Readers' Choice: Best Place For Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt

Please vote for your favorite destination by taking our poll. Then click on the directory link and write a short review

Though summer is a few weeks away, it's already warm enough to dig into a cup of ice cream of frozen yogurt. So for this week's Readers' Choice contest, tell us where to get the best.  Here are some of our favorite ones, but if we're leaving somewhere off the list, please let us know in the comments section, and we'll add it. Voting in the poll below is open until 9 a.m. Friday. Because this poll is not scientific, it is not the sole consideration in choosing a winner. The winner will be determined by the Patch editor, based on poll results and reviews on Patch Places. Please vote only once per survey, per Patch.

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Readers' Choice: Next Week It's Best Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt

Where would you go in Melrose to have some ice cream or frozen yogurt?

Next week's Readers' Choice category is Best Place for Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt. We need your help! Tell us what places in Melrose we should include in next week's contest. The only requirements are that the business is within Melrose's borders and serve (not just sell) ice cream or frozen yogurt. Tell us your picks in the comments below or send your nomination to: melrose@patch.com. This will allow us to be sure we don't leave anyone out. Then, be sure to check the site on Monday so you can answer the question: "Where's the best place in Melrose to enjoy ice cream or frozen yogurt?"

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Top Ten Activities for a 'Staycation' in the Boston Area

Why travel anywhere else with all these great activities right outside your door?

We asked readers this week about their favorite spots to enjoy free time while at home. Check out some of these places our readers named as their favorite activities right here in the greater Boston area: Back Bay: Boston Harbor Islands, ferries run from Long Wharf Beacon Hill: Charles River Esplanade Charlestown: U.S. Navy USS Constitution Malden: Middlesex Fells Reservation.  Medford: Wright's Pond, Elm Street, Medford Melrose: Ell Pond, Main Street and Lebanon Street Somerville: Flatbread Company at Sacco's Bowl Haven, 45 Day St. South End: Cape Cod and Boston Harbor Island (tie) Stoneham: Middlesex Fells Reservation Wakefield: Breakheart Reservation, Hemlock Road

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Readers' Choice: Next Week It's Staycations

Help us brainstorm ideas for the best places to have a staycation in Melrose or nearby.

Next week's Readers' Choice category is Best Place for Staycations. We need your help! Let's brainstorm your ideas for local staycations. We prefer places within Melrose's borders, but nearby places can work as well. Tell us your picks in the comments below or send your nomination to: melrose@patch.com. This will allow us to be sure we don't leave anyone out. Then, be sure to check the site on Monday so you can answer the question: "Where's the best place in Melrose to enjoy a staycation?"

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Patch Readers' Choice Dentist Winner: Nelson Pan, D.D.S. and Debra Hong Pan, D.D.S.

The husband-and-wife team received the vast majority of votes and several positive reviews on their business listing page.

In Melrose Best of Patch Readers' Choice contest, 200 people voted for whom they thought was the best dentist in the city.  And the winner is ... Nelson Pan, D.D.S. and Debra Hong Pan, D.D.S. Pan Dental Care received 82 votes, or 41 percent of the total cast.  Several Patch readers wrote flattering reviews of the practice on their page in the Melrose Patch Places business listing section. Here are a few:  "Fantastic office!" wrote Lori Smith. "Staff is superb and the doctors are very friendly and do not make you feel nervous at all. The office is very welcoming and they also have great hours. Our children are also patients at Dr. Pan's office and they love going to the dentist! I had a crown done and did not have to come back for a second …

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Grab & Go Kids Planner

Grab and Go Kids Planner: Playtime at the Zoo

Take your kids to speak German, sing, and skate.

When/Where: Wednesday, January 11, 3:30 p.m./ 149 Pond St, Stoneham Why Go: Take your 5 to 7 year old to see how far the zoo's snow leopards can jump and learn more about this endangered species.  Admission: $8 Members/$10 Non-Members. For families with more than one child, additional participating 5-7 year olds are $4 each. When/Where: Wednesday, January 11, 10:15 a.m. / Melrose Public Library, 69 W Emerson St, Melrose Why Go: A Melrose mother who speaks German to her young children at home welcomes parents and children who know the language or want to learn it through songs and stories to attend this new group. Please note that the group will not meet on Jan 18.  FREE When/Where: Friday, January 13, 10:00 a.m. / Memorial Hall - Soldiers…

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Grab & Go Kids Planner

Grab and Go Kids Planner: Thanksgiving Day Edition

Watch a high school football game, spend Thursday evening and Friday at the zoo and play dodgeball or see a movie at the YMCA with your relatives and friends.

This is only a sample of some of the family and kid-friendly events happening this week. To find more—and add your own—check out our calendar. Where/When: Fred Green Field in Melrose/Thursday, Nov. 24 at 10:15 a.m. Why go? Melrose and Wakefield renew their 110-year-old Thanksgiving rivalry. The Red Raiders and Warriors both enter the game with identical 8-2 records, with Wakefield claiming the Middlesex League Small School Division championship as both Melrose losses came against divisional rivals. Cost: Tickets purchased in advance are $6 for adults, $4 for students and seniors, and can be purchased in the Melrose High School Athletics Office, the Mayor's Office, Mount Hood Clubhouse and Gray's Appliance. Tickets purchased on game day are…

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Grab & Go Kids Planner

Kids Planner: Common Ground, Yoga for Teens, Dance Party

School's out today; here are some ways you and your kids can have fun on their day off and the rest of the week, in and around Melrose.

This is only a sample of some of the events happening this week. To find more—and post your own events—check out our calendar. Where/When: Melrose YMCA/Tuesday, Nov. 8 and Friday, Nov. 11, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Why go? There's no school on Election Day or Veterans Day, so take your child to the Y, where there will be care and many activities for children in kindergarten to sixth grade.  Cost: $60. Register your child by calling 781-665-4360.  Where/When: Melrose YMCA/Friday, Nov. 11, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.  Why go? Every Friday, the Y sets up a rec room for middle school students. There will be billiards, ping pong, PS2, Nintendo Wii, board games and a full size gym for games such as basketball and dodgeball, according to the Y's website. …

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Grab & Go Kids Planner

Kids Planner: Trick or Treating, Spooktacular Ice Skating, and More

Here is this week’s roundup of events for kids and families.

This is only a sample of some of the events happening this week. To find more—and add your own—check out our calendar. Where/When: All over Melrose / Friday, Oct. 28, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.  Why go? From Main Street to Franklin Square to Franklin Street to West Wyoming and all over Melrose, participating businesses will hang balloons, welcoming children in third grade and younger. Once again, the chamber asks that our trick or treaters bring not only a scary costume, but something to donate to one of our local food pantries. FREE Where/When: First United Methodist Church / Thursday, Oct. 27, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.  Why go? It's your last chance this season to buy eggs, apples, brussles sprouts, bread and more local food from this market.   FREE to …

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