Father's Day Fun: 10 activities to celebrate dad

Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh hosts DIY Day with Dad from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., June 19. Kids and their adults will be inventing all kinds of crazy contractions with materials that include everything from giant cardboard boxes to tiny tubes. It's free with admission, which is $5 per person. Just show up for the fun!

Historic Yates Mill County Park in Wake County is hosting a Dad's Day Out from 11 a.m. to noon, June 19. Pre-registration is required for this one. It's free and designed for all ages. Get out with the kids and enjoy some fresh air and exercise while you learn more about the great outdoors.

Barnes & Noble book stores will be hosting special Father's Day-themed storytimes at local shops around the Triangle. They appear to be mostly on Saturday,June 18. They'll feature the two books "Dad School" and "Grandpa Loves You!" These are best for fans of picture books. Free!

For dads/David Bowie fans, the N.C. Museum of Art will be showing the classic film "Labyrinth," on June 18. Before the movie, there will be a Bowie tribute band plus an aerial show by Cirque de Vol. Labyrinth is rated PG, but be sure to check some of the details of the film to make sure it's OK for your kids. Those 1980s films sometimes surprise me. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. Performances start at 7:30 p.m. The movie begins at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 (and $10 for non museum members).

In downtown Raleigh, the Raleigh Times will host one of its kids carnivals. There will be games, sidewalk chalk, bouncy castles and other activities from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., June 19. Oh! And, of course, some great food. (Those nachos with the BBQ pork are amazing, just saying).

Make plans to attend a Durham Bulls game. They aren't at home this weekend, but they'll be back June 22 to June 26 with $1 concessions on June 23, fireworks on June 24 and June 25 and kids run the bases on June 26.

The Carolina Mudcats in Zebulon are in town all weekend. There will be fireworks on Friday, June 17. On Father's Day, they'll be giving away souvenir BBQ aprons before the game to the first 1,200 fans ages 15 and older.

Pack a picnic and enjoy some free music at Fletcher Park in Raleigh, part of the city's Summer in the Park series. It starts at 6 p.m., June 19, and will feature the music of SWAG. My family has loved going to concerts at this park where there is a big lawn to spread out and let the kids run and have a great time.

Foodies might want to head over to Durham for one of its very popular food truck rodeos at Durham Central Park. It's noon to 4 p.m., June 19. There will be more than 50 food trucks, along with local craft beer and live music. North Carolina’s Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba, a kora-fueled dance band, will perform from 12:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

And, speaking of food, barbecue fans can head over to the fifth annual Peak City Pig Fest in Apex on Friday and Saturday. This event is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society and teams from across the country will compete for prize money with their chicken, ribs, beef brisket and pork. On Saturday, there's also a kids area and pig races.