FOODIE NEWS. Tickets are on sale for the 2023 Pinehurst Barbecue Festival in the Village of Pinehurst from September 1–3. Food Network TV personality and Prime Barbecue restaurant founder Christopher Prieto returns as the event’s headliner. Purchase an early bird ticket and receive a kids’ sampling ticket free on Sunday.
Keyturah Yisrael has joined Italian restaurant Colletta in Fenton as executive chef. Since joining the team, she has added a ravioli with spinach, ricotta and crispy artichokes, and a potato-crusted grouper entree will be added soon. Helena Larson has joined the Indigo Road Hospitality Group (Colletta, O-Ku and Oak Steakhouse) as the pastry chef.
The Tacos N Taps Festival is set for Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Saturday, April 1, noon–5 p.m. The event features all-you-care-to-taste beer, tequila, tacos and Mexican food. Enjoy live music, margaritas, piñata punching and more.
Catering Works is presenting new items for its Cafe Brunch at the North Carolina Museum of Art. The new offerings include the Proper Carolina breakfast with eggs, potatoes, fruit and a choice of protein, while Barrier Islands French Toast will satisfy your sweet tooth. Chef Rick’s Shrimp and Grits includes andouille sausage over creamy grits. Enjoy any menu items with a mimosa, bloody mary or fresh-brewed coffee.
The Fearrington House Inn & Restaurant and McIntyre’s Books will host two upcoming book launches. Frances Mayes’ “Pasta Veloce” will be featured during a lunch event on Sunday, April 16 ($125), and Ed Mitchell’s “Ed Mitchell Celebrating the Eastern NC BBQ of my African American Ancestors” will be the focus of an afternoon picnic on Sunday, June 18 ($95).
Alley Twenty Six Cocktail Syrups’ Joseph Gailes presents a cocktail demo at Casa Bella Market in Durham from 2:30–4:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 11. The North Carolina company sells a line of award-winning, all-natural, clean label syrup cocktail syrups created by nationally recognized bartender Shannon Healy. Casa Bella Market is a woman-owned small business with a focus on sustainability and local products.
FUN FUNDRAISING. North State Bank’s 20th Summer Salute for Transitions LifeCare will be held at Raleigh’s North Ridge Country Club on Saturday June 3 at 7 p.m. The Embers with Craig Woolard, the popular beach band, will perform at the annual fundraiser, which has raised more than $2 million for Transitions LifeCare (formerly Hospice of Wake County). Event tickets and raffle tickets are available online.
Rates for the Tuxedo Cat Ball for Safe Haven for Cats remain discounted through Thursday, March 16 for the annual event on April 17 at North Ridge Country Club. The event features drinks, a dinner buffet and dancing. Tickets are $80 but increase to $100 beginning Friday, March 17.
STREET FESTIVAL. The Wake Forest Rotary Club will host Cars and Carnivores on Saturday, March 25, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. The free downtown street festival brings together car enthusiasts and food lovers for a steak cookoff, car show and vendors along East Owens and Brooks streets. The festival is a fundraiser for Wake Forest Medical Debt Relief, an initiative in partnership with WakeMed.
ARTS FESTIVALS. This year, the American Dance Festival is celebrating its 90th anniversary season. The season kicks off with a performance by BODYTRAFFIC at Reynolds Industries Theater at Duke on Thursday, June 8 at 7 p.m. The season includes performances by 23 choreographers and companies. View the schedule and ticket prices here.
BEJEWELED. Fink’s Jewelers plans to open a flagship store in the Main District at North Hills. The new location will feature more than 8,000 square feet, including a state-of-the-art Rolex shop-in-shop and a David Yurman showroom. The jeweler’s plans are part of a Kane Realty Corporation redevelopment that will feature a 12-story high-rise residential building, 346,000 square feet of office space and 100,000 square feet of ground floor retail.
AWARDS BANQUET. Soroptimist International of Raleigh hosts Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women at University Club (3100 Tower Boulevard, Durham) on Saturday, March 25, 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. The guest speaker will be Chasta Hamilton, founder of Girls Geared For Greatness. Tickets are available online.
MUSEUM FUN. The Museum of Life and Science will welcome the public to check out its newest exhibit, “Play to Learn,” March 21. The exhibit is the museum’s biggest experience in years, designed for children ages 5 and younger. It features a range of interactive activities for young visitors and their caregivers. “Play to Learn” is a reinvention and reimagining of the museum’s popular early childhood exhibit, and is more than twice the size of the previous exhibit, with new amenities to make the experience more convenient and enjoyable for all. The museum is open Tuesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Speaking of the Museum of Life and Science, the Barnes Family Foundation has donated $2 million to Durham’s Museum of Life and Science, the largest single gift from a private donor in the museum’s eight-decade history. The donation will support growth and improvements, summer camp scholarships and expanded outreach to underserved families in the Triangle. The 84-acre campus includes a two-story science center, live animal exhibits and a large butterfly conservatory.
BASEBALL IS BACK. Single-game tickets for the Carolina Mudcats’ 2023 season are on sale. The Class-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers has 10 souvenir giveaway events at Five County Stadium, along with 11 Friday night fireworks, opening night on Tuesday, April 11 and the Mudcats For America fireworks extravaganza on Independence Day.
Single-game tickets for all 75 Durham Bulls home dates in the 2023 season are now on sale. The Bulls offer a variety of popular theme nights including Bull Durham Night (Friday, June 16), Independence Day (Tuesday, July 4) and Bull Sharks Night (Friday, August 11). The Bulls open the season on Friday, March 31 against the Norfolk Tides at 6:35 p.m.
STORYWALKS. Wake County Parks and Recreation’s seven StoryWalks allow families to read a children’s book while enjoying a nature walk. The project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont, and was developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Learn more here.
