It looks like the weather this weekend is going to be fabulous so make sure to get out and enjoy one on the many festivals.

 

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Raleigh is the place to be this weekend for Artsplosure. This year the festival will be split. The Art Market moves to Fayetteville Street along with the Main Stage and North Carolina Stage. Kidsplosure will remain in Moore Square. The festival boasts non-stop activities, entertainment and more than 180 juried visual artists and crafters from across the country. Along with two stages with ongoing live entertainment, your kids won't want to miss the variety of entertainers on the The Kidsplosure Stage, which boasts a weekend full of family and kid centered entertainers. ParkGeek.com is thrilled to be a Media Sponsor again this year.

 

Celebrate North Carolina during the annual Got to be NC Festival. Come enjoy a mix of food, music, carnival rides and games, antique farm equipment and grandstand entertainment. And best of all, admission is free for all ages! There are a few events that do have an admission fee like the Masonic Carolina Pig Jig BBQ Cook-off and the carnival rides but others like the John Deere Gator Wars, Canine & Equine Shows, Antique Tractor Pulls, Raleigh Trans Jam BMX Contest and the fireworks are free!

 

This weekend at the Fairgrounds there will also be a Boat Show, RV Show, Island Spring Festival, a Horse Show and a Labrador Dog Show.

 

The East Meets West Food Festival is a celebration of Wake County's most diverse community. Join them in Downtown Morrisville for a day filled with food, music, performances, and visual arts from many cultures that call the Heart of the Triangle home.

 

Rock Quarry Park will be hosting the BIMBE' Cultural Arts Festival Saturday. The annual family event is a celebration of African and African American history, culture, art and traditions.

Deep South Entertainment, turns 20 this year and they are throwing a huge street festival on Saturday to celebrate. The Deep South 20th Anniversary Street Festival boasts 20 acts on 2 stages.

 

Help them celebrate National Kids to Parks Day at Falls Lake State Recreation Area Saturday with a Youth Fishing Tournament. There is no fee to enter, lots of great giveaways & prizes and educational booths. Call to register.

 

Wheels on Academy brings antique cars, entertainment, food, and fun for the entire family to Downtown Cary Saturday.

 

You are invited to the Holly Springs Cultural Center Saturday afternoon for an Open House. Come watch live performances by current students, meet some of the instructors and enter a raffle to win free classes.

 

Opening May 16th and running through August 16th, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is excited to unveil their next special exhibit Dig It. The free exhibit explores the world beneath your feet through videos, hands-on models, interactive displays and real soil samples.

 

The North Carolina Art Museum invites you to a Family Renaissance Fair on Sunday. Step back in time for an afternoon of merriment, music, games, traditional craft demonstrations, and art-making activities.

Head over to the Halle Cultural Arts Center Thursday night for Pizza and a Movie Night. Take the night off from cooking dinner as the whole family enjoys the movie "Paddington". Come back Friday night for a Family Dance complete with Traditional Dance Caller and an old-time string band.

 

Thursday is Endangered Species Day at the Natural Science Center of Greensboro. The event recognizes and encourages national conservation efforts to save our endangered species and their habitats.

 

This Thursday's Science Cafe at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences delves into the Science of Weather along with extended hours, special programming and discounts in the Museum stores.

 

Thursday at lunchtime, they will be celebrating Strawberry Day at the State Farmers Market in Raleigh. Come on out to enjoy samples, recipes, a dessert contest and plenty of scrumptious local strawberries.

 

Fridays on the Front Porch of the Carolina Inn will feature the sounds of BFG and food trucks Stoke and Stroke BBQ and Stufit.

 

The Live and Local Music & Arts Series in Downtown Chapel Hill will feature the authentic, soulful, and optimistic sounds of the band Jared Place & Company Friday night.

Cary Town Band will be playing a tribute to the British Empire at the Sertoma Amphitheater Friday evening.

 

Art in the Evening Friday features music by the David Dyer Trio and a sound bite about Foundations and Transformations at the North Carolina Museum of Art. The Friday's festivities also include a Contemporaries Third Friday Tour. Young professionals are invited on a walking tour of the Museum Park and then stay to mingle at the wine bar.

