KidsOutAndAbout Weekly Newsletter |
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Dear KidsOutAndAbout readers: When I was a kid, summer meant St. Rocco’s Feast in the Peterstown neighborhood of Elizabeth, New Jersey. The streets were filled with music, carnival rides, vendor booths, and fairgoers... but the main attraction for 10-year-old me was zeppoles: lumps of dough dropped into hot oil, puffed golden, shaken in a paper bag with powdered sugar, and handed over hot enough to require
patience. To my young self, they were almost proof of magic. They were also my gateway drug into Italian food. Zeppoles led eventually to prosciutto and fresh mozzarella, risotto and gnocchi, pesto and puttanesca. Along the way, I learned that food has a vocabulary: crisp, chewy, silky, smoky, briny, bitter, fermented, caramelized. Knowing the names of flavors and textures helped me notice them more clearly, and knowing where dishes came from helped me see that food carries
geography, history, ingenuity, celebration, and memory. The more I tasted, the bigger the world became. Summer is the perfect season to help kids develop that kind of appetite... for food and discovery. Visit a farmers market and learn what grows nearby. Pick berries and notice how they taste when harvested just a second ago with your own hands. Try the food truck serving something you’ve never ordered. At a festival, ask what country or region a dish comes from, what ingredients give it its flavor, and who traditionally makes it. Kids don’t have to like everything. Exploration still counts when the verdict is “Not for me.” As tour guides to our
kids’ universe, we can help them notice that food connects downward to the Earth and outward to people. Name the flavor. Name the texture. Name the place and the tradition. Then take another bite. Sometimes an entire world opens through one little bag of fried dough.
—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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Wolf Performing Arts Center is celebrating 22 incredible years of inspiring young performers and the best is yet to come! Join us as we enter our 22nd year providing the very BEST in theatre education from preschool - 12th grade! Registration is open for upcoming fall, 2026 programs and more! The Dance Studio is new and includes musical theatre style dance classes! Some Performance opportunities include "CATS", "Puffs", "Disney's Dare to Dream", and "Born to Hand Jive". Theatre Classes include a variety of theatre education that includes singing, dancing and acting. There is something for everyone at Wolf Performing Arts Center. Celebrate 22 years of theatre education with us!
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Ninja we need you! Join our hero Lloyd as you take on The True Ninja Trials! Build and train to defeat the Elemental Monsters to protect NINJAGO and GO FULL NINJA - only at LEGOLAND Discovery Center Philadelphia, now through August 16th! Experience exclusive limited-time events all year long with an Annual Pass and enjoy 12 months of unlimited LEGO® play! Come back again and again to unleash your creativity and build bricktastic memories together. Now only $69!
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Load up the station wagon and unfold your map because larger-than-life sand sculptures are back! For the fifth consecutive summer, Peddler’s Village will present a Village-wide sand sculpture display created by world-renowned sand artists. “Sights in Sand: An American Road Trip” will celebrate the iconic landmarks and history of our nation, now in its 250th year. This free display is open to the public and will be on view through August 31.
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Meet the Women of the 18th Century, like Susanna Cooke, Peggy Chew, Hannah Till, and Sarah Coltman, representing the diverse population of Colonial Philadelphia at the Betsy Ross House. Learn about their lives and the era they lived in by hearing their true, interactive stories!
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The Jazz & Arts Festival, which launched in 2006 as a neighborhood event, drawing a few hundred community members, has grown to become the signature event of HopePHL, drawing a regional audience of more than 5,000 families and community members, nationally renowned jazz artists, jazz enthusiasts, and partners annually. The event is planned by a committee representative of neighbors, business owners and community organizations, and celebrates Philadelphia’s jazz heritage, our creative arts and “makers” community, and our vibrant, culturally diverse neighborhoods.
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Hellerick’s Adventure Farm announces its new summer concert series on Friday evenings from July 10 through August 28 from 6–8:30 PM. Enjoy music and mocktails, food trucks, soft ice cream, mini donuts, refreshing slushies, and more.
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The Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival illuminates Franklin Square with awe-inspiring, interactive, larger-than-life lanterns! The iconic 200-foot-dragon will soar back to Franklin Square for the summer along with never-before-seen giant lantern displays, more lights, more lanterns, and more wattage than ever before! Enjoy live performances, delicious food and drink, the Franklin Square Fountain Show, and Franklin Square attractions.
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Take a breath and enjoy the beautiful outdoor spaces at Independence National Historical Park this summer! Join Independence Historical Trust on the lawn behind the Second Bank of the United States for Yoga at Independence! This program is *FREE* and open to the public. Whether you're an advanced yogi or brand new, come and enjoy a fun hour of yoga in your national park. All levels and ages are welcome! Yoga sessions are facilitated by our friends from Monarch Yoga.
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The Underground Railroad was a network of people offering shelter and aid to enslaved men, women and children on their journeys to freedom. This small-group walking tour will visit eight locations around downtown West Chester that served as a backdrop for the people involved in this clandestine operation. Learn about the conductors, financiers, and stations that made the Underground Railroad possible, and discover the stories of some of those that made it to freedom and settled in West Chester.
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Who's feeling Teal-rrific? Celebrate splash‑worthy shades like Aquamarine and fan-favorite Robin's Egg Blue.
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A sensory-friendly morning designed for guests with sensory sensitivities, autism, and other disabilities, along with their families. This program is reserved for guests with pre-registered tickets only; the Museum will open to guests with general admission and member tickets at 11 AM.
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Clock out and roll through. Roll Call Fridays is your new go-to Friday night at Independence Blue Cross RiverRink Summerfest on the Philadelphia Waterfront. Curated by Shekhinah B. of The Women’s Coalition for Empowerment, this weekly roller skating and dance experience brings together live DJs, pop-up performances, and high-energy vibes all summer long. Whether you’re skating, dancing, or just soaking it all in, this is where music, movement, and community come together. Register for free to let us know you're coming!
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2026's best places to take kids in and around Philadelphia, based on KidsOutAndAbout's annual reader survey. But there is LOTS more to do in Philly! Get great ideas here at KidsOutAndAbout.com! What is listed below are just the starting point: Browse
through our site and calendar to find lots more!
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Nothing says SUMMER quite like going to an amusement park with your family! We've put together a great list of ones you can visit within driving distance of Fairfield County. So, pack the sunscreen, load up the car and head out on a grand adventure!
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The KidsOutAndAbout annual guide to summer camps in the Philadelphia area is back! You can search by date, age, or categories like day/overnight, sports, drama, music, theatre, arts & crafts, technology, robotics, horseback riding, preschool, &
more. Our guide puts summer fun right at your…
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The Philadelphia Area's Pick-Your-Own Fruit Listed below are farms in and near Philadelphia that offer pick your own fruits, berries, and vegetables. And... to make the most of your experience, check
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Have a great weekend!
Debra Ross
Publisher, KidsOutAndAbout.com
Mom of Madison and Ella |
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