Weekend Plans: Sci-Fi music, KidDilly Expo, Daniel Tiger, more

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

​For Star Trek fans, the N.C. Symphony will host a Star Trek and Sci-Fi Spectacular three times this weekend - Friday and Saturday. The concert includes selections from several science fiction movies and a laser light show. An hour before each performance, there will be special activities - costumed Star Wars and Star Trek characters and rare and authentic Star Trek and Star Wars memorabilia on display. Tickets start at around $25.

The KidDilly Expo, featuring a variety of local businesses and groups that support families, is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Cary. I featured the local moms behind it a couple of weeks ago. They promise plenty of activities to keep kids busy. It's free.

Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, a musical based on the popular PBS Kids show, is scheduled for two shows at the Durham Performing Arts Center. Catch it at 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., Saturday. Tickets start at around $30 each.

Hobey Ford's Golden Rod Puppets "Animalia" will present two shows at Halle Cultural Arts Center in Apex. They’re slated for 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., Saturday. Tickets are $6 per person. Ford, an internationally award-winning puppeteer, breaks out of the traditional puppet booth and turns the theater into his performance stage, according to a description.

The Halle Cultural Arts Center also will host one of its regular SuperFun Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Saturday, for ages 4 to 12. There will be free arts and crafts. Registration isn’t required, but parents or adults must accompany their kids. The center is downtown so you could do some crafts, take a lunch break at a downtown restaurant and then swing back for the 2 p.m. Hobey Ford show.

Raleigh Little Theatre will present Soar! The Hero Pigeons of WW1 at Northeast Regional Library, 14401 Green Elm Lane, Raleigh. The free show is 3 p.m., Saturday, and features teen actors from Raleigh Little Theatre’s Storytellers to Go program. The story commemorates the 100th anniversary of the United States entering WWI on April 6, 1917, by retelling the true story of Cher Ami, a carrier pigeon who became a war hero. The story is told from the pigeons' perspectives and is appropriate for ages five and older.

Zaniac, a STEM-based learning center, opens its first Triangle location in Cary at Parkside Town Commons and will host a grand opening celebration from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The celebration includes refreshments, facility tours and class demos. Attendees can also meet the instructors, local owners and founder Paul Zane Pilzer. Zaniac specializes in making learning feel like play with programs for students kindergarten through eighth grade.

WAKE Up and Read will launch its third annual book drive with a special event at 2 p.m., Saturday, at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh.

Waverly Place in Cary will host its Snow Day sledding event on Saturday. Tickets, at last check, were still available. They are $8 per person. UPDATE: This event was moved to March 4.

Tet Festival, a Vietnamese New Year celebration, is 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, at the the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. The event features cultural foods, vendors, martial arts demonstrations, traditional music, children’s games, lion dances and and more. Tickets are $5 and free for kids under age 10 and adults over age 70.

And the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University will host a free family day from noon to 4 p.m., Sunday. Explore The Collections Gallery and learn about art from different cultures and eras. Create your own works of art and watch a local artist create a masterpiece. Take in a performance by the popular Rags to Riches Theater for Young Audiences. Admission is free.