Weekend Plans: Merge Records party; storytelling celebration; kite festival, more

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

Merge Records is celebrating 25 years of (some pretty awesome) independent music in Durham with a 25K road race on Saturday followed by a family-friendly festival at the finish line. The festival is open to the general public, not just runners and their friends and family. Merge Records tells me that they have worked very hard to make it family friendly. The race starts at 7:30 a.m. The festivities at Motorco Music Hall, 723 Rigsbee Ave. in Durham, start at 9 a.m. The event features performances from The Love Language and Vertical Scratchers in addition to DJing by Superchunk's Mac McCaughan, a performance by Durham's Bouncing Bulldogs jump rope team, and Girls Rock NC graduates Cosmic Punk. Wool E. Bull will be there from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Food will be for sale from Motorco’s Parts & Labor, Pie Pushers, Kokyu BBQ, Parlour, Sympathy for the Deli and The Pit. Click here for details.

Durham County Main Library will host a storytelling celebration Friday. From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Friday, the library will host Storytelling 101 for school age kids and their families with award-winning storyteller Willa Brigham. Registration is required for that (follow the link to register). From 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Friday, the celebration continues with more storytelling from Brigham, Ron Jones and Alan Hoal. It’s open to all ages.

Raleigh Little Theatre’s run of “OPQRS, etc.,” continues this weekend. Read my earlier post for more about this show, which is part of the theater’s youth series, and “Pinnochio,” which opens next month.

The ArtsCenter in Carrboro will host a presentation of “Are You My Mother?” based on the popular children’s book about a little baby bird looking for his mom. It’s 11 a.m., Saturday. Tickets range between $6 to $9 per person. ArtsPower National Touring Theatre will present the show, which runs about 45 minutes to an hour.

We have consignment sales. Read my earlier post for when and where.

Cary’s Kite Festival is Saturday at Fred G. Bond Park. The annual event gives special awards for all kinds of kite flying - from quickest take-off to (my favorites) best crash and most unflyable kite. Registration starts at 12:30 p.m. Kite flying starts at 1 p.m. in the field next to Bond Lake. It’s for all ages and it’s free to participate. Award winners are announced at 2:30 p.m. There are also stunt kite demonstrations.

Ella’s Race, in memory of Ella Newmiller of Raleigh, is Saturday at the Chick-fil-A at Falls Village. The event, with a one-mile run, 5K and 10K, raises money for The Cure Starts Now and The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Next to the finish line of the race, there will be a free family fun zone for kids under 12 years. It’s open from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. with activities and inflatables. Ella, who I had the honor of meeting several years ago as I wrote a story about her illness, died of a brain tumor in 2012.

India Fest 2014 runs Saturday and Sunday at Dorton Arena at the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. The weekend features more than 1,500 performers from 133 groups, along with fashion, crafts and food. The Triangle is home to more than 25,000 families of South Asian descent, according to the event’s website. Tickets range in price between $5 and $15. Kids under 5 are free. Parking is free.

MomsRising will mark Women’s History Month with an event from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Sunday, at Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh. The event includes storytelling, crafts, cookie decorating and more. Read this earlier post from MomsRising about what’s planned.

And Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill will host a family day from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday. The theme this weekend is “City and Country.” Families can peruse the prints of American cities and landscapes and then create their own collaged cityscape. A storytime is at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. These programs are designed for families with kids ages 4 to 12. It’s free.