Weekend Plans: First Friday, Big Muddy Challenge, puppets, more

Here’s your weekend family fun for Friday, Sept. 6, to Sunday, Sept. 8. As always, check WRAL.com’s Out & About calendar for more. Happy weekend!

Friday is the first Friday of the month, making it the day to mark First Friday in downtown Raleigh. Be sure to peruse our First Friday Family Fun guide to see what’s out there for families this week. Also note that downtown Raleigh will be busy with concertgoers for the very popular Hopscotch music festival.

At Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, Brian Floca, the Sibert Honor recipient for “Moonshot” and “Lightship,” will visit with his new book “Locomotive.” It’s 4:30 p.m., Friday. Ages 5 and up.

This is the final weekend to see the Dinosaurs in Motion exhibit at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. The exhibit, which ends Sept. 12, features 14 life-size dinosaurs that visitors can actually move themselves. This is a great exhibit that my kids have seen several times.

Knightdale hosts an outdoor movie night starting at 6 p.m., Friday, at the Knightdale Recreation Center. The free event includes a screening of Wreck It Ralph, along with lots of other fun for kids. 

Saturday is the big day for the Big Muddy Challenge at Hill Ridge Farms in Youngsville. More than 930 people are signed up to participate in the parent-child obstacle run. The two-mile course features a variety of obstacles (including, as you might guess, muddy ones). Go Ask Mom’s own Stacy Lamb will be out there with her daughter and will share her experience next week. We’ll also have a photographer out there shooting all the fun! If you haven’t signed up, but wish you did, Adam Spisak, the event’s founder and CEO, tells me that they will be accepting day of registrations. So, it’s never too late. The event is for kids ages 6 to 12 and their adult. Read my earlier post for more about the event.

Marbles Kids Museum is marking Grandparents Day with a special breakfast on Saturday (pre-registration required); showcasing senior women's basketball players; and offering an IMAX movie deal for grandparents. Read my earlier post for details. 

Historic Stagville in Durham will host a Harvest Festival featuring renowned culinary historian Michael Twitty. Tours, costumed interpreters, a cooking demonstration, a lecture on the lives of the enslaved population and mule and wagon rides will be featured. Admission is free. It’s 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday.

Paperhand Puppet Intervention wraps up its big show “Invisible Earth” at the Forest Theater in Chapel Hill this week. Shows are Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Next weekend, it moves over to the N.C. Museum of Art with shows Sept. 13, Sept. 14 and Sept. 15.

Dreamsports Center in Apex will host its annual Kidsfest customer appreciation event from noon to 3 p.m., Sunday. The afternoon includes plenty of free fun with child development classes, skating, inflatables, face painting, a bunjee trampoline, DJ, photo booth and more.

At 7 p.m., Saturday, downtown Cary will host a free concert, part of its Downtown Performers Series. Barleycorn & Rye, playing Americana and Celtic music, will perform starting at 7 p.m. You’re welcome to bring a picnic and lawn chair. Rita’s Water Ice will be on site selling treats.

Bull City Craft in Durham will host a Craft Supply Exchange from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, at the store. Bring in your half pack of scrapbook paper or almost full bottle of paint and trade them in for some free supplies for your next projects. Activities will be available for kids while you check out the supplies. Love this idea!

And La Fiesta del Pueblo is noon to 8 p.m., Sunday, in Moore Square next to Marbles Kids Museum. The event, celebrating Latino family, culture and community, features food, music, dancing, activities for kids and more. It’s free. Marbles will offer some special Fiesta del Pueblo crafts from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, including tissue paper flowers and worry dolls. They are free with admission to the Raleigh museum, which is $5. per person.