< Previous page

Featuring short stories, poems, essays and cartoons by writers and artists from the Triangle and around the country, it was inspired by the sense of optimism generated by the downtown revival.

"Right now, Raleigh feels like a make-your-own-fun kind of city," said one of the journal's founders, Billy Warden. "I think a lot of creative people who might have felt a few years back that they had to leave town to pursue their vision, now feel like they can make it happen here."

The Raleigh Quarterly reveals one of the city's unheralded strengths: Even as it grows, it has a small-town vibe in which disparate people still work together to help each other realize their dreams.

For a launch party to follow the publication's kickoff event -- a reading by author Jeff Gordinier at Quail Ridge Books & Music -- developer Greg Hatem donated use of the Morning Times coffeehouse on Hargett Street. Tannis Root Productions, a Warehouse District company, printed the T-shirts for free.

The third harbinger of progress is the annual SparkCon festival. It debuted in 2006 with goals both modest and visionary: to bring together members of Raleigh's creative class -- dancers, musicians, designers, painters, poets, entrepreneurs, chefs -- to inspire one another and propose fresh ideas about how to bring more funky fun downtown.

The first conference was organized by about a dozen people, said one of its founders, Aly Khalifa. The second was put together by 63 people. Even more guiding lights should be involved in fall's 2008 conference, which is still in the planning stages.

"I think we are beginning to hit a critical mass in the numbers of creative people who want to help make a difference in the direction that Raleigh takes," said Khalifa, who runs an international firm, Gamil Designs, in the Warehouse District.

"By empowering people, we were hoping to help them light the sparks that might spread into a fire of creativity. We haven't seen a raging inferno yet, but a lot good things have happened."

Those sparks of creativity are what make this a magic moment for Raleigh. Even better than the mighty strides we have taken is the palpable belief that we ain't seen nothing yet.

< Previous page

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.