Lollapalooza runs August 6-9 in Grant Park. For more details, visit www.lollapalooza.com

The circus is back in town this weekend, folks! One of the country’s premiere, long-running musical circuses, that is.

For the sixth year in a row, Lollapalooza will pitch tents in Chicago, bringing more than 100 acts of all shapes, sizes and sounds to Grant Park over the course of three days.

And as with years past, the fest showcases music for all musical tastes.

Nostalgia with Soundgarden, Green Day, Social Distortion, DEVO and Blues Traveler; world-dominating glory from Lady Gaga; indie pop from The Strokes, Grizzly Bear, The New Pornographers, Spoon, Phoenix and The National; soul power from Erykah Badu, Raphael Saadiq and Mavis Staples; heavy duty guitar business by Against Me!, The Black Keys, and Wolfmother; new sounds from MGMT, Wavves, Matt and Kim, F**ck Buttons, Minus the Bear, The Cribs and Frightened Rabbit.

The list goes on and on. It’s a surprisingly strong program guaranteed to pack the park to near-unmanageable levels once again.

Lollapalooza in its current incarnation has always been about more than just the music, however. Organizers strive each year to make the event a family affair — one where today’s cool parents can enjoy themselves along with their young ones.

To foster this sense of total inclusion, all children under the age of 10 are admitted for free with a ticket-holding adult. There is no limit to the number of kids one can bring, but be warned: admission is granted only at the discretion of festival gate attendees. Octomoms may want to sit this one out.

For parents who’d prefer that their kids not jam out to Cypress Hill’s “Hits from a Bong” or get a glimpse of Gaga’s sensationalistic booty, the Kidzapalooza stage is perfect.

The featured acts are tailored to appeal to both kids and adults alike. No saccharine Barney or Wiggles imitators here. Instead, the stage is booked with festival organizer/Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell, ex-Porno for Pyros guitarist Peter DiStefano, Nineties alterna-poppers The Verve Pipe and Ed Kowalczyk from Live, and more performing sets designed to please kids without putting their parents to sleep.

The stage also finds kids themselves strutting their musical chops. School of Rock, the local class that introduces kids to rock performance, the Chicago Youth Symphony (performing with Dan Zanes of The Del Fuegos), and more are given equal billing amongst the big guns — a brilliant move that serves both as a spotlight on young talent and, hopefully, as an inspiration to young music fans and musicians in the audience.

Of course, it takes more than just a stage of music to keep kids’ focus. Luckily, this is covered with kid-centric activities galore: video karaoke, painting and screenprinting areas; hip hop, skateboarding and break dancing workshops; a drum area to bang out aggression; and body painting and hairstyling stations where kids can get temporary tattooed and mohawked.

Just like good ol’ Mom and Dad.