Cary Town Band performs Friday at Cary's Sertoma Amphitheatre

By Lindsey Chester, Events Editor

Cary, NC- This first weekend after Labor Day, the Town plays host to an array of events as lazy summer gives way to another busy Fall.

Friday

In honor of Patriot Day on Saturday (Sept 11) the Cary Town Band gives a concert at Sertoma Amphitheatre beginning at 7:30pm. The Band will be joined by the 82nd Airborne Division All American Band from Fort Bragg,  and will feature a military theme for the evening. Expect rousing patriotic music! Free.

The Hopscotch Music Festival is coming to the area. As part of that, Galaxy Cinema in Cary is screening  Oddball at 3pm, a movie from the band Animal Collective . The film’s director, Danny Perez, and a “special guest” (perhaps some members of the band) are expected to make an appearance.

Saturday

Save a Life Walk is part of Yellow Ribbon Suicide Awareness & Prevention Week, Green Hope High School’s PTSA is hosting a 5K walk to fund suicide prevention amongst teenagers. The day will kick off with registration at 7:30 (for those who haven’t pre-registered) and the actual walk will start at 9am. During the day, you can catch one of several screenings of the movie  “A Cry For Help.” At the end of the walk, participants will be treated to a pancake breakfast. Registration is $20 and includes the event T shirt.

A Prairie Home Companion – Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion comes to Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Saturday evening. It’s a hilarious mix of radio play, music and  sketch comedy. Not sure if this show is being recorded or broadcast live on NPR, but Keillor is sure to riff on Cary. Tickets still available. CaryCitizen will be covering the show.

Live Music Venues – Giorgio, The Corner Tavern, Connolly’s Irish Pub, each are featuring live bands. Giorgio will host Latin Night in their club room. Connolly’s has the band “Wild Ride” and The Corner Tavern has “Late Bloomers.” Far as we know, all events are free.

Sunday

Montana Skies plays in Bond Park’s Sertoma Amphitheatre at 3 pm as part of the ongoing Fall Music Series. The duo combine traditional cello with electric guitar and electric cello for a sound somewhere between an orchestra and  a rock band. This event is free.

Cary’s Calendar of Events

For all this and more Cary events, visit the CaryCitizen Calendar. Send your events to calendar@carycitizen.com.

"Walk in the Garden" by Faye Silliman

Cary, NC- Did you know that every month on the Final Friday, the Cary Arts Community hosts the Cary Art Loop?  Have you ever been?

Well it’s tonight night from 6pm to 9pm, unless there’s a weather cancellation.

WHERE TO GO

Start your Loop with a trip to downtown Cary at the following venues holding artist receptions tonight -

Jordan Hall Arts Center, 908 N Harrison St
Featuring: Cary Photographic Artists

Cary Senior Center, Bond Park, 120 Maury O’Dell Place
Featuring: Elke Brand: Photography
Reception: 6-8 p.m.

Herbert C. Young Community Center, 101 Wilkinson Ave
Edward Baxter: The Ladys in Hats: Oils

Town Hall, 316 N Academy St- 3 shows/ 2 receptions
1- Lori White: NC Scapes: Oils and pastels
Reception: Jan 29, 6-8 p.m.

2- American Institute of Architects – Triangle Design Committee presents 2009 Award Winners

3- Featured FALC Showcase Artist
Sys Oppenlander
Reception: Jan 29, 6-8 p.m.

Page-Walker Arts & History Center 2nd floor gallery, 119 Ambassador Loop
MLK, Jr. Dreamfest 2010 Student Art Competition

End your tour at Studio 180 Salon and Lucid Element Multimedia. This month through April, features work by Faye Silliman, a local artist with a reception and cocktails from 6-9 pm.  Faye  has traveled extensively.  and her background played a major role in creating her broad artistic vision – due in part to her father’s military career and her nomadic lifestyle, which continued throughout her adult life.

So check out something different on a Friday night. I spoke with Anna Smith of Studio 180 and she said many local businesses stay open with refreshments for visitors to the loop . In fact this week, Maximillian’s is giving out a free dessert to Loop patrons.

I know what we’re doing if it’s not snowing!

You can find this and many other interesting events in town on the CaryCitizen Calendar. If you would like to add your event to the calendar, please email Lindsey Chester

I spent an hour with Sami Taweel, General Manager of Connolly’s Irish Pub and Restaurant, the other day.   I’d been going to Connolly’s since it opened in 1999 and always walked away being amazed by the local music scene that happens there every week.

Seems that Cary is full of talented entertainers with “day jobs”.  And that is Sami’s philosophy. “I am looking for local bands and entertainers to perform at Connolly’s.  There’s great talent in Cary, and they bring crowds,” Taweel told me.  I also seemed to think that Connolly’s was the only place offering live entertainment in this kind of atmosphere on “their side of town” which Sami corroborated as “once true”, although recently others have popped up.  “Most of the band members hang out here too,”  said Taweel, with a grin.  The pub mostly features rock bands, but there is also Wednesday night Live Traditional Irish Music with Mitch Ferguson and Thursday night Open Mic with Tino Gray. Connolly’s is located in the Cornerstone Shopping Center at the corner of Davis & High House.

