Tammy's Raleigh-Durham Blog

The weather in the Triangle is supposed to be spectacular this weekend, so get outdoors! There are plenty of outdoor activities going on this Saturday and Sunday, including the 20th Annual Blessing of the Animals at Duke at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 5. The Blessing of the Animals at Duke is a non-denominational worship service honoring St. Francis. The ceremony is held right outside the Duke Chapel, and is open to all kinds of pets, including big ones (such as horses), and creepy-crawly ones. So go ahead bring your furry (or scaly!) companion to the event and enjoy a blessed afternoon together.

Festival-goers will be pleased to know that there are several festivals happening in the Raleigh-Durham area this weekend, so even if you weren't able to get tickets to Saturday's (completely sold out) World Beer Festival in Durham, you won't be stuck at home festival-less. The Jordan Lake Music Festival and the Susan G. Komen Pink Fest both feature live music, entertainment and shopping, and will be happening this weekend in Apex and Cary, respectively.

Still on the festival note, The Triangle Jazz Festival has been cancelled. It was scheduled for this Saturday, but the Triangle Jazz Society had various administrative problems which prevented it from getting the festival up and running. Ticket holders for that event can get refunds from the retailers where they purchased their tickets.

Have a great weekend!

The 2008 Parade of Homes, which gives the public a chance to tour hundreds of new homes in the Raleigh area, kicks off this weekend. The Parade of Homes is a very popular self-guided tour sponsored by the Homebuilders Association of Raleigh/Wake County.

This year, the featured homes (all 394 of them) will be open from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. on October 4, 5, 10-12 and 17-19. Admission to the Parade of Homes is free. Guide books complete with area maps and floor plan drawings of each of the tour homes are available free of charge at any of the homes on the tour.

Personally, I like the Parade of Homes because I enjoy visiting the featured multi-million dollar mansions so that I can pretend to host my own version of the "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". The most expensive home on the 2008 Parade of Homes is the 3.15 million dollar "English Manor" by Ray Custom Homes Inc. It's located at 611 Transylvania Ave., in Raleigh. I'm hoping to see Robin Leach there. . .

However, the Parade of Homes does more than promote "champagne wishes and caviar dreams: it also gives prospective home buyers a chance to get a feel for Wake County's neighborhoods and allows them to connect with the mortgage brokers, Realtors and home builders at the various homes on the tour.

For more information about the 2008 Wake County Parade of Homes, contact the Home Builders Association of Raleigh/Wake County at (919) 233-2033.

By the way, the Durham, Orange, Alamance and Chatham County Parade of Homes is taking place during the same times and dates as the Wake County Parade of Homes. It features 103 new homes scattered throughout the Northern and Western reaches of the Triangle.

The Jewish High Holidays, Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur, begin tonight at sunset and will end on the evening of October 9. Several synagogues in the Raleigh-Durham area are holding High Holiday services, some of which are "ticketless" and open to anyone who would like to worship, regardless of their synagogue affiliation.

Sha'arei Israel Synagogue in North Raleigh is among the synagogues offering "open" services. Services there are open to any Jew regardless of religious background.

Another important date for the Triangle-area Jewish community (and all Triangle-area history buffs) is the world premiere of the documentary film "Down Home: Jewish Life in North Carolina". The October 12 screening of the film, which was produced by The Jewish Heritage Foundation of North Carolina, will take place at the North Carolina Museum of History. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling (919) 668-5839.

L'Shanah Tovah (Have a great year)!

After tonight's debate against John McCain in Oxford, MS, Barack Obama will make his way up to North Carolina to meet with his supporters in the central part of the state. He has invited the general public to join him and running mate Joe Biden at a rally in Greensboro, NC, which is only a stone's throw (about a 45 minute drive) from the Raleigh-Durham area.

The rally, which is being called the "Change We Need Rally" will give the candidates a forum to discuss their vision for change in the United States. The rally will take place in front of Greensboro's J. Douglas Galyon Depot at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday. The event is free, and no tickets are required, but Obama/Biden campaign officials strongly encourage attendees to submit an online RSVP for the rally.

The "Change We Need Rally" will be held rain or shine. No bags, signs, banners, coolers or pets will be allowed at the rally, so be sure to leave those things and any other questionable items at home.

This weekend is predicted to be a rainy one, but, rain or shine, there's plenty going on in the Triangle this weekend.

Those of you who are still in the mood to "invest" in your homes through remodeling will enjoy checking out the Southern Ideal Home Show, which takes place at the NC State Fairgrounds Friday through Sunday. There will be over 350 exhibitors at the show, peddling everything from green home remodeling and décor to less environmentally-friendly rainfall shower systems and exotic hardwood floors. If you attend, make sure to use the show's official online coupon to get a dollar off the $9.00 admission price.

Music-lovers won't want to miss the 11th Annual Carrboro Music Festival on Sunday. Over 150 performers (from bluegrass and classical to hard rock and world beat) will be playing at 22 indoor and outdoor venues throughout the town of Carrboro. Performances will take place from about 1:00 p.m. to midnight (the exact schedule depends on the venue). Admission to the festival is free.

