Kilts, bikes and good food

Couldn't ask for a prettier Sunday. Get out and play! See you in the streets...


Deadpool On A Bike -  I loved Discovery Place’s steampunk event so I’m intrigued by  Cirque Mechanics Pedal Punk, a Steampunk-inspired performance. A wacky bike shop mechanic interacts with cyclists and bikes to escape the technology-obsessed society. The mechanic inspires the cyclist in all of us to become a Pedal Punk. Great timing considering the big Open Streets next month. 7 p.m. Knight Theater at Levine Center for the Arts, 430 S Tryon St, Levine Center for the Arts.
 

Family Fun - The annual Rural Hill Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Games highlights Celtic culture with music, athletics, dancing an more. 7:30 a.m. Today and Sunday, 4431 Neck Road, Huntersville. Various prices. Schedule.

Monday
Food Event II - No shame about it. Taste of the Nation is one of my favorite local fundraisers. I’m also a board member so I’m biased. New location this year, but same great expectations: delicious food, yummy cocktails and good people. 6 p.m. The Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St. Tickets.

Holla: Sipandplayclt@gmail.com

Weekend Preview: Best of, beer fest, shopping, food

What a way to start the weekend. Headed to the sold out Nene Leakes show at the Comedy Zone tonight. Her one-night stand in Charlotte was so popular that the Comedy Zone added a second show tonight, and it's sold out too. Look for my review tomorrow. Don't forget this is the final weekend of CPCC's Sensoria.



Tonight
The Winner Is…. - Come out to celebrate Elevate Lifestyle Award winners in the Best of City.  Categories include culture, dining, fashion, fitness, entertainment, lifestyle, and nightlife. 5 p.m. Slate Billiards, 200 E. Bland St. $10. Tickets.

 











Thursday
Food Event - If you like Latin food then you will love Taste of the New South ¡Savor Sabor!. This year’s edition of Taste of the New South features a Latin twist on Southern culture and cuisine. Celebrity guest Panthers Coach Ron Rivera. 6 p.m., Levine Museum of the New South, 200 E 7th St. $100. Details.

Friday
Spoken Word - This a themed spoken-word event with performances focused on the state of the climate including crime, schools, music, domestic violence and climate change. G.O.O.D. Music’s Malik Yusef will host along with Mark Prophet. Charlotte’s J.C., Mason Parker and live bands Quent Young & The Free Will Project and Dee Dray will perform. There will also be live painting. 7 p.m. One-Five-O Studio Gallery, 4825 Ballantyne Village Way, Suite 150. $20 and up. Details.

 

Saturday

Studio 16 Party

April 16, McColl Center

Every floor and art studio features contemporary art, installations pop up performances, music and dancing. Benefits Artists-in-Residence and McColl Center.

Dance Competition - You won’t see Wanya Morris or Kim Fields at Dancing With the Stars of Charlotte, but you will see local celebrities. The ballroom dance competition benefits Carolina Breast Friends. 7 p.m. Booth Playhouse, 130 N. Tryon St. $50. Tickets.

Family Fun - The annual Rural Hill Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Games highlights Celtic culture with music, athletics, dancing an more. 7:30 a.m. Today and Sunday, 4431 Neck Road, Huntersville. Various prices. Schedule.

Beer Festival - Grab beer samples and burgers at Moo and Brew. Live music by Ancient Cities, Sinners & Saints, Bubonik Funk, Truckstop Preachers and DJ Overcash. $45. 12:30 p.m.,  Avidxchange Inc., 1111 Metropolitan Ave. Details.

Shop Local - Support more than 70 local women-owned business at Pink Social Girl Tribe Pop Up: Spring Break Edition. The taproom will be open. 12 p.m. Sugar Creek Brewing, 215 Southside Dr. $6. More info.

Shop Local  II - Celebrates small business and entrepreneurship by perusing 50 area fashion, arts and food vendors. Vendors will feature hand-crafted goods and original artwork by local merchants. Enjoy local brews, pastries and other food. 11 a.m., C3 Lab, LLC, 2525 Distribution St. Free. More info.

Monday
Food Event II - No shame about it. Taste of the Nation is one of my favorite local fundraisers. I’m also a board member so I’m biased. New location this year, but same great expectations: delicious food, yummy cocktails and good people. 6 p.m. The Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St. Tickets.

Holla: Sipandplayclt@gmail.com

7 + 1 Great Events In April

Update: There was a collective outcry that I neglected to include the Charlotte Wine & Food event in my highlight. My bad!  

Charlotte Wine & Food Grand Tasting Events
April 27 - April 30, Romare Bearden Park and various restaurants
Southeast’s largest wine and food events

Here are the other events I'm looking forward to this month and you might want to put them on your calendar too.

NC Craft Beer Month 

Various Breweries Throughout the Month

Highlights include: Bayne Brewing's 2nd Annual Craft Beer Olympics, Aviator Brewing Company's Tap Takeover at Carolina Beer Temple, and Lousiana Spring Fest at The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery.

