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.

Friday, May 18

• Hamilton Community Pool Opening Day
  Novato
  Friday, 11 am–6:30 pm
  Today is opening day at the Hamilton pool. The recently renovated Hamilton Pool offers a kiddie pool with slide and play equipment, as well as a BBQ and picnic area. Daily drop in admission is $4 for Novato resident children and $5 for Novato resident adults with photo ID; non-residents pay is $7 for youth or child and $9 for adults. Location: 203 El Bonito RdFor more info, call (415) 883-7126 or visit their website.
• McNears Beach Block Party
  San Rafael
  Friday, 4 pm
  Celebrate the 40th birthday of McNears Beach with  the 1st annual McNears Beach block party. There will be food, music, a sand castle contest, swimming, and plenty of fun for the whole family. Entrance fee is waived. Swimming fee is $5 per person. Location: 201 Cantera Way in San Rafael. For more info, call (415) 499-6387 or visit their website.
  
• Kids Musical Theatre, Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr.
  Dance Palace Community Center in Pt. Reyes
  Friday & Saturday, 7:30 pm, Sunday, 4 pm
  The Dance Palace Kids’ Musical Theatre presents Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. This production is for the entire family. The Emmy® Award winning Saturday morning educational cartoon series is now the basis for one of the most fun, energetic musicals ever to hit the stage! Cost: $9 general, $7 seniors, $5 kids and teens at the door. For more info, visit their website.

Saturday, May 19

• GirlVenturesFriends & Family Hike
  Mount Tamalpais State Park, Mill Valley
  Saturday, 8:30 am
  This hike is a fun, adventurous way to experience the natural beauty of the California coast while supporting GirlVentures’ mission to empower adolescent girls to develop and express their strengths. All ages are welcome for breakfast and a hike. Location: Santos Meadows on Mt. Tam. For more info, contact Tanya Rao (415) 864-0780 x304 or visit their website.
  
• Pixie Park Spring Fair
  Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross
  Saturday, 9 am–3 pm
  The Pixie Park Spring Fair is now in its 54th year! Children will enjoy pony rides, a petting zoo, giant slide, bouncy houses and a vintage train ride, along with food, drinks, balloons, tattoos, face painting and much more! Autopia, the much loved mini car ride, and Pixie Olympics, a mini obstacle course for kids, are just a few of our signature events offered at the Fair. Entertainment will include Ali Weiss and Warren Mann of Mini Music; The Wronglers; and Fur, Scales and Tails, among others! The MAGC is located at 30 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in Ross. More info: www.pixiepark.org
• Marin Country Mart Farmers Market
  Marin Country Mart, Larkspur Landing
  Saturday, 9 am–2 pm
  Pony rides and a petting zoo for the kids from 10 am–2 pm adjacent to the farmer's market. The farmer's market takes place on the south site of the shopping center closest to Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. For more info, visit their website.
• Historic Tour and Nature Walk
  China Camp State Park, San Rafael
  Saturday, 10 am–12:30 pm
  Special tour of historic China Camp, led by an historian and park specialist. Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy along the shore of Bay; refreshments and light snacks will be provided. Reservations encouraged. General $20; Marin History Museum members $10; children 12 and under free; student discounts available. Portions of the tickets will go to Friends of China Camp efforts to save the park. Location: 101 Peacock Gap Trail, San Rafael. For more info, call (415) 454-8538 x2 or visit their website.
  
