Category Archives: Events

adult-coloring-book

New Dating Craze: Coloring and Cocktails?

Trying to meet new and interesting singles in Charlotte? Maybe you should get into coloring books. Seriously.

No need for dating website promo codes, all you need is crayons.

adult-coloring-book
A sample adult coloring book.

The City Art Room is holding a Coloring and Cocktails party that involves, you guessed it: coloring books and alcohol. The even is BYOB, so you’ll need to bring your own booze. According to its website, you are also strongly encouraged to bring your own food, or have it delivered (all hail MakeaFoodieCall!).

The website does stipulate that the coloring books are ‘premium’. What were the ones that I used as a kid? There were different levels? Did the rich kids get to color in majestic steeds while I was trying to stay-inside-the-lines of a hippo?

More Details of This Event:

City Art Room
5019 Wilkinson Blvd
Charlotte, NC, United States

Maybe this is what the dating scene needs: no awkward job interviews over dinner. Instead we can forget our troubles and be as care-free as kids.

carolina christmas speedway

Speedway Christmas at Charlotte Motor Speedway

It’s Thanksgiving week so that means that Christmas has officially begun! And Charlotte Motor Speedway isn’t missing any of the action with the opening of their spectacular holiday light show, Speedway Christmas. Now in its fifth year, this holiday classic features more than three million lights, an infield Christmas Village and a unique chance to drive the historic track. If you are still looking for a good gift for that hard-to-buy-for person on your list, take a look at these headphones in the $50 range.

One of the brightest spots on the Carolina Christmas Corridor, which extends from Tanglewood Park in Clemmons to Biltmore House in Asheville, highlights of Speedway Christmas include:

* A completely redesigned 3.1-mile drive of lights, which meanders the infield of the 1.5-mile speedway (you actually get to drive on the track!) and continues under the concourse behind the grandstands.

*More than 800 light displays set to music along the track.

*An infield winter wonderland including a Bethlehem Village live nativity scene, petting zoo, Santa’s Workshop (including visits with Santa), Christmas trees, fair rides, and food.

*Drive-in holiday movies such as Elf, Frozen, and Christmas Story, each Friday and Saturday night on one of the world’s largest HD TVs.

*Dining in the Speedway Club overlooking Speedway Christmas.

Speedway Christmas opened for the season this past weekend. The light show is open every night through December 30th, with the exception of Christmas Day. The Christmas Village is open every Thursday through Sunday evenings, as well as Monday, December 23 and Tuesday, December 24.
Admission into Speedway Christmas is $20 per car on nights when the Christmas Village is open and $15 per car on nights when it is closed.

Light up your holiday season with Speedway Christmas at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Drayton Hall

Charleston Virtual Advent Calendar Filled with Holiday Goodies

It’s baaaack! The Christmas in Charleston Virtual Advent Calendar is back starting today and is offering up some creative and tasty holiday offerings. Showcasing Charleston-based and Charleston-made products, the calendar offers unique, time-sensitive reveals about Christmastime in Charleston from area’s local tastemakers, shop owners, attractions, restaurants, and tour operators every day.

Although the specific product and deals will be a secret until the day of, a sample of the deals that will appear between December 1-24 include:

*A festive DIY decorating tip from noted event planner Tara GuĂ©rard, named one of Vogue’s Top 5 Star Wedding Planners in 2014

*A sweet holiday recipe from Heritage, Chef Sean Brock’s first New York Times best-selling cookbook

*A downloadable complimentary parking pass to use in select downtown city-owned parking garages

*A tradition-steeped eggnog recipe from Brooks Reitz, owner of Jack Rudy Cocktail Company

Sounds like a perfect way to shop for all our friends and family this holiday season. And a fun way to count down to Christmas!

wine festival

Hilton Head Island Wine + Food Festival Turns 30

It’s never too early to start talking about food & wine festivals and the season kicks off in the Carolinas in just three months. We’ve already given you a heads up about the 10th Anniversary celebration of the Charleston Food + Festival coming March 4-8. And now there is even more reason to keep the celebration going further at the 30th Anniversary of the Hilton Head Island Wine + Food Festival at Sea Pines Resort March 9-14.

wine festival

Noted as the oldest-running food and wine festival on the East Coast and paralleling the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen, the Hilton Head Island Wine + Food Festival celebrates the unique culinary culture on Hilton Head Island and features an international wine competition, culinary talent, local and regional cuisine, and island attractions that make Hilton Head Island a premier Southern destination. The festivities will take place at The Sea Pines Resort with the festival’s signature Grand Tasting to be held on the 18th lawn of the legendary Harbour Town Golf Links, while the popular Public Tasting will take place at the resort’s iconic Harbour Town Yacht Basin.

This year’s festival week offers a brand new schedule of events including the Par for the Cork golf outing, Sip and Stroll marina celebration, and themed vintner dinners at the resort’s newly renovated Plantation Golf Club. Spanning the week of March 9-14, 2015, the 30th anniversary celebration offers up an impressive line-up of world-class vineyards, local and regional celebrity chefs, live entertainment, and a variety of visual and performing artists. The highly-acclaimed International Wine Judging Competition precedes the 2015 festival on February 6-8.

Start your diet, dig out your fat pants, and make plans now for the 30th Anniversary of the Hilton Head Island Wine + Food Festival.

Have Dinner with Downton Abbey in Asheville

downton abbey
And speaking of Downton Abbey (see our post about the Dressing Downton exhibit coming to Biltmore)….Lex 18 in Asheville, North Carolina is hosting a Downton Abbey intimate interactive banquet dinner to celebrate Season 5 of the award-winning PBS series. The experience kicks off with the live broadcast of the first episode on Sunday, January 4 and runs every Sunday through March 1, 2015 and is limited to 16 exclusive guests.

Lex 18‘s historic 1920s dining room will be set in a resplendent post-Edwardian era style complete with all the finery from this popular historic era. Centered under its gold ceiling, a 16-foot long banquet table will be lavishly dressed with china and crystal. Footmen in tails and a head butler will serve guests a five-course wine and champagne dinner, along with an interactive cast personifying Downton Abbey’s Crawley family members and their lively servants.

Each dinner will begin with a Vintage Cocktail Hour of unlimited cocktails and socializing with members of the Asheville Crawley family and guests. The cocktail hour will also feature a brief historical perspective of Asheville and English music, arts, culture and fashion by a guest historian. Then the five-course dinner will be served along with three paired wines and a champagne pairing with dessert. The dinner service will include table-side butler service, beautiful china, silver platters, crystal, and the leisurely feast classic of a grand manor. The live broadcast of Downton Abbey‘s fifth season will then air, along with an intermission for post-dinner digestifs and coffee and tea.

Space is limited to 16 guests each Sunday for this extraordinary food and libations experience and interactive fun set in the grand style of one of the most watched and loved Masterpiece programs in the world. Reserve your seats now for the Downton Abbey Dinner Theatre Experience.