The Town of Cary’s iconic pimento cheese festival is back this year — after being canceled last year due to the pandemic — though it will look a little different.
Quadruple pimento cheeseburger | Photo by festival participant Corbett's Burgers
The festival, which began in 2018, has in the past included a street festival with a long line of food trucks, vendors making creative pimento cheese concoctions, and even a sculpture of the town carved out a big block of cheese.
This year, however, at the time that festival planning began, event restrictions and regulations were still unknown, Town of Cary Outdoor Events Coordinator Ryan O’Quinn said.
This year’s festival — Taste of Pimento Cheese — will instead feature 11 local restaurants serving a special pimento cheese item from June 4-13.
For example, Ashworth Drugs is whipping up a sweet Belgian waffle topped with pimento cheese + maple walnut syrup, FRESH. Local Ice Cream is offering a pimento cheese ice cream topping, and MC Restaurant is serving a Korean Seafood Pancake with kimchi pimento cheese. Each restaurant is also giving out a collector’s pin.
As a second part to the festival, Grazin’ Gals has created a special charcuterie box that includes both Sweet Peak NC jalapeño pimento cheese + goat cheese pimento cheese. Customers can order the boxes online by Sat., June 5 at 5 p.m., and pick them up on Sat., June 12.
The town is planning for the festival to be back in full force next year, and to draw the same 10,000+ attendees from all over NC and the surrounding states as it has in the past, Ryan said. We’re already counting down the days, because if there’s one specific food item that deserves it’s own festival, it’s definitely pimento cheese.
TheBuy
- Farmstand Market | Wed., June 2 | 4–7 p.m | Downtown Raleigh, 800 N. Blount St. | Free+ | Support Raleigh’s urban farm with purchase of fresh + local produce. 🥬
Active
- East Street Run Club | Wed., June 2 | 6–7 p.m | 219 S East St. | Free | Runners of all levels are invited to this weekly run + to enjoy a drink after. 🏃
Health
ForKids
- Tar Heel Tales | Wed., June 2 | 1–1:30 p.m. | Virtual | Free | Attendees will listen to excerpts from the book, Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table, and learn about our state’s community gardens. 📕
Biz
- Economic Development Meeting | Wed., June 2 | 8–9 a.m. | Virtual | Free | Listen to Executive Director Tom White as he discusses the economic development of NC.
Answer: a good time. Local ice cream shop Two Roosters announced the store is coming back to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, with a stand located in right field.
The company also announced a collaboration yesterday with 6 local bands + musicians to create unique flavors for each of them — like American Aquarium’s Coffee Toffee and Fudge and Boulevards' Spicy Chocolate Cheesecake. It doesn’t get much better than cheering on our home team while eating locally made ice cream created by a Raleigh-based musician, right? 🍦
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Weather
- 79º | Scattered thunderstorms | 60% chance of rain ⛈
Development
- Boxyard RTP — the development made out of shipping containers — announced its soft opening will be Sat., June 5. The 18,000+ sqft development will include vendors like Lawerence Barbecue, Carrburritos + Fullsteam Brewery. Check out our behind the scenes look here. 👀
- Raleigh-based Advance Auto Parts has put 3 of its 7 floors of office space in its namesake 20-story North Hills tower on the market. The move comes after CEO Tom Greco said on an earnings call in February that the company would be opening 50-100 new retail locations this year. 🏢(Triangle Business Journal)
Number
- The City of Raleigh awarded a total of $3.5 million to nonprofits helping those experiencing or at risk of homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds came from supplemental federal money awarded through the CARES Act, and 8 organizations were approved by the city council to receive aid.
Civic
State
- Hurricane season in the Atlantic began yesterday, with the threat of storms battering the coast + sending heavy rain, winds, and floods across the state lasting through November. The News & Observer put together a guide of how to prepare for this season’s storms ahead of time.
- The NC restaurant industry is starting to bounce back — according to data from OpenTable which shows that the average number of reservations across the state this past weekend were at the same level as they were during Memorial Day weekend in 2019. (ABC 11)
Outdoors
Job
Arts
- City Market Artist Collective — a contemporary gallery started by 11 local artists last February at 300 Blake St. in downtown — is now back open full-time + ready for this week’s First Friday, when the space will be open from 6-10 p.m. CMAC is also hosting guest artist Bob Rankin for the month of June. 🖼️
Coronavirus
- The SC + NC Institutes of Medicine announced the creation of the Carolinas Pandemic Preparedness Task Force, which will develop responses for future disease outbreaks. The NC Secretary of Commerce Machelle Baker Sanders will chair the task force. Final reports for each state are expected to be published in June 2022.
Watch
- Holly Springs’ very own ninja warrior is returning to the big screen of American Ninja Warrior. Julius Ferguson — aka “Black Jewelz” — will be competing for the fifth time on the show, with his first appearance airing Mon., June 7 on NBC. (Raleigh Magazine)
Finance
- These cash back cards might break the internet. They offer no annual fee, $200 bonus offers, up to 3% cash back, and 0% interest for 15 months. (Read: If you’re looking for a new cash back card, there’s a lot to love.) Ⓟ
DealoftheDay
- Freshen up your meal plan with farm fresh produce delivery. Get a new assortment of fresh produce every week or customize for free, Hungry Harvest boxes start at just $15. Use promo code RAL50 to save 50% off your first Harvest. (Expiration: Wed., June 30) Ⓟ
Visitors can paddle their way through the cypress trees at Cypress Gardens, where part of Nicholas Sparks’ “The Notebook” was filmed | Photo provided by Explore Charleston
Ready to get away? Charleston, SC — a ~4 hour drive from Raleigh — offers tons of outdoor adventure in a beautiful setting, from kayaking and surfing to ecotours and farmers markets.
More ways to explore Charleston’s outdoors:
⛵ Go sailing aboard a catamaran
⛳ Golf at one of Charleston’s award-winning terrain ranges
🚲 Explore the city via rental bike or walking tour
🎶 Check out the County Parks’ events (think: starlight yoga, concerts + night swims) Ⓟ
Answered: In yesterday's newsletter, we asked y'all to vote on Instagram to decide which of our posts in May deserved the title of best post.
At the time of us writing this, there are 24 votes + post D is winning with 12 total votes. Who can resist an evening shot of our stunning downtown?
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