EDITORS'PICKS

#1) Saturday, March 17: You're invited to Bay State Parent's 10th Birthday Party. Like any 10-year-old, we're thrilled to be turning double-digits. To celebrate, we've hosted a party every month at local family attractions. This month, we hope you'll join us at the EcoTarium on Harrington Way in Worcester, where your family can check out their new planetarium and the Attack of the Bloodsuckers! exhibit from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Please bring a new and unwrapped toy to be donated to Smiling Kids, Inc. (www.smilingkidsinc. org). Regular admission to the EcoTarium is $10 for adults, $8 for children ages 3 - 18, and free for children under 3. See our ad on page 75 for one free admission when you purchase one admission. For more information contact the EcoTarium at 508-929-2700.

#2) Saturday, March 3: Attend the 7th Annual New Trade Winds/ECHO Performing Arts Festival at the Peabody Essex Museum, where Native American Tradition will be brought to life. Storytellers, dancers, musicians and performing artists from Alaska, Hawaii, and Massachusetts gather at this festival to present Keeping the Fire in the Dark Moon Times, a performance celebrating Native traditions and cultural exchange. Through the mediums of music, dance and storytelling, Native artists explore the legacies of their ancestors and create new tensions between traditional and modern expression. Artists at the Festival represent diverse cultures, including Cape Verdean and Wampanoag from Massachusetts, Iñupiaq and Yup'ik from Alaska, and Native Hawaiians. Individual artists follow: The festival starts at 12:30 and ends at 4:30 p.m. The museum is located at East India Square in Salem. General museum admission: Adults $13; students $9. Additional admission to Yin Yu Tang: $4. Members and youth under age 15 are free. For more information call 866-745-1876 or visit www.pem.org.

#3) Sunday, March 4: Attend a performance of The Revels: Circle of Song - An American Journey" today at 3 p.m. at Worcester's new vocational high school. The show presented by Music Worcester Inc and sponsored by Bay State Parent magazine, is perfect for elementary and middle school students. The performance tells of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, waves of immigrants who came from Europe through Ellis Island and eventually made their way to Boston and other parts of New England. "An American Journey" portrays a sea voyage where Irish, Italians and Eastern European Jews meet and share their stories, songs, and dances. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children. Reserve tickets by calling 508-754-3231

#4) Saturday, March 10: Take a fanciful stroll down Bourbon Street to celebrate Mardi Gras Madness and support two worthy causes - The Children's Museum of Easton and the Brockton Day Nursery at an event at The Shaw's Conference Center in Brockton, beginning at 7 p.m. The event features Cajun food stations, music, entertainment, raffles,auctions, beads, dancing and more. Attire is casual and creative, and neither rain, nor snow, nor cold will stop this party. Tickets are $50 per person and can be purchased by contacting the museum or visiting www.active.com/eventdetail.cfm?eventid=1417999.

#5) Sunday, March 11 & Thursday, March 15: Take your art lovers to the Worcester Art Museum for a kid-friendly art exhibit during Youth Art Month. Marvel at the talent and creativity of art students in grades K-12 from all over Central Massachusetts and MetroWest with a salon-style, floor-to-ceiling exhibition of more than 400 student works. The Opening Reception for K - 8 will be held on March 11 from 1- 4 p.m. The free opening reception for Grades 9 - 12 is Thursday, March 15 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The Worcester Art Museum is located on Salisbury Street in Worcester. Contact 508-799-4406 or www.worcesterart.org for more information.

#6) Saturday, March 17: North Shore Music Theater's award-winning Youth Performance Academy will present Stuart Little, the musical version of E.B. White's classic tale about a little mouse born into a normal New York family today at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The cast, featuring students ages 10 to 18, is representative of 17 Massachusetts communities. They include: Andover resident Adam Brody; Beverly residents Connor Doherty and Andy Porterfield; Boxford residents Jack Moriarty and Harry Paine; Burlington resident Futaba Shioda; Everett resident Simone Senibaldi; Georgetown resident Christina Brown; Gloucester resident Alexis DiGregorio; Hamilton resident Kali Carnevale; Ipswich residents Jessica Barstis and Channing Shippen; Lynn residents Alex Newell and DJ Plunkett; Middleton residents Yan Ivnitskiy, Evelyn LeBel, and Nicole Soriano; North Andover resident Kyle McAdam; Peabody resident Bernard Baldassaro; Reading resident Hannah Owens; Rowley resident Brendan Leonard; Tewksbury resident Megan Dwinell; and Wenham resident Claudia Namaroff. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased by calling the box officeat 978-232-7200 or by visiting the Web site www.nsmt.org

#7) Saturday, March 17: It's Dr. Seuss' birthday! Shake hands with the Cat in the Hat himself at the 5th Annual Cat in the Hat Breakfast at the United Parish/Andrew's Hall on Main Street in Lunenburg. The breakfast, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., includes green eggs and ham, potluck food items, stories, game table, crafts, and an all-around good time. Admission is $5 for adults, and children ages 4 and younger are $3. For ticket information, contact 978-582- 6186 or e-mail lizandamandasmom@hotmail.com.

#8) Sunday, March 25: An out-of-this-world special family symphony concert, Music from Outer Space, will be held at the Milford Town Hall Grand Ballroom at 52 Main Street. The ClaflinHill Symphony Orchestra performs the music of John Williams, with music from Close Encounters, Star Wars, as well as excerpts of "Holst's Planets." The one-hour concert is recommended for children ages 3 and up and starts at 3 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children. To purchase tickets, contact 508-478-5924 or www.claflinhill.org.

#9) Saturday, March 31: Attend the sheep shearing open house at the Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary on Goodnow Road in Princeton from noon to 4 p.m. Sheep grazing led to the development of the many meadow habitats of the sanctuary. Meet Rubus, Hope, and Taggley and learn how sheep are sheared, how wool is made into warm sweaters, and how the team of munchers is being used experimentally to manage open meadows as wildlife See wool demonstrations including spinning, weaving, felting, and knitting. Admission is $10 for non-member adults. For more information call 978-464-2712.

#10) Saturday, March 31 & Sunday, April 1: Bring your favorite dolls to the American Girl Fashion Show & Tea at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel in Boston (10 a.m., 1 & 4 p.m. on Sat. & 10 a.m. & 1 p.m. on Sun.) Treat yourselves to a fashion show, tea and crumpets in an elegant ballroom, lively music, party favors, and door prizes. Get a chance to take a picture with Shailene Woodley from the movie, Felicity's Adventure and win round-trip tickets to the American Girl Place store in NY, LA, or Chicago. This special event helps to underwrite the Freedom Trail Foundation Scholars program - an education program that brings the American Revolution to schools. Tickets are $50, but were selling very fast at press time. If you are unable to get tickets for this popular event, you can enter to win them by purchasing raffle tickets online at www.theFreedomTrail.org.