Weekend Plans: Strawberries, festivals, First Friday, Gustafer Yellowgold

We have a big weekend of activities, so let’s get to it. As always, check WRAL.com’s Out & About calendar for more activities.

Strawberries! Strawberry farms, for the most part, are open this weekend. Our strawberry database has information on dozens around here. And some farms offer more than just berry picking. My earlier post has information about six farms with everything from playgrounds to ice cream and farm animals.

Friday is the first Friday of the month, which makes it First Friday in downtown Raleigh. A few highlights:

Trinity Gallery, 549 N. Blount St., will host a reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday. This month’s exhibition is called “Family First” and features artwork by Marriott Procter Little and multiple generations of her family.

Nuvonivo, the children’s clothing boutique at 111 E. Hargett St., will host a free SproutSongs Music Class Demo for kids and babies from 5:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., Friday.

The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences will host a Teen Night on Friday. The downtown Raleigh museum also will feature a screening at 7 p.m. of the 1951 sci-fi film “Unknown World.” The museum is open until 9 p.m. on First Friday.

The N.C. Museum of History will hold its Longleaf Film Festival from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., Friday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday. It's free. The festival will show film submissions from around the world, along with shorts made by middle and high school students. The films are not rated, though most would be in the PG-13 or R range. The festival program will have more information about age recommendations. This might be especially fun for teen movie buffs and their adults and friends.

Koka Booth Amphitheatre opens its summer movie series Friday with the 1968 movie, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Future movies include ones that are more family friendly such as “Big Hero 6” later in May.

The always fun Sandbox Band for kids and families will be playing The Plaza at 140 W. Franklin St. in Chapel Hill, to launch the season’s Live & Local series, which runs 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays, starting this week through June 19.

The N.C. Fallen Firefighters Foundation will honor fallen firefighters with a special parade and memorial Saturday in downtown Raleigh. A parade of firefighters and pipe and drum bands will start at 10 a.m. at St. Mary's and Hillsborough streets and continue down Hillsborough Street to Dawson Street where it will end at Fire Station No. 1 across from Nash Square. A memorial service will take place at 1 p.m. in Nash Square, the home of the Fallen Firefighter's Memorial.

Gustafer Yellowgold will perform at 11 a.m., Saturday, as part of The ArtsCenter’s SuperFun series in Carrboro. Singer-songwriter Morgan Taylor will sing about the character he created. This is really fun, mellow music that my family has really enjoyed. Tickets are $7 for kids ;$9 for adults; and $28 for a family four pack. Kids under 2 are free.

The 35th annual Meet in the Street in downtown Wake Forest is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday. A children’s village will include inflatables and other activities for kids and families. It’s free.

The 35th annual Apex PeakFest is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, in Apex. A kids zone and kids corner stage offer special activities and performances for families.

The 31st annual Smithfield Ham & Yam Festival is Saturday and features music, food, vendors, pig races, a kids area and more.

Harris Lake County Park’s sixth annual Longleaf Festival is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The event includes a free wagon ride, activities, games, crafts, life animals, a bulldozer, fire engine and other activities.

Out! Raleigh 2015, the Triangle's family-friendly festival recognizing the area's LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) community and its allies, will return for a fifth year. Last year's festival brought over 25,000 attendees. It’s 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, in downtown Raleigh. A kids zone along Hargett Street will offer hula hooping, fun experiments, face painting, balloon animals and more.

The annual Strawberry Festival at Old North Durham Park is noon to 4 p.m., Saturday. The event includes food trucks, music, performances and strawberry treats.

Carrboro Day is 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, on the Carrboro Town Hall grounds. The event includes field games, family activities, stories and more.

The Bryce Martin Foundation will hold the Kids Helping Kids Walk and Festival starting at 11 a.m., Sunday, at Lake Lynn Park in north Raleigh. The event includes activities for kids and a silent auction, along with the walk. It raises money for a local group that helps families with children who have visual impairments.

Prairie Ridge Ecostation will host its fairies and gnomes day from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday. There's a nature scavenger hunt, nature stories, mud kitchen chemistry, and “plant-a-pot” with Columbine seeds to take home. Help to build a Fairy-Gnome village with natural materials. A parade with all of the participants is at the end.

Forest Moon Theater in Wake Forest will present “Rainbow Fish” at 11 a.m., Saturday, at the Renaissance Centre for the Arts. The shows often pull kids in to participate. Tickets are $5 per person (plus tax).

Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day. Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh will be celebrating all day with refreshments, giveaways, surprises and more. They include art projects at 10:30 a.m. for kids ages 3 to 5 and 3:30 p.m. for kids ages 6 to 10. The Regulator in Durham also will be marking the day. Activities include face painting and stories in the morning.

The Big Muddy Challenge is Saturday at Hill Ridge Farms in Youngsville. The event offers a chance for parents and kids to complete a short course and multiple obstacles together. Be ready to get muddy!

WRAL and Go Ask Mom will be at Crabtree Valley Mall on Saturday for a special event to raise money for Komen NC Triangle to the Coast.

Northgate Mall and the Durham County Library will host a free event for kids Saturday at the Durham mall’s Discovery Nook. From 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., Morehead Planetarium will visit to lead kids in a genetics and traits activity called Make a Monster.

Downtown Raleigh will host the first of several big food truck rodeos of the year from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday. The event will feature more than 50 trucks across streets in downtown Raleigh.