Sep

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 Ray Price Capital City Bike Fest 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.

Sep

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 iPhone app 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 gogoraleigh’s SPARKcon calendar at Google Calendar . (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 Mollybeads 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:

Complete Event Calendar (gogoraleigh)
SPARKcon Area map
Events by day
Events by location
Events by SPARK theme s
@sparkconner on Twitter
ideaSPARK on “The State of Things”
Bob Geary’s article in The Independent Weekly
Craig Jarvis’ article in The News & Observer
The Raleigh Downtowner’s SPARKcon spread (not for mobile)

	Google Calendar	XML	ICAL
SPARKcon Calendar

Let’s go Do It!!

Sep

Food Truck Sanitation and Freedom Questioned

General opinion seems to be that this past weekend’s Hopscotch Music Festival 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.

Nations Restaurant News today has an article 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 the focus of in an excellent article today 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.

Another article today , 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.

Posted by Dana on September 15, 2010 | Tags: Downtown , Food , RTP/Dur/CH . | ( 12 ) Comments

Aug

Symphony to Play Free Concert at The Walt

Raleigh has a new outdoor amphitheater, and the North Carolina Symphony 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.

Posted by Dana on August 31, 2010 | Tags: Downtown , Music . | ( 2 ) Comments

Aug

Roby and McCall to Play On The Porch Tonight

Tonight (8/6) Kenny Roby 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.

Posted by Dana on August 6, 2010 | Tags: Downtown , Music . | ( 0 ) Comments

Aug

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 plans are online , 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 ( map 1 , map 2 , map 3 – 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.

Posted by Dana on August 3, 2010 | Tags: Downtown , Replacements , Transportation . | ( 1 ) Comment

Jul

David Sedaris Coming to Memorial Auditorium

Raleigh native David Sedaris will be returning home for one show at Memorial Auditorium on Saturday, October 9. Tickets go on sale Friday morning at 10am, but there are two presales going on right now until midnight Thursday.

Posted by Dana on July 20, 2010 | Tags: Comedy , Downtown . | ( 1 ) Comment

Jul

Classic Car Show Coming to Downtown

During the weekend of August 20, Raleigh will be revving with excitement as the Carolina Classics at the Capital ( www.classicsatthecapital.com ) brings the Southeast’s largest indoor car show to the Raleigh Convention Center . This family-friendly event will feature special show cars and auto parts vendors in the air-conditioned Convention Center, displays of custom and classic automobiles on historic Fayetteville Street, a KidsZone with inflatable attractions, and prizes awarded by Southern Classic Cars NC Inc .

Many of the Southeast’s premier classic cars be featured at the Carolina Classics at the Capital, including a 1940 Cadillac LaSalle, a 1961 Chevy Impala Bubbletop and a 1969 Camaro RS/SS, just to name a few.

Top vendors already committed to the show include Danchuk Manufacturing, Pypes Performance Exhaust, Northern Tool and Equipment, Hamlett’s Chevy Parts, Detailer’s Dream, Page’s Custom, Ausley’s Chevelle Parts and Quality Air Tools.

With no charge for viewing the classic cars that will be parked on the closed-off Fayetteville Street, plus just $10 for admission to the Convention Center, this first-of-its-kind event is expected to attract thousands of attendees. Tickets can be purchased on site at the Raleigh Convention Center.

The festivities will culminate with an awards ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 22 at 1 p.m. on the Fayetteville Street Stage, with awards for Top 50, Sweet 16 and the Sir Walter Raleigh Cup.

“We’ve gotten great cooperation from the City of Raleigh, the Convention Center and automobile enthusiasts to make sure that everyone will have a good time,” said Greg Cox, one of the event’s organizers. “We hope this family-friendly event will become an annual tradition on the auto show circuit.”

Posted by Dana on July 19, 2010 | Tags: Downtown , Entertainment , Renovations , Transportation . | ( 0 ) Comments

Jul

Raleigh Wide Open Announces Music Acts

The fifth edition of Raleigh Wide Open is just two weeks away, and it looks like the committee has put together a fun-filled afternoon of entertainment. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this year.

As before the even takes place on Fayetteville Street, from the Capitol to the Marriott. The street and all cross streets will be closed in order to facilitate four main music stages (Cherry Bounce, World, Raleigh Rocks, Free Spirit), as well as a beer tent and other entertainment venues and booths. Additionally the space in front of the convention center will be used as well as the new downtown Raleigh amphitheater.

My experience has been that the best place to park for the event is in the municipal parking deck at Morgan and McDowell. A short walk puts you right in the heart of the action. Other options are the parking garages lining Wilmington Street, but be sure to swing several blocks wide of the Fayetteville Street axis in order to avoid stagnant traffic and pedestrians.

