Coming exhibit highlights local skating from the ’60s onward.
There are no refs, no penalties, no set plays—and almost anyone can do it almost anywhere. Which is precisely why skating has long been a staple sport around Raleigh. Now, further highlighting the subculture is City of Raleigh Museum’s The Endless Grind, a one-night-only preview exhibit May 2 in collaboration with DTR’s nee-1986 skate shop Endless Grind—with a more extensive exhibit bowing by 2027.
The sport’s local history showcase boasts photographs from the ’60s through the ’90s, featuring Fairgrounds contests, NCSU Brickyard skating snaps, and shots of a ramp in the Endless Grind parking lot—altogether bringing the widespread but oft-overlooked lifestyle to the forefront.
While an exceptional documentation of the early days of this culture isn’t always easy to come by, local publications from the time covered all the bases. Enter the State Archives of NC.
Growing up in Raleigh, exhibit organizer Cody Charland regarded the East Jones Street locale as just another building among the puzzle of “super-serious” government properties into which he’d never need to venture. But after following Olde Raleigh on Instagram—a local account posting a few archived Raleigh photographs weekly—Charland followed the rabbit trail into the archive building, where he stumbled upon the beginnings of the Cap City skating culture.
“We looked at film negatives of thousands of pictures and picked the best—the few we wanted everybody to see,” he reminisces. “It was incredible to see not only skateboarding evolve, but also the city.”
And giving the skating community a leg up is the upcoming Wheel-A-Thon at Conlon Family Skatepark April 12. In partnership with Leadership Raleigh, the fundraiser will get as many people—and wheels—out to the park. Skateboards, Rollerblades, skates and scooters are slated to roll out for four hours straight in support of this look back at—and celebration of—this crucial Raleigh subculture. Get ready to grind! skateraleigh.com
We may be big fans of Hurricanes’ rising star Seth Jarvis on the ice, but off the ice, he’s a big fan of Raleigh—which will serve the Canadian center well, as he’s less than one year into an eight-year contract here in Oak City. During Jarvis’ early NHL seasons with the Canes, the breakout player quickly established himself as an MVP on the rise, and Carolina took notice—with the team signing a $63.2 mill contract in 2024.
But the deal is clearly paying off for both parties. Last season, Jarvy ranked second for the Canes in both goals and points with 33 and 67, respectively. To boot, the 23-year-old became the third member of the 2020 NHL Draft Class to have a 30-goal season, and he also had a hand—and to much chagrin after the initial American W—in helping Canada clinch the win in the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal in February.
Answering the call for more about the man behind the mustache off the ice, an episode of Faceoff: Inside the NHL featuring the hockey star is set to air on Amazon Prime in September. Until then, get to know a little bit more about No. 24 when he’s away from the game.
► Does your hefty contract add additional pressure to how you play? I don’t think anything of it. There’s a lot of guys who could probably make more money than me on this team, and we’re all doing the best we can. I just have to be the best version of myself and that’s what I focus on.
► What was it like to represent Canada and play your teammate in the 4 Nations Face-Off? That was a lot of fun—obviously a lot more fun when you win. It was everything I could’ve wanted. The atmosphere was great. Hockey is a way of life in Canada, especially in Montreal, so you feel a little more pressure, but I think everyone on the team knew what we needed to do. I’m just happy we could win. Playing against Slavin sucked about as much as I could’ve expected. He’s shown the world how good of a hockey player he is, and I got to see the forefront of it.
► What has filming for Faceoff: Inside the NHL been like? It’s good, we did a little bit in Montreal at 4 Nations, so I got a little taste of what it’s like. I’m not used to having a camera follow me around, but we’ll start [in March] here. I don’t do anything, so I don’t know what they’re going to film. Right now, the plan is to golf on my off-day. But on the game day and the practice day, I’m not going to change my routine for those guys.
► Your pregame ’fit influence? That would be me. I spend a lot of time on TikTok, and some of the stuff on my TikTok is cool clothes—so I’ve been working on expanding my fashion. When he was here, [Martin] Nečas was a big influence for me. He took a lot of the heat for a lot of the stuff he was wearing, so I could kind of slide in behind him and copy him a little bit. He definitely took the reins.
► Nicknames on or off the ice? Just Jarvy—teammates only though. My older brother was always Jarvy so it would get confused at home.
► Fave local restaurants? I eat a lot of my pregame meals at Vivace, so I’ve spent a lot of time there. I do like Bar Taco.
► Fave local bar and drink of choice? Teets and vodka Red Bull
► Local college sports picks? NC State in football and Duke in basketball
► TV show you can watch on repeat? I’ve watched Shameless a few times, and I’m in the middle of it right now.
