The Triangle is hopping with free family fun this weekend. It's all here, whether you're into buccaneers, caterpillars, garden parties or picnicking to the music of "Pops in the Park."

On Saturday, swashbuckling entertainment awaits in Raleigh as the N.C. History of Museum’s presents its free Family Day: Pirates in Colonial Carolina. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., You’ll find pirate re-enactors, sword-fighting demonstrations and a bounty of activities for all ages. Discover what life was like aboard a sailing ship. Learn some of the games pirates played. Tie a sailing knot or two, and make your own model boat.

On Saturday, admission is free to the history museum’s popular exhibit, Knights of the Black Flag, which explores the legacy of pirates from ancient times to the present!

Also on Raleigh on Saturday, Raleigh City Museum invites you to beat the heat at its free story hour. Starting at 2 p.m., get ready for favorites, such as T is for Tarheel: A North Carolina Alphabet by Carol Crane, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, and Who Sees the Lighthouse? by local author Ann Fearrington. Afterward, kids will create their own caterpillars to take home as a souvenir of their visit. The program is designed for ages 4 to 9, though children of all ages are welcome.

Over in Durham, South Eastern Efforts Developing Sustainable Spaces Inc. (SEEDS) is holding its annual garden party, Art Grows in Durham, from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Admission is free for an afternoon of fun. You’ll find visual art displays, performers, food and a plant sale. Kids’ activities include building birdhouses, making musical instruments, coloring eggs with natural dyes, and face painting. Visit CarolinaParent.com’s Calendar Highlights for details.

If you and your kids are Carolina Hurricanes fans, chill out at the Cary Ice House on Saturday. You'll see Hurricanes Mascot Stormy and members Storm Squad as they celebrate its grand reopening on Saturday. The event, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., will include special skating rates, games, prizes, skating exhibitions, free lessons and food specials. Stormy and the Storm squad will be there from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

In Cary on Saturday, the Triangle Brass Band will offer a free concert at Sertoma Amphitheatre at Bond Park, starting at 7 p.m. The"Pops in the Park!" will feature marches, musicals, light classical music and traditional brass band tunes. For more information, call (919) 363-8664 or visit http://www.trianglebrass.org.

On Sunday in Cary, the Triangle Wind Ensemble will offer a free concert at 6 p.m. at Sertoma Amphitheatre at Bond Park. The musicians will be playing favorite pieces from their current season, and invite you to take dinner and enjoy the sounds! For more information, call (919) 469-4061 or visit http://www.trianglewind.org.

If you’re interested in heading out of the Triangle, on Sunday, from 11 am. until 2:45 p.m., 2nd Stage band will be playing music from from traditional, folk/rock, bluegrass and blues genres at the New Hope Valley Railway and NC Railroad Museum, in New Hill. Visit the Web site, http://www.nhvry.org/ for details on the free concert.

And don’t forget, it’s First Friday in downtown Raleigh. At 7 p.m., catch a free flick at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. This Friday’s movie, "She Gods of Shark Reef” (1958), involves beautiful maidens and a hideous Stone God, according to a reviewer.

If you’re heading out to your local movie theater this weekend, read Jean’s reviews first to find out what’s appropriate for your tot, tween or teen.