The Triangle Explorer

Bunnies at NCMA

This weekend there is a lot going on. It will also be your last chance to catch the giant rabbits on display (through this Sunday) at the recently expanded NCMA Museum Park. Below are the rest of my top picks for the weekend. Enjoy!

Thursday

R&R at Larry’s Coffee
On Thursday you can stop by the Larry’s Coffee in Raleigh and check out their mobile Airstream Coffee Bar. They will also be selling beer from nearby Neuse River Brewing and the Chirba Chirba Food Truck will be there selling their popular dumplings. Should be a beautiful evening to check out this fun alternative to the usual Thursday night!

Rebirth Brass Band at Motorco in Durham
If you like brass bands you wouln’t want to miss this. Rebirth Brass Band is a true New Orleans institution. Think horns and a lot of funk. Opening act is local favorite D-Town Brass. Tickets are just $20 in advance.

Friday

First Friday Market at Morning Times
First Friday’s are always a fun time in downtown Raleigh. Art, music, and food just about everywhere you look. One of my favorite destinations is the evening market that sets up along Hargett Street in front of The Morning times. Great local vendors and usually there is some interesting entertainment.

Saturday

Pittsboro Death Faire
The Death Faire is a family friendly event serving as a day of celebration and remembrance on November 5th from noon to midnight. Open Poetry and Story Telling, Kid’s Activities, Dia De Los Muertos Altar, Fire Show, New Orleans Style Funeral Procession, Face Painting, Costume Contest, Design Your Own Coffin, Dancing, “Ded” Talks, Mystical Food and Cocktails. Music by the Bulltown Strutters, Flor y Canto, Lobo Marino, & Curtis Eller’s American Circus.

Sunday

City of Oaks Marathon – Cheer Station at Runologie
The City of Oaks Marathon is Sunday Morning and the course will wind its way through several parts of downtown Raleigh. Go out and cheer on the runners! One fun spot to do this will be out in front of local run shop Runologie on Hillsborough Street.

NCMA Park Celebration
Join NCMA in celebrating their expansion of the Museum Park! Explore the new community spaces and gardens, see exciting new art installations, sample treats from food trucks. There will be Pop-up art workshops; art walks and bike tours; live music. Plus, it will be the last time to view special 10-day public art exhibition “Amanda Parer: Intrude,” featuring five giant illuminated bunnies! This event is FREE.

The Carolina Hurricanes 2016-17 season is already underway by 2 weeks and 6 games, but because of the North Carolina State Fair, the home opener at PNC Arena is not until Friday, October 28.

An exciting youth movement on the ice

On the ice, the Hurricanes are in the midst of a youth movement. The young team features a trio of second-year defensemen in Jaccob Slavin (22 years old), Brett Pesce (21) and Noah Hanifin (19). The roster which is the fourth youngest in the 30-team National Hockey League also includes 19-year old Finnish phenom Sebastian Aho who is a rookie. Even the group of veteran leaders including Justin Faulk (24),  Jeff Skinner (24) and relative gray beard 26-year old Jordan Staal is incredibly young.

The team should offer an exciting brand of hockey that is heavy on speed and skill. Coming off an improved 2015-16 season in the standings and icing a young lineup, the team is becoming younger and better at the same time. It is difficult to project how quickly the youth movement will garner results, but it seems reasonable to expect a return of NHL playoff hockey to PNC Arena in the near future.

For daily coverage of the Carolina Hurricanes 2016-17 season, check out Canes and Coffee which is a local, independent web site dedicated to Hurricanes hockey.

The addition of local food, beer, art and music off the ice

Off the ice, the team is launching “Hurricanes Homegrown Series” which is a new and interesting combination of Hurricanes hockey and a heavy dose of local.

The set of 8 “Hurricanes Homegrown Series” games offers a unique set of food options and also pulls in the work of local artists. Signature food items and flights of beer from local breweries will add a local flavor to the concession stands. Local music acts will perform during the first and second intermissions. And local artists will create posters and t-shirts that will debut at each of the 8 “Homegrown Series” games.

You can read more about the “Hurricanes Homegrown Series” and check the scheduled dates on the team’s web site HERE.

