Ginny from the Blog

I’ve always enjoyed Bluegrass, but I’ve really been getting into this banjo picking, fiddle wielding music lately. It’s probably because my weekend at the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival was so lovely, that every time I hear Bluegrass now my mind wanders back to the music-filled campgrounds.

1. It’s easy to enjoy Bluegrass music in the Triangle. I recently discovered the Pinecone Bluegrass Show, which airs at 6 p.m. every Sunday on 94.7 WQDR. The three hour show is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and provides a relaxing soundtrack to Sunday chores.

Pinecone is a local nonprofit dedicated to preserving, presenting and promoting traditional music. From their website:

Traditional music includes fiddle tunes, ballads, bluegrass, blues, gospel, swing, folk, and all the variations and derivations that our culture has nurtured. It is the folk product of community heritage and spirit. it is the musical spice that gives North Carolina its own taste. It is music that increases the attractivenes of our community and contributes a cohesive cultural identity. Its performers learned from their families or community or deliberately sought teachers from a traditional musical heritage.

2. PineCone presents several concert series around the Triangle. The next concert is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Joyner Park in Wake Forest. Big Fat Gap, a back porch bluegrass band, will christen the new town park.

Joyner Park sounds like a pretty cool spot for Wake Forest residents. The 117-acre park includes a 1,000 lawn seat amphitheatre, three miles of walking trails, and more. Big Fat Gap’s show will be the first concert in the park.

3. And I’m also looking forward to the Hoppin’ John Old Time and Bluegrass Fiddlers’ Convention on Sept. 18 and 19 in Chatham County.

Let me know if you have any other suggestions of how I can get my Bluegrass on in the Triangle.

Testing my Flickr auto uploader.

You know what I hate about conferences? I hate when presenters come up with creative titles for their sessions, but when you get there they just drone on and on. It’s dullsville and you’re not learning a thing. You sit there discreetly checking your watch and kicking yourself for not checking out a different session.

But there’s a free upcoming conference-esque event that promises not to fall into that trap: Ignite Raleigh.

Ignite Raleigh is billed as a “technology variety show” because it’s a two-hour event packed with quick, engaging presentations. The goal is to educate and spread ideas.

How quick? Each presenter will get five minutes to go through 20 slides.

I know what you’re thinking: “If there are 20 slides, there is NO WAY these presenters are going to stick to the five minutes they’re allotted.”

Not true. One of the coolest things about the event is the slides will change automatically, whether the presenter is ready or not. Five minutes and your time is up, get off the stage, it was nice listening to you. Buh-Bye!

How engaging? You decide. The presentations are being decided by votes. You have until July 20 to vote, and you don’t have to attend the event to cast a vote.

The topics range from “19 Reasons Why the Triangle is Better than Silicon Valley” (I’m biased on picking this one b/c my dear friend Wayne Sutton is pitching it) to “When is Green not so Green? How sustainable is your coffee?”

There are a variety of topics to choose from (not all tech related). You can see and vote on all the topics here, and you can vote on them even if you don’t plan to attend.

Ignite Raleigh is from 7 to 9 p.m., Wed. Aug. 5 at Lincoln Theatre in downtown Raleigh. As of this writing, registration is still open. It’s free, but reserve your seat soon because I’ve been told 350 have already registered.

Need more reasons to sign up? Here are a few:

• Rhett and Link will provide entertainment. They’re the self-billed “Internetainers” who recently gained national media attention for their viral video “Black and White People Furniture.”

• News and Observer photographer Shawn Rocco (also one of my friends) will be one of the presenters. He’s the guy with the awesome cell phone photography blog that was recently featured in the New York Times.

• 30THREADS is a blog media sponsor. And since 30THREADS is run by me and is part of my day job, it would be so cool if you supported me by supporting 30THREADS by supporting IgniteRaleigh.

OK. Enough already. Now you know more about what promises to be a kickass event in a few weeks. Questions, comments, suggestions? Leave them below and I’ll get them answered.

You know me, I’m all about free fun. So even though it’s only Wednesday, I’m already thinking about my weekend plans.

First there’s a free chance to see an American Dance Festival performance on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. And there’s a bonus: It’s at Golden Belt, a beautifully renovated former textile factory that regularly hosts performances, exhibitions and installations.

Here are the details: New York choreographer Mark Dendy was inspired by the historical location and put together a modern dance that he will perform three times on Friday and twice on Saturday. I don’t know much about the dance, but I’ve been told that it will be all over the third floor of Building 2. I’m posting some pictures below provided by ADF that show off Mark practicing in Golden Belt. Mark recorded a short video with the curator of Golden Belt, and he’s rocking a T-shirt with President Obama eating an ice cream cone, so I’m guessing he’s a fun guy.

He will perform his site-specific dance at 6:30 p.m., 7 and 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Golden Belt, located at 807 E. Main St. in Durham. The reception features free champagne and chocolate covered strawberries!

If you miss the Friday performance, you can head over there Saturday at watch Mark dance again at 2 and 2:30 p.m.

AND, Mark’s dance is the only reason to go to Golden Belt on Friday. This week is Third Friday in Durham, which means there’s a slew of art events to check out. Golden Belt is celebrating its one-year anniversary, so while you’re there, you can:

*Catch a performance of “Goodnight, EVERYTHING” a political play that starts at 8:15 p.m.

*See King Kenney’s installation “BIG LOVE,” art that attempts to show that our society’s focus on romantic love may be why divorce rates are so high.

