Cheese and beer highlight our weekend best bets

The Beer, Bourbon and Barbecue Festival will take over the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary this Friday and Saturday. Admission gets you all-you-care-to-taste samples of the 60 beers and 40 bourbons on tap. There will be barbecue, live music and a cigar tent. Tickets for Friday’s events are sold out, but you can still get tickets for Saturday. They start at $35 in advance.

It is all about cheese this week in Raleigh! The American Cheese Society is hosting its annual conference at the Raleigh Convention Center, complete with a Festival of Cheese on Saturday night. The festival is open to the public from 7 to 9:30 p.m. and will feature the more than 1,700 cheeses entered into the ACS competition. You can also sample craft beer and other delights like smoked salmon. Admission is $55 per person.

Christie Brinkley was set to star as nightclub dancer Roxie Hart in the musical “Chicago” at the Durham Performing Arts Center this week but had to back out due to illness. To fill the spot, Bianca Marroquin was pulled from performing the role on Broadway and flown in. The show runs through Sunday. Tickets start at $11.

See more of our Best Bets for every day of the week on our calendar.