Teatime! Asali—a treasure for Mediterranean baked goods nestled in McGregor Village in Cary—is serving a high tea experience featuring Middle Eastern delicacies like labneh spread and olive palmiers, along with desserts, scones and more. Don your Sunday best and remember, pinkies up! Mon.–Thu., 11am-12:30pm; 1-2:30pm; 919.362.7882
You know what mom really wants: wine, bread and chocolate. And this take-home kit features everything she’ll need to make Basque favorit, pan con chocolat—plus a loaf of bread and bottle of wine to wash it all down.
Calling all moms with a sweet tooth! Burney’s Sweets of Raleigh has you covered with cakes, pies and treat boxes. You’ll without a doubt win the award of favorite child with this one. Preorder at 919.298.2800.
Treat mom to breakfast in bed—then don’t bother her for the rest of the day. The Fresh Market is here to take care of all the cooking with its premade Mother’s Day brunch. thefreshmarket.com/our-products/holiday-meals
On My Way Bartending has teamed up with Wine & Design to offer a themed mixology class that’s perfect for bonding with mom while learning about and sipping on three craft cocktails. So, a win-win! Purchase tickets here.
Can’t visit mom this Mother’s Day? Send her a package of tasty goodies from this Raleigh-based health- and wellness-focused food brand offering date bites, chocolate bark, nut mixes and gift packages. P.S. Use code “FREESHIP” for two-day free shipping on orders over $65.
Take mom on a culinary tour of Italy at Chapel Hill’s Il Palio. The resto’s Mother’s Day brunch menu features your choice of an app, main course and dessert for $64 per person. Bon appétit!
What better way to tell mom you love her than with craft cocktails and a filet Benedict? STIR’s Mother’s Day brunch will be available both Saturday and Sunday morning, making for the perfect way to start her day of pampering. Explore the full menu and make your reservation here.
Feast on brunch staples like buttermilk pancakes and shakshouka (plus bloody marys and mimosas!) to kick off an excellent Mother’s Day weekend—leaving mom no choice but to declare you the fave. View Vidrio’s menu and make your reservation here.
Some of the best gifts are experiences. Whether Mom is crazy about red wine or loves whiskey, Vitis House has a class for her. Make it a fun mother-son/daughter night with the school’s unique tasting/learning experiences that mom will not soon forget. View Vitis House’s full lineup of classes here.
Keep calm and blaze on with Usu Company’s special edition Mother’s Day candles, Maria (lemongrass, shea and coconut) and Aya (cedar, lavender and amber), both made in honor of the mothers, grandmothers and all women who “have loved us well.”
Grab your helmets and shine up your spokes for Raleigh Bike Month, which kicks off May 1! Whether you’re a novice rider or fit for the Tour de France (kudos to you), there are some wheelie great opps to get out and ride in Raleigh this month. Here, we provide all the deets on where to ride and how to participate in all the festivities. Ride on!
Why Bike?
Not only is cycling a perfect excuse to enjoy the outdoors (and save some gas money), it’s also fab for fitness. According to Harvard Health, cycling helps build up strength and muscle for everyday activities, like climbing stairs or, ya know, walking to the fridge for ice cream (all about balance). … It’s also easy on the joints, making it a good op for people of all ages.
What’s more… you’re pedaling for the planet. To wit, Citrix Cycle, those fun orange bikes stationed all over Downtown, announced that this year they’ve already reduced carbon emissions by over 10 tons! So, when possible, ditch your car for a two-wheeler to do your part for Mother Earth.
Citrix Cycle
Need a Bike?
Oak City Cyclingis your one-stop-shop for biking, offering everything from bikes to accessories to parts—and if they don’t have what you need, they’ll special order it for no extra change. Additionally, a 100% satisfaction guarantee with a 12-month warranty takes the stress away from finding the perfect bike for you.
If you’re looking to bike on a budget, Apex Bike Shop restores donated bikes to good as new. And if you’re not ready to spring for a bike just yet, you can always hop on a Citrix Cycle to zip around the city, no strings—er, chains—attached.
Places to Bike?
There’s arguably no better way to truly get to know Raleigh than by bike (S/O city bike lanes!). The OG Capital Area Greenway Trail System is a paved trail that runs throughout the city—and beyond—and offers stops at local parks and other attractions. It would take awhile to bike the whole thing, but if you’re up for the challenge, roll on out.
Looking for a more intense ride? Check out Umstead State Park’s off-road multiuse trail that’s perfect for thrill-seekers and avid bikers. Beautiful wooded views provide plenty of beautiful photo ops. Do it for the ’Gram.
Or, take the urban scenic route by going on a leisurely ride through Historic Oakwood. The gorgeous houses provide the perfect distraction from how sore your legs are—and pizza, beer and ice cream are on the ready to refuel your post-bike sesh (or during—no judgment).
Oak City Cycling
When to Bike?
May 21 is National Ride Your Bike to Work Day, so make sure you wear something appropriate for pedaling to the office. If you’re still working from home, take a coffee break and roll out to your local java shop for a cupajoe.
