Yearly Archives: 2012

October 23, 2012 · 11:27 am

The Red & White Food and Beverage Festival – November 1, 2012

The Red and White food and beverage festival is an all-inclusive event featuring NC State Alumni who are chefs, involved with restaurants, farms, breweries, alcohol beverage companies and/or wineries. This will be a wonderful event for everyone to come out, mingle and taste some fresh local fare during NC State’s homecoming week.

Event Details:
When: Thursday November 1, 2012 6-10pm
Where: The State Club – Raleigh, NC
Price: $35 (use promo code “triexplorer” for $5 off)

Tickets must be purchased in advance
General admission tickets available online HERE
Alumni Association tickets available online HERE
State Club members may purchase tickets directly through the club

About Red & White Food and Beverage Festival

What makes this event special and unique is that everyone is participating is an NC State Alum and likes to support the local community. Proceeds from the festival will benefit Wine to Water, a nonprofit organization that provides clean water to people around the world.

Savor Tastings From:
The State Club • Sparians • Backyard Bistro • Joel Lane’s Public House • 18 Seaboard Restaurant • Bida Manda Laotian Restaurant and Bar • Chubby’s Tacos • Tobacco Road Sports Café • The Cupcake Shoppe Bakery • Carolina Ale House • Taverna Agora • Oceanic • Bluewater Grill • Neomonde Café & Market • Zinda New Asian • Cameron Bar & Grill • The Pit • Sitti • The Raleigh Times Bar • Gravy • Howling Cow Ice Cream • Bertie County Peanuts • Big Mikes BBQ • FreshPoint Produce • Ray Family Farms • Calico Farmstead Cheese Company • Bluebird Hill Farm • Sysco Food Service

Beverages From:
The State Club • Moet Hennessy • Dover Vineyards • Roth Brewing Company • Duplin Winery • Lonerider Brewing Company • Iron Gate Winery • Adams Vineyards LLC • North Carolina Brewers Guild • The Country Vintner • Johnson Brothers Carolina Distributing •Wine to Water • Precept Wine • ONEHOPE Wine • Empire Distributors
Tryon Distributing • Southern Wine & Spirits •Mims Distributing Company • Foothills Brewing

 

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October 19, 2012 · 8:17 am

Hillsborough Handmade Parade This Saturday!

Hillsborough Handmade Parade3

Photo courtesy of David Hunt

The Handmade Parade returns to Hillsborough this weekend on Saturday October 20th at 2pm. The parade is organized by the Hillsborough Arts Council and fills the streets of downtown Hillsborough with giant puppets and costumed creatures marching along to festive music. This is one of my favorite Triangle events and I highly recommend you check it out if you can. It is a short parade, but great fun for the entire family!

Hillsborough Handmade Parade4

Photo courtesy of David Hunt

The parade is a described as a ”walking theatrical performance.  A spectacle of art, creativity, and public theatre”. Its purpose  is to foster community involvement in the arts through participation in every aspect. The informal atmosphere and hands-on character of the experience allows members of the community to work directly with artists and each other while gaining confidence in their own abilities.

Hillsborough Handmade Parade5

Photo courtesy of David Hunt

The parade features participants in handmade costumes of snakes, frogs, and other wildlife creatures along side larger than life large puppets of animals and butterflies supported by four to six people marching them along the parade route.

Hillsborough Handmade Parade

Photo courtesy of David Hunt

The parade concludes on a grassy hill in front of the Historic Burwell School where participants jam to the rhythm of African drum music for a final celebration dance.  This is fabulous community event and I look forward to participating in it again this year. To see more great photographs from past parades check out Don Moffitt’s flickr album or you can view a video from the 2010 parade below.

The Fresh Roots Festival will also be happening on Saturday as well with continuous activities all day throughout downtown Hillsborough  including 5 free band concerts from noon until 10 pm.

Grassroots

You can get more details by visiting www.freshrootsfestivals.org.

