January 19th - 25th 2017 Triangle

by Pam & Michael Davison

It looks like this weekend is going to be perfect, not too cold and not too hot. A great weekend for getting out!

There are still a few ongoing winter events. The Ice Raleigh Skating Rink in Raleigh will be open through January 29th. DJ SPCLGST will be spinning the tunes Friday night.

The Museum of Life and Science is still Frozen Over until January 29th. Join them for a variety of fun activities at their indoor winter landscape.

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Museums & More

The Mill as Muse Art and Photography Contest is coming up. Get your paintbrushes and cameras ready and try to capture the best images of Yates Mill and the surrounding park, then plan to enter this year's contest. Both the youth and adult entries are due by February 1st.

UNCMLK2017 continues through Friday. Thursday, there will be a discussion of "How to Keep Going When Change Isn't Happening" and Friday, "Still We Rise" will celebrate diversity through dance and music. Both events are free and open to the public.

Grab your family for a friendly competition in the Sport of Science during Saturday's Family Science Olympiad at Marbles Kids Museum.

The Winter Farmers Market returns to the Holly Springs Cultural Center Saturday morning. Click through for the list of vendors and information on pre-ordering. Bring the kids Monday morning for the movie Mr. Popper's Penguins.

Along with Meet Your Museum Tours and Weekend Family Friendly Tours at the North Carolina Museum of Art every weekend, this Saturday the Museum is hosting a Family Fun Saturday on Gilded Stories.

Head over to Durham Central Park for their first Food Truck Rodeo of 2017 on Sunday afternoon with the music of WXDU.

Robb Dunn will be presenting a Special Lecture on The Wild Life of Our Bodies, Homes & Foods on Wednesday at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

Join them at Marbles Kids Museum Wednesday night for a Family Fun Night, an after-hours event for children with special needs that offers the opportunity to experience Marbles in a calmer, quieter environment.

The Fun Starts Early

Take a night off from cooking dinner and bring the whole family to enjoy Pizza & a Movie at the Halle Cultural Arts Center. Featured movie will be The BFG.

Thursday night's Science Cafe at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will feature a Cats Rule...Dogs Drool!. Join them to learn about what makes cats unique.

Celebrate National Popcorn Day Thursday afternoon at Yates Mill! Learn about different varieties of corn, what gives popcorn that unique POP, make a popcorn-themed craft and enjoy some fresh popped popcorn.

Come back to the Halle Friday night for a Family Dance. Traditional Dance Caller, Connie Carringer will teach fun dances for the whole family with help from a live old-time string band.

Art in the Evening will kick off the weekend at the North Carolina Museum of Art Friday night with extended hours, special drinks & small plates and live music by Oak City Hot Mess playing Gypsy swing. The Friday Night Sound Bite will explore Surface & Embellishment. End the evening with a screening of the film, Journey to Italy.

It will be Family Movie Night Friday at Hill St. Community Center. Come enjoy free drinks and popcorn as you watch the family favorite Pete's Dragon.

Celebrate Winter at our local Parks

Celebrate Squirrel Appreciation Day Friday morning or afternoon at Lake Crabtree County Park. Learn about squirrels and the citizen science efforts associated with them as you learn to be a Squirrel Spotter.

Raven Rock State Park hosts Nature's Seedlings, a monthly nature discovery program for ages 3 to 7. This Friday's program is The Grand Groundhog. Bring your kids to learn all about groundhogs and find out how they got their own special day in February

Saturday is a Winter Play Day at Durant Nature Park. Join them for a day of winter fun for the whole family.

They'll be Walkin' Through the Winter Pines Saturday at Harris Lake County Park. Take a wagon ride to their Longleaf Pine Forest and then hike to explore the beauty of the winter woods to observe birds and other signs of wildlife in the park.

You can become a Citizen Scientist at Prairie Ridge Ecostation for Wildlife Learning every Saturday morning or join them with your little ones every Thursday for Nature Stories.

Help collect data for Crowder Park's Natural Resource Inventory Database and other citizen science projects Saturday as you take a Walk in the Woods. Bring the family to take a Winter Tree Walk or explore their Discovery Table Sunday at Crowder.

It still may be cold outside, but trout waters will be open soon, so Gear Up for Trout Season with a fly fishing crash course Saturday at Falls Lake. Join a Ranger Sunday to see some of the Winter Birds of the Piedmont.

The Durham County Memorial Stadium will host an E-Waste, Christmas Tree Recycling & Paper Shredding Event Saturday morning.

Shinrin-yoku is Japanese for a visit to the forest for relaxation - a chance to stroll through nature and take in the atmosphere for one's well-being; literally Forest Bathing. Join them Wednesday afternoon to try it yourself at Eno River State Park.

More at the Fairgrounds

This weekend the DogGoneFast Flyball Tournament comes to the the Holshouser Building. Flyball is a fast-paced family-oriented dog sport that has become a hit on Animal Planet and ESPN's Great Outdoor Games.

The Vietnamese American Association of Raleigh presents its annual Vietnamese New Year Celebration featuring cultural foods, vendors martial arts demonstrations and traditional musical performances Sunday.