WALTER Magazine - January/February 2019

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 waltermagazine.com

LOOKING AHEAD PEOPLE, PLACES, & PROJECTS THAT WILL SHAPE 2019

THE MAYOR BEYOND POLITICS UNION STATION INSIDE & OUT DISPATCH FROM DIX PARK MEET NCMA’S VALERIE HILLINGS TOP DIVES, FINE DINING, & MORE

+

Every Woman Wants a Bailey Box Raleigh’s Cameron Village & Crabtree Valley Mall Rocky Mount | Greenville | www.baileybox.com

WE’RE at THE HEART of INNOVATIVE CARE.

When it comes to heart and vascular health, UNC Health Care provides innovative care that truly makes a difference. We’re on the front line of medical innovation and discovery, developing the most advanced heart and vascular treatment options available and offering expert care centered around you.

At UNC Health Care, we put our whole heart into caring for yours.

LEARN MORE ABOUT HEART and VASCULAR CARE at UNCHV.ORG

A Tradition of Elegance, Exclusively at Fink’s Jewelers

North Hills 919.881.8247 The Streets at Southpoint 919.281.8407 www.finks.com

THE ALL-NEW 2019

UX

JOHNSON LEXUS OF RALEIGH 5839 Capital Blvd.

Raleigh, NC 27616 (919) 877 - 1800 JohnsonLexusRaleigh.com

JOHNSON LEXUS OF DURHAM 1013 Southpoint Autopark Blvd.

Durham, NC 27713 (919) 433 - 8800 JohnsonLexusDurham.com

RALEIGH, NC | FARMVILLE, VA | MANASSAS, VA

WHEN IN DOUBT, WEAR RED. BILL BLASS Haute couture meets home decor with a not-so-subtle nod to an American icon’s favorite hue.

Being the single most dynamic and passionate color makes red a shameless attention grabber and inherently exciting choice.

Worn on the catwalks and covering walls alike, it inspires those it surrounds. Feel emboldened and follow his daring cue, wrapping both yourself and home in a feisty and unforgettable palette.

GREENFRONT.COM

DEPARTMENTS

Volume VII, Issue 5

Gus Samarco (CONNELLS); S.P. Murray (JAKI)

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

58 OUR TOWN

IN EVERY ISSUE

44

TIDBITS

14

Letter from WALTER

18

Contributors

49

LOCALS: The Right Poet Meet Jaki Shelton Green

53

GIVERS: Fostering Hope Hope Center supports youth

56

SHOP: T-Shirt 2.0 Reborn Clothing revamps old pieces

58

GIGS: Old School Sound Move over, boy bands!

64

QUENCH: Community Cocktails Fig adds flair to Brookside Drive

66

SAVOR: bu•ku’s New View New location; fresh perspective

20 Your Feedback 22 Happening Now 115 The Whirl 130 End Note

49 On the cover: Mayor Nancy McFarlane; photograph by S.P. Murray

10 | WALTER

Coming Fall 2019 www.2409Ridge.com markwkirby | www.dixonkirby.com |

dixonkirbyhomes

D e s i g n i n g a n d B u i l d i n g t h e We l c o m e H o m e s i n c e 198 4

98

104 12 | WALTER

71

A Look Forward

72

State of the City Q&A with Mayor McFarlane

by Ayn-Monique Klahre photography by S.P. Murray

78

Civic Space Dix Park’s master plan, unveiled

by Catherine Currin photography by Joshua Steadman

88

Train Spotting Stunning shots of Union Station

by Ayn-Monique Klahre photography by Keith Isaacs

98

A Fresh Eye NCMA’s Valerie Hillings

by Iza Wojciechowska photography by Justin Kase Conder

104 Where to Eat in 2019 Pro picks for any occasion

by Catherine Currin

Jason Kase Conder (HILLINGS); The News & Observer (ROAST GRILL)

FEATURES

Reward Builders

Exquisite craftsmanship & unmatched service with the highest quality materials.

Professional Stone Fabrication & Installation Apex Location 123 North Salem Street 919.363.6990

CAROLINACUSTOMKITCHEN.COM

Raleigh Location 6616 Fleetwood Drive Appointment Only

LETTER FROM WALTER

Beauty, Artistry, Tradition

H

appy New Year! This issue marks a new beginning for me, too: My first as editor at WALTER. I’m proud to join an amazing team, and I hope to keep up the inspiring coverage you’ve come to expect over the past few years.

I’ll admit something right away: I’m not originally from Raleigh. I grew up in Virginia (with stints overseas thanks to my dad’s service in the Air Force) and until two years ago was living in New York City. But with growing kids and dreams of a house—yet unwilling to compromise on great food, culture, or a walkable downtown—we chose to move here to start our next chapter. I know that I’m just one of the many people who have fallen in love with the Triangle for all it has to offer.

That’s why I was so excited to compare notes with Mayor Nancy McFarlane, who moved here in the 80s and has witnessed firsthand—and been a force behind—the growing energy in this city (p. 72). We get to know Valerie Hillings, the NCMA’s new director (p. 98) and Jaki Shelton Green, Poet Laureate (p. 49) to get a glimpse at the future of arts in our state. We visited Dix Park (p. 78) and Union Station (p. 88), two new and evolving spaces that will serve our community. And just for fun, we tapped a few of our favorite foodies share their go-to restaurants, so you can start your culinary bucket list for 2019 (p. 104). These are just some of the people and places we’ve featured that make our town so special.

We hope you enjoy this special issue of WALTER—and if you love what you read, subscribe! It’s the best way to support our coverage of our unique, magnetic community.

919-489-8362 PERSIANCARPET.COM 5634 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.

Durham, NC Corner I-40 and 15-501

Ayn-Monique Klahre Editor

PUBLISHING

VOLUME VII, ISSUE 5

Editor AYN-MONIQUE KLAHRE

Publisher SARA GLINES

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Creative Director LAURA PETRIDES WALL

Advertising Sales Manager JULIE NICKENS

EDITORIAL

Associate Editor CATHERINE CURRIN Editorial Assistant KATHERINE POOLE Contributing Writers PAIGE JACOB, ADDIE LADNER, WILL LINGO, JESSIE RUMBLEY, CHRIS VITIELLO, IZA WOJCIECHOWSKA Contributing Photographers JUSTIN KASE CONDER, JILLIAN CLARK MADELINE GRAY, SMITH HARDY, JULI LEONARD, S.P. MURRAY, EAMON QUEENEY, GUS SAMARCO

Senior Account Executive & Operations CRISTINA HURLEY WALTER Events KAIT GORMAN Advertising Coordinator ROBIN KENNEDY Advertising Design and Production DENISE FERGUSON Circulation JERRY RITTER, BRIAN HINTON

Published 10 times a year by The News & Observer Publishing Co. A McClatchy Company WALTER is available by paid subscriptions for $14.99 a year in the United States, as well as select rack and advertiser locations throughout the Triangle. Subscribe online at waltermagazine.com/subscription For customer service inquiries, please email us at customerservice@waltermagazine.com or call 919-836-5613.

Address all correspondence to: WALTER Magazine, 421 Fayetteville St., Ste. 104 Raleigh, NC 27601 WALTER does not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

Please contact Ayn-Monique Klahre at ayn-monique@waltermagazine.com for freelance guidelines. ©The News & Observer. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of the copyright owner.

Exceptional urban residences, footsteps from Cameron Village • Elegant Rooftop Terraces

• 3-Car Covered Parking

• Private Elevators

• Only 11 Opportunities

2305 Clark Avenue | From the $900s 919-670-0222 | ClarkTownhomes.com DEVELOPED BY

LAMBERT DEVELOPMENT LLC AND RELATED COMPANIES

SALES BY

Creating Inspiring Interiors

CONTRIBUTORS

JAN/FEB 2019

IZA WOJCIECHOWSKA /

Photo by Fabricut

JOSHUA STEADMAN / P HOTO GR A PH ER Steadman’s father’s Nikkormat and a 28mm lens captured his childhood, and showed him from an early age how much images can contain. Steadman photographed this month’s feature on Dix Park.

“I found myself dreaming along the walking paths of the future Dix Park, thinking of what the future holds for this promising area. I don’t know what it will become, but if the enthusiasm and passion I saw on display at the recent committee meeting are any indication, it’s going to be something special, a real treasure for many future generations.”

FULL SERVICE INTERIOR DESIGN Draperies and Valances Shutters, Blinds and Shades Wallpapers • Area Rugs • Custom Bedding Furniture and Accessories Kitchen and Bath Design

THE ONLY DECORATING SOURCE YOU’LL EVER NEED!

5850 Fayetteville Road Suite 104, Durham, NC. 27713 M-F 9am-5pm • Sat 10am-2pm

919-806-3638 | sewfine2.com

S.P. MURRAY / P HOTO G R A P HE R Murray, a national award-winning photographer who has covered everything from Olympic athletes to Rockettes, had the pleasure of photographing two amazing women for this month’s issue; the cover story featuring Mayor Nancy McFarlane and North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green. “Both were delightful, amazing, intelligent women, and I felt privileged to have spent time with them.”

CHRIS VITIELLO / WR I T ER Vitiello is a writer and artist based in Durham. He’s also the Poetry Fox, writing custom, on-demand poems on vintage typewriters at events over the last seven years. He took his performance installation, The Language is Asleep to ArtPrize9 in 2017, where he wrote and gave away nearly 12,000 one-line poems on dictionary pages over a 28-day endurance performance in the Grand Rapids Art Museum.His critical writing garnered a 2017 Rabkin Prize for Arts Journalism He’s also written three books of poetry, the most recent Obedience (Ahsahta Press, 2012).

courtesy contributors (WOJCIECHOWSKA, MURRAY, STEADMAN, VITIELLO)

W R I TE R Wojciechowska lives in Durham, where she works as a writer, copy editor, and translator of Polish poetry. When she’s not working, she goes hiking with her hound and cooks. As a sporadic patron of the North Carolina Museum of Art, she was particularly keen to learn about the Matrons of the Arts program, instituted last year, which champions female-driven artists and exhibits. She looks forward to seeing what the NCMA’s first female director does in this arena in the future.

BLOWING ROCK 862 Buffalo Nvno | $1,999,000

$2,125,000 | 117 New Castle CHAPEL HILL

LIVE CAROLINA WAKE FOREST 7316 Hasentree Club Drive | $1,850,000

$2,975,000 | 5619 Captains Lane WILMINGTON

FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE COAST AND EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN, SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY HAS CAROLINA COVERED. Linville Ridge Highlands

Banner Elk

Asheville

Blowing Rock

Lake Lure

919.800.0799 | Chapel Hill

Charlotte

Lake Norman Pinehurst

hodgekittrellsir.com

Edenton

Morehead City

Wilmington

Southport

Topsail Ocean Isle

Raleigh | 919.876.7411

11<:-- 7SXLIF]´W -RXIVREXMSREP 6IEPX] %J½PMEXIW 00' %PP 6MKLXW 6IWIVZIH 7SXLIF]´W -RXIVREXMSREP 6IEPX] %J½PMEXIW 00' JYPP] WYTTSVXW XLI TVMRGMTPIW SJ XLI *EMV ,SYWMRK %GX ERH XLI )UYEP 3TTSVXYRMX] %GX )EGL 3J½GI MW -RHITIRHIRXP] 3[RIH ERH 3TIVEXIH 7SXLIF]´W -RXIVREXMSREP 6IEPX] ERH XLI 7SXLIF]´W -RXIVREXMSREP 6IEPX] PSKS EVI VIKMWXIVIH SV YRVIKMWXIVIH WIVZMGI QEVOW PMGIRWIH XS 7SXLIF]´W -RXIVREXMSREP 6IEPX] %J½PMEXIW 00'

Our Patients Are Our Main Focus!

We stress prevention, restoration and overall health while improving the smiles of those we serve. Our smile services include: porcelain veneers, porcelain crowns, tooth colored onlays and fillings, Zoom! chair side tooth whitening and Invisalign. Our digital ITero scanner replaces the need for messy impressions and provides accurate results with maximum patient comfort. We can restore your smile with implants.

YOUR FEEDBACK

@waltermagazine Great feature! Congratulations @georgehage —@heartstonefilms (Our Town about George Hage, November, p. 49) My favorite store in Raleigh! —Alyssa Stepien (Shop Local about Edge of Urge, November, p. 54) She is great! Edge of Urge is great! —@somuchnottoomuch (Shop Local about Edge of Urge, November, p. 54) Great editorial shots! Will definitely try @chefscottcrawford’s recipes! Yum! —@90degreedesign (At the Table about Scott Crawford, November, p.

70) Cool! Will check it out. —Darelyn Mitsch (Quench about Junction West, November, p. 108)

WE WELCOME NEW PATIENTS! Schedule a new patient exam and mention this ad for a complimentary take-home tooth whitening kit or an electric toothbrush kit.

We want to hear from you! @WalterMagazine www.waltermagazine.com

WALTER 421 Fayetteville St., Ste. 104, Raleigh, NC 27601 SUBSCRIPTIONS/CIRCULATION: customerservice@waltermagazine.com

919.859.1330

|

www.CaryCosmeticDentist.com

®

The world didn’t need another haircare company, so we created a biotech company to repair hair, here in Raleigh.

T H E P O W E R O F H U M A N K E R AT I N OUR BR AND IS FREE OF S U L FAT E S , PA R A B E N S , P H T H A L AT E S , SYNTHETIC COLORS A N D DY E S .

GLUTEN FREE. C RU E LT Y F R E E .

With decades of experience in the beauty industry, we didn’t think there was anything that could surprise us. Then we discovered Alpha Keratin 60ku®, a newly-patented protein with the power to undo damage and give everyone their healthiest hair humanly possible. This is the key ingredient in all our shampoos, conditioners, treatments, and stylers.

Experience the difference human keratin can make.

Experience Virtue.

Available at: Beam Beauty Brand ∙ Bluemercury North Hills ∙ Boylan Heights Studio ∙ Carla Rea Salon ∙ Crazy Combs Salon ∙ Fancy Knot Salon ∙ Flow Beauty ∙ Gabriel Ryder Salon ∙ Garnish Hair Studio Extension Bar ∙ HairColorXperts ∙ Herbal Harvest ∙ Juniper Hair Studio ∙ Marigold Parlour ∙ Mary Milton Salon ∙ Mirror Mirror Hair Studio ∙ PAINTED + beauty studio ∙ Paint & Pixie Hair Studio ∙ Pop of Color Salon ∙ Out Of My Head ∙ Salon One21 & Colorbar ∙ Salontology ∙ Skin & tonic ∙ Steven Norton Salon ∙ TANAS Hair Designs & Day Spa ∙ The Devil’s Haircut ∙ The Glo Lounge ∙ The Umstead Hotel & Spa ∙ Vannity Salon V I RT U E L A B S.C O M

#withVIRTUE

@vir tuelabs

courtesy Beam School

Happening

BEAM SCHOOL Self-love and style in a confidence-building course

“T

he world has gotten more obsessed with looks and not less,” says Emma Carter.

Alongside business partner and friend Clare Roberts, Carter wants to combat this widespread dilemma with the newly-launched Beam school, an 8-week course geared toward teaching young girls ages 12-15, how to develop and retain both inner confidence

22 | WALTER

and outer style. While the courses are held at Carter's hair and makeup studio, Beam Beauty, and the two have extensive experience in the fashion and beauty industries, they’ve developed a curriculum that goes way beyond looks.

On the first day of the course, girls will develop an inspiration board of all the things that bring them joy. They’ll go on to learn how to home in on their inner voice, feel comfortable in their own skin,

and dress for their body type. They’ll learn style and self-care tips, as well as essential social graces that are often neglected, including firm handshakes, eye contact, and thank you notes.

