BikeFest Returns This Weekend
The Fayetteville Street area of Downtown Raleigh will be swarmed on Friday and Saturday with sounds of thousands of motorcycles, live music, and shows. The annual returns for its 6th year, and is once again free.
Deep South Entertainment will provide musical entertainment ranging from Back Seat Confidential (an all-girl AC/DC cover band) to rising country star Matt Stillwell. In total, more than 16 bands, dance troops, and martial artists will perform on two stages during the two-day event.
Four Tops and Temptations Coming to DPAC
Two classic Motown groups are coming to the DPAC on Wednesday, February 9, 2011. Tickets go on sale Friday morning (9/24) at 10am. KIX 102.9 is giving away tickets, too. Listen for the TOPS/TEMPS sounder, played each day this week. They will play the sounder between 6am and 3pm.
SPARKcon Begins Today
This fifth annual SPARKcon event begins tomorrow and ends Sunday. SPARKcon the Triangle’s showcase of creativity, talent, and ideas. This year the event showcases events in (a whopping) 16 main categories, including:
The festival has an and has excellent event summary pages that are connected to Google Calendar events. However neither of these quite fit my needs, so I created a master event list for the entire weekend. I’ve found it’s easier to just subscribe to the master event list and run off of it and a companion map of the area included than to hassle with the walled gardens of an app.
You can follow all 150+ events by subscribing to . (Those subscribed to the gogoraleigh Hopscotch calendar are automatically subscribed – just check your calendar for all of the events.) See an event you like? Add it to your own calendar. Unsure about an event? Open up the calendar’s event, and see its link to SPARKcon’s event page, see a map to the venue, or see the overall SPARKcon map (which I highly recommend keeping in your mobile device’s photo gallery. You can even enable an alert for each act if you want.
While people flock to the event and enjoy many of the offerings, the Friday night fashion show is the big event of the weekend. The hour-long show begins at 8pm and features fashion from local designers. Be sure to check out the impressive and always-fresh offerings by at the show!
While SPARKcon has a very good website, to me it is easier to just follow the links to the elements pertinent to mobile devices:
- (gogoraleigh)
- SPARKcon Area map
- s
- (not for mobile)
| Google Calendar | XML | ICAL | |
| SPARKcon Calendar |
Let’s go Do It!!
Food Truck Sanitation and Freedom Questioned
General opinion seems to be that this past weekend’s was an overwhelming success. The only complaint I have seen centered around the lack of food trucks in downtown Raleigh’s walkable streets. Such eateries have become the hottest restaurant trend in America, but are not allowed in downtown Raleigh.
reviewing the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s call to evaluate food trucks in the same way brick-and-mortar restaurants are evaluated. While the trucks are popular, there are serious health concerns associated with this model. I’ve asked friends if they know exactly in which bathtub that salsa was made, and it isn’t an esoteric question. The bacteria don’t care what delivery method is used, and they will aggregate in any condition right for them. This includes the perfectly legal restaurant-prepared sandwiches that sit in thermal coolers for longer than 2 hours at sporting events and concerts.
A second issue with the sanitation grade problem is ‘”fairness”. Why should brick and mortar restaurants to have to comply to government regulations that mobile competition can ignore? A slightly different bent on the fairness issue is also by Carolina Journal’s Sarah Barrows. She interviewed Raleigh City Councilor Mary Ann Baldwin and asked why food trucks are not allowed downtown. The primary guiding principle for the ban has nothing to do with sanitation, but rather protectionism for brick-and-mortar restaurants. There are even regulations (outlined in the article) for pushcarts that are designed to protect restaurants.
, by the the John Locke Foundation, questions the government’s role in barring the entrepreneurial spirit of these mobile restaurants. It even cites agreement by Wellspring Grocery founder Lex Alexander. His intention is to revive an empty lot where a movie theater once sat by bringing in a collection of food trucks. The Chapel Hill Town Council, holding a similar stance to Raleigh, won’t allow such an ad hoc food court.
Food trucks have unlocked an apparent gap in the consumer market. Their flexibility and variety make them a huge draw, so much so that they have become a threat to the traditional restaurant model. A consumer can go to a big box store and eat a variety of foods now, and the vendors can adjust their schedules to the kinetic demands of the market. However government regulations so not seem to comply with the demands and needs of the consumer, and should be reviewed as the market for new food options evolves.
Glass Moon Reuniting for Redd Benefit on Sunday
While the occasion is sad, there is great news for Glass Moon fans. The band and some other local legends will perform and show their support for Tommy Redd, co-founder and songwriter for Nantucket, who recently lost his wife to cancer.
