Raven Snook

Raven is a writer, editor, performer and mom, who was born and bred in NYC, just like her husband, her mother and now, her daughter. In addition to Mommy Poppins, she has written about parenting and pop culture for New York Magazine, Time Out New York, The Village Voice, the New York Post, TV Guide and SheKnows. She's also the founder of Hot Mama Burlesque, the world's only all-moms burlesque show.

Latest posts by Raven Snook

This Week: Best Places to Cool Off in NYC & Beyond, New Staten Island Mini-Amusement Park, Awesome Day & Weekend Trip Ideas

Submitted by Raven Snook on Thu, 07/10/2014 - 1:00pm

Cool ways to beat the heat seemed to be the theme across all of our sites this week. (Perhaps it had something to do with how much we've been shvitzing.) In NYC, we rounded up our top 50 places to cool off with kids, both indoors and out. Our Long Island site highlighted five water slides worth the day trip and did a whole post on Splish Splash Waterpark, which is just 90 minutes by car from NYC.

Connecticut, meanwhile, is filled with pristine public beaches to explore as well as many cool isles situated o the Long Island Sound. And in New Jersey, you can go swimming in lakes and watering holes.

If you're looking for more than just a day trip, our Travel site just wrapped up its series of posts about Richmond, Virginia with a list of the best outdoor activities for kids. Or you could hit the amusement park, waterpark and green spaces on Southern NJ's gorgeous Long Beach Island.

Whether you opt to go away this weekend or stick close to home, remember to share your family's playful pics on social media for a chance to win great prizes in our SUMMER OF PLAY CHALLENGE. We've been getting some amazing entries and we love seeing how our readers are enjoying themselves this summer.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

This Week: Best July Events for Kids in NYC & Beyond, July 4th Weekend Fun, Free Summer Festivals, Summer of Play Giveaway

Submitted by Raven Snook on Thu, 07/03/2014 - 12:00pm

What's the worst thing you can do before a three-day summer weekend? Write a really long blog post. So I'm going to keep this brief since I know we're all ready to start our holiday. NYC is filled with patriotic fun in honor of July 4th from Macy's iconic fireworks to sparklers in Coney Island to a kid-friendly Independence Day parade in Harlem. If your weekend is already booked, all of our sites published July Go Lists this week so you can find out about the best things to do with kids throughout the month in NYC, Westchester, Long Island, New Jersey and beyond. Many of our tri-state area family event picks are worth traveling for, like this weekend's Hudson Valley Balloon Festival in upstate New York, the New Jersey State Ice Cream Festival on July 19 and the Ice Cream, Blueberries and Bluegrass Bash on July 20 at Connecticut's Fort Hill Farms, which is also a great place to pick your own blueberries.

If you're looking for summer vacation destinations, check out our Travel site. This week we shared brand-new posts about the best attractions for families in Yosemite, California; Richmond, Virginia's top-notch children's museums and historic Maymont mansion; and a roundup of summer family travel deals all over the country.

And no matter where you spend this July 4th weekend, be sure to share your family's playful pics on social media for a chance to win great prizes in our SUMMER OF PLAY CHALLENGE, our season-long initiative encouraging families to spend quality time playing together.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

This Week: 100s of Free Ways to Play this Summer, NYC Public Pools Open for the Season, Three Great Giveaways

Submitted by Raven Snook on Thu, 06/26/2014 - 1:00pm

This has been a week of transition as our SUMMER OF PLAY begins. Our Mommy Poppins bloggers have been all over the map, dropping off their kids at camp or going camping as a family, and flying off to far-flung destinations like the Caribbean and Europe.

If you're looking at a season-long NYC staycation don't worry—my family is, too. That's why we've been furiously updating all of our popular summer posts like our favorite public pools (which open for the season this Friday) and readers' top 42 outings in and near NYC, along with our list of FREE things to do every day through the end of August, including a bunch of anytime options.

Speaking of FREE summer fun, we kicked off our SUMMER OF PLAY CHALLENGE this week with a list of 100 ways to play with kids this season anytime, anywhere. We also launched a great SUMMER OF PLAY giveaway encouraging your family to share your playtime fun on social media to inspire others while simultaneously vying for prizes.

And we have two other giveaways going on this week: Enter to win tickets to this Sunday's Everything Kids Expo at the Aviator Sports and Events Center and like this Facebook post for a chance to win a Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band prize pack, which includes CDs and tickets to see the L.A. kid rockers perform at the Bronx Zoo. Enter ASAP: Both giveaways end this Friday.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

This Week: Great Family Weekend Trips, Walking with Dinosaurs Ticket Giveaway, 50 Fun Science Experiments for Kids

Submitted by Raven Snook on Thu, 06/19/2014 - 12:00pm

Even though the beginning of summer is an exciting time, I always find the end of school to be bittersweet. Yes, the kids are psyched about going to camp and traveling to fun places, but they're also saying goodbye to their friends as classes change, or heading off to a new school entirely. And for us parents, it's another milestone that reminds us that our kids are growing up—fast.

