Weekend Plans: Fire truck parade, Kids Exchange, family field day, more

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

North Carolina’s Main Street Fire Truck Parade is set for noon, Saturday, in downtown Raleigh. This is one of those events that I always get emails from parents wondering when it is. It’s this weekend! The parade features antique and modern equipment, including engines, aerials and more. The parade runs from the State Capitol along Fayetteville Street and makes its way to the Raleigh Convention Center. I’d find a spot along Fayetteville Street to watch this one. This is free and a lot of fun for kids who love all things truck. The parade is part of the South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo, which also will bring the 9/11 Never Forget traveling exhibit to Raleigh. The exhibit is a tribute to those who sacrificed their lives on Sept. 11. Check the website for details about that and other Expo events.

Consignment sale season begins with the massive Kids Exchange consignment sale at the N.C. State Fairgrounds. It’s so big that it takes over two buildings. The sale is open to the public Friday through Sunday. See my earlier post for more information.

Head out to Kidzu Children’s Museum in Chapel Hill before it temporarily closes its Launch Pad at University Mall at 5 p.m., Saturday. The museum will reopen in another space in the mall later this year.

Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh hosts a Family Field Day at Marbles from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday. Take part in all kinds of active games, including Richard Simmons-type workout, dance party and parachute games. It’s free with admission, which is $5 per person.

The Carolina Hurricanes host Summerfest at the PNC Arena this week through Saturday. Read my earlier post for details about the week, which includes practices that are open to the public and all kinds of inflatables and games during a big festival on Saturday. Parking and admission are free.

Raleigh Little Theatre’s Teens on Stage will perform “Fiddler on the Roof,” at the theater near Cameron Village in Raleigh. The show opens Friday and runs through Aug. 3. Tickets are $11.

New Hope Valley Railway in southwestern Wake County will have an ice cream social and train rides on Saturday. Get two scoops of ice cream from the Manna food truck with the purchase of each train ticket. Kids under 2 are free and will get one scoop of ice cream. Rides start at 11 a.m. Tickets cost between $12 and $16. Proceeds from the ice cream sales will help the all-volunteer, non-profit railroad pay for repairs to the steam locomotive.

Northgate Mall’s Ho-b RC Park, a one-of-a-kind 20,000 square foot remote control model car racing/recreational facility and store, will host a free, family-friendly public 1/10 Scale Car Drift Racing Event with model drift cars from noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, at the Durham mall's Center Court. Northgate Mall visitors age ten and up can sign up for five-minute rides with remote control drift cars from noon to 3:30pm. The event is free and open to the public.

Barnes & Noble stores across the region are celebrating pop culture stories and characters with events through August. Check my earlier post for details.

And, speaking of pop culture, Durham County Library will celebrate one year of Dungeons & Dragons at the library with a special, Summer Reading themed game at 2 p.m., Saturday,at the Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St. The program will feature bonus points, miniature characters and new terrain featuring the evil Doctor Urvogel and his laboratory of horrors, built just for the occasion. There will be refreshments, and attendees will automatically be entered into a raffle if they log a minimum of 600 Summer Reading points by August 9, according to a press release.