Spotlight: Local treasures

Charlotte’s celebrates 25th anniversary by Jessie Ammons photograph by Missy McLamb Decades ago, Charlotte Harris was home in Texas for the holidays and in search of a good gift. Her friend told her she must go to Carol’s. “I thought,…

When Natalie Wood came to town

Brainstorm, one of many major movies shot in North Carolina, was Natalie Wood’s last. Scenes of the science fiction film were shot in Raleigh and around the Triangle, in places like Oakwood, Hayes Barton, Research Triangle Park, Chapel Hill, the…

Home & Garden: Raleigh’s fairy godmother of mums

by Liza Roberts photographs by Juli Leonard Joan Matthews understands that not everyone knows what she’s talking about when she talks about Chrysanthemums. Many, she knows, envision autumn’s grocery store go-to, five bucks if you’re lucky, tidy globes the color…

Starring North Carolina

In August 2012, North Carolina Museum of History curator and film buff Katie Edwards had an idea. She knew that major movies and TV shows are often filmed in the Tar Heel State. “We’d all heard about Bull Durham, The…

Defiant drinking

by David Burris illustration by Tim Lee I don’t know much about whiskey, but I know one thing: It is good. Whiskey has inspired writers, musicians, and artists to strive for greatness. It has kept bridegrooms even-keeled before the altar….

Shop local

by Ernest Dollar This season, as you’re making your list and checking it twice, our area retailers would be grateful if you remember to “shop local.”  That didn’t used to be a matter of choice. Local was the only option, and…

Spotlight: Feeling operatic

Opera Gala by Mimi Montgomery The North Carolina Opera will host its 2015 Opera Gala October 3 with cocktails, dinner, dancing, live performances, and an auction at the North Carolina Museum of History. It’s a fitting venue for the company’s five-year-anniversary…

Just do it

Kel Landis III wrote his new book about getting things done in about six months, but the ideas behind it have “been cooking for 10 years.” The co-founder of Plexus Capital, former CEO of RBC Centura, and Raleigh community leader…

Oakwood oddities

Downtown’s Historic Oakwood offers plenty for visitors to see. There are period homes, lush gardens, and Raleigh’s oldest private cemetery. The News & Observer’s photo editor and staff photographer Juli Leonard took to these tree-lined streets with iPhone in hand…

French social club

by Jessie Ammons photograph by Travis Long “We don’t have any family here. In a way, this is our family.” –Sandrine Pauwels, co-host of the French social club When Sandrine and Jean Pauwels moved from Paris to Raleigh 16 years ago, they were…

Home & Garden: Vegetal and vertical

by Liza Roberts What nature can create, the gardener can nurture, tame, and frame. And, if you’re Greenscape floriculturist Leslie Herndon, turn on its head and hang on a wall. Live, vertical, growing artwork is what Herndon creates year-round at…

Pop-art icon Peter Max

by Liza Roberts For five decades, Peter Max has been painting America. In the ’60s, his cosmic Pop Art canvases were vivid totems of the age. In the ’70s, his portraits of the Statue of Liberty became indelible images and…

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