► Favorite music ATM? A lot of everything. Right now, alternative rock. I don’t know if it falls in that category but Tame Impala is my favorite lately. I don’t listen to anything to warm up, maybe just on the bus on the way to games. I’ll usually listen to rap or something like that.
► Hopes are high for the Cup. What will it take to get over the Eastern Conference Hump? A lot of things have to go right, especially in the playoffs. Your power play needs to be on and that’s what we’re working on this year. Getting that figured out will be a big help. You need to get a lot of that right to get to those positions, and I think it’s a matter of time until we get those bounces. And I think we can up our physicality—we have a lot of big bodies, and I think if we play a little bit harder it’d be beneficial.
If you’ve bought concert tickets lately, you no doubt have paid the price. Scalpers and fees aside, costs have climbed 19% post-pandemic. Fans keep showing up—even waiting in uberlong online queues to boot—but when shelling out for live music, they expect the show to be worth it.
That vibe, though, is only as good as the audience. As a former Raleigh venue employee, I’ve witnessed firsthand how the crowd absolutely makes or breaks a show for everyone: fans, artists and staff.
So as the first shows of concert/fest season kick off at Raleigh’s biggest outdoor venues this month with big names like Tyler Childers, Pearl Jam and The Kooks, we all want the most for our money. For a crash course on what not to do, we rehash behavior gone bad across a host of local/viral incidents.
Do’s and Don’ts of Live Music
Red Flag
Artist
Avg. Ticket
Venue
Basis for Blame
Fans filming entire show on an iPad held overhead
Stevie Nicks
$45–$146
Lenovo Center
Those behind you don’t want to watch the show through your grainy screen.
Audience hurling water bottles—prompting a bottle-cap ban
Snoop Dogg
$110–$400
Coastal Credit Union at Walnut Creek
Would you want to get hit in the head by a flying object?
Spring has officially sprung, and there’s no better way to get into the season’s growth mindset and mood than dressing the part. Although botanicals are still blooming in the occasional spring wardrobe (this one’s for you, Miranda Priestly), the broader runway focus spotlights texture and cuts—think beading, sequins, exaggerated silhouettes and funky hemlines. As for color, soft pastels bring romance and whimsical charm to mind, edged up with contrasting denims to cut the overly girlish and juvenile aesthetic. Now, time to put some spring in your step and shop these bright picks from local retailers.
The NC Legislature is fast-tracking a bill ditching the required permit for concealed guns.
The standard permit necessary to carry a concealed firearm in NC may not be required soon. The Freedom to Carry NC bill—which authorizes U.S. citizens at least 18 years of age to carry a handgun in NC without a permit—is moving through the legislature.
After being whisked from the first committee session to a vote in just over two days, the measure passed Thursday in the NC Senate with a 26–18 vote (with two Democrats and four Republicans absent).
Currently, NC gun owners are required to obtain a permit from their local sheriff’s office to tote a concealed handgun, plus complete at least eight hours of training beforehand. Permits will still be issued for the purpose of crossing state lines with a firearm. If passed, the Tar Heel state will become the 30th state to not require permits or training.
So what problem is this bill trying to solve? Gun rights lobbyists have been pushing for permitless carry—or what some advocates call “constitutional carry”—for years. One of the bill’s primary sponsors, Republican Sen. Danny Britt of Lumberton said people have a constitutional right to carry a concealed handgun “without having to jump through the hoops that you do for a concealed carry permit.”
Democrat Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed raised a red flag during the floor debate, noting that instead of improving the permitting process the bill takes “a chainsaw to the system, leaving officers and the public to deal with the consequences.” Mohammed also pointed out the increased risk for law enforcement officers if the bill becomes law.
Although Senate Democrats successfully added several amendments supporting benefits for slain law enforcement officers’ families, the blue party continued to reiterate their opposition to the bill’s main focus. Alongside these additions, the Senate also adopted three of Britt’s proposed amendments upping the penalty for violation of firearm-related laws.
Other amendments put on the table by the Democrats referred to as “common sense measures” failed. These included proposals for required gun detection systems in schools and hospitals, expanded gun-free zones, required universal background checks, and penalties for failing to keep guns out of children’s reach.
“Allowing anyone 18 or older to carry a concealed handgun without a permit makes everyone less safe,” House Democratic Leader Robert Reives wrote in a statement. “We need common sense reforms and this measure would only hurt communities.” Stay tuned for updates on how the bill fares in the House and under the Governor’s pen.
