Brooklyn's MakerSpace, catch a free concert and screening of Up in Queens, sing songs from around the world with Mr. Patrick at the Children's Library, take in lion dancing (and popcorn!) at Sunset Park's Lantern Cultural Fest, or check out Philosophy for Kids as part of the Tilt Festival at the Brooklyn Library.

Purim parties on at the Riverdale Temple and Rock and Roll Playhouse on Sunday, or make holiday masks all weekend at the Children's Museum of Manhattan. And for the cherry on top, confections rule at the Dessert Goals Festival, all weekend in Long Island City.

For more, more, more, peruse the March GoList, FREE things to do this month, and our ever-expanding calendar.

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Adds Huge New Activity Pool

The 100,000-gallon Calypso Springs is Hurricane Harbor's largest expansion since 2000.

If you're looking for new ways to beat the heat this summer, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor is offering a bigger, better, and much wetter place to cool down. The 45-acre water park in Jackson, NJ, welcomes Calypso Springs, a 100,000-gallon, beach-entry-style activity pool, where parents and kids of all ages can swim and play together. The new addition, Hurricane Harbor's largest expansion since 2000, will be open in time for summer 2019. 

Macy's Flower Show and 6 More NYC Spots to See Spring's Blooms

NYBG Orchid Show. Photo by  Jody Mercier

After so many hours spent indoors during cold winter months, springtime in New York City is one of my family’s favorite seasons. Besides the warmer weather and increased outdoor playtime, we love spotting the season’s first snowbells, crocuses, and blossoming trees

While plenty of flowers poke through the earth in neighborhood parks and along city sidewalks—not to mention community gardens—there are a few spots in the city where spring blooms are downright outstanding. Springtime also brings the annual flower show at Macy's, which kicks off this weekend on Sunday, March 24. To celebrate the arrival of spring, we've rounded up our favorite places to enjoy springtime

Please Touch the Art at the New Snark Park Exhibit at Hudson Yards

There's an amazing view of The Vessel from Snark Park, NYC's latest kid-friendly public art exhibit.

With all the immersive, kid-friendly art experiences that come through town (like the Color Factory, or last year's Dream Machine), New York City kids could be excused for expecting every must-see art exhibit to be interactive and kid-friendly. NYC's latest immersive exhibit, designed for kids to touch, explore, and interact with the art, is the inaugural installation at Snark Park, entitled "Lost and Found."

Located inside 20 Hudson Yards, the newly opened and highly anticipated seven-story retail center in Midtown West, Snark Park is a permanent retail and art installation space located on the second floor of the mall. Read on for a preview of “Lost and Found,” plus photos of the engaging and beautiful new space.

7 Single Parent Hacks for Entertaining Kids (and Staying Sane) Every Day of the Week

March 21st is National Single Parent Day. Yes, that's a thing. It even has a hashtag #NationalSingleParentDay. Yipeee, let's celebrate you! The holiday was created in 1984 to "honor the sacrifices and diligent work of single parents across our country" with the hopes that it would become just as popular as Mother's Day or Father's Day. Okay, that's pretty cool. Except, you know, when you're single... there's no one to actually go out and get you roses or candy or take you to dinner or even draw you a bath...on National Single Parent Day, on Mother's Day, on Father's Day, or any other day... because, you're SINGLE. But you deserve to be celebrated—if not with roses then at least with a few helpful hacks to get through the week.

Easter Bunny Photo Ops and Events: Where To Find the Bunny in LA & OC

Photo courtesy of Irvine Park Railroad

This post is currently getting its 2020 update.

Hippity hoppity, hippity hoppity: your kids might not want to sit still, but at least the Easter Bunny will! There are plenty of spots to set up the perfect Easter photo in LA and Orange County in the weeks leading up to Easter Sunday. We've lined up a whole Bunny Trail to hop down, ranging from mall photo ops to trains and spring festivals. Have fun catching up to Peter Cottontail in one of the following Southland locations.

Insider’s Guide to Haines, Alaska: 21 Top Things to Do with Kids

It will be impossible to visit Haines without seeing a bear (or many)!

Alaska is a dream destination on many family travel bucket lists. The way most people experience the state is to hop on one of the many cruises that travel up the Inside Passage. Cruising is particularly suited for Alaska travel because the scenery from the ship is beautiful and the destinations are hard to reach otherwise. But, as with many things in travel, the easiest road often passes by the best destinations.

Haines, Alaska, is one of those gems that is often missed by family cruisers. If you have the option to take a cruise that stops in Haines, or can take an excursion to Haines (an option from Skagway), I highly recommend it. Or, if you want to plan your own Alaska trip, you could easily spend a week in Haines without running out of amazing things to do with the kids, from bear watching and fishing to exploring some really unique museums.

Why All the Butterflies, and What Are Good Spots To See Them?

If you're one of the three remaining Angelenos who haven't yet noticed, run outside, quick, and take a look at the steady stream of butterflies flying north up your street! People all over social media are trying to photograph and video them, but the truth is it's tough to do; smart phones just aren't doing justice to this breathtaking phenomenon. So what's going on? Why is getting swarmed by magical winged creatures as easy as walking outside? We can explain—and we can offer some ideas of where to head, if the butterflies aren't outside your own front door. 

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