Elliott & process
by
Behind the scenes at Michael's English Mu ns, where Annabelle Comisar’s take on the breakfast staple has found a cult following.
Raleigh W Durham W Chapel Hill
6 Seaboard Station staple Logan's Garden Shop will relocate to the NC State Farmers Market this spring. BY JASMINE GALLUP
8 The past year has seen many twists and turns in Durham Public Schools bus service. We rounded up past reporting to bring you up to speed. BY CHASE PELLEGRINI DE PAUR
10 Is Amtrak a viable option for Triangle commuters?
11 It's time to start thinking about summer camp. Whatever your child's interests, our 2025 Summer Camp Guide offers plenty of options.
CULTURE
22 "I think the community in the South and in Raleigh is just very supportive of local products," says Michael's English Muffins owner Annabelle Comisar. BY ELLIOTT HARRELL
23 Scott Crawford's new Cary restaurant is a tribute to a classic American steakhouse. BY NATION HAHN
Report For America Corps
Chloe Courtney Bohl Contributors
Porter
Geller
Laidlaw
Pellegrini de Paur
Mariana Fabian, Jasmine Gallup, Desmera Gatewood, Spencer Griffith, Carr Harkrader, Matt Hartman, Tasso Hartzog, Brian Howe, Kyesha Jennings, Jordan Lawrence, Elim Lee, Glenn McDonald, Nick McGregor, Gabi Mendick, Cy Neff, Sam Overton, Shelbi Polk, Byron Woods, Barry Yeoman
Hoodoo Hussy presents Black Belt Burlesque! at The Pinhook on Friday, January 24. (See calendar, page 26.)
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PINHOOK
Recently Chloe Courtney Bohl decided to test out whether Amtrak is a viable option for Triangle commuters like her. The resulting story clearly struck a chord, with more than 30,000 online views in 72 hours. Readers shared their thoughts:
From reader CATHERINE RUTSKY:
Well, after reading that article, I have been wondering why the area of the Triangle with its increasing population does not seem to have public transportation. I live in Wake County in the Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina area. We need commuter trains and buses which frequent Cary, Raleigh, Durham & RDU. I am sure other cities north, east and west of the city have the same issues. Are the leaders of our cities so adverse to moving forward and recognizing our needs? Traffic is always ridiculous after 2 p.m. Extending 540 has not yet changed the traffic patterns on 55. So many other cities use mass transportation. Are we that laidback that we don’t recognize the needs of the citizens?
From reader HENRY M. SOLÓRZANO:
I recently got a new job in Raleigh, but live in Durham and have been debating about taking the train to and from. I was born and raised in NYC for 37 years, so any opportunity to take transit vs. driving would be great!
The current train schedule (and the distance from my house to the station) for now makes it prohibitive, but I do look forward to more transit options in the future.
From reader DREW HACKELMAN:
What a bohl-ing ball of an opinion piece. I travelled between Raleigh and Durham in a car. It was great, until I was DEAD.
There were over 270,000 automobile accidents in NC IN JUST 2022. Over 1,700 people lost their lives that single year, just in our state.
Cars are and forever will be the problem and I really am sad to see the INDY promote such a car-centric view of a reliable, cheap transportation alternative.
Rail service only gets better if we use it and if we show Amtrak that the demand exists. More folks on more trains!
From reader SHARYL ELLISON:
I transferred to the area six years ago. All my family are in the Charlotte, NC, area. I now live in Creedmoor. Most times I ride the train to Kannapolis, NC, where my mom picks me up. We are from Davidson, NC. It only take us most times to get home in 25 minutes. I am glad to hear that they plan to expand. There are times I park at the train station and hang out with mom for two days. When I get back I grab a meal in downtown Durham and then come back to my home in Creedmoor. Love the train, no traffic.
Dear INDY readers,
For nearly 20 years, I’ve been an INDY reader like you. As a student at Carrboro High School, I would pick up a copy at Weaver Street Market during lunch and pore over each smooth page. The INDY was so bold in its voice, topics, and commitment to building a just community. It also helped me to realize that writing and talking to strangers, two things that always came naturally to me, could be a career. I soon got to work with my friends launching a student newspaper. Cut to today, where I am writing to you as the INDY’s new editor in chief.