The duo envisions these courses as a safe place for teenage girls to talk through struggles. Beam School will also host outside experts to join and speak to important issues like social media and mental health in a safe and kind atmo-

JANUARY

BB King

wanted to recreate this but add more depth and authenticity,” she says. Hence the title, Beam, which is actually an acronym for an important reminder that Carter and Roberts want to share with all women: I'll BE who I AM. —Addie Ladner The inaugural Beam School course runs for 8 weeks on Sundays, from January 6 through March 9. The Beam Beauty studio is located at 715 North Person St. Tuition is $750, pre-registration is required. https://www.thebeamschool.com

sphere. They hope girls who attend will form a community of secure, long-lasting friendships.

Roberts and Carter aren’t stopping at the rocky adolescent years, though. They plan to offer courses soon for women of different groups, as well. “Everyone has something beautiful about them.

We want to create a higher mindset and encourage girls of all ages to realize each body shape is ok because it’s yours,” says Roberts, a sought-after Raleigh area stylist who advocates for self-acceptance in women. Carter attended a similar course as a teen but remembers it being more focused on looks. “When I was growing up, it was ‘look good and keep your mouth shut’,” she recalls. “I always

! ! ! "

5 THE MOZART EXPERIENCE Give your prodigy (or progeny) The Mozart Experience, a concert presented by the North Carolina Symphony at The Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts.

This kinder-friendly program introduces audiences to the master composer through an interactive performance with the Magic Circle Mime Company, wherein an intrepid young street musician channels Mozart and makes eine kleine nachtmusik. Head over early: before each performance there will be activities in the lobby to orchestrate a little fun with the (wolf) gang.

1 p.m. and 4 p.m.; $20 - $27; 2 E. South St.; ncsymphony.org

6 JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

Getty Images (MOZART); Matt Slocum (JUSTIN)

Happening NOW

Justin Timberlake is bringing sexy back to the Triangle. The prince of pop rocks his body at PNC Arena on January 6 for his Man of the Woods tour. Parking lots open an hour before show times to practice dance moves. (Parking rates apply.) Can’t stop this feeling.

7:30 p.m.; from $90; 1400 Edwards Mill Rd.; thepncarena.com

Winter is Better Here Banner Elk is the only NC town within five miles of two ski resorts. Ski all day, then enjoy upscale lodging, dining and nightlife in NC’s Ski Town.

BannerElk.com

C at er i n g Wor k s Join e A-listers on the red carpet, as Catering Works premieres the 2019 Culinary Adventures dining series.

Executive Producer Chef, Rich Carter and a star studded FXOLQDU\ FDVW ZLOO GHOLYHU D FLQHPD YHULW« LQ ȵ DYRU DQG IXQ Meet on set at The Laurelbrook, for a pre-screening cocktail hour complete with appetizers at 24 frames per second. Lights, Camera, Action and the gastronomic tour de force will follow, featuring multiple delicious pivotal characters DQG SRVW VFHQH FUHGLWV WKDW ZLOO VXUSULVH DQG GHOLJKW $Q HSLF celebration of food and wine featuring scenery, soundtracks

6:30 PM 6:30 PM

6:30 PM

BIG NIGHT

6:30 PM

6:30 PM

3.21.19

LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE

THE 100-FOOT JOURNEY

11.8.19

2.28.19

A STAR IS BORN

OUT OF AFRICA

9.13.19

MAMMA MIA!

8.16.19

1.18.19

6:30 PM

and special effects from your favorite movies.

2319 Laurelbrook Street, Raleigh, NC 27604

To learn more visit cateringworks.com/culinaryadventures or contact Scott Marcuson | 919.438.6719 | scott@cateringworks.com

2019 Culinary Adventures Series SPONSORSHIPS AVA I L A B L E

Happening NOW

AS

THE

RESIDENCES GO UP, FEEL FREE TO

There’s something in the air: a sense of possibility becoming real. A rare opportunity to redefine what a life well-lived can mean. An awareness that, yes, the time to act is most definitely now.

620W A D E . C O M | 919.785.1445

MEASURE FOR MEASURE Raleigh Little Theatre takes on the Bard in its latest production, Measure for Measure. One of the darker Shakespeare comedies, Measure for Measure is set in the seamy streets of Vienna, where a virtuous young woman must make a morally compromising decision to save her brother. Make haste to ye olde ticket merchant of Raleigh.

See website for show dates and times; $21 students/seniors, $25 adults; 301 Pogue St.; raleighlittletheatre.org

C ONDOMINIUMS AT 620 W ADE A VENUE

B EACON S TREET R EALTY , LLC

Getty Images

11-27

RAISE EXPECTATIONS.

Juli Leonard (JOE); courtesy Christ Church (RUN)

JANUARY

13

12

RUN FOR YOUNG

JOE NEWBERRY AND FRIENDS Hand picked: Joe Newberry is a legend in the national roots music scene. The North Carolina-based musician is a gifted banjo and guitar player as well as an award-winning songwriter. Newberry has gathered some of his favorite musicians together for a one-ofa-kind evening of downhome picking and grinning on January 12 at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts.

7:30 p.m.; from $25.75; 2 E. South St.; pinecone.org

The youth of Christ Church Raleigh invite movers and shakers of all ages to the 12th annual Run For Young, a USA Track & Field certified 5K through downtown with live music along the route. The run memorializes Sadiki Young, a Christ Church member and senior at Wakefield High School who died in an alcohol-related car accident in 2007. To honor his memory, the race raises awareness of safe driving methods for teens with a percentage of the proceeds benefiting high schools with safe driving education programs.

See website for more information and to register for the race; from $25; runforyoung.itsyourrace.com

TIMELESS

Timeless D I A MOND S , E S TATE AND A NT IQU E J E WE L R Y L O O S E D I A MOND S OF AL L S HAPE S A N D S I Z E S C ERT I FI ED A PPR AI SAL S • E XPERT J E WE L R Y R E PA I R S W E B U Y D I A MOND S , G OL D AN D P L AT I N U M 345 S. WILMINGTON STREET

DOWNTOWN RALEIGH SI

N C E

1949

919 . 8 3 2 . 3 4 61 | R E L I A B L E J E W E L R Y . C O M

'! * $' ( '

" ( % )

- $$4 % &%4 %&$ % 0 # 2 % 1 ' - &-$. ##4 & #,. .0 0. * ,. &0 4 + * '0&3% -# + * %#4 0 && &1% + % $&-

Happening NOW

30

0- 2 %."4,. 55# % . &- 0& . ' - 3 0 0 # 1. &# % &% -0& 01- % - $$4 3 %% 1 1.0 % # (

$ ! $ !! !

! $ ' ( & ! !

0- 1.., $&1. * #1 %1 + 3 #05 . # 0 &%. -&$ "&2."4,. ) % 0 3 -# % % - 4 & 2 #,. !

3 ## . 0 4&1- -0 % $&0 &%(

'! $ * '!$

! $ & " " ! $$

" "

. - &00 !& %. 0 4$' &%4 0& ' - &-$ 0% 4,. 0. % #1 % * &3 ## %&3)+ % * ## #3 4. &2 &1(+

" !

"%% &" +

CHARITY POLO Shepherd Youth Ranch fundraiser

F

ootball season may be coming to a close, but you’ll still have a chance to combine food, drink, and sports—for a cause. Slap on your cowboy boots when the Shepherd Youth Ranch hosts their 4th annual polo tournament February 2 at the James Hunt Horse Complex. Shepherd Youth Ranch provides equine assisted therapy to youth experiencing hardships such as trauma or mental health setbacks. To date, the ranch in Creedmoor has provided 23,000 hours of free therapy services to its clients. “Anyone can come to us, regardless of your socioecomonic status, and participate in our program.” (A standard 24-week program can cost up to $5,000 per person.) Last year, the afternoon of horsing around yielded $20,000, and founder Ashley Edmonds Boswell is hoping for even more this year as the organization celebrates 15 years. The concept is an elevated tailgate with a competitive edge: whip up your best game-day recipes and you might just win a prize. The indoor tailgating tables that are available for purchase will be judged in four categories: best food, best signature drink, best dressed table, and best overall theme. You can also buy individual or couples tickets if you can’t fill a table: you'll be placed with others, and Boswell hopes you’ll make a friend or two at the event. Not so confident in the kitchen? There’s also a catered tailgate option so everyone can join in on the fun. —Catherine Currin 4-8 p.m.; tickets start at $50; shepherdyouthranch.org

courtesy Shepherd Youth Ranch

! $ ' ( % %"$

courtesy Louis York (LOUIS); Byron Keulemans/Comedy Centra (TREVOR)

JANUARY

18 LOUIS YORK

Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony—who have written songs for Celine Dion, Ne-Yo, Rihanna, Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston, as well as Michael and Janet—have teamed up to form the band Louis York. They are bringing their funky, R&B infused rock to The Pour House Music Hall January 18. Joining them for a genre-blending spectacle are The Shindellas, ZenSoFly, and Imani Pressley. No parking on that dance floor.

9 p.m.; from $12; 224 S. Blount St.; thepourhousemusichall.com

19 TREVOR NOAH

Trevor Noah, host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, stops by Raleigh on his Loud & Clear Tour 2019. The South African-born comedian brings an outsider’s perspective to American culture, history, and politics. Ride Noah’s arc—no fake news, just laughs.

8 p.m.; from $39; 1400 Edwards Mill Rd.; thepncarena.com

JOIN US FOR A

W I N T E R

W H I T E

Happening NOW

SALE 20% OFF All Bath, Bed and Table Linens

1/24-2/10 See website for dates and times; from $5; 224 Polk St.; burningcoal. org/ashe-in-johannesburg

1/252/10 THE HERD Honest Pint Theatre Company presents theatre for thirsty minds.

Drink in their latest production The Herd, by actor and playwright Rory Kinnear. Funny and tenderhearted, the multi-generational family drama centers on Carol, an anxiety-ridden woman who's throwing a birthday party for her developmentally delayed son.

Honest Pint’s production is only the second company (following the famed Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago) to mount the play the Chicago Tribune calls, “A wise and truthful new play.”

See website for show dates and times; from $15; 7713-51 Lead Mine Rd.; honestpinttheatre.org

4209 LASSITER MILL RD • RALEIGH, NC 27609 (919) 785-0787 • INFO@SHOPQUINTESSENTIALS.COM WWW.SHOPQUINTESSENTIALS.COM

Gerry Cranham (ASHE); courtesy Honest Pint Theatre (HERD)

ASHE IN JOHANNESBURG

Tennis icon and civil rights activist Arthur Ashe traveled to South Africa during the apartheid era to compete in a tournament in 1973—but his fiercest competition was not on the tennis court. To tell this little-known story, Burning Coal Theatre Company commissioned the up-and-coming New York City-based playwright Hannah Benitez. Ashe in Johannesburg premieres January 24 at the Murphy School Auditorium. Meet Benitez following the performance January 26. Coal on Ashe—it will be a grand slam.

Getty Images (CARMEN); courtesy NC Museum of History (CELEBRATION)

JANUARY

25-27 CARMEN

From January 25 to 27, the North Carolina Opera presents Carmen at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. The story of the beguiling gypsy Carmen is a fan favorite, but even non-opera types are familiar with Georges Bizet’s stirring score, including the arias grande Habanera and Toreador Song. Keitaro Harada conducts the lavish, fully-staged production sung in French with projected English translations.

See website for show dates and times; from $23; 2 E. South St.; dukeenergycenterraleigh.com/events/carmen-north-carolina-opera

Grow your community, grow your career.

Sometimes, you need to go beyond social media to make connections that count. As a member of the NC State Alumni Association, you’ll do just that.

Enjoy access to exclusive networking events, career service tools, our alumni directory and the ePACK jobs board.

Join today at alumni.ncsu.edu.

26 AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CELEBRATION The African American Cultural Celebration at the North Carolina Museum of History is our state's grand kickoff to Black History Month. Featuring more than 75 musicians, dancers, storytellers, performers, historians, writers, and chefs, this year's theme centers around culture, kinship, and community—the ties that bind. From the opening procession featuring a color guard, drumline, and reenactors, to the myriad talks, performances, and demonstrations, folks of all ages can immerse in our state's rich African American culture. See website for the full schedule of events.

10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; free; 5 E. Edenton St.; ncmuseumofhistory.org

Happening NOW

NOW WE CAN HELP YOU LIVE WELL AT HOME TOO ...with professional in-home support for all your daily needs.

26

IN-HOME HELP WITH: Bathing & personal grooming

If wine and chocolate are pillars of your food pyramid, make plans for the first-ever NC Wine and Chocolate Festival, headed to the Kerr Scott Building at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds January 26. The price of a ticket gets you a sampling glass plus unlimited sips from wineries across the region. There will also be plenty of sweet treats to pair with the wines. Like what you taste?

Bottles are available for purchase on site. Other indulgences include a marketplace with vendors selling gifts, jewelry, and accessories. Special ticket prices are available for designated drivers and non-tippling chocolate lovers. We’ll toast to that.

See website for session times; $35 advance tickets, $40 day of show; 1025 Blue Ridge Rd.; wineandchocolatefestivals.com

Shopping, cooking & household chores Transportation Companionship Respite & overnight care Even pet care!

Call: 919-468-1204

27 CHER

Gather your gypsies, tramps, and thieves for the one and only Cher January 27. Behold the iconic singer turn back time resplendent in Bob Mackie finery on her Here We Go Again tour. Parking lots open an hour before show time. (Parking rates apply.) She's got you, babe.

Services available up to 24 hours a day, everyday. Call for complimentary in-home needs assessment and to choose your caregiver.

1000 BEAR CAT WAY, MORRISVILLE, NC 27560 919-468-1204 I HILLCRESTNC.COM/YESWALTER

8 p.m.; from $33; 1400 Edwards Mill Rd.; thepncarena.com

Getty Images (WINE); courtesy cher.com (CHER)

NC WINE AND CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL

Thomas J. Krebs (MILES); Ben McKeown (KRISPY)

FEBRUARY

1

2 KRISPY KREME CHALLENGE

RON MILES QUINTET

Trumpet and cornet master Ron Miles assembled one of the finest jazz quintets of the last decade in 2017 to record I Am Man, an album that mines the African American tradition of music as a means of protest. NPR says, “No album struck a better balance of beauty and urgency.” Duke Performances brings that beauty and urgency to Baldwin Auditorium in Durham February 1 for: Ron Miles's I Am Man tour alongside Jason Moran, Brian Blade, Bill Frisell, and Scott Colley.

2,400 calories, 12 doughnuts, 5 miles, 1 hour. Run—donut walk—to the 14th annual Krispy Kreme Challenge, the hot and fresh race that benefits UNC Children’s Hospital. The run kicks off at the base of the Memorial Belltower on the campus of NC State University, then winds through downtown to the iconic Krispy Kreme storefront at the corner of Peace and Person Streets, where participants consume one dozen(!) tasty glazed confections. Participants then must run back to the Belltower... and therein lies the challenge. To date, the Krispy Kreme Challenge has donated over $1.5 million to UNC Children’s Hospital, which makes the pain worth the gain.

8 p.m.; from $10; 1335 Campus Dr., Durham; dukeperformances.duke.edu

8 a.m.; from $25; 2011 Hillsborough St.; krispykremechallenge.com

LEADING WITH HEART When Kathryn traveled to Zambia as a Ravenscroft freshman, she discovered the power of combining global experience with philanthropic leadership, learning more about the lives and cultures of people across the world and the impact of partnership in addressing real-world challenges.

Learn more about our one-of-a-kind citizen leadership framework!

Visit www.ravenscroft.org to learn more and call our Admissions Office at 919.848.6470 to schedule a tour.

