Family Picks: Piedmont Farm Tour spans four counties

The pollen is clearing up, the azaleas are blooming and my grass is knee-high thanks to all this rain – my neighbors must love me. This weekend, though, I think I’ll let it grow just a little higher, because the weather has been simply too nice not to take my kids somewhere. I can take them to tour local organic farms, perhaps, or to get a free tomato seedling. Or maybe I can take them to a spring festival or to an outdoor pops concert. The grass can wait.

▪ The Piedmont Farm Tour turns 20! On Saturday and Sunday, this event – which encapsulates 40 sustainable farms in four counties – celebrates Earth Day in its own practical way. Kids can get to see the workings of local farms and the source of local food, but there’s also the undeniable cuddly appeal of baby farm animals. Adults get to see parts of central North Carolina they might not have otherwise – we do, after all, have quite the scenic state. Advance tickets cost $30 per car for all farms, all weekend, while day-of tickets are $35 per car. Individual farm visits are $10 apiece. Visit carolinafarmstewards.org/pft to buy learn more or to buy tickets.

▪ There’s a tomato seedling giveaway Saturday at Carrboro Farmers’ Market. Local farmers have set aside young plants for kids to choose from – and, as they’ve done before, they’ll send hundreds of families home with a seedling. The giveaway starts at 8:30 a.m., with the market closing at noon. Visit carrborofarmersmarket.com.

▪ On Saturday, Cary’s Bond Park is transformed by the annual Spring Daze Festival, which features art, food, an Earth Day celebration and a children’s village. This free fest goes all day – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Leave the pets at home for this trip to Bond Park, though, and check facebook.com/caryartdaze or townofcary.org for more information. The rain date is Sunday afternoon.

▪ Durham Symphony Orchestra’s first free Pops in the Park concert is 3 p.m. Sunday at Cameron Park in Hillsborough, with another Saturday, May 2, at Durham’s Trinity Park. The selections will range from Louis Armstrong to themes from “Star Wars” and “The Sound of Music,” and an “instrument petting zoo” will be set up for the half hour leading up to each concert. Visit durhamsymphony.org.

This story was originally published April 23, 2015 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Family Picks: Piedmont Farm Tour spans four counties."