It's been a packed toddler festival season in Hoboken.

Starting with the OLG Funfest in June, Hoboken has a myriad of kid-friendly outdoor activities throughout the summer. The Fun & Fit Day, Movies under the Stars and the Italian Festival are just a few of the ways to while away a warm summer afternoon.

The fall Arts & Music Festival marks the end of the true festival season. Sure, we still have the Ragamuffin Day Parade to look forward to, but I can't get a sausage and pepper sandwich there. Instead, I dodge stiltwalkers and battle crowds of teenagers on Washington Street for the endless supply of Tootsie Rolls handed out by local store owners. My husband and I enact a parent tax of Reeses Pieces from our kids' treat bags; they are too young to eat candy, anyway.

With temperatures in the eighties on Sunday, the fall Arts & Music Festival was the summer's last hurrah. Held on downtown Washington Street up to Seventh Street, we usually walk up and down a couple of times, saying hi to the kids' classmates and friends while checking out funky artwork, picking up free balloons and pausing to listen to live music while changing a diaper or dashing into Panera for a potty break. We pick up lunch along the way, usually Thai food or sausages and peppers, plus fresh lemonade for the kids. We are tempted by Zeppolis but steer clear of the fried Oreos; who thought that one up?

There is a really cute Toddler Zone held in the parking lot of Capital One Bank at the corner of Third and Washington; the long lines usually deter us from going down the huge inflatable slide but we always wander around to check out face painting and balloon sculptures. This year, my daughter was fascinated by all the handcrafted goods for sale. She picked out a $25 crocheted cap for winter with an adorable rosette on the side.

The Arts & Music Festival is the one event each year (or I should say, two, since there is a partner event in the spring) when I see singles and families enjoying themselves side-by-side. Most Hoboken celebrations are strictly for one group or the other (there is a polite handoff at dusk on Halloween when exhausted toddlers in Superman outfits give way to barhopping costumed adults) but here you had teenagers and adults testing out x-box games next to a stall selling quilted toddler gear bags.

The weather is always iffy at the fall Arts & Music Festival; two years ago it rained so much that the kids and I took a quick stroller ride along a couple of blocks and then hastened home. This year, the heat and humidity kept our visit to two hours, but that was enough time for the kids to get their fill of festival fun.

To read more about what makes Kathy Zucker tick, check out her blog at http://momcondoliving.com/ and follow her at http://twitter.com/kathyzucker