KidsOutAndAbout Weekly Newsletter |
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Tue, Jul 14: Kids Night! Ben Rudnick & Friends
Wed, Jul 15: Goats
& Cones Summer Pop-up Series - With Goats To Go
Fri, Jul 17: Backyard and Beyond: Treehouse Yoga
Fri, Jul 17: FREE Outdoor Movie Night Series: Angry Birds 2 at CambridgeSide
Sat, Jul 18: Monarchs in the Meadow - At Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary
Sat, Jul 18: 2026 Blueberry & Flower Fest - At Cider Hill Farm
Sat, Jul 18: Christmas in July - At Southwick's Zoo
Mon, Jul 20: 2026 Barnstable County Fair
Fri, Jul 24: Lowell Folk Festival 2026
Mon, Jul 27: Rock Painting (Ages 3-12) - At Boston Public Library - Chinatown Branch
Sat, Aug 1: Health & Wellness Expo - At
Hilton Garden Inn Boston/Marlborough - With Community Marketing
Sat, Aug 1: Touch a Truck - At Cider Hill Farm
Sat, Aug 8: Connecticut Kids & Baby
Expo
Sat, Aug 8: 2026 Peach and Sunflower Festival - At Cider Hill Farm
Sat, Aug 8: Outdoor
Concert with Sweet Wednesday - At Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary
Fri, Aug 14: FREE Outdoor Movie Night Series: Wicked at CambridgeSide
Sat, Aug 22: Wampanoag Heritage Day - Heritage Museums & Gardens
Mon, Aug 24: The Wiggles – Tree of Wisdom Spectacular! - At Boch Center - Wang Theatre
Sat, Aug 29: Annual Fruitlands Kite Festival |
Dear KidsOutAndAbout readers:
In last week's column, I wrote about the Humble Abode, the kids-only hideout my sister and I created behind the giant azalea bush in our backyard. We dragged in chairs and treasures and made a little home in the hollowed-out
branches. At the time, I thought of it as something we had built. But of course, we didn’t create it from nothing. We were makers, yes, but we were making inside a world that was already alive. Summer is the perfect time for kids to experience that lesson up close and personal, with all their senses. The world is warm, green, buzzing, blooming, squelching, chirping, dripping, and growing almost too fast to track. Kids can smell lake water and tomato leaves, feel bark and moss
and mud, watch ants organize themselves with alarming competence, and notice that the same trail looks different after rain. Nature doesn’t need a lesson plan. It offers immediacy first: I am here. This is real. Pay attention. And then, quietly, it offers perspective. A child is legitimately the center of his or her own universe; we all are, from the inside. But Nature gently complicates that story. The robin is not singing for us. The creek does not hurry because we
are late. The sunflower turns toward the sun whether or not anyone remembers to admire it. Clouds, tides, weeds, and weather all proceed with their ancient business, reminding us that we belong to a world much larger than our schedules and preferences. That perspective should not make us feel small in a bad way, but instead help us feel rightly-sized. Humans have the wonderful ability to create, repair, improve, and beautify our little corners of the universe. But we do it
best when we understand the nature of the world we’re working within. So use this summer to include as much Outside Green Time as you can, looking up and around and in. Poke gently. Nature will do the rest.
—Debra Ross, publisher of KidsOutAndAbout.com, co-author of The Eclipse Effect: How to Seize Extraordinary Moments to Build
Strong Communities
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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. |
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Step into a magical potion making experience in Salem, MA where kids and families create their own enchanting potions. Located on Essex Street near the historic Witch House, this hands-on activity is one of the most unique things to do in Salem with kids.
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Bring your lawn chairs and your blankets and join us for the 13th Boston JerkFest Caribbean Foodie Festival, July 10-12, 2026 at the Harvard Athletic Complex. Friday night the festivities kick off with a Rum & Brew Tasting with more than 50 tastings of spirits, cocktails, craft brews, cider and mead. The spicy festival continues on Saturday with more than a dozen of New England's best Caribbean restaurants offering Jerk spiced BBQ and Caribbean food. There'll be a Jerk Cook-off and Seafood Throwdown competition featuring local day boat seafood. Jam with us for our live music stage that will featured a headliner. Bring your children to enjoy our massive Kids & Culture Zone so they can play with our steel pans and have tons of hands-on interactive activities. Check out the VIP Reggae Lounge so you can chill under the cool shade. There will be lots of rum punch, fresh coconuts, rum cakes, and even fresh sugarcane for sale. Eat. Drink. Be Irie. For info visit www.bostonjerkfest.com.