Moe’s Southwest Grill and friends of Tommy Redd are presenting the this Sunday (September 12) at 5 p.m. at Crossroads Entertainment Complex in Wake Forest. All proceeds from the benefit will go directly to Tommy Reed and his daughter Amanda to help them recover from the financial stress of his wife’s battle with cancer.
Moe’s Southwest Grill Wakefield will serve burritos, nachos, and sweet tea, donating all proceeds to Redd and his family. Between bands there will also be auctions and raffles to win items donated by such artists as Marshall Tucker, The Outlaws and Sugarland.
Bands performing at the benefit include Jesse Bolt, Super Grit, Drive, Cirkus, Brimstone, and Glass Moon who are reforming just for this event after a 25-year hiatus. The host of the benefit is Mark Roberts, TV personality and best known as the “Traffic Guy” on WRAL.
“Tommy has been such a good friend to me over the years as well as numerous artists that will be performing at this benefit. We are honored to be able to give him something in return and help him through this tough time,” said Steve Johnson, event coordinator for the benefit and longtime friend of Tommy’s. “I am overwhelmed with the support the benefit is receiving from the Triangle area music community and I am excited to see old faces and jam out for a great cause.”
Tickets can be purchased in advance for $20 online at or at 2112 Percussion. Tickets will also be available at the door with the “Killer at 25” deal: $25. For those who can not attend the show, donations can be made at .
Get Motivated…or Find A Different Way
Tomorrow at the RBC Center the will run from 8am to 5pm. The day’s agenda includes communication, team building, organization, time management, goal achievement, and the like. Featured speakers (actually in attendance) are Rudy Giuliani, Gen. Colin Powell, Dr. Robert Schuller, Former N.C. State coach Lou Holtz, Steve Forbes, Brian Tracy, and Zig Ziglar, there will be a lot, a LOT, of people attending the lecture. (Doors open at 6:45am).
If you are not planning on getting motivated all day at the RBC Center, then you need to get motivated about finding a different way to work if you normally travel Wade Avenue or Interstate 40 near the Wade Ave. exits. The sessions end at 5pm, so make provisions in the afternoon as well.
are still available, last time I checked. Note that a videocast of the RBC Center’s event will be shown in the Raleigh Convention Center ballroom (none of the speakers will actually be in attendance at this venue). As for those of you going…interested in a meetup? Follow me on Twitter. We’ll arrange something.
Symphony to Play Free Concert at The Walt
Raleigh has a new outdoor amphitheater, and the will be there this September to help break it in. The orchestra, led by Maestro William Henry Curry, will wave goodbye to summer and kick off its bold new concert season with “Pops in the City,” a free concert in Raleigh Amphitheater, Sunday, Sept. 12, at 7:00 p.m.
Families and friends can bring a picnic, grab a lawn seat in the heart of downtown Raleigh and prepare for a musical world tour. First, in collaboration with the Independent’s Hopscotch Music Festival, Minneapolis-based multi-instrumentalist Dosh opens at the performance beginning at 5:45 p.m. with his electronic blends of folk keyboard and experimental sampling. Then the Symphony takes over with a globe-trotting symphonic showcase.
The lineup first transports concertgoers to the golden age of classical music, including Handel’s joyous Overture to Music for the Royal Fireworks—a powerhouse selection to launch the Symphony’s debut in the city’s newest venue. The fireworks don’t stop there, as Curry turns to the trumpet section to bring two Latin-flavored brass showcases to life: Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona’s “Andalucia” and his legendary jazz standard, “Malagueña.” Henry Mancini’s classic serenade “Moon River” then paves the way for a charming tribute to Mancini’s legacy and selections from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story. With a closing note by John Williams, as well as “America the Beautiful,” this free concert offers Raleigh residents an unforgettable night on the town.
The North Carolina Symphony’s 2010-11 season opens in downtown Raleigh’s Meymandi Concert Hall with renowned guest artists Navah Perlman, Giora Schmidt and Zuill Bailey joining the Symphony to perform Beethoven’s “Triple” Concerto on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 24-25.
Lady Antebellum Coming to Cary
On Thursday, September 23, Lady Antebellum will return to the area. This time it is a headlining date at Cary’s Booth Amphitheater. are on sale now.
Rathskeller To Reopen
The Ramshead Rathskeller, a Chapel Hill landmark in the hearts and fatty tissues of many to drink from The Well, will open by the end of the year. Apparently the restaurant will be under new ownership, which is, reportedly, a good thing. The restaurant closed for a while about a decade ago, then closed again in 2008. Perhaps the restaurant should be called the “Cats”keller because it seems to have nine lives.
