World Breastfeeding Week was offically last week, but La Leche League of Cary says there are still plenty of reasons to bring attention to the importance of breastfeeding babies and young children

The group will hold its Triangle Family Festival this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Cary Senior Center, featuring booths with local resources, a breastfeeding information center to help moms with questions, car seat safety checks, food and exhibitors. There's also a kids corner with inflatables, clowns, face painting and crafts. The event is free, but raises money for the group primarily through a silent auction.

The Cary group has been holding celebrations during World Breastfeeding Week for several years. But members boosted the event last year, adding more exhibits and activities and moving to the bigger venue at the senior center.

Last year, the event raised enough money for La Leche League of Cary to branch off two separate groups – one in Apex and a group for moms nursing toddlers in Raleigh, says Jennifer Barker, a member of La Leche League of Cary, who is helping to organize the event.

This year money will go toward helping the Wake County chapter of La Leche League as it works to do more outreach. About 66 percent of North Carolina mothers breastfeed their newborns, compared to the national average of 74 percent, according to a 2008 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 9 percent of North Carolina 6-month-olds get only breast milk, placing the state in the bottom 20 in the CDC ranking of states.

“We're kind of in the bottom of the barrel for breastfeeding states,” Barker says. “Part of it is to get outreach and supporter there and to just help other moms and let them know the information.”

For more information about breastfeeding resources in the Triangle, click here.

Also ....

Get your kindergartner ready for kindergarten at Kickoff to Kindergarten at Marbles from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Please note that the museum will close at 3 p.m. on Sunday to get ready for the event.

Grab some deals at two consignments sales - Upscale Resale, which runs Friday and Saturday in Cary, and the Triangle Mothers of Twins and Triplets Equipment Sale on Saturday morning at the fairgrounds in Raleigh.

Head to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham with your budding engineer for Engineers Day. Kids can learn all about the world of engineering with a team of engineers doing science and engineering experiments. Engineers Day is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The event is free with admission.

Check out the 8th annual Kids Multicultural Fun Day from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at 10,000 Villages store in Raleigh's Cameron Village. The free event is for kids ages 5 to 12 and features crafts, henna tattoos and a multicultural game center. A kids' drum circle is at 1 p.m.

And there's always more on the Mom2Mom calendar.