Weekend Plans: Treetop adventures, outdoor movies, summer reading fun, more

Happy weekend! Here’s what’s happening on the family fun front. As always, check WRAL.com’s Out & About calendar and our #100thingsWRAL list of summer fun. And, if Pokemon Go is in your future, check our tips for kids and parents who are playing.

Go Ape at Blue Jay Point County Park opens a new treetop adventure course designed for kids of all ages on Friday. The original course, which opened last year, was for kids ages 10 and up. This course is designed for everybody (though best for kids ages 4 and up). I’m excited to check this out next week! As part of the grand opening of the junior course, any guest visiting either July 16 or 17 will be automatically entered to win a $100 gift certificate, good for use on either the new Treetop Junior course or the Treetop Adventure course.

The N.C. Museum of Art’s outdoor summer movie series features two family favorites - Zootopia at 9 p.m., Friday, and Princess Bride at 9 p.m., Saturday. Tickets are $6 and free for museum members. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

Durham County Library will mark the halfway point of Summer Reading 2016 with the Midpoint Rally from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, at Durham Central Park, 501 Foster St. Dress up your dog as your favorite athlete and join in the second annual Midpoint Dog Parade beginning at 4:15 p.m. Other highlights will include storytelling and yoga by Casey Nees, interactive song and dance by Impromptu Players, hopscotch, hula hoops and food and dessert trucks! Visit the information table when you arrive to receive a secret code you can use to earn more summer reading points toward prizes for attending the event. It’s free and open to all. We had an earlier post about other summer reading programs across the region.

Raleigh Little Theatre has “Bat Boy: The Musical” on stage from Friday to July 24. Here’s a description: A half-boy/half-bat creature is discovered in a cave near Hope Falls, West Virginia. He joins a family and is taught to act like a “normal” boy. Can he find true love with Shelley, the daughter of the local veterinarian, and will the town ever accept him? Best for ages 12 and up.

I noticed a sign for this one at my local library. Seed Art Share will host a “scavenger-play” for kids at the City of Raleigh Museum on Fayetteville Street on Friday. It sounds like a fun way to get kids interested in history. Shows are at 5 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., Friday. Tickets are just $5.25. As part of the evening, parents can head over to The Busy Bee Cafe while their kids are entertained for some free appetizers.

Alliance Medical Ministry and Bella Blues Blueberry Farm in Johnston County will offer a morning of blueberry picking from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., Saturday. For every pound of blueberries you pick ($3/lb), Bella Blues donates a pound to Alliance's patients.

Lafayette Village in north Raleigh will mark Bastille Day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, with French-inspired music, aerial dancing, stilt walking, mimes, magicians and more (including some princesses from Enchanted Wishes). The shops also will have special promotions, food and drink.

The Raleigh Times 3rd Sunday Children's Carnival is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, on Hargett Street in downtown Raleigh. There will be bouncy houses, arts and crafts, face painting, games and balloon art by Cotton the Clown.

And downtown Wake Forest has a food truck rodeo from noon to 4 p.m., Sunday, at 405 S. Brooks St.