April 20th - 26th 2017 Triangle

by Pam & Michael Davison

The Spring Festivals and Concerts kick up this weekend with something for everyone. We have close to 90 events listed so get out and have a fabulous weekend!

Head over to Falls Lake Thursday evening for Snakes, Salamanders and a Sunset. Join them for a special tour of a wildlife management trail to look for critters, learn about easy backyard projects to help wildlife and then head down to the swim beach to view the sunset.

As part of the NC Science Festival, Harris Lake will be exploring the Science of Fire. You Ages 16+ will travel by wagon to the Longleaf area and if conditions permit, conduct a demonstration burn in a small contained area.

The State Farmers Market in Raleigh will host Greenhouse Vegetable Day Thursday at lunchtime. Stop by for samples of Fresh & Delicious North Carolina Tomato Sandwiches while you pick up some fresh produce and great recipe ideas.

Twilight $2 Thursdays at Marbles offers discount admission and extended hours every week.

Grab the family and take the night off from cooking dinner Thursday night at the Halle Cultural Arts Center for their monthly Pizza and a Movie Night. The featured flick will be Moana.

Science Thursday at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences features a special program on Critical Thinking with Greg Fishel and Gary Lackmann.

Festivals Galore

One Friday a month the Bond Park Boathouse plays host to musicians, food trucks and after-hours boat rentals. Join them Friday evening for the Pop/Country sounds of John Zak and the food truck Crepes Veronique during Bands, Bites and Boats.

HOOPLA: Party in the Park Friday night at the Ellipse of the NC Museum of Art. Check out the new works of art in the Park, including interactive play structure SCULPT. C by Jaime Hayon and larger-than-life head sculptures Awilda & Irma by Jaume Plensa. DJ Rang will mix the block-rockin' beats while Cirque de Vol performers lead a "hoop jam" with hula hoops and their mini aerial rig. Food trucks American Meltdown, Baozi, Captain Ponchos, and Mr. A"s Beignets will be there, too.

On Saturday, Bond Park will be celebrating Children's Day with dance, music, crafts, food trucks, face painting, animal balloons and a magic show focusing on Cary kids and their diverse cultures.

HerbFest kicks off this weekend in Wake Forest and continues next weekend. Join them for free entertainment, animal petting, live bands, and the largest selection of herbs and local grown, adapted perennials.

En Plein Air Paint-Off is an exciting outdoor event, sponsored by Fuquay-Varina Downtown as a way to support artists in our area and bring public art to our streets. You can watch the painters painting around town Friday and then bid on the one you like Saturday.

The North Carolina Zoo will be celebrating Earth Day Weekend all day Saturday with a "Party for the Planet." where you can dance to African drums and explore new ways to help take care of the earth.

Saturday is Morrisville Green Day complete with a litter sweep, document shredding, and product recycling.

The Apex Police Department is also sponsoring a Shred Day Saturday in Downtown Apex. On Sunday at Apex Community Center, kids can Touch A Truck! They will have vehicles of all kinds including emergency, construction, landscaping, military, transportation, and delivery all in one place!

Saturday's Hillsborough Arts & Crafts Show is a juried show offering original art and quality handcrafted items of dozens of NC artisans. The event also features food, beer, wine, ice cream and live music.

The Durham Earth Day Festival takes place Sunday at Durham Central Park with green activities and demos; a chance to learn about many green practices and products at the Sustainability Expo and Earth Day Market; and lots of great music and food.

Head on over to Cary's Downtown Chowdown Sunday afternoon. The food truck rodeo will feature your favorite food trucks, plus local beer and wine vendors lining the street along with seating areas and music from local performers throughout the day.

Sunday is the Cary Music & Arts Festival at Koka Booth Amphitheatre. The festival showcases the talent of band, chorus and visual arts students from Cary area high schools, including Athens Drive, Cary, Cary Academy, Cardinal Gibbons, Green Hope and Middle Creek.

NC Science Festival & More Fun at the Parks

It's Date Night for parents, and Turtle Night for kids at Walnut Creek Wetland Center. Kids 6-12 are invited to joint them Friday night to go all out to explore and learn about turtles. Bring your kids back Sunday to celebrate Earth Day with The Lorax. Kids will read The Lorax, learn a little about recycling and conservation, and make a craft from recycled materials.

Take a Walk inn the Woods Saturday afternoon at Crowder District Park to discover the animals and plants that call the park home. Also Saturday, they will have a Discovery Table set up with information all about Earth Day. Come back Sunday to go Rockin' Around the Park.

