by Stacy Chandler photographs by Carla Williams Before a group of Wake County remodelers came to the rescue last fall, the headquarters of the Wake Interfaith Hospitality Network, which helps people out of homelessness, was worn out. Its carpet was…
by Cam Higgins “Should I use the autograph I’ve been practicing, or just sign my normal name?” Few 13-year-olds get the chance to ask their coach that question, but then again, Dante Defranco and his fellow players on the West…
by Charman Driver What a fantastic year of fun and fitness adventures I’ve had with Walter. I’ve run, kicked, jumped, stretched, melted, boxed, danced, climbed – even joined the circus! People often ask me how I maintain the discipline and…
by J. Peder Zane As the hot summer night embraced Raleigh’s Red Hat Amphitheater, sweet smoke drifted through the air, propelling the sell-out crowd to the heights of ecstasy that happen when music meets dance. Gray-haired men in tie-died shirts boogied with…
by Charles Upchurch photographs by Geoff Wood Field trial champion Robert Vaughan, 18, has hunted since he was 9 years old. “The first time I went quail hunting, in the fourth or fifth grade, I remember two English pointers getting…
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….
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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….