The first game in the series is Friday, November 18 and will feature beer from Foothills Brewery.

The combination of a youthful hockey team and the new series of locally-focused games makes 2016-17 Carolina Hurricanes hockey something to consider for your food and entertainment calendar.

Guest writer Matt Karash is a die-hard Hurricanes fan and the founder of Canes and Coffee which is a local, independent website the provides daily coverage of Hurricanes hockey.

NC Barbecue Revival
Photo courtesy Eric Waters Photography

It’s hard to believe we are entering the last weekend of October. Below are my top picks for fun things to check out on what is sure to be a beautiful fall weekend. This weekend’s featured events include the NC Barbecue Revival, a Parade to the Polls, and the Halloween Weekend Durham Food Truck Rodeo. Happy Exploring!

Saturday
NC Barbecue Revival
There is still time to attend the NC Barbecue Revival at Green Button Farm this weekend. The event will feature the folks behind Durham’s own PICNIC and visiting pitmasters & chefs and runs Oct 28-30th. This three-day weekend celebrates & honors NC’s most iconic food – wood-smoked, whole hog barbecue.

The following Saturday classes , lunch and dinner events still have a few openings. Visit http://www.ncbbqrevival.com for ticket price information and to reserve your spot today!

A Gracious Plenty- Pie Class
No pig pickin’ is complete without a pie, or two. Join celebrated pastry Chef Phoebe Lawless of Scratch Baking to learn the tricks to baking swoon-worthy Southern pies in Ryan and Alicia’s beautiful home kitchen overlooking Green Button Farm. Be prepared to roll up your sleeves and dig your spoon into sweet and savory pies in this demonstration class. Counter Culture Coffee will be keep you caffeinated while you indulge. 10:00 – 11:30

Go Whole Hog – Hog Butchery Class
Join Hog Farmer Ryan Butler & Chef Steve Goff for a lesson in hog butchery. Step into Green Button Farm’s barn for a lesson in head-to-tail butchery. While Chef Steve Goff of Brine Haus breaks down a 200-pound heritage breed hog, Ryan Butler will regale us with tales from the farm and insights into farming sustainably. Ham Biscuits & Counter Culture Coffee will tide you over ‘till lunchtime. 10:00-11:30

Southern Sides served w/ “Buxton Hall BBQ’s Book of Smoke”
Chef Ben Adams and “Barbecue Man” Wyatt Dickson of PICNIC welcome Buxton Hall’s Elliott Moss for a vegetable-focused lunch celebrating southern sides & Moss’s brand new cookbook. Named the 2^nd “Best New Restaurant” by Bon Appetit in 2016, and one of the top eight BBQ restaurants in the Carolinas by Time Magazine, enjoy talking with this James Beard award nominee for “Best Chef: Southeast.” This lunch will be served family style with wines by Wine Authorities. 12:00 – 1:30

“In the Trenches” with Wyatt Dickson & Friends
You’ll find PICNIC’s “Barbecue Man” Wyatt Dickson and visiting pitmasters in the South Pasture as they trade tall tales and prepare the hogs for Sunday’s pig pickin’. Ponysaurus and Fullsteam will be there to keep your whistles wet.
2:00 – 3:30

Know your ‘cue!
BBQ expert Robert Moss, author of “Barbecue: History of An American Institution,” sheds light on the facts and myths surrounding the time-honored tradition of a pig pickin’. Guests will gather in the main barn and sip cocktails from Moss’s newest book, “Southern Spirits.” 2:00-3:30

Bourbon Mash Bill Tasting with The Crunkleton
Gary Crunkleton, owner and bartender of The Crunkleton in Chapel Hill, noted by Garden & Gun as one of the 50 “Best Bars in the South” and by Southern Living as one of the “Best 100 Bars in the South,” will lead the charge in bourbon appreciation, education and tasting. Starting with wheated bourbons, then moving to traditional bourbons and finishing with high rye mash bills, you will have more than enough bourbon to satiate your palate. Guests will leave with a better understanding for how and why bourbon tastes the way it does. 4:00-5:00

