Blueberry picking, drive-thru at Boxyard RTP and more Best Bets for your week
From interview series to webinars to walks to the return of the Black Farmers Market and Wine Down Wednesdays, there are plenty of ways this week — both live and virtual — to get involved, support each other, educate, learn, commune and #SpreadLove. #StayStrongNC
Black Farmers Market
The Black Farmers Market is back. Head downtown in the Bull City Sunday, June 14 (1 to 4 p.m.) to Provident1898 for the bimonthly event to support black farmers and business owners — and score plenty of amazing goods. Come early for the best selection. 411 W. Chapel Hill St., Durham
Cruise Thru Boxyard RTP
Try to contain yourself. The shipping container-comprised Boxyard RTP that is 15,000 square feet of “cargotecture” and slated to open this fall to a super enthusiastic community is giving you a sneak peek. Score in-the-know, first-look bragging rights and head over to Frontier RTP campus Friday, June 12 (5–9 p.m.) for a Cruise Thru (complete with live band), where eight Boxyard RTP businesses will be on-site selling food, bev and goods — all to you in the comfort of your car. Participating vendors include Blossom + Bone florals, Fullsteam Brewery, Lawrence BBQ, RTP Uncorked and more. Purchasing from more than three businesses lands you a chance to win $150 worth of Boxyard RTP gift cards. Visit the site for details and frequently asked Cruise Thru questions: boxyard.rtp.org.
Blueberry Pickin’
“It happens all the time. They all become blueberries” –Willy Wonka. Slide over, strawbs. Blueberries are in season too (late May to mid-July). Following our u-pick coverage of the strawberry fields for foraging around town(s) last week, here’s a bounty of blueberry farms also ripe for the picking: Pittsboro’s Busy Bee Farm, Herndon Hills Farm in Durham, Lyon Farms in Creedmoor, Cedar Grove Blueberry Hill Farm, and more. Learn up on CDC guidelines for best practices for farm managers of U-Pick farms before going so you can best enjoy the fruits of your labor.
City of Medicine Walking Tour
Where is Black Wall Street? Why do baseball pitchers warm up in a bullpen? Answer these questions as more as you trod the urban playground that is the Bull City with the free weekly 90-minute Durham City of Medicine Walking Tours. In light of COVID-19, the tour has limited availability. Sign up here. Various locations, Saturdays through June 27, 10 a.m.; Sundays through June 28, 1 p.m. tobaccoroadtours.com
Prehistoric Road Trip
Get ready for a Ross Gellar-approved good time trouncing through dino country. Unearth the mysterious creatures and bizarre ecosystems that have shaped earth as we know it as popular YouTuber Emily Graslie hosts the #PrehistoricRoadTripPBS series. She’ll take you on an epic adventure spanning hundreds of millions of years through some of the world’s most active and dynamic fossil sites. Watch on PBS stations nationwide on Wednesdays, June 17–July 1 (10 p.m.), or stream on wttw.com/prehistoricroadtrip, on PBS member station websites, and on the PBS app.
Spilling the Quarantea: “What to Do: Replying to Racism”
Get local. Get reel. Raleigh native Marshall Sandman and host of the Instagram Live interview series “Spilling the Quarantea” (@spillingthequarantea) is back. After raising $5,000-plus for the NC Restaurant Workers Relief Fund during his inaugural Raleigh Week interview series with other local personalities, Sandman will launch “What to Do: Replying to Racism” to benefit the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. The week runs live June 5–12 (with access to previous episodes available), and will feature interviews with Raleigh-based activists, startup owners, athletes, and actors who will share their perspectives on the Black Lives Matter movement, the recent protests, related donation and educational resources, and more. June 5 saw Dara Brown, a Cornell-educated lawyer, domestic violence activist and model. June 8 hosted Jordan Johnson-Hinds, star of Amazon’s “Upload” and USA’s “Suits.” Shelden Williams, the former NBA and Duke basketball star and host of the podcast, “The Lease is Up” joins June 9. Sherif Fouad, Egyptian-born CEO of Raleigh Raw, a juice and raw food company, is live June 10. And June 11 wraps with Christina Caradona, famed fashion influencer with 350K+ Instagram followers, and the creator of the blog Trop Rouge.
Just Science
The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences continues its online learning Friday with a live Citizen Science chat as part of Citizen Science Adventure: Natural North Carolina Part 2 (1 p.m.). The chat welcomes Alison Young of California Academy of Sciences (home of iNaturalist), local superuser Bonnie Eamick from Prairie Ridge Ecostation, and the Museum’s Citizen Science Unit’s Chris Goforth for a lively convo about iNaturalist and how it benefits scientists in NC and beyond. naturalsciences.org
Lost and Found
The UNC-TV and Carolina Ballet partnership continues with the Lynne Taylor-Corbett choreographed “Lost and Found.” Bring the ballet home as UNC-TV airs past ballets in June and July. Its second act (following last week’s “Balanchine Rarities”) sees this tribute to the survivors of 9/11. Says Taylor Corbett about her work: “In crisis, there is comfort in reaching out to others who have shared the same experience. Even strangers, who would never have met, cluster together for solace. Inspired by images in the days following Sept., 11 this work is devoted to the enduring human spirit.” Catch it Tuesday, June 16, 9 p.m., or, for the night owls, Wednesday, June 17, 2 a.m., both on North Carolina Channel. carolinaballet.com
Wine Down Wednesdays
Mingle, sip, vibe — and live La Vita Dolce at the return of the espresso and gelato cafe’s fan fave Wine Down Wednesdays. Chapel Hill’s midweek social is back every hump day from now through October, featuring live music, wine specials and plenty of patio fun for the whole fam (and Fido, too). Small plates, gelato, and sorbetto available for order. As patio seating is limited this year for social distancing, reservations have been added (call 919-968-1635 to reserve a table; reservation parties must arrive by 6 p.m.). lavitadolcecafe.com/wine-down-wednesdays/
Freight Train Blues Concert Series
The ever-popular Carrboro music series continues virtually, honoring Piedmont blues woman Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten and featuring NC artists. This week, catch Lightnin’ Wells (June 12), followed on June 19 with Thomas Rhyant June 19. Find the series on Facebook Live, YouTube Live and 97.9 The Hill. musicmaker.org/freight-train-blues/
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 6:00 AM.