8 THE SECOND CITY

What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding? The Second City will let you know when they bring their latest show, It's Not You, It's Me to the Carolina Theatre in Durham. The show explores relationships—the good, the bad, the ugly, and the complicated—from awkward blind dates to evil monster-in-laws. The famed Toronto- and Chicago-based improv troupe is a launching pad for funny people, including alumni Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Gilda Radner, and Bill Murray.

8 p.m.; $35; 309 W. Morgan St., Durham; carolinatheatre.org

8-9 (QJOLVK %HUQKDUGW DV $QQLH LQ 1& 7KHDWUHjV SURGXFWLRQ RI $11,( 3KRWR E\ 0LWFK 'DQIRUWK 3KRWRJUDSK\

MANUAL CINEMA

Combining puppetry, film techniques, and innovative sound and music, Manual Cinema stages immersive productions for stage and screen. The Chicago-based performance collective, design studio, and film production company will launch their Duke Performances residency on February 8 and 9 at Reynolds Industries Theater in Durham with Ada/Ava, an homage to the suspense films of Alfred Hitchcock. The New York Times describes the work of the award-winning, critically acclaimed troupe as, “a spectral parade of fantastical images.”

8 p.m.; from $10; 125 Science Dr., Durham; dukeperformances.duke.edu

courtesy The Second City (SECOND); courtesy Manual Cinema (MANUAL)

/DXUHQ .HQQHG\ DV 'RQQD LQ 0$00$ 0,$ 3KRWR E\ &XUWLV %URZQ

Happening NOW

WALTER

E WALT

2018 MBER ine.com DECEermagazDE CEMBER 2018 walt

waltermagazine.com

R

Holiday ITS SP yIR aHU d i l INGBIRD MM o AT H S T SPIRI INGBIRD MM E HALLS AT HUDECK TH ALLS THE H K C E D

Angus Barn arn B s u g An

BER 2

8 201M DECEMBER DECE

018

k DerecttenburgY erheci kES HIS LEGAC DW U nburg TINte WCOhNit CY

CONTINUES HIS LEGA

Celebrate

10 ISSUES FOR

$14.99

Raleigh’s Life & Soul all year long.

Subscribe today at waltermagazine.com/subscription or call (919) 836-5613.

Happening NOW

% , * * % * ! !0 % % *% * & * "% % * % &* * ,% & & & +00 # &* * / - * %/ , & ,% *,% %% %& * %, & % * - && % &# . /& "* $, */ & *& * !0 ( , !+ ! !0 % % * +'(0

...# , * * % #

ROAD TRIP TO RALEIGH American Aquarium hosts a fan weekend downtown

A

merican Aquarium frontman B.J. Barham is an unabashedly proud ambassador for the Oak City. The Raleigh-based Americana band has a big following nationally, but, insterestingly enough, not here in their own backyard. So in 2015, to promote an album and generate local buzz, Barham decided to invite the band's out of town fans via social media to Raleigh for a big launch party… and they showed up! Now in its fifth year, Roadtrip to Raleigh will welcome 2000+ American Aquarium

fans downtown for sellout performances at the Lincoln Theatre January 25 and 26.

Local restauranteurs and barkeeps are big fans too, whipping up special American Aquarium themed cocktails and dishes to keep the party going. This year Trophy Brewing Co. is bottling up Tough Folks, a beer named for one of the band’s songs. Barham even creates an eating and drinking guide, which earns rave reviews even after the fans have left town. When the band is touring, he gets a kick out of hearing from someone in Pennsylvania or New Jersey who is

courtesy B.J. Barham

FEBRUARY

Ωclockwise from left: Jenny McLaughlin; courtesy B.J. Barham

Raleigh’s Best Arrangements

“craving a chicken sandwich from Beasley’s or going on about the best dinner he’s ever eaten at Crawford and Son.” The Roadtrip shows also give Barham an excuse to put together a lineup of musicians he admires. This year he welcomes Brent Cobb, Courtney Marie Andrews, Susto, and Paul Cauthen to share the stage.

Barham relishes the opportunity to

have a weekend at home, but more than that, he says he wants to “show off” our city. “So many bands move to Nashville or NY or LA once they start getting traction, but I was always of the school of thought that you grow where you are planted—and for me, that’s Raleigh.”

We’re happy that he’s using his success to sprout a few fans of Raleigh, too.

—Katherine Poole

For tickets or information about the weekend, follow the band on social media or visit americanaquarium.com

Services we offer: • • • • •

Custom Arrangements Interior Plantscapes Living Walls Plant Leasing & Rentals Installation & Maintenance CONTACT US

919-878-8877 5217 Atlantic Ave. Raleigh, NC 27616 www.atlanticgardening.com

Happening NOW

( # $ - " , (# ( ! ( ($ - ( -# $( - $ + # !# $ # ( # $ +# - (( # # ($ +# !# (

12-17

)%. # $( *%&.

---"# "

Main & Taylor is ON SALE!

MAMMA MIA!

Here we go again…the North Carolina Theatre presents the smash hit Mamma Mia! at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. Take a chance, Fernando. You can dance. You can jive. You can have the time of your life.

See website for dates and times; from $23; 2 E. South St.; nctheatre.com

14-16 GREATER TUNA

One small town in Texas, two actors, 20 characters, infinite laughs…The Holly Springs Cultural Center’s Community Theater Troupe presents Greater Tuna, the long-running off-Broadway crowd-pleaser by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard.

Set in the fictional town of Tuna, Texas, the play sends up small minds in small towns, but the real fun comes in seeing two actors inhabit all of the characters. Don’t mess with Texas.

shoe s • bag s • mor e NOR TH HILL S 919.821.1556 MAIN ANDTAYLORSHOES . COM

See website for show dates and times; $10; 300 W. Ballentine St., Holly Springs; hollyspringsnc.us/1580/Greater-Tuna

Christopher Clark (MAMMA); Joyce Marshall (TUNA)

#" $( #" $$ # #" # $ #" - # $ # #" - # $ #" # #

FEBRUARY

16

Do Something Big

3516 Williamsborough Court Williamsborough

$2,495,000.00

1604 Dogwood View Lane Bayleaf Farms

$3,300,000.00

2805 Lakeview Drive Country Club Hills

$3,950,000.00

courtesy VAE (GALA); Getty Images (CABARET)

VAE GALA

VAE is hosting its 35th annual gala February 16 with a bigger-thanever arty party. With support from PNC Bank and Baker Roofing, the gala is "popping up" in a new space transformed especially for the gala and the exhibition Black on Black, which highlights creative contributions made by people of color. Guests will enjoy cocktails and heavy hors d'oeuvres as they stroll the gallery of art available for the silent auction. The evening culminates in a live auction and will feature a special work by featured artist Kulsum Tasnif, a Pakastani visual artist. Proceeds from the evening benefit VAE, a nonprofit that supports our local creative community.

6 - 11 p.m.; $150; 4300 Fayetteville Rd; vaeraleigh.org/gala

20-24 CABARET

Life is a Cabaret at Stewart Theatre. North Carolina State University Theatre presents the iconic musical that tells the story of feisty lounge singer Sally Bowles and her lover set in the seamy underbelly of Berlin during the 1930s.

Come on down to the Kit Kat Klub for an evening of song, dance, and a strong showing of jazz hands.

See website for show dates and times; from $8; 2610 Cates Ave.; theatre.arts.ncsu.edu/2018-19-season/cabaret

Runyon Tyler III 919.271.6641 runyon.tyler@bhhsysu.com BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.%AE Equal Housing Opportunity.

Happening NOW C LOT H I N G AC C E S S O R I E S H A N D B AGS

HISTORY OF DIX City of Raleigh Museum's free exhibit

T North Hills Adjacent to Renaissance Hotel 919-788-4200 Raleigh, North Carolina MartasofRaleigh.com

hrough 2020, you can learn more about the history of Raleigh's beloved downtown park. From Plantation to Park: The Story of Dix Hill commemorates centuries of history at the former Dorothea Dix Hospital, now 307.8 acres of park in the works (see page 78). “We feel the public needs to understand the complicated history of the site to make informed decisions about its future. This is why the exhibit is important for Raleigh,” says City of Raleigh Museum director Ernest Dollar.

The exhibit at the museum on Fayetteville Street spans centuries, even before the land was inhabited with the hospital in 1856. The last hospital patients were relocated in 2012, and the

City of Raleigh purchased the land in 2015. The offices of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services still remain, and will operate on Dix's campus through 2025.

Former staff and faculty of the hospital share testimonials for the exhibit.

Visitors of the musuem can leave audio recordings on their thoughts and stories, preserving oral history for future generations. Kate Pearce, the planning supervisor on the park, says her team is working to preserve and honor the history of the space. “The history and legacy of the campus is rich and layered.

We want to honor it, and make sure we make a smooth and intentional transition from hospital to park.”

—Catherine Currin

cityofraleighmuseum.org

courtesy City of Raleigh Museum

JEWELRY

FEBRUARY

Visit our beautiful new showroom with lots of wonderful and exciting modern furniture.

210 Hampton Woods Lane | Raleigh, NC 27607

919-572-2870 www.ambientefurniture.com

INTERIOR DESIGN SERVICES AVAILABLE

(\HEREV 7UXQN 6KRZ

Happening NOW

-DQXDU\ )HEUXDU\ LQ WKH EDOFRQ\

22-23 RACHMANINOFF

IHDWXULQJ DOO GD\ UHDGHUV SURJUHVVLYH QR OLQH UHDGHUV \RX FDQ ZHDU DOO GD\

Get tickled by the ivories February 22 or 23 when The North Carolina Symphony presents an evening of romantic music at the Duke Energy Center for Performing Arts. Eivind Gullberg Jensen conducts Chasing Light by Rene Orth, Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz.

Joining the symphony for as a special guest is acclaimed pianist Behzod Abduraimov.

Getty Images (PIANO, BOOK)

8 p.m.; from $18; 2 E. South St.; ncsymphony.org

QRIR # WKH SLJ ċ ILYH SRLQWV IDLUYLHZ URDG ċ ċ ZZZ QRIR FRP

22-24 NORTH CAROLINA BOOK FESTIVAL

%+ ) % & # !! & # !# ) ! & $$* ) ! ( & ' !! # ' ' # #!

! & ! # # ) ' ! & ! # # ! # #! ) % # )

!#! ' * - -# ,,,$ % % , + %$ "

Read all about it: The North Carolina Book Festival (NCBF) finds a permanent home in Raleigh in 2019. After years rotating between North Carolina State University, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina, festival coordinators have established the state capitol as a destination for Tarheel book lovers. The NCBF honors our state’s rich literary history by bringing together writers and readers for panels, demonstrations, lectures, and readings at multiple locations including NC State’s James B. Hunt Library, Quail Ridge Books, and various downtown venues.

See website for schedule of events; ncbookfestival.wordpress.com

FEBRUARY

Kate Pope

GIVE BACK

TRIANGLE WINE EXPERIENCE The Frankie Lemmon Foundation's annual fundraiser kicks off January 31 with highend winery dinners across the Triangle. You can also attend the main event—a gala and auction February 2. The evening will include 18 chefs, 60 wineries, and countless live and silent auction items.

For tickets,visit trianglewineexperience.org/tickets

81 ) 9&'' !&'' :&5$ +9 0 2 "<< 1/. !5. +! !&) )5&/8 1 50 180 50+9 +! 8)&/8 &5 (1 !+0 ;+80 $+( +0 +'' 5&+).

METHODIST HOME FOR CHILDREN You can support children in need at A Winter's Tale, the Methodist Home for Children's annual gala. Held at the Convention Center February 2, best-selling author Steve Pemberton will speak on his experiences in foster care as a child. There will also be raffle tickets for a chance to win experiences—from tickets to see Elton John in concert to a trip on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

For tickets visit www.awinterstale.org

DANCE AT THE WOLFTHON Support Duke Children's Hospital at N.C. State's Miracle Network Dance Marathon.

The Wolfthon 2019 is a 12-hour dance marathon January 26 at the newly renovated Talley Student Union on N.C. State's main campus. You can donate to the cause or sign up to dance the day away. events.dancemarathon.com

' $ % " $ & " " "' % $ #)

,7,6 . . *,*.*#7.6,2* .

% ,, ( % 3-(

$&5 $ '' )5&/8 1. +(

" $ " % ( " $ "

Our “The city has changed so much the past 30 years, but we still have that warm spirit.”

—Mayor Nancy McFarlane

NUMBER OF PEOPLE MOVING TO WAKE COUNTY EACH DAY

POPULATION OF RALEIGH

PASSENGERS AT RDU AIRPORT

447

3

ACRES OF PARK NEAR DOWNTOWN (including Dix Park, p. 78)

2

NEW FOOD HALLS IN DOWNTOWN

NUMBER OF JAMES BEARD NOMINATIONS IN 2018 (see p. 104)

929,000 VISITORS TO OUTDOOR FESTIVALS

statistics courtesy Downtown Raleigh Alliance

44 | WALTER

170 MILES OF GREENWAY AND ON-ROAD BIKE FACILITIES IN RALEIGH

Getty Images (ICONS); Joshua Steadman (DIX PARK)

63

464,758 11.6 million

THE DATEJUST 41 The new generation of the essential classic, with a new movement and design that keep it at the forefront of watchmaking.

It doesn’t just tell time. It tells history.

OYSTER PERPETUAL DATEJUST 41

rolex

oyster perpetual and datejust are

®

trademarks.

THE

POWER OF A

STRONG NETWORK

The local expertise of Allen Tate Realtors, combined with the power of the Luxury Portfolio International network, gives our sellers a distinctive edge.

When you partner with us your home is positioned in front of more qualified buyers in more locations.

We’ve been selling more homes than any other competitor among the top 500 U.S. Real Estate firms for over 10 years.

Get Out There & Give Back.

We care about preserving and celebrating our public lands. Through our 1% for the Planet membership we donate 1% of sales to groups like Mountains-to-Sea Trail to create positive change for the environment.

Learn more: onepercentfortheplanet.org

EQUIPPING LIFE & ADVENTURE Cameron Village, Raleigh Eastgate Crossing, Chapel Hill GreatOutdoorProvision.com

LOCALS

THE RIGHT POET Jaki Shelton Green becomes N.C.’s poet laureate

by CHRIS VITIELLO

F

or North Carolina’s new state Poet Laureate, the literary life started while squirming in her Sunday best on a church pew.

“I was not unruly, but very fidgety, in church because I was fascinated by people and I wanted to turn around and stare at them,” Jaki Shelton Green says. “I wanted to ask my grandmother and my mother a thousand questions, and they were like ‘Shhhh! Be quiet!’ So my

grandmother gave me these tiny tablets, and they had little pencils that came with them. My grandmother literally had a score of them. And that was my Sunday treat. That and a stick of spearmint gum, and I was good for hours.”

Scribbles turned into letters and words. Green wrote descriptions of women’s hats and stories about church elders. Her fascination with the act of communion, and the resonance between

the words “blood” and “bread,” found its way into nickel notebook after nickel notebook.

Green, 65, is North Carolina’s ninth poet laureate, and the first African American person to hold the position. She grew up in Efland, North Carolina, in Orange County, and is one of the most travelled and decorated poets in the state, serving as the first Piedmont Laureate in 2009 and winning the North Carolina Award

photography by S.P. MURRAY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 49

for Literature in 2013. She was inducted into the state Literary Hall of Fame in 2014, and has published eight books of poetry, including Conjure Blues and Breath of the Song: New and Selected Poems through Carolina Wren Press and I Want to Undie You, an elegy for her daughter Imani, through Jacar Press in 2017. She currently teaches at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and has taught writing workshops in various institutions for decades.

