Find a park within of zipcode:
Finding quality outdoor time

Have an article you want to submit? Simply email it to us in one of the following formats and we review it for publishing on our site!

You can email your article to us in a .doc or .txt format.

June 29th - July 5th 2017 Triangle

by Pam & Michael Davison

Happy Independence Day! Whether you are heading out of town, hosting visitors or just having a quiet holiday, ParkGeek.com has such a great variety of events so you can make the most of your down time.

Independence Day

Just about every city and town in the Triangle is hosting something fun for the Independence Day Holiday. Whether you are looking for breakfast and a kids parade or fireworks and live concerts, ParkGeek.com has it all for you! Downtown Hillsborough kicks off the celebration early with a Picnic in the Park on Sunday. Join them for a variety of live performers, a public reading of the Declaration of Independence, face painting, crafts, and yard games. Bring a picnic or buy lunch at one of several food trucks, including Taco Grande, Chez Moi, and Bo's Kitchen.

Many events take place on July 3rd this year. The Town of Garner's Independence Day Celebration festivities start Monday with kids inflatables and the sounds of the Carolina Soul Band and end with the North Carolina Symphony and a Fireworks Display.

The Town of Fuquay-Varina will host the annual Independence Day Celebration on the third, also. There will be fun for the whole family with fireworks, live music by Spare Change, food, and free carnival rides to enjoy at South Park.

Morrisville's Fireworks are on the 3rd! If you are an early riser, you can head over to Morrisville to enjoy a July 4th Pancake Breakfast and live entertainment on the 4th. Tickets should be purchased in advance so click through for the information

4th of July Celebration in Wake Forest will also start the weekend off with a bang. Monday night at Wake Forest-Rolesville High School, there will be a concert by Band of Oz, games, live entertainment and fireworks. The gates open at 5:30 pm and admission is $5 per person (kids under six are free).

For a slightly different twist, come on out to Bond Park on Monday to experience the Independence Eve Celebration at the Cary Arts Center. Applause! Cary Youth Theatre will present an Independence Eve performance. Following the performance, there will be a concert by the Cary Town Band. Bond Park is hosting an Olde Time Celebration on the 4th. The fun begins early with a parent-child fishing tournament and a parade. The day continues with family contests including doughnut and watermelon eating concerts, lakeside Olympics, balloon volleyball and seed spitting contests.

Apex honors an Old Fashion 4th of July on Tuesday with Uncle Sam's Parade of Wheels and an afternoon of fun with food, inflatables, street performers, Karaoke, carnival games, climbing wall and cake walk. After the parade, enjoy the Apex Fire Department's Splash Down!

Tuesday is also the Children's Independence Day Parade and Family Fun at Durham Central Park. Decorate your bike or wagon and join them for a parade, a frozen treat and some great music.

Following the Wake Forest Children's Parade, head on over to Holding Park for Art-in-the-Park and Games-in-the-Park. Some of the game activities will include sack races, watermelon seed spitting contest, and a pie eating contest.

The City of Raleigh presents their July 4th Celebration. "The Works" starting around noon with Hot Dog Eating Contests, watermelon seed spitting contest, dunk tank, rock wall, street and aerialist performers, water zone, face painting and balloon artists, beer and wine tent, and magic. Mosey on over to the Morning Times Market where they will be holding a 4th of July Day Party with bands, beer and street vendors.The North Carolina Museum of History and North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (including the Nature Research Center) will be open 9am-5pm on the 4th.

Celebrating Independence Day provides an opportunity to look back in time. The Independence Day Open House at the Joel Lane House is a great place to reflect on colonial life. On the grounds, re-enactors will demonstrate various aspects of colonial life such as spinning and dyeing. The garden will be on view and herbs from the garden will be for sale. There will be old fashioned crafts and games as well as lemonade for the children. In addition to outdoor activities, the circa 1770 plantation manor house and the 1790 kitchen building will be open.

The State Capitol is another great historical location to celebrate our Independence! This family-friendly event features a naturalization ceremony for new citizens, musical performances, food and historic demonstrations.

The Town of Carrboro will be celebrating on the 4th with loads of live entertainment, kids inflatables, games, face painting, a toddler square, a kid's fun zone and even a costume contest and traditional Main Street Parade.

Then there are the evening programs. The Mebane Fourth of July Family Music Festival will feature live music, food vendors and a fireworks display. The Cary Independence Day Concert & Fireworks at Regency Park is another great family event with patriotic music and fireworks. In Durham, you can enjoy a Durham Bulls game then fireworks show. Tickets are required for the baseball game, but the gates will be opened for free admission at the end of the 7th inning. Lastly, the fireworks and festivities in Chapel Hill will take place at Kenan Memorial Stadium again this year!

The fun takes place on Wednesday in Holly Springs. The Old Fashioned Independence Day Celebration will feature children's entertainment, inflatables, festival food, kids crafts, potato sack races, a watermelon seed spitting contest, face painting and musical entertainment. The evening at Sugg Farm Park will culminate with fireworks!