In January, Connolly’s will host the likes of 48 Hours,  The Imposters, The Stone River Band, Daddy’s Alright, Three Beer Sally, Bill West and the Truth, DJ George, Laughing Through Your Fingers, SHMaK, and Stage Left.  Some of the more regular bands recently at Connolly’s are Bill West and the Truth, a three piece rock group with beautiful vocals, Finally Friday, a well known local guitar duo known for their upbeat style covering the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s,  Bobbing for Melons, a full 6 piece rock band covering classic and contemporary rock and SHMaK, a relatively new local band playing 60’s and 70’s “B-Sides” with some more recent stuff thrown in.

Connolly’s went non-smoking before the state requirement went into effect.  The pub also has a five dollar lunch menu and $4 pints of Guiness.  Sami, the son of Virginia restaurateurs,  says “NOBODY beats our prices for a pint!”   Fare includes fish and chips, corned beef and cabbage, shepherd’s pie and many other Irish/American and Irish items.

For all the musical events around town, consult the CaryCitizen Calendar.

6:00 p.m. VIP Reception
6:30 p.m. General Reception
7:15 p.m. Dinner
8:00 p.m. Newt Gingrich
9:00 p.m. Awards Ceremony

Individual tickets are $75 per person. Sponsorships and VIP tickets are available.

More events in the Calendar.

The Cary Chamber of Commerce together with Atlantic Tire & Service is hosting their Business Expo 2009  on Wednesday, November 4th.  The event is free to the public and features business to business exhibits and  several seminars to help make business connections in the new economic reality.

The seminar “How to Avoid Being Roadkill in the New Normal Economy”  led by Katie Ansardi of SustainNC highlights how to build more sustainable business practices for better long term environmental, social and economic prosperity for North Carolina.  These sessions will also offer excellent networking opportunities.

You might even win 2 tickets on American Airlines as part of their door prizes!

The event runs from 9am- 5pm and is held in the Grand Ballroom at Prestonwood Country Club off Cary Parkway and High House Rd , 300 Prestonwood Parkway. For more info visit the Cary Chamber of Commerce website.

MORE EVENTS

For other interesting happenings around town check out the calendar on CaryCitizen.

Photo by lauringioglio via Flickr

Lots of things going on this week on the CaryCitizen Calendar- But here’s something different-

The Annual Hemlock Bluffs Recycle Sale

The sale is on Saturday, (October 31) from 8am – 1pm.

DONATE ITEMS

If you have items to donate – virtually anything you would normally sell at your own yard sale – drop things off  THIS Thursday & Friday between 10am-6pm at The Stevens Nature Center, in the Hemlock Bluffs Preserve on Kildaire Farm Rd, Cary (map).

You can feel good about ridding your household of unwanted junk while helping to fund the Nature Center. And you may pick up something cool at the sale too. Not to mention it’s a good time to take a walk in the woods

The event is sponsored by The Friends of Hemlock Bluffs. Proceeds will benefit Hemlock Bluffs and the Nature Center, as well as the conservation and environmental education efforts conducted on site. Call 387-5980 for more info.

MORE EVENTS ON THE CALENDAR

If you want to keep on top of the many things going on in busy Cary, visit the CaryCitizen Calendar.

Photo by lauringioglio via a Flickr Creative Commons license.

CaryCitizen is proud to debut a Calendar of Events for our fine town. Now you can look in one place to find out everything that’s going on in Cary.

We’ve already got events including:

• Cary Players
• BMX Competition
• Diwali
• NC Eid Festival
• SK8
• Who’s Playing at Connolly’s
• GHHS Volleyball
• and lots more

Most listings have a description – just click on the link and more info unfolds. We also include map links wherever we can.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Up until now, information about Cary events was scattered across dozens (or maybe hundreds) of websites. There was no central resource. We aim to fill that gap, but we need your help.

Send us info about the events you support or like. We are looking for:

• High school sports
• Charitable events
• Art & cultural events
• Performance & music events

What we’re not looking for:

• Promotional events for a business

Selection of events is solely at the discretion of the management.

ABOUT THE CALENDAR

Edited by Lindsey Chester, the Calendar appears in the very top of your browser window (next to Contact). The Calendar itself is a widget fed by our Google calendar.

The default view is “List” because it’s too hard to see lots of events on a monthly layout. You can search for a particular date or try other layouts with the tabs across the top of the widget.

YOUR FEEDBACK PLEASE

Leave us a comment or send an email and let us know what you think about the Calendar and how it works for you.