For Green, writing poetry has always been more about knowing and healing than publishing and teaching. As a child, writing gave her a platform to explore her curiosity, and as a young adult in the turbulent 60s and early 70s, it gave her a way to process the world and find her place in it. Away from home at boarding school in Pennsylvania, she took writing much more seriously.

“It was the civil rights movement, it was Vietnam and Cambodia,” she says. “I was asking questions about my identity, what it meant to be black and southern in America. And I’m this little militant being that my family doesn't necessarily know what to do with. Writing became my container for helping me tease through a lot of the questions that I had.”

Officially, the poet laureate’s two-year appointment is to be spent giving readings, conducting programs and workshops, and writing occasional poems to commemorate events like inaugurations and the openings of civic buildings. But Green feels her purpose is much longer and larger than that.

“I encounter communities of people who have no idea what the poet laureateship is and what it can mean to them specifically. They tell me their stories, but do not necessarily feel that their stories are worthy of a greater literary context,” Green says.

“So, for me, my job is to be in these community centers, these small libraries, community colleges off the beaten track, in low-wealth communities. To remind them that we have always told stories and shared each other’s stories, and to sort of renew the energy inside of these

50 | WALTER

DREAMING IN TAMIZGH

by Jaki Shelton Green

You tell us that we speak tamizgh whenever we speak in your dreams. A tiny Amina or Zara pulls a woolen scarf tighter over her head. It is Wednesday. It is July. She and her cousins throw paper confetti as they leave the hamam. Clean hair dripping a serpent of argan oil between the courtyards of iwna and jdda. We pause to allow the goat herder to cross the trash filled ditch. Her toothless grin becomes a window for me to crawl into your dream. One of her goats will be atop the Friday couscous tagine. This I know crawling through her dark eyes. Her armpits become navigational guides into this map that screams to me in French whispers to me in Arabic and curses me in Tamizgh. I drink the zamzam that flows beneath her tongue. All the colors inside her heart are oceans without names like me a princess without a country. Real and imaginary jinn live next door to me. They sit outside blue painted doors they cradle babies suck honey comb wash the feet of weary imams threaten thirsty virgins. I am an unread dangerous book my pages become the fisherman’s best nets the potters sharpest knife the weavers forbidden stitch. You only dream out loud afraid of the ghosts that threaten to crawl into your bed steal your ink drown the graves of father mother sister. You only dream when you sleep alone afraid of the woman in the window afraid of the lush caress of ocean lifting her higher afraid of this foreign soil that wants to kiss bind hostage your feet. In your dreams all your clothing is pierced. Shreds of a soul penurized. Shreds of an unread sealed letter. You become a frequent nightmare reappearing in your mothers shroud reappearing as your father’s shadow. You count the dead you have no intentions of burying.

communities. To bring them back to this vital practice, this traditional practice that we’ve sort of lost, especially in the South.”

Green’s poems frequently draw upon connections to place and memory.

Memories and experiences often serve as opportunities for metaphor, instruction, and reflection. She finds higher levels of being in mundane events and familiar situations, and brings these levels out in rhythmic, lyrical language. Images and events resonate for readers and encourage them to find insight and profundity in their own experiences.

Green’s poem “i know the grandmother one had hands” lists ordinary memories of a grandmother that many people share—cooking, washing, mending clothes. But Green invests them with a heightened significance through her use of rhythm and repetition in the poem. The list becomes a litany, giving her final lines an emotional weight: “i know the grandmother one had hands / but they were always inside the clouds / poking holes for the / rain to fall.”

Green sees her role as helping people all around the state recognize not only the legitimacy of their stories, but their own innate abilities to tell them and write them down—even if those stories are difficult or painful.

“Poets can take us to those dark places that that are hard to go to. Poetry can be such a neutralizer, such an equalizer,” Green says. “I think people are really looking for safer spaces where we can stand together, where we can cross boundaries, or we can erase both imaginary and real lines in the sand.”

For Green, poetry connects the everyday to the universal and helps people translate their unique experiences into lasting emotions that can be shared. She’s the right poet laureate for a politically divisive moment.

“We have to continue to make space at the table, you know? Writers have the power to make that table longer and wider. That’s how poetry helps lead us to do even more significant work. That’s how poetry becomes a governing force.”

It Takes a True Artist to Create a Masterpiece.

Let’s face facts. If you are considering Botox, facial fillers or cosmetic surgery, your choice of injector and surgeon absolutely matters.

Dr. Michael Zenn and Mary Shaver, RN, BSN are well known experts in their respective fields.

Their technical skills, years of experience, and artistry deliver beautiful, natural results. Together they offer exceptional care at Zenn Plastic Surgery, a new boutique practice in Brier Creek.

Put your best face forward.

Call today for a consultation.

ZENN PLASTIC SURGERY

MARY SHAVER, RN, BSN, CANS

MICHAEL R. ZENN, MD

• 18+ years experience in aesthetics • Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist • Certified Advanced Injector of Dermal Fillers and Botox • Dually licensed Medical Aesthetician • A gentle touch with thousands of devoted patients

• Board Certified Plastic Surgeon • 23+ years in practice • Plastic Surgery Residency at Harvard • Former Professor and Vice Chief, Duke Plastic Surgery • Adjunct Professor of Plastic Surgery, UNC Chapel Hill

7920 ACC Blvd., Suite 110, Raleigh | 919.480.3885 | zennplasticsurgery.com

The secret is out...

Don’t be the last one to know!

Get on the VIP List for properties that have not even hit the market yet!

Check out HPW.com/ComingSoon to be the first to know.

GIVERS

FOSTERING HOPE

Hope Center at Pullen provides support to young people

by CATHERINE CURRIN

T

ucked in the basement of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, the Hope Center is creating a safe space. Founded in 2008 to help combat homelessness in the area, the nonprofit has shifted in the past five years to target children aging out of the foster care system. These young people, the majority Wake County residents, range in age from 13 to 21 and live within a mix of foster homes and group homes. The Hope Center focuses on life skills to prepare them for the transition. “Statistically, six in 10 children in foster care will experience homelessness,”

says Hope Center program coordinator Meredith Yuckman. “Our goal is to gauge what they need. We capitalize on programs that build relationships.” While the average age of children in foster care is six years old, Yuckman says that age 13 is the critical number. “When a child in foster care reaches the age of 13, their chance of positive outcomes significantly decreases.”

The Hope Center wants to beat those odds for as many children as possible.

The center facilitates a life skills workshop called LINKS once a week for these teens. LINKS is a statewide initiative, with an overarching objective to

prepare foster teens for living on their own. During these meetings, speakers such as police officers and social workers will lecture on different topics like court awareness, STD education, and mental health. “The program is intensive,” says Yuckman. “When people think of foster care, they don't think about what happens when the children age out.”

Each youth or ‘client,’ as they’re referred, also receives an academic mentor.

These volunteers work with the youth on everything from independent living skills to homework to college visits.

“These volunteers walk side by side with

photography by GEOFF WOOD JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 53

these young people. We want to teach them how to solve their own problems,” Yuckman says. There's also an internship program for ages 16 and up, where clients are able to receive hands-on, paid work experience, subsidized by the Hope Center. “We want to minimize all barriers so they can feel supported and gain experience. It's essentially a dress rehearsal for a job,” says Yuckman.

With approximately 750 children in the foster care system in Wake County alone, the Hope Center can’t tackle this problem on their own. The center collaborates with other local nonprofits like The Green Chair Project, as well as the City of Raleigh and Wake County Housing. The housing division of Wake County Human Services approved 15 housing vouchers for Hope Center clients. Director of Transition Programs Kelliann Miranda works with clients during the approval process for these 24-month vouchers. She says the application process can be rigorous, but

the reward is enormous. These vouchers, in partnership with Wake County, operate under the ‘Housing First’ model. Miranda says that a lack of housing is one of the main factors that hinder a person’s success. “It eliminates what tends to thwart their success,” says Miranda. “Their minds open up, and they finally feel safe.” Miranda also works with young parents who were in the foster care system through the Fostering Family Success program. This program is funded by United Way of the Greater Triangle, and serves parents that are between ages 18 and 27. Miranda says this program aspires to break the cycle of the foster system by providing resources and support to young parents. “We want to provide as much wraparound as possible. Each client is different.”

Volunteers are incredibly valuable in this stage, too. All programs at the Hope Center rely on volunteers, as well as partnerships with organizations like SAFEChild, Families Together, and NextGen. Both Miranda and Yuckman emphasize the importance of community collaboration to get the job done in their respective programs. The broader the reach, the more children and young adults who are set up for success.

And the success at the Hope Center is tangible. The center currently serves 105 clients, and the statistics on the 2017 impact report are staggering: six percent of Hope Center clients were incarcerated in 2017, compared to the national average of 24 percent; 28 percent of Hope Center clients are pursuing post-secondary education versus the national average of 20 percent. And 100 percent of Hope Center young people maintained stable housing for three months or more.

It’s evident that the team’s approach of building relationships and trust with the youth is working. For many of these young adults, the Hope Center is the first example of a trustworthy adult in their life, a sense of support and an advocate.

“A lot of clients come to us with extensive trauma,” says Miranda. “They are used to being faced with a wall of negativity and no’s. Our agency is a soft whisper of yes in a sea of no’s.”

SHOP

T-SHIRT 2.0

Reborn Clothing transforms cherished pieces

by ADDIE LADNER

H

ave you ever been stuck with a stuffed-drawer dilemma? All those old t-shirts—from high school sports and college clubs, fundraisers and 5Ks—hold sentimental value, but they take up a whole lot of space. Emily Neville knows what to do with them: turn them into something else. She started her Raleigh-based company Reborn Clothing in the hopes of sending fewer garments to the landfill, instead turning t-shirts and other textiles into useful items like blankets or throw pillows. The shelves at the N.C. State bookstore, where Neville is a student, are stocked with a line of products made from old campus activity shirts, but there are ways for you to repurpose your own sentimental t-shirts, too.

“Clothing holds our memories,” says Neville. A baby's first onesie, a wedding dress, a late Grandfather’s scarf—Neville says she doesn’t want these items to sit in a closet collecting dust—or get thrown away, either. She hopes to continue the

story of meaningful garments by giving them a second life through Reborn. The company’s mission comes at an essential time: The fashion industry is the second largest polluter following the oil industry, producing an immense volume of textile waste in a culture of disposable, fast fashion. Keeping clothing out of landfills is Neville’s driving motivation.

Through Reborn’s online ordering process, customers can mail up to five T-shirts or other sentimental garments to Reborn’s HQ, where they’ll be transformed into a practical yet stylish item, like a throw pillow, teddy bear, or camera strap, to use and cherish forever. Customers answer a handful of questions: what they’re looking to repurpose, which product they’d like, and what parts of the garments they want to stay visible. Reborn will send a packing slip and box to kick off the process. “Once we receive the clothing, the team creates a design. For example, if you send in three shirts, your pillow will encompass the most important parts of three shirts,”

photography by EAMON QUEENEY

56 | WALTER

' ) ' ! ! ' ! "* $ % ! $ ' ! ( $ !!% !$ ) % & $ % !$% * *** ! % $ ! ' $% $ !$ ' ) & % ! & $ ! ! $

6WRS DQG VHH WKH GLDPRQGV

We like to socialize.

Follow along and don’t miss a thing. says Neville. Reborn also accepts custom orders and is willing to improvise—Neville once turned a customer’s beloved old formal dress into an edgy new blazer.

Neville, who has no formal training or education in textiles, has been advocating for sustainable fashion since early on. She remembers refitting the contents of her closet regularly as a child and pre-teen. “I’d alter the straps on something or change the neckline. And when I got into college, I’d make pillows,” she says. Now she practices her work continually in her own “bare bones” closet. “I hardly have any clothing in my closet anymore, because I've turned it into something.”

Locals can also shop Reborn’s Forever Line of items, including scrunchies, earrings, and camera straps made from the company’s own waste, at downtown Raleigh retailers Lucky Tree and Simple Bliss Spa. Learn more at rebornclothing.co

@WalterMagazine www.waltermagazine.com

GIGS

OLD S C H O O L

d O S UN Move over, boy bands!

by WILL LINGO

R

emember when rock ‘n roll was about not getting old?

Now you can’t go to a neighborhood bar in Raleigh without finding a band of middle-aged dudes.

To be fair, an overwhelming number of bands feature middle-aged dudes, whether it’s a cover band playing at a school fundraiser or the Rolling Stones. (Actually, the Rolling Stones don’t even qualify as middle-aged anymore, but you get the idea.)

But we aren’t talking about pros. We’re talking about your neighbor, the accountant, who also plays in a rock band. The guys with day jobs who play for the love of music. We’re talking about dad bands.

Dad bands are like art: You may not be able to come up with a precise definition, but you know them when you see them. And if you live in Raleigh, you certainly see them. The ones you know probably depend on precisely where you live. The Nasty Habits, The Geb, Balsa Gliders, Eric’s Attic, Jump Mountain, Low Brow are just a few.

And whether they consider “dad bands” a pejorative term or not depends on how seriously they take their music. “Dad band is a fine term if you’re just playing around, but not as great if you’re trying to do something more,” says Rhett Moody of Jump Mountain, which photography by GUS SAMARCO

58 | WALTER

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 59

was part of the local music flavor at the N.C. State Fair this fall. “I think we would consider it self-deprecating. Now, if you’d have heard us called a boy band…”

Some bands not only don’t mind the label or associated aesthetic (normcore comes to mind)—they embrace it. Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament called Jump Mountain the “ultimate dad band” (score!). The Instagram handle for Kevin Cox, front man for The Geb, is @dadrock_nc. Don Moody’s “main” band is called Midlife Crisis. They own it.

“We like to say that we play the soundtrack of your life,” Don Moody says. You may have seen Midlife Crisis without even realizing it, whether at North Hills’ Midtown Amphitheatre or at a Habitat for Humanity fundraiser. In fact, they don’t really play in bars any-

60 | WALTER

“It’s all on good terms, and a lot of people are in multiple bands and just like to play whenever they get the opportunity.” more, preferring to stick to charity or corporate gigs.

“I have played the guitar since I was a teenager, but I never got serious about being in a band,” Don Moody says. “But as you start moving along in life, and start figuring out what’s important to you and what’s not, you decide to do

more of what you want to do.”

Don Moody, who was born and raised in Raleigh, can’t remember a time when he didn’t love music. His first musical instrument was a snare drum that he got when he was 10. His first concert: The Monkees at Dorton Arena.

“It was a pretty exciting experience,” he said. “And then you realize that girls like guys who play musical instruments.”

He took up the guitar, but for many years took the musical path of avid follower rather than band member. He ticks off the name of classic North Carolina bands that he saw at venues like the Cameron Village Underground, including The Woods, Arrogance and Fabulous Knobs.

It wasn’t until the mid-1990s that Don Moody entertained the idea of being in a band. He was shopping for a guitar in

Opposite page: The Geb; this page: Mike Connell

the heady early days of the internet and found one he liked. He asked the seller about delivery options, and the two men realized they both lived in Raleigh.

Terry Barrett, a mortgage banker, asked Don Moody, a real estate agent, if he was interested in maybe starting a band. They found Doug Walter, a builder, and they were off. These days, Walter and Moody are the only originals left with Midlife Crisis, which has two other regular members and a rotating cast of guest players.

“Over the years, there are divorces and people move away and go in different directions,” Moody says. “It’s all on good terms, and a lot of people are in multiple bands and just like to play whenever they get the opportunity.”

Aiming Local Kevin Cox, of The Geb, has been in a number of bands over the years, from jam bands to pop rock, starting from his days at N.C. State. Those bands mostly existed as studio efforts, though, and played out in basements or at friends’ parties. But The Geb—named for Rothgeb Street, where Cox lives—stands out for a more structured approach than the average dad band, which is usually a laidback affair with sporadic practices and scattershot promotion. The Geb practices weekly, maintains a steady social media presence, promotes through email, and works at scheduling shows and putting out new music regularly.