In the interim, I studied journalism at New York University and then moved back to North Carolina to be a reporter, and eventually managing editor, at The Robesonian in Lumberton. When I joined the INDY staff for the first time in 2017, it was a dream come true. For two and a half years, I covered topics that mattered most to Durhamites, from evictions to immigration, with a special focus on criminal justice issues. For the past five years, I’ve been on the other side of media inquiries as director of public affairs and special projects at the Durham District Attorney’s Office. In that role, I informed the public
about what prosecutors do and helped the office navigate shifts in technology and policy.
Frankly, I didn’t expect to return to journalism. But the opportunity to once again be a part of the INDY—particularly at a time when it’s poised for growth and reliable reporting is so important—was too incredible to pass up.
I’m honored to pick up the baton from Jane Porter, who has ably led the INDY amid a pandemic, its 40th anniversary, and the launch of a new partnership with The Assembly, and thrilled to work alongside all of the smart, compassionate, and ineffably cool INDY staff.
Here’s a taste of what you can expect from us going forward.
You’ll continue to see the type of gutsy, off-beat, and in-depth reporting you’re used to. But you’ll also see that essential INDY voice translated into more daily updates on what’s new, what’s next, and what’s unique in the Triangle. We’ll be a go-to source for navigating life in our community—how your local government voted on a redevelopment project in your neighborhood, where to grab the best bite this weekend, and how national policies
affect our local ones.
You’ll see deeper coverage of Raleigh as it reckons with continued growth and new leadership as Jane takes over as Raleigh editor. And you’ll see more of us—at upcoming INDY and Assembly events, and just out in the community amping up coverage and looking for new ways to interact with readers.
We have big plans for 2025. You can help fuel the INDY’s growth—and get access to exclusive events and content—by supporting the Press Club.
The INDY has always strived to be of the community and for the community. And with a larger newsroom staff, we’re in a strong position to deepen that commitment. To that end, we want to hear what matters to you—if you have a news tip, think there’s a topic that’s under-covered in the Triangle or simply want to share your feedback, reach out. Connect with me at swillets@indyweek.com. I’m excited to see what’s next.
Sarah Willets INDY editor-in-chief
PHOTO VIA ADOBE STOCK, ILLUSTRATION BY NICOLE PAJOR MOORE
For Better Durham Schools and Politics, We Need More Righteous Anger
The problem isn’t a lack of unity.
BY PETER CRAWFORD backtalk@indyweek.com
In a recent op-ed in the pages of this publication, Jenny Jones Coldren observes the issues plaguing Durham Public Schools and the angry response these issues have provoked from some of our neighbors. She calls for community solutions to community problems. She calls for unity. Her op-ed actually points, somewhat inadvertently, to one of the challenges that underlies much of the dysfunction in Durham schools and in Durham politics more broadly: namely, that local political organizations—and perhaps chiefly the People’s Alliance, an organization that Ms. Coldren has at times represented—have a stranglehold on our political process.
Organizations like the People’s Alliance have served as a unifying force, of sorts. It is worth asking, though, if this type of political unity has delivered the results anyone in Durham actually wanted. If not, then the problem is not a lack of happy talk on social media, as Ms. Coldren highlights, but rather a lack of righteous anger. This kind of anger could find productive purpose if it spilled from the comment threads of SoDu Parents Posse and the pages of this publication into the minds of every Durham citizen when we next have an opportunity to vote.
For now, let’s review the record of recent elections. Over the past four election cycles that included the Durham County Board of Education going back to 2014, no candidate has won without the endorsement of the People’s Alliance. Not one. Those elected officials have won their offices with an average of over 75 percent of the vote. To be sure, the number of people in Durham who participate in local elections is embarrassingly small
and often these candidates ran unopposed, but election results like these show a surprising level of “unity” among the voting public.
For my part, I do not want unity. I want good schools for my children. We will get to good schools via disagreement, discussion, compromise, accountability—these are the hallmarks of a functioning local polity. This is what community solutions to community problems look like. But in Durham, we rarely seem to get any of these things—or at least not around election time, when they matter most.
Around election time, we mostly hear about the issues Ms. Coldren mentions in her opening paragraphs: the bogeyman of school choice, the specter of Project 2025. “Be afraid, good people of Durham, and trust us to protect you from the excesses of Raleigh and Washington, D.C.” But who will protect us from the current chaos in our local schools? The ugly truth is that the balance of influence upon our local schools tilts away from the federal and state levels. The real power rests with us, the voting public here in Durham County.
