Weekend Plans: Dinosaurs Rock!, theater for kids, farmers' market fun, more

It’s all things dinosaur at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham for Dinosaurs Rock! From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, visitors can celebrate the museum’s popular Dinosaur Trial, meet collectors from the North Carolina Fossil Club and talk with other experts. It’s also another great opportunity to check out the museum’s new and cool exhibit - Into the Mist. Activities, other than face painting, are free with admission, which is $14 for adults and $10 for kids 3 to 12. To help with parking, the museum will have off-site parking at Brogden Middle School, 1001 Leon St., in Durham. A free Coach American shuttle will leave from Brogden at 9 a.m. and go back and forth to the event throughout the the day. The last shuttle leaves the museum for Brogden at 5:30 p.m.

In north Raleigh, Lafayette Village, the “European style” collection of shops and restaurants, has lined up live entertainment, food and special activities for kids. L’Ecole French School of Raleigh will be there with information about their program. Activities run from 12:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday, at the center off Falls of Neuse Road. Check the website for a full schedule and list of activities. My mouth is watering just looking at all the food.

Coquette Brasserie at North Hills in Raleigh will have a waiter race at 3 p.m., Saturday, featuring waiters, bartenders and managers (former, retired and amateur welcome) running through North Hills carrying trays. (There’s also a $60 per person Bastille Day dinner later Saturday, if you’re looking to splurge).

Raleigh Little Theatre’s Teens on Stage will open “East of the Sun and West of the Moon,” Friday through July 22. Performances are at the Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre on Pogue Street near Raleigh’s Cameron Village. The folk tale is set during a bitter Norwegian winter and tells the story of Tove, a young woman. A White Bear visiting her peasant family promises riches if they allow Tove to live with him. She travels with Bear to his castle where she discovers he’s actually a prince. Showtimes include evening performances and matinees for the public and some weekday morning shows (which are reserved for summer campers and groups, though the public can attend if tickets remain - check the website for details). Tickets are $9 for kids 12 and under; $13 for adults and teens. Teens on Stage is an intensive five-week theater program for teenagers which ends in a full-scale production and the theater’s first show of each season.

Saturday is the second Saturday of the month, which means that public history museums and historic sites across the state will offer mostly free events to the public on Saturday. They include a Jubilee Music Festival at Historic Stagville in Durham; a food and art festival at Duke Homestead in Durham; and a day in the life of a Civil War soldier at Bentonville Battleground in Johnston County. For a full list of all of the events across the Triangle and state, check the Second Saturdays’ website.

Chapel Hill’s Locally Grown rooftop movie and music series will feature “The Muppets,” on Thursday. Activities begin at 8 p.m. and are followed by the movie around 9 p.m. Find it on the Wallace Plaza atop the Wallace Parking deck, 150 E. Rosemary St.

Thursday is Peach Day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the State Farmers Market in Raleigh. Enjoy peach samples, peach recipes and load up on peaches. I just bought a bunch of peaches there on Monday and they are absolutely delicious.

Also, Saturday is Kids Day at the Western Wake Farmers' Market in Cary. There will be vegetable sculptures, cooking classes and gardening for kids. Barefoot Books will be there too. It’s open during the market’s Saturday hours, which are 8 a.m. to noon.

Over in Orange County, Saturday is Tomato Day, which draws thousands to the Carrboro Farmers’ Market each year. Try some fresh tomato slices, Chapel Hill Creamery samples and other yummy tomato treats, including tomato juice, tomato sauce and fried green tomatoes (while supplies last). Carrboro restaurants and businesses also will have some Tomato Day specials. Be sure to pick up a Tomato Day map when you get there with more information about the deals. More than 70 varieties of tomatoes are sold at the market. It runs 8:30 a.m. to noon, Saturday.

And at Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, kids can enjoy a Bubble Blast from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday. Explore giant bubbles, square bubbles and bubbles of all kinds. From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, scientists from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources will talk about rocks. Activities are free with admission, which is $5 per person.

One last thing ... if you're headed to Pullen Park in Raleigh this weekend, click here to learn all about where you can park.