“Our objective is to become locally relevant, so we can play local venues and record more music,” Cox says. “It’s all about how much good music can we make, and can we make a mark on the local scene?”

The Geb clearly blends Cox’s back-

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 61

ground as a scientist—his day job is in research and development for Novozymes, a Danish biotech company—and the long music background of the members of the band. The core of the group has been playing together for about 15 years, and they pride themselves on not playing covers.

They look up to bands like The Connells, who function as an archetype for dad bands that aspire to anything beyond playing for friends and family.

The Connells, of course, originated with Raleigh natives David and Mike Connell and Doug MacMillan in the mid-1980s and gained international renown. The band never really broke up but went dormant around the turn of the century, as members went in different directions.

In recent years, though, The Connells have started performing again, generating enthusiastic crowds throughout the Southeast, and serving as inspi-

62 | WALTER

ration to other bands of middle-aged dudes. For two recent dates in Virginia, for example, their opening acts were The Roman Spring and Balsa Gliders— two local bands of middle-aged dudes with day jobs who absolutely would not want to be referred to as dad bands.

The Connells played with Dillon Fence and The Mayflies USA, two other bands of the same era, to a throng at an outdoor show at Raleigh Little Theatre last September, and have been rumored to be on the verge of releasing a new album for months. MacMillan, in an interview with The News & Observer before that show, said it feels like the band has come full circle.

“We’re back to the ‘renting a van’ part of our careers now,” he says. “The answer (as to why) remains pretty much the same as it was back then, where playing music acts as a distraction from all of the other stuff you’ve got going on

in your life. It’s great to go into a weekend where you know you’ll be playing some shows.”

Whether a band aspires to fill an auditorium or entertain a few neighborhood couples, plays covers or originals, embraces the “dad band” label or eschews it, the uniting force is a love of music—and how can that be bad?

Don Moody himself is directing more of his energy these days into a newer band, The Sir Walters, which plays original songs mostly written by Moody himself. They haven’t played live yet, but it’ll happen.

“I’ve got a lot of friends who are musicians, and it’s an opportunity to play with some different people,” he says. “There are so many incredibly talented people who live around here, and we’ve been fortunate to grow up with great music. It’s a great place to escape, and it inspires you.”

Bebinspired bby color...

4151 Main at North Hills Street Suite 120 Raleigh, NC 27609 984-200-9113 www.paysage.com

QUENCH

COMMUNITY COCKTAILS Fig adds flair to Brookside Drive

by AYN-MONIQUE KLAHRE

T

o hear owner Duane Williams speak of Fig, it’s about way more than cocktails. The jewel box of a bar-cum-coffee shop, nestled into a commercial strip on Brookside Avenue, is part of his grand plan to transform a previously rundown shopping center into the go-to gathering space for an area of downtown that’s exploding with growth.

“I used to run through this area, and as I saw more and more cranes to the west, I knew they’d have to come east eventually, what with all these pretty treelines and history,” says Williams, who’s also the commercial developer of the entire lot. He struck up a conversation with the previous owner of the complex, consulted with Louis Cherry Archi-

tecture to give the space a facelift, and started recruiting new businesses to the block. “We had to get the mix right,” he says, “to attract the mamas and babies and strollers and dogs.”

He retooled the existing Brookside Market into a familyand dog-friendly pizza spot (recently converted to a Mediterranean place), then recruited a tattoo parlor, retro barber shop, and farm share nonprofit The Produce Project to the strip (with more to come). But all along, the idea for Fig was on the back burner. “We knew we wanted a coffee-cocktail concept, but something that was more grown-up and polished,” says Williams. So he took his time, getting deep into the details of the space: the paint colors, the bamboo bar front, the state-of-the-art espresso machine—even the bathroom

photography by GEOFF WOOD

64 | WALTER

CINNAMON MAPLE BROWN SUGAR LATTE Ingredients: 2 ounces espresso 7 ounces milk 1 ounce cinnamon brown sugar simple syrup (a house-made blend of brown sugar, maple syrup, and cinnamon) Make the espresso; at the same time steam the milk. Pour in the syrup, then top with the espresso and finish with steamed milk.

BOURBON SMASH Ingredients: 6 mint leaves 4 apple chunks 1/2 ounce cinnamon honey 1 ounce lemon juice 3/4 ounce demerara 1 1/2 ounce Ezra Brooks bourbon Lemon wheel and rosemary for garnish Muddle the mint, apple, and honey. Add lemon and bourbon, shake with ice, then strain over a large ice cube and garnish.

fixtures. He added outlets everywhere for the daytime crowd, and carved out cozy nooks for cocktail-sippers’ evening conversations.

There’s coffee from local roaster Counter Culture, small bites, and a staff that knows their stuff, including bartender Louis Montgomery ( far left) and barista Genesis Harper (near left). The bar boasts house-made syrups, like the cinnamon brown sugar syrup used for a toasty cold-weather latte—“It's like Kryptonite for winter!" says Harper—

and a rotating seasonal smash (“For when your toes need to be hugged,” says Montgomery). “We also make a really great tea,” says Williams. “A lot of folks don’t know how to make good tea!”

Beyond serving great drinks, the team sees their establishment as an opportunity to serve this community.

“As this neighborhood grows, we want to create a gathering place where good food and good drinks lead to good conversation,” says Williams. “We want Fig to be a second home.”

SAVOR

BU•KU’S

NEW VIEW A change in location delivers an updated perspective

by JESSIE AMMONS RUMBLEY

“T

he life of a restaurant comes from the people in it and the experiences they create over the food,” says Amanda Haisley, executive chef of bu•ku restaurant. She’s walking through the cavernous space that was once An Cuisines, a popular upscale Asian restaurant in Cary. Without people, the place is spooky—barstools stacked on tabletops for more than a year, state-of-the-art kitchen equipment unplugged but at the ready. But soon, Haisley and her team will fire the equipment back up to open the new location of bu•ku here. “I think we just happen to be the right people at the right time,” says owner Sean Degnan, to revamp what he calls a “sacred” space.

“We’re ready to do this the right way.

And we weren’t even doing it the wrong way.”

The restaurant closed its original doors

in downtown Raleigh on New Year’s Eve, after almost 9 years in business. The new Cary location is a sort of bu•ku 2.0, offering the same small plates inspired by global street food, but refined in service and in its focus on community. The life of a restaurant, Degnan says, comes from the people inside it—and also the people behind it. “I really think you can taste the love put into food. When it comes from the right place, that translates.”

Measured approach This is not Degnan’s first time opening a new restaurant. Along with co-owners Tony Hopkins and Todd Ohle, he opened so•ca, a Latin American street food restaurant, in Cameron Village in March 2017, and bu•ku Wake Forest in April 2018. (Meanwhile, Degnan also helped open the pay-what-you-can nonprofit restaurant A Place At The Table in downtown Raleigh.) But this endeavor

photography by TREY THOMAS

66 | WALTER

bu•ku’s executive chef Amanda Haisley, left, and bu•ku co-owner Sean Degnan

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 67

Left to right: The Buku Hotpot with Thai red curry, coconut, chicken, mushroom, and spinach; Chipotle-braised chicken empanada with tomatillo salsa and garlic crema; Coconut-encrusted Chilean sea bass with jerk caramalized banana and mango-cabbage salad

is moving the flagship location, the one that started it all. The new doors are set to open in February or March, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect, Degnan says. “Our restaurant is going through a culture change right now,” he says. The hospitality industry is known for its demanding ethos of long hours and late nights, but Degnan and his leaders, including chef Haisley, are working to promote work-life balance and respectful, team-oriented attitudes. Moving physical locations has been an opportunity for the team to double-down on those efforts.

The staff today is “the kids who turned into pros.”

The food, too, is “entirely new, while holding onto many of the themes of past menus,” says Haisley. When bu•ku first opened, “we were inspired by the food

68 | WALTER

that the cooks were cooking for each other,” Degnan says. “That’s what ended up on the menu… the food they made for their friends.” Flavors lean Asian in influence, which will remain true in the new location. “There’s going to be a hotpot,” Haisley says, referring to the brothy, curry-infused dish that’s become one of bu•ku’s most popular. The rest will change regularly, inspired by staff’s friends and family as well as bu•ku’s loyal customer base.

Menu inspiration will also come from the Triangle’s diverse food scene. “We are well aware of the criticism that bu•ku can be considered a cultural appropriation restaurant,” Degnan says. They’re embracing the criticism as constructive.

The new location is a little larger, providing room to host local guest chefs. There

is a former sushi bar equipped with a mini kitchen, slightly apart from the main dining area, where folks behind popular food trucks and smaller local favorites can take over for a few weeks. bu•ku wine director Troy Revell and beverage director Tolson Kenney will then create paired drink lists to complement the food menu, Degnan says, and standout combinations are likely to end up on the main dining menu. These “test kitchen” collaborations, Degnan says, will “spotlight great local chefs,” while keeping the bu•ku menu constantly infused with energy and perspective. “The food on our menu will definitely still be our food, but going forward we want to create room for natural evolutions and additions.”

‘Fill the place with people’ Degnan refers to the new location as a “sacred” space because of its history. An Cuisines was a fine dining Asian restaurant associated with The Umstead Hotel and Spa, celebrated for the same highend experience. “We fully expect people to visit bu•ku and compare it to An,” Degnan says. “You remember the most amazing Asian restaurant— that’s what we’re up against. We’re cognizant of that and we’re also doing what we’re good at: serving fun, small street food from around the world.”

Architect Courtney Evans of Raleigh’s Tactile Workshop reinterpreted the space to reflect the “fun fine dining” approach, Degnan says. What was once a grand main dining room will instead feel like an atrium, with ample light and

“The food on our menu will definitely still be our food, but going forward we want to create room for natural evolutions and additions,” —Sean Degnan plant life. And the two outdoor dining spaces, rarely used by An, will be activated and emphasized. Eating outside suits small plates, Degnan says. “If you’re having a $60 steak or piece of fish, you

don’t usually eat outside. But if you’re trying octopus for the first time with your girlfriends, you might sit outside and have some drinks.”

The bright space reflects the fresh approach and the reinvigorated staff, who believe it will all add up to elevated and creative food. “A lot of the time, food is more inspired by how you feel and what you want to do for other people,” says executive sous chef Max Lai. “We have the really fortunate opportunity to have every person who loved An come give us a chance, and every single person who loved bu•ku come give us a chance, too,” says Degnan. “All we have to do is be authentic and do what we do best… And fill the place with people. It’ll look really nice when it’s empty, but a whole lot better when it’s full.”

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 69

STAYING HEALTHY TAKES A LITTLE WORK. AND A LOT OF FUN.

Laughter may be the best medicine, but at The Cypress of Raleigh it’s just part of how we view wellness.

Our active retirement lifestyle puts wellness front and center, starting with the emotional strength of a rich social life, full of long walks around our scenic lakes and good times with friends. Because fitness is key to a healthy future, you’ll find state-of-the-art workout facilities, engaging fitness classes, and exceptional healthcare services … all right on site. A lot goes into your wellness, and you can find it all at The Cypress of Raleigh.

Opportunity knocks, again

In 2019, secure your future residence in our new Phase III Villa building (available 2020). Owning one of these lovely homes would be the perfect next step toward a healthy retirement.

To discover a healthy future, visit cypressofraleigh.com or call us at 919-518-8918 to schedule a tour.

A LOOK FORWARD In this special issue, WALTER checks in with the people and projects shaping our town. Get to know two driving forces: Mayor Nancy McFarlane, now in her fourth term (p. 72), and Valerie Hillings, the new director of the NCMA (p. 98). Dive into plans for Dix Park—a swath of land being developed with input from more than 45,000 members of the community (p. 78)—then meander through the halls of Union Station (p. 88). And just for fun: More than 30 can’t-miss spots, from dives to fine dining, chosen by a few of our favorite local foodies (p. 104). All together: an ode to our energetic, evolving city as we start the new year.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 71

STATE of the CITY

Mayor Nancy McFarlane on her biggest initiatives, behind-the-scenes triumphs, and what she’s looking forward to in 2019.

by AYN-MONIQUE KLAHRE photography by S.P. MURRAY

72 | WALTER

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 73

C

an you tell me why you moved down here? I understand you’re originally from Virginia.

I moved here in 1984 for my husband’s job. We were both pharmacists, living in Richmond at the time, and his company decided not to stay in Virginia. Our choices were Chicago, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, or Raleigh. So we thought, our families are in Virginia and that’s not too far. Then we just stayed.

What kept you here?

I already had one baby. I started working at Raleigh Community Hospital and had two more, and you know how it is—you build a community and make friends, and we were happy. My husband changed jobs a couple times, but we never even considered moving somewhere else. Beyond that, people are just genuinely nice here. The city has changed so much the past 30 years—when I arrived, the only thing downtown was the library—but we still have that warm spirit. For example, I know a lot of the restaurateurs here are all friends, but they don’t see each other as competition. They understand that together they lift each other up. You don’t see that very often.

Beyond that, we have so many amenities—the Ballet, the Symphony and the Art Museum—and great organic growth in terms of homegrown musicians and contemporary artists.

So what’s new within the last year that you’re the most excited about?

We just opened Union Station, that was great to see. We broke ground on the Oak City Center, a partnership with the county and Catholic Charities to cen74 | WALTER

On a brisk November day, we sat down with Mayor McFarlane at The Dillon to learn more about her life and work. Here’s what she told WALTER. tralize all the resources for people who are homeless or on the verge of it. We’ve also focused on affordable housing this year, particularly workforce housing, so people like teacher’s assistants can still afford to live in the city. Another piece is transit. It takes a lot of planning—it takes 24 months to order a bus!—but one key is to expand service to every 15 minutes, because if you have to wait an hour for the bus, it’s not working for you.

People think of affordability as the price of a structure, the rent or the mortgage, but if you can have no car or one less car, that helps with the cost of living.

What areas of Raleigh are seeing the biggest growth?

Downtown is very popular, but so is the North Hills-Midtown area. It’s about providing choices for people, because there will always be people that want a big backyard. Raleigh’s two biggest demographics are millennials and aging baby boomers—groups that either don’t want to drive or won’t be able to—so we want to create a place where people can walk and be connected to other cities.

How are you connecting?

It’s complicated. We were trying to create a Triangle-wide light rail system, but it got tied up in politics, so we’re working on bus rapid transit. The connector to the Durham-Orange light rail will be the commuter rail, which we already have tracks for, it’s just about figuring out all the pieces. It all takes time, and people start to get impatient, and I get a little impatient, too.

It’s seem to take a lot of steps!

Anytime you start a project, you’ve got to go through all these different routes, like a series of public meetings—which is good, because we’re impacting people’s lives—and environmental studies that take years and have to be approved at the state and federal level. Here the mayor has a two-year term, so it’s hard to get through long-term projects. You have to know that you’re doing the right thing for the city and push forward.

Does anything ever move quickly?

Sometimes you have things like Dix Park, where there’s unbelievable support.

When we planted the sunflowers, we got 3 million social media hits. It was crazy!

We’ve had 45,000 people add input in some way, there’s a real sense of community ownership on that plan.

Why did you get into politics?

When my kids started school, I realized how much county decisions were affecting their education. When my coworker, Roxy Cash, decided to run for school board—she’s on the board now, too—I worked on her campaign. I started finding out a lot about how decisions are made. Then I worked on a bond campaign and other people’s campaigns, and after a few years I knew a bunch of people who had been elected. But I didn’t want to run because… well, I had three kids at home and my husband traveled a lot. It wasn’t my priority.

