Greg Jones: The rockin rev
by Dean King Put an ear to a window of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church a little shy of midnight on a random Wednesday or Thursday night, and you might just hear music. Not sacred music, but roof-raising rock ’n’ roll….
Category: Community
A persistent pastime: Pete Sack paints baseball players and much more
by Liza Roberts photographs by Nick Pironio Artist Pete Sack, 37, has always been drawn to photographs of the human face. Strangers in yearbooks speak to him; archival snapshots of orphans, schoolchildren, and athletes hold unusual sway. One particular brunette…
Gigs: The pork enforcer
by Allie Higgins A Piggly Wiggly parking lot in Warsaw, N.C., might not be the most obvious place to spend a sweltering summer afternoon, but it’s a great spot to meet Raleigh’s own Ann Edmondson. As coordinator of the North…
Swamp Mallows
text and photograph by John Rosenthal In 1996, Gibbons Ruark, Raleigh native and well respected poet, wrote a splendid poem called Swamp Mallows. It was inspired by the remarkably beautiful Ben Berns painting of the same name in the North…
The power of one: Meg Lowman’s pioneering legacy
by Liza Roberts photographs by Nick Pironio Meg Lowman believes in a lot of things: The sanctity of the treetops. The importance of insects, curiosity, resilience, and adventure. She believes in “no child left indoors” and “the power of one.” And kismet. “I find…
More, please! Chocolate: A most delicious cottage industry
by Scott Huler photographs by Lissa Gotwals Danielle Centeno tastes in shapes. Centeno, head chocolatier of Escazu Artisan Chocolate on North Blount Street, has synesthesia – a conflation of two senses – that causes her, when she eats, to experience not just taste…
Of course it’s art: Tom Shields and his chairs in the trees
by Amber Nimocks photographs by Juli Leonard You scan the surrounding trees and spot other chairs likewise suspended, their rungs seeming to run through the trunks, at various heights and angles throughout the small, sparse clump of forest. It takes…
Down the field: The world’s oldest team sport gains a Triangle toehold
by Charles Upchurch photographs by Robert Willett David Brooks sits astride his favorite polo pony on a banner day at Crooked Creek Farm, his home in northern Orange County. In a royal-blue jersey, polo helmet and knee boots, mallet and…
On the Pullen Park train, you actually go someplace
by Allie Higgins photographs by Geoff Wood John McHugh never imagined he would drive the train at Pullen Park; he was too busy clowning around. That started early, at Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, back in 1978….
Back to her roots: Lauren Kennedy ‘This is my future’
by Liza Roberts photographs by Lissa Gotwals When Broadway star Lauren Kennedy was growing up in Raleigh, she put in her time doing wholesome-kid things like catching salamanders in the creek near her house, and playing games like freeze tag with her…
Cow to cone: Raleigh’s own ice cream
by Ann Brooke Raynal photographs by Juli Leonard As drivers whiz down I-40, heading into Raleigh, a glance to the right will reveal a green swath, vivid evidence that the region’s agricultural roots are alive and well. Thanks to miles of farmland…
Seaweed, horsehair and sugar: Innovative potter Edge Barnes has a recipe all his own
by Amber Nimocks photographs by Tim Lytvinenko Edge Barnes has always been “in beta,” long before always being “in beta” was cool. “If there’s not something new going on, there’s something wrong,” he says. It might seem incongruous for a gray-bearded potter…
Sharing music: Bett Padgett’s open house keeps it alive
by Liza Roberts photographs by Mark Petko As Bett Padgett welcomes yet another stranger into her Raleigh home on this bright-green evening, she’s doing something she considers vital: Sharing music. Tonight, she’s sharing it with about 90 people who have…
Kazem Yahyapour: Health, joy, and community through running
by Amber Nimocks photographs by Robert Willett Kazem Yahyapour,58, started running to keep his heart beating. He kept running because it feeds his soul. Yahyapour was 48 when he had a heart attack, five years younger than his father had…