by Dean McCord As we approach Christmas, weary of the incessant blares from the TV, newspaper, radio, and the gazillion catalogs to buy, Buy, BUY, I return to the old clichés: “It’s better to give than to receive,” or “Christmas…
by Andrew Kenney photographs by Geoff Wood Raleigh skateboard pro Connor Champion, like most skaters, is an urban cartographer. He knows the lines that connect downtown’s slopes and edges maybe as well as anyone. He’ll show me, he says. As…
photographs by Leslie Baker When Joyce Fitzpatrick and Gail Perry had young daughters, the two hard-working Raleigh friends decided to show their girls that they, too, could excel in the domestic realm. “Move over, Martha!” jokes public relations dynamo Fitzpatrick,…
by David Crabtree The wind is cold. Biting. A December wind that rushes, howling by the gothic stone of the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge. Cold December winds have blown over these stones since the 15th century. Even the War…
by Allen Thomas Jr. Allen Thomas Jr.’s photography collection is widely known. A Wilson native and part-time Raleigh resident, Thomas has had solo exhibitions of his collection at several museums, including Raleigh’s North Carolina Museum of Art and CAM, and…
by Todd Cohen Raleigh lawyer Blake Simpson Fricks is the kind of volunteer every nonprofit wishes it had: one so dedicated and effective that the agency is compelled to hire her. That happened in early 2012, after Fricks had volunteered…
by Liza Roberts On the first Friday of any given month, when Raleigh’s galleries and museums are all open late, art lovers head out to see the latest shows and mingle with their peers. When they walk under the cantilevered…
by Heather Bowlan Last night a choir of owls in the parking lot, one on every branch of the oak tree, the mottled colors of autumn turning to winter around them, their own feathers silk petals streaked brown to white,…
by Kaitlyn Goalen I am helpless when faced with a freshly shucked oyster. If the salty bivalves are featured on a restaurant menu, I will always order a dozen – or two. Part of my love affair is due to…
by Charles Upchurch Quintessentially American, HBR predates the first cocktail jiggered up in this country by more than 200 years. It doesn’t get more old school than a concoction made from ingredients readily found on the average pirate ship. Rum,…
by David Holdstock When WALTER asked me to write about my experience juicing and losing 35 pounds as a result, I was perplexed. Why would the magazine want to hear from me, in my own voice? I’m British, and irony…
by Ann Brooke Raynal Visitors walking the streets of Historic Oakwood on a chilly December night may think they have been transported back to the 19th century. Candles burn in the windows, garlands of greenery grace the exteriors of Queen…
photographs by Geoff Wood We all have one. Another side to the one most folks know. For some, it’s a small thing: A hobby, interest, or minor talent. For others, it’s a big part – if not the main part…
by Liza Roberts photographs by Tierney Farrell If anyone’s memoir could be accurately called Growing up with Raleigh, it would be Smedes York’s. His life and work – in business and in public service – have spanned, and often spurred,…