Events

Starting this weekend, most events taking place for kids in NYC invite you to come in costume. So, get your Princesses and Spidermen ready and check out these fall festivals:

NYC Apple Day 2008 - the LES turns the "Big Apple" green with NYC Apple Day and  Go Green Lower East Side. Be transported back in time with the old-fashioned apple cider press, a live honey beehive plus some modern faves like Read more »

Have you noticed the new Events Calendar on Mommy Poppins lately? After a full four months of development, during which it was admittedly pretty pathetic, the calendar is now full of great activities, including over 55 Halloween activities, most of them free.

Judy Sklover, our new Events Editor, will be hand-picking the best events and activities all over NYC for kids. Expect to see only the best free activities, educational programs, and unique events for NYC kids you won't find listed anywhere else. Unlike other NYC resources, we don't just post every press release that comes across our desk. We actively seek out cool stuff and only post events we would go to ourselves.

FIND IT:
The events calendar is in our left sidebar. To see events, click on the date you're looking for to see that day's events or click on the month to see the whole month. You can also view our calendar in week or list view. I prefer list view myself because I can see upcoming events with a summary of what and where they are.

USE IT:
Another feature you'll notice is our Upcoming Events widget. Right there in the sidebar you can see the next five events at a glance. It's a great way to check what's happening that day if you need some inspiration, but be aware some days we have more than 5 events listed and you'll want to go to the main calendar view to get the complete list.

I want to thank Judy, the newest addition to the Mommy Poppins team and mommy dynamo. She was her school's PTA president for more years than anyone should sanely serve and has been a terrific community member. I'm thrilled to have her on board and I also want to thank the Wildlife Conservation Society and all our other advertisers for recognizing what a great little site this is and supporting us with their advertising dollars, making it possible to add features like this new event calendar .

Getting this calendar working was a big step for me, but it's only the first one. I want to make it even better and am going to be continuing to work on it. So email me with what you think could make it better and I'll see if I can make it happen in the next round of improvements. Read more »

In addition to all the local Halloween Parades and Festivals, the city is literally packed with FREE Halloween activities. In fact there are so many great things to do on October 25th you may need a magic eight ball to decide where to go. Luckily your kids will be so hopped up on candy they will have the energy to take in several events in one day.

Keep reading to find out where and when you can levitate at magic shows, hop on hay rides, take a creepy candle-lt tour of Grant’s Tomb, visit haunted houses, dance your way through the post trick-or-treat sugar comma and get the whole family dressed up, even the dog. (Photo  by Istolethev). Read more »

Most people who visit Washington Heights or Inwood for the first time will remark to me, "This neighborhood is great! I never knew a place like this existed in Manhattan!" Well, my fellow New Yorkers, if you have never been to the northern part of Manhattan, this Sunday you have no excuses. Besides the beautiful weather, Uptown Treasures is hosting a day of free family activities and events at eight awesome northern Manhattan sites, and to make things super easy for you, it will be complete with complimentary shuttle service that will schlep you between locations.

Some of these sites should already be on your to do list:

If everybody loves a parade, everybody must be absolutely smitten with a Halloween parade. You should probably take your kids to the big VIllage Halloween Parade once just for the sheer theater of it, but most years we stick to the little neighborhood Parades. The littler Halloween parades are great for kids, not just because of the lack of mobs, but most of them anyone can just jump in and you'll see the most fun, creative homemade costumes all in one place.

This year, I've gathered up a bunch of alternative Halloween parades for kids that sound like a a lot of fun to participate in or just watch. And if you don't live in a great trick or treating neighborhood, this is a great excuse to crash another neighborhood. Go for the parade. Stay for the trick or treating!

Fall has arrived and it's time to get yourself some pumpkins! Check out our posts on the best pumpkin picking and apple picking in the area if you want to head out of town. Or, you can stock up on pumpkins and fall fun right here in NYC with the top picks of this weekend's local pumpkin events. Plus, did you know that there are lots of free kids cooking classes available this weekend? Keep reading for the full scoop... Read more »

Halloween is going commercial. It seems like every place I go and everyone I know is offering a Halloween version of what they do. The museums, the parks, the playspaces: everyone is doing Halloween events right now. With more options than ever before, I set out to find some of the coolest and most unique Halloween activities on Long Island that would be worth a trip from the city or beyond. Some of these sell out so order your tickets soon: Read more »

Art is taking over the streets of Downtown Manhattan at two events:

Throughout October, the entire length of 14th Street will be the home of some weird stuff as part of an obscure art event called, Read more »

Unfortunately, it looks like it's going to be raining all weekend so here is your line-up of mostly free and mostly indoor activities to help motivate you to get out the door....

Celebrate Museum Day and get into participating museums for FREE on Saturday Sept 27. The long list of locations includes a lot of kid-favorites like the Children's Museum Of Manhattan, the NYC Fire Museum, the NY Transit Museum, and the Skyscraper Museum.  All you need to do Read more »

I have the pleasure of introducing another new reader-turned-contributor to Mommy Poppins today. Karina Glaser hails from the North, no not Sarah Palin's North, Manhattan's. She has promised to keep us informed on the best stuff for kids and families going on in Washington Heights and Inwood. Check out her Washington Heights and Inwood post in our Neighborhood Guide. And here's a great event for this weekend I've heard many people rave about: Read more »