But by 2007 my youngest was a senior in high school, my business had gotten big enough that I had a lot of managers, and Charles [Meeker, the previous mayor] was really pushing me to run.

So I looked at District A, where I lived, and I thought, you know? I’ve been on every PTA, I was the president of the

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 75

Mayor Nancy McFarlane at Morgan Street Food Hall

76 | WALTER

homeowner’s association, my son is off to college in six months; ok I’ll do it, I’ll run for council. And I won!

So you were convinced to do it?

The truth is, you get invested in what you’re doing, so it started to feel like, if I don’t do it, who will?

When you were elected mayor the first time, were you just shocked?

Yes! I remember being in the car on my way to watch the results at a pub and there were TV trucks lined up outside and I was like, what have I done? I’m the mayor of a city!

Do you interact with other mayors?

I go to the U.S. Conference of Mayors and participate in Metro Mayors, for mayors in larger cities. Everyone is complaining about the same things, but they’re also sharing their ideas. Shortly after I started, I was invited to a design event with architects and designers, and each mayor had to bring in a problem. Mine was the warehouse district. At the time there was nothing down there, and I said, it’s cool and we don’t have that many old buildings in Raleigh; as this city grows, I’m worried about losing the character. So we ended up coming up with a plan, which is exactly what happened here: If you want to build, you have to keep the character on the pedestrian level of the building.

What’s your day-to-day like?

It’s different each day. Some days it’s all meeting with people and planning, other days I’m at a school reading a book to kids.

How do you find the balance of going to events versus sitting at your desk?

Anything that’s related to the state, I’m going to. I do a lot of dedicating buildings, those real estate deals bring in thousands of jobs. Sometimes a friend calls for a small thing. But I can’t do everything.

What do you do in your time off?

Hang out with my granddaughter, that’s my go-to. And you know, there’s a great deal of pleasure in just sitting on the couch in my pajamas!

Do you have a favorite coffee shop… or are you allowed to choose?

That’s dicey! I like Jubala, I can walk there and their waffles are very good, as long as you’re okay with continuing to eat them!

Sola in North Raleigh is great. That was right near our old house, now I go by whenever I can. They do incredible things for the community, like craft markets on Saturdays. They’re good people.

Do you have any parks you like to go to?

Walking around Dix is my go-to right now.

Of course! But it’s kind of spooky…

Oh, it’s definitely haunted.

Do you believe in ghosts?

It’s kind of a joke in my family because I love watching ghost shows. Once, my son walked through as they were talking about footsteps and he said, deadpan, ghosts don’t have mass, and just kept walking. And I thought, you’re right, how do they make footsteps?

Speaking of Dix, what were some of your highlights from 2018?

We’ve just released the Dix Park master plan, and we’re getting tangible results with transit. But so much of what we do isn’t visible. Like, we put backup generators on all of our pump stations. In the past if we had a big ice storm, the water would be out. So we spent the money and we’ll always have water, but nobody thinks about it unless the water doesn’t work.

I thought about that after tropical storm Michael—we lost power, but the water worked. Thank you for that! I’m amazed you’re thinking day-to-day as well as planning for 50 years from now.

There’s another thing—what’s going to be our water source? Falls Lake is our reservoir, but it was made in the seventies and now it’s too small. So we’re looking at aging quarries for water storage, because we have enough rainfall, but we don’t have enough capacity. If we don’t find other ways to get water and then we have a drought, all hell breaks loose.

What are you excited for in 2019?

I’m always excited about Dix Park! We have the Bluegrass Festival again this year, that’s big. People come from all over to spend money in hotels and restaurants, but there’s also free stuff going on. …if you can get past the people who park their lawn chairs first thing!

Ha true. We’ve also been working with J. Cole, he very much cares for the city, so he wanted to have his Dreamville music festival in Dix Park. We’d never had a paid event, so we decided to make it part of the planning process. So we’re learning from Cole and his people. Like, nobody can park on the park, so you have to have buses and offsite parking. You have to figure out bathrooms and an alcohol license and fences. Then we planned the whole thing and when Hurricane Florence was on its way, we had to call it, even though it veered off at the last minute. So that’s rescheduled for April 6 and I’m very excited.

What else is energizing Raleigh?

I love watching small businesses thrive and seeing the organic growth of the arts.

We have six colleges and universities here that are always churning out talent and it’s my job to make it a place they want to stay. One thing I’m finding is that the bigger the city gets, the more people relate to their neighborhood. Brier Creek has its own personality and Oakwood has the Awesomettes! It’s amazing to have so many diverse neighborhoods with their own personalities that still feel like a part of a bigger space. That’s what makes Raleigh such a livable city.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and space.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 77

Dix Park launches its master plan for the future

CIVIC 78 | WALTER

SPACE

by CATHERINE CURRIN photography by JOSHUA STEADMAN

illustrations courtesy DIX PARK

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 79

At left: The Meadow Concept, which will include the current ‘big field’, playgrounds, and more; Opposite page: Conceptual site plan for Dix Park, including six breakouts of land

A NEW PHASE “We are in the treasure hunt phase,” Dix Park planning supervisor Kate Pearce told WALTER in late 2017. Over a year later, the sentiment is the same, but the description is a bit different. “We’re in this unique period of transformation,” she says. “Now it’s all about how we move from vision to reality., and we’re building momentum and support to push there.

That will determine how this place transforms over the next 5, 10, 15 years.”

The sprawling 309.7-acre plot is a relaxing refuge in the midst of downtown Raleigh, and the vision includes a creek, meadows, gardens, and designated areas for sport and recreation. “The fact that our city leadership has preserved hundreds of acres for future generations is pretty amazing,” Pearce says. The city is at an advantage with a piece of land that already looks and feels like a park in many ways—trees, a vast green, and a creek.

“There’s a uniqueness about Dix,” she says.

“In its size, location in the heart of a city, and in its beauty.”

The park released its final master plan at the end of 2018. It includes a vision for every acre of the park, which was acquired by the City of Raleigh in 2015.

80 | WALTER

In layman’s terms, Pearce says the master plan is essentially both a vision for the future of the park, and a roadmap of how to get there. In it, there are maps filled with large concepts, and specific recommendations to achieve that concept.

The plan consists of four chapters: the land (maps, renderings, landscapes), the framework (gateways, entrances, etc), the program (what will happen at the park), and the implementation (the roadmap).

The land and framework will endure, while the program will continue to evolve over time.

According to Pearce, a park never stops growing. Take Central Park, for example. “Central Park was built in the 1850 with no playgrounds. As New York City identified itself, playgrounds were added in. It’s one example of a great urban park—there are fundamental elements, but it responds to changing community needs.”

This year, Raleighites will start to see some small changes at the park that are roadmapped in the master plan.

Restrooms, walking trails, and benches are a few additions that will take shape.

Honoring the space’s history is also in the works, too. Dorothea Dix was a champion for the mentally ill, and her hospital was home to patients for almost 200 years.

This context is not lost on the city, the Dix Park Conservancy, or the Advisory Committee. “Our goal is to honor and recognize the history,” says Pearce. “How do we transform from a mental health hospital to a park that continues to respect the lives impacted during that time?”

“I want to foster a running community in and around the park—to build relationships that help engage downtown with the park and to see it grow into a statewide and nationwide destination.”

— Brent Francese, co-founder, Runologie

IT TAKES A VILLAGE VILLA

Above: Running trails will run throughout the park; The Portico Concept is a reconstruction project; the original Portico was demolished in 1951; Opposite page: Brent Francese, co-owner of Runologie on Hillsborough Street.

82 | WALTER

Between the City of Rale Raleigh, the Dix P kC Park Conservancy, and d other th committees, there’s hardly a resource that Dix Park planning hasn’t tapped into. In fact, it’s the community engagement in this initiative that is truly remarkable.

Typically, a park in development will recruit a neighborhood committee. For Dix, the scale and impact reaches countless neighborhoods, so a Master Plan Advisory Committee (MPAC) had to be formed. “There’s a community-wide impact,” Pearce says, “and we wanted to drive input from all areas of the community.”

The 44 members of the committee come from diverse backgrounds and reside across Raleigh and beyond. While each member has his or her own interests and reasons for getting involved, an awareness of the park’s huge potential impact is evident across the board. “They’re an amazing group of people with different experiences,” says Pearce. “They really push the design team to think about community.”

As a runner, MPAC member and Runologie co-founder Brent Francese (at right) says he can’t wait for the Promenade Loop, and he hopes the park will become a go-to green space for his family. “It’ll attract the community as a gathering space, be a space of reflection, and it will attract top talent from around the state and beyond. The park will be an amenity that many other cities will want to

have.” At the forefront of the committee’s conversation is the messaging that those involved with the planning will pass on to the community at large. An advisor on the project and CEO of Neighborland, Dan Parham feels strongly that the park doesn’t have just one key element that makes it fantastic. “There isn’t just one thing. The Promenade Loop will be as large as New York’s High Line; the lawn is as big as Prospect Park in Brooklyn. There isn’t one signature item of Dix, there’s a multitude.”

Parham has worked on numerous planning projects in his professional life, and he says he hoped to collaborate and share his knowledge. “As a resident of downtown Raleigh, I’m invested in the future of our city. Given the potential of Dix Park to profoundly impact the future of the city and region, I felt compelled to join the advisory committee to help the project succeed. This project is unparalleled in terms of park planning right now, so it’s an honor to be a part of it.”

This committee has played a crucial role in the master plan of the park, but they still are only one piece of the puzzle.

There’s also the executive committee and the conservancy, the latter raising over $9 million to date. It’s a rare advantage to already have a conservancy in the planning stages of a park. The conservancy will continue as advocates for the park, working to make it a space that is apolitical over time, says Pearce. “We hope this is something that future city council members and other leaders will continue to support without hesitation.”

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 81

“The planning effort will transcend my lifespan, so I will participate in this effort for as long as the committee and council will have me!”

—Edward Vinson, Real Estate Developer

Opposite page from top: Plans for The Gateway concept off Lake Wheeler Road; The Flower Cottage at Dix Park, managed by the conservancy.

82 | WALTER 84

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE “A park is the most civic and democratic space in the community. It’s free and open to public,” Pearce says. “Parks at their very essence are egalitarian. You may not have money to go to the beach or the mountains, but you can go to Dix Park. It’ll be free, and it will be a vacation in the city.” What’s so amazing about Dix is the fact that it does not discriminate.

All are welcome, whether you are someone in your 20s playing pick-up soccer or a parent bringing your kids to the sunflower fields. “Ultimately, the park will be a game changer for our community and state—it will be utilized on a daily basis by local residents, and as a destination to those outside the immediate area,” says MPAC member Edward Vinson (at left). The day-to-day impact will add to Raleigh’s edge—an edge that continues to set the City of Oaks on a trajectory to become a major hub for technology, business, and a high standard of living.

The ‘land’ portion of the master plan consists of six unique breakouts (see map on p. 81): The Creek, which exists along S. Saunders Street, will be exposed as the park’s water source; The Meadow, an extension of the current ‘big field,’ will include playgrounds, the historic cemetery, and gardens; The Grove will begin at the park entrance and become a garden for picnicking and gathering; The Downtown Gateway will merge downtown Raleigh with bus drop-offs, an entry plaza, and repurposed historic buildings; The Ridge will preserve pieces of the Dix Hill campus for new uses such as event spaces and sports courts; and The Valley will include a grotto garden, performance spaces, and a dog park.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 85 JAN

“It’s an incredible opportunity for the city to create a space that will improve the lives of residents for many generations to come.”

—Ashton Smith, program manager, Citrix

86 | WALTER

“There’s going to be something for everyone to love! The long meadow will be a beautiful respite in the city, and if we can get a land bridge to extend it even further, all the better,” says MPAC member Ashton Smith (at left). “There’s a great opportunity with the State Farmers Market, N.C. State, and the surrounding neighborhoods. I’m also excited to see how we are able to remember and honor the entire history of the site.”

With the help of the landscape architects of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, those involved with the park hope to lay the foundation for a smooth transition from hospital to park. Each decision is intentional, and the City Council will take a final vote on the plan at its meeting February 19. Yet a simple vote encompasses more than the council it stands before, Pearce says. “The development of this park will span over numerous mayors, councils, and planners. At this moment, we can cement the future. This council has such a great responsibility to put this vision into place.”

Opposite page: MPAC member Ashton Smith; above: The MPAC December meeting at the Mordecai Historic Visitor Center

JANUARY/FEBRUARY / 2019 | 87

INDUSTRIAL ROOTS Polished concrete floors and steel beams speak to the history of the train station. The benches are an original North Carolina Department of Transportation design.

88 | WALTER

TRAIN SPOTTING Newly-opened Union Station melds historical and modern influences

by AYN-MONIQUE KLAHRE photography by KEITH ISAACS

“I

t was an industrial cathedral,” says Clearscapes architect Steve Schuster of the former Union Station. Schuster led the team that transformed Union Station from an aging freight station into the glimmering threshold of a growing Raleigh. “The bones of the structure carried decades of people’s fingerprints—our job was not to mess it up, but to celebrate it.”

Clearscapes was first involved in the project to revamp the train station more than a decade ago, as part of the second planning study, and the firm was commissioned after a request for credentials in fall of 2012. And as a longtime resident of the Warehouse District—”I can see the station from my bedroom window!”—Schuster says he felt doubly invested in preserving the character of the old freight station while building something distinctly Raleigh, too.

The building presented a number of challenges, including a static structure to work around, environmental issues standard with old industrial sites, and a platform surrounded by active freight lines.

“The platform is literally on the wrong side of the tracks—it’s like trying to get thousands of people onto an island surrounded by sharks,” says Schuster.

Beyond that, Clearscapes had a directive to create a station that was unique to Raleigh. “It had to be memorable and authentic, something that wouldn’t make sense anywhere else in the world,” says Schuster. So the team started with the “massive” industrial bay and overlayed a mid-century framework on top of it, a nod to Raleigh’s era of growth after World War II. They preserved existing columns and beams, repurposed the weathered exterior as an art installation, and brought in warmth with rough-hewn wood reminiscient of railroad ties. It’s sheathed in a new façade of clear and translucent glass in a sawtooth design, meant as “an implication of the inherent motion of the trains,” according to Schuster.

Outside, Schuster pushed the front entrance toward West Street, the edge of the city’s original grid. The canopy is modeled after a semaphore, the many-armed train signal, with branches that provide shade and gathering spaces. In addition to a car drop-off loop, they installed a wide path as an access point for walkers, bikers and, increasingly, scooters.

The station is designed for intra-city and regional travel, with future plans to link to high-speed railways as they’re developed. The result is a train station that’s unique but also authentic, true to its roots but a nod to the future.

Raleigh, you’ve arrived.

90 | WALTER

WELCOME, Y’ALL “We wanted to create a real arrival moment,” says Steve Schuster of the bold typography that graces the exterior. “It has a strong face.”

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 91

HIGH CONTRAST A ribbon of “safety orange” stairs serve as a bright counterpoint to the muted materials. The decades-old gantry crane (holding the clock, right) retains its original sunny hue, cleaned up for a new role.

92 | WALTER

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 93

REPURPOSED ART The installation in the partially underground concourse is made from the old metal siding. “We cleaned it, snipped, and folded it into a mosaic,” says Steve Schuster.

94 | WALTER

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 95

THRESHOLD TO THE CITY The station boasts multiple “front doors,” including a car drop-off loop, a pedestrian bridge, and the train platform.

96 | WALTER

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 97

98 | WALTER

A fresh EYE Valerie Hillings brings a worldly outlook to her new role as NCMA’s director

by IZA WOJCIECHOWSKA photography by JUSTIN KASE CONDER

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 99

V

alerie Hillings is in love with the view.

