Aug
12

Dogfish Head Beer Tasting at Sitti Thursday Night

dogfish Dogfish Head Brewery will be hosting an evening of beers In Sitti’s courtyard tomorrow night (Thursday). Special pricing will be available on Festina Peche, Raison D’Etre, and Sah’ Tea. A tasting flight featuring these three along with the rare Burton Baton will be available for $14. A Dogfish Head representative will be present from 5:30pm-8:00pm to give insight and answer any questions.

Aug
08

Downtown Live Features Tonic

Here is today’s press release from Deep South Entertainment about today’s events:

From the office of Deep South Entertainment, co-producers of Downtown Live, below is key information regarding the concert this Saturday.
Weather: The ABC11 Accuweather Forecast for Saturday, August 8th, 2009: Mostly Sunny with a high of 96 and a low of 74!

Date: Saturday, August 8th
Time:  Gates at 1:30 pm.  Music from 2:00 pm until 11pm.
Cost:  FREE
Artists Performing on the Bud Light Main Stage:

  • 2:00 PM – Red Sonja Band
  • 3:30 PM – Kevin Wing
  • 4:30 PM – Th’ Bullfrog
  • 5:30 PM – Jensen Reed
  • 6:30 PM – River City Ransom
  • 7:30 PM – Marcy Playground
  • 9:00 PM – Tonic

Monster Second Stage (All day during breaks) – Colourslide
Location: Moore Square Park, corner of Blount St. and Martin St., downtown Raleigh, NC
Where to Park (courtesy of Downtown Raleigh Alliance):
http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/get-around/parking
Park Anywhere Downtown and Ride the R-Line: (Downtown Live is the R-16 stop)
http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/_files/docs/r-line-map-as-printable-pdf.pdf
Parking, Dining and Bars (courtesy of DowntownRaleigh.com):
http://downtownraleigh.com/maps/lwp-dining-guide.pdf
Family Event:  Downtown Live is a family event.  From 2pm until 7pm there is a huge Downtown Live kids zone complete with inflatables, bouncing houses, slides, and pony rides.  Also, expect visits from many of the area sports teams.  All ages are welcomed at Downtown Live, but you must be 21 to consume alcohol.  If you plan on consuming alcohol, please remember to bring a valid I.D.
What can I bring inside the park?
You MAY bring:
- One bottled water
- Needs for children (i.e. diapers, strollers, etc.)
- Blankets and chairs
- Umbrellas
You may NOT bring:
- Professional recording or camera equipment.  Professional cameras are defined as cameras with a detachable lense.  Small digital and phone cameras are okay.
- Food or Beverage (including alcohol).  There are a wide variety of local food vendors set up inside the park, in additional beer and beverage stations.
- Pets, even if on a leash.  No pets allowed of any kind.
- No coolers, bags, picnics, bikes, rollerblades.
Forget something?:  Fear not, there is a full service Convenience Store set up on site.  ATM’s are also available inside the park next to the Convenience Store.
Don’t Drink and Drive: A full-service taxi stand will be set-up outside the Blount and Martin St. exit of Downtown Live.
Rain or Shine: Downtown Live is a rain or shine event.  As they say in North Carolina: "If you don’t like the weather, stick around 15 minutes, it’ll change."  Us North Carolinians know that throughout the summer stray thunderstorms often pop up out of nowhere.  This may cause a slight delay in the schedule, but the show will go on.  Day of show stay tuned to 96Rock for weather updates.
How can these concerts be FREE? Downtown Live is free because of amazing sponsors.  Whenever you have the option, please support these companies.  It REALLY does make a difference and helps to ensure Raleigh will always be the home of North Carolina’s biggest outdoor concert series; Downtown Live.
Bud Light, 96rock, WTVD ABC 11, ZSpotlight.com, DowntownRaleigh.com, Raleigh Downtowner, Downtown Raleigh Alliance, Monster Energy, City Limits Saloon, Social Magazine, LazyDay.com, City Market, Hunter & Associates, TheRaleighLife.com, City Search, Docusource, Dasani Water, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, Marriott Raleigh City Center, and Taco Bell.

Aug
07

First Friday

It’s a bit hot, but still a good night to get out for First Friday. The monthly gallery walk features art, food, and music in downtown Raleigh. To learn more about this edition of First Friday, there’s no better place than godowntownraleigh’s First Friday site.

Aug
06

Drivin’ n’ Cryin’ Comin’ to Pour House

drivinncryin Atlanta’s Drivin’ n’ Cryin’ is returning to Raleigh! This time they will be at the Pour House for two nights: Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10. Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 at the door. Two-night passes are available for $50. If they are half as good as they were 20 years ago, then drop what you’re doing and get there.

Friday 10/9:

Saturday 10/10:

Aug
04

City Council Approves Amphitheater Plan Funding

Today the Raleigh City Council approved funding for final plans for the (previously mentioned) downtown amphitheater. The funding will go toward design and noise studies (NIMBYs in Boylan Heights are concerned about noise). The site of the 5,000 seat theater will be on the empty lot adjacent to the convention center, about 5 blocks from the neighborhood.

