🎨 Basement Battles, Adult Recess, & 60,000+ Beers - Apr. 28th

Happy Monday Raleigh! Did you make it outside yesterday? Low humidity and cooler temps, must be the sign of a good week to come, right?

• Look to the West, an exhibit showcasing the strength of Western NC, kicks off on May 1st (yes, May starts on Thursday) at 5:30PM — RSVP on their page or learn more below and see how you can meet the artists.

• Surely, we’ve all thought about why we DON’T get recess anymore, right? Well worry no more! Fletcher Park park opens for 21+ recess from 2-8PM this upcoming Saturday for bean bag races, legos, giant board games, & more — info here.

• Art2Wear, an event for young designers showcasing wearable art, was this past week at NCSU — see more about the event and keep an eye out for future design showcases.

• Ever heard of the Basement Battle? Watch artists face off for 30 minutes while creating themed art pieces the crowd can vote on. At the end 2 artists win a prize, check the link below for more info on how it works — event takes place at Neptunes Parlour.

• While we don’t have official numbers just yet, Brewgaloo this past weekend drew in roughly 60,000 people over the two day event.

• Watch Out! Falls of Neuse Road near Raven Ridge & Durant Road will be partially closed through May 9th, expect (even more) delays around this area.

• Looking for some laughs? Cosmic Chuckles at Flying Saucer downtown has a rotating lineup of local area comics working on new material, tonight at 7PM in the back room.

Apr. 28th - Monday

• Free the Mic! [open mic] @ Lucky Tree | 7PM - FREE

• Jim Henson's Labyrinth: In Concert! [soundtrack] @ Martin Marietta | 8PM - $44+

 Apr. 29th - Tuesday

• Beer & Banjos w/ Tanjo & Crow [bluegrass] @ Bowstring | 6:30PM - FREE

• Split Chain, Dull Mourning, Old Suns [grunge] @ Kings | 8PM - $15+

Someone pointed out that I did in fact name this, artist of the WEEK, which begs this question, what do YOU think is better?

For today, I will leave this spot empty but contact me if you know of a local artist that could use more attention — it can be yourself, a random person you saw online or at a market, or really anyone in the triangle area. Just reply to this email!

• Hurricanes: Your Hurricanes bounced back from a Game 3 Double OT loss, to a 5-2 win in Game 4. Freddie Andersen (starter goalie) left with a potential injury in the 2nd period, but Canes are up 3-1 in the series with a chance to close out at home Tuesday.

• NCSU: Baseball and Softball had big weekends. The men’s team beat No. 2 ranked Clemson Friday night and the women’s came back late for a win over No. 21 Duke.

• NC Courage: The Courage took their first win yesterday against KC Current, who was leading the NWSL. The are 1-2-3 (w/d/l) on the season. The play their next game away on the 3rd against Utah.

• NC FC: The FC also play away on the 3rd against Pittsburgh at 7PM.

On Wednesdays each week, check out a breakdown of the Courage games at the newsletter below:

• The Durham Bulls are back home! They play the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp starting of the series on Tuesday, with the recently mentioned (subscribe here if you missed it) Star Wars night taking place Saturday night.

• Northwest of Raleigh, a new video game barcade just opened in Rolesville, with pinball, retro games, and more, open every night until 8PM! — more info here.

• La Buena Vida, a bold atmosphere Mexican restaurant is opening its third location in Durham, in the site of an old Red Lobster off of 501 between Chapel Hill and Durham.

• Veg Head, a FREE vegetarian patio party is happening in Durham Sunday at PM, next to Motorco Music Hall. Look for a friendly menu, cookies, cocktails, music, & more — info on the event below:

• State of Beer is hiring! They are looking for a full time utility and bartender role, check out their post here and email them at the link if interested.

• In need of SEO, a website, or marketing for your small business? Use who WE use! Check out their reviews or visit their site — link here.

Apr. 28th - Monday - Sunny, High 80°F, Low 54°F

• Sunrise: 06:25 AM, Sunset: 07:59 PM - Moon: Waxing Crescent 🌒

Apr. 29th - Tuesday - Sunny, High 79°F, Low 56°F

• Sunrise: 06:24 AM, Sunset: 08:00 PM - Moon: Waxing Crescent 🌒

• You may have seen the Bald Eagle that was rescued recently near Jordan Lake (he’s okay!) but did you know that in the 1960’s their population was less than 500? Today there are over 315,000 Eagles in the lower 48 states — status here.

• If you’ve been in town a while, you may know the art installation over near Saint Augustine University at a residential house. It seems that this past weekend, supposedly after many warnings, the city has removed the offending art — first shared by raleighdowntown here.

This is completely random but I am a HUGE metal head and when writing this the “westward” art towards the mountains of NC reminded me of a totally unrelated topic — a heavy progressive metal album called Odyssey to the West (which has a song about mountains as well).

So naturally I listened to this loud and heavy music while writing this peaceful and lighthearted newsletter about art, beer, and sports.

Sometimes it just be that way.

See you Wednesday!

— Mason at The Raleighwood Inbox