Weekend Plans: Big Muddy, rainforest exhibit, Midtown Park opens, more

We have a busy, busy spring weekend full of lots of activities. Some of the strawberry farms are just getting ready to open for the season. Check our strawberry farm database for one near you (be sure to call ahead to see if they have berries. Most won’t open until early May). 

As always, check WRAL.com’s Out & About calendar for more activities. Here’s your weekend family fun!

The Big Muddy Challenge takes over Hill Ridge Farms in Youngsville on Saturday. This very popular event for parents and kids involves a two-mile course with a variety of physical and mental challenges along the way. Blogger Stacy Lamb will be out there with her daughter this weekend. Tickets are available for the next couple of days. They start at $73 for a parent/child duo.

The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences opens a major new exhibit on Saturday for kids - Rainforest Adventure. The exhibit is built as a maze. Visitors must answer questions to move on. I hear it’s a fun, interactive exhibit especially for young kids. I really look forward to checking this one out. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for kids ages 3 to 12.

The 21st annual Spring Daze Arts and Crafts Festival is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, at Bond Park in Cary. This popular festival includes a children’s village with all sorts of activities like hands-on crafts. The day includes arts and crafts vendors, entertainment and more.

North Hills in Raleigh celebrates the opening of its new Midtown Park with activities on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, including music, fashion shows and kids activities. The park includes an amphitheater and open space. Kids activities include balloon twisting from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and face painting from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., both Saturday and Sunday.

The N.C. Museum of Art will host ArtsScene, an annual event for teens, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday. The free event features art-making workshops, live music and dance, teen art exhibitions and food. It’s organized by the NCMA Teen Arts Council. The afternoon includes poetry, film, a graffiti wall, photography and other art forms. The museum offers some great programs for teens.

I’ll be spending Saturday morning at the Great Cloth Diaper Change at Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique in Cary. The morning includes a band, face painter and other activities. Read my earlier post for more information about this fun event.

Pinocchio continues at the Raleigh Little Theatre, part of the community theater’s youth series. The show, which would have closed this weekend, has been extended through May 4. It’s a musical version of the classic story of a puppet who wants to be a real boy.

Also in the children’s theater category: In Carrboro, the ArtsCenter’s SuperFun series features “Once Upon a Time” by Bright Star Touring Co. at 11 a.m., Saturday. The 45-minute show is best for preschoolers and grade schoolers. Tickets are $9 and $7 for kids. Kids 2 and under are free. The show brings to life the stories of both “Cinderella” and “Jack and the Beanstalk.”

Saturday is Healthy Families Day at YMCA of the Triangle locations. They’ll offer free programs and classes and some deals.

Blue Jay Point County Park’s annual Songbird Celebration is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The free event includes some drop-in programs and others that require registration. Programs are designed for preschoolers and up and focus on birds at the Wake County park just north of Raleigh on Falls Lake.

Carrboro Farmers’ Market has its ninth annual Kids Seedling Giveaway starting at 8:30 a.m., Saturday. The market will give away farmer-grown tomato seedlings to kids. Kids can pick their seedling and plant it in a cup to take home. Kidzu Children’s Museum and market volunteers will help the kids decorate a label for the seedling and find the farmer who donated it.

The E3 Project, which works to curb childhood obesity, will host the first Feel the Beat Field Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, at Dorothea Dix Campus’ large field off Blair Drive near downtown Raleigh. Activities include yoga, a bike ride with Oak City Cycling Project, kickboxing, pilates, a sack race and dance. Visitors also can learn more about the groups working on the project. A raffle includes a kid’s bike and helmet.

George Watts Montessori School’s Spring Carnival & Silent Auction is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, at the Durham school, 511 Cleveland St. The day includes games, food trucks, a silent auction, bounce houses, face and nail painting, relay races and more. The silent auction features a beach vacation, regional getaways, gift cards, summer camps and more. The event is the primary source of funds for the school’s PTA.

I featured a mom who will be participating in Sunday’s Walk to End Lupus Now event at N.C. State’s Centennial Campus. The event includes a 5K and one-mile route.

Boy Scout Troop 39 in Chapel Hill will once again hold its popular Touch a Truck event from noon to 4 p.m., Sunday, at University Mall in Chapel Hill. Tickets are $5 per person with a limit of $20 for families (kids under 2 are free). The event gives kids a chance to explore trucks of all kinds. There also will be crafts and kid-friendly food for sale.

Ackland Art Museum hosts one of its free Family Days from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, at the Chapel Hill museum. Families can explore the museum’s sculptures and then make their own. Storytimes are scheduled at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Activities best for kids ages 4 to 12.

And the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University in Durham also will host its free family day from noon to 4 p.m., Sunday. Make hands-on art projects and explore the exhibitions with a gallery hunt. There will be live jazz music at 1 p.m. and a performance by Kidznotes at 2:30 p.m.

Finally, if you’re looking for a reason to tool around the web, a big fan of Go Ask Mom shares this with me: Family Preschool in Durham, a cooperative, nonprofit, nonsectarian preschool in its 44th year, is hosting an online auction from April 25 to May 5. Proceeds go toward scholarships and other programs at the school.