Ginny from the Blog

If you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day in downtown Raleigh, you may want to make plans to ditch your car and ride the R-Line. The free city circulator bus is celebrating its second anniversary by turning into a “Love Bus.” But don’t worry, it’s totally PG.

All riders will receive a Valentine’s Day gift bag and the option to have their honey serenaded from local singing groups. There will also be a raffle, and I’m guessing the prizes are going to come from one of these sponsors: Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, the IMAX theatre, McDonald’s on South and Peace Streets, Revive Massage Therapy, Tir Na Nog, Triangle Food Tour, Rocky Top Hospitality and The Hibernian.

The R-Line has been a helpful addition to downtown Raleigh. It’s hard to believe it’s already been operating for two years. Riding it is a cinch. Just stand by one of those signs with a big “R” in the red circle during operating hours and wait for it to pick you up (the buses run every 10 to 15 minutes). It’s completely free, and you don’t have to be familiar with downtown Raleigh to figure out how to find your stop. The bus drivers always seem helpful and so are other riders.

And if you’re a downtown Raleighite, the R-line provides great way to hear what people think of downtown. It’s fun eavesdropping on conference goers, out-of-towners and the North Raleigh residents who venture into the city for a night on the town. It’s probably one of the best ways to get unfiltered feedback on what people think of downtown Raleigh.

You’ll have a chance to go ice skating and sledding in downtown Raleigh this winter, even if the temperatures never dip below freezing.

Raleigh Winterfest starts Friday and features an outdoor skating rink with real ice (I specify real because the cute ice rink in North Hills is plastic). It’s a cool way for the city to celebrate the opening of the plaza. And it’s also First Friday, which means if the rink is too packed, you can go look at art!

Here’s what you need to know:

The skating rink opens Friday night as part of a bigger celebration in the plaza that will feature Michelle Branch — ask the nearest teenage girl (or me) how the song “Everywhere” goes and you’ll know who she is – crafters, artisans and, of course, ice skating. Here’s the full schedule for Friday night’s events.

The Friday event (and several nights later in the month) will also feature SLED RAMPS. Basically, it’s a couple of big slides packed with fake snow. But for those of us deprived of snow (thanks to both geography and global warming) it’s the next best thing to coasting down a snow packed hill. Here’s a picture of the sledding ramp.

The skating rink will be open every day through Jan. 31. Here’s the full schedule.

It costs $6 to skate, which includes ice skate rentals. But they’re having special date nights where couples can get a discount if they eat at downtown restaurants. Details on date nights here.