· During National Park Week, April 17-25, all 392 parks in the United States will offer free admission—as well as family activities and special deals on lodging, food, souvenirs, and tours. [NPS.gov]
· If you like to tipple on Tuesdays, head to the Bell House on April 6 for Edible Magazine’s “Good Spirits” event; expect food from The Farm on Adderley and Palo Santo to be paired with cocktails involving Ilegal Mezcal and Warwick Valley Winery and Distillery. [Edible]
· Hail, Spring, the Brooklyn Indie Market reopens for the season this weekend, April 3rd and 4th, in Carroll Gardens. [BIM]
· Mark your calendars for the Bikes and Bluegrass Festival–coming to the banks of the Delaware River in Frenchtown on May 8—where there will be music by Blues legend Bill Sims Jr., and for two-wheeled tourists, free shipping on purchases made at the outdoor art show. [ArtoftheBike]
· A new modern Dominican restaurant, Gabbana, will be opening near Citi Field in Corona, Queens in May. [oM]
· Electric car company THINK will be bringing its zero local emission vehicles to NYC in early 2011, and will play a part in the PlaNYC sustainability program to reduce the city’s greenhouse gases by 30 percent by 2030. [GreenAutoBlog]
Photo: Courtesy of Washington National Park Fund
The co-founder and editor-at-large at offMetro, Lauren is a sustainable travel specialist and freelance journalist with frequent bylines in National Geographic, Bicycling Magazine and Shape. Follow Lauren’s adventures at @laurenmati.
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram