Weekend Plans: Paperhand Puppet pageant, consignment sales, children's festival, more

Here’s your weekend family fun! Check WRAL.com's Out & About calendar for information about other events across the region.

The Paperhand Puppet Intervention’s 13th annual puppet pageant, called City of Frogs this year, begins with shows at Forest Theatre in Chapel Hill starting Friday. This massive production features live music, masks, stilt walkers, shadow puppets and more. It’s become a summer tradition for many around here. Here’s a synopsis from the folks at Paperhand: “This new show is an extraordinary modern fairy tale epic for all ages. An ancient witch has traded her heart for eternal life with the mysterious Man of Beasts. A wooden boy, cut free by the Scissors of Fate, sets out on a journey to help the witch find what has been lost. Ignored by the busy population of the city, the boy must find friends in strange and forgotten places.”

We have consignment sales in Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Dunn and Morrisville this weekend, including the massive Kids EveryWear sale at the Morrisville Outlet Mall; Upscale Resale, featuring higher end children’s clothes, toys and furniture, in Cary; the Triangle Mothers of Twins & Triplets sale at the N.C. State Fairgrounds; and The 2nd Look Boutique in Apex. Read my earlier post for details.

There's a fire truck parade! The South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo will include a parade at 9 a.m., Saturday, through downtown Raleigh streets (notably Fayetteville Street). The parade (which is a lot of fun for kids) will feature antique and modern trucks.

Elite fastpitch softball stars will compete at Five County Stadium in Zebulon at 7:15 p.m., Thursday and Friday. The Carolina Diamonds will play against a team from Florida, which features seven former Olympians. Tickets are between $9 and $15. Read my earlier post for details.

Saturday is the final Saturday of the summer for the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources’ Second Saturday series. The program offers free or nearly free events at state historic sites and museums across the state. It’s a great opportunity to explore our local sites or take a day trip. Many of the local events this weekend are geared toward kids and families, including a Family History Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Government and Heritage Library, 109 E. Jones St., in downtown Raleigh where kids can learn about life in the 18th century and enjoy a special children’s family history activity book; a visit with children’s book author Kelly Starling Lyons, who will share from her book “Ellen’s Broom” at Historic Stagville in Durham from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.; and a Summer Children's Festival at Duke Homestead in Durham from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with crafts, games and a performance from kids band Baron von Rumblebuss. For details about all of these events and more, go to the Second Saturdays' website. I took my kids and mom to Duke Homestead last week and will have much more about it on Friday. So stay tuned!

Wolfpack fans will be heading to Meet the Pack Day from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, at Carter-Finley Stadium. N.C. State fans can meet and get autographs from N.C. State football players and coaches. The N.C. State cheerleaders and Mr. and Ms. Wuf will be there too. Admission and parking are free. N.C. State is partnering with Communities in Schools of Wake County to collect school supplies for needy families. Donations are requested.

Kindie rock band Lunch Money will play a free concert from 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m., Friday, at the University Mall Stage in Chapel Hill. It's part of a series offered by the Chapel Hill Public Library so there's a good chance Lunch Money will perform their song "I Love My Library." Read my earlier post for details about the concert and the South Carolina-based band, which makes some great music for families.

The N.C. Museum of Art will screen that classic movie “Ghostbusters,” at 9 p.m., Saturday - a fun event for families with older kids especially. Tickets are $4. On Thursday, the Locally Grown series in downtown Chapel Hill will feature the G-rated "Gnomeo & Juliet." Activities, including a gnome scavenger hunt, Shakespeare trivia for all ages, hula hoops, bubbles and free popcorn, start at 8 p.m. The free screening begins around 9 p.m. It's atop the Wallace Parking Deck at 150 E. Rosemary St.

Saturday is Engineers Day: How Things Work at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., museum staff, professional engineers and students will guide visitors through all kinds of engineering activities and experiments. It’s all free with admission, which is $14 for adults and $10 for kids ages 3 to 12.

Shana Tucker, a singer-songwriter and cellist who performed with Cirque du Soleil’s Las Vegas show Ka will be in Cary for a free show at 6 p.m., Saturday, at the Sertoma Amphitheatre in Fred G. Bond Metro Park, 801 High House Rd.

The Cary Creative Center, which I featured back in May, will have a yard sale from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., Saturday. In addition to the regular store stock, the yard sale also will have discounts on everything from craft, school and office supplies to paper, paint, binders, notepads, stickers, yarn, sewing notions and more. Sounds like a great opportunity to stock up on supplies!