Your 5-minute guide to the Top 10 things to do this week
“When you look at the dark side, careful you must be. For the dark side looks back.” So wise, that Yoda. To wit, the North Carolina Museum of History kicks off Black History Month with its revered 20th annual African American Cultural Celebration (virtual!), feting culture via a celebratory program of music, movement and more.
And the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences brings you its (virtual) Movie Night with “The Empire Strikes Back,” plus an octad of other must-consider events to feed your soul — and your tummy. Remember, “Do. Or Do not. There is no try.” And, as always, #SpreadLove, y’all.
African American Cultural Celebration
The celebration will go on — virtually, Saturday, Jan. 30. The 20th annual African American Cultural Celebration fetes all the celebratory music, movement, drama, education and heritage with its online-only free format to kick off Black History Month. Don’t miss one of the many highlights of the festival, “Celebrate Music, Movement and Drama.” Hosted by Moses T. Alexander Greene, founder/artistic director of Lī V Mahob Productions, the session will feature performances from talented artists across the state and beyond, including the likes of 105 Voices of History National HBCU Choir: “Lift Every Voice and Sing”; North Carolina Association of Black Storytellers: storytelling vignettes; and Mahogany Stage, where actors perform scenes from the play “Frederick Douglass: Freedom in Mind.” Register on the museum’s AACC events page for the interactive sessions (registration is limited) Check individual session listings for details. ncmuseumofhistory.org/aacc-2021/schedule-of-events
Astronomy Days + “The Empire Strikes Back” Museum Movie Night
In the famed words of Yoda, “There is another.” The fun-for-all-ages out-of-this-world Astronomy Days continue virtually at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (in partnership with the Raleigh Astronomy Club and NASA Langley Research Center). Check out the virtual “The Empire Strikes Back” Museum Movie Night Friday Jan. 29, featuring the second installment of — what else? — the genre-defining “Star Wars” saga. Catch the iconic battle on Hoth and meet the strange creature that lives in the swamps of Dagobah, known only as Yoda. (Don’t miss the post-movie trivia, 9 p.m.)
And tune in as seven days of everything from kids crafts to live chats and even a moon zoom culminate, plus unparalleled astronomical programming like SETI: The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence and Night Zoom to the Stars (both Saturday), Science of the Webb Space Telescope and The Fermi Paradox: Why E.T. Can’t Phone Home (both Sunday), and much more. Visit the official event website for full details, including all programs and member benefits, at bit.ly/Programs_AstroDays2021 and make sure you register for the programs you’d like to virtually attend.
Triangle Restaurant Week Takeout Edition
ICYMI: Triangle Restaurant Week is back with a Takeout Edition format (Jan. 25-31), meaning you get all the perks of restaurant week with the bonus of more comfort (stretchy pants!) and less rules (eat with your hands — no judgment) in the comfort of your own home. Let’s be real, we allll want to put on real clothes and dine out like it’s January 2020. But for now, let’s support local and use this week as a culinary tour through the fine restos and fare that we’re lucky enough to have all around us. Check the site for participating spots. trirestaurantweek.com
Community Puzzle Swap
It’s not at all puzzling how impossible it became to get puzzles over the last year or why we wanted them (hey, home life!). Ever-clever Bull City Cidery is reupping your puzzle game with its Community Puzzle Swap, Sunday, Jan. 31 (noon–2 p.m.), free. Just like it sounds, you bring gently used puzzle(s) to swap (and a friend! — though swap your puzzle not your friend. Or both, whatever, no judgment) and enjoy a brew or two. All-age apt puzzles welcome, as long as in good to great condition. Hand sanitizer will be offered, with social distancing in full effect. A $5 donation is recommended (but not required) for participation to benefit Inter-Faith Food Shuttle to help those facing food insecurity during COVID-19. facebook.com/BullCityCiderworks
The Raleigh Market + food trucks and farmstands
If you’re starting to think about how to treat your SO, your mom, your BFF — or yourself — for Valentine’s Day, think local (and also a great, safe way to get out of the house in winter for a full day of frolicking and fun). The largest flea market in the Southeast soldiers on at N.C. State Fairgrounds every weekend. With 600-plus indoor and outdoor vendors offering up a treasure trove of high-end antiques, power tools, jewelry, art, and much more, plus rotating array of food trucks, fair food and farm stands. … um, to market we go! Visit the Raleigh Market every weekend — outdoor hours 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; indoor hours 9 a.m.–4 p.m. theraleighmarket.com
Pajama Jam II
You had us at PJs. I mean, everyone knows brunch is better when you’re in your pajamas. So come out and enjoy your Sunday (Jan. 31) the right way at Unscripted Durham, where you’ll find DJ spin live music all day and featured specials on pitchers of mimosas, Bellinis and bloodys — and brunch, of course. Reservations can be made on OpenTable. unscriptedhotels.com/events
Dwarf Star Presents: Rodgers Dameron, Jaguardini & Trauma Mammal
Dwarf Star Presents goes electronic Thursday, Feb. 4 (7-8:30 p.m.). The monthly streaming concert series, which highlights established and rising musicians and bands will feature all electronic musicians this month. All performances are live (not prerecorded) from the musicians’ locations. They include Brooklyn-based Rodgers Dameron (specializing in modular, retrowave and darksynth EDM; with wife Leah Shaw on vocals and synth); Jaguardini (who treats music like a science project, combining the sounds of old video games and synthesizers to create a live blend of energetic synthpop and nostalgic chip beats); and Trauma Mammal (borne of a near-fatal motorcycle accident). Read the captivating tale at dwarfstarpresents.com, which you can also visit for more show and info on all artists.
‘In Hindsight, 2020’
Two nights of community storytelling unfold as Raleigh Little Theatre teams up with 7-Stories Jan. 29 and 30 (8 p.m.). Tune in for 7-minute tales from perspectives that run the gamut from teachers to performers to students to politicians and more as they unpack the scars of 2020 and discuss hope for the future. Featured storytellers include Michael Casey, Cherrelyn Napue, Germona Sharp and many more. “In Hindsight, 2020” will broadcast live on RLT’s Facebook page and YouTube channel each of the two nights for free. Post-event, RLT encourages you to share your own stories about 2020 with the hashtag #InHindsight2020. facebook.com/RLT1936 or youtube.com/user/raleighlittletheatre
‘The Networks of Early North Carolina History’
The Orange County Historical Museum hosts Trading Path Association founder/CEO Tom Magnuson for the first of this four-part series, “The Networks of Early North Carolina History,” in which he will present some of his findings from his 30 years of studying the earliest commercial transportation networks in the Southeast. The programs will begin as virtual events but, if restrictions are lifted, may be offered in person as well. Catch the first installment, “First Contact: Native Americans and Europeans in the Sounds, 1524-1650,” virtually on Feb. 4, and stay tuned for “Carolina’s First Permanent Settlement, 1650-1705” (May 6), “The Lasting Impacts of Carolina’s First Settlers” (Aug. 5) and a fourth talk, “Moving into the Backcountry, 1704-1754,” yet to be scheduled. Register online at orangehistorync.org/events.
Let’s Go On a Socially Distant Pokemon Walk
Pokemon Go? Triangle Game Night will be dropping lures and lighting up Nash Square on Jan. 30 (noon) with this Socially Distanced Pokemon Walk. All attendees must wear cloth masks and remain 8 feet apart. See ya there!facebook.com/trianglegamenight
This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 11:28 AM.