*Or check out some of these other exhibits/events at Golden Belt between 6 and 9 p.m. Friday.

THEN …

Head over to Carrboro to see Mister Diplomat at DSI Comedy. The comedy show always features one local celebrity type as a guest. On Friday, the guest will be Raleigh Human Resources guru/punk rock blogger and cat lover Laurie Ruettimann.

She is the proud owner of Scrubby, the blogging cat who I featured on 30THREADS several months ago. I adore Laurie so much because she doesn’t sugar coat her thoughts and she’s one of the funniest people I follow on Twitter. (My beloved @mammalpants is the funniest)

During the free comedy show, Laurie will get on stage and share a few anecdotes from her life (and as a former HR professional at several Fortune 500 companies, I’m sure she’s got some great stories). After each anecdote, the Mister Diplomat team will perform improv based on her stories.

The free show starts at 9:30 p.m. at DSI Comedy, located at 200 N. Greensboro St. in Carrboro.

You might remember that Subway was in Raleigh back in March to film one of its annoyingly catchy “$5 footlong” commercials. Anyone could audition for the commercial.

The commercial recently hit the airwaves and I just so happened to catch it the other night. I recorded it with my iPhone, and you can hear my cat meow at the end of it. Even so, I thought some of you might like to see it:

Last night I told the BF I was taking him on a surprise date. We got in the car and I headed west down I-40. As we approached the Durham Freeway exit, he asked if we were going to a Durham Bulls game. Nope. Then we approached the Chapel Hill exit, were we going there, he wondered? Nope. Carrboro? Nope. Onward to exit 263 HILLSBOROUGH!

I steered us over rolling hills and past cornfields. And then, about 35 minutes after leaving our Raleigh home we arrived at Maple View Farms. I was craving ice cream.

The dairy farm is known for its homemade ice cream and creamy milk in glass bottles. Neither of us had ever been there. I was lured there by the Triangle Top 50, a list of 50 must-try culinary experiences in the Triangle compiled by N&O food writer Andrea Weigl.

And I wasn’t disappointed. I opted for a waffle cone filled with chocolate and coconut ice cream. Nearly a pint of ice cream was stuffed in my cone for $4.50. We sat on some picnic tables outside and watched youngens run around with a puppy. The farm’s Holsteins were grazing in the distance while the sun set turned the sky sherbert.

Maple View Farms is a treat for Orange County residents and worth the drive for folks living elsewhere in the Triangle. The ice cream shop is open from noon to 10 p.m. during the summer.

You can learn more about the farm at its Agricultural Center, which is open noon to 6 p.m. on weekends. The center features local produce, hayrides, picnic space and a playground. I haven’t made it there yet, but you can find more details on the website.

If there are other off-the-beaten path places around the Triangle that are worth the drive, let me know. I’d love to surprise the BF again!

I love video games. When I was a little girl, I named a hamster Zelda because of my love for “The Legend of Zelda.” I’ve been known to go on video game binges. The latest is Claustrophobia for the iPhone. I’ll play a game every spare second I get for a few days or a weeks, then move onto something else. Earlier this year I was obsessed with Rock Band and then Grand Theft Auto IV. I already told you about the time I went on a Guitar Hero binge.

That’s why I’m so excited about the upcoming video game symphony scheduled Saturday night at Koka Booth Amphitheater at Regency Park. The concert will be performed by the North Carolina Symphony and the Concert Singers of Cary. It will feature music from Sonic the Hedgehog, Legends of Zelda, Sim City 4 and more.

Best of all, there will be graphics from the games on big screens above the orchestra to accompany the music. Here’s a preview that was submitted to MyNC.

Now the sad part … I already have unbreakable plans on Saturday night, so I can’t go. But don’t let that stop you from checking this out and telling me how awesome it is. Tickets range from $25 to $30. The show starts at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 11, at Koka Booth Ampitheatre in Cary.

About 400 people went to the Raleigh Convention Center this afternoon to celebrate Michael Jackson’s life and watch his memorial service on TV.

Women seemed to dominate the the crowd. Some wore pins they purchased for $5 at the convention center, one woman was rocking a white glove (you can see her at the end of this video). I was tweeting my observations from the @MyNC Twitter account. Several of our tweeps told me CNN was streaming footage from the Raleigh Convention Center. Not sure if they meant on TV or online. Did any of you see it?

Anyway, the beginning of the local memorial featured several local acts performing songs, prompting one man behind me to say “This isn’t a talent show.”

I’m still at work, but my mind is already firmly wrapped around the holiday weekend. If you’re sticking around the Triangle this weekend, here’s how I suggest you spend the Fourth of July:

* Go to Festival for the Eno. The 30th annual event at West Point on the Eno in Durham features over 80 performers, crafters, storytellers, children’s activites and historical tours. The 3-day festival runs July 3 to 5. Tickets are $15 per day or $35 for all three days if you buy them at the gate.

* Take in some free music at the Music on the Lawn concert series at American Tobacco. John Brown & The Groove Shop Band will perform from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. under the water tower at the American Tobacco complex. Bring blankets and chairs. Food and drinks are available from restaurant vendors.

* Go to a USA Baseball game at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The game against Guetamala starts at 6 p.m. Tickets range from $7 to $9 each.

* Watch fireworks at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The public will be admitted into the ballpark to fill any empty seats for free at the end of the seventh inning of the USA Baseball game to watch the city’s fireworks display.

Here’s a list of other events happening around the Triangle on the Fourth of July.

Just be safe and have fun!