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October 18, 2012 · 1:59 pm

Food Lovers’ Guide to Raleigh Durham & Chapel Hill

One of the greatest rewards I have experienced through my explorations of the Triangle and writing my blog is meeting great new people. Over the past few years of blogging I have made many new friends and learned a lot from them about the local Triangle foodie scene. At the top of the list of a great foodie friends in the know is Johanna Kramer, aka the “durhamfoodie“. Johanna recently published an incredible new book that every food lover in the Triangle should have. It is titled Food Lovers’ Guide to Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, The Best Restaurants, Markets & Local Culinary Offerings

This book provides the inside scoop on the local foodie scene for visitors, newcomers and long-time Triangle residents alike. It is a comprehensive guide of the Triangle Foodie scene full of indispensable food-related information including:

  • Food festivals and culinary events
  • Farmers’ markets
  • Keeping up with food news
  • Food Trucks
  • Specialty food shops
  • One-of-a-kind restaurants and landmark eateries
  • Recipes using local ingredients and  traditions
  • The best breweries and brewpubs

Book description from the DurhamFoodie website:

“This guide has all the best in the way of food that Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill has to offer. There are numerous recipes from top local chefs, as well as interesting notes on foods unique to North   Carolina. Consumer interest in all things local is at a high point. Food Lovers’ Guide to Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill is the ultimate resource for food lovers to use and savor.”

Available at area bookstores including:

Barnes and Noble New Hope Commons
Barnes and Noble Southpoint

And these local independent booksellers:

The Regulator in Durham
Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill
Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh

Book Signings

Sat. Nov. 10, 2012. (Time TBD)
Elliotts Provision Company, Pinehurst.

Fri. Nov. 16, 2012. (6:30-8pm)
Relish, Raleigh.

Sat. Dec 1, 2012. (Time TBD)
Mother Earth Brewing, Kinston

Sat. Dec 1, 2012. (Time TBD)
Chef and the Farmer, Kinston

Tues. Jan. 8, 2013. 7-8pm
Southwest Regional Library, Durham

For more information visit Durham Foodie or follow Johanna on facebook or twitter at @durhamfoodie

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October 12, 2012 · 12:26 pm

4th Annual Cooke Street Carnival – October 13th, 2012

cooke

The Fourth Annual Cooke Street Carnival returns to Raleigh this Saturday. This is not your typical carnival, it is more like a large family friendly street party featuring  food trucks, live bands, street performers, eating contests, and over 40 art vendors. To get an idea what the carnival is like, check out this slide show of last years festivities. The carnival is a non profit event that benefits the  Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

Food Trucks:
Chirba Chirba Dumplings
Bulkogi BBQ
Sympathy for the Deli
American Meltdown
Captain Poncho’s Tacos

Performers:
Bombadil
Gray Young
Professor Toon
The Spacemen
One Tribe Drum Circle

Local Beers:
Lone Rider Beer
Aviator Brewing
Carolina Brewing Company

Local Coffee:
Slingshot Coffee
Counter Culture Coffee

The weather forecast looks absolutely perfect for the carnival this year and I look forward to checking it out. For more information about the Cooke Street Carnival visit their website or check out this great post by NewRaleigh.com for additional details.

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October 11, 2012 · 10:35 am

Pittsboro Pepper Festival – Sunday October 14th

Pepperfest Poster2012web

Pittsboro Pepper Festival – October 14, 2012

If you’re a voracious local foodie, a supporter of North Carolina’s sustainable agriculture or just enjoy good music and a cold beer, don’t miss the 5th Annual Amazing Pittsboro Pepper Festival this Sunday, October 14th, 2012 from 3-7pm at Briar Chapel Community Park (map).

The Pittsboro Pepper Festival aims to spread the superfood power of regional peppers while promoting local food, fun, and community. All proceeds from the Pittsboro Pepper Festival go toward sustainable agriculture education and research in the Piedmont of North Carolina through The Abundance Foundation and Piedmont Biofarm, both located at The Plant in Pittsboro.

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Photo courtesy of the Abundance Foundation

The festival features over 30 local chefs from Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Durham, Cary, Greensboro, Carrboro and Pittsboro who choose from a wide variety of heirloom local peppers (everything from sweet to hot!) to create their most creative pepper dish or drink to serve in person at the bustling festival.

Pepper Kings and Queens, kid’s activities, and a community of local food lovers, sustainable agriculture activists and sustainability educators will be a part of the event. Fun for the whole family includes a Vegetable Circus, hula-hoops, face painting, and the return of the legendary big bubbles on the green. Musical entertainment provided by The Free States, Justin Johnson, and Diali Cisshoko & Kairaba!

Admission
$30 in advance until Oct 13, $35 at the entrance and includes all-access to food and entertainment. Drinks are cash bar. To purchase tickets and get more information please visit the festival website.

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Photo courtesy of the Abundance Foundation

About Piedmont Biofarm & The Abundance Foundation
Piedmont Biofarm is a year-round vegetable farm feeding the community and performing groundbreaking sustainable agricultural research. The Abundance Foundation is empowering the Piedmont on sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and local economy through DIY workshops, community-building events, and by actively engaging youth.

 

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