• Northgate Kids’ Sing ‘n Play!
  San Rafael
  Saturday, 10–11 am
  Kids of all ages are invtied to come play, sing and dance in an interactive musical playgroup that will be led by talented local Marin music teachers.This summer series of musical playgroups will offer a different music-focused program (provided by Kidzter) every other Saturday morning at Northgate. Kids will get a free musical instrument to help keep to the rhythm all summer long. Every other Saturday from 10–11am in the Macy’s wing. For more info, visit their website.
• The 118th Luther Burbank Rose Parade and Festival
  Downtown Santa Rosa
  Saturday, 10 am
  Don't miss this year's "Rockin' 'Round the Roses" Parade and Festival. This is one of Sonoma County's most honored traditions and one of the oldest and largest events of its kind in Northern California. There will be marching bands, award winning floats, roses, horse drawn carriages, clowns, roses, roses and more roses. Festival of family fun from 11 am–3 pm at Courthouse Square. The parade will start at Sonoma Avenue and E Street and proceed north on E Street, turning left onto 4th Street and proceed west on 4th Street. For more info, visit their website.
• Concert on the Plaza
  Depot Plaza Mill Valley
  Saturday, 11:30 am–3:30 pm
  Youth Rock the Rebuild and Windhorse Foundation will present a free concert on the plaza in downtown Mill Valley. This live music and fun for all ages will benefit Deak Kum Pa Orphanage in Laos. For more info, visit their website.
• Radio Disney Junior Jamboree
  Strawberry Village Shopping Center, Mill Valley
  Saturday, 11 am–1 pm
  Back by popular demand! Strawberry Village will host its 2nd Annual Disney Jr. Jamboree from 2–4pm in the Piazza!. The Radio Disney Rockin' Road Crew will host a fun, interactive show focusing on dancing, games, prizes, arts & crafts, giveaways, etc. targeted for kids ages 2–6. The Marin County Bookmobile will provide storytelling from 4–4:30 pm. Bring a new or gently used book for readers of any age to benefit the Marin County Free Library. For more info, visit their website.

One of Marin's favorite events for toddlers, preschoolers and kindergarteners is the annual 54th Pixie Park's Spring Fair. Pixie Park's Spring Fair takes place Saturday, May 19 from 9 am to 3 pm at the Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross.

Activities and entertainment at this year's fair include train rides, pony rides, a petting zoo, bounce houses, a giant inflatable slide, obstacle courses, prize games, plus food, drinks, balloons, face-painting, and much, much more. Special guests at the fair include Ali Weiss and Warren Mann of Mini Music at 10 am and Fur, Scales & Tails at 11:30 am.

Admission to the Pixie Park Spring Fair is free, and games and activities require purchased tickets. Fair attendees are asked to bring a cleaning product to support Adopt A Family of Marin for their spring cleaning drive. The Marin Art and Garden Center is located at 30 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in Ross (at Lagunitas Road). Parking is available at College of Marin—where you can take a free shuttle to the fair, Ross Common, or in the Marin Art and Garden Center Parking lot for a $10 fee.

Summer's almost here, and one of the season's time honored traditions for children is swimming lessons. Not only are swimming lessons a fun way to get some exercise and cool off on a hot summer day, but they're essential from a safety standpoint.

Below is our list of local Marin County providers of swimming lessons for children. Although many of the facilities listed are private clubs, unless otherwise indicated, all locations offer public lessons open to all. Most programs require pre-registration; follow the links or call to sign up or for more information. As always, if you have a favorite swim class or teacher that you think should be added to the list, let us know by leaving a comment or contacting us.

Kentfield:

• Bay Club Ross Valley
  235 Bon Air Road, Kentfield
  (415) 461-5431

Larkspur:

• Mt. Tam Racquet Club
  One Larkspur Plaza Drive, Larkspur
  (415) 924-6226 x55

Mill Valley:

• Mill Valley Community Center Pool
  180 Camino Alto
  (415) 383-1370
• Homestead Valley Community
  315 Montford Avenue
  (415) 388-0137

One of Marin County's most beloved and unique events is the famous Mountain Play—an outdoor theater experience high on the slopes of Mt. Tamalpais that's been going strong for nearly a century—99 years to be exact. 2012's Mountain Play production is Meredith Wilson's The Music Man, the musical tale of fast-talking and charming con man Harold Hill and his scheme to sell the citizens of River City, Iowa on a boys' marching band.

The Mountain Play's production of The Music Man features a professional cast including local singer/songwriter and children's performer Susan Zelinsky, AKA Susan Z, as in the starring role of River City's librarian Marian Paroo and Robert Moorhead as Harold Hill. This year's play is the 30th and final production for Marin County theater legend and Mountain Play veteran James Dunn, too.

Performances take place at 2 pm at Mt. Tam's Cushing Memorial Amphitheater on May 20 and 27, and June 3, 10, 16, and 17. General seating ticket prices range from $30–$40. New this year is half-price general seating admission ($15) for children ages 4–13, and children 3 and under are free. Reserved seats are available for Mountain Play Fan Club members (starting at $56); higher membership levels include perks like reserved parking and special shuttle passes. Order tickets online here or by phone at (415) 383-1100.

This summer, San Rafael's Country Club Bowl will be participating in the Kids Bowl Free program, a summer activity program where any child aged 18 and under can bowl two free games a day! There's no catch to Kids Bowl Free—all you do is register online, and you'll receive a weekly printable coupon that allows your children to bowl for free. It's that simple.

