OUR TOWN 2026: WALTER’s Insider’s Guide to Raleigh
This annual insiders guide to Raleigh from the editors of WALTER will help you find the best places to dine, shop and explore.
Category: Arts & Culture
Please Be Seated: Inside NCMA’s New Interactive Art Installation by Paul Cocksedge
Artist Paul Cocksedge’s new interactive sculpture at NCMA’s Museum Park invites visitors to sit, climb and gather on a 140-foot installation.
Trust & Work: Inside Raleigh Musician Chris Boerner’s Studio
Chris Boerner plays lead guitar for Hiss Golden Messenger and produces records from his home studio in Raleigh.
Creating a Happy Habit: Apex Painter Mónica Linares on Turning Daily Practice into a Career
Through daily painting, Apex artist Mónica Linares built a career defined by bold color and a minimalist style — and she’s sharing her process.
Fully Booked: Your 2026 Raleigh Summer Reading Guide, Plus Local Authors and Best Reading Spots
More than 40 summer book recommendations from Raleigh booksellers, interviews with three North Carolina authors, and the best local spots to read them.
Summer Reading Recs from Bright Side Books & Wine
Susannah Baird, owner of Bright Side Books & Wine, Raleigh’s only romance bookstore, recommends love stories from wholesome romance to sweeping romantasy epics.
Q&A: Molly Irani’s Guide to Meaningful Hospitality
Part memoir, part survival guide, NC restaurateur Molly Irani’s debut book traces the origins of her award-winning restaurant group.
Summer Reading Recs from So & So Books
Chris Tonelli of So & So Books on Person Street shares darkly funny, magical realism picks for your 2026 summer reading list.
Q&A: Mimi Montgomery’s Debut Mystery Novel
NC native Mimi Montgomery’s debut novel is a cozy murder mystery featuring designer dogs, Botox and zany celebrations in a Southern town.
Summer Reading Recs from Nice Price Books & Records
Enoch Marchant of Nice Price Books & Records on Hillsborough Street shares Southern fiction, biography and sports picks for your 2026 summer reading list.
Summer Reading Recs: Quail Ridge Books
Ginger Kauts of Quail Ridge Books, a Raleigh institution since 1984, shares fiction, fantasy and Southern author picks for your 2026 summer reading list.
Summer Reading Recs from Juliet Books & Beautiful Things
Marcie Montague, owner of Juliet Books, downtown Cary’s first independent bookstore, shares the current and historical fiction she couldn’t put down.
Summer Reading Recs from Blackbird Books & Coffee
Hannah Brunswick, co-owner of Blackbird Books & Coffee in Downtown Raleigh’s City Market, recommends poetry, thrillers and reads from Black, Indigenous and queer authors.
Summer Reading Recs from Liberation Station Bookstore
Victoria Scott-Miller, founder of Liberation Station in Southeast Raleigh, North Carolina’s first Black-owned children’s bookstore, recommends stories by and about Black women.