Durant Nature Park is hosting their annual Family Campout from Friday to Saturday. Enjoy a campout, a naturalist led night hike, s'mores for the kids, breakfast provided for you, and time for fishing and boating in the morning.

As the grand finale to the NC Science Festival, Friday night is the Statewide Star Party. There will be star watching and related activities after dark at Falls Lake, the American Tobacco Trail, Umstead Park, Prairie Ridge Ecostation, and Annie Louise Wilkerson Nature Preserve. Jordan Lake will host a Skywatching session with Morehead Planetarium Saturday night. Also Friday night, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will host an OpenSpace Presentation prior to the star watching at their outdoor facility at Prairie Ridge.

NCSU Reynolds Coliseum joins in on the NC Science Festival Friday afternoon with a NanoDays event. Come check out the hands-on Science and Engineering demonstrations about the tiny world of Nano.

State of the Sciences: Live! at the Library Friday evening at the James B. Hunt Library at NC State. The event will feature activities for science lovers of all ages, including hands-on demos, fun and informative talks, tours of the library and its technology capabilities, along with food, wine and NC State beer. The event is free but, requires registration.

NC Science Olympiad State Tournament will also be at NC State on Saturday. Teams from all over the state will come together to compete in a variety events including building bottle rockets, constructing towers with balsa wood, making a hovercraft, and many others. Come cheer our future scientists and engineers on!

UNC joins in on the NC Science Festival with a Science Expo Saturday. The family-friendly event will offer more than 100 fascinating exhibits with hands-on experiments, riveting demonstrations, laboratory tours, stage entertainment and much more!

Learn the basics of cane pole fishing Saturday when Historic Oak View County Park hosts a Fishing Fun Day.

Yates Mill will host their regular Saturday and Sunday tours of the Mill. In addition, on Saturday there will be Tip Top to Bottom Mill Tours and an opportunity to Paddle the Pond. Both Saturday and Sunday, they will have a Discovery Table celebrating Going Green for Earth Day.

Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve invites you to a Family Scavenger Hunt Sunday afternoon. While you have fun cracking the clues, you'll learn about the relationships between native plants and animals that call the Preserve home.

This week's Spring Hike at West Point on the Eno will explore the Pump Station while looking for wildflowers.

Kids Get Crafty making Eco-Crafts Wednesday at Crowder District Park.

Art, Music and Culture

Pullen Park continues to host their Dinner and a Movie on Fridays in April. This month's theme is Animals and if you get there early you can also enjoy trivia and other fun activities prior to the feature presentation.

The NC Museum of Art will kick off the weekend with Art in the Evening featuring the sounds of the The Hey Brothers and the 1930 Spring Film King of Jazz.

Meet Outside the North Carolina Museum of History Friday night to take a Raleigh Rockin' Walkin' Tour to learn all about the rocks, minerals and fossils that make up the buildings of downtown Raleigh. The History Museum invites you to a lecture about Where Baseball Legends Are Born Saturday afternoon.

A traditional Dance Caller will teach fun dances for the whole family with help from a live old-time string band Friday night at Halle Cultural Center's Family Dance.

Hill Street Community Center will be showing Moana along with popcorn and drinks Friday night.

The Tarboro Road Community Center will be showing a Family Movie and supplying popcorn and drinks Saturday evening.

Cultural Conversations will occur during the run of the RACE: Are We So Different? featured exhibition every Saturday and Sunday afternoon from April 22 to September 3. Join the NC Museum of Natural Sciences Saturday or Sunday for the opening weekend.

The Monday Morning Movie at the Holly Springs Cultural Center will be the family favorite, Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Squeakquel.

On Monday, you can get Free Admission to Ansel Adams: Masterworks and Glory of Venice, the special exhibits currently on display at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Tickets to the combined exhibit normally cost $18.

The State Fairgrounds

Come enjoy a festive atmosphere all weekend at the Southern Women's Show and relax with spa treatments and makeovers, value shop for clothes, jewelry and gifts, gourmet food & wine, travel ideas, beauty tips, health screenings, cooking classes and fashion shows.

The Hunt Horse Complex will host a Hunter Jumper Horse Show all weekend.

Join them for the Persian Festival Saturday, a celebration of Persian culture. The festival features Persian dances performances, live music, art, food, cultural exhibits and displays, handicrafts, silent auction and vendor exhibits for entire family to enjoy.

Sunday's Unleashed's 4th Annual K9 Spring Fling dog and cat fundraiser is a family-friendly fun Spring celebration that helps local area animal rescue groups. Many rescues will be there along with local vendors and games. The most popular event is the Doggie Easter Egg Hunt featuring thousands of eggs filled with special prizes!