I hope by this point, you are getting a sense of the extent of things to do in the Raleigh area. As if the permanent establishments throughout the Triangle weren’t enough, I would be remiss to not draw attention to the fairs and festivals in Raleigh. Throughout “most” of the year, Raleigh is a city that tries really hard to lure its residents and visitors outdoors, with its many fairs and festivals that are held in this area annually. In the 10+ months I spent in Raleigh, I made a point of experiencing several of these and they offered a unique change from the usual activities. Although there are so many more than what is listed below, I would like to share with you my list of alternative ideas for the fun, fairs & festivals that I can personally attest to and enjoyed.
FUN:
Drive Shack – great fun whether a golfer or not. This facility houses a multi-level driving range with a variety of golf specific games to compete against your friends. My favorite is the target game – trying to drive the ball to a specific part of the range and watching the computer to see if your ball hit the target you were aiming for. Watch as you and your friends score points for each drive. The atmosphere is fun and competitive. There is music piped in, comfortable seating in your own private bay (charged by the hour for the bay, not per person) and delicious food and drink. What a fun night out to try something different.
The Rink – an ice skating rink that is set up outdoors in the Red Hat Ampitheatre. This is open between the winter holidays through Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I highly recommend bringing your own skates, as the rentals I experienced were dull and difficult to skate with – it made me look more like a toddler learning to skate than Dorothy Hamill – I like to think I fall somewhere in the middle at least. 🙂 The atmosphere is very cool, with a couple of food and drink vendors, chairs around firepits, and background music playing. Get your ticket online ahead of time and enjoy some outdoor time under the beautiful Shimmer Wall (you won’t really get a better up close and personal view of it than here)!
Oakwood at Halloween – this is a 2 for 1 deal. To see the historic Oakwood section of Raleigh and its gorgeous older homes AND the elaborate Halloween decorations many homeowners have put on display, some with animation, that attracts crowds. This is a great way to get into the spirit (no pun intended) of the season.
Pecan Picking at Historic Oak View County Park – if you love pecan pie and don’t mind working for it, this park offers FREE pecans, as many as you can fill in a paper bag – per person, per day during the month of November. Bags are provided near the entrance of the visitor center on site. Just grab a bag and start walking and looking for the pecans that have fallen onto the ground below the pecan trees. The outer shell should be almost black. Peel it away and toss the pecan in it’s inner shell in your bag – as long as they are a dark brown color and have no holes in the shell, they should be ready to eat. If not, toss it and keep looking. This is a great family activity. Get those kids to help work for that dessert. You will all develop an appreciation for the value of pecans and why they can be so pricey after this activity
During football season – there are two bars that are noteworthy in the Raleigh area for a specific group of fans: Brickhouse Sports Bar & Grill on Hillsborough Street and Pourworks on Six Forks Road. Brickhouse caters to New England Patriot’s fans (go Pats!) and Pourworks to Green Bay Packers fans. It is a great experience to cheer on your team among an entire bar that is all rooting for them to win, especially when you are so far away from your geographical fan base! To be surrounded by that kind of hoopla is almost the next best thing as being at a live game. Pourworks also has a pot luck during the Packer’s games (talk about community!), as well as Mimosa drink specials and other fun events throughout the week, such as music bingo. No matter which team you root for, you will have a blast being surrounded by your fellow Pats or Packers fans in either of these two bars.
FAIRS:
North Carolina State Fair – I went to this twice with family and had two different experiences. The first time was during the day and I entered the gate closest to the agricultural side. The experience was just a great, wholesome and HUGE state fair with livestock, lumberjack competitions, flowers and gardening ideas, etc. The second time was in the evening and I entered a different gate, closer to one of the many large ferris wheels. This was an entirely different and more elevated experience than the first. Besides all the usual aforementioned fair activities, I really noticed the vast amount of rides, games, and most importantly, fair food, on this second time around. Raleigh being a foodie city, does not fall short in this area, even when it comes to it’s fair. The fair food offerings are innovative and delicious (such as southern banana pudding donuts – which are “stuffed” and big enough to share, Dorito street corn in a bag, cinnamon churro tater tots with a caramel dipping sauce (excellent!), fried oreos, cheese curds, etc – I shared so many tasty treats that evening and was blown away by the uniqueness of the food available that I have never seen at my own hometown fair, which is also right up there with some of the largest in the country. Go to this fair, especially at night when the colorful lights abound, and indulge in your favorite fair food (I highly encourage you to go with a group so that, like me, you are able to share multiple items). It should be noted that prior to opening day, the food that will be available at the fair will be listed online, so you can decide what you want to try the most, before you even get there. Reclaim your youth and feel like a kid again at this fun state fair!