To my fellow Durham voters: What is your litmus test when you cast your vote for local officials? More to the point, how do we vet our elected officials for competence in the duties they will actually perform? Does it just come down to whether a candidate’s name has made it onto the sample ballot from the People’s Alliance? If so, we have to do better.
I do not know how the People’s Alliance or other prominent local organizations evaluate candidates, but their
evaluation criteria do not seem to include anything, for example, related to budgetary or organizational leadership experience. Candidly, it does not matter where you stand on “banned books” if our children cannot read at grade level. Any overtures to racial equity ring hollow when the most marginalized in our community have inconsistent school transportation. The people who can take Zoom calls from the carpool line, a solution Ms. Coldren suggests, have already voted with their feet and enrolled in private school or moved to Cary.
Despite what some readers might think, my aim here is not to make a political statement. Indeed, basic issues of managerial competence are pre-political, and we do not earn the right to argue about second things until we have addressed first things. So let’s do that. Let’s hold accountable at the ballot box those candidates who have failed us and the organizations that support them. Let’s support our kids’ schools by volunteering and contributing to PTAs and booster clubs. Let’s coax friends and neighbors off the sidelines to teach, to drive buses, and to run for elected office, even if they do not have DPS students. Let’s transform the anonymous bickering in private Facebook groups into productive public disagreement that leads to a better Durham.
If we are not willing to do those things, we have no right to complain. We truly are not “in this together,” and we will have proven that the problem, in reality, is us. W
Peter Crawford is a Durham resident and parent of three children attending Durham Public Schools.
ASSE TS VIA ADOBE STOCK, ILLUSTRATION BY ANN SALMAN
A New Season
Logan’s Garden Shop will start a new chapter at the NC State Farmers Market this spring.
BY JASMINE GALLUP backtalk@indyweek.com
Aweek before Christmas, Logan’s Garden Shop is filled with Raleigh locals taking advantage of last-minute sales on evergreen wreaths, vivid red poinsettias, and carefully crafted ornaments. It’s a warm oasis on a chilly winter day, as neighbors exchange greetings, ask after the kids and pets, and sip hot chocolate.
Although Logan’s won’t be emptied of its thousands of plants, trees, and flowers until late February, some longtime customers are already reminiscing about the good old days at Seaboard Station.
“The little café was my favorite place to come when I was working downtown, because you could relax with a nice lunch and you were surrounded by all these beautiful flowers and plants,” says longtime Raleigh resident Linda Povlich, now retired. “That was always real special.”
Like many local businesses, Logan’s is feeling the impact of new construction and growth, which came to its aging historic neighborhood in 2022. Many upscale businesses have opened around Seaboard Station since the garden
shop first moved into the old train station in 1991, but two years ago, Hoffman and Associates began a major redevelopment project to finish the transformation of the once-derelict district into a “downtown destination.”
Since 2022, developers have built three new apartment buildings and a hotel with a rooftop bar in the area, catering to residents who want to live upstairs from the dessert shop selling gluten-free macarons and the fancy new fitness center open seven days a week. Once Logan’s moves out, construction is slated to start on two more apartment towers up to 20 stories tall.
When it became clear that Logan’s long-term future was in jeopardy, third-generation co-owner Joshua Logan chose to sell his family’s nearly three-acre property and look for opportunities elsewhere rather than fight what would likely be a losing commercial battle. Although it was nerve-wracking facing such uncertainty, Joshua’s faith that “everything happens for a reason” paid off, he says. In 2023, more than a year after Logan’s started looking
for a new home, Joshua got word that there was an opening at the State Farmers Market—in a circular building behind the Farmers Market Restaurant that most recently housed another garden center, Market Imports.
“It was not by design … [but] we are returning to our roots with this move,” Joshua says, explaining that Logan’s first opened at the original Farmers Market on Hodges Street in 1965.
“My grandfather actually worked that deal out the way deals used to be done, by a handshake with Jim Graham,” he adds. “Logan’s was the first-ever permanent, year-round vendor at the Farmers Market.”
Now, 60 years later, Logan’s relocation to the new Farmers Market is the start of a new chapter for the legacy business. In the past year, the garden shop has opened two new branches, in Fuquay-Varina and Knightdale. And, just across the street from dozens of stalls selling fresh produce, Logan’s new Raleigh location will be a seamless addition to the landscape—likely to become an essential stop for the thousands of people who visit every week.