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The Copley Square Farmers Market is Boston's biggest and busiest farmers market. Located in the heart of the commercial and cultural hub of Back Bay, the long-running Copley Square Farmers Market features over three dozen Massachusetts farmers and food producers offering a vibrant selection of delicious produce, proteins, baked goods, ready-to-eat meals, alongside a host of other locally made products. Taking place right in Copley Square, this beloved twice-weekly event takes place in one the city’s most dynamic public spaces, and is a bustling attraction to locavores from across the state!
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Explore the great outdoors together to tap into your shared love of nature. Start inside the Blue Hills Trailside Museum to learn more about the area, then hit the trails with our expert guide. With multiple opportunities throughout the summer, our focus each session will shift with the season—expect plants, animals, insects, and whatever else exciting is happening in the reservation that day. There's always something new to discover!
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Discovery Museum is a hands-on museum for families that blends science, nature, and play. The fully accessible campus provides indoor STEM-based exhibits and a nature playscape and giant treehouse for open-ended learning explorations.
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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.
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Come meet our curious, gentle alpacas up close! This sweet 30-minute farm experience is perfect for families looking for a simple, joyful outing together. You’ll be welcomed by your guide, learn fun alpaca facts, hand-feed the herd, and enjoy plenty of chances for photos and smiles along the way. It’s a relaxed walk, talk, and feed experience designed for all ages—whether you’ve got little ones, teens, or a mix of both. Expect calm moments, curious noses, and a chance to slow down together on the farm.
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Don’t miss the largest of herd of dinosaurs to ever visit Boston! Get up close and personal with 50+ life size, animatronic dinosaurs at CambridgeSide. From the mighty T-Rex to the massive Spinosaurus, this realistic walk-through safari is designed for the whole family. Learn how dinosaurs evolved, where they lived and the discoveries paleontologists have made about how they ate, moved and evolved. At Dino Safari you can dig up fossils, learn about cutting-edge research, complete a passport scavenger hunt, experience a virtual reality adventure, and more! Perfect for families, thrill-seekers, and dino fans of all ages.
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Groundhogs and gardeners sometimes have a complicated relationship. At Drumlin Farm, there's plenty of room for both! After reading a storybook to set the scene, meet one of our groundhog animal ambassadors up close (maybe even the famed Ms. G), learning about the amazing digging skills that can cause mischief in the garden. Afterwards, explore the learning garden with a naturalist guide. Find out which plants groundhogs love and which ones humans favor, then cook up something delicious using ingredients harvested right from the garden. This farm-fresh program connects young kids to the soil, the creatures that share it, and the food it produces.
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Spend your Sunday waterfront shopping at our upcoming Pop Up Market at The Anchor Boston! Pop Up Gallery is popping up at The Anchor for an afternoon filled with local creativity, delicious cocktails, a full kitchen, and great energy on the waterfront. Browse a curated selection of local artists, makers, and small businesses offering everything from art and handmade goods to unique finds you won’t see anywhere else. Grab a drink, enjoy the harbor views, and settle in for a relaxed, feel-good afternoon.
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2026's best places to take kids in Boston as voted by Massachusetts parents! Parents vote, we do the math, and the result is the Top 20 Places to Take Kids! But there is LOTS more to do in Boston than even just this wonderful list: visit KidsOutAndAbout.com
to see our events calendar, find seasonal activities, get ideas for the perfect day trip and MORE !
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Nothing says SUMMER like an amusement park! Boston parents have lots of options! If there is a resource that we have missed, please email us to let us know, and we'll add it promptly. Thank you!
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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!
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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
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Have a great weekend!
Debra Ross
Publisher, KidsOutAndAbout.com
Mom of Madison and Ella |
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