March brings lots of fun for kids with its brighter days, beautiful blossoms, and warmer weather. Plus, there are plenty of special moments to celebrate: Purim, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Springtime, and Women’s History Month to name a few.
Save the Date for these Exciting Community Events
- Mar. 2:Â Final performances of Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure
- Mar. 3: Pretend to be a pilot at Open Cockpit Day
- Mar. 2-3: Free Family Movies at Rialto Cinemas (El Cerrito and Elmwood)
- Mar. 9: Oakland Roots season opener
- Mar. 14: Commemorate Pi Day by eating pie and doing math
- Mar. 16-17: St. Patrick’s Day weekend of parades and festivals
- Mar. 17: Messy Art Day at ECPC for kids 5 & under
- Mar. 19: Frolic on the first day of Spring at a local garden
- Mar. 23-24: Purim is one day, but the costumed carnivals are many!
- Mar. 28: Cheer for the Oakland A’s at the home opener game
- Mar. 30: Bay FC inaugural season home opener (professional women’s soccer!)
- Mar. 31: Happy Easter!
Reserve Tickets to Shows & Performances
This month is filled with family-friendly shows: A Monstrous Circus, Wild Kratts Live, Pinocchio, and PAW Patrol to name a few. See our full list of upcoming shows and performances for families >
You might also want to reserve a spot in a spring break camp and book ahead for a Parents Night Out so you can get a date night.
Easter Happenings and Hoppenings
The month of March is packed with community activities to celebrate Easter — most of them before the big day itself: egg hunts, Easter crafts, dressing children in pastel colors, bunny photos, and dyeing eggs.
See the Colors Blooming
It is a wonderful time to tiptoe through the tulips with your little ones. Tulips should be popping up at Oakland’s Temple Hill’s free gardens or Mountain View Cemetery; daffodils or tulips will be waking up at Piedmont Park; Woodside’s Filoli should have cherry blossoms, daffodils, and magnolias; San Francisco’s Botanical Garden should have blooming magnolias along with a great kids’ garden with a mud kitchen. Not into flowers? Visit the cacti at Ruth Bancroft, the redwood grove at UC Botanical Garden, or Hayward’s Japanese Garden to spot koi fish.
Find more tips in our Parents Guide to East Bay Gardens >>
Plan Your Spring Break Daytrips
We like to pick one “funtivity” and build a day around it. Stick close to home with toddler-friendly short hikes. Or buy your tickets in advance for the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Safari West Animal Park in Santa Rosa, Muir Woods, and Alcatraz. Leave it to the last minute to opt for a Mori Point hike in Pacifica, a jaunt to Angel Island, or a trip to Sacramento for the California State Railroad Museum.
Staycation can also mean a little driving getaway that doesn’t involve a flight. If you want to choose a family-friendly hotel for a few nights, we have some favorite scenic drivable hotel getaways you’ll love (less than 2 hours to paradise!).
Free & Cheap Picks for March
Need some planning inspiration? We’ve got you covered! We gathered up our favorite free and inexpensive activities in the East Bay to serve as a go-to, weekday itinerary when you’re in a pinch. Find more free & cheap events this month >
- Mondays – Walk or scooter around the Lafayette Reservoir
- Tuesdays – Hike the tot-friendly trail to Jewel Lake in Tilden
- Wednesdays – Walk through Blake Garden in Kensington
- Thursdays – Jam out at Musical Storytime in Berkeley
- Fridays – Visit wildlife at Sulfur Creek Nature Center in Hayward, See the telescope at Chabot Space & Science Center
- Saturdays – Catch the rides and playground at Kennedy Park
- Sundays – Sunday Storytime at Tilden Nature Center
Plus, plan an outing to one of the world-class museums in the Bay Area; take advantage of free admission on certain days. Learn more about ways to get into more Bay Area museums for free >
- Mar. 1: CuriOdyssey in San Mateo and Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco
- Mar. 2: Asian Art Museum in San Francisco and First Sunday at OMCA (nearly free!)
- Mar. 2-3: Bank of America Free Museum Days
- Mar. 5: de Young Museum and Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco
- Mar. 7: BAMPFA in Berkeley & SFMOMA in San Francisco
- Mar. 9: Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco
- Mar. 12: San Francisco Botanical Garden
Baseball Season is back
Baseball opening day is this month. Cal Golden Bears play at home in baseball and softball — and tickets are as low as $2 for some games. Oakland A’s play the SF Giants on 3/25 before they play in Oakland.
Find more to do in March on our always-updated daily family-friendly events calendar.Â