 

Its Third Friday in Downtown Durham! Come enjoy a Gallery Crawl with live music and more.

 

Friday night's Movie by Moonlight at Regency Park will feature "Big Hero 6" so pack up the whole family, a picnic and a blanket.

 

Thursday afternoon you are invited to blend technology with the great outdoors and take Geocaching 101 along the American Tobacco Trail.

 

Join the Occoneechee Ranger for a hike to see the Mountain Laurels and other "heath plants" in bloom Friday morning.

 

Also Friday morning, you can learn how to successfully grow herbs in a container at a Herb Gardening Workshop at Harris Lake County Park. Come back Saturday to take a Wagon Ride and Longleaf Bird Walk through the 60-acre longleaf forest. Sunday, come learn all about those Crawling Caterpillars.

 

Join a bird enthusiast at Umstead State Park early Saturday morning to see who the park's Resident Spring Birds are this time of year. All ages are welcome and no previous birding experience is required.

 

Lace up your hiking boots and get ready to explore the Mountain to Sea Trail this weekend at Eno River State Park. They will be hiking the 3 mile Laurel Bluffs Segment 1 Saturday morning. After lunch, you can take on the 5 mile Laurel Bluffs Segment 2. Sunday afternoon they will finish it off with the 4.4 mile Laurel Bluffs Segment 3. The miles listed are for the round trip distance.

 

The North Carolina Zoo will be teaching visitors how we can all Save Our Snakes Saturday and why native snakes have such an important role in nature.

 

C.A.S.T. (Catch A Sure Thing!) returns to Jordan Lake State Recreation Area to introduce kids ages 6-12 to the basics of fishing Saturday morning.

 

Come explore what lives beneath the pond water as you take an Aquatic Adventure Sunday at Jordan Lake State Recreation Area.

 

Bring your kids to the Parks during the week for even more fun! Historical Yates Mill County Park invites kids 7-12 for Homeschool Days: The Great Bug Hunt on Monday and kids 3-5 can Feel Froggy for some Nature Stories both Wednesday and next Saturday at Blue Jay Point County Park. At Prairie Ridge Ecostation, kids are invited to join them every Thursday for natural history topics-story, activities and exploration.

Historic Yates Mill County Park will explore the role the Mill played in the Revolutionary War and the Civil Wat at Saturday's Historic Trades: Soldiers and Militiamen. This is also the one weekend a month you can watch a Corn Milling Demonstration.

 

This is the last weekend to see the traveling exhibition, Lost North Carolina at Historic Oak View Park. The exhibit is a remembrance of architecture forever lost through demolition, natural disaster, social and economic change, or simple neglect.

 

Bear Awareness Week continues at the Museum of Life and Science through Saturday. Stop by each afternoon for a special Meet the Keeper Program.

 

When the Civil War came to an end 150 years ago, Union and Confederate soldiers alike found themselves stationed hundreds of miles from their home. For many, the only option was to walk the return journey. From May 11th to 23rd Historian and Re-enactor, Philip Brown will be walking the 166 miles from New Bern to Durham to commemorate the walk Washington Duke made. He will arrive at Duke Homestead May 23rd for Bullfest but click through to see the dates and times he will be at other locations for special commemorations.

 

The Movies @ Your Library this Saturday at the Holly Springs Cultural Center will feature the family flick, Madagascar. Bring you little ones back Monday morning for the movie, Antz.

The Moore Brothers Band will be playing a free bluegrass concert Saturday evening at Bond Park.

 

Wild Ponies is the featured band for Saturday's Outdoor Concert at Apex Nature Park.

 

Round out your weekend with another installment of the Six Sundays in Spring Concert at E. Carroll Joyner Park. This week features the Beetles Tribute Band, Liverpool.

 

This Wednesday's Hob Nob Jazz Series Concert at Koka Booth Amphitheatre will feature the Stanley Baird Group with vocalist Connie Rogers.