Beyond National Ride Your Bike to Work Day, plenty of other other reasons abound to get out and ride. Oaks & Spokes wins the award for the most unique Raleigh Bike Month event by far: bike polo. With its cultlike following, the game (to be held May 22 at the Fayetteville Street Dine Out Downtown event) is sure to be a competitive one. Check out Oaks & Spokes’ Bike Month calendar for a multitude of other bike-related events happening next month, from the Mother’s Day Picnic Ride (May 9) to Trophy Brewing’s Pedal for Pies (May 30).
And you know what goes great with biking? Beer. Here for you: Crank Arm hosts a socially distanced Wednesday night bike ride every week at 6:30pm, followed by brews with the crew, and on May 26, the brewery is bringing back its popular Bike Month event, Light up the Night Ride.
And if your body’s feeling tire-d and in need of some #selfcare, the City of Raleigh is hosting a virtual bike yoga class every Wednesday afternoon dedicated to poses and stretches specifically for bikers. Namaste!
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as they say. Raleigh artist Amy Flynn takes that sentiment to a whole new level by turning waste materials from flea markets, junkyards, auctions and basements into one-of-a-kind “Fobot” sculptures—a combination of her passions for crafting, shopping and sustainability. Not too shabby, huh?
Each “Fobot” is made from unique pieces of scrap metal and junk that, while super-cool to look at, really make you think about how much waste humans produce (so much that artists can make literal sculptures out of it. Yikes.).
Flynn and her “Fobots” have been selected to be featured in the Smithsonian Craft Show’s Craft Optimism online marketplace, a collab between the Smithsonian Women’s Committee and Honoring the Future, an organization dedicated to educating, empowering and engaging the public on climate change.
Each piece in the craft show was nominated and recognized as a “beautifully made [and] handcrafted” piece that either addresses climate change through action (in Flynn’s case, waste reduction), or reflects the impact of climate change, according to the Smithsonian Craft Show’s website. Proceeds from the virtual event support grants to the Smithsonian.
You can check out Flynn’s “Fobots,” along with other climate-conscious art pieces, from now until May 1 on the Smithsonian Craft Show’s website. And if you’re liking what you see, peep more of her unique “Fobots” on her website.
WEB EXCLUSIVE On your marks, get set, rundie! Note in the Pocket’s 8th annual Socks & Undie 5K Rundie & Kids Fun Run—taking place this Saturday, April 24—will be the first in-person 5K at Dix Park since the onset of the pandemic. What better excuse to flaunt your wildest socks and undies (over the pants, of course) and work up a sweat while doing good for the community?!
Proceeds from the race benefit NITP, a Raleigh-based nonprofit that works to clothe impoverished and homeless children in Wake County. This year’s goal? To clothe 700 children in confidence (in 2020, the nonprofit received over 5,000 clothing requests from individuals—mostly children—throughout Wake County).
With safety as a top priority, NITP has implemented several measures for the Saturday event, including a linear course design, waved starts with 25 participants every 5 minutes, hand-washing stations and sealed bottled water (masks and social distancing are also required). Additionally, a virtual race option is available from Friday to Sunday (which is great for those who are too embarrassed to run around in public in their tighty whities—no judgment!).
Feeling cheeky? Prizes will be awarded to the group with the best team name, most funds raised and largest team. Or, sign up for the timed race for a chance to win the title of top runner (and score a cool prize). Then, take to the ’Gram to show off you and your crew’s “unmentionable” outfits by tagging #rundie2021 and @noteinthepocket. The weirder the ’fit, the better! $30 registration fee, noteinthepocket.org/5k-special-events
WEB EXCLUSIVERedress Raleigh’s new exhibit, Tracking Textiles, explores how our habits impact the environment.
Fast fashion is a no-go, no matter how tempting those cheap, trendy pieces can be (we know, it’s hard to beat a sub-$20 outfit!). But hold off on hitting “add to cart” on websites like SHEIN or Forever 21, and first think about where your ’fits are coming from and who made them. You might be surprised at how big of an impact your $10 shirts are making on the world around you…
In honor of Earth Month, local nonprofit Redress Raleigh’s new interactive exhibit Tracking Textiles: The Modern Lifecycle of Fabric at the NC Museum of History explores those social and environmental impacts of fast fashion and helps you learn more about the way textiles are made; the ramifications of materials, production and individual textile waste; and how to make more sustainable choices when purchasing products.
“One of the biggest environmental issues within the fashion industry is textile waste,” says Redress Raleigh Executive Director Beth Stewart. “We created Tracking Textiles to offer an engaging, positive experience that encourages people to question overconsumption habits while celebrating the role fashion plays in our lives.” For instance, did you know that the most popular synthetic fiber used in clothing is polyester—which takes over 200 years to break down?! Insane.
After visiting the exhibit, you’re encouraged to ask yourself how you can make a difference in your clothing choices and take a pledge to reduce your fashion footprint by posting on Instagram with the hashtag #FashionFootprint and tagging @RedressRaleigh.
You can also try your shopping habit onry thrifting or checking out sustainable companies to reduce your environmental impact even further. There are so many ways to be green and still #slay your outfits. Redress Raleigh’s Tracking Textiles display is free and runs from now until May 2. Follow along on Insta (@RedressRaleigh) for even more tips and takeaways throughout the rest of April.
