Sir Walter Wally, Super Bowl and Cows on parade lead our weekend best bets

RALEIGH, N.C. — Friday is officially First Friday in downtown Raleigh. Enjoy live music and drink and food specials. Check out our guide to First Friday for a list of drink and food specials. Our Best Bet for First Friday this month is an event at Benelux Café. Local illustrator Char Reed will be discussing her work as a pet caricature artist.

Sir Walter Wally will be front and center this Saturday at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. It is Groundhog Day and everyone will be waiting to see if Wally sees his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter. The ceremony begins at noon, but there will be lots of exhibits and other activities going on downtown to keep you busy before and after.

That brings us to Carolina Brewing Company's Imperial Stout release party. There will be pints of all CBC brews, cask Imperial Stout and cask Winter Porter. Live music will be provided by Gimme Shelter and food trucks American Meltdown and Porchetta will be on hand. This family-friendly event starts at 4 p.m. A portion of all sales will go to the Henry Green Benefit Fund. Henry, who was the nephew of one of the CBC partners, passed away in December after a yearlong battle with Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD).

Have you ever wanted to have a brightly painted cow in your home? (I know, me too!) You have a chance on Saturday during the Battle for the Cattle CowParade Auction & Gala at Raleigh Memorial Auditorium. Starting at 6 p.m., about 60 bovines will be selected at the reception for a live auction. Tickets are steep - $100 in advance and $125 at the door. But if you can afford to buy a painted life-sized cow, then you are likely can afford the ticket. And it is all for a great cause with proceeds going to the N.C. Children's Hospital.

Durham will hold its annual Martin Luther King Jr. and Black History Month Parade on Saturday. It all starts at noon and will go up Fayetteville Street before ending at the corner of Fayetteville and Lawson streets. This was also one of Go Ask Mom's weekend family picks. Make sure to check out her blog for even more family-friendly events this weekend. 

Sunday is the Super Bowl and Out and About has a list of places to watch the big game. We also have the locations where each fan base will be gathering. 

Live Music:

Tony Bennett leads our live music picks this week. The crooner will perform at the Durham Performing Arts Center on Friday night. It hasn't sold out yet. Tickets start at $69.

And for picks for every day of the week, check out our best bets calendar.