Weekend Plans: Justin Roberts, Recess Monkey, modern dance for kids, Kids Exchange, more

Justin Roberts, the Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter and his Not Ready for Nap Time Players perform at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, at the art museum in Raleigh. I’m excited that Go Ask Mom is the activities sponsor for the concert, part of the museum’s outdoor summer concert series. Get there early so the kids can decorate the sidewalk with chalk (in honor of Roberts’ song “I Chalk” … yes, I am THAT kind of fan). Doors open at 5 p.m. and the chalking happens from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. I'm told people do get there early. Click here for details and tickets. And read my earlier interview for more about Roberts.

Recess Monkey, the Seattle-based band made up of three elementary school teachers, will perform at 11 a.m., Saturday, at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro. This trio creates some incredibly catchy and high-energy songs. Click here for the details and tickets. And read my earlier Q&A with the group for more about Recess Monkey.

The Carolina Hurricanes Summer Fun Fest begins at 5:30 p.m., Friday, at the PNC Arena. Admission and parking are free. So are all of the activities, which include all kinds of inflatables and games and lots of photo opportunities. Read my earlier post for details.

The American Dance Festival continues with a children’s matinee at 1 p.m., Saturday, featuring the Paul Taylor Dance Company at the Durham Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $15 (plus fees) for the hour-long performance. It’s followed by a free party for kids on DPAC’s outdoor plaza.

It’s mid-July. That means it’s time for the massive Kids Exchange consignment sale at the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. And that means it’s the start of the fall/winter consignment sale season. Hours for the Kids Exchange are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday (when some items are half off). You will find pretty much every kind of piece of clothing, toy and other gear you might ever need for your child here. And there are many more consignment sales coming up. They run through early December. Check our consignment sale list for details.

In Durham, Northgate Mall’s Ho-b Max, which sells battery-operated, electronic hobby crafts such as airplanes, cars, helicopters and more, will host a free, family-friendly 1/10 Scale Car Drift Racing Event with model drift cars from noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, at the mall’s center court. Mall visitors age 10 and up can sign up for five-minute rides with remote control drift cars from noon to 3:30 p.m. From 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., Ho-b Max customers can bring their own drift car to race against Ho-b Max employees. I’ll admit that I do not know what car drifting is, but organizers tell me this technique, developed in Japan, balances steering, accelerating, braking and shifting to remain in a state of oversteer or “drifting” where the driver intentionally causes loss of traction in the rear wheels while maintaining control from entry to exit of a corner.

Raleigh Little Theatre’s Teens on Stage wraps up “East of the Sun and West of the Moon,” with performances through Sunday at the Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre on Pogue Street near Raleigh’s Cameron Village. The folk tale is set in 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. 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.

For parents of older kids, PlayMakers Repertory Company's 2012 Summer Youth Conservatory presents Urinetown: The Musical at Paul Green Theatre in Chapel Hill. The Tony Award-winning show is a popular one (though it does include some mature themes such as greed, corruption, murder, extortion and … pee). Shows run Thursday to Sunday.

The N.C. Theatre presents the Broadway show Oliver at the Progress Energy Center for Performing Arts. Shows began Tuesday and run through Sunday. Tickets start at $16.

And on Sunday, the Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill will host one of its free Family Days, best for kids ages 4 to 13. From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Ackland’s galleries will feature stories, crafts and more.