Weekend Plans: Family theater, best-selling authors, kites, baseball

Happy weekend! Here’s what’s happening on the family fun front. As always, check WRAL.com’s Out & About calendar for more ideas.

We have a couple of opportunities for family theater. Theatre Raleigh launched its 2017 Family Series last weekend with a contemporary version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Shows take place through Sunday at the Duke Energy Center for Performing Arts. It’s a lot of fun.

And Raleigh Little Theatre’s “When She Had Wings,” part of its youth series, opens Friday. Shows run through April 2. The show tells the story of a young girl, who dreams of flying, and runs into a mysterious woman, who might be Amelia Earhart. On Saturday, before both shows, ticket goers can learn how to fold paper airplanes. It happens from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. before the 1 p.m. show and 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. before the 5 p.m. show. Tickets are $14 and $10 for kids ages 12 and under.

And, at the Renaissance Centre in Wake Forest, Forest Moon Theater will present "Anne of Green Gables." Showtimes are 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., Thursday; 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 3 p.m., Sunday. Advance tickets are $15 for adults and $13 for students and seniors. Tickets go up $3 each on the day of. (Tickets are $8 on Thursday).

We have nine consignment sales across the region this week - eight with items for kids and one with things for women.

Award-winning children’s author Kwame Alexander will be in Chapel Hill on Sunday and Raleigh on Monday with his new book, “The Playbook.” It's best for ages 9 and up. Author of books including, "Booked" and "The Crossover," he received the 2015 John Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor.

Also at Quail Ridge Books this weekend, best-selling author Robert Beatty from Asheville, who has created a national sensation with his fantasy set around the Biltmore Estate, will share a preview of the third book, "Serafina and the Splintered Heart," which is due out in July. This is the first-ever public reading of the upcoming book for an audience in North Carolina. Beatty will be there to answer questions, read from the book and sign the first two books in the series. There also will be refreshments. To get in the signing line, you'll need to pre-order "Splintered Heart," from Quail Ridge. The books are best for ages 9 and up. The event is 2 p.m., Sunday.

Wake Forest’s Carnival for the Kids, with carnival rides, games and food, runs through Sunday. The event supports the town police department’s work with kids.

Northgate Mall and the Durham Arts Council are teaming up again for the sixth annual Children’s Festival with food, entertainment and vendors specializing in children’s activities. It’s free and runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, at the Durham mall. (Kidcycle consignment sale also will be there this weekend).

Glenwood South near downtown Raleigh will host an event to support the St. Baldrick's Foundation, which raises money for childhood cancer research. It's 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, at the Raleigh Beer Garden. People will be getting their heads shaved to raise money for the nonprofit. There also will be lots of family-friendly activities, including a bouncy house, face painting, balloon animals and people dressed up in superhero costumes.

Let your kite take flight at the Town of Cary’s Annual Kite Festival. It’s 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, at the Bond Park spillway, 801 High House Road. Register for the free kite-flying contest at 12:30 p.m. across from the entrance to the Bond Park Community Center; participants are eligible for certificates and awards in a variety of categories for all ages and experience levels. Visit with the expert kite flyer who will be available to provide kite-flying tips or help mending kites.

Also in Cary: Get some knishes, celebrate Passover and take part in a variety of activities at Cary’s Jewish Cultural Celebration, which is 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, at the Cary Arts Center. Knish-a-licious, which I featured here on Monday, will be there!

The Fun 4 Raleigh Kids Camp Expo is 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, at the N.C. State Fairgrounds. Learn more about summer and track-out camps in the Triangle.

NC State's noon, Sunday, baseball game includes some activities for Disney fans. There will be Disney princesses to meet and greet with. And one lucky fan will receive two tickets to see the new "Beauty and the Beast" movie. There also will be other special activities as part of the team's regular family offerings that happen at every home Sunday game.

This one is for fans of “Call the Midwife.” Author Lisa Yarger will talk about Lovie Beard Shelton, the groundbreaking North Carolina nurse and midwife, at 3 p.m., Sunday, at the N.C. Museum of History in downtown Raleigh. Yarger wrote a book about Shelton, "Lovie: The Story of a Southern Midwife and an Unlikely Friendship." She'll sign books after the talk.

And this is the last weekend for Forts!, the pop-up exhibit at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. It closes Sunday.