Live surf music by The Twin Fins and the movie Beach Girls will highlight the events at the The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences First Friday.

Wake County Public Libraries will be celebrating the Launch of the Fantastic Sky Race. The recent addition of banners to the Wake County Parking deck on the corner of Davie and McDowell Street is a part of the First Friday Gallery Walk in downtown Raleigh. Check out the 15 colorful banners while you enjoy music and light appetizers.

Both Marbles Kids Museum and the Raleigh City Museum invite you to celebrate First Friday with them as they extend their hours and join in on the festivities.

Come celebrate the opening of the exhibit Cherokee Carvers: Tradition Renewed at the The North Carolina Museum of History with light refreshments and a carving demonstration.

Mickey Mills will be playing captivating Caribbean sounds on his 55-gallon steel drum and the Tropic Orchestra will be ending the night with a high-tempo Latin bang for the last Starlight Concert at the Page-Walker Arts & History Center.

Alabama Slim and Boo Hanks will be heating things up in Durham for a Warehouse Blues Concert at Durham Central Park.

Far from the city lights, Family Fun Night with Trish Miller at Bass Lake Park will feature a whole evening of family fun. Start off with arts & crafts, live animals and some fishing. Finish the evening with an interactive concert with Trish Miller.

 

Nick Driver will be the playing acoustic rock at the Sunday in the Park Concert Series at Fred Fletcher Park.

Mandolin Orange will perform a free bluegrass concert in the shade of the pecan grove at Carroll Joyner Park Sunday evening.

If you miss it Friday night at the Art Museum, Rango will be the featured flick at the Holly Springs Cultural Center's Family Movie Saturday morning.

You are invited to the Sertoma Arts Center for the Opening Reception of works by Dan Vaughan, Rose Kennedy, and Julie Thomsen on Sunday afternoon.

 

For the seventh year in a row, the Ritmo Latino Music, Art & Dance Festival will bring authentic Latino culture to Cary's Fred G. Bond Metro Park.

Grab your family and go to Marbles Kids Museum for a friendly competition in the Sport of Science. Saturday afternoon, the Family Science Olympiad will challenge you with a series of interactive and hands-on activities.

Looking for a fun day trip? Head down to the Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington for Need for Speed at the Battleship. The free event will showcase all aspects of acceleration from boats, cars, motorcycles and more.

Or you can take a drive out west. Chill out and learn how Zoo animals beat the summer heat during ZOO Cool at the North Carolina Zoo.

 

Hike along the Eno to Buckquarter Creek and look for Beaver signs, lodge and live animals. Come back Sunday for a talk about Spiders and a short hike to try to find them.

Bring a picnic dinner and the whole family to enjoy a mid-summer's night casting out over the Fishing pond at Harris Lake Park. Bait and poles are even provided for you!

Come out to Lake Crabtree and learn about Rascally Reptiles. Participants will get a chance to see a live reptile up close.

Historic Yates Mill Pond County Park is offering Heritage Tours of the fully restored mill again this weekend.