July 26th 2017

Day Out With Thomas chugs into Roaring Camp Railroads in the Santa Cruz Mountains this weekend.

Here are our picks for great events and activities for children and families this weekend. Find more events for the whole week in Marin and beyond in our Family Events Calendar.

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Friday, July 28

Day Out With Thomas
Roaring Camp Railroad, Felton
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 10:30 am–5:30 pm
This popular family event takes place at Roaring Camp Railroads in the Santa Cruz Mountains. You can take a train ride, meet Sir Topham Hatt, and enjoy live music. Tickets: $20 advance, $24 for peak times—Saturdays and Sundays 10:30 am–2:30 pm, $24 at the gate. Tickets required for everyone aged 2 and up and include all entertainment and activities as well as a 25-minute train ride. Parking $8 per vehicle. Location: Graham Hill Road, Felton. For more info, visit their website.
Free Children's Garden Series: Unique Derique
Esplanade at Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco
Friday, 11–11:30 am & 12:15–12:45 pm
This free event is part of the Children's Garden Series at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. A beloved Bay Area institution, the Unique Derique is a prince among clowns, an internationally esteemed performer who has honed a singular blend of physical comedy and hambone body percussion. Location: This performance will take place at Esplanade at Yerba Buena Gardens, near the MLK, Jr. waterfall.For more info, visit their website.
Friday Game Day!
South Novato Library
Friday, 3–4 pm
Did you know the Library has games? Join us every Friday for Friday Game Day! We have Jenga, Battleship, Operation, and MORE! It's fun for the whole family! Free. Location: 931 C Street, Hamiliton, Novato. For more info, visit their website.
Friday Nights at the de Young
de Young Museum, San Francisco
Friday, 5–8:45 pm
Friday Nights at the de Young are after-hours art happenings that include a mix of live music, dance and theater performances, film screenings, panel discussions, lectures, artist demonstrations, hands-on art activities, and exhibition tours. The café offers a delicious prix-fixe menu and specialty cocktails, and the Hamon Tower observation level is open until 8 pm. This Friday: The View from Hollywood. For more info, visit their website.
Tam Valley's Creekside Fridays
Tennessee Valley Cabin, Mill Valley
Friday, 6:30–8 pm
Bring the family, pets, chairs, and blankets to the weekly free musical event. This week: Tam Valley All Stars. Food available for purchase. Location: 60 Tenessee Valley Road, Mill Valley. For more info, call (415) 289-4152 or visit their website.
Friday Nights on Main
Main Street, Downtown Tiburon
Friday, 6–9 pm
Bring the family to some outdoor dining, live music and dancing on Main Street in downtown Tiburon. We celebrate the good life with Ol’ Blue Eyes, Jonathan Poretz that is, with a swingin' tribute to Frank Sinatra and the fabulous music of the Rat Pack era. Location: Main Street, Downtown Tiburon. For more information, visit their website.
Jazz & Blues by the Bay
Gabrielson Park, Sausalito
Friday, 6:30–8 pm
Jazz & Blues by the Bay at Gabrielson Park in Sausalito is a free event. Lawn seating available (first-come first-served). This Friday: The Kenya B Trio (blues/jazz). For more info, call (415) 289-4100 or visit their website.
MTC presents: Seussical
Mill Valley
Friday& Saturday, 7 pm and Sunday, 2 pm
Bring the family to this weekend's Teen Production Camp production of Seussical. Tickets: $5. Puchase tickets here. Location: 397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley. For more info, visit their website.
Preview Marin Shakespeare: The Three Musketeers
Forest Meadows Amphitheatre, San Rafael
Friday, 8 pm, Saturday, 4 and Sunday, 8 pm
The hot-headed D’Artagnan and his misfit Musketeer mates serve the King with swashbuckling zeal through a series of dashing and exciting exploits. A comic adventure for the whole family to enjoy. One for all, and all for one! The Amphitheater will be open for picnicking 1 hour prior to curtain. Free parking is available in the lot at 890 Belle Avenue, and in the main Dominican parking lot at Grand and Acacia near the Conlan Recreation Center. The most accessible parking is in the Belle Avenue lot. Tickets: adults $ 15, child $10. For more info, or to purchase tickets, visit their website.
Seussical: The Musical
Alcazar Theatre, San Francisco
Friday, 8 pm & Saturday, 2 & 8 pm
Now one of the most performed shows in America, Seussical is a fantastical, magical, musical extravaganza! Tony winners Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Lucky Stiff, My Favorite Year, Once On This Island and Ragtime) have lovingly brought to life all of our favorite Dr. Seuss characters, including Horton the Elephant, the Cat in the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz, Lazy Mayzie, and a little girl with a big imagination—Jojo. The colorful characters transport us from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus McGurkus to the invisible world of the Whos. Tickets: $20–$100. Location: 650 Geary Street, San Francisco. For more info, visit their website.
Outdoor Movie Night: Ms. Doubtfire
Pier 39, San Francisco
8:45–11 pm
Grab your blankets and settle in for a free screening of local favorite, Ms. Doubtfire. This film is rated PG. Location: Pier 39, San Francisco. For more info, visit their website.

