Weekend Plans: First Friday, Tales of Enchantment, sledding, more

This time of year is always a little quieter on the family fun front as everybody wraps up the holidays and gets back into their routines. But we have some options. As always, check WRAL.com’s Out & About calendar for more ideas.

It’s the first Friday of the month, which means it’s First Friday in downtown Raleigh. Museums, galleries, shops and restaurants are open later with special deals. This includes family favorites such as the N.C. Museum of History, the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences and Marbles Kids Museum. Artspace, a collection of artist studios in City Market, is another popular spot for families on First Friday.

The N.C. Symphony’s Young People’s Series continues on Saturday with Tales of Enchantment. The one-hour concert, designed for kids ages 4 to 12 and their families, is at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., Saturday. The concert features the Enchantment Theatre Company, which brings puppetry, magic, dance and pantomime as the symphony plays classics based on childhood stories such as Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast and more. As I’ve written many times before, these are fantastic concerts and my family is looking forward to this one. Tickets are $20. Get there early to check out instruments as part of the symphony’s Instrument Zoo. Other activities are usually planned as well.

Cary’s Bond Park, 801 High House Rd., will host a Three Kings Day event from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday. The free event focuses on Three Kings Day, traditionally Jan. 6, when gifts typically are exchanged in most Spanish speaking and some European countries, according to Diamante Inc., which runs the event. A parade begins at 1 p.m.

Raleigh Little Theatre’s Storytellers to Go, a teen performance ensemble, will present “Jack Tales: Appalachian Adventures” from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, at North Regional Library, 7009 Harps Mill Rd., in Raleigh. The free show, best for ages 5 and up, features puppets and interactive storytelling, which help tell folk stories that have been handed down through oral tradition.

The last day for the Museum of Life and Science’s Wonderland Express, its holiday model train exhibit, is Sunday.

Winterfest, the downtown Raleigh ice rink, continues through the end of the month. Sunday is one of several Sledding Sundays when, from noon to 4 p.m., SnowMyYard.com will create a winter wonderland. It’s free with a skating wristband, which is $8.

And Broad Street Cafe’s BSC Kids series continues with a 4:30 p.m., Sunday, concert from Flying Hippo. The free concert at the Durham cafe features music, poetry, dance, stoytelling, improv and more.