Each day when she comes to work, she steps into her window-walled office and looks out onto the three enormous, iconic rings of Thomas Sayre’s Gyre, the pond next to it, and the surrounding 164 acres of The Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park at the North Carolina Museum of Art. “I mean, I can’t believe this view,” she says. “I just sit here every day like, ‘Am I here?’” But as the new director and CEO of the NCMA, Hillings is most certainly here. In November, Hillings took over as only the ninth director in the museum’s 63-year history—and the first woman in the role. Larry Wheeler, who helmed the NCMA from 1994 until he retired last year, transformed the museum and put it on the map, adding the glass-clad West Building that now houses the permanent collection, developing the park, emphasizing educational and artist programming, and ensuring that artists and art lovers across North Carolina and the country knew the NCMA. Now, after Wheeler’s 24-year tenure, Hillings has big shoes to fill. And after a 14-year career as a curator at the Guggenheim Museum, she’s more than ready to do so, with plans to expand on Wheeler’s successes and to take the museum in new directions too. Not only does she have a great view—she has truly exciting perspective.

100 | WALTER

FROM NORTH CAROLINA TO ABU DHABI AND BACK AGAIN Growing up in Alexandria, Virginia, Hillings was exposed to art early on: her mother was a painter and her father’s job as an airline lobbyist allowed the family to travel often and visit museums all over the world. But Hillings was never much of an artist herself, she says, and the only artwork she ever made was at 9 years old: a pen-and-ink drawing of a cheetah that still sits on her mother’s desk. Despite the self-proclaimed lack of talent, the love of art was there, and her art history classes in high school fascinated her. But the first time she moved to the Triangle, to attend Duke University, she was headed in another direction, intending to study public policy and go to law school.

Because of a scheduling glitch, however, she found herself in an intro to art history class—and loved it. She ended up double-majoring in public policy and art history, curating a student show to finish off senior year. The prospect of law school fell by the wayside, and she went straight from college to New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts for a master’s degree, then a PhD. “I don’t know if I always knew [I wanted to be a curator], but I knew pretty early that I wanted to be in a museum,” Hillings says.

piece by El Anatsui for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi—both artists whose works are also on display at the NCMA. Thus, the NCMA’s large contemporary collection appealed to Hillings, and many of the featured artists were familiar faces. She was awed by the way the museum had evolved since she had been a student at Duke, when it had still been a small, one-building endeavor.

“The minute I set foot here [this time], I thought, ‘Oh my gosh—this is really a serious, serious museum’ and decided to take a chance on it,” she says. “The more I went through the [hiring] process, the more I really understood that I could walk in the collection galleries right now and give you a tour, because I know this material and I like it.”

Not only was the NCMA’s collection and artistic direction a perfect fit for Hillings, but coming back to North Carolina was a bright spot as well. She’d maintained ties with her alma mater, serving on the board of the Nasher Museum, and her in-laws live in Charlotte, where her husband is from. The two had been planning to retire in North Carolina—but now they’re here a bit ahead of schedule, and instead of winding down her career, Hillings is reaching new heights.

“The minute I set foot here, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh—this is really a serious, serious museum’ and decided to take a chance on it,” says Hillings.

In 2004, shortly after she completed her education, the Guggenheim Museum brought her on. From 2009 to 2018, she led a team of curators in planning for the opening of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, currently still in development.

Though Hillings loves a good ancient or medieval collection, her expertise is in 1960s and contemporary art. She’s worked with world-class artists like Angela Bulloch, Hanne Darboven, and Marina Abramović, and she acquired a Yayoi Kusama infinity room as well as a

THE FUTURE IS FEMALE When it comes to hiring museum directors, Hillings says that a recent trend favored those who came from a business background, but didn’t necessarily appreciate art. And while Hillings developed business acumen through the Center for Curatorial Leadership in New York, she very much comes to the directorial role having a deep understanding of art. It turns out that’s exactly what the NCMA was looking for.

“The fact that they wanted a director

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 101

102 | WALTER

who could think about artistic vision was extremely important to me,” Hillings says. “It’s not that I’m coming here to curate shows, but I would love to be the person that thinks about the architecture with the team and thinks about the collection.”

That’s not the only trend Hillings is bucking as she settles into the director’s chair. As the NCMA’s first female director, Hillings doesn’t take that honor—or the responsibility—lightly.

BIG IDEAS She may be new to the job, but that hasn’t stopped Hillings from hitting the ground running and figuring out how to move the museum forward.

First, on a conceptual level, she’s interested in connecting art from disparate times and places via historical throughlines. In other words, she wants the curatorial team to examine how works of art are related across human and creative history in ways that aren’t just chrono-

Hillings is eager to put down roots here in North Carolina—and North Carolina is certainly excited to see what she does with the place.

“If you look at the curatorial field, there’s quite a lot of women in it. But even until recently, a lot of [museum] directorships were not held by women,” she says. “So I feel very proud that I took a chance, applied for the bigger job, got the bigger job—and I’m looking forward to doing a good job in the bigger job.”

Moreover, at just 47 years old, Hillings is of a younger generation than the typical museum director, and she’s excited to work at an institution that was willing to make a “double statement.” As a woman in a male-dominated position, and with her younger perspective but still vast experience in the art world, Hillings is a force to be reckoned with—and a role model for women in the field and those who hope to enter it.

“As a woman who has worked in the museum field for over 30 years, and at this particular moment in time, I am thrilled to be at the museum for our first female director,” says Linda Dougherty, the NCMA’s chief curator and curator of contemporary art. “I’m looking forward to working with someone who really understands my role and responsibilities because of her firsthand experience. I’m looking forward to new ideas and possibilities for the museum.”

logical or geographical, as is traditional in a museum.

“That’s something that, as I walk through the collection galleries, I start to see. I imagine some different configurations, some different stories that could be very interesting,” Hillings says. “It’s an opportunity, on one hand, for those that prefer contemporary art to actually look at older art, and for those that prefer older art to recognize that was contemporary art at one time. I think that’s really important.”

She’s also eager for the museum to originate more exhibitions, in order to showcase the curators’ interests and talents and to become more of a pioneer in the museum experience. She points to last year’s You Are Here exhibit, featuring dynamic light and sound installations.

The NCMA originated You Are Here, and it brought in double the number of visitors expected.

“The curators put those things together. They made that show,” Hillings says.

“That’s a very exciting thing, and that also takes the NCMA outside its borders as a leader in the field.” For Hillings, exploring more exhibits along those lines is “the logical next step in the process.”

A jewel in the NCMA’s crown is its educational and artistic programming, with everything from artist conversations to professional development workshops,

teacher fellowships, and thematic symposia in partnership with area universities. Films and concerts in the park are offered for audiences of all ages, and interactive experiences in the evenings draw young adult crowds. The breadth and creativity of the programming means there’s something for everyone at the NCMA. “You see people convening—school groups wandering through, older ladies coming in for lunch and talking about art, or people coming just to use the amphitheater or to go jogging in the park,” Hillings says. “I really see the museum as a place of convening and encountering. Not just encounters with the art—but encounters with people.”

She hopes to foster these experiences by encouraging educators to incorporate the NCMA collection—which was the first to be purchased with public funds by a U.S. museum—into the state’s core curriculum and by establishing stronger partnerships with universities.

Finally, Hillings also looks forward to championing and expanding the Matrons of the Arts initiative, launched last year, which highlights female artists from around the world through acquisitions, exhibits, and programming; promoting conservation; and finding creative ways to knit the three disparate elements of the museum—the brick East Building, the glass West Building, and the park— together in programmatic and perhaps unconventional ways.

Not a bad set of goals to get started in a new job. Luckily, Hillings’s experience as a curator keeps her grounded, and she’s no stranger to taking on challenging projects. She’s eager to put down roots here in North Carolina—and North Carolina is certainly excited to see what she does with the place.

“I’m learning a ton that’s new, but there’s a ton that’s like putting on an old comfortable sweater,” Hillings says. “I love museums, I understand museums, and I think just really understanding what this museum can be will take time.

But I’m glad to be knee-deep in that challenge and that conversation.”

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 103

2019 30+ spots for any kind of dining, picked by the pros

T

he Triangle’s food scene has been stepping up its game in the Southeast and beyond. In 2018, Raleigh chefs brought home three James Beard nominations, and USA Today praised the City of Oaks’ culinary community: “From cocktail bars to coffee shops to breweries, there’s a huge sense of people coming together in the city to make business successful.” We believe coming together is the key: Triangle foodies aren’t just in it for themselves, they support each other, too. That’s why when we asked local chefs, restaurateurs, and others to share their recommendations—from dives to fine dining—for where to eat other than their own spots, they were happy to oblige (even though the Char-Grill versus Snoopy’s debate rages on). Read on for your 2019 culinary bucket list. —Catherine Currin

104 | WALTER

The News & Observer/ Juli Leonard (BURGER); courtesy Beth Littlejohn

WHERE to EAT in

A burger from The Player’s Retreat on Oberlin Road

BETH LITTLEJOHN EXECUTIVE CHEF, THE PLAYER’S RETREAT GO-TO DIVE: Taqueria El Toro OLD-SCHOOL RALEIGH: The PR! HIDDEN GEM: Soo Cafe CHEF TO WATCH: Cheetie Kumar CHAR-GRILL OR SNOOPY’S: Char-Grill

“My hidden gem in Raleigh is Soo Cafe.

Order the original tenders and wings.”

–Chef Beth LittleJohn

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 105

GO-TO DIVE: Landmark OLD-SCHOOL RALEIGH: Watkins Grill FAVORITE BAR: C Grace HIDDEN GEM: Saigon Pho CHAR-GRILL OR SNOOPY’S: Char-Grill

MAGGIE KANE FOUNDER, A PLACE AT THE TABLE GO-TO DIVE: Mitch’s Tavern OLD-SCHOOL RALEIGH: The Player’s Retreat FAVORITE BAR: Junction West PLACE TO CELEBRATE: so•ca CHAR-GRILL OR SNOOPY’S: Snoopy’s

106 | WALTER

left page: courtesy Oscar Diaz; Geoff Wood (CHAR-GRILL); courtesy Maggie Kane; Geoff Wood (SNOOPY’S) right page: Chris Fowler (BONE MARROW); f8 Photo Studios (SPEAKS); courtesy Jason Howard; Geoff Wood (SIDEBAR)

OSCAR DIAZ CHEF-OWNER, JOSE & SONS, CORTEZ

COLEEN SPEAKS CHEF-OWNER, HUMMINGBIRD

“I love to celebrate at Stanbury. Great people.

Great food. That dang pork chop!”

OLD-SCHOOL RALEIGH: Cloos’ Coney Island FAVORITE BARTENDER: Matt Holmes, Capital Club 16 PLACE TO CELEBRATE: Stanbury CHEF TO WATCH: Krystle Swenson, Crawford and Son CHAR-GRILL OR SNOOPY’S: Char-Grill

– Chef Coleen Speaks

JASON HOWARD OWNER, THE CARDINAL GO-TO DIVE: The Outpost OLD-SCHOOL RALEIGH: Parkway Restaurant FAVORITE BAR: Sidebar CHEF TO WATCH: Cheetie Kumar CHAR-GRILL OR SNOOPY’S: Char-Grill

Above: Bone marrow and Boulted Bread from Stanbury; A Bruleed Greyhound from Sidebar in downtown Cary.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY OCTOBER2019 2018| 107 | 91

MELANIE DUNIA EXECUTIVE CHEF, EMPIRE EATS OLD-SCHOOL RALEIGH: The Mecca OUT-OF-TOWN PICK: Zeera, Fuquay-Varina HIDDEN GEM: Lucettegrace CHEF TO WATCH: Konget Elias, The Mecca CHAR-GRILL OR SNOOPY’S: Snoopy’s

“Konget Elias is doing amazing things with the food. She’s working her magic keeping up with Mecca’s 1930 roots but still trying new dishes and tastes. Definitely one to watch.”

– Chef Melanie Dunia 108 | WALTER

left page: courtesy Melanie Dunia; Geoff Wood (MECCA); Keith Isaacs (MACARONS) right page: Jessica Crawford (KHOLRABI); courtesy Steve Mangano

Opposite page: The Mecca restaurant on Martin Street; macarons at Lucettegrace. This page: Shaved Kholrabi with fermented garlic, sesame, and Thai Basil from Crawford and Son

“I love to celebrate at Crawford and Son— anything the team makes, but particulary vegetables. Scott is the Vegetable Whisperer!”

STEVE MANGANO FOUNDER/CEO, CUREAT OLD-SCHOOL RALEIGH: Roast Grill FAVORITE BAR: Foundation PLACE TO CELEBRATE: Crawford and Son CHEFS TO WATCH: Eric Montagne at Locals Seafood & Jake Wood at 18 Seaboard CHAR-GRILL OR SNOOPY’S: Char-Grill

–Steve Mangano

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 109

“The best place to celebrate is Brewery Bhavana. Order the peking duck.”

–Chef Scott Crawford

From above: Vansana Nolintha at Brewery Bhavana; Hot dogs, Schlitz, and Voodoo chips from The Cardinal on West Street

SCOTT CRAWFORD CHEF-OWNER, CRAWFORD AND SON, JOLIE GO-TO DIVE: The Cardinal OLD-SCHOOL RALEIGH: Big Ed’s PLACE TO CELEBRATE: Brewery Bhavana HIDDEN GEM: Mami Nora’s CHAR-GRILL OR SNOOPY’S: Char-Grill

110 | WALTER

SEAN FOWLER CHEF-OWNER, MANDOLIN

left page: Keith Isaacs (BREWERY BHAVANA); Jessica Crawford (CRAWFORD); Keith Isaacs (CARDINAL); this page: The News & Observer/ Juli Leonard (TAMALES); courtesy Sean Fowler; Geoff Wood (KEY LIME PIE)

GO-TO DIVE: Pho Far East OLD SCHOOL RALEIGH: Hayes Barton Cafe & Dessertery HIDDEN GEM: El Rey Del Taco OUT-OF-TOWN PICK: The Durham CHAR-GRILL OR SNOOPY’S: Snoopy’s

From above: Tamales from The Durham; Key Lime Pie from Hayes Barton Cafe & Dessertery

JANUARY/FEBRUARY OCTOBER2019 2018||111 91

The News & Observer/ Juli Leonard (TAPAS); courtesy Cheetie Kumar; Keith Isaacs (GERHART)

“My favorite place to celebrate is Mateo in Durham—you should order everything on the board.”

–Chef Cheetie Kumar

Above: Tapas from Mateo in Durham; at right: Sunny Gerhart, chef and owner of St. Roch Fine Oysters + Bar

112 | WALTER

CHEETIE KUMAR CHEF AND CO-OWNER, GARLAND OLD SCHOOL RALEIGH: The Player’s Retreat PLACE TO CELEBRATE: Mateo HIDDEN GEM: Abyssinia’s Ethiopian CHEF TO WATCH: Sunny Gerhart CHAR-GRILL OR SNOOPY’S: Char-Grill

55+ APARTMENT HOMES

“Favorite Things

We love the maintenance-free lifestyle.”

Marla & Hank, Overture Residents

APARTMENT HOMES STARTING AT $1,700* *Pricing & availability subject to change.

MASTERCLASS MONDAY: NEW YEAR, NEW YOU Monday, January 7 3:00 PM Speaker: Ellen Marr, Nutritionist

“Three of our favorite things (at Overture) are lock and leave, maintenance-free, and a friendly floorplan. We love it. You just can’t have a bad day here…you just can’t!”

Discover carefree and maintenance-free living that’s modern, spacious, and spontaneous.

