Weekend Plans: Kite festivals, Beatles music, more

Cary's 16th annual Kite Festival is Saturday at Bond Metro Park, 801 High House Rd. There will be stunt kite demonstrations, a kite making class and kite flying contests. Registration for the contest starts at 12:30 p.m. and is required. Kites Unlimited from Atlantic Beach will host stunt kite demonstrations at 1 p.m., 1:45 p.m. and throughout the event as the wind allows. Winners of the kite flying contest will be announced at 2:30 p.m. Categories included youngest kite flier, oldest kite flier and (this is the one I might just be able to win) best tangle. Before the festival from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, kids can build a kite at the Cary Senior Center. There's a class for ages 3 to 5 and another for ages 5 to 10. The cost for the class is $16 for Cary residents and $21 for everybody else. These classes often fill up and registration is required. Call 919-469-4100 for details. If it rains, the festival will move to the same time Sunday.

And Carrboro also will hold its annual kite fly from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Hank Anderson Park on Highway 54. Ribbons will be awarded for a variety of categories for kids and adults. Bring your kite. Kite doctors will be there to repair any damaged kites. It's free.

Abbey Road LIVE! will play an all-ages family matinee show at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro at 1 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $7 for kids and $10 for adults. The Athens, Ga.-based Beatles tribute band doesn't dress like the Beatles, but can play both the hits and some obscure favorites too.

The Raleigh Little Theatre' production of "Really Rosie" wraps up this weekend with performances through Sunday. This youth musical by Maurice Sendak and Carole King stars Rosie, the sassiest kid on the her block, who entertains herself and her friends by acting out show biz fantasies. It's based on a number of Sendak's books. Tickets are $13 for adults and $9 for kids ages 0 to 12.

We've got three consignment sales this weekend - Dollar Day at Kidcycle in Chapel Hill, the KidAround KidSale in Wake Forest and the Triangle Mothers of Twins & Triplets sale in Raleigh. Check my earlier post for details.

Bounce U of Apex will be hosting two open bounce sessions Friday evening to raise money for relief efforts in Japan. Check my earlier post for details.

The Museum of Life and Science's March Science Madness 2011 ends this Saturday with a visit from Rob Mies of the Organization for Bat Conservation. He'll talk about the world of nocturnal animals at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Reservations are requested. The museum also will focus on nanoscale science with hands-on activities and demonstrations.

Morrisville will kick off its Fitness Challenge from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday at the Morrisville Aquatics and Fitness Center. Learn what it's all about during the event and sign up to take part.

Duke University's student troupe Hoof 'n' Horn will present "The Frog Prince," a kid-friendly musical theater production, at 11 a.m. Saturday. The show will be inside the Doris Duke Center at Duke Gardens. Tickets are $10 and $6 for kids ages 16 and younger. 

Lots happening at the N.C. Museum of Art in Raleigh. It will present Haiku, Hip-Hop, and Hotdogs with Crabgrass Puppet Theatre at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday. Shows are about an hour long. Tickets are $3. Free drop-in crafts will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. And there will be weekend family tours for kids ages 5 to 10 and their adults at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The tours are first come, first served.

The Tarheel Tale Tellers will stop by Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday. The group will perform new adaptations of contemporary children's books. And from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, kids can solve engineering puzzles during Marbles' Gadgets & Gizmos program. Both are free with admission, which is $5.

A Militia Muster is planned at Mordecai Historic Park near downtown Raleigh from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. There will be displays, musket drills and firing, along with living history demonstrations about what it was like to be a citizen soldier 200 years ago. Mordecai is at 1 Mimosa St. in Raleigh.

Kids can also get a taste of soldier life, historically speaking, at Bennett Place Historic Site in Durham with a special program Saturday and Sunday. Campfire cooking, mending uniforms and other aspects of daily life of a Confederate soldier will be on display. Re-enactors will encamp as Tarheel soldiers during the free program, which is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. It's part of the Civil War Sesquicentennial observance.

JC Raulston Arboretum's inaugural family program Wake Up! It's Spring! is from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. The arboretum at N.C. State in Raleigh is launching its new children's programs with this event designed for kids ages 5 to 9 and their parents or caregivers. It's free, but registration is required. Check my earlier post for details.

B.W. Wells Heritage Day will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Rock Cliff Farm, 2201 Bent Rd., which is north of Raleigh between Wake Forest and Durham. Wells was a pioneering ecologist and early botanist in North Carolina. He had his retirement home at Falls Lake. There will be guided walks and children's activities. I have not been here before, but it sounds interesting. Check the website for the full schedule and details. Note the advice on the directions.

Chesterbrook Academy in Cary will hold a camp carnival and open house from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.