Families are always on the lookout for things to do that don't break their budget.

Second Saturdays 2011 combine arts and heritage with food and fun at all 37 museums and state historic sites. As one of those 37 sites and museums, the Museum of the Cape Fear, in Fayetteville, will sponsor its Second Saturdays Arts Fest on July 9 and Aug. 13, to take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A variety of artists and exhibitors will be in the museum galleries and in the backyard of the 1897 Poe House.

The Cape Fear Basket Makers Association, Hoke County Beekeepers, author Ron Gable, from Parkton, jewelry makers Sally Lewis, Cindy Whitehead and Beth Johnston, along with artist Kevin Gregory, are scheduled to be on-site.

Museum staff will have "make it, take it" stations where visitors can weave on a hand loom to make a bracelet or bookmark, make a small hand-dipped candle from beeswax, and paint a watercolor picture. In addition, visitors will delight in the aroma coming from the Poe House kitchen, where fritters frying on the 1902 stove will entice them to a taste test.

"The Second Saturdays events are an initiative by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources to spur economic stimulus through the creative industry, such as cultural tourism and the arts," says Leisa Greathouse, curator of education at the museum. "Therefore, this is an opportunity for the public to see the wealth of culture and arts in the community and the artists and cultural vendors can find new audiences for their work."

In addition, Our State magazine, one of the sponsors for Second Saturdays, will also be present at the museum giving out free editions of their July issue. Furthermore, visitors can enter a free drawing for a chance to win a free one-year subscription.

Admission to the event is free.

For more information about the museum, call (910) 486-1330 or visit www.museumofthecapefear.ncdcr.gov.

The Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex, located on the corner of Bradford and Arsenal avenues in Fayetteville, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.