• Modern residences • Active amenities • Innovative programs Lots of new friends and neighbors

COOKING CLASS: NEW YEAR, NEW YOU

RSVP for an event or schedule a visit to experience Overture today!

Wednesday, January 16 11:30 AM Chef Meredith Atunez of Tastefully Served

4408 Marriott Drive, Raleigh, NC 27612

855-237-4029

OvertureCrabtree.com Overture is an equal housing opportunity. Amenities and services vary by location. Photo of Overture resident(s). See a Greystar representative for details.

THE WHIRL Jillian Clark

WALTER’s roundup of galas, gatherings, fundraisers, and just-for-fun events around the Triangle.

WALTER hosts Celebrate the Season at the Merrimon-Wynne House

116 WALTER hosts Celebrate the Season 118 St. David’s School Veterans Day Commemoration and Speaker Series 119 Women’s Giving Network Impact Luncheon 121 Raleigh City Farm’s 6th Annual Harvest Dinner 123 North Carolina Museum of History Foundation Philanthropy Awards Presentation 124 The Jewish Federation of Raleigh-Cary’s 13 Extraordinary Women 126 Celebrate Saint Saviour’s Center supports The Diaper Train 127 Marta’s of Raleigh Sip, Shop, & Support for SAFEchild 128 United Arts Council’s Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner

Submissions for upcoming issues are accepted at WALTER’s website: waltermagazine.com/submit-photos

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 | 115

WALTER events

Celebrate the SEASON

G

uests kicked off the holiday season downtown at the Merrimon-Wynne House for WALTER's 5th annual Celebrate the Season. Local vendors set up shop to share their best holiday gifts of the year, while guests enjoyed specialty cocktails from Durham Distillery and hors d'oeuvres from Donovan's Dish.

Presenting sponsor Virtue Labs provided guests with innovative haircare, and even brought their

stylist along for a hands-on experience. Other vendors included Great Outdoor Provision Co., Peppertrain Jewelry, Sunday Rose (pictured above), If It's Paper, The Flourish Market, Logan's Trading Co., and Zest Cafe & Home Art, at right. Special thanks to our partners Virtue Labs, Merrimon-Wynne, Durham Distillery, and Donovan's Dish for an amazing holiday celebration.

—Catherine Currin

photography by JILLIAN CLARK

116 | WALTER

WWW.BAILEYBOX.COM WWW.BAILEYBOX.COM CAMERON VALLEYMALL MALL CAMERONVILLAGE VILLAGE .. CRABTREE CRABTREE VALLEY

are Trade Marks used under licence from The De Beers Group of Companies. ™

and ®

© Forevermark 2016 - 2017. Forevermark ®,

At left: Donovan's dish cooked up hors d’oeuvres while Durham Distillery mixed specialty cocktails.

Guests enjoyed shopping at the MerrimonWynne House.

This page from above: Presenting sponsor Virtue Labs, Sunday Rose gift box, Zest Cafe & Home Art.

BECAUSE SHE’S THE ONE.

THE FOREVERMARK ENGAGEMENT RING COLLECTION

ST. DAVID'S SCHOOL VETERANS DAY COMMEMORATION St. David’s School held their eighth annual Veterans Day commemoration November 9.

Veterans from World War II to recent tours of duty joined with family and the St. David’s community to be recognized for their service.

Speakers included Mr. Jule Smith, St. David’s Board of Trustees member and US Navy Reserves veteran, and Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin, US Army (retired). Among the many distinguished guests was Betsy Hutchison, a 98-year-old WWII veteran of the Army Nurses Corp who served our country in Europe.

Jerry Boykin

Jule Smith

Sean Malone, Gil Greggs

ST. DAVID'S SCHOOL SPEAKER SERIES: "THE DUTY OF PRESERVATION: THE DIX PARK PROJECT" At the invitation of the Senior Seminar class at St. David’s School, Sean Malone, president and CEO of Dix Park Conservancy, lead a discussion on the unveiling of the master plan for the conversion of the Dorothea L. Dix campus into an urban green space park. Director Malone’s visit November 18 was the second in a series of guest speakers as part of the school's year-long series.

Ford Worthy

Debbie Haile, Betsy Hutchison, Jonathan Yonan, Jerry Boykin

ONE RALEIGH LOCATION SINCE 1939 Where Custom Furniture is our Specialty

Custom Interior Design Services Available North Raleigh 5640 Capital Boulevard 919-954-0025 Monday through Friday 10-6 Saturday 10-5:30 • Closed Sunday www.waysidefurniturehouse.com

Jennifer Haygood (VETERANS); courtesy St. David's School (SPEAKERS)

THE WHIRL

Louis Duke/NC Community Foundation

12TH ANNUAL WOMEN'S GIVING NETWORK IMPACT LUNCHEON The Women's Giving Network of Wake County (WGN) held their 12th annual grant awards luncheon November 8. WGN is a giving circle of the North Carolina Community Foundation that leverages the power of collective giving through a local network that supports the community in a purposeful way. The Network supports charitable organizations serving women, children and families in Wake County. The 2018 grant recipients were awarded their checks, and one of the 2017 grant recipients was honored. A total of $89,000 was shared amongst The Hope Center at Pullen, Catholic Charities, and Kiran, Inc., and 2017 grant recipient JusticeMatters provided insights into their work.

0,66< Ř 3(7,7( Ř 3/86 Kathleen Guillory, Kelliann Miranda, Carolyn McClendon, Donna Walker, Shagufta Hakeem, Sangeetha Menon, Peg O'Connell, Seema Kak, Erin Witcher, Keerat Kaur

6SULQJ DW LWV EHVW

Kathleen Guillory, Kelliann Miranda, Carolyn McClendon, Donna Walker, Shagufta Hakeem, Sangeetha Menon, Peg O'Connell, Seema Kak, Erin Witcher, Keerat Kaur

7+( &,5&/( $7 1257+ +,//6 Ř 5$/(,*+ Ř &$0(521&/27+,1* &20

&RPLQJ -DQ 0DULVD %DUDWHOOL 7UXQN 6KRZ

Raleigh’s Urban Chic Event Venue Weddings, Receptions, Corporate Parties and Meetings Located in trendy Five Points The Fairview is charming and sophisticated, featuring a covered terrace with skyline views, arched wood barrel ceilings and space to host intimate to 500+ events.

1125 Capital Boulevard, Raleigh 919-833-7900 Thefairviewraleigh.com Managed by Themeworks

Follow us @thefairviewraleigh

THE WHIRL

Jeff Seizer

Juli Leonard

RALEIGH CITY FARM'S 6TH ANNUAL HARVEST DINNER Easter Maynard and many other generous event sponsors hosted Raleigh City Farm's (RCF) 6th Annual Harvest Dinner October 15. It was an evening of exceptional food and drink, great company, exciting auction items, and a celebration of the belief that when we “dig where we live” we all live better. Featured Chef Jeff Seizer of Royale prepared a four-course, farm-to-fork dinner with wine pairings by Wine Authorities, seasonal beers from Fullsteam Brewery, and VIP Cocktails by William & Company. Proceeds support RCF's mission to grow next-generation farmers by connecting the community to sustainable agriculture.

Lily Ballance

Joe Delmonico, KJ Jones

Nation Hahn, Ashley Perveiler, Tom Barrie, Mary-Ann Baldwin, Lisa Grele Barrie

THE WHIRL 13 EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN Hosted by The Jewish Federation of RaleighCary's Lions of Judah, 13 Extraordinary Women honored inspiring women in our community at The Glenwood November 1. The event also presented The 2018 Eileen Schwartz Extraordinary Leadership Award to Gena Brown, Founder of HANDmeUPS Thrift that employs adults with autism and other intellectual developmental disabilities. Proceeds from the evening support the programs and services of The Jewish Federation of Raleigh-Cary, including PJ Library, the Jewish Community Center, and Jewish Family Services.

Jim Colman Photography/VMA Studios

Top Row: Maxine Solomon, Cheryl Siegel, Marjorie Shertz Menestres, Gena Brown, Elana Scheiner, Mandy Cohen, Gailya Paliga. Middle Row: Barbara Freedman, Gerda Stein, Nina Szlosberg Landis, Anya Gordon, Marcia Davis, Jenny Solomon. Botton Row: Barbara Schwartz

Michael Bush, Gena Brown, Amy Bush

Randi Rubenstein, Susan Goldhaber

´7KH 0RVW $PD]LQJ ([KLELW RI 2XU7LPHµ )R[ 1HZV

THE WHIRL

W. Randolph Woodson

David Crabtree

" % ' # ! # #% % " ' ) " # " &" ! %) ) " # # %" %# %&" ( " " # " " &" " " ) # ( # ! #

Victor E. Bell, Ken Howard, Frank B. Holding Jr.

J. Bradley Wilson

Betty Ray McCain

Ann Baggett Goodnight, James Howard Goodnight

courtesy North Carolina Museum of History Foundation

NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF HISTORY FOUNDATION PHILANTHROPY AWARDS The North Carolina Museum of History Foundation Philanthropy Awards recognized individuals and organizations for outstanding contributions to the preservation, study, or understanding of North Carolina history at the Carolina Country Club October 23. The award, sponsored by First Citizens Wealth Management, honors visionary leadership in promoting the study and understanding of North Carolina history; deepening the understanding of the history of our State through excellence in writing and scholarship; and providing exceptional commitment, service, and support to history museums, historic sites, or other repositories in our state. Awards went to BlueCross and BlueShield of North Carolina and CEO Emeritus J. Bradley Wilson, Ann Baggett Goodnight and Dr. James Howard Goodnight, and Betty Ray McCain.

30" Flush Pizza Oven

B E S T. D E C I S I O N . E V E R .

When it comes to your dream home – making sure it is perfect means tons of tough decisions. Let our knowledgeable product experts relieve the stress and restore the fun while introducing you and your Request your appointment today at fergusonshowrooms.com

RALEIGH F E RGUSON S H OWROOM S .COM

©2018 Ferguson Enterprises, Inc. 1118 1050700

design team to our extensive collection of products from the most sought after brands.

THE WHIRL CELEBRATE SAINT SAVIOUR'S CENTER Celebrate Saint Saviour’s Center was held at The Fairview October 12 to raise money for their signature program, The Diaper Train.

Liz Condo Photography

Sally Harris, Betsy Brewer, Michele Murphy

Dorothea Bittler, Kim Rogers, Cathy Monaghan, Janet Kelleher

John Bryant, Hope Bryant, Scott Murphy

Kate Rivers

áŔȊƟǨNJǝࢪɷ ɝɧƟȜǨƟɧ ƟʶƟȢʄ ɝȊŔȢȢƟɧɷ ŔȢƌ ɝɧȲƌʙƂƟɧɷ

ƟʶƟȢʄ

Annette Anderson, Mary Brent Wright

ɝȊŔȢȢǨȢNJ

LJʙȢ

ɷǝȲʙȊƌ ŸƟ Ŕɷ

Ŕɷ ʄǝƟ ƟʶƟȢʄɷ ʄǝƟȜɷƟȊʶƟɷ

courtesy Marta's of Raleigh

,ȲȢLJƟɧƟȢƂƟɷࡲ ʺŔɧƌ êǝȲʺɷࡲ cŔȊŔɷࡲ DȜɝȊȲ˃ƟƟ DʶƟȢʄɷࡲ ŔʄʄƟȢƌƟƌƟʶƟȢʄɷࡲƂȲȜ áǠȶʋȶ࡫ ơʽǫȥ òơǫljơɭʋ áǠȶʋȶnjɭŔɢǠˊ

Mika Drew, Stephen Leinenweber, Anita Pinther

kandbgalleries.com

Nancy Andrews, Marta Dziekanowska

MARTA'S SIP, SHOP, AND SUPPORT Marta’s of Raleigh hosted a Sip, Shop, and Support event to benefit SAFEchild of Wake County November 29. 15 percent of all sales were donated to the nonprofit that supports services to families in our community to prevent abuse and neglect of children.

Photography by ©Milepost Living 8411 Glenwood Ave., Ste. 107 Raleigh, NC 27612 919-783-7100

108 E. Chatham St. Cary, NC 27511 919-467-6341

1201-J Raleigh Rd. Chapel Hill, NC 27517 919-929-1590

4209 Lassiter Mill Rd., Ste. 130 Raleigh, NC 27609 919-600-6200

THE WHIRL GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER Guess Who's Coming To Dinner was held over several nights at various homes and venues in early November. Guess Who is the United Arts Council's signature fundraing event to benefit its Artists in Schools program, an initiative that integrates arts and education, benefitting 150 Wake County K-12 Schools with 147,000 hours of programming each year. The annual event is a one-of-a-kind dinner experience in support of the arts. Suprise guests are invited to each dinner, with special guests that include visual and performing artists from all over North Carolina as well as artists with ties to our region.

Rosie Midyette, Carlton Midyette

Jason Court, courtesy United Arts Council

Don Doskey, Linda Quarles, Larry Wheeler, Orage Quarles

Masha Maddux, Chasta Hamilton

Danielle DeSwert Hahn, Jason Karn, Paul Kaplar, Mac Kaplar, Linda Johnson, Steve Johnson, Jessica Kaplar

Angus Fubara, Tessa Prentice, Rachael Pair, Mark Steward

128 | WALTER

Dave Churchill, Freddie Lee Heath, Shana Tucker, Adrienne Kelly Lumpkin, Mark Steward

Mark Steward, Anna Churchill

Lekita Essa, Darleen Johns, Anna Churchill

JANUARY WHITE SALE FOR HOME ORGANIZATION MONTH

CO MING I N

MARCH 2019 Design in mind Raleigh’s Designed for Joy

A sipping experience Brews Cruise Brewery Tours

40% OFF PLUS FREE Installation 40% off any order of $1500 or more or $100 off $700 or more.

Not valid with any other offer. Free installation with any complete unit order of $500 or more.

With incoming order, at the time of purchase only. Mention WALTER magazine and receive a free valet rod with closet purchase. Expires in 30 days.

CUSTOM CLOSETS • GARAGE CABINETS • HOME OFFICES • PANTRIES • LAUNDRIES • HOBBY ROOMS

Call for a free in-home design consultation and estimate 919-850-9030 | closetsbydesign.com Follow us

Licensed and Insured • Locally Owned and Operated

END NOTE

Travis Long/ The News & Observer

Remembering the DREAM

F

ebruary is Black History Month, and locals can pay homage to a hero of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King, Jr., at his namesake gardens in Southeast Raleigh. It’s the first public park in the United States devoted to King, and the serene spot is home to a life-size statue, sculpted by North Carolina artist Abbe Godwin, one of the only showing King wearing his Doctorate Clerical robe. There’s also a granite water monument with the words, “…Until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” This month also commemorates 61 years since King delivered his “Nonviolence and Racial Justice” speech in Broughton High School’s auditorium. Soak up more history on January 26 at the N.C. Museum of History’s 18th Annual African American Cultural Celebration. —Catherine Currin

130 | WALTER

4401 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh, NC 27612

(919) 571-2881

2IĆFLDO -HZHOHU RI WKH &DUROLQD +XUULFDQHV

www.diamondsdirect.com

3URXG 6SRQVRU RI 1& 6WDWH $WKOHWLFV

I am every heart that beats 2.5 billion times in an average lifetime.

Who says your lifetime has to be average?

Here’s to every heart that exercises. Loses weight. Learns to love fish, oatmeal, fruit and veggies.

Gets plenty of sleep. Gets regular checkups for cholesterol, diabetes and blood pressure. And gets healthy. Every heart that knows an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Or, to quote the experts at the state’s leading heart program, take care of your heart and your heart will take care of you. Learn more about trusting your heart and your health to the best at wakemed.org/hearts.

Your heart. Your choice.