And make sure to unfurl your rainbow flags: the NC Pride Parade and Festival is going to take place on Saturday at the Duke University East Campus in Durham. The Festival begins at 10:00 a.m. and continues with a rally at noon, and a parade on Durham's Main Street at 1:00 p.m. After the parade, the party spreads to venues throughout the Triangle.

There are lots of activities being held in conjunction with the Pride weekend, including stage productions such as UNC's Sonja Haynes Stone Center's production of "Pouring Tea: Black Gay Men of the South" which takes place on Thursday night at 7:00.

Caniacs who just can't wait until the Carolina Hurricanes play their first home game of the regular season (vs. the Florida Panthers on October 10) will be glad to know that there will be three exhibition games at the RBC Center before the official start of the season.

The 'Canes are facing off against the Washington Capitols in their first exhibition game of the season on Wednesday, September 24 at 7:00 p.m. The next two home exhibition games are on Sunday, September 28 (vs. the Flyers) and Sunday, October 5 (vs. the Predators). Both of those games take place at 3:00 p.m.

Tickets to the exhibition games start at $25. However, tickets for Wednesday night's game come with a special bonus: they're also good for admission to the SAS Championship Golf Tournament which takes place September 22-28 at Cary's Prestonwood Country Club.

Football fans are being treated to a great weekend here in Raleigh-Durham. On Saturday, our local college teams participated in their share of upsets (from both the winning and the losing side). NCSU's Wolfpack turned their season's momentum around with a surprising 30-24 overtime victory against the ECU Pirates, seriously hurting ECU's chances at making it to a bowl game this January.

Wake Forest's Demon Deacons extended their amazing winning streak against the Florida Seminoles to three games with an unexpected 12-3 victory, and the UNC Tar Heels suffered a 20-17 loss at the hands of the Virginia Tech Hokies. The suffering NCCU squad was handed another loss (35-17) by Central Connecticut State.

Duke's Blue Devil football team had the weekend off

And the weekend isn't over yet! Today, the Carolina Panthers are going to play against the Minnesota Vikings, and will face a tough crowd and an even tougher team at the Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. Game time is at 1:00 p.m., and the game will air on WRAZ-TV (FOX 50), and on the radio at WRBZ 850 AM and WZTK 101.1 FM.

If the NC Museum of Natural Sciences' BugFest has you grossed out, and you can't stand the though of creepy crawliness at the Capitol, keep your distance from downtown Raleigh this weekend. (I myself am planning to be front and center at BugFest, but, though I delight in observing bugs, I draw the line at eating them.)

If you aren't a bug fan, maybe you'll want to spend some time in Durham this weekend: the Durham Arts Council Centerfest and Bull Durham Blues Festival will both be in full swing this Saturday. Admission to CenterFest (featuring arts, crafts, shopping and live entertainment) is free. Tickets to the Bull Durham Blues Festival start at $35.

Staying indoors will also reduce your chances of an insect encounter, so why not make it a theater weekend? Fans of suspenseful dramatic theater can choose from at least two productions that will have them shifting in their seats: Burning Coal Theater Company's "The Prisoner's Dilemma" and Raleigh Little Theatre's " 'Night, Mother". Both shows have gotten excellent reviews, though political junkies will find it difficult to resist the former, and devotees of the Lifetime Network are likely to prefer the latter.

Have a great weekend, and try not to let anything bug you!

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences' annual BugFest is going to take place this weekend, and the event is bigger, better and buggier than ever! This Saturday, from 9:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m., BugFest will swarm into town and occupy most of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences building as well as creeping out to cover the Capitol Grounds and Bicentennial Plaza.

Admission to BugFest is free, and visitors will get a chance to do and see things that will amuse, amaze and, quite possibly, disgust them. Cockroach races, a beehive hairdo contest and free samples of gourmet meals made with bugs are only some of the activities awaiting BugFest attendees.

BugFest also features a KidZone where kids can make arts and crafts projects, get their faces painted, enjoy a "buggy story time" and sing along to live music by The Sandbox Band. During the festival's Evening Insectival, there will be live music and entertainment as well as insect-themed night hikes and activities.

While you're at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences for BugFest, don't forget to make a stop at the controversial Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit, which is on display on the second floor of the museum. Purchase your tickets in advance in order to guarantee yourself a spot, and, if you're a News and Observer subscriber, make sure to use the 2-1 admission coupon available at their subscriber rewards zone.

If you or your organization would like to march, twirl or float in the 2008 Raleigh Christmas Parade, you'll need to act fast: today is the last day to register. The parade, which is going to be celebrating its 64th anniversary this year, typically includes floats, balloons, classic cars, marching bands, and other entertainers. It usually attracts over 50,000 spectators to downtown Raleigh.

The parade follows a 1.2 mile route from Hillsborough Street, past the Capitol, and down Fayetteville Street. This year's parade will be held at 9:30 a.m. on November 22, 2008. If you're interested in participating in the parade, you'll need to submit an online application to the Greater Raleigh Merchant's Association by midnight tonight.

For more information, contact Susan Thompson at (919) 755-9235. Then, start practicing your baton twirling!