Tag Archives: Durham

November 29, 2010 · 5:45 pm

Shopping Made Fun ~ Rock & Shop Market Returns to Durham Saturday

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Rock & Shop Market Returns to Durham Saturday, December 4, 2010
Event combines North Carolina designers with local bands, beer and food trucks

How do you make a flea market hip? Bring together more than 50 local designers selling everything from hand-forged jewelry to sustainable T-shirts, throw in beer from Fullsteam Brewery, serve up food from trucks such as Only Burger and mix everything together amidst rock tunes at Motorco Music Hall.

The Rock & Shop Market, an indoor fashion, art and music market featuring independent, emerging designers and bands from North Carolina, returns to Durham Saturday, Dec. 4, from noon to 6 p.m.  Admission is $5.  The market, now in its seventh year, will be held at Motorco Music Hall near downtown Durham.  Fullsteam, located across the street, will serve drinks for the event, and local food trucks such as Only Burger, Klausie’s Pizza Truck and DaisyCakes cupcakes will circle up in the brewery’s parking lot.

Taking cues from other urban markets across the country such as Chicago’s Renegade Craft Fair and Boston’s Bazaar Bizarre, the Rock & Shop Market began in 2004 to support and celebrate the state’s burgeoning indie arts scene of professional designers, artists and musicians. Designers are chosen through a juried application process and hail from across the state, resulting in a diverse mix of fashion, art, jewelry, stationary, furniture and more.  Learn more about the Rock & Shop Market online at rockandshopmarket.com, on Twitter @rockandshopmkt and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rockandshopmarket.

About the organizers
The Rock & Shop Market is organized by Raleigh designers Michelle Smith and Regan Wood.  The pair also curates window displays in unused storefronts in downtown Raleigh and Durham and offers creative design and marketing services to emerging boutiques and businesses through their joint venture, Sprout & Flourish. Outside of the Rock and Shop Market, Smith also runs indieNC, an online shop and blog that features products from North Carolina artists.

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September 1, 2010 · 6:01 pm

The Best Panini Ever! Check Out Toast In Durham!

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Last weekend while visiting Durham I finally had the chance to stop in at Toast to have lunch.   Toast is a “paninoteca” – an authentic Italian sandwich shop.  Their specialities include Paninis, Tramezzini, Bruschetta, and Crostini.  They also offer fresh salads and homemade soups and you can even buy an NC microbrew to enjoy with your lunch!    They are located in the Five Points area of Downtown Durham along West Main Street right next to Whiskey.  The bulk of their seating is indoors,  but they do offer outdoor seating with a few tables and umbrellas out of the brick sidewalk.

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I’ve heard nothing but good things about the food and was really looking forward to checking it out.  I was not dissapointed.  The folks at Toast made the best panini I’ve ever had!  I ordered the grilled chicken pannini with roasted peppers, mozzareall, and salsa verde.  It was delicious.   Easily the best pannini I have ever had the pleasure of easting!  My wife was equally impressed with her salad and homemade lentil soup.  From what I understand, whenever possible they try to use local suppliers of the produce, meats, cheeses, and bread they use in their sandwhiches. 

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If having great local food wasn’t enough, the fact that it was so affordable made it even better.  Lunch for two including a drink was just over $15.  If I worked in Downtown Durham this place would be my regualr lunch spot.  It looks like their good reputation is growing too.  I was really impressed with how busy they were on an afternoon during the weekend.  Many downtown lunch spots tend to see less traffic on weekends when the work crowd isn’t around, but Toast clearly has a loyal customer base that carries through the weekend.

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Toast is open Monday – Friday from 8am-8pm and Saturday from 8am-3pm. Closed on Sundays.  For more info about their menu check out their website or follow them on their Facebook Fan Page.

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August 23, 2010 · 6:19 am

Outsiders Art & Collectibles in Durham Holds Meet the Artist Reception – August 26th from 5–9 pm

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Outsiders Art & Collectibles invites you to an exhibit of fine art prints by the iconic, internationally recognized outsider artist, Mingering Mike, and to meet the artist at a reception on Thursday, August 26th from 5 – 9 pm. This event is free and open to the public and will include live music from The Wigg Report and Mel Melton and the Wicked Mojos, and food by Parker & Otis, the Only Burger Truck, Taqueria Lopez and more.

The exhibit will be on display at Outsiders Art & Collectibles through the end of September 2010. Visit www.mingeringmike.com to learn more about this fascinating artist.

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August 23, 2010 · 6:07 am

Picture of the Week – Fullsteam!

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This week’s picture of the week is a shot of Durham’s latest addition to the craft beer world, Fullsteam, sampling some of their fine beers at the market this past weekend.  Did you know you can pre-order growlers of Fullsteam’s beer and pick them up at the Durham and Carrboro farmers market?  Check out their website for the order form and more info on Durham’s newest brewery.

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April 3, 2010 · 11:42 am

Durham Bulls 2010 Baseball Season Starts Today!

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The Durham Bulls open their 2010 season with a “Spring Training Showdown” game against the Tampa Bay Ray’s today, Saturday April 3rd at one o’clock.  After today’s season opener they will hit the road for two weeks of away games in Virginia and Georgia before returning to Durham to play the Norfolk Tide at home on April 15th.

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If you live in the Triangle you need to go to at least one Durham Bulls game for the experience.  Even if you aren’t a huge baseball fan it is still a great way to spend the afternoon.  Ticket prices are very affordable ranging from $7 to $9 and can easily be purchased the day of the game at the box office.  A popular option is to head to the game a little early and hang out at Tyler’s Taproom across the street to grab a few pre-game beers.

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The games are fun to watch and they have min-events between innings with thing like fan summa wrestling and kids racing Wool E. Bull around the bases.  The food at the stadium is pretty good (my wife claims to have had the best bean burrito she ever had there) and not as expensive as pro-events.  Beers go for around $5 and $6 and hey even have some good NC Carolina beers on tap. 

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During the summer home games on Friday nights include a free fireworks show after the game.  It’s actually a really good little show and worth sticking around a few extra minutes to see.  They also have a special fireworks show for the 4th of July celebration.  Those games are usually the most popular and probably the only time you really need to think about buying tickets in advance since they do sometimes sell out. 

I tend to favor evening games.  The temperatures during the spring games in manageable but it can get quite hot during the summer.  If I do catch a game during the warmer summer months I try to get tickets in a section that has a portion of the stadium roof overhead to provide some shade and protection from the sun.  You can view the stadium seating chart here. 

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I’m looking forward to catching several games this season and I highly recommend you check one out if you get the chance.  You can view the full 2010 Durham Bulls schedule here.

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