Lovers of North Carolina craft beer should head to downtown Raleigh from 3-9 p.m. Saturday for Brewgaloo, a craft beer event with live music and food trucks.

Fifteen breweries from Roth Brewing Co. to Big Boss Brewing, Sub Rosa to Fortnight (the latter two haven't even opened yet) will be pouring beer in City Plaza, or the 400 block of Fayetteville St. There is no cover charge. You must buy brew bucks to purchase beer: $1 buys one brew buck, 5 brew bucks gets you a pint of beer, or 1 brew buck gets you a 3-ounce tasting. If you buy brew bucks online before the event, you can get 25 brew bucks for $20. On Saturday, it's full price. Go HERE to buy brew bucks.

The event is open to the public. You can come to the event and then go have dinner and go back to taste more beer. The event will happen rain or shine.

There will be four bands (The Small Ponds, Hank Sinatra, Mel Melton & the Wicked Mojos and I was Totally Destroying It) and five food trucks (Klausie's Pizza, Cafe Prost, Big Al's BBQ, Chirba Chirba Dumpling and Baguettaboutit.)

The event is sponsored by Shop Local Raleigh, which is funded by the Greater Raleigh Merchants Association. About Brewgaloo, organizer Jennifer Martin says, "We just want to get consumers focused on shopping local, eating local and drinking local."

So many things to do this weekend beyond the 24-hour celebration of the new N.C.  Museum of Natural Sciences. If the weather cooperates, here are a few ideas:

• This Saturday is the annual Cuegrass festival outside The Pit restaurant in downtown Raleigh. It's from noon-6 p.m. It costs $5. For details, go to http://cuegrass.com
• Chatham County's Briar Chapel is hosting an Earth Day celebration from 3-5 p.m. Sunday with children's activities and a food truck rodeo. The food trucks will include Chirba Chirba Dumpling, Baguettaboutit, Will & Pop's and The Parlour. (There's also a 5K in the morning if you feel so inclined. It benefits the Abundance Foundation. For more information, go HERE.)
• SEEDS' annual pie social and skills share auction also is Sunday afternoon. Read my earlier post HERE.
• The next Triangle Foodie Tweetup is April 25 at Fearrington Village. The cost is $5 for Chef Colin Bedford's take on hot dogs, sliders and more. (They do seem to outdo themselves every time they host these events.) It's cash bar. Tickets are available HERE.

And I also wanted to mention these special dinners at Triangle restaurants:

Beasley's Chicken + Honey is doing soft shell crab dinners on Monday: You get  soft shell crabs, family-style sides and three glasses of spring wine for $35. They are doing seatings at 6 and 8 p.m. To make a reservation, call (919) 322-0127.

Chapel Hill's Jujube restaurant has two wine dinners:

• 7 p.m. April 26, a five-course dinner featuring Argentine wines costs $45 per person.
• 7 p.m. May 8, a five-course dinner with Austrian wine pairings costs $50 per person.

To see the full menus, go HERE. To make a reservation, call (919) 960-0555.
 

A handful of food trucks will gather for the Valentine's Day Food Rodeo and Fundraiser from 5:30-9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14 at the Carrboro Farmers' Market.

The beneficiaries are two local nonprofits: Table, an Orange County nonprofit that targets hunger relief, and the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service, a homeless outreach organization that offers beds, meals, medical care and other services.

The trucks that will be serving food include:

• Baguettaboutit: Baguette sandwiches featuring local sausages and specialty sauces. @baguettaboutit
• Cocoa Cinnamon: Select coffee, teas, spices and handmade chocolates. @cocoacinnamon
• Chirba Chirba:  Asian street fare truck specializing in Chinese dumplings. @ChirbaChirba
• Parlez-Vous Crepe: Made-to-order sweet and savory crepes. @parlezvouscrepe
• Monuts Donuts: A mix of classic and modern donut flavors. @monutsdonuts
• Triangle Raw Foodists will be there from 7-9:30 p.m. @TrnglRwFoodists

All trucks will donate a portion of their proceeds to the charities as well as collect nonperishable food items and donations.

The opening night of Green Day's "American Idiot" at Raleigh Memorial Auditorium will feature a food truck rodeo.

From 5-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31, six trucks -- Klausie's Pizza, Only Burger, KoKyu BBQ, Baguettaboutit, Lo Yo On The Go and Chick-N-Que -- will serve food before the 7:30 performance. The trucks will gather in front of the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh.

There is also a special ticket offer for the opening performance: $32 for seats in the orchestra section, $22 for seats in the mezzanine section. That's a $10 discount. Use the code ROCK when ordering. Call 831-6941, ext. 6944. To order online, go to www.nctheatre.com.