Cars and Carnivores, a free street festival presented by the Rotary Club of Wake Forest, returns Saturday, June 6, 2026, to downtown Wake Forest. The event features a 100+ vehicle car show, steak cookoff competition, food trucks, gift basket raffle, vendors and music. Free admission and parking. All proceeds go towards relieving medical debt of Wake Forest cancer patients. Visit www.wakeforestrotary.org/cc for more information.
Individuals needing specific accessibility accommodations are encouraged to contact the Rotary Club of Wake Forest in advance through the event website.
Drop it like it’s hot as Raleigh fetes the 50th anny of hip-hop.
“Ain’t nuttin’ but a G thang, baby.” This August, as we take to the streets to throw down some beats in some pumped-up kicks, Raleigh joins communities across the nation honoring the 50th anny of hip-hop. Traced back to a back-to-school party in a Bronx apartment rec room on Aug. 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc is credited by many for dropping the first beats from which hip-hop was born.
Serving up a solid yes to Missy Elliott’s “DJ, please pick up your phone, I’m on the request line… Is it worth it?”: Hip-hop has shaped our music culture—and our everyday culture—in ways beyond measure for the past five decades. Answering the call to “work it,” hip-hop doesn’t just drop the beat, but it unites us. Kicking off with a February Grammy celebration that brought back some of the genre’s greatest—from Run DMC and LL Cool J to Dr. Dre to Flavor Flav to Missy herself via a deep roster of some of the genre’s legends—the story of hip-hop is the story of modern America point-blank.
To “explore Raleigh’s connection to the genre that has made a global cultural impact since 1973,” says City of Raleigh Assistant Director of Museums Megan Raby, you can fete the 50th by dancing in the streets—literally—Aug. 12. The cast of events, presented by the Friends of COR Museum in partnership with the City of Raleigh, will feat. a daylong street party, classic car show, live beats honoring local hip-hop pioneers, performances from big names like Terminator X and Toosii—plus the op to don your best kicks (see opposite page for inspo) and peep yourself on the Jumbotron as Raleigh rolls out the red carpet for the Sneaker Ball. cityofraleighmuseum.org
Turn Down For What Aug. 12
10am–noon: COR Museum showcases local scholar and industry expert lectures + roundtables on how hip-hop has shaped Raleigh culture.
Noon–4pm: Roll out for the Hip-Hop Car Show feat. classic cars.
Noon–4pm: Take to Fayetteville Street for a free fam-friendly Hip-Hop Family Village with a DJ House, DJ for Kids class (w/ DJ Monika Underhill), break dancers & performers, hip-hop karaoke (!), graffiti public art, and vendors—NTM hip-hop photos on the Jumbotron and a COR Museum roundtable discussion with early Triangle hip-hop pioneers.
6–7pm: Show up and show out for the Hip Hop Sneaker Ball Red Carpet Experience at Raleigh Union Station complete with jam-packed moments for music lovers with hot performances, standout outfits and historic hip-hop reunions.
6–10pm: La di da di, we like to party. Kick it at RUS for the Hip Hop Sneaker Ball with legendary DJs, performers, photo booth, VIP area (+ booth/bottle experience), a hip-hop archive display and more.
Just Kick It
It’s Sneaker SZN! Get pumped—and grab your pumped-up kicks—for the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop Sneaker Ball. … Sneakerheads, this summer’s for you.
Jera Laceup Lub, Bianca Wash/Dust, $280, Rangoni Firenze
Jordan 3 Retro UNC (2020), $525, Courtside
Nike Dunk Low, Hyper Pink (women’s), $190, One of One
Jordan 4 Retro Thunder (2023), $235, Southside Soles
Golden Goose, Super-Star Perm-Noos low-top sneaker (women’s), $595, Nordstrom
Nike Air Force 1 Low Retro, Yellow Jewel, $130, Social Status
This month, thousands of hot rods, street racers, muscle cars and custom trucks from all over the country will make a pit stop in Raleigh. The PNC arena is the penultimate destination for the HOT ROD Power Tour’s traveling car show, the world’s largest, and it marks the first time in the tour’s 24-year history that it, and its competitive events, will grace Raleigh with an appearance.
“We always try to figure out where we can hit these cool race tracks for everybody to be doing the autocross and drag racing and burnout competitions,” says HOT ROD general manager Jonathan Mill. “It’s also to bring the experience to new places. Raleigh is the second-largest city in North Carolina, so it was a natural choice to pick it out as one the new places we wanted to stop.”
The tour, which starts June 9 at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky and culminates at zMax Dragway in Concord on June 15, is expected to draw around 50,000 people at each of its stops in seven cities during its weeklong tour. Crowds comprise curious spectators of all ages as well as car enthusiasts looking to get up close and personal with vehicles that turn back the clock. Vintage car fans register their vehicles and take part in a drag racing competition, or check out the “long haulers,” cars and their owners who are making the entire 1,300-mile trek, from start to finish.
But you don’t have to own a 1955 Ford Thunderbird to enjoy the event.
“In a place like Raleigh, [the tour] reminds people of their heritage,” says Mill. “In North Carolina, racing is still very strong and very alive. They can even join us on the next stop and see the drag races at the drag way, zMax. It brings a sense of nostalgia to the area, like they can roll into a gas station and feel like they’re stuck in the 50s.”
The main stage at the event will feature celebrity signings, games, local bands and dozens of giveaways for all ages.
“We encourage bringing the family out, even if you can only make two stops,” Mill says. “Hop on the road with us and see what it’s like to go through these small towns with these kinds of cars. It will make you want to own one; I can tell you that.”
The HOT ROD Power Tour comes to Raleigh June 14; participants can register vehicles for a single day for $45, or come out to see the show at no cost.
