The Big List

An open, family-friendly poetry evening at House of Many Porches — come to read, come to listen, nobody's grading you.

DISHOOM returns to Downtown Cary Park with DJ Rang, live percussion, and step-by-step dance instruction -- a free, family-friendly night out.

Bring a drum or just your hands — an open community drum circle at the Stone Houses Visitor Center that welcomes total beginners.

Guitarist Rob Sharer and accordionist David DiGiuseppe mix global folk and cafe music styles in a free all-ages concert at Northeast Regional Library.

Free monthly literary reading at Mettlesome Theater in Golden Belt — poetry and prose paired with improv comedy inspired by the readers, book signing at 5:45.

A 2.5-hour guided photography walk through Dix Park with a local pro, beginner-friendly techniques plus park history, starting and ending at Stone Houses.

Cary's 50th annual Lazy Daze fills Academy Street with juried arts and crafts vendors, live music, and food for a free day downtown.

Day two of Cary's 50th annual Lazy Daze — juried arts and crafts vendors, live music, and food along Academy Street, free to attend.

Theatre Raleigh's monthly open mic in the Green Room, across from the main building -- singers, comedians, poets, whoever wants the mic, free to just watch too.

Free admission to a legitimately world-class collection — a whole gallery of Rodin bronzes — plus 4.7 miles of park trails threading past giant outdoor sculpture. The rare art museum where half the crowd shows up in running shoes.