Category Archives: Events

Sign up Now to Take a Tour of Larry’s Beans on September 25th!

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Larry’s Beans  is holding a public tour and coffee tasting on September 25th! I took the tour over the summer and had an awesome time.  You can read about my experience and see the pictures I took in my previous blog post about the tour.  If you want to check it out, sign up now.  Space is limited and it tends to fill up fast.  Read their announcement below:

Tour Larry’s green-o-vated beanplant, including passive & active solarpower, Raleigh’s only B100 fueling station, worm composting, rainwater flush toilets, Diedrich roaster, and the Veggie Bus.  Experience a coffee tasting with Chief Roaster Brad.

Meet Larry & Kevin, the proud owners of Larry’s Beans.  They’ll be free delectable treats from Neomonde (not to mention myriads of Larry’s coffee), LIVE music, and BIG BOSS beer.

Want to go? Sign up be emailing tours@larrysbeans.com with the # of People in Group, Contact Name, and Phone Number.  Don’t wait because they’re limiting it to the first 100 people!

Doors open at 11:15 AM, tours and tasting start promptly at 11:30.

Price = free!

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Raleigh Wide Open 5 – Fayetteville Street Comes Alive!

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This past Saturday marked the 5th Raleigh Wide Open Festival since it began in 2006 after the Fayetteville Street pedestrian mall was opened up traffic.  As it has in the past, the event featured local musicians on multiple stages and a host of food vendors that line the street from the Capital building all the way down to the new City Plaza.  I hit the event twice during the course of the day.  I went down in the early afternoon to hear some of the first music acts and returned later in the evening to have a few drinks at The Mint and catch the fireworks finale.

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It is estimated that this year’s event drew around 60,000 people.  While still a success, this is about 40K people shy of last year’s record attendance of 100,000.  I think the smaller crowd was due to two things this year. The first being the overcast weather with constant threat of rain.  The sesond being the fact that while there was tons of music, there was no headline act or “main” stage that draw in a huge crowd.  I think that is one aspect of the festival I would like to see return in the future. Without that main act at the end of the festival things felt somewhat disjointed and incomplete. 

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It felt like the crowd actually thinned out as the day wore on instead of things picking up and getting busier as the event transitioned into the evening hours. Sure, the Barenaked Ladies had a concert at the new amphitheater a block away, but I don’t really consider that a part of Raleigh Wide Open because it was physically separated from Fayetteville Street and you needed a ticket for the concert (prices ranged from $35-$58).  That being said, we did have a lot of fun and I look forward to future festivals in downtown.  You can see the rest of my photos from Raleigh Wide Open Five in my flickr photo album.

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Acoustic Open Mic Night at Electric Beanz – Thursday August 12 at 7:30pm!

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Electric Beanz Coffee Bar is holding an Acoustic Open Mic Night on Thursday August 12th at 7:30pm.  Musician sign up starts at 7pm. Each performer can sign up to perform a maximum of 3 songs per time slot.  Once everyone has had a chance to share their talent, those wishing to sign up for a 2nd round are more than welcome to perform again.  Electric Beanze has a nice relaxing atmosphere and is the perfect location for budding and experienced musicians alike to hone their craft.  They also serve some of the best organic coffee around and as an added bonus offer some great local beers from Aviator Brewing Co. in Fuquay and wines from the Triangle’s own Chatham Hill Winery.

For more information about the Open Mic Night check out their Facebook Event Page.

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Looking for Organic Wine? Check out Sip … a wine store in Cary!

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Last Friday my wife and I met up with some friends to check out a new wine shop in Cary called Sip …. a wine store.  They were holding a free tasting event that night which offered us the perfect opportunity to explore this uique shop.  Sip is special in that they are the only wine shop in the Triangle that only carries Organic and eco-friednly wines.  

We are huge fans of wine but, whenever possible we try to buy organic, but most wine shops only have a handful of such offerings.  Not so at Sip, where you can find a wide variety of certified organic wines and other wines created using biodynamic farming practices that incorporate more earth-friendly techniques.  I appreciate the environmental aspect of organic agricultural practices while my wife is more interested in the fact that certified organic wines usually have no added sulfites.

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The shop is located in Cary’s Preston Walk shopping center (map) and even though I live in N. Raleigh the trip over there was fast and easy.  I just took  I-540 to the Chapel Hill Road exit and was pulling up to the shop within a few minutes.  When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised to see that in addition to having several great wines to tast and light munchies (including gluten free chips) that there was live music!  April, the owner of the shop, was very friendly and knowledgable about the wines and was happy to answer all of our questions. 

In addition to the large variety of wines we were  also excited to see that  they offered wines from a wide range of price points with many great options in the $9 to $15 range.  Several of the wines we tasted that night were less than $10 and we had a hard time deciding which we liked most. 

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The cool thing about Sip is that in addition to the tastings you can purchase a 1/2 glass or full glass of wine, which we did and ended up spending an hour just relaxing listening to the live guitar music and chatting with the owner.  They also seel organic beers and ciders whcih you can buy by the six pack or by individual if you are looking to try something new.  They even have some of them cold so you can enjoy a beer in the store.  Hanging out there on Friday evening is easy enough since the shop has a warm country boutique vibe to right down to chalk board signs and the large rustic wooden “butcher-block” like tasting bar. 

Another free tasting event is scheduled for tonight (7/30) where they will be tasting organic and biodynamic wines from Benziger from 4-8pm. Stop by if get the chance.  You will be glad you did!  For more information about Sip and to learn about future tasting events at their shop check out their website or join their facebook fanpage.

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Raleigh Wide Open Returns to Fayetteville Street This Saturday!

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Raleigh’s annual festival along Fayetteville Street returns for a fifth time this Saturday. The celebration runs from 11am to 11pm with food vendors and entertainers the entire length of the strip. There will be music acts on several different stages, a beer tent, street performers and a great fireworks display to cap off the night. More than 75,000 people are expected to atttend! For more details check out the event website.

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