7/2: For a good old-fashioned New York street fair, replete with buttery corn on the cob and requisite tchotchke hawkers, cruise through the all-day USO–Avenue of Americas Summerfest (Sixth Ave. from 42nd St. to 56th St.).
7/3: Pack a picnic and get patriotic with a free 2 p.m. concert at Zuccotti Park (Broadway and Liberty St.) by the TriBattery Pops. Then shoot up to Teardrop Park (Park Pl. W. and North End Ave.)to rocket down the grand steel slide and cool off in the water playground.
7/4: Claim your prime fireworks-watching spot early along the West Side Highway (aim for Piers 54 and 84) for the 9 p.m. Macy’s Fourth of July extravaganza.
7/9: Cartoonist Jules Feiffer’s “Dancer” drawings come to life Saturday morning at the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden (Hudson River Greenway nr. Vesey St.), where director Judy Dennis premieres six vignettes from “The Dancer Films” (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.).
7/10: Hit up Central Park’s Charles A. Dana Discovery Center (nr. Fifth Ave. and Frawley Circle) for some catch-and-release fishing on nearby Harlem Meer. (Poles are available for rental—I.D.’s required, and corn-kernel bait is free—until 1 p.m.) At 2 p.m., guitarist Stew Cutler takes the stage, schooling kids in jazz and blues for the Performance Festival. Trek to the Central Park Mainstage (nr. E. 72nd St.) at 3 p.m. for circus acts and marching bands.
7/16: At the Dragon Boat Family Day at the New York Hall of Science in Corona (47-01 111th St., nr. 47th Ave., Corona), kids can train biceps on rowing machines and see a 40-foot-long dragon boat up close. Meanwhile, in Prospect Park, the 33rd annual Ezra Jack Keats Family Concert will feature Dan Zanes and the Brooklyn Youth Orchestra (Flatbush Ave. at Eastern Pkwy., Brooklyn; 4 to 7 p.m.).
7/17: Anyone over 8 can test their perception and memory with mind-benders at the American Museum of Natural History’s Sackler Educational Laboratory (Central Park W. at 81st St.; 1 to 4 p.m.).
7/23: Garden-hop at Wave Hill (W. 250th St. at Independence Ave.), the 28-acre green space fronting the Palisades in the Bronx. And stop by the park’s Ecology Building to make your own rose-colored sunglasses (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.).
7/24: At Queensbridge Park’s family day, there will be kiddie-targeted tunes from soul band Shine & the Moonbeams and others, plus crafts, storytelling, and puppet shows (Vernon Blvd. at 41st Ave.; Long Island City).
7/30: Two stages of music, carnival rides, and good-and-sticky fair food descend upon East 116th St. (nr. Second Ave.) for the Festival Carnaval del Barrio.
7/31: Lincoln Center’s all-day Out of Doors Festival will feature hip-hop and salsa dancing music, plus Interfaith minister and radio-talk-show host Vy Higginsen’s teen gospel choir (Broadway at W. 65th St.).
8/6: Survey the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge from a kayak or join a guided tour of Brooklyn’s craggy, postindustrial shores in an individual rowboat (11 a.m. to 4 p.m., depart from Pier 1).
8/7: Want to teach your kids how to ride a bike but can’t get a hang of the seat-steering method? Bike New York lends a hand at Brooklyn Bridge Park (Furman St. at Doughty St.; 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.)
8/13: Artist Ann deVere hosts a free family printmaking workshop on the High Line (14th St. nr. Tenth Ave.; 10 a.m.). Elsewhere, on Governors Island, the NYC Volkswagen Traffic Jam and picnic will display vintage VWs—from dune buggies to classic Beetles.
8/14: At the New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (Fifth Ave. at 40th St.), the scavenger hunt-worthy centennial exhibit displays 250 literary objects, from Charles Dickens’s cat-taxidermy letter opener to Charlotte Brontë’s writing desk.
8/20: Flaubert Frog (a.k.a. Dan Kitrosser) will lead games and tell revamped folk stories, starting at 1 p.m. by the carousel in Bryant Park (41st St. and Sixth Ave.).
8/21: Stroll a car-free Astoria all afternoon as part of the city’s Weekend Walks program, taking breaks for arts-and-crafts workshops along the way (Shore Blvd. at Astoria Park S.).
8/27: Science Power Hour hosts junior naturalists for 60 minutes of experiments, starting at 1 p.m. at the Audubon Center in Prospect Park (East Lake Dr. at Ocean Ave.).
8/28: Daredevil kids and parents can defy gravity on the rope-climbing wall and adventure course at Alley Pond Park in Queens (Union Tpk. at Winchester Blvd.; 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; ages 8 and up; register online at nycgovpark.org).
9/3: Play Ping-Pong at Bryant Park’s well-shaded new tables. Just sign up with the attendant upon arrival (Sixth Ave. at 42nd St.).
9/4: Cap off the season at Coney Island with a final whirl on the Cyclone (W. 10th St. at Surf Ave., Brooklyn).
9/5: Revel in your day off at the Labor Day Parade on Fifth Avenue or the West Indian Carnival on Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway (Utica Ave. to Grand Army Plaza).