[]
Roby and McCall to Play On The Porch Tonight
Tonight (8/6) and Scott McCall (no relation) will be playing tonight’s Music On The Porch event. The event begins at 6pm and the music goes from 7-9ish. There will be bounce rooms for the kids and Fire Dancers from Sparkcon swinging by, as well.
The event takes place at Peace China at Seaboard Station. Capital Creations will also be on hand with $2 cheese pizza. Dogs, food, snacks are welcome, but guests may not (by law) bring their own beer and wine. The MOTP events are family-fun, however children need to stay within the event perimeter and need to be supervised by their parents.
Wild Turkey Lounge Honored
In the midst of its 50th anniversary year, has been named an All-American Icon by Nation’s Restaurant News and won its 21st consecutive Wine Spectator Grand Award. Recently The Barn racked up another accolade. Its has been named one of the by Entrepreneur magazine.
The July 2010 issue includes The Wild Turkey Bar & Lounge among 15 American watering holes. It is one of only two bars in the Southeast named as a best bar for doing business.
Stating that the Wild Turkey Bar & Lounge has been “a cross-sectional hotbed of local politicos, big pharma executives and tech tycoons since it opened in 1984,” author Monica Corcoran Harel goes on to write that this is “the best place to strike a deal in the entire Research Triangle.” On any given night, one might run into local and state elected officials, as well as top executives from SAS, GlaxoSmithKline and more.
The review states that the essential attributes of a great business bar include discreet seating, friendly and attentive staff, a compelling crowd, manageable din, a full range of liquor, good lighting, good food, and decent décor.
Superchunk Coming to Nasher for Release
Superchunk will release its first new album in nine years with a concert on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010 at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. It will be the only North Carolina venue for the Chapel Hill-based band’s national fall tour in support of their new album, “Majesty Shredding” (available 9/14). The concert is open to the public and begins at 8:30 p.m.
Under the Radar Magazine says “Majesty Shredding” displays "a cohesive band scaling the heights of their formidable powers.” Time Out Chicago says the album "puts the pedal to the metal with youthful abandon.”
The Superchunk performance, a complement to the Nasher Museum’s exhibition “The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl,” will take place after a 6 p.m. talk by New York-based visual artist Xaviera Simmons, whose work is part of the exhibition. “The Record” explores the culture of vinyl records through 50 years of contemporary art and features work by 41 artists from around the world who use vinyl records as subject or medium.
are $12 for adults and $6 for Nasher Museum members and $5 for Duke students with I.D.
Superchunk will have a busy week that week, as they will appear on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon late on the evening of September 20.
(Show)
(Fallon)
Rail Recommendation Coming for Council Today
The Raleigh City Council’s Passenger Rail Task Force will present their report and recommendations at today’s City Council meeting. The group analyzed three proposed plans for High(er) Speed Rail and how it will impact residents and businesses along corridors. The three , and viewing them before today’s 1:00 meeting (televised on RTN) will ease the viewer’s understanding of the subject matter.
The three maps for downtown are the most interesting (, , – all pdf). The show alternative routes and possibilities for new crossing arrangements. One proposal puts the railway between Capital Blvd and Whitaker Mill Road. The other two put the railway on the Mordecai side of Capital Blvd.
The Task Force presentation falls on page 19 of the City Council’s 24-page agenda. So, while the agenda is not followed at a constant pace, and is sometime ignored, we can at least get a sense of when the presentation will be.
Recent Stories
- Hopscotch Festival Announces Lineup April 18, 2012
- City Council to Pick Site 4 Developer April 16, 2012
- 100 Great Concerts Coming to Raleigh April 5, 2012
- Joe Bonamassa Returning to DPAC April 5, 2012
- Staats Battle Wins National Name Championship April 3, 2012
- Time For A New Phone Number Format? April 2, 2012
- Players’ Retreat Converting to P.R. Shenanigan’s April 1, 2012
- MyFace Launches in Raleigh April 1, 2012
- St. Mary’s/Lassiter Mill To Go One Way April 1, 2012
- Raleigh Tiny Flag Campaign A Success at Roundabout April 1, 2012
- New Mexican Restaurant Said to be Raleigh’s Hottest April 1, 2012
- New Italian Restaurant Coming to North Hills April 1, 2012
- Curtis Media to Launch Adele-Only Station April 1, 2012
- Harrison Barnes Has Brand-Saving Surgery April 1, 2012
- Time Warner to Debut ITB Network April 1, 2012