by Raleigh Magazine | Nov 9, 2022 | Do, November 2022
11/10, 12, 17–19
Moonlight in the Garden
Take a moonlit stroll through the JC Raulston Arboretum for a magical experience complete with live music, food trucks and a hot cup of apple cider to sip. So lit. jcra.ncsu.edu
11/11
21Marbles
Who says playtime is only reserved for the kiddos? With games, Nerf battles, music, drinks (obviously!) and more, your inner child is sure to make an appearance during this adults-only event. Game on! marbleskidsmuseum.org
11/11
Southern Soul Music
Post up as Miami’s own funnyman Marvin Dixon hosts this hot group of soul stars (think Tucka, Calvin Richardson, Sir Charles Jones and others) feat. your fave soulful hits. dukeenergycenterraleigh.com
11/11
Veterans Day Barbecue Lunch
As a thank you to veterans who have served or are currently serving in the Armed Forces, the Farm Credit Association of North Carolina is partnering with local BBQ joints Prime Barbecue, Southern Smoke BBQ and Buxton Hall Barbecue to offer a free plate o’ pulled pork. Time to pig out! farmcreditofnc.com
11/11
Veterans Day Art Show
This free four-day art exhibit at Durham’s Tobacco Wood Brewing Company features original pieces created by NC Armed Forces veterans of all backgrounds, art levels and branches of service. tobaccowoodbrewing.com
11/11–13
Godfrey
Hot off his August Showtime stand-up special Regular Black, the comedian/actor (Louie Benders, etc.) bends the boards at Improv. improv.com
11/11–13
Vintage Market Days
“Can we go thrift shopping?” Scour through this upscale vintage market to snag original art, antiques, clothing, jewelry and more. Happy hunting! ncstatefair.org
11/12
Balloon Bash Adventure Scavenger Hunt
Prepare to be blown away by this challenge to seek out secret locations and perform aerial challenges to collect balloons—whoever has the most at the end wins gifts from local businesses! downtownraleigh.org
11/12
Cocktails & Cuisine Class: Rye Whiskey
Ready to up your cocktail game? Reserve a spot for this cocktails and cuisine class at The Willard to get schooled on three cocktails made with rye whiskey—with food pairing to boot. Bottoms up! thewillardraleigh.com
11/12
Dayglow
“Can I call you tonight” … to bop over to The Ritz for Dayglow’s People in Motion Tour?! (Clearly, yes.) livenation.com
11/12
NC State v. Boston College
State clips Eagles’ wings for the W. gopack.com
11/12
Darwin Day
Calling all fun guys—and gals! Meet fungi scientists, create fungus crafts and even name your own fungus as part of the NC Museum of Natural Science’s Darwin Day celebration. naturalsciences.org
11/12–13
Fortnite FNCS Invitational
Gamers, console yourselves. Epic Games is hosting its first in-person Fornite tournament since the pandemic… and it’s sure to beat a battle royale. We ain’t playin’! epicgames.com
11/12, ongoing
St. Nick’s: Raleigh Jolly Pop-Up House
Hey, holiday fanatics! For an over-the-top and interactive Christmas experience, head to House of Art for its holiday pop-up feat. festive drinks, pics with Santa and magical music. And that’s a wrap! stnicksnc.com
11/13
An Evening Funkraiser With the Holt Brothers Foundation
Funk it up with DJ Big Fella and NiiTO, food from Angus Barn, a silent auction and more to benefit the Holt Brothers Foundation programming for children who have a parent or guardian with cancer. holtbrothersfoundation.org
11/13
Finding Gratitude : Candle Making Experience at NCMA
For an enlightening evening, join the NC Museum of Art and Usu Company Candles for an in-depth tutorial on candle creation. Sounds too hot to candle (!). ncartmuseum.org
11/13
Holiday Walk-Around Wine Tasting
There’s no need to wine this holiday season, especially at this festive wine tasting featuring 25 handpicked wines from Rocks + Acid’s Paula de Pano. Sip, sip hooray! marketandmoss.com
11/13
Moore Square Vintage Market
Shopping secondhand is so in! Peruse 40 vintage vendors at NC’s biggest vintage bazaar to find old-school goodies of all types and eras. So stylish! ncvintagebazaar.com
11/13
Party With the Pugs
If the pug life chose you, you’re gonna wanna head over to the fairgrounds for a pawty benefiting Pawsitively Pugs Rescue and feat. vendors, a DJ, raffle, photog and Running of the Pugs (!). ncstatefair.org
11/13
Picnic + Wine Pop-Up
Take your picnic next-level at The Meadows’ 150 acres of natural preserve (!). The urban winery’s leisurely event will feature a tasting of three brand-new The Meadows Winery wines, live music, and the op to purchase a charcuterie board from Grazin Gals. themeadowsraleigh.com
11/13
TEDx Raleigh 2022
10 speakers, 10 ideas, 10 minutes. … Get inspired from a host of accomplished local innovators, educators, researchers, entrepreneurs, artists and performers. downtownraleigh.org
11/15
Supper Club Chef Series
Cook up cuisine for a cause with chef Jamie Davis of The Hackney through this fun and interactive class helping raise funds for the Ripe For Revival Mobile Market Program, an organization that helps serve the food insecure throughout central and eastern NC. riperevivalmarket.com
11/16
Reading Country: Music and Prose
Marissa R. Moss, author of Her Country, comes to the NC Museum of History as part of The Power of Women in Country Music to chat the most successful women on the country scene in the last 20 years. ncmuseumofhistory.org
11/16
William Peace University Tree Lighting
For a tree-mendous evening, head to William Peace University for its annual tree lighting, complete with snacks and free fam photos that’ll be perf for your Christmas card. ’Tis the season! peace.edu
by Emma Brennan | Nov 11, 2021 | November 2021, Web Exclusive
WEB EXCLUSIVE This Veterans Day, we’re saluting Raleigh veteran Mike Otis’ Battle Tested Craft Barbecue Sauce and his mission to support local veterans.