Celebrate with Music and Movies

Movies by Moonlight at Regency Park will present the 2016 version of the The Jungle Book Thursday evening on their big screen.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will host a Science Cafe on Biodiversity & Conservation in the Holy Land Thursday.

The Wallace Parking Deck in Downtown Chapel Hill continues their Movies Under the Stars series with the Karate Kid Thursday after dark.

This Thursday's Back Porch Music on the Lawn features opener the Onyx Club Boys with Headliner Alice Gerrard and the Piedmont Melody Makers.

The PNC Downtown Raleigh Movie Series brings Wayne's World to the big screen Friday night as part of their 6 weeks of great 90's comedies.

The Durham Central Park Concert Series is thrilled to bring Too Many Zooz to the stage Friday evening.

Fridays on the Front Porch features local bands and area food truck every Friday evening in Downtown Chapel Hill.

Come to Downtown Apex Friday evening for a concert with Darryl Murrill & Jazzpell.

Triangle Taiko will present energetic and upbeat Japanese drumming at Dix Park Sunday evening.

The Monday Morning Movie at the Holly Springs Cultural Center will be Legend of the Guardians.

Durham Cinematheque Movies in the Park will present What's So Funny? Peace, Love and Understanding? on Monday night at Durham Central Park.

The First Wednesday Movie at the Halle Cultural Arts Center will be

Friday Festivities and More

Come to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences for Final Friday festivities featuring X-Men and the science of genetic mutations.

Its Finally Friday in Apex. Join them for entertainment, food and some after-work relaxation and fun along Salem Street.

Triangle arts and culture in the Cary area are highlighted with extended hours for participating art galleries, restaurants, coffee houses, and other businesses that showcase visual arts, and music during the Finally Friday Cary Art Loop.

Last Fridays returns with a concert on the old courthouse lawn by Liquid Pleasure and a downtown gallery walk through Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Carrboro.

Festival for the Eno will take place on Saturday, July 1st and Tuesday the 4th. The Festival features over 60 performers on 4 stages, 85 craft artists, a home and garden expo, solar power and biodiesel demos, traditional and international food court, instrument museum, petting zoo, live animals, craft demonstrations, river activities and rentals, kids activities, storytellers, and puppets. Tickets are needed, so click through for all the info.

Fun at the Parks

Over the next week, there are lots of great activities like educational programs and guided hikes at our Triangle Parks. We will highlight a few of the family events on Facebook, but for the complete listing, go to the Events Search at ParkGeek.com and put in the dates and/or parks you are interested in and we will keep you up to date. Now that its summer vacation, many of the local parks are doing weekday programs also.

Historic Yates Mill Pond County Park invites you to take a variety of tours both Saturday and Sunday. The renovated Mill is a great destination if you have out of town guests. The park is wonderfully scenic and the interpretive history center is fascinating for all ages. Saturday you can take a Summertime Stroll along the shaded woodlands on a one-mile naturalist led hike. Sunday is Build a Scarecrow Day to help protect their gardens from hungry wildlife. Come to the park Tuesday to be a Yankee Doodle Dandy and learn about the American Revolution through a whimsical story set to the popular tune of Yankee Doodle, where mice, rabbits, and other woodland creatures bring to life the era's important events.

Join Lake Crabtree's bird enthusiast, Vernon, for an easy walk while looking and listening for our feathered friends Saturday morning.

Saturday morning you can explore Durham's public art on a Murals by Bike Tour.

Celebrate Free Fishing Day Tuesday at Lake Crabtree County Park. Independence Day is Free Fishing Day here in North Carolina. This is the one day of the year when anyone can fish in NC public waters without having a fishing license. Park staff will be available to teach you the basics of casting and what types of fish are in the lake. All equipment and bait is provided by the park. Borrow one of their poles or bring your own.

They will also be celebrating Free Fishing Fun at Harris Harris Lake County Park. Park staff will have fishing rods for you to borrow and will be on hand to provide basic instruction or other assistance. Registration is not required - fishing poles are first-come, first-served. Bring your favorite bait.

The Hunt Horse Complex at the State Fairgrounds will host a Hunter Jumper Horse Show Wednesday through Sunday and the State 4-H Horse Show from Wednesday, July 5th - Sunday, July 9th. The event features over 2600 entries in 123 classes highlighting youth / 4-H members ages 5-18 exhibiting their project animals and demonstrating a wide variety of riding disciplines, including: speed events, hunt seat, dressage, western, saddle seat and non-trotting classes.

Also at the State Fairgrounds, the Repticon Reptile & Exotic Animal Show returns with a wide array of everything reptile. This show does have an admission fee.

 

Recent Articles
January 30th - February 5th Triangle 2020
January 23rd - 29th Triangle 2020
January 16th - 22nd Triangle 2020
January 9th - 15th Triangle 2020
January 2nd - 8th Triangle 2020

Browse by Category
Adventure
N/A
Newsletter

VIEW ALL CATEGORIES