That's one of the big reasons we try to make every summer the best one ever, and there are plenty of ways to do that in NYC and beyond. Beautiful beaches beckon like Short Beach Park in Connecticut and Cape May in New Jersey, as do fun-filled festivals like the New Jersey State Fair at the Meadowlands, which kicks off this weekend. Or how about a day trip to a nearby theme park like these family favorites on Long Island or New Jersey's brand-new Diggerland USA? If you're looking for a longer getaway, Pennsylvania's Dutch Wonderland, which recently opened a new Exploration Island dinosaur attraction, is a great weekend trip and Asheville, North Carolina makes for an awesome vacation destination.

Speaking of dinos, seeing Walking with Dinosaurs - the Arena Spectacular at Brooklyn's Barclays Center in July is also on my family's list of must-do summer activities. This week, we're giving away a family four-pack to the show and even if you don't win, we've got a discount on tickets to select performances, too.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

Save Big on Summer Camps, Family Shows, Classes, Personal Training & a Great Central Park Membership Deal

Submitted by Raven Snook on Sun, 06/15/2014 - 10:00am

Summer is right around the corner, which means it's your last chance to sign the kids up for enriching seasonal programs. Our June deals post features discounts on all kinds of cool camps where kids can enjoy performing theater, playing chess, learning languages and even sailing on the Hudson. Plus, snag a great Central Park Conservancy Family Membership deal, and save on an all-kid production of Seussical, preschooler classes and even personal training sessions for mom and dad. If you see a bargain you can't pass up, act fast: Many of these deals will expire before the month is out.

This Week: Summer Vacation Ideas, Diggerland USA & NY Hall of Science's Design Lab Open, Discount to Walking with Dinosaurs

Submitted by Raven Snook on Thu, 06/12/2014 - 4:00pm

The countdown to the last day of school has begun—my daughter has been crossing out dates on the calendar with extra zeal. Over the past few weeks, we've gotten a jump on all of the FREE fun summer has on tap by visiting the just-opened Interactive Sculpture Garden and mini-golf course on Governors Island, and enjoying no-cost outdoor movies, kids' concerts and festivals.

If you're planning a NYC staycation this season like we are, you'll find plenty of things to amuse the whole family in our Summer Guide. However, if you're hoping for a vacation or two, our Travel site has in-depth posts about family-friendly travel spots around the country, like our just-published profile of laid-back California beach town Carmel-by-the-Sea, as well as international destinations like Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort in the Caribbean. Looking for a getaway that doesn't involve a plane ride? Our tri-state area sites are full of ideas, like the brand-new construction-themed amusement park Diggerland in New Jersey, the quaint waterside town of Captain's Cove Seaport in Bridgeport, Connecticut and Long Island's activity-packed East End. With all of these cool possibilities, I think I may be as impatient for summer break to arrive as my daughter.

Here's what else we covered in NYC this week:

This Week: Free NYC Culture Festivals, Awesome Day Trips Ideas, Best Things to Do for Families in June & Beyond in the Tri-state

Submitted by Raven Snook on Thu, 06/05/2014 - 4:00pm

If you're a fellow NYC public school parent, I know you share my stress this week. Between the half day on Tuesday, the whole day off on Thursday, Monday's upcoming half day and all of the end-of-the-school-year events, we're so busy we need to schedule time to breathe. But the (comparatively) lazy days of summer fun are coming, and there are plenty of memorable experiences to be had in NYC and beyond.

If getting out of town is at the top of your list, our Westchester, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut sites all rounded up the best family events this June, and many of them make for great getaways like this weekend's Fol de Rol County Fair in Armonk, NY, the New Jersey Renaissance Faire in Bordentown and the Strawberry Harvest Festival in Chester, NJ. Or how about a trip to the amazing Adventure Park at the Discovery Museum in Bridgeport, CT or the 42-acre outdoor art installation Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ? And don't forget, we have an entire guide dedicated to the Hamptons and North Fork if that's where you're headed.

Of course you don't need to leave the city to go on an adventure. This weekend brings some of our favorite annual family outings including the Figment arts fest on Governors Island, which feels like a day trip. And a few of NYC's major FREE summer performance festivals kick off this week including SummerStage and Celebrate Brooklyn! and we highlighted the best bets for kids. Plus Friday is National Doughnut Day, which means FREE treats at participating doughnut shops.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

Chancellor's Day Fun: Things to Do with Kids on June 5 When NYC Public Schools Are Closed

Submitted by Raven Snook on Tue, 06/03/2014 - 11:00am

Every first Thursday of June, New York City public school students have the day off for Chancellor's Conference Day. What's that you ask? Well originally it was known as Brooklyn-Queens Day, an obscure religious holiday most folks knew little about that was only observed in those boroughs. But somewhere along the line the name and meaning changed, and suddenly kids throughout NYC got a secular public school holiday.

If you're lucky enough to be able to take the day off with the kids, we have some ideas for how to make the most of it, from cool summer fun (that may get rained out unfortunately) to the kickoff of the public library's summer reading program. But if you've got to work on Thursday like the teachers (it's used as a school staff development day), there are a handful of drop-off holiday camps where your kids can have a blast while you do what you've got to do.

Latest posts by Raven Snook

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