November2nd - 8th Triangle 2017

by Pam & Michael Davison

The leaves are all coming down quickly now and it sounds like the temperatures are going to cool off to make it a fabulous fall weekend here in the Triangle!

The fun starts early at Knightdale Station Park with Food Truck Thursdays at both lunch and dinner.

Family Nature Night on Thursday at Laurel Hills Community Center will talk all about Owls. Learn how they are talented hunters as you play games and enjoy activities.

With the holidays just around the corner, we at ParkGeek are excited to be your source for local parades, tree lightings and holiday events.Tuesday kicks off the holiday festivities with the public ticket sales for the Santa Train at the Museum of Life and Science. Last year's event sold out in only four days so plan ahead and get your tickets now. Click through for the prices and event times.

In preparation for the needs of the upcoming season, Crowder District County Park is holding a Food Drive for the month of November.

First Friday

The weekend kicks off Thursday night at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. This week's Science Thursday includes a round of Science Trivia.

Friday's Teen Science Cafe will highlight some of the common and uncommon events produced by the Sun at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

Across Bicentennial Plaza, the North Carolina Museum of History will celebrate First Friday with extended hours and samples from local brewers. Also Friday, you are invited to see the exhibit North Carolina and World War I, and stay for the movie Gallipoli (1981) starring Mel Gibson.

In addition to extended hours, this month's First Friday at the City of Raleigh Museum features a Dia De Los Muertos celebration. There will be Mexican music, dancing, and crafts.

First Friday also brings extended hours and special events to Marbles Kids Museum and many local restaurants and galleries through the monthly Gallery Walk.

Lured will be the featured flick this Friday evening at the North Carolina Museum of Art. You can also enjoy Iris after Dark, a new evening experience offered every Friday night starting at 5:30pm. Try delicious selections of small plates as you lounge with friends to the spins and tunes of local DJs and musicians.

Outside the city lights, join the rangers at Crowder District Park for an evening learning Survivor Skills.

Bass Lake Park celebrates First Friday every month with Family Fun Night! Start off the evening making arts & crafts, meeting a live animal or fishing with one of their poles. End the evening with a kid friendly concert by Trish Miller.

Traditional Dance Caller, Connie Carringer will teach fun Dances for the whole family Friday evening at the Halle Cultural Arts Center with help from a live old-time string band.

Festivals & Outdoor Fun for the Whole Family

November is Pecan Pickin' Month at Historic Oak View County Park. Come on out to the park anytime this month to harvest your own pecans that have fallen from the trees in their Pecan Grove.

Do you have some time to give to Blue Jay County Park Saturday afternoon? Come to the park to help prepare crafts and materials for upcoming camps, family festivals and educational programs.

Explore Durham's public art on the Murals by Bike Tour Saturday morning.

Historic Yates Mill Pond County Park, is the perfect venue for that fall family picture. While you are there, take an Old Mill Tour on Saturday or a Mill Heritage & Local History Tour on Sunday to get a peek inside the fully restored mill. You are also invited to celebrate National Sandwich Day! Friday through Sunday, drop in and explore how sandwiches are made and what they consist of from diverse cultures around the world and learn why whole grain bread is considered healthier than white bread.

Historic Yates Mill County Park is so incredibly beautiful in the fall that they have had to issue photography permits to professional photographers. Come enjoy that beauty on a Fall Foliage Hike Saturday morning.

The Springs Winter Farmers Market kicks off the season this Saturday with an outdoor market and HSFD/HSPD Chili Cook Off! They will host outdoor markets on the first Saturday of the month and an indoor market in the Holly Springs Cultural Center on the third Saturday on the month.

Enjoy a Hike under the Full Moon along the park trails and roads to listen to the sounds of and observe the natural world at night Saturday at Harris Lake County Park.

Lake Crabtree will host a Birding Hike, Saturday morning.

The clocks "fall back" Sunday for Durham Central Park's final Food Truck Rodeo of the year. There will be dozens of food trucks as well as live music by the Triangle's favorite pork obsessed Surfabilly band, Phatlynx.

Chapel Hill will also host a Food Truck Rodeo along Rosemary on Sunday afternoon. They will also have giant games, a miniature golf course and a live DJ spinning your favorite tunes.

Bring your little ones to Crowder District Park this week for their preschool programs. Click through for the ages and themes.

Museums & Movies

Celebrate Nurses Day on Saturday at the Museum of Life and Science. Learn more about the nursing profession while you meet members of surgical teams of local hospitals, dress up in take-home surgical gowns, masks, and gloves and participate in hands-on activities.

Its a Super Fun Saturday at the Halle Cultural Arts Center. Join them for free arts and crafts for kids 4-12.

Get Your Greens On Saturday at the North Carolina Museum of History and learn to identify, cook, and preserve these and other winter crops, as well as "greens in the wild"-like purslane, creasy greens, and watercress. Come back Sunday for a film screening of Remarkable Journey: Founding the Asian Indian Community in North Carolina with Steven Channing, the Director and Coproducer.

Murielle Elizéon and Tommy Noonan will highlight the Kinetic Power of Rodin's Sculptures through short dance performances among the sculptures at the North Carolina Museum of Art Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday Science Buffet at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is a lively science presentation featuring a "taste" of everything the Museum has to offer: live animals, weird science facts, dramatic demonstrations, and explosions.

The Holly Springs Cultural Center will feature Narnia as their Free Family Movie on Monday.

Every first Tuesday of the month, Sammy the Squirrel joins curators at the City of Raleigh Museum for a story time. Each month features a new theme, fun stories and a take home, mess free project.

What to do at the Fairgrounds

Even though the State Fair is packed up for another year, there is plenty going on at the Fairgrounds. This weekend brings the return of the Capital Area Handbell Festival. Come enjoy the final concert Saturday afternoon.

The 76th Annual North Carolina Gourd Arts & Crafts Festival features a variety of growing, crafting, and artistic competitive categories as well as gourd crafting workshops and vendors of gourd crafts, dried gourds, seeds, books, t-shirts, crafts for kids and gourd crafting supplies.

The whole family will enjoy the 32nd Annual Train & Railroadiana Show & Sale this weekend. There will be several operating layouts on display and many vendors selling train related merchandise.

Triangle Farms will be hosting an Indoor Horse Show this weekend. The hunter jumper show offers free spectator admission and most of the competitors are from North Carolina.

The Jump for the Children Horse Show, benefiting Duke Children's Hospital starts next Tuesday and continues through Sunday, November 12th. There are free shows each night except Saturday night. Families are always welcome to walk around the barns and see the horses and riders up close.