August marks the end of the summer (although it might not feel like it) and the beginning of the school year for many kids. There’s still lots to do in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and the rest of the Triangle, in August.
Read on for some of the top events in the Triangle in August. Then keep reading for a day by day calendar of everything on Triangle on the Cheap’s calendar in August, 2025.
We focus on the “free and cheap” so many of these events will be easy on your wallet.
Top August Events in Raleigh, Durham & the Triangle
First Friday Raleigh
First Friday Raleigh
Date: Friday, August 1, 2025
Time: 6 to 9 p.m. (although venues may have different hours)
Place: Downtown Raleigh
Cost: Free
Features: Visit art galleries, studios, alternative art venues and more.
Raleigh Shop and Rock
Raleigh Shop and Rock: Battle of the Bands
Date: Friday, August 1, 2025
Time: 2 to 9 p.m.
Place: Raleigh City Plaza, 400 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh, NC
Cost: Free
Features: Live music, artists, vendors, beer and wine.
First Friday Under the Stars
First Friday Under the Stars
Date: Friday, August 1, 2025
Time: 8:30 to 11 p.m.
Place: Three Bears Acres, 645 Beaver Dam Road, Creedmoor, NC
Cost: Free
Features: Raleigh Astronomy Club hosts a monthly sky viewing session at one of Triangle Land Conservancy’s private sites. Registration is required.
First Friday at Sweetwater Apex
First Friday at Sweetwater Apex
Date: Friday, August 1, 2025
Time: 5 to 9 p.m.
Place: Sweetwater, 2701 Lawnview Lane, Apex, NC
Cost: Free
Features: Live music, family activities, local vendor market, more.
Outdoor Concerts
Outdoor Concerts
Date: Various dates
Time: Various times
Place: Various places
Cost: Mostly free
Features: June is prime season for outdoor concerts. They are happening everywhere, and most are free. Just follow the above link for a round-up of many concert series, as well as a day-by-day list of outdoor concerts.
Uproar Festival of Public Art
Uproar Festival of Public Art in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough
Date: August 1 to 23, 2025
Time: All day
Place: Multiple locations throughout Orange County, NC
Cost: Free
Features: Sixty bold, high-impact, outdoor works of art will be showcased throughout the downtown communities of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough, and cash prizes will be awarded based on public voting and a jury panel of experts. Free trolleys on August 2, 9, and 16, 2025.
Outdoor Movies
Outdoor Movies
Date: Various
Time: Various
Place: Parks, grounds of hotels, shopping centers, farms, more.
Cost: Most are free
Features: As the sun goes down, enjoy outdoor movies throughout the Triangle! Follow the above link for a day by day list.
Bands, Bites and Boats
Bands, Bites and Boats
Date: Friday, August 1, 2025
Time: 6 to 8 p.m.
Place: Bond Park Boathouse, 801 High House Road, Cary, NC
Cost: Free
Features: Enjoy live music from Corey Stuart, a food truck and a brewery. Experience the music from land or from the lake, if you rent a boat.
Friday Friday Market and Movie at Moore Square
First Friday Market and Movie: Inside Out 2
Date: Friday, August 1, 2025
Time: 5 p.m.
Place: Moore Square, 200 S Blount Street, Raleigh, NC
Cost: Free
Features: Live music, food trucks and an outdoor movie. This month the movie is Inside Out 2, and it starts at 7:30 p.m.
Back to School Bashes
Back to School Bashes
Date: Various dates
Time: Varies
Place: Varies
Cost: Free
Features: Check out our list of back to school bashes, many with free school supplies.
Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival
Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival
Date: August 1 and 2, 2025
Time: 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday, 2 to 6 p.m. on Saturday
Place: Koka Booth Amphitheatre, 8003 Regency Parkway, Cary, NC
Cost: $50.74 per day for General Admission, but use promo code TRICHEAP20 for 20% off.
Features: “All you care to drink” bourbon and beer. Plus, all kinds of BBQ for purchase.
Sunflower Festival
Sunflower Festival at Huckleberry Trail Farm
Date: August 2, 3, 9 and 10, 2025
Time: 1 to 5 p.m.
Place: Huckleberry Trail Farm, 143 Pleasant Hill Church Road, Siler City, NC
Cost: $4. $1 per flower.
Features: Explore 30,000 square feet of sunflowers, carved into a labyrinth.
National Night Out
National Night Out Celebrations
Date: Tuesday, August 5, 2025
Time: Various times
Place: Various places
Cost: Free
Features: National Night Out is a community-building event that is meant to enhance the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement. Each event is different, but all offer fun activities for kids, and, often, free food.
S’Morrisville
S’Morrisville
Date: Saturday, August 9, 2025
Time: 4 to 6 p.m.
