🌤️ Goodbye Summer, Hello September - August 27th

Happy Wednesday Raleigh! The best month of the year is here, you get both summer and fall (and I’m quite partial to it as well being my birth month). Anyway, lots to dig into today, just a reminder to be on the lookout for the September monthly on Sunday!

Artist of The Week… You!

… or rather, it could be! Raleigh Transportation is looking for 7 artists to create 9-11 corral artworks for bike and scooters throughout downtown.

This application is open to anyone in the Triangle area, with a 3 year history of professional practice, and has a budget up to $24,000. Check out details below:

Upcoming & Ongoing!

• It’s not Raleigh but growing up here, we always went to Carolina Mudcats games over at Five County Stadium, and this week is their last home series ever before they move over to Wilson to become the Warbirds — catch tickets to their final series here.

• Hopscotch prices go up again this Friday, so grab yours soon! Plus, check out the full list of day parties starting as soon as Wednesday September 3rd down at the link below:

• Speaking of Music Festivals, Raleigh Wide Open, which takes place October 3rd/4th in Downtown Raleigh, announced their kickoff celebration on Thursday October 2nd at the Corner on NCSU Centennial Campus — details on that event here.

• NC Symphony season starts back up in September as well! First few events include Rhapsody in Blue, Video Games Live, & more — see their events calendar here.

— Wednesday 27th —

• Atlantic Gardening is hosting houseplant bingo! From 6-7PM tonight, get 5 bingo cards and winner gets to take home a 4” tropical plant — garden bar will be open (tickets look low but there’s another already planned for Sept. 24th as well).

• Crank Arm is hosting a “Skip the Small Talk” event where you can meet people and talk about “big talk” conversational prompts, with lots of structure to not feel awkward. Plus Crank Arm is just a cool place to hang out for a beer on tap — details here.

• The Power Broker, is the new book up for discussion with City Builder NC. Reading not required, RSVP for the event at PRESS Cafe from 12-1PM — details.

— Thursday 28th —

• Visual Art Exchange (VAE Raleigh) is a 45 year old arts non-profit who is partnering with Natural Science Bar to help fund their mission — check out drink specials during their event from 6-7:30PM and learn more about it here.

• Football season is back! 🏈 Check out NCSU vs ECU, Thursday at 7PM — tickets here.

• Can’t make it to the game? Check out the Tap Yard Kickoff NCSU Party, which also starts at 7PM. Watch the first home game on one of their 10 screens — info here.

• We got a tip from reader that they wanted some more movie content, so this is for you! Jaws 50th Anniversary is returning to theaters, see it local at Marbles IMAX for the biggest screen in Raleigh (or any other movie chains) — Marbles details here.

— Friday 29th —

• Critical Mass is back! Last Friday of each month meet up at the NCSU Belltower to take a (bike, scooter, skates, etc) ride through town on the cities largest ride — see the last ride here.

• Vinyl Night is back, buy, sell, trade, and play your favorite records with Thirsty Pigeon Records over at Sneaky Penguin Brewing (lots of animals, huh?) — starts at 6PM.

• Starting at 8PM, check out Good time Comedy at Vault Craft Beer — free admission, great comedy, what more do you need, details here.

— Saturday 30th —

• The End of Summer Block Party is finally here, running from 1-11PM, Gipson Play Plaza will be the home to this FREE music & arts festival — details here:

• The African American Cultural Festival goes all weekend in the heart of downtown! Check out their flyer below for details on what to expect and learn more about the festival and it’s 16 year rich history at this link here.

— Sunday 31st —

• Sunday Funday at Raleigh Brewing, from 12-7PM play games in the hoppy lounge — see their full weekly event schedule here.

• It seems to be a slow Sunday, maybe hit up the beach for the long weekend and check out our friends over in Wilmington? Their info is down below:

— Monday, September 1st, Labor Day —

• Bingo Night w/ Bingo Starr starts at 7PM at the Longleaf Hotel & Lounge — details.

• Cosmic Chuckles returns to flying saucer, starting at 9PM in the backroom, check out local comedians trying to test out their new chops — out of this world laughs.

— Tuesday 2nd —

• Oddball Oaks (a.k.a. Quirky Quercus), is a tree tour that dives into the wonderful world of oaks (not all of them are towering trees downtown)! Check out dwarf varieties, evergreen, and more with the JC Raulston Arboretum — oddball oak lovers here.

Local Deals

• While supplies last Urban Pothos in Iron Works is doing a BOGO on 2” cactus and succulents — see full details on eligible plants here.

• A Lil’ R & R dog + human boutique shop has a 30% off sale through the 30th, see their page here and check out the owner Emily, who has an art page as well.

Openings & Builds

• Jubala Coffee (one of my personal favorites btw) opens their 4th shop downtown and they’ve announced a grand opening for Fall 2025 — see photos of the new spot.

• The Newsagents Shop has delayed their opening from Summer 2025 to Fall 2025. There haven’t been a ton of updates on the building progress yet but they have started sending out their associated newsletter, check that out here — details.

• Trophy Brewing have announced their newest location in Five Points will debut in October on Bickett Blvd, check out photos from raleighdowntown here.

• After closing in March, 42nd Street Oyster Bar may be reopening as soon as February, check out a local source, trianglefoodguy, for more info on that and other news.

• The Double Horseshoe Counter at Pooles Diner is reopening, check out their post on it and see the bar below:

City Council & Civics

• Visit NC recently release some FREE online guides (some behind an email signup) on travel, highways, trails, and more — resources here.

• Here is the the Outdoor NC trailhead guide as well with 60 pages of free info — details.

Local Sports News

• NC FC beat Las Vegas Lights away on Saturday, ending the game 2-1. They take on Hartford Athletic this Saturday at 7:30PM as well — schedule.

• NC Courage also played this past week, drawing 3-3 against Chicago. They play the KC Current again on the 30th also.

• I’m a huge caniac, so just a reminder that our first preseason games take place the 22nd and 24th of September against Tampa Bay and the Panthers. Regular season starts against the Devils on October 9th — full schedule here.

I’ve been working hard on the new designs for fall! Frankly, I may have to slow roll them out a bit. Between personal obligations (and being a perfectionist), I still haven’t quite gotten the designs to where I would like.

Anyway, more news on that in the coming week or two. Be sure to stay tuned Sunday for the September monthly newsletter as well, see you then!

— Mason @ The Raleighwood Inbox