Sensoria

April 8-16,  Various CPCC campus.

This celebration of arts includes film festivals, theatrical performances, opera, lectures, art shows, and more.

Boom

April 8-10

Various locations in Plaza-Midwood

Three days of arts and performances in venues throughout Plaza-Midwood. Activities range from yoga to meditation to dance to spoken word. Launch party April 7, Pecha Kucha, Petra’s. 

Studio 16 Party

April 16, McColl Center

Every floor and art studio features contemporary art, installations pop up performances, music and dancing. Benefits Artists-in-Residence and McColl Center.

The Waterfront Jazz Festival at Queens Landing

April 8-10, Queens Landing, Mooresville

Multi-day jazz festival featuring Spryo Grya featuring a dozen artist including Spyro Gyra, Eric Darius, Peter White, Richard Elliot and others. 

Taste of the Nation 

 April 18, The Fillmore Charlotte

Select chefs and Charlotte restaurants cook up their best dishes to raise money to feed hungry children healthy meals.

Charlotte Jazz Festival

April 22-23, Various locations Levine Center For the Arts

The main event is the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra under the leadership of musical director Wynton Marsalis. Other activities include a creole brunch, happy hour jazz and more.

Holla: Sipandplayclt@gmail.com

2016 Preview: don't miss parties and events

A look at a few of my party and event picks for the new year.

QC Brewer’s Fest, Feb. 6

Fillmore

Tickets

Willie Nelson, Feb. 9 

Fillmore

Details

Bartender’s Ball, Feb. 21

Rooftop 210

Details

CIAA, February 22-27

Uptown Charlotte

Partiers takeover uptown for this weeklong basketball tournament that draws a dozens of hip-hop celebrities and performers from Big Daddy Kane to Dru Hill. Details.

Rich and Bennett’s St. Patrick’s Day Bar Crawl, March 12 
Uptown Charlotte

Charlotte Jazz Festival 2016, April 22-23

Blumenthal Performing Arts Center

The two-day second annual Charlotte Jazz Festival features two main stage performances by the critically-acclaimed Jazz at Lincoln Center under the leadership of musical director Wynton Marsalis. Details.

Taste of the Nation, April 18

Derby Days,, May 7

Breakout the seersuckers and pretty hats for a day of mint juleps, live music and lawn games and more at the Young Affiliates of the Mint's Derby Days. Details.

An Evening with Rachelle Ferrell, May 13
Knight Theater

Dynamic singer Rachelle Ferrell truly users her voice an instrument with vocalizations that defy scatting and conventional jazz boundaries. See her in a rare live appearance. Proceeds benefits The Urban League Of Central Carolinas

Details

Holla: sipandplayclt@gmail.com

Taste off the Nation raises more than $117,000! (Photos)

What a 20th anniversary celebration! Charlotte’s Taste of the Nation for No Kid Hungry raised more than $117,000 at Wednesday’s event.  More than 500 people attended the annual event at Two Wells Fargo Center Atrium. It featured Charlotte’s top restaurants, chefs, culinary schools, sommeliers and mixologists. Food Network personality and New York Times best-selling cookbook author, Melissa d’Arabian and Share Our Strength Co-Founder, Debbie Shore, helped the Charlotte chapter celebrate the milestone. Since 1994, the Charlotte event’s proceeds are $1.7 mil excluding this year's totals. Don't miss Kathleen Purvis's round up of winning dishes and restaurants from last week.

Harper Group's Tom Sasser, was named “Humanitarian of the Year” by Share Our Strength, in a ceremony in Washington earlier this month. Sasser deserves the award and more. I joined the Taste of the Nation board several years ago. I've watched as he tirelessly works to make this event a success each year.

This year's Taste is over, but the fight to end child hunger continues. You can continue your support of Charlotte’s Taste of the Nation, which locally benefits Second Harvest Food Bank and Community Culinary School of Charlotte. The Charlotte No Kid Hungry Dinner is Sept. 12 at Mimosa Grill. Use the code TASTENC for $10 off your individual tickets until May 15!

 

Holla: sipandplayclt@gmail.com

Partying Hard At Taste of the Nation (Video)

One of my favorite events of the year is Taste of the Nation. My partner and I have volunteered to shoot this event every year for the last few years. It's a lot of fun and the board works hard to put on a stellar event. This year the organization celebrated its 20 year anniversary. Read Kathleen Purvis' take on the food.

Taste is known for its great food, and there were some stellar dishes, but the after-party was unforgettable. There are two waves of fun at Taste of the Nation. The first is the mad rush to sample all of the delicious food and drinks when guests first arrive. I'll write about that in future post. Hint: if you haven't been to Evolve yet, go now! The second wave is the dance party after the live auction. Last night, party was a blast thanks to the sounds of Java Band. See how it went down.