Place: Morrisville Community Park, 1520 Morrisville Parkway, Morrisville, NC
Cost: Free
Features: Free s’mores (regular and vegan) provided by the Town of Morrisville. Also, inflatables and games and food trucks.
River Rat Regatta
River Rat Regatta
Date: Saturday, August 9, 2025 (rain date is August 23)
Time: 10 a.m.
Place: The race starts at the Boat Ramp on the Town Commons, at 295 Front Street Smithfield, and ends at the Hwy 70 Bridge
Cost: Free to watch and free to compete in
Features: Competitors race in the Neuse River in homemade cardboard boats.
Third Friday Durham
Third Friday Durham
Date: Friday, August 15, 2025
Time: 6 to 9 p.m. (although times vary per value)
Place: Throughout Downtown Durham
Cost: Most events and activities are free
Features: Art venues hosts free receptions. Many other businesses also host art, music and more.
CaribMask Caribbean Parade and Festival
CaribMask Caribbean Parade and Festival
Date: Saturday, August 16, 2025
Time: 12 to 8 p.m.
Place: City Plaza, 400 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh, NC
Cost: Free
Features: The parade starts at the NC State Capitol at noon and proceeds to the festival village at City Plaza, where there will be live entertainment, vendors and more.
Mud Day
Mud Day
Date: Saturday, August 16, 2025
Time: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Place: Walnut Creek Wetland Center, 950 Peterson Street, Raleigh, NC
Cost: Free
Features: A fun, messy, outdoor day for kids, with a mud pit, mud slide, live music, storytelling, and more.
Bright Leaf Harvest Day at Duke Homestead
Bright Leaf Harvest Day
Date: Saturday, August 16, 2025
Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Place: Duke Homestead, 2828 Duke Homestead Road, Durham, NC
Cost: Free
Features: Experience North Carolilna farming culture and history. They’ll be harvesting tobacco out of the field and demonstrating the process of tobacco looping. Visitors are welcome to try their hand at the activities.
Kirby Derby
Kirby Derby
Date: Saturday, August 23, 2025
Time: 3 to 8 p.m.
Place: Harvey Hill at Dix Park, Cranmer Drive, Raleigh, NC
Cost: Free
Features: Parade, pinebox car competition, costumes, and the soapbox derby race.
Come Out and Play Sculpture Show
Come Out and Play Sculpture Show
Date: August 23 and 24, 2025, and then every Saturday through Septem ber 20, 2025
Time: 12 p.m. until dark
Place: JimGin Farm, 150 Wild Horse Run, Pittsboro, NC
Cost: Free
Features: More than 50 artists will be sharing their work, both serious and whimsical, and there will be live music each day too.
Wake Forest Comic-Con
Wake Forest Comic-Con
Date: Saturday, August 23, 2025
Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Place: Flaherty Park Community Center, 1226 N White Street, Wake Forest, NC
Cost: Free
Features: Vendors with toys, comics, anime, collectibles and more.
North Hills Kids: Kidchella
North Hills Kids: Kidchella
Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Time: 9:30 to 11 a.m.
Place: Midtown Park at North Hills, 4011 Cardinal at North Hills Street, Raleigh, NC
Cost: Free
Features: Festival-styled event with music, arts and fun. Craft stations and interactive activities.
Cary’s Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival
Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival
Date: August 23 and 24, 2025
Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Place: Cary Town Hall Campus, 316 N Academy Street, Cary, NC
Cost: Free
Features: Over 300 artists, live music, children’s activities and food and drink vendors.
Packapalooza
Packapalooza
Date: Saturday, August 23, 2025
Time: 2 to 10 p.m.
Place: Hillsborough Street, from Brooks Avenue to the roundabout near the Memorial Belltower, Raleigh, NC
Cost: Free
Features: 9 activity zones, several stages of live music, and more.
Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo
Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo
Date: Sunday, August 24, 2025
Time: 12 to 6 p.m.
Place: Fayetteville Street in Raleigh
Cost: Free admission. Pay for your food.
Features: More than 50 food trucks to choose from.
Treasures of the Earth
Treasures of the Earth
Date: August 29 to September 1, 2025
Time: Noon to 6 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday
Place: Kerr Scott Building at the NC State Fairgrounds, 1025 Blue Ridge Blvd, Raleigh, NC
Cost: $8 (free for ages 16 and under.) Your ticket is good for the whole weekend
Features: Gem, mineral and jewelry show.
Hillsborough Last Fridays
Hillborough Last Fridays
Date: Friday, August 29, 2025
Time: 6 to 9 p.m.
Place: Various locations in Downtown Hillsborough, NC
Cost: Free
Features: Live music, art, poetry and more.
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