Everyone anticipates their 21st birthday, but for Mike Otis, it wasn’t finally being able to crack open a cold one that interested him, it was getting his dad’s (a WWII veteran) family barbecue recipe, which was passed down to his dad by his grandmother—and it was only when he turned 21 that he was “old enough to handle the recipe.”
In fact, Otis still has the recipe card that his dad tucked into his 21st birthday card, and it now serves as the backbone for his popular Battle Tested Craft Barbecue Sauce.
And as a couple who cares deeply about veteran lives and bringing awareness to veteran suicide, now Otis and his wife, Deardria, have partnered with Durham’s Stop Soldier Suicide—an organization helping PTSD veterans in the Triangle.
“It’s been about more than just making sauce, it’s about giving back to veteran, not-for-profit organizations,” says Otis. So, for every bottle of Battle Tested Craft Barbecue Sauce sold in NC, the company donates 5% of its profit to Stop Soldier Suicide.
A Desert Storm Air Force veteran himself, Otis added spices and his own signature flavor to the family barbecue sauce recipe—which, before bottling it, he dished out to friends and family who constantly encouraged him to market it. One friend even told him it was so good he could drink it… that’s when you know.
After some convincing—now about three years ago—the couple took a chance and dove head-first into the competitive billion-dollar barbecue sauce industry, set up a corporation, filed for trademarks, opened a state-of-the-art sauce production plant in Henderson… and the rest, as they say, is history.
Now with several awards and competition wins under their belt (first place at the Oxford Hot Sauce Festival and Pinehurst Barbecue Festival, to name just a couple), Otis and his wife are on a mission to support veterans.
by Jane Porter | Nov 6, 2017 | Do, November 2017
Glamp it up at the State Fairgrounds
For the first time in Raleigh, fans of all things retro have an event to call their very own. Head to the State Fairgrounds over Veteran’s Day weekend for the Vintage Fan Fair and take in the nostalgia: products and services from vintage vendors, old-school entertainment and activities, and classic car and trailer collections.
The event’s “Glamper Showcase” will feature more than 20 vintage campers, all open for you to tour. Victoria Ocken, author of the book “Vintage Trailer Voyeur,” a chronicle of vintage campers and their owners, will visit the fair on Friday and Saturday to meet the public and sign books. To get you in the spirit, we asked Ocken to share an excerpt from “Vintage Trailer Voyeur:”
“The Alaska-Canadian Highway in the 1960’s, with its many steep grades, switchbacks, dusty dirt surface and few guardrails is the background for some of Lori’s most treasured memories. A trip of a lifetime (especially for a nine-year old) Lori and her sister traveled the fabled route with her mother and father in a classic canned ham trailer, a Trail-Along. The unpaved road lead to some challenges as they stopped at night to a dust covered trailer, but her father was inventive and found an old oriental carpet to drape over the trailer to keep some of the dirt out. Add to that the caribou horns he procured for the car hood and you had quite a sight, especially on the return trip when traveling through the city. Memories like this last a lifetime, and you never know what will bring them to the surface fresh as the day they happened. For Lori it was an ordinary Saturday and a chance encounter at Barnes and Noble where a small group of vintage trailers were gathered for a book signing. One look and all the feeling came flooding back more powerful than ever imagined. She needed a trailer. After many disappointing missed deals, The Jolly Rancher entered her life. The warm birch paneling, the sweet wooden screen door with a little sliding door and the authentic soul of the camper were all perfect, but what sealed the deal was the layout. It was identical to that little camper that traveled the long road when she was nine. She was smitten. Lori can sit in the camper and go back to a simpler time, a time of adventure and wandering. Its walls are familiar like no other place can be. She is home, on the road again, with her parents watching from afar smiling and laughing with her.”
