things to do with kids
next 7 days · Nov 8–14
Details can change. Check with the organizer before you go.
Oct. 4–11Cruisin' the Coast is here
The full week: parades, autocross, the auction, venue bands, casino shows, and where every Cruisin' site is.
See the full schedule →- Sun
48th Annual Peter Anderson Arts & Crafts Festival
Day two of the Coast’s biggest arts festival: more than 400 artists, crafters and food booths fill downtown Ocean Springs, with live music and demos. Free admission; Park n Ride shuttles run.
Peter Anderson Festival - Wed
Veterans Day Ceremony & Open House — Armed Forces Retirement Home
AFRH-Gulfport opens its doors for Veterans Day: meet resident veterans, see military displays and shop crafts, pottery, artwork and woodwork made by the residents. All ages welcome; free admission.
Coastal Mississippi - Thu
LEGO Night — Gautier Public Library
Builders of all skill levels are invited to an evening of LEGO building at the Gautier Public Library.
Jackson-George Regional Library - Fri
WINGS presents Something Rotten! JR — Lynn Meadows
Young performers in Lynn Meadows’ WINGS program stage Something Rotten! JR, the musical comedy about two brothers trying to write the first musical in Shakespeare’s shadow. Tickets $20 adults, $18 seniors, military, students and members.
Lynn Meadows Discovery Center - Fri
Shine Presents: Little Women — The Mary C
Sisterhood night of Shine Theater’s Little Women. Pre-show experience at 6 p.m. with free alcohol-free dirty sodas from A Latte Opportunities; costumes welcome. Show about 7–9:30 p.m. Tickets about $20–$27 through SimpleTix.
The Mary C / Shine Theater (SimpleTix) - Sat
Gobble ’Til You Wobble 5K, Fun Run & Family Fall Festival
Junior Auxiliary of Biloxi-Ocean Springs hosts a chip-timed 5K and 1-mile fun run, then a free family fall festival with games, food trucks, local vendors and photos with the turkey mascot. Race-day registration from 7 a.m. ($40 5K, $30 fun run).
Junior Auxiliary of Biloxi-Ocean Springs (RunSignup) -
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- Sat
Highland Games & Celtic Music Festival
Highland athletics, Celtic music and pipe bands, Irish dance, jousting, clan tents, artisans and Scottish food fill the fairgrounds for the Highlands & Islands festival. Admission $15, $10 seniors, military and ages 13–18, free for 12 and under; $20 weekend pass. The festival continues Sunday.
Coastal Mississippi / Highlands & Islands Association - Sat
Christmas City Gift Show — Mississippi Coast Convention Center
Day two of the 43rd annual Christmas City Gift Show, with 300-plus vendor booths, door prizes every 15 minutes and a ticketed Breakfast with Santa. Day pass $11; kids 15 and under free with a paying adult.
Coastal Mississippi - Sat
Waveland Veterans Parade
Waveland honors those who served with its annual Veterans Parade down Coleman Avenue. Free to watch.
Hancock County Chamber of Commerce - Sat
Nature Printmaking: Turmeric-Type — Davis Bayou
A free hands-on WAMA demo at Davis Bayou: coat paper with a turmeric mixture, arrange leaves and flowers, and let the sun make golden prints.
Walter Anderson Museum of Art - Sat
WINGS presents Something Rotten! JR — Lynn Meadows
Young performers in Lynn Meadows’ WINGS program stage Something Rotten! JR, the musical comedy about two brothers trying to write the first musical in Shakespeare’s shadow. Tickets $20 adults, $18 seniors, military, students and members.
Lynn Meadows Discovery Center - Sat
Shine Presents: Little Women — The Mary C
Shine Theater stages Little Women, the story of the four March sisters growing up together. Show runs about 7–9:30 p.m. Reserved seats about $20–$27 through SimpleTix, with senior, military and student discounts.
The Mary C / Shine Theater (SimpleTix)
with kids on the Coast, any week
Rainy day or sunny one, the Coast has plenty for kids. Beyond this week's family events above, these are the year-round favorites.
- Mississippi Aquarium, Gulfport. On the beach in downtown Gulfport: dolphins, river otters, alligators, birds and touch pools, in ocean and freshwater habitats indoors and out. Give it two or three hours.
- Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, Gulfport. Mississippi's first children's museum, in a former elementary school: hands-on exhibits inside, and the outdoor Treehouse Village, which reopened in 2026, for running off steam.
- INFINITY Science Center, Pearlington. The official visitor center for NASA's Stennis Space Center, just off I-10 at exit 2 by the Mississippi welcome center. Space and Earth science exhibits for all ages; worth the drive for young astronauts.
- Ship Island. From about mid-March through October, a ferry leaves Gulfport's harbor for West Ship Island, about an hour each way. Swim at a quiet Gulf beach and explore Fort Massachusetts, a brick fort from the 1800s.
- Davis Bayou, Ocean Springs. Free: easy trails through the woods, a boardwalk over the marsh and a fishing pier, with birds, crabs and sometimes an alligator to spot.
- The beach. Also free: the Gulf here is shallow and calm near shore, good for sandcastles, wading and shell hunting all along U.S. 90.
Hours, prices and seasons change, so check each place's own website before you go.
questions
Are there things to do with kids on the Mississippi Gulf Coast today?
Yes: 48th Annual Peter Anderson Arts & Crafts Festival.
Are there things to do with kids on the Mississippi Gulf Coast this weekend?
Yes: 48th Annual Peter Anderson Arts & Crafts Festival (Sun).
Which towns have things to do with kids this week?
Ocean Springs (5), Gulfport (4), Biloxi (1), Gautier (1) and Waveland (1).
How up to date is this list?
shore.buzz adds new events every day, and past events drop off on their own. Times and details can change, so check with the organizer before you go.
get the weekly picks
The best of the Coast, in your inbox every week. No spam.