It's NHL All-Star Weekend, which means it's all about hockey. Fan Fair runs Friday through Sunday afternoon in downtown Raleigh, and there's the skills competition and the big All-Star Game on Sunday at the RBC Center. But if you need a hockey break, we have that covered. Here are some other things to do while you're in Raleigh or if you'd like to explore other parts of the Triangle.
Raleigh
"American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell": 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday, 9-9 Friday, 10-9 p.m. Saturday and 10-5 Sunday, N.C. Museum of Art, 2110 Blue Ridge Road; Rockwell tickets $7.50-$15, permanent collection free; 919-715-5923; www.ncartmuseum.org.
Most of us associate Rockwell with the old Saturday Evening Post covers, but the artist had another side. See both sides in this exhibition, which ends Sunday.
African American Cultural Celebration: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, N.C. Museum of History, 5 E. Edenton St., Raleigh; free; 919-807-7900; www.ncmuseumofhis tory. org .
Celebrate history, music, drama, literature and more with more than 75 presenters, including blues guitarist Cool John Ferguson and Grammy nominee Cynthia Jones.
"Behind the Veneer: Thomas Day, Master Cabinetmaker": 9 a.m.-5 p.m. today-Saturday, noon-5 Sunday, N.C. Museum of History, 5 E. Edenton St., Raleigh; free; 919-807-7900; ncmuseumof history. org .
The museum has the nation's largest collection of furniture made by Thomas Day, a free man of color who owned and operated one of North Carolina's largest cabinet shops before the Civil War .
Marine Mammal Day: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 W. Jones St., Raleigh; free; 919-733-7450; www. naturalsciences.org .
Learn about the mammals along North Carolina's coast - whales, dolphins and seals.
Abraham Inc.: 8 p.m. Saturday, Stewart Theatre, N.C. State campus; 1202 Cates Ave., Raleigh; $26-$30; 919-515-1100; www.ncsu. edu/centerstage .
David Krakauer, champion of klezmer music and a clarinet maniac; legendary funk trombonist Fred Wesley; and hip-hop renegade and beat architect Socalled. Add in a three-piece horn section for an all-out klezmer-funk dance party.
S lavic Drama, violinist Baiba Skride with the N.C. Symphony: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Meymandi Concert Hall at Progress Energy Center; 2 E. South St., Raleigh; $40-$69; 919-733-2750; www. ncsym phony. org .
Skride and the Symphony perform Prokofiev, Dvorak and Karel Husa, a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer who lives here.
Downtown Raleigh Gourmet Food Tour: 1:30 and 2 p.m. Saturday, Raleigh City Museum, meet at 220 Fayetteville St.; $41; must register in advance; 919-237-2254; www.tastecarolina.net.
Chat with chefs and owners and sample ethnic and Southern cuisine, house-made chocolate, local beer and organic wine.
"Blue": 7:30 tonight-Saturday, Burning Coal at the Murphey School, 224 Polk St., Raleigh; $10-$20; 919-834-4001; www.burning coal.org .
Raleigh playwright Kelly Doyle explores relationships between men and women.
Durham
"Disney's The Lion King": through Sunday, Durham Performing Arts Center, 123 Vivian St., Durham; $40-$85; 919-680-2787; www. dpacnc.com .
This re-imagining of the Disney animated film is in its 14th year on Broadway and features music by Elton John.
Comedian Kathleen Madigan: Saturday, Carolina Theatre, 8 p.m. Saturday, 309 W. Morgan St., Durham; $20-$44; 919-560-3030; www.carolina theatre.org .
Jay Leno called her "one of the funniest female comics."
"The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl": 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon-5 Sunday, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, 2001 Campus Drive, Durham; $3-$5 (free 5-9 p.m. today); 919-684-5135; www.nash er.duke.edu/ .
The exhibit features work by 41 artists who use vinyl records as subject or medium. Sound work, sculpture, installation, drawing, painting, photography and video are among the works.
Bang On A Can All-Stars: with special guest Glenn Kotche of Wilco, 8 p.m. Friday, Reynolds Industries Theater at Duke University, 125 Science Drive, Bryan University Center, Durham; $32-$38; 919-684-4444; www.dukeperformances. duke.edu .
Music by Steve Reich, Glenn Kotche and Michael Gordon.
Chapel Hill
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Memorial Hall at UNC campus; 208 E. Cameron Ave., Chapel Hill; $55-$110; 919-843-3333; www.carolina perform ing arts.org .
Tickets are limited for this performance with the Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz composer.
Slavic Drama: violinist Baiba Skride with N.C. Symphony, 8 p.m. today, Memorial Hall, UNC campus; 208 E. Cameron Ave., Chapel Hill; 8 p.m.; $40-$53; 919-733-2750; www.ncsymphony.org.
Skride and the symphony perform Prokofiev, Dvorak and Karel Husa, a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer who lives here.
