Weekend Plans: Pet Vet at Marbles, table tennis, Civil War re-enactors, much more

Farm Animal Days at N.C. State's Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory south of Raleigh continues Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event is wonderful for young kids, who can get an up close look at all the animals. Get there at 9 a.m. or 1 p.m. to avoid the crowds. Read my earlier post for details.

The Marry Durham festival, complete with a marriage ceremony, includes a variety of activities including some targeted at kids. The festival is designed for all those who love Durham so much they want to marry it and also raise money for local nonprofits. The main event starts at 4 p.m. Saturday on Rigsbee Avenue between Geer and Corporation in downtown Durham. A Kids' Zone will include Walltown Children's Theatre, Hispanic folkloric dance and more. Wedding cupcakes too! A $5 minimum suggested donation will be asked for at the door. For a map of activities, click here, scroll down the page and find the link for the map and schedule.

I'll have more about this on Friday, but Marbles Kids Museum will be celebrating the opening of its new Pet Vet exhibit in the Around Town gallery. The exhibit, a mini vet office, replaces the post office in the gallery on the first floor and features exam tables, cages, lots of stuffed cats and dogs, and more for creative play. The opening celebration on Saturday will include a special workshop from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. where kids can explore careers in pet health. The workshop is free with admission to the museum, which is $5 per person. And all day Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Marbles will have other animal-themed activities. A ribbon cutting is set for 11:15 a.m. And pet food donations will be accepted on behalf of the SPCA.

The N.C. Museum of History will hold one of its informal make it, take it drop-in programs from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. This weekend, visitors can make a hand helicopter as they see toys from the past in the lobby exhibit Toys, Toys and More Toys!

More than 300 international athletes will gather in Cary this weekend for the 2011 Butterfly Cary Cup Championship - the largest round robin table tennis competition in the United States. It's from Friday to Sunday at Bond Park Community Center, 150 Metro Dr. in Cary. Top U.S. National Team members and International Table Tennis Federation Pro-Tour Players from Europe, Africa and Asia will compete for their share of over $11,000 in prize money at the Cary Cup. The Cary Cup is a 4-star sanctioned competition by USA Table Tennis. The main events are Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, the top groups of national and international stars will compete for the main prize money starting at 10 a.m. All events Friday, Saturday and Sunday are free for spectators. Check the website for all the details and a full schedule.

The Carrboro Farmers' Market will have a special event starting at 9 a.m. Saturday in partnership with Ryan McGuire, the culinary trainer at Chapel Hill elementary schools. McGuire will be cooking a Dr. Seuss inspired menu, including a stir fried green rice, eggs and ham dish. This recipe, which he developed with the Lantern’s Andrea Reusing, has been submitted in to the National Recipes for Kids Contest by Culbreth Middle School, and is currently voted a semi-finalist. As an aside, McGuire is purchasing a percentage of locally raised produce each year for the school and so far this year has purchased 4.43 tons of North Carolina produce.

The Raleigh Little Theatre' production of "Really Rosie" continues until March 27. This youth musical by Maurice Sendak and Carole King stars Rosie, the sassiest kid on the her block, who entertains herself and her friends by acting out show biz fantasies. It's based on a number of Sendak's books. Tickets are $13 for adults and $9 for kids ages 0 to 12. Performances are mostly Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays though there are a couple of Thursday morning shows. Those are primarily for school groups, but there may be some individual tickets available.

And Raleigh Little Theatre's youth performance ensemble RLT Players To Go, made up of kids ages 10 to 13, will perform some of Aesop's fables at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Wendell Community Library in Wendell. The 45 minute performance is free and open to all ages.

The Children's Store will celebrate its grand re-opening with a party from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at its new location at 243 S. Elliott Rd. in Chapel Hill. Maisy mouse, the children's book character and star of the Noggin TV show, will be there. Games, balloons, cookies, crafts and prizes too.

Shana Banana will perform Saturday as part of the Holly Springs Cultural Center's Super Saturday Family Series. Shows are at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday. The award-winning children's entertainer, singer and songwriter has been nominated for two songs in the Best Children's Song category for the Just Plain Folks Music Awards. Tickets are $8; $20 for a family of three; $25 for a family of four; and $30 for a family of five. Call 919-567-4000 for details.

The Museum of Life and Science continues its March Science Madness 2011 this Saturday and every Saturday in March. Visitors will learn about the science behind sports, explore themes like Microbiology, Nanoscale Science, Sports Science, Animals, Genomics, and celebrate National Pi Day. The Museum will end the tourney with a visit from Rob Mies from the Organization for Bat Conservation who will immerse visitors in the world of nocturnal animals. This Saturday's focus is sports science. Check the website for more details.

There are eight consignment sales this week and weekend. Too many to list here but they are from Raleigh and Chapel Hill to Fayetteville. Check my earlier post for details.

N.C. Parent Consultants holds one of its Saturday morning forums from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at its office at 4904 Waters Edge Dr. Suite 151 in Raleigh. This Saturday's topic is homework battles. It's open to parents with kids of all ages. No registration is necessary. Just send them an email at enroll@ncparentconsultants.com to let them know you're coming. It's $10 at the door.

Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site will kick off the Civil War Sesquicentennial celebration with a free celebration event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Military re-enactors will portray enlisting officers, recruits and the army surgeons charged with certifying the health of the new soldiers just outside of the village of Bentonville. Others will portray family, friends and neighbors showing support and bidding teary farewells to the volunteers. The second half of the program will follow the recruits as they report to camp. Visitors are encouraged to participate throughout the day by filling out an enlistment form and taking part in drills. Bentonville Battlefield is located at 5466 Harper House Rd. in Four Oaks. It's about one hour from Raleigh and about 45 minutes from Fayetteville.

As part of Women's History Month, State Capitol staff will take visitors on a special tour Saturday to honor notable North Carolina women past and present who have made their mark on the Capitol. The free tour is open to the public and will begin on the front steps of the Capitol at noon. Registration is not required. The tour will highlight significant firsts, the fight for equal rights and a look at North Carolina women in politics today. The Capitol is bounded by Edenton, Salisbury, Morgan and Wilmington streets in downtown Raleigh.

The Sandbox Band, a great local band for families, will perform at a benefit concert for the Sassafras All Children's Playground from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Laurel Hills Community Center, 3808 Edwards Mill Rd. Tickets are $5 at the door. Kids 2 and under get in free. All proceeds will go toward the playground project, which will replace the existing playground at Laurel Hills with a new one where children of all abilities can play together. See my earlier post for details. For questions about the concert, call (919) 996-4810.

Chabad of Cary will offer a special Mexican-themed Purim celebration at 11 a.m. Sunday with plenty of activities for kids. Check my earlier post for details.

Carrboro Park's Family Fun Sunday will feature Donovan Zimmerman of Paperhand Puppet Intervention. Zimmerman will perform with some of the masks and characters from Paperhand’s 12 year history. It's 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Carrboro's Century Center. Tickets are $3 per person.

And Active Alex Kids' Camps, Sports & Activities Expo is 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Cary Towne Center. The event will showcase Triangle-area camps, sports and activities for kids and include some prize drawings, live demonstrations and a scavenger hunt for kids.