The amphitheater is anticipated to cost $1.5 million and host events too small for Walnut Creek. Last year it was anticipated that Live Nation, the Walnut Creek operator, would run the smaller downtown facility, however according to the WRAL report today, they have backed out of the deal leaving the facility with no current sponsor.

Jul
28

Ignite Raleigh Coming Next Week

igniteral On August 5, the Lincoln Theatre will host an interesting idea variety show. Ignite Raleigh will feature a series of speakers unleashing new ideas. Each will be armed with 20 slides that advance automatically every 15 seconds. This isn’t a new concept, however, as Ignite and other 5-minute talk series have gained popularity worldwide.

Free Tickets are available at IgniteRaleigh.Eventbrite.com.

For more information about Ignite Raleigh:

  • Email: contact AT igniteraleigh DOT com
  • Twitter: @IgniteRaleigh
  • Phone: 980-939-8956
Jul
28

Krispy Kreme Coming to City Plaza

Today word got out that Krispy Kreme is indeed coming to one of the four pavilion spaces in Raleigh’s new City Plaza. The store will be one in the chain’s new concept, Neighborhood Shop which only stock room-temperature donuts.

The other pavilion space that is accounted for will be a Jimmy Johns. More to come on the other pavilions later this summer…

Jul
28

NC Theatre Discount Tickets Available

soundomusic On Saturday night the NC Theatre’s production of The Sound of Music began its 10-show run. West Side Story begins on October 17. Discounts of up to 20% are available using the attached form (.doc). Availability may be an issue depending on the show desired, but it is worth checking out. If there are any questions, feel free to call the number at the bottom of the form.

Also be sure to check out the NC Theatre blog. It currently features several interviews, photos, and insights about this particular production of The Sound of Music.

Jul
27

Poyner Spruill Expands to Fill RBC Plaza

Today law firm Poyner Spruill LLP announced that it will expand its offices to include the remainder of the 18th floor, making the office space portion (276K sq ft) of the RBC Plaza 100% occupied. The firm moved into the 19th, 20th, and part of the 18th floors in October as the building opened.

Jul
27

Ashley Christensen Featured in Southern Living

IMG_8665 The new (8/09) issue of Southern Living magazine is on the shelves and it is a good one. In addition to the typically fantastic Idea House section, this issue contains a one-page spread featuring Raleigh’s Ashley Christensen and her Poole’s Diner. The article is on page 34 and includes the recipe for Ashley’s favorite cocktail, the Black T.

Jul
27

Cupcake Shoppe Offering Freebies for Birthday

Sue Stock’s blog yesterday mentioned that The Cupcake Shoppe will be giving away free cupcakes tomorrow (Tue) to celebrate the store’s second birthday. Happy birthday!

Jul
25

Hampton Inn Proposed for Glenwood South

abbeycarpet

As reported on June 2 here, a hotel is being proposed for the Northeast corner of Glenwood Ave and West Johnson Streets in the Glenwood South area (the News & Observer story this week erroneously reported the NW corner as the site). Since breaking the story, I’ve learned more about the project.

map it

The 157-room hotel will carry the Hampton Inn brand and will be 7-stories tall, with street-level retail. The developers have reached an agreement with the owners of the 510 Glenwood complex to lease parking deck spaces, so no additional parking is required for the complex. The spaces are across Glenwood, but no mention of a pedestrian bridge across West Johnson St. was mentioned in the Board of Adjustment meeting minutes (.doc file).

Currently the owners are requesting a variance to the 1|1 stepback requirement for portions of buildings that are above 40’. This project will stand at 79’, so the stepback greatly affects the design of the project. Developers are greatly concerned about dampening train noise from the adjacent railroad trestle. In order to accomplish this, the building is planned to have centralized heating and air (instead of individual room units, standard in Hampton hotel designs), and additional insulation in the walls and from special windows. Noise abatement is said to be adding $700K-$800K to the project’s overall costs. The developers say that by being able to avoid setting back the top floors of the building, much noise abatement can come from the design of the building (room and stairway placement, i.e.) instead of material selection.

The developers seemed to have trouble getting the variance approved, so they are applying for a zoning change to allow the design, which has a greater effect on three properties at the site instead of just a variance to the existing code. To further muddy the waters, the recommended comprehensive plan the City of Raleigh is about to accept would also relax restrictions such as the 1|1 setback in this area.

So, it looks like eventually the plan will be accepted and the building will get built. My only concern is what happens to the parking situation should the agreement between 510 Glenwood and the hotel sour (breach of contract by either party, sale of either party, etc).

Jul
11

CAM Files Site Plan

This week a site plan (.pdf) was submitted to the city for the new Contemporary Art Museum (CAM). The 2-story facility is planned for Martin and Harrington streets, and includes 21,064 square feet of space. It is little, but it is a start!

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