FESTIVALS (in time of year order):
Tacos ‘N Taps Festival at Koka Booth Ampitheatre – technically in Cary (April) – this is a perfect way to kick off the Cinco de Mayo celebrations a little bit early. Numerous food trucks selling primarily tacos, as well as other Mexican fare, plenty of tequila, beer, margarita samples and live music in the fun waterfront atmosphere that Koka Booth is famous for. What’s not to love? This is one of the first major festivals to kick off festival season in Raleigh (primarily from April to October).
Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival at Koka Booth Ampitheatre (early August) – this festival is HUGE and offers your fill of beer and bourbon samples, live bands playing all day, plenty of fresh pork (with that delicious NC vinegary BBQ sauce), and more. By far, my favorite of all the festivals I experienced.
Lazy Days Arts and Crafts Festival in nearby Cary, NC (late August) – this festival is a dream come true to anyone interested in perusing through a massive variety of art and hand crafted items for that special purchase. The sheer size of this festival surprised me: I did not expect a craft festival to be so large. There is an entire section of this festival devoted to food trucks, drinks, snacks and a stage with live bands, as well. This site is within walking distance to many great area restaurants in downtown Cary, as well as a brewery called Bond Brothers, which has a nice outside patio that you can sit and quench your thirst after all that walking around next door. Right nearby is also the Cary location to the Bull City Cidery that I mentioned in an earlier post (that Sasquash Cider is echoing in my mind. Yum!)
Beer & Bacon Festival at Koka Booth Ampitheatre (usually in September or October) – this festival is similar to the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ festival, except instead of freshly carved pork (and bourbon), it is bacon to your hearts content. Just like the aforementioned festivals at this venue, the Beer and Bacon Festival is made to be an enjoyable experience, by also offering its patrons live music.
North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival at Koka Booth Ampitheatre (November – early January) – this is one event that I cannot say enough good things about! I absolutely LOVED this festival! The chinese lanterns above you when you first enter, both in traditional form and in the shape of fish (almost appearing to swim upstream in a school of fish), are absolutely gorgeous. All throughout this park like setting, illuminated in so many vivid and beautiful colors, there are incredible displays as you walk around the paths exploring something different at every turn. There is some food and drink available, chinese instrumental music piped in throughout the venue, and performances to watch. This is Koka Booth at it’s finest, in my opinion.
WRAL First Night Raleigh on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh (New Year’s Eve) – this family friendly event offers so much – the majority of which is FREE. Taking up most of the length of Raleigh’s famous Fayetteville Street – a popular alternative location for festivals and events when they are not being held in nearby Cary at the Koka Booth venue – the First Night celebration offers a parade, Acorn Drop (City of Oaks, remember?), fireworks, a ferris wheel, live bands, food trucks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink options, as well as indoor events that can be attended with the purchase of a button. All of which are set in a downtown area that offer numerous bars and restaurants to sit down and relax for a while, if you so desire. The Acorn Drop and the fireworks are done in the early evening and again around midnight, so that families and adults can both enjoy it. I have been to several First Night celebrations over the years and I can attest that Raleigh really knows how to ring in the year!
I sincerely hope you find some time to check out some of these suggestions. As you can see from all the Raleigh posts thus far, it is a city not only with emphasis on quality food and drink, but also one that knows how to host a bunch of fun outdoor seasonal activities as well. In my next, and final blog post on the Raleigh area, I will conclude my list of suggestions for the City of Oaks with additional dining ideas (how fitting to end on this note for this foodie city). Then, it is back to where it all began for me in travel work – Louisville, Kentucky. Stay tuned …