Weekend Plans: Raleigh festival, consignment sales, Sandbox Band concert, more

Kids Fest at Triangle Town Center in north Raleigh continues on Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The free event includes inflatables, face painting, The Fettucini Brothers and more.

Lazy O Farm in Johnston County will hold its final summer scavenger hunt from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Friday. Lots of opportunities to see farm animals. There's also a hayride and a play and picnic area. See my earlier post for details.

A new festival called ComeUnityNow is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday on City Plaza and Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh. The event is planned to replace the canceled Raleigh Wide Open and aims to raise money for victims of the April tornadoes. The festival is free, but special $10 VIP passes are on sale and will get you close and center to the stage. The event features a lot of live music, dance and art. Of particular interest to families: At noon, the NCSU Bagpipe Marching Band will lead a parade of first responders and disaster relief workers down Fayetteville Street. For all the details, check the website.

Garments of Praise, a free clothing exchange program for children's and women's clothes, is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Faith Harvest, a church in Wake Forest. You can turn in your gently used clothing from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day this week at the Faith Harvest office or bring them on Saturday. It's best to have them on hangers, though it's not required. You'll receive a ticket for each item you donate with a maximum of 15. Use the tickets to shop at the event on Saturday. For more information check the church's website or the Garments of Praise Facebook page.

Speaking of clothes, we have two consignment sales this weekend. Passed On is in Clinton and Hannah's Closet is in Willow Spring. Check my earlier post for details.

The Super Cool Liquid Nitrogen show is back at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham this week, running from Tuesday to Saturday. Make ice cream in less than 30 seconds and find out what happens to different objects when they get super cool. (And yes, you do get to taste some ice cream after the show). It's free with admission to the museum. Shows are at 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.

The Sandbox Band will be playing its big annual concert at Raleigh's Sunday in the Park concert series. The free concert starts at 6 p.m. Sunday at Fletcher Park, 820 Clay St., in Raleigh. Get ready to hear some classic children's songs and original Sandbox songs too. Bring a picnic, blanket and chairs. There's lots of room here for the kids to dance near the band or just run around. We go almost every year. I wrote a post about the band last year and shot some video of them playing a couple of their original songs. Watch them play in the video below.

And, finally, the middle of the summer is always a slower time of year for big events and festivals, but both the Durham Bulls and Carolina Mudcats are in town. Our parks database features reviews of local parks and playgrounds. Our list of free and cheap family-friendly movie series includes screenings in the evenings and on the weekends. And our list of Triangle family destinations offers looks at other family-friendly spots in the region.