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Weekend Plans: Fire truck parade, family-friendly shows, outdoor movies

Downtown Raleigh hosts a fire truck parade. Two spots offer family-friendly outdoor movies. There's a storytelling festival, open houses and an gluten and allergen free wellness event. Here's your weekend family fun!

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By
Sarah Lindenfeld Hall
Happy weekend! As always, check WRAL.com’s Out & About calendar for weekend ideas, along with our Summer Break guide for ongoing summer fun.

Here’s what’s happening this weekend.

The annual fire truck parade, part of the South Atlanta Fire and Rescue Expo, will roll through downtown Raleigh starting at noon, Saturday. The parade will feature antique and modern trucks. This isn’t a huge parade, but it is a lot of fun for fire truck loving kids. It runs from the State Capitol in downtown Raleigh, along Fayetteville Street, and then turns on Davie Street to head to the Raleigh Convention Center. On-street parking in downtown Raleigh is free on the weekends. There also are lots of parking garages downtown.
Students from the N.C. Theatre Conservatory, the theatre's education program, will perform the Gershwin musical comedy "Crazy for You" this Friday through Sunday at the Duke Energy Center for Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh. The show stars some really talented young performers, including two who sang at our Go Ask Mom event this summer at Midtown Park. Tickets are $25.
Common Grounds Theatre in Durham will host multiple shows featuring magical comedian Chris Collins and master mentalist Erik Dobell. Shows are Friday through Sunday. Tickets start at $15. Both the theater and the performers tell me this is a family-friendly event. Their website promises it will be a "night of stunning magic, reality shattering mind reading and hilarious mayhem."
Booth Amphitheatre in Cary will screen PG-rated “Brave,” as part of its outdoor summer movie series. Gates open at 7 p.m. The movie starts at dark, around 8:30 p.m. Kids under 12 are free. Tickets for everybody else are $5. Be sure to bring a blanket or chair for the lawn.
And Lafayette Village in north Raleigh will host a Grease Sing-A-Long movie on the green at 9 p.m., Friday. (Might be fun for musical-loving tweens and teens). Sing along to this classic film. Be sure to bring along new socks to donate to Note in the Pocket. It’s free.
The Museum of Life and Science is extending its hours on Friday for a special after-hours party. It’s open 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is $7. The museum’s main building will be closed, but there’s plenty to keep families occupied with the farmyard, Into the Mist, butterfly house, Dinosaur Trail and more.
The Gluten and Allergen Free Wellness Event is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, at the McKimmon Center at N.C. State University on Gorman Street. The event includes free product sampling, speakers, cooking demonstrations and more. Tickets are $10. Kids under 13 are free.
Northgate Mall’s Discovery Nook in Durham will host MakerDay with the Durham County Library’s Makerspace from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Saturday. Library staffers will introduce kids to the wonders of 3D printing. As part of the summer reading program theme, “Every Hero Has a Story,” kids also can design a superhero logo that will be printed in 3D. (How cool is that!).
We have consignment sales in Cary - Upscale Resale - and Raleigh - the Triangle Parents of Multiples clothing and equipment sale.
The 2015 Forest of Wake Storytelling Festival is 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Saturday, at the town’s Renaissance Center. The day includes both performances and workshops that are designed for different ages. The website has the full schedule of events.
The City Ballet is hosting an open house from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, for those interested in dance lessons. The program will offer free classes in ballet, tap, jazz and modern dance, along with activities for young children, an instructor meet and greet and a free gift for new visitors. It’s at 7440 Six Forks Rd.
Raleigh Ice Plex also has an open house from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday. Admission is $3 and includes skates. The afternoon includes a skating lesson, face painting, dancing on the ice, sled rides for kids and a snowball fight in the snow pit (from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.).
The 11th Children’s Good News Spectacular is 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, at the N.C. State Fairgrounds. Admission is free. The day includes free inflatables, games, food and more. The event is organized by the Child Evangelism Fellowship, a Bible-centered, international, fellowship of Christians dedicated to the task of winning boys and girls to Christ, according to the website.

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