Food festivals, beer festivals and live jazz

Wow! What a weekend. This is just a smattering of the events going down over the next few days. It's crazy. National Beer Day and 420 all happening in the same week. First, I must pause for the cause. Congratulations to Tom Sasser of the Harper Group who was honored as the Humanitarian of the Year at the national No Kid Hungry Summit for his 20 years of leadership with Taste of the Nation. A well-deserved honor. Now let's get this party started! See you in the streets.

Tonight

End Child Hunger - Taste of the Nation celebrates its 20th anniversary. Samplings from the area’s top chefs, restaurants & culinary schools. Enjoy fine wines, beers, premium spirits, including Mixologist Bar. Silent and live auction. All proceeds benefit Share Our Strength and local charities. Deets. $85 7 p.m. general admission, $120 6 p.m. VIP admission. Two Wells Fargo Center Atrium, 301 South Tryon St.

Thursday

Tribute Concert - Jazz fans pay tribute to keyboardist Joe Sample, who died last year. Sample was a multi-Grammy winner and member of the Crusaders. Alex Bugnon headlines the Joe Sample Tribute Concert. Sample’s son Nick (bass) and original Crusader Wilton Felder (saxophone) will also perform in this special tribute show. It’s part of the CPCC Sensoria Arts Festival. 8 p.m.,  Halton Theater, 1206 Elizabeth Avenue. $50 and up.

Global Bites - Celebrate Charlotte's cultural diversity at the Levine Museum’s annual fundraiser, Taste of the New South: Global Dish. This year's theme will take guests around the world with cuisine, decor, entertainment and more. 6 p.m., Levine Museum of the New South, East 7th Street. $100. Limited street parking and paid parking available.

Caribbean In Concord - The Cabarrus Arts Council’s Art On Tap, young adult group, is hosting a Caribbean themed party featuring reggae rock trio Sun-Dried Vibes. 7:30 p.m., Davis Theatre, 65 Union St. S, Concord, in the Cabarrus County Historic Courthouse. $15.

Friday

UNCC Benefit - Enjoy an elegant evening entertainment, food and fun along with street performers and the Leslie and Friends variety band at the Green Tie Gala Masquerade. 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Byron's South End, 101 W Worthington Avenue #110.  $50.

Throwback Jazz - See the Calvin Edward Trio perform at Jazz at Packard Place. It’s billed as a throwback to the jazz era nightclub experience. Two shows: 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. $12 and up. 

Boxfight - Curious about crossfit? Watch to boxes (gyms) battle it out when top athletes from Crossfit Staxx takes on Crossfit Kaiju in a battle of the WODS. Adult beverages will be for sale. 7 p.m. Crossfire Staxx, 3722 South Tryon St. Free.

Celebrate Outdoors - Tuck Fest is a three-day festival outdoor festival featuring competitions, exhibitions, demos and live music. The festival features a variety of outdoor sport competitions that include trail running, kayaking, biking, climbing, stand-up paddleboarding, slacklining and adventure racing. Starts today and end Sunday. U.S. National Whitewater Center (USNWC)

Saturday

Brew Beatdown - The annual Battle of the Brews puts Charlotte's local breweries against each other. Each of the 10 breweries will bring three kegs. There will be eight food truck and live music from 5 on Sundays. 3.m.m - 6 p.m. Southend’s Food Truck lot, 100 W. Park Ave. $40

420 Fest - Tyber Creek is hosting a 420fest on Saturday April 18th. Start with a FREE Fun Run/Walk at 11 a.m. There’s a Kan Jam Tourney at 2 p.m. and live music all night. Tyber Creek,1933 South Boulevard. Free entry. 

For The Family - Curious about how to live a healthy lifestyle? Start with the Healthy Home Market Fair. There will be practitioners from the Community Wellness Center, food vendors, vitamin educators and more. 1 p.m. - 4 p.m Plaza Midwood, 1330 Central Ave. Free.

1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Art Gala - Studio Party 15: Upcycled Gala, presented by Bank of America, is the McColl Center for Art + Innovation annual celebration and contemporary art sale, with complimentary cocktails, gourmet tapas, and an Art Showcase featuring exceptional works for sale from current Artists-in-Residence and Alumni curated exclusively by Renee McColl and Brad Thomas. 7 p.m. McCoy Center,721 N Tryon St. $150. 

Sunday

Help Girl Rockers - Join family, friends and supporters of girl musicians at Cover Me: A Girls Rock Charlotte Friendraiser. Learn what the organization is all about, and hear some cool bands. 2 p.m. Hattie’s Tap and Tavern, 2918 The Plaza. $5.

Beer Festival - Celebrate National Beer Day a day early with samples from local and regional breweries. Organizers have even added ciders this year. Live music, cornhole and other  games, enjoy grub from food trucks and more! 1:30 p.m. All American Pub Parking Lot, 200 E Bland St. $30 an up. 

Holla: sipandplayclt@gmail.com