One of the greatest treasures we have around here is the North Carolina Symphony.  The Symphony’s “summer home” is the beautiful amphitheater at Regency Park in Cary, and the Summerfest series is one of the best deals going.  The Symphony offers a reasonably-priced, flexible ticket package with 7 concerts to choose from.  Well, technically there’s 8, but one of them is free and open to the public.  Parking is free.  Children 12 and under are free.  You can bring your own food and drinks, including alcohol.

Get your tickets now, and I’ll see you there!

Summerfest is comfortable and family-friendly.  Incredible music, gorgeous setting, family time together under the stars…….priceless.

That’s Life in Raleigh.

Everything was perfect in Downtown Raleigh on October 31, 2009, for making this Halloween a memorable one.  The moon was about as close to full as it can get.  And the weather–well, let’s just say we don’t need to cover our costumes with coats.  At trick-or-treat time, the temperature was around 70.

We started our party at the N.C. Governor’s Mansion.  After making our way through security and their metal detectors, we were in the governor’s yard with tons of others, young and old, costumed and not.  The sidewalk was covered in straw, and the governor had some pretty scary guys in costumes walking around, stirring a smoky brew in a pot, and even laying in a coffin only to rise up to frighten those brave enough to venture close.  After working our way through all the creepy sights, Gov. Bev Perdue and her costumed husband were greeting all of their guests with handshakes and posing for photo ops.

My neighborhood, Historic Oakwood, rocks Halloween! Most neighbors participate by passing out candy, displaying pumpkins, and sitting outside on their porches.  Some neighbors, though, go all out.  They wear amazing costumes, decorate their homes like nothing you’ve ever seen, and even employ dry ice in their fright-fests.

We welcome all comers, and come they do.  Throngs and throngs of trick-or-treaters.  We bought ten pounds of candy to pass out—yes, that’s not a typo, 10 pounds–and we ran out of candy before we ran out of trick-or-treaters.  Fortunately, my own goblins were back at that point, and so we started passing out candy that they had collected, but only what they considered undesirable pieces.

Then there’s the adult Halloween scene in Downtown Raleigh, concentrated particularly on Glenwood South.  And with the 31st falling on Saturday this year, there was quite a party going on.

That’s Life in Raleigh.

Were you at the International Festival in Raleigh’s new convention center this past weekend?  Thought so.  Judging by the size of the crowd, I don’t think anyone in town missed it.  And it was definitely an event not to be missed!

There were three stages of entertainment, with attentive audiences at each stage.  Hundreds of appreciative spectators filled the seats at the dance demonstration stage.  There were booths offering information and booths selling items from countries around the world,  even henna tattoos and belly dancing lessons!

And the smells!  The whole place smelled so delicious that it was difficult to decide which country’s menu to order from.  Fortunately for us, most of the menus at the food stands offered a selection of  inexpensive items, so that we didn’t have to choose after all, but instead enjoyed food from Bagladesh, China, Turkey, and Nepal.  What a treat to be able to sample authentic foods from so many different countries all in one place!

While I expected to see a diverse group taking part in the International Festival,  I was amazed by the incredible diversity of the festival-goers.  Raleigh has truly become a melting pot.

That’s Life in Raleigh.

Our Sir Walter Raleigh decked out for the 2009 International Festival.

SPARKcon 2009 transformed Raleigh into an amazingly cool place to be on a weekend in September.

SPARKcon is a grassroots event celebrating the creativity in our area –  the “creative hub of the south.”  And if you think Raleigh can’t possibly live up to such a weighty description, you obviously missed SPARKcon this year.  For four days, Downtown Raleigh was spilling over with proof of this creativity.  Music, art, dance, ideas, film, poetry…….

….fashion.  Did I mention fashion?  The fashion show on the stage in the middle of Fayetteville Street had to be a turning point for our fair city.  The loud, thumping beat, the large, appreciative crowd, the models whose hair and makeup were  closer to “Night of the Living Dead” than “Night in Raleigh, N.C.,” plus the designs being showcased had me murmuring that famous line about Toto and not being in Kansas anymore! Raleigh has graduated to the big time.

That’s Life in Raleigh…a big, happening city.

SPARKcon 2009