Since we’re always looking for a balanced diet for ourselves and our youngens, how about adding some yummy chili to that tasty hotdog?
Chillyfest, an annual chili cook off for food businesses and individuals is happening on Fayetteville Street this weekend. Bring an empty stomach, $8 for 10 tastings and, “chilly out’.
Have you also secretly dreamed about what your kids will be when they graduate college? Lawyer, ballet dancer, nuclear engineer? You probably realized by now that they’ll do what they will, but how becoming a brand advocate for Oscar Mayer and drive cross country in a giant hot dog? This dream comes true for 12 marketing or PR college grads every year, who get selected by Oscar Meyer to do just that. Check out their hotdoggerblog.com and visit two of them this Saturday when they are in the area.
9am-12pm, Walmart near Brier Creek (Hwy 70& I-540, specifically 10050 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh NC)
1pm-4pm, Walmart in Morrisville (Hwy 54& I-540, specifically 1001 Shiloh Glenn Dr., Morrisville)
The NC Museum of Natural Sciences is holding its annual Reptile & Amphibian Day, and the focus is on Snakes!
If you have the guts, go for the snake feeding at 2p and 4p. Otherwise, visit one of the many info booths with turtles, snakes and other lovely critters. There are local snakes like the copperhead, and international visitors like Gila Monsters and Geckos from Madagascar.
Copperhead by P. Wood used under the CC BY_NC_SA license.
While Rome is celebrating Francis I, we and many others celebrate St. Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland. My recommendation would be to partake in the events earlier in the day, and then head home as inebriation and excitement rises as the day goes on.
The main parade starts at noon and travels up Fayetteville Street, past the Capitol and down Blount St. to Moore Square, where the Festival takes place. Beautiful 70 degree weather will make this a beautiful day.
Just next door, Marbles will also host a number of St. Patrick Day’s activities like Clover Creations or a Leprechaun Freeze Dance.
Shreddin’ Irish! (St. Patrick’s Day Parade by twbuckner, licensed under CC BY.)
Briefly mentioned last week, Oaks and Spokes is a festival celebrating cycling in Raleigh. Events, mostly geared towards adults, have taken place all week, but on Sunday the kids will take over for a the “Kidical Mass” ride through historic Oakwood and Mordecai.
The event will kick off on Sunday at 10am at the Oak City Cycling Project, but the ride won’t start until 11:30am. Kids old and skilled enough to ride alone are encouraged to do so, with the watchful parents riding along. Two loops are planned through Mordecai and Oakwook, and you can expect to be done by 1pm.
The weather should also get better, with Sunday clear and in the 60s.
Trash + symphony = …?
The NC Symphony Kids Series culminates this weekend with the widely anticipated (ok, by me anyway) “Rhythm in your Rubbish”, a performance that brings together our NC Symphony with Toronto-based Platypus Theatre, a troupe that specializes in quirky performances for kids together with a classical orchestra.
Rhythm in your Rubbish is suitable for kids 4-12, and there will be two performances on Saturday (at 1p and 4p). Both are pretty well sold, but some seats are still available.
There are multiple options to see a play this weekend, two of which we’ll look at in detail. The newest addition to the Raleigh theater scene is Storybook Theater, playing at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in its inaugural season! Rapunzel will let her hair down this weekend, and Winnie the Pooh and Dora the Explorer will follow later this year. I’m curious about this new venture and what it will bring.
On the other end of the old/new spectrum is Raleigh Little Theater, built in 1935 by the Works Progress Administration, and has seen stars like Ava Gardner and Andy Griffith perform on its stage. They are performing Snow White, but perhaps in a different version from what you know…
If you like quick decisions, you got about 6 hours. At 7pm tonight, the Harlem Globetrotters are performing live at the PNC arena. If that is too soon, here an early notice for another event next week: Join Kidical Mass, a bicycle event for kids, and the culmination of Oaks and Spokes, a weeklong event celebrating the Daddy’s favorite means of transportation: The Bicycle.
So your good friend at the office bragged about that they are going the Marbles sleepover, and how it is oh-so-sad that you didn’t secure tickets in time? (Registration closed Wednesday.) Don’t despair, Daddy Weekly to the rescue: The Museum of Life and Science has a sleepover too this weekend!
And while spending the night at Marbles in your favorite exhibit is a special treat (the money machine would be cool, or build your own big brick house for the night), going to the less familiar museum in Durham may be enticing as well. They do have a neat program, with multiple light-out times, and special activities before bedtime. Tickets are $35 (kids under 3 free), and that includes dinner and breakfast.
Canada Science and Technology Museum by cstmweb, used under the CC BY-NC-ND license. Spending the night sleeping next to a giant steam engine? Another good reason for having kids!
I think I have seen just about every wild mammal that occurs in our region somewhere inside the beltline during one of my frequent outings. Beaver, Rabbit, Deer, Opposum, Raccoon and Fox are all quite abundant, event in the urban core. The only one I have yet to meet in person is the Coyote. They first made the news headlines in 2009, when they were sighted at RDU. (“Sighted” being a euphemism for run over by an airplane.) More recently, I’ve seen reports of coyote sightings in University Park and Cameron Park, so they are now here.
To learn about Foxes and Coyotes in a safe setting, have a look at the Nature program at the Wilkerson Nature Preserve. It takes place on Saturday from 10:30a-12p, and as of this writing, there were still a few spots available. ($3 for ages 3-5, adult required to accompany, but free.)
Coyote by Lindenbaum, used under the CC BY license (All pups are cute, even coyotes.)