Weekend Plans: Dance festival matinee, science day, a run for Clare, popsicles, more

The American Dance Festival's first Saturday matinee for kids is at 1 p.m. at the Durham Performing Arts Center. Best for kids up to age 14 or 15, Saturday's show will feature Evidence, A Dance Company, and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. Tickets are $17 a piece. The performance is followed by a free family day at Nasher Museum of Art in Durham from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. The family day is open to all and will include puppets from Paperhand Puppet Intervention, Wool E. Bull and more. Read my earlier post for more on the festival, these events and the festival's other kid-friendly performances.

The N.C. Museum of Art's outdoor movies series will feature the PG-13-rated "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" Saturday night. The evening begins at 7:30 p.m. with hands-on activities for kids and families and a raffle. Movie goers are encouraged  to dress as their favorite Harry Potter character. The movie begins at 9 p.m. General admission is $4 . Kids 6 and under are admitted free. Popcorn and other concessions will be for sale. Picnics are welcome.

Morehead Planetarium will host one of its Family Science Days from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The day will focus on native pollinators with lots of hands-on activities, programs and exhibits. Kids and families can make a garden-themed craft, take a self-guided scavenger hunt and get tips for protecting native pollinators in their neighborhoods. The event is free.

Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill has its Pajama Party for kids ages 4 to 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday. No registration required. Just show up. Kids are welcome to attend in their pajamas.

Kids Fest returns to the Triangle Town Center in north Raleigh on Friday. The free event features inflatables, face painting, a ventriloquist and more. It's from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday (and continues July 29, Aug. 26, Sept. 30 and Oct. 28).

Bright Horizons at the Enrichment Center, 10 T.W. Alexander Dr., in RTP will host a Renovation Celebration and Open House from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Activities include crafts, yoga, a rock climbing wall, live music, tours of the new classrooms and spaces, gardening activities, food, prizes and more. There also will be a silent art auction of children's art work to benefit the Bright Horizons Foundation, which provides play spaces for homeless kids.

Clare's Run for a Reason will raise money for research and to build awareness of Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood. SUDC is a sister to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and happens to kids older than 12 months. The event is in honor of Clare Whitenack, a 19-month-old north Raleigh girl who died in 2009. The event at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary includes a 5K run and one-mile walk. There will be activities for kids and a silent auction. Read my earlier post for details.

NC FACES, a local group helping families dealing with food allergies, is bringing in musician Kyle Dine, who is the only musician in the world who sings about food allergies and also lives with food allergies. It's 10 a.m. Saturday at Cary Presbyterian Church. Read my earlier post for details if you'd like to go.

Kidzu Children's Museum will have Popsicles on the Plaza from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Wallace Plaza in Chapel Hill. There will be outdoor activities, live music and Popsicles. Kidzu is closed right now as it makes the move across Franklin Street.

Music on the Porch, the popular series at Mordecai Historic Park near downtown Raleigh, will feature Acoustic Manner on Friday. Event opens at 6 p.m. Music starts at 7 p.m. Great place for kids and families. Suggested donation is $5 per adult.

The Dudes will play the Music on Main Summer Series at The Streets at Southpoint in Durham. The music runs from 6 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. in the area outside the movie theater.