🧌 Giant Trolls & Rare Flowers - July 30th

Happy Wednesday! Thanks for being here, we’ve really grown a ton lately and the support has been great.

As usual, housekeeping to start:

• We are looking for new partners! If you run a business (of any kind) that you think is great simply reply to this email or fill out this quick 2 minute form to inquire.

• The Summer store closes tomorrow, so I figured why not pull an Oaken and do a Big Summer Blowout, use this link for 15% off your entire order. Today and Tomorrow only.

Show of The Week - Raleighoke @ Tap Yard

They’ve got two shows on the community calendar this month but Raleigh’s live band karaoke experience, Raleighoke is heading to Tap Yard on August 2nd! Show goes from 8PM to midnight, but doors and signup begins at 7PM — tickets $9 online.

See their full song list below and prep for your time on stage with their Spotify playlist of each of the songs they know. Keep updated on shows down below or on their Instagram.

— Upcoming & Ongoing! —

• The Carolina Hurricanes are almost back and you know what that means! It’s time for a Marty Party. Join Bowstring in September for a Meet & Greet with Jordran Martinook in benefit of the Carolina Hurricanes Foundation — event details, click here.

• There’s been a Troll Sighting! Coming to Dix Park in October, artist Thomas Dambo will add his reclaimed wood “larger-than-life” trolls to the natural landscape of Dix Park — details here, trolls below (aren’t they always?):

• Band on the Roof plays upstairs at Oak City Cycling (Oakwood) with a intimate solo show from Parker Gispert, front-man of The Whigs ( they’ve opened for Kings of Leon) — check out details here.

• Get your Hopscotch Music Festival tickets before Friday! After that, prices go up, so go ahead and snag a spot or volunteer to get access to this wildly popular music event.

• Raleigh has another corpse flower! Check out the live stream and try to visit Juniper Level in person to catch this rare bloom with quite a unique smell (hence it’s name):

— Wednesday 30th —

• Starting in just a few minutes at 9AM (and recurring monthly it seems), A Place at the Table is bringing back their Walk Club for 2 mile trek around downtown — snacks after!

• Houseplant Bingo Night at Atlantic Gardening starts at 5:30 tonight, ticket includes 5 bingo cards and each winner gets a 4” tropical plant from the greenhouse! — details.

— Thursday 31st —

• Looking to try your hand at painting the Raleigh skyline? Tickets seem to include a cocktail and painting supplies + a prime view of downtown at Wye Hill — info here.

• Muggles beware, Harry Potter Birthday Trivia is happening at the Hartwell. Grab your robes, owls, and drive your Ford Anglia (watch for any large trees) to the Hartwell for the 7PM trivia event — yer a wizard harry.

— Friday 1st —

(… and suddenly, it’s August.)

• The 17th Annual Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival starts Friday and runs through Saturday over at Koka Booth Amphitheatre — tickets starting at $29 for live music, BBQ, bourbon, and more running until 10PM Friday — get a souvenir glass upon entry.

• It’s First Friday! As always check out the bulk of the happenings around Moore Square and up to the Raleigh Times area but vendors across town have special events as well. For example, Whiskey Kitchen has a local artist popup/showcase at 6PM — event info.

— Saturday 2nd —

• Raleigh Social Circle hosts an early Saturday Morning Hike at Lake Lynn, starts at 9:30AM and is about a 2 mile trail around the lake — RSVP with eventbrite, map below:

• Unlikely Professionals has a 2nd location! Grand Opening takes place in North Hills from 12-3PM, with PopUp Peach, Tarot Cards, Benchwarmers Bagels, and more! — details.

• Playing at home this week, the NC Courage take on the San Diego Wave. Another win could move them up into playoff contention — schedule here.

• After pulling out a Penalty Kick win last week, NC FC take on Louisville away at 8PM.

• The monthly Pop Shop ARTernative Market is back! Chapel of Bones FREE event with local creators makers and best of all, coffee. Starts at 11AM — more info:

— Sunday 3rd —

• Love Never Fails Dance Party & Marketplace is a community open-air celebration of music, dancing, and creative sharing their work. Check out the flyer below:

• Drink & Design with Dram & Draught! This Sunday at 5PM, go for a creative round of painting, supplies included if you’re in an artsy mood — creatives here.

• Check out Capital Transit Band at Fred Fletcher Park at 6PM for a Sunday Evening with this four-part vocal jazz ensemble — see the full concert series calendar here.

— Monday 4th —

• Longleaf Lounge runs a Bingo Night through the end of September, join them at 7PM and check out this unique hotel bar of Dawson St. Hosted by Bingo Starr — free bingo.

— Tuesday 5th —

• It’s been a hectic couple of months hasn’t it? Greendoor Vitality is hosting Sit Raleigh from 7-8PM for a Meditation for all ages event — more here.

Local Non-Profit News

• Monday was World Conservation Day and Raleigh is looking for volunteers for Mud Day and beyond to help prep native seedlings and plant new trees — more info here.

• SCPA is waving ALL fees for adoption this Friday as they fight overcrowding in their facility and they will be open for extended hours. The below promotional video is a must watch regardless of if you have room for a new pet at home:

Openings & Closings

• Looks like The London Bridge Pub may be closed according to one source. Doors locked, lights off during business hours, and website gone — more here.

City Council & Civics

• Roy Cooper announced his NC Senate bid, raising over $3 million in his first 24 hours, see the scoop on his announcement and what it means for the state here at WUNC.

• Looking to take the buses soon? GoTriangle has their largest schedule update ever after the opening of RUS Bus downtown — view the full list to see if your route is affected.

• Do you have a teen interested in leadership, social justice, or community building? the LGBT Center of Raleigh is looking for High-school students to help facilitate programming for 5-10 hours per week — full info here.

Sports News

• For the first time since 2015 the Carolina Flyers Ultimate team will not make the playoffs after their season ended 2 weeks ago — follow them here for 2026.

That’s it for today folks! Thanks for the support on the Monthly newsletter, it set the record for MOST opens we’ve ever had, so we will continue to work on those for next month.

If you enjoyed the content and made it this far, thanks again. This project didn’t exist even 6 months ago, so can’t wait to see what the year looks like.

We’ve got some big things planned to really try to break out of this traditional email mold and here’s hoping you will all be a part of it!

See you next week!