16 family-friendly activities for weekend of April 26 to April 28

And it’s strawberry season! Check our strawberry farm database for pick-your-own farms in the area.

UPDATE: MARBLES HAS CANCELED THIS EVENT. Frontier Airlines will be giving out hundreds of free flights at a special event at Marbles Kids Museum from noon to 3 p.m., Saturday, April 27. The airline is partnering with Marbles to promote the direct flights that it has at Raleigh Durham International Airport. Activities include face painting, balloon artists, games, carnival food and, of course, a chance to win those tickets.

Art Scene 2019: Sculpting Identity is 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday, April 26, at the NC Museum of Art. The free event is for teens only and organized by the museum’s Teen Arts Council. Leave your everyday identity behind and sculpt a new you through wearable art, participation in "living paintings," and live performances by Raleigh's own "The Jukebox." Free makeup artists will offer adventurous haute couture looks, according to the description.

Letterland Day is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, April 27, at Pullen Park, 520 Ashe Ave., Raleigh. Letterland is a reading program that all Wake County elementary schools and many preschools use. Kids love seeing their favorite Letterland characters come to live. Some are actual costumed characters. Others will be represented as wooden cut outs.

The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences needs you to help them document nature in the Triangle as part of a City Nature Challenge that pits cities around the world against each other to see who can document the most biodiversity on the iNaturalist app over a four-day period. The challenge runs from Friday, April 26 to Monday, April 29. More information about how to participate and details about related events are in this earlier post.

Raleigh City Farm celebrates its seventh annual Bearthday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, April 27. The event includes a free family-friendly bazaar, sustainable vendors, food for purchase and a silent auction.

Blue Jay Point County Park’s annual Songbird Celebration is 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, April 27. The free event puts a spotlight on the impact of plastic pollution on migratory birds and their habitats and includes bird-related activities throughout the park.

The Museum of Life and Science will throw a Party for the Planet throughout the day on Saturday, April 27. The Earth Day celebration includes appearances by the Paperhand Puppet Intervention (a puppet petting zoo!), special animal keeper talks, presentations by the Durham County Master Gardeners, and a parade through campus.

And Durham’s Earth Day Festival is noon to 5 p.m., Sunday, April 28, at Durham Central Park. The free event includes music, aa family fun zone, a book giveaway, an Earth Day parade and more.

Moogfest, a festival of music, makery, STEM and more, is in Durham this weekend and features some free programming, including an 11 a.m., Saturday, April 27, Digital Making Playground and Modular on the Spot, an outdoor synthesizer picnic from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Saturday, April 27.

The Near & Far Festival, featuring local groups representing cultures from around the world, is 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, April 28, at 140 West Plaza, in downtown Chapel Hill. It’s free.

While you’re in downtown Chapel Hill, also check out Ackland Art Museum’s Family and Friends Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, April 28. Activities designed for all ages will be inspired by the museum’s latest exhibition.

More than 170 artists from across North Carolina will converge on Cary for the annual Spring Daze Arts & Crafts Festival at Bond Park on Saturday, April 27 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Spring Daze features artists, entertainment on four stages, festival food, and Cary's annual Earth Day Celebration. There’s also a Children’s Village; Earth Day Lane, the Town of Cary’s Earth Day Celebration; and Cultural Arts Row, where you can learn about Cary’s non-profit arts organizations.

The Wings Over Wayne Air Show returns to Goldsboro this month, offering up two days of family fun and plenty of opportunities to watch some amazing pilots and aircraft in action. The air show, which is presented every two years at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, runs 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., April 27 and April 28. Gates open both days at 9 a.m. Admission and parking are free (but be prepared for crowds!)

The 2019 season at New Hope Valley Railway opened this month, and the tourist railway will host a bunch of rides this weekend. Perfect for families with young kids who aren't in school or kids who are homeschooled or tracked out, the railway will host a 10:30 a.m., Friday, April 26, ride. And New Hope Valley Railway Brew ‘n’ Choo, which includes a train ride, food truck and local craft brewery, is Sunday, April 28. Trains depart at 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tickets are $7 to $10 for both.