The Best Music

June 3, 2021

KidsOutAndAbout's VP of Operations, June Santini, used to be the manager of my kids' chorus before I ruthlessly stole her away asked her to work with me to expand KidsOutAndAbout over a decade ago. One Saturday morning during Madison's first season with the chorus, I was waiting in the hallway with the other parents while the music of John Rutter's Mass of the Children filtered out around us. I became suddenly overwhelmed at the fact that my baby was in there helping create something on such a scale of loveliness. June looked over at me, smiled wryly, and said, "Yeah, the parents do a lot of weeping the first year." I wasn't just tearing up at the sheer beauty of the music; it was the sense of Madison being in exactly the right place for what she needed to grow and be happy.

Most parents have felt this heart-bursting gratitude at some point when their kids flourish with an expert teacher, whether in traditional school, or in sports, or in extracurricular lessons, or in arts experiences. I've been fortunate to have a front-row seat to these opportunities not just for my kids but for entire communities: I watch amazing people create experiences that help kids thrive, which helps secure a happy future for them and for everyone. It's even more powerful seeing how these folks have gone all-out creatively to serve our kids during Covid.

So I want to thank them all, and I know you do, too. That's why each year, at the beginning of the summer, KidsOutAndAbout.com hosts a survey to get our list of the top places to take kids locally each year, as voted by our readers. In addition to the ranked list of the 20 most popular places, we also have categories like Arts Education, Sports Education, and STEM education, so that we can recognize teachers. We also have places for you to write comments that we will pass along to the organizations in the list. It will take you only a couple of minutes, and along the way the list will link you to some little-known local gems that will help you plan a magical summer to get (safely) out and about. And you might even win a $100 Amazon gift card!

So please... click here to vote for your local favorites in our annual Top 20 Places to Take Kids survey. As you remind yourself of the magic of where you live, you'll be encouraging the people who need encouragement, and thanking the people who need to be thanked. It's the best kind of music.

—Deb