The Raleigh Wide Open crew has once again put together a very nice flyer (.pdf) which includes a map of the RWO territory as well as a schedule of the day’s events. Gogoraleigh adds to that experience, however, by publishing this calendar to Google Calendar. Simply subscribe to the Raleigh Wide Open Calendar or just add events that interest you to your personal Google Calendar by clicking on the calendar link, selecting “Agenda” in the upper right, then selecting the desired events.

We recently went to Taste of Chicago and Milwaukee’s Summerfest, both events with rolling musical events at different stages throughout the days. Each even had its own iPhone app, and it made the event much more fun to select events beforehand and let the app plan the day for us. While this isn’t a dedicated app, it still affords you the chance to add events to your calendar and turn on notifications to remind you of them as they approach!

Subscribe in Google Calendar

Here is the RWO schedule:

11:00 am – Parade down Fayetteville Street
From Morgan through the City Plaza with marching bands, floats, and local celebrities!

Noon – Festival Opens
Food and art vendors, street performers, 4 stages throughout Fayetteville Street

RebBull Motocross Mayhem with Geoff Aaron
Fayetteville Street between Hargett and Morgan St. Performance times are 2:45; 5:00; 7:15 (add according to time)

King BMX Stunt Show
Salisbury Street in front of RCC. Performance times are 1:30; 3:30; 5:00

Cherry Bounce Wrestling
Hargett and Fayetteville St. Performance times are 5:15 and 7:30

Fire Circus
Flames and high flyers set City Plaza ablaze. Performance times are 8pm and 10pm

Eating Contests
*Free Spirit Stage. Krispy Kreme Donuts at 3:00; Lumpy’s Ice Cream at 5:00

Cherry Bounce Stage

Jews & Catholics 12:30-1:15pm
Cherry Bounce SPECIAL Guest 1:45-2:30
North Elementary 3:00-3:45
Lake Inferior 4:15 – 5:00pm
I Was Totally Destroying It 6:00-7:00
Bomba Estereo 8:15-9:15
Javelin 9:45 – 10:45pm

World Stage

Crucial Fiya (reggae) 12:15 -1:45pm
Shana Tucker Trio (soul) 2:15 – 3:30pm
Mel Melton & The Wicked Mojos (blues / americana) 4:00pm – 5:00pm
The Barn Burners (country) 5:30 – 7:00pm
Old Habits (bluegrass) 7:30 – 8:45pm
Rubberband (funk / hip hop covers) 9:15 – 10:45pm

Raleigh Rocks Stage

Adam Pitts and the Pseudo Cowboys 12:30 – 1:15pm
Will McBride Group 1:45 – 2:30pm
Big Mama E & the Cool 3:00 – 3:45pm
Wax Planet 4:15 – 5:00pm
Sleep Control 5:30 – 6:15pm
Airiel Down 6:45 – 7:30pm
Design 8:00 – 9:00pm
Nigthshift 9:30 – 10:30pm

Free Spirit Stage

Kappa Xi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi (stepping) 12:15 to 12:30
D.LIV(E) (spoken word/hip-hop) 12:45 to 1:05
Schizophrenic Octopus (breakdancing) 1:30 to 2:00
Sabrosa (spoken word/hip-hop) 2:15 to 2:35
Krispy Kreme Donuts (Eating Contest) 3:00 to 3:30
Spotlight Creative Studios (Bollywood Dance) 3:45 to 4:00
Dasan Ahanu (spoken word) 4:15 to 4:45
Lumpy’s Ice Cream (eating contest) 5:00 to 5:30

Downtown Raleigh Amphitheater

Barenaked Ladies 9:15 – 10:45pm (ticketed event through www.LiveNation.com and also avalable at the Amphitheater box ofice.)

10:45pm – Fireworks

Note: I will repost this on Friday, July 30, as a reminder.

Posted by Dana on July 18, 2010 | Tags: Downtown , Entertainment , Food , Music , Renovations . | ( 2 ) Comments

Jul

Sullivan’s Continues Run on Glenwood

The Triangle has been very lucky in the last couple of decades to get an onslaught of new restaurants. Several have come and gone, but many of the best have risen to the top and stood the test of time. In the 1990’s the Glenwood Avenue area (“Glenwood South”) was beginning a huge resurgence. The conversion of the industrial portion of the Pine State Creamery was the tipping point toward the revival of downtown Raleigh. One of the leaders in that conversion was Sullivan’s Steakhouse , which was a high-stakes bet to bring high-end steaks inside the beltline.

The restaurant’s is a typical urban steakhouse themed with a salute to old-time boxing. The dark terrazzo floor, moderate lighting, handsome stained wood walls, and century-old black and white photos establish a very masculine setting that sits well the deco style of the building’s exterior. The menu is a typical steakhouse menu, featuring nine different steak cuts, as well as some seafood options, lamb, and a few others. The entrées come with a lettuce wedge salad, but all other sides are a la carte.

