by Tony Avent illustration by Ippy Patterson At some time in most gardeners’ lives, they become enchanted with violets. Some with well-behaving violets, and others with the less-stellar members of the clan. I, for one, have always had a tenuous…
text and photo by Scott Huler Do you ever get the desire, now and again, to sneak off, to slip away somewhere clandestine? Don’t you want to go down a back alley? An alley: an atmospheric cave of brick and…
by Jessie Ammons At this point in August, the pool is old news. Why not enjoy the last days of summer alfresco at the North Carolina Museum of Art instead? The Museum Park has a handful of must-see new outdoor works…
by Dean McCord photographs by Nick Pironio A sandwich is simple, easy to assemble, and quick to eat. The perfect portable meal. From the classic BLT to the Himalayan-sized creations of a New York deli to a tea party’s petite,…
photograph by Travis Long “When I’m on a trail, I unplug completely. It sets my mind free. My imagination goes wild. And that’s what I try to create at Marbles, too: A place for kids’ imaginations to run wild.” –Sally Edwards,…
by Tony Avent illustration by Ippy Patterson I don’t remember exactly when or why I became enamored with trilliums, but it was certainly at an early stage of my planthood…I mean, childhood. There always seemed to be something magical about…
photograph by Tim Lytvinenko “I couldn’t really live without music. You just make time for it.” – Wade Smith, criminal defense lawyer Wade Smith knew he loved music when he co-founded Raleigh’s oldest string band 50-odd years ago, but he never…
photograph by Travis Long “On March 7 there’s a kilt run in downtown Raleigh. I’ll be buying a Lonerider kilt and running in it. The largest training plan is to secure the kilt; I probably won’t run for very long. It’s…
by Scott Huler photographs by Travis Long Stand still. What do you hear? Maybe a dog barking. Birds. The rustle of the wind in the trees. The slip of water streaming by – maybe, if it’s been rainy, you hear it rippling…
by Jodi Barnes I want to write a love poem but we have Wallace Stevens’ Final Soliloquy. If I had a more fitting way to say I love you how would that change the shawl we’ve made, our lucky…
by Todd Cohen photographs by Juli Leonard For people with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities, the simple tasks that are second nature to most can be a struggle. At a special program in Raleigh, horses help people with disabilities to develop balance,…
photograph by Travis Long “Hi there! Who needs eyeballs, bleeding or otherwise?” Sculptor Joel Haas hollers and throws a bag of plastic painted eyeballs at the table of cartoonists. “We usually talk about Dwane’s bad table manners,” says Nick Meglin, ringleader…
by Zach Clayton By 2 p.m., I was ready to quit. Already 10 hours into a daylong silent meditation, my mind was anything but still. As my thoughts raced from topic to topic, my body ached. I’d been sitting cross-legged…
by Settle Monroe Her smile grows slowly, almost creeping its way to fullness as she remembers her life many years ago. She leans across the table, as if to let me in on a secret, recounting the days of juggling…