Kids Bowl Free was created as a way to give back to the community and offer a safe, secure, and fun way for kids to spend time this summer. The program also helps local teachers with their classroom costs—elementary and middle school teachers can apply for one of 400 $250 grants to help offset the cost of classroom supplies. For more information, visit www.kidsbowlfree.com.

Kids Bowl Free times at Country Club Bowl are Monday–Thursday from 11 am–6:30 pm and Friday–Saturday from 11 am–5 pm, June 4–August 31. All participants must wear bowling shoes (bring your own or rent them at the bowling alley), and the family pass coupon is not good for daycare, business, or club outings, birthday parties, or league and tournament play.

Marin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear.

Nicole's meal plan for this week features her usual delicious dishes, but today she shares with us this tasty recipe for campfire pizzas—just in time for summer camping season!

We spent a glorious weekend camping under a canopy of Redwood trees. Just North of Boonville all the way up into Anderson Valley, the next up and coming Wine Country of Northern California, is a special little campground that lies along the Navarro River. As we do with all our camping trips, and we do A LOT of them, each family takes on a meal so that all the meals are shared. Our good friends surprised us with Campfire Pizzas. I had no idea how this was going to workout. I envisioned pizza dough dripping through the rusty grates left over the campfire, but our friend Bill had a trick up his sleeve. Campfire Pie Irons! Who knew? He had an antique I think, but it worked just fine and we ate warm oozy, goosy pizzas around the campfire with all the trimmings.

Finding good camping recipes is not always the easiest but this recipe is foolproof and simple. Each pizza pie is made individually so it is easy to set up for everyone to make their own pizza with their favorite toppings. This recipe can be easily adjusted for the amount of pizzas you need.

As an extra bonus, you can add your favorite canned pie filling to the bread and for dessert, make Campfire Pies! So easy!

Marin Mommies presents a guest article by Marin Mom and writer Gabrielle Cullen.

Here’s a cheer for the moms who have found a way to balance family, fun and self fulfillment! One of Marin’s most musical moms, Susan Zelinsky, has the luck, and the talent, to be doing just that, and so on the cusp the 99th annual Mountain Play, (she has the starring role of Marian Paroo in The Music Man,) Marin Mommies sat down with Susan in hopes of revealing the secrets to her success.

How long have you been in musical theater?

I’ve been involved in acting, music and song since high school. I continued on in college and have been fortunate to have music and theater play a key role in my life ever since.

As a mother, what do you enjoy most about Mountain Play?

Being able to perform in a wonderful production such as Mountain Play has given me the best of both worlds. I am able to be involved in my children’s lives, work around crazy family schedules and still have a wonderful outlet for my craft.

How else do you use your performing talents?

It's not every day that the circus comes to town, but it'll be here this Memorial Day weekend! American Crown Circus sets up its big top on the grounds of St. Vincent's School for Boys in Marinwood, just south of Novato. American Crown Circus is a family run, bilingual circus including acrobats, high wire acts, clowns, and motorcycle heroics in the Globe of Death (but no exotic animals). By all accounts they put on a great show for the whole family! The circus is the major fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Novato Sunrise, which has brought a professional traveling tent circus to Marin every year since 1997.

Performances are on Friday, May 25 at 7 pm; Saturday and Sunday, May 26 and 27 at 2 pm, 4:30 pm and 7 pm; and on Monday, May 28 at 2 pm and 4:30 pm. Advance tickets are $14; tickets at the door are $16. Two children under 12 admitted free per paid adult ticket. Additional children's tickets are $5 each. Advance tickets can be purchased at Matt and Jeff's Car Wash in Novato.

This Mother's Day, why not make an old school dessert for Mom—pineapple upside down cake. Pineapple upside down cake is really old school, dating back to the 1920s when canned pineapple from was introduced to the US market by the Hawaiian Pineapple Company, which would eventually become Dole Foods.

Featuring moist and light cake topped with sweet pineapple and a caramelized brown sugar topping, it's no wonder this dessert has been popular for nearly a century. In our recipe, we use fresh pineapple, but you can substitute canned if you don't want to mess around with cutting up and trimming a fresh one. It's equally good with both.

Ingredients

For the topping:

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into rings (you'll probably end up using about half) or 1 14-ounce can of pineapple rings
• Maraschino cherries (optional)