Saturday was our first experience dining in one of the chain’s 19 locations. We had been to the bar to gawk at hookers several times, but had not dined there due to its extremely pricey reputation. Our experience was consistent with that reputation.

We were seated and made an immediate selection of a half-bottle of some Cab from their very nice wine selection. First we were served individual 4” diameter bread rolls that were fine, but nothing remarkable. Next, we started with Sullivan’s the famed iceberg lettuce wedge salad which lived up to its impressive reputation. The blue cheese dressing was outstanding, giving a bias of sweet not found in cheaper dressings. The salad was topped with delicious diced tomatoes. We each opted for the fresh ground pepper (until recently I assumed every nice restaurant offered pepper on their salad). What the dish lacked was some crispy bacon. While the dressing on the Raleigh Times’ version (original menu) didn’t quite compare to Sullivan’s, it did feature some delicious crispy bacon that made this one of the best salads in Raleigh.

We opted for the Mushroom Duxelles Filet and the 16oz New York Strip as our entrees. The strip was excellent, rolled in large grounds of kosher salt and pepper. I ordered the steak medium and it came out, as expected, medium-rare. The Mushroom Duxelles preparation is a finely chopped sauté that was too salty to earn the “delicious” badge, but was still good. My potato was excellent, but nothing particularly interesting. The White Cheddar Au Gratin Potatoes were very good, but a bit too heavy in bacon fat. For desert we were given a flavorless chocolate soufflé.

Our food was excellent overall. However there were disappointing aspects with the meal’s overall experience. One problem that has besieged this restaurant is the deteriorating dress code of the clientele. Sitting next to our table was a guy in a tight t-shirt, blue jeans, and flip flops, eating with his elbows all over the table. Unfortunately he was one of many meatheads in the dining room wearing what amounted to yard clothes. At first we thought we were being unfair, but then we thought about out other recent experiences in other comparable restaurants and don’t remember this problem.

Another irritation was the restroom. After washing the only option to dry my hands was a stack of tri-fold paper towels sitting in a pool of water on the counter. While this is not something that would turn me off in a fast-food joint, we are talking about the most expensive restaurant in town. At least give us a high-grade paper towel, however a linen towel is expected in a fine dining restaurant.

The service was fine, however we did have to wait about 10 minutes too long for our check. Later that week, however, we received a handwritten thank you note from our waitress. It was an outstanding touch that didn’t take much effort, but resonated well with both of us.

This was a $150 meal for two and while the food was excellent, it is a price that exceeded my experience. Sullivan’s is easily one of the best steakhouse options for us in Raleigh, however my food was somewhat forgettable, and the experience is not what it should be to qualify as one of our best overall dining options in Raleigh.

Rating: Five Stars (out of seven)

map it

Posted by Dana on July 5, 2010 | Tags: Downtown , Food . | ( 12 ) Comments

Jun

Maroon 5, Kris Allen, VV Brown Coming to The Walt

On Tuesday, August 17, Maroon 5 will play the downtown Raleigh amphitheater. Opening are the 2009 American Idol winner Kris Allen as well as VV Brown .

Posted by Dana on June 29, 2010 | Tags: Downtown , Music . | ( 0 ) Comments

Jun

Tracy Morgan Coming to Goodnights

On Thursday September 2, Tracy Morgan will begin a 6-show weekend at Goodnight’s Comedy Club. This will be one of the last shows before Tracy films his upcoming HBO special, so he will really be on! Tickets are on sale now.

Posted by Dana on June 22, 2010 | Tags: Comedy , Downtown . | ( 5 ) Comments

Jun

Raleigh Accepting Appearance Award Nominations

The City of Raleigh is accepting nominations for the 2010 Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Community Appearance. The annual awards recognize outstanding new development, building rehabilitation efforts, and natural resource conservation within the Capital City. The awards program was established in 1983 to commemorate exemplary achievement in enhancing the city’s appearance. More than 200 projects, sites, and individuals have been honored.

Awards are offered in 11 different award categories, including new residential, commercial, or institutional construction, plus historic preservation, sustainable design, and tree and landscape conservation. The award for “Maintained Outstanding Appearance” honors appearance contributions by projects 5 years old or older. The “Individual” award is presented to a citizen who has consistently worked to preserve or improve city appearance.

The deadline for entries for the 2010 Sir Walter Raleigh Awards is Friday, July 9. Nominations for the can be made online at or by completing a printed form available at City government offices. In addition to project information, six or more digital photos of each nominated project or individual, submitted on CD or flash drive, are also required.

An independent jury will meet in July to review the nominations. Award winners will be selected based on specific criteria, including exhibition of a new standard of excellence, awareness of land stewardship, innovation, conservation of natural and/ or historic resources, and exceeding applicable ordinances. The Raleigh City Council will confirm the jury’s selections in August. Awards will be presented in October.