Flask & Jug
Put on your boots for a conversation and farm walk across acres of verdant pasture land with Green Button Farm’s Ryan Butler and the Triangle Land Conservancy. We’ll fill your flask and give you an earful about what it means to own and operate a sustainable family farm and how local land conservancies protect our agricultural heritage in perpetuity. 4:00-5:00, Free (but reservations are still required)

Oyster Roast & Progressive Farm Dinner with Pitmasters
As tradition has it, the oyster roast begins once the pigs are smoking! Guests begin at Green Button Farm’s pond with Locals Seafood and Saltbox Seafood for shucked oysters, Brunswick Stew and more, before heading up the pasture to a feast in the tent featuring Arrogant Swine’s Tyson Ho, Lewis Barbecue’s John Lewis, Savannah’s Bryan Furman of B’s Cracklin and many more. Once you reach the barn, you’ll discover bluegrass and s’mores by the fire.
5:30-10:00; $85/person

Sunday
Parade the Vote
Early voting is underway in NC! Meet Sunday at noon at NCSU’s Belltower for an energetic and colorful parade to the poll to celebrate your fundamental right, privilege, and responsibility as an American to vote! With so much to look forward to, the community is encouraged to parade together to vote . Parade will end at the Wake County Board of Elections at 1 PM right when the door opens to vote! If you voted already you are encouraged to join the parade anyway!

Durham Food Truck Rodeo
The Halloween Weekend Food Truck Rodeo in Durham Central Park will have 50+ local food trucks, local craft beer, local artists and live music.  The Swang Brothers play their first of three sets at 12:30 p.m. Event runs from 12-4pm. You can view a list of the trucks here.

Dragon on Symphony Lake at Koka Booth in Cary

I missed this last year, but look forward to catching Lantern Fest at Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre this year. Once again the grounds at Koka Booth will be transformed into a magnificent setting when the North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival returns from November 25th through January 15th.

This year’s Festival will include more than 20 new displays, each one comprised of hundreds of parts, and thousands of LED lights. In what proved to be a fan favorite last year, the spectacular Chinese Dragon on Symphony Lake (pictured above) will return to mesmerize visitors.

Halloween Decorations in Historic Oakwood ~ Raleigh, NC

Halloween is still two weeks away, but in the meantime I suggest swinging by the cool Halloween House in Historic Oakwood (pictured above) to check out the decorations. It is located on the corner of Oakwood Avenue and N. East Street in Raleigh. As you can imagine that corner gets pretty crowded on Halloween so checking out the display in the days leading up to the 31st is your best bet. Below are two other suggestions for the weekend ahead and of course you can also still catch the NC State Fair which runs through this Sunday.

Friday – October 21st
Big Bad Breakfast Takeover at Joule Coffee
Chef John Currence will be at Joule Coffee in Raleigh Friday from 8am-12pm celebrating his new book, Big Bad Breakfast, an ode to breakfast that you absolutely do not want to miss.He will be signing books all morning, while the kitchen at Joule features a handful of dishes inspired by the book. Think sausage-pancake sandwiches, crab cakes benedict, and tomato gravy over cheddar biscuits.

Saturday – October 22nd
Cary Fall Festival
This Saturday Bond Brothers Beer Company and the Town of Cary are teaming up for the Downtown Cary Fall Festival with an afternoon of local artists, vendors, and food trucks, followed by a free concert from local touring artist Southern Culture on the Skids at 6pm. Food trucks in attendance include: The Humble Pig, Fetch Hot Dog Co., Chirba Chirba, The Tot Spot, Fuzzy’s Empanadas, Tacolandia, The Cookie People, and Del’s Lemonade. Event runs from 12-9pm and is free to the public.

Rocky Horror Mystery Show
On Saturday night Wiley Fosters Present “THE ROCKY HORROR MYSTERY SHOW!” at Mystery Brewing in Hillsborough. The show will be performed LIVE with two performances (8pm & 10pm). Opening & Intermission Act by Tom Merrigan. Free Admission. 21+ Only. While you are there I recommend a pint of Mystery Brewing “Apple of you Eye”. All of their beers are excellent, but this is one of my favorites!