KidsOutAndAbout Weekly Newsletter |
|
|
|
Wed, Jul 1: America’s 250th Anniversary Celebration - Franklin Park Zoo
Thu, Jul 2: Boston Harborfest 2026
Fri, Jul 3: 1st Annual Cherry Festival - At Cider Hill Farm
Sat, Jul 4: Fireworks Spectacular - At The Hatch Shell - With the Boston Pops
Fri, Jul 10: 2026 Boston Jerkfest
Fri, Jul 10: Nature Play Festival—free!
Sat, Jul 11: Summer Event Series: Insect Day
Sun, Jul 12: Folk Dance Of Korea - At Peabody
Essex Museum
Sat, Jul 18: Monarchs in the Meadow - At Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary
Sat, Jul 18: 2026 Blueberry
& Flower Fest - At Cider Hill Farm
Mon, Jul 20: 2026 Barnstable County Fair
Fri, Jul 24: Lowell Folk Festival 2026 |
Dear KidsOutAndAbout readers:
The summer I was 5, my parents took our family to Cape Cod for a week. In Provincetown, we bought a kite, then headed to the dunes in North Truro, where my sister and I spent hours running full-tilt up and down the bare white hills. We’d scramble to the top, turn, and launch ourselves downward, legs windmilling, hair flying, lungs full of salt air and triumph. Invariably, we’d
fall, slap into the soft, sun-warmed sand, pop back up, and do it again. Tumbling down the dunes was gravity. Sand was friction. The kite tugging on our arms was air on the move. We didn't have words to describe these phenomena—we were little kids, not tiny physicists with notebooks. A decade later, my calculus teacher would give me the words and symbols to process motion conceptually, but experiences like this had already taught my body that I was an actor in the physics of
the world. My body understood. Summer is the perfect time for kids to learn motion from the inside out. Motion is in amusement park rides, in waves bobbing ducks and inner tubes up and down at the lake, in trains pulling you forward in one dimension and airplanes moving you through three. It’s in bikes and swings and Frisbees and trampolines and slip-and-slides, in tumbling through the days without realizing that learning is happening. As tour guides to our
kids’ universe, we can point gently: Feel how the swing slows at the top? Notice how the wave lifts you before it lets you down? See how leaning changes the bike’s path? But the point is not to turn summer into physics class. The point is to help kids notice how the world feels as they move through it. The equations can come later; now is the time for motion, and for the emotion that accompanies it. Summer’s gift is the body’s memory: wind, water, speed, balance, falling, landing, and getting up
to run again.
—Debra Ross, publisher of KidsOutAndAbout.com, co-author of The Eclipse Effect: How to Seize Extraordinary Moments to Build Strong Communities
|
|
|
KidsOutAndAbout.com: Discover more. Do more. Connect more. If you like my publisher's column, you can easily scroll through past columns in the "Notes
from Deb" section of our site. |
|
|
|
BattleBots® Camp? You can only get it here. Roblox Camp? We've got that and more in our Summer '26 lineup. Register today at the top-rated tech camp for 25 years and counting! iD Tech is the very best experience built around your child—their interests, their skill level, their goals for the future. Trusted by 75+ of the world’s top universities and over 1,000,000 parents, iD Tech is where kids and teens learn from the best—coding, game dev, robotics, and more. The future starts at iD Tech! Click here for more information about your local iD Tech opportunities! Virtual camps are also available!
|
|
|
|
Enjoy interactive wing installations, tastings, hard cider, live music, hayrides to the hives, hands-on family-friendly activities, scavenger hunts, food trucks, specials and meet the beekeeper events. Show some love to creatures essential to our food supply!
|
|
|
|
Step inside Bluey’s House for an unforgettable immersive adventure! Calling all Bluey fans! Come laugh, play, and pretend with Bluey, Bingo, Mum, and Dad, everyone’s favorite family. Your family can step inside Bluey’s House for an unforgettable immersive adventure that ends with a meet-and-greet with Bluey and Bingo!
|
|
|
|
Looking for the best nightlife, gaming, and bar experience in Boston? Start your weekend right at VERSUS, Boston’s first arcade bar by Big Night Entertainment Group, where retro nostalgia meets modern gaming in a high-energy, pop-art-filled atmosphere.
|
|
|
|
The Acton-Westford Pridefest event is scheduled for Saturday, June 27th, from 12 to 3 p.m., offering a vibrant and inclusive celebration for the local community. This free event aims to foster a spirit of unity and acceptance while championing LGBTQ+ rights and visibility. This event will be held at NARA Park, 71 Quarry Road, Acton.
|
|
|
|
Get into the summer spirit at Fruitlands Museum with our first-ever Chalk-a-Palooza! Families can purchase a square of pavement to design their own seasonally inspired masterpiece. Each registration includes one box of sidewalk chalk to use during the event (and take home after). Additional boxes of chalk will be available for purchase at $5 each.
|
|
|
|
The town of Sturbridge is celebrating the 250th anniversary of American independence with a full day of community spirit, history, and fun! The celebration kicks off at 10:30 a.m. on June 27, 2026, with a parade starting at the intersection of Stallion Hill Road and Route 20. The parade will proceed east on Route 20 and down Route 131 to the Sturbridge town common (across from the Publick House). Following the parade, the public is invited to a festival on the Sturbridge town common from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. featuring historical reenactors, live entertainment, patriotic music, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, family-friendly activities, and more. Please note that this celebration is on the Sturbridge town common on Route 131, not the Old Sturbridge Village Common.
|
|
|
|
Our Independence Day event is filled with magic, crafts, GIANT bubbles, lawn games and so much more! Be sure to mark your calendar for this family fun day! Free and open to all!
|
|
|
|
The Braintree Farmers Market is proud of our local farmers and artisan food vendors that are curated and provide the highest quality products to our market visitors. The BFM provides a healthy and wholesome event for our community every Saturday from 9 to 1 during the market season. Our market guests enjoy purchasing their local foods for the week, meet friends for lunch, listen to great music, and stroll the Braintree Town Hall Green.
|
|
|
|
Join us to celebrate North Shore Pride on the Salem Common with free art making! Show off your pride and support with a colorful craft and keepsake.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click here to discover Birthday party locations in the Boston area. From Arcades to Ziplines our Big List will help you think outside the box and plan the party of your kids' dreams. KidsOutAndAbout has dozens (and dozens) of ideas!
|
|
|
|
|
|
View our local Boston area 2026 summer camp guide for kids! Pick the dates you want to explore on our calendar and see what summer camps are available. Hundreds of local summer camps: day camps, overnight camps, sports, drama, music, theatre, arts &
crafts, technology, robotics, horseback riding, preschool, & more!
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Boston Area's Pick-Your-Own Fruit Listed below are farms in and near Boston that offer pick your own fruits, berries, and vegetables. And... to make the most of your experience, check out our
|
|
|
Have a great weekend!
Debra Ross
Publisher, KidsOutAndAbout.com
Mom of Madison and Ella |
|
|
