Weekend Plans: Comedy, cars, back-to-school celebrations

As always, check WRAL.com's Out & About calendar and our Summer Fun Guide for more ideas. If you're school shopping this weekend, check out the deals and tips from WRAL's Smart Shopper.

The Paperhand Puppet Intervention continues the run of its 15th summer puppet show on Friday at the Forest Theater at UNC-Chapel Hill. The show, a tradition for many around here, will be performed on select days through Sept. 7 in Chapel Hill. It then moves over to the N.C. Museum of Art from Sept. 12 to Sept. 14. These are great shows, fantastic spectacles.

The fifth annual Carolina Classics at the Capital car show is at the Raleigh Convention Center in downtown Raleigh from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday. The family-friendly show features hundreds of classic and show cars, along with classic motorcycles from Ray Price Harley-Davidson. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids ages 7 to 12 and free for 6 and under.

Friday is a free day at Mordecai Historic Park near downtown Raleigh. From 10 a.m., to 4 p.m., take a free tour of the park, including the Mordecai house, the birthplace of Andrew Johnson, the St. Mark’s Chapel and more. Tours begin every 30 minutes with the first tour starting at 10 a.m. and the last tour at 3 p.m. All tours are on a first come, first served basis. Tickets are usually $5 for adults and $3 for kids. Kids 6 and under are free.

There are consignment sales in Raleigh, Cary and Fayetteville this week.

Speaking of back to school, we have some celebrations to kick off this time of year. The first is Marbles Kids Museum’s Kickoff to Kindergarten, which is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, at the downtown Raleigh museum. The event with special programs and activities is designed for rising kindergartners attending traditional calendar schools and their families. It’s free.

The Healthy Kids Back to School Expo is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, at Cary Towne Center. The event features small businesses and will include free stuff for families getting for the new year. Something to check out if you’re at the mall shopping for school clothes.

And in north Raleigh, Litchford Village shopping center will host a back-to-school event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The event includes a K9 demonstration, fire truck, bounce castle, face painting, charity fashion show, hot dogs, hamburgers and more. It’s free. Bring a new or gently used book to donate to Bonnie’s Book Foundation.

Cirque Italia, a traveling circus with a 35,000 gallon water stage, will feature all kinds of acrobatics with shows Friday through Sunday at Compare Foods Supermarket in Durham.

The Carolina RailHawks offers a deal for families (or four people) for its 7:30 p.m., Saturday, game. For $49, get four tickets, four hot dogs or hamburgers, and four drinks. These fan packs, available at all home games, are presale only. You can't buy them at the box office on the day of the game.

Transactors Improv: For Families is 6 p.m., Saturday, at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro. Tickets are $10 and $6 for students. The show, best for grade schoolers and up, features short form improv driven by suggestions from the audience.

And the Raleigh Village Idiots will offer some family-friendly laughs at 7 p.m., Saturday, at North Raleigh Arts & Creative Theatre. The 45-minute show is designed for all audiences. Tickets are $5.

Finally, Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh will host a Teen Author Summer Slam at 1 p.m., Sunday. A panel of authors of speculative fiction for teens will share their work. The panel includes nine authors.