Weekend Plans: Cultural celebrations, clothing exchange, storytime, more

Hello, weekend. Here’s your weekend family fun. As always, check WRAL.com’s Out & About calendar for other ideas.

The N.C. Museum of History in downtown Raleigh will host its 14th annual African American Cultural Celebration from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday. The free event features more than 75 presenters, including musicians, authors, dancers, craftspeople and others.They all will highlight the contributions of African Americans to North Carolina. The day also includes special hands-on activities for kids.

The Scrap Exchange in Durham will host its annual clothing exchange from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. Bring your old clothes and a suggested $10 donation. Take home some new to you clothes from the exchange. Men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and accessories will be available. The Scrap Exchange also will set up sewing stations and decorating areas to update those duds.

At 10:30 a.m., Saturday, JC Raulston Arboretum will host the Project Budburst Kickoff Event. It's free for all ages. Families can learn more about the project, which involves volunteering for a year to adopt a plant and watch it through 2015 to collect data with regular reports. The data is used by scientists across the nation. They are researching how plants respond to changes in climate.

Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh will host a special storytime at 3 p.m., Saturday, featuring WRAL’s Lynda Loveland. Wake Up and Read kicks off the 2015 book drive with the storytime, activities and treats for all ages. Loveland is the celebrity story reader. There'll be a Disney princess, face painter and craft. Children’s author and illustrator Mark Dubowski will lead kids in making their own Ruben the Rooster posters to take home. The store will be accepting books for the drive from Saturday to Feb. 8. They are happy to accept your gently used books that need a new home. Books purchased from Quail Ridge for donation get a 21 percent discount.

It's the final weekend to take advantage of the Raleigh Winterfest ice rink on Fayetteville Street. It's open through Sunday. Hours this weekend are 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday. It costs $9 to skate. That includes your ice skate rentals.

The Triangle Area Chinese American Society will hold its annual Chinese New Year Celebration from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, at Dorton Arena at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. This is the year of the sheep! The event includes a carnival-style festival with food, kid’s activities, performances, fashion, merchandise and more. Tickets are $8 at the door and $5 in advance. Kids 6 and under are free.

The Carolina women's basketball team plays Boston College at 2 p.m., Sunday. Before the game, Carolina will mark National Girls and Women in Sports Day with special activities, meet and greets with female athletes at Carolina and deals for boys and girls. Registration for the special events is required by 5 p.m., Thursday.

Finally, this might be a fun event for tweens and teens (though it’s rated for all ages). Kidprov at Moonlight Stage Company in Raleigh is 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday, at the north Raleigh venue. Kidprov is an an all ages improv show featuring Teen Improv groups The Estesstentials and The Lunartics. There’s an open kids' improv jam after the sets where the audience can participate.