Photography courtesy of empire eats
Case, David Thompson and Valvano, and was the home of the school’s two national basketball championship teams. 4. NC Cuegrass Festival Held each year in mid-April, the NC Cuegrass Festival brings an afternoon dose of old-school North Carolina barbeque to the ever-changing Warehouse District of downtown Raleigh. Western barbeque sauce lovers, be warned: Raleigh staple The Pit uses its pig cookers to serve Eastern North Carolina-style barbecue paired with a selection of locally made beers, all to the tunes of local bluegrass bands. 5. Hopscotch Rock, hip-hop, metal, folk, electronic, experimental, and more – the three-day Hopscotch Music Festival has it covered. The festival quickly became a staple on the national music festival scene, hosting more than 120 bands in more than a dozen venues each year in downtown Raleigh and marking the city as a hip musical destination while reserving nearly half of the performance slots for
in-state bands and artists. In addition to the music, don’t miss its sister design, art and poster festivals during the midSeptember run. 6. Tailgate at Carter-Finley Stadium Since opening in 1966, Carter-Finley Stadium has been the home to NFL quarterbacks Philip Rivers, Russell Wilson and Mike Glennon, but Wolfpack fans take their tailgating almost as seriously as their football. Season tickets for a portion of the 57,583 available seats sell out every year, but no ticket is needed to enjoy the pregame festivities that line Trinity Road. In addition to flip cup and grilling, check out the Walk of Champions, which welcomes the team before kickoff, and the family-friendly Fan Zone, located in front of the PNC Arena. The season kicks off right before Labor Day weekend and runs through November. 7. World of Bluegrass When the International Bluegrass Music Association first moved its midtownmag.com | 69