What to do with kids this weekend in and around Hartford

Weekend Highlights for Friday, July 25 - Sunday, July 27 for the Hartford area:

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Friday highlights (click here for more on Friday, July 25)

Greater Hartford Irish Music Festival! Bring your family to enjoy a weekend of all things Irish! Demonstrations of bread-baking, story-telling, the Great Famine, genealogy, have long been a festival staple, St Patrick’s Pipe band, ceili and set dancing and MORE!

Parachute Drop at the New England Air Museum Have a blast with your kids at the New England Air Museum! Design a parachute that will take the longest to drop to the ground with a given weight.

Boogie, Bop, Skip and Hop at Stepping Stones Museum for Children! It's time to groove at Stepping Stones! Simple dance steps and a wide variety of music will have children and caregivers bopping and hopping.

New Britain Rock Cats v. Portland Sea Dogs : Pyrotechnics Night! Bring your kids to New Britain as the Rock Cats take on opponents during exciting baseball games at New Britain Stadium! It's a fun, wholesome, family experience at affordable prices for all.

Saturday's highlights (click here for more on Saturday, July 26):

Movies, Music and More at The Shoppes at Farmington Valley! : Smurfs 2. Bring your kids to the Shoppes at Farmington Valley in Canton for wonderful summer fun! Movies begin at sundown and family activities including Magic, Circus Acts, Comedy, Illusion, and More will be from 6 - 8 pm.

Gustafer Yellowgold’s Show at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Groovy Gustafer Yellowgold is a small, yellow, cone-headed fellow who came from the Sun and landed in Minnesota. Enjoy a unique blend of live music, animated illustrations and storytelling by award-winning performer Morgan Taylor.

CONNECTICUT BALLET PERFORMANCE IN THE PARK at Elizabeth Park. Come join us for a spectacular performance by the Connecticut ballet. Rose Garden Rain date of July 27

Family Favorite Chris Rowlands LIVE at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo. Chris Rowlands live!

Sunday's highlights (click here to see what else is on our calendar for Sunday, July 27):

Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival Get ready for this years biggest metal festival The Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival! With headliners Korn and Avenged Sevenfold.

The Hot Sardines at Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts. Take a blustery brass lineup, layer it over a rhythm section led by a stride-piano virtuoso in the Fats Waller vein, and tie the whole thing together with a one-of-the-boys frontwoman with a voice from another era, and you have the Hot Sardines.

Peter Pan at the Warner Theatre! PETER PAN is one of the world's most celebrated musicals! Here is all the charm of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Wendy, Michael & John, pirates and Indians, show-stopping songs, "Never Never Land", "I Won't Grow Up" and "I'm Flying".

Skulls and Bones at the James Goodwin State Forest Conservation Center! at James Goodwin State Forest. Have you ever discovered a bone buried in the soil or lying on the ground in the woods and wondered whose it was? Here is your chance to learn how to identify some of the common types of bones you might find as you explore the outdoor world!