Saturday, July 29

Marin Country Mart Farmers Market
Larkspur Landing
Saturday, 9 am–2 pm
Enjoy pony rides and a petting zoo for the kids from 10 am–2 pm, face kids' crafts from 9 am–2 pm, children's music or storytelling from 9:30–10:30 am, and more live music from 11 am–12:30 pm, as well as fresh produce, prepared foods, and great local restaurants. For more info, visit their website.
March of the Penguins
San Francisco Zoo
Saturday, 9:30 am–5 pm
Come watch our adorable Magellanic penguin chicks waddle through the Zoo to their new home on Penguin Island. With much pomp and circumstance, this event celebrates the chicks' graduation from “Fish School” where they lose their fluffy down, learn to eat whole fish, swim and accept food from their human keepers. Once these little ones have made it around the pond, they’re reunited with the rest of the penguin colony where they will remain for their adult lives. Free after zoo admission. For more info, visit their website.
Berkeley Kite Festival
Cesar E. Chavez Park, Berkeley Marina
Saturday and Sunday, 10 am–5 pm
The Berkeley Kite Festival is an amazing free family event with fun for all! From the terrific food and arts and crafts booths to the Kids' Zone, free kite making and candy drop, the Berkeley Kite Festival has something for everyone. Parking is $15 per day at Golden Gate Fields, which includes a free shuttle to event. For more info and directions, visit their website.
Fort Ross Festival
Fort Ross State Historic Park
Saturday, 10 am–6:30 pm
Celebrate summer at the annual Fort Ross Festival! This incredibly diverse event reflects the rich history of Fort Ross. Skilled volunteers will be working alongside Kashia, Russian, Alaska Native, and early Ranch communities to offer family-friendly activities, both soulful and rollicking performances, hands-on crafts, and live demonstrations. Join the fun as we celebrate with music, song and dance, great food, and our fourth annual Beer Garden with live Americana music, all in the beautiful coastal setting that is Fort Ross. Admission: $20 per car. For more info, visit their website.
Gilroy Garlic Festival
Christmas Hill Park, Gilroy
Saturday & Sunday, 10 am–7 pm
Come and join the 2017 Gilroy Garlic Festival that attracts garlic-lovers from around the world. It’s “Summer’s Ultimate Food Fair” with three full days of incredible food, beverages, arts & crafts, live entertainment, and cooking competitions. Location: 7050 Miller Avenue, Gilroy. For more info, visit their website.
Bay Area Children's Theatre presents: The Rainbow Fish Musical
Children's Fairyland, Oakland
Saturday, 10:30 am & 2 pm and Sunday, 10:30 am & 4 pm
Come with us under the sea for The Rainbow Fish Musical, a world premiere based on the award-winning book by Marcus Pfister about the joy of finding friendship through sharing. Book, music and lyrics by Austin Zumbro. Playing in Oakland and San Francisco. Tickets: $20 per person. Location: 699 Bellevue Avenue, Oakland. For more info, visit their website.
Creative Family Fun: Make Your Mark with Nature Stamps
Presidio Officers’ Club
Saturday, 11 am–4 pm
Drop in for imaginative craft-making based on the Presidio’s natural and cultural heritage. Featuring different crafts every weekend! Nature in the Presidio is filled with so many interesting patterns and shapes. What happens when you add ink to those patterns and put them to paper? Come find out by making nature stamps with us. Registration not required, but preferred. Location: 50 Moraga Avenue, Pershing Square (across from the Presidio Officers' Club), San Francisco. For more info, visit their website.
Storytelling with Ane Carla Rovetta
Martin Griffin Preserve, Stinson Beach
Saturday, 1–3 pm
Ane Carla Rovetta is not only a Master Storyteller, she is also an illustrator who draws the animals in a story in front of her audiences! Come sit and listen to her tales of the OLD Days. Then, watch, as she creates more lively animal images with vivid strokes of chalks that she makes. You will be transported to the magical time when the animals could speak. Suitable for ages 5 years and older. Tickets: $20 non-members, $15 members or students, free for children under age 18. For more info, visit their website.
Disney's Tarzan
Berkeley Playhouse
Saturday, 1 & 7 pm, Sunday, noon & 5 pm
With a thrilling score from one of pop-music’s greatest icons, Phil Collins, Tarzan is the ultimate story of a unique family drawn together by fate and bound by love. Audiences will journey to the African jungles in this vibrant production that features a live percussive environment, stunning acrobats, and a heartfelt story about what it means to be a family. Tarzan is this summer’s most exciting musical event.Tickets: $25–$40. Purchase tickets here. Location: 2640 College Avenue, Berkeley. For more info, visit their website.
Free Performance by Circus Bella
Pickleweed Park Soccer Fields, San Rafael
Saturday, 2–3 pm
Circus Bella is coming back to San Rafael for the sixth year in a row bringing its 60-minute, open air, one-ring circus to Pickleweed Park. Lots of fun for all - acrobatics on the ground and in the air, mind boggling juggling and madcap clowning! The show features professional acts set to an original score by local composer Rob Reich, performed by the Circus Bella All Stars. Location: 50 Canal Street, San Rafael. For more info, visit their website.