Weekend Plans: Readings, turtles, an Eno River stream-in, more

UPDATE: As many know, Garner's Scotty McCreery made it into the final three on American Idol. And that means there's a big event in Garner on Saturday. As many as 30,000 people are expected. Click here for details.

Bookmarked! 2011, the two-week literary festival for young kids, continues with special readings at Quail Ridge Books, Cameron Village Library and the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences on Saturday. Molly Bang, the award-winning author and illustrator, will be at the events at the museum and Quail Ridge on Saturday. There's a family fun concert on Sunday afternoon at Fletcher Park off Glenwood Avenue near the Glenwood South area. And there's a book fair this weekend at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. Check my earlier post for more information. And an update on the natural sciences museum event: In addition to Bang reading from her award-winning book "Living Planet" at 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., museum educators also will have some live animals for visitors to see. The festival, which continues until May 22, supports the Lucy Daniels Center and its Lucy's Book Club.

Holly Springs' seventh annual TurtleFest is from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Learn all about turtles and other animals with interactive exhibits, crafts and games. Biologists, herpetologists and wildlife rehabilitators will be on hand for questions. And there's an art contest (work must be submitted Friday or Saturday). Check the website for details. It's at Bass Lake Park, 900 Bass Lake Rd., in Holly Springs.

Also in Holly Springs on Saturday, the Kiwanis Club will celebrate the end of the school year with the ninth annual Kids Appreciation Day at Womble Park, 1201 Grigsby Ave.. It's from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. There will be free pizza and snow balls for the kids, along with entertainment, inflatables, face painting and more. The event is a fundraiser for Kiwanis youth projects in Holly Springs.

The 42nd Annual Bimbé Cultural Arts Festival is from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday at the CCB Plaza, 201 N. Corcoran St. in downtown Durham. The annual family event celebrations African and African American history, culture and art.

The Raleigh Little Theatre's production of Sideways Stories from Wayside School continues this weekend. The show, based on the very popular series for elementary school kids, is best for kids ages 5 and up. See my earlier post for details.

The Eno River Association's Stream-In Day is from 1 p.m .to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Eno River State Park's Few’s Ford Access, which is at the end of Cole Mill Road. You'll wade in the river to find critters and listen to a little music. Bring water shoes or boots and a towel. Locopops and ice cream will be for sale. It's free. No registration required.

The Piedmont Wildlife Center's fourth annual Festival for Wildlife is from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at Leigh Farm Park, 370 Leigh Farm Rd., in Durham. The event includes crafts, games, displays, live music and lots of live animals. Exhibitors include the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, the Museum of Life and Science and Carolina Tiger Rescue. The Paperhand Puppet Intervention also will lead a parade at 1:30 p.m. Check the website for a full schedule.

Marbles Kids Museum will celebrate SuperKids Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Kids can come dressed as their favorite superhero and parade through the museum. And family band Mommie will be there from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Marbles will close at 4 p.m. Saturday for the adults-only Marbles Superheroes Ball (featuring Mix 101.5's Lynda Loveland, who writes here on Thursdays, as emcee). Tickets for the ball are $100 per person. SuperKids Saturday is free with admission, which is $5 per person.

UPDATE: Just heard from Duke Gardens on Friday that they decided at the last minute to cancel both events in anticipation of a packed garden for Duke's graduation.Duke Gardens will have a storytime for kids ages 3 to 8 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday. The cost is $3 per child. Registration is required. Call 919-668-1708 to sign up. And its free, drop-in Sunday Science program, with nature-themed experiments for kids and their parents, is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

On Sunday, the Museum of Life and Science in Durham will kick off its Bear Awareness Week with special Meet the Keeper programs at 2 p.m. daily in the bear exhibit through May 21. The museum also will screen the movie "Season of the Bear - Volume 2, Black Bear Cubs" from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. May 18 (that's Wednesday).

The American Tobacco Campus kids series continues Sunday with Explore! Rhythm, Puppets and Reuse. The program, for kids ages 3 to 7, will be led by Cathy Kielar and ventriloquist puppet Harriet the Hare and include drum making. It's from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Registration is required. There's a $5 fee. Read my earlier post for details about this and the series' other programs.

The N.C. Symphony's Young All Stars will present its spring concert at Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh at 2 p.m. Sunday. The concert, conducted by the symphony's music director Grant Llewellyn, features 38 middle and high-school age musicians from across the Triangle and as far away as Fayetteville. They were selected through auditions. The group is now in its second year. Tickets for the Young All Stars’ spring concert are $10, available online and at the door. Edenton Street United Methodist Church is located at 228 W. Edenton St. in downtown Raleigh.

There are at least two free outdoor concerts this weekend.

Cary's Sertoma Series Concert series will present the North Carolina Songwriters Co-op Showcase at 3 p.m. Saturday at Bond Park's Sertoma Amphitheatre. The family-friendly program features traditional music. It's a great place for a picnic.

And Wake Forest's Six Sundays in Spring series will bring live music to Joyner Park at 5 p.m. Sunday. Jeanne Jolly, once the featured vocalist for Grammy award-winning jazz trumpeter Chris Botti, will perform folk, country and rock music.

And, of course, strawberries are at their peak about now. Check our strawberry farm database for more information about where you can pick your own (or just buy them).