East Bay Baby

Parents’ Press is shutting down its print edition.  This free monthly magazine for Bay Area parents was available in every pediatrician’s office,  children’s retailer, and public library in the greater Bay Area for nearly 30 years.  The magazine featured articles from local writers,  reviews of restaurants and kid friendly venues, and so forth…but the real reason most people picked it up was for its excellent local calendar, which had almost every kid or kid friendly event in the Bay Area listed.  Although the website will remain up indefinitely, it isn’t clear whether their calendar will continue to be updated.  So here are some alternate resources for filling up the free spots in your schedule with cheap kid friendly things to do:

• Subscribe to the Berkeley Parents Network Announcements email newsletter.  This wonderful free email newsletter highlights events all around the Bay Area, at both large and small venues.  In addition there are notes about playgroups forming, community classes, and research studies conducted at local universities in need of baby, preschool, or school aged subjects.  Better living through science!
• Sign up for the CPMC BabySteps Weekend Events newsletter.  This consists primarily of San Francisco events, which the Berkeley Parent’s Network Announcements email tends not to cover.
• Peruse funcheapSF – the events listed are not necessarily for kids (Folsom Street Fair, anyone?), but there are often kid friendly options.
• Check out Bay Area On the Cheap.  This site often has coupons and discounts for local museums and other attractions, which, given the cost of admission these days, is nothing to sneeze at!

What are your favorite sites for finding things to keep your kids occupied?  Please share!