“People kind of make a weekend project out of a visit to the garden center,” Joshua says. “She’s got a garden project, and he’s got a home improvement project. We want to provide a destination where people can visit as a household and check everything off their list.”
As a part of that effort, Joshua is adding basic hardware and around-the-house tools to the garden shop’s inventory. The equipment will surely be a welcome addition for couples and families who already prioritize a visit to the garden shop every Saturday, like longtime customer Eleanor Babb and her husband, Ken.
Where Eleanor is the gardener of the family—buying bedding plants in the spring, vegetables in the summer, and bulbs in the fall—Ken is the “laborer,” he interjects with a chuckle. Both are happy the doors of Logan’s Garden Shop will stay open, even in a new location.
With renovations and improvements ongoing, the garden shop’s shiny new building is expected to welcome its first customers at the beginning of March, although there’s not a set date because construction could be subject to weather delays, says Joshua. The big move-out process is set to start after Valentine’s Day, he adds. Although uncertainty has loomed over the business in the past few years, the year ahead is looking as bright and hopeful as the first blooms of spring.
“Change is a part of life,” Joshua says. “As a plant person, if you observe nature, if you observe living things, they adapt. We feel like businesses are much the same. It all comes down to a choice. Do you resist change and wither, or do you accept change [and grow]?” W
Logan’s Garden Shop. PHOTO BY ANGELICA EDWARDS
NEWS Durham
The DPS Bus Saga: A Timeline
With rotational bus service ending this week for public school students in Durham, we rounded up reporting from the past year to bring you up to speed.
BY CHASE PELLEGRINI DE PAUR chase@indyweek.com
“Durham Public Schools is a mess and everybody knows it,” a parent told me in November.
Now halfway through the school year, and with no end in sight for the ongoing transportation crisis, that message seems as true as ever. The problem—not enough bus drivers—is simple. The solutions are anything but. This week, the district swapped so-called short term “Band-Aid” solutions, replacing rotational bus service with family responsibility zones, and we’ll be watching to see how the change plays out.
We’ve continued to report on the pieces of the crisis—board meetings, staff union protests, parent frustrations—but it’s a lot to keep track of. This timeline presents portions of our reporting (and reporting from our partners at The 9th Street Journal) as one story that shows where we are and how we got here. We will continue to update this timeline online with future reporting. Scan the QR code to bookmark that page.
“Consistently, and I mean almost every day, either the bus doesn’t stop for [my son], the bus doesn’t show up, or we get a message a bus is two hours late,” says DPS parent Jane Dornemann.
Jan. 12, 2024
Classified pay dispute kicks o a year of chaos
Mechanics and other classified staff go on strike after learning they won’t be getting promised raises. Though not impacted by the pay debacle, bus drivers call out of work en masse, out of either solidarity with coworkers or discomfort over driving without mechanics’ support. As a result, DPS cancels numerous bus routes over several days, urging families to drive their own children to school.
Aug. 26, 2024
First day of school, first day of transportation crisis
Increased ridership and a driver shortage leave families waiting for buses that never arrive. Administrative staff leave their office posts to help drive the buses. Representatives for the district say that they are short 30 drivers but that 32 candidates are “in the queue” for driver training and testing, a process which should take approximately two months.
Aug. 24, 2024
GoDurham doubles service on public bus lines that service Northern and Riverside High Schools
The city’s free bus service provides another transit option for at least some students. The same benefit is expected to reach Southern High School in the spring.
Aug. 22, 2024
New superintendent Anthony Lewis takes the wheel
In his first DPS board meeting, Lewis foreshadows that “there will be some bus delays” on the first day of school, “but as time goes on we will definitely be more efficient.”
Jan. 31 & Feb. 7, 2024
DPS
superintendent and CFO resign
Pascal Mubenga and Paul LeSieur, DPS superintendent and CFO, respectively, tender their resignations as angry staff rally to keep their pay raises. A report finds that LeSieur was aware of potential pay issues as early as February 2023 and did not inform the superintendent or board. Mubenga was made aware of the issues in November 2023, but did not tell the full board until January.
Nov. 12, 2024
100 days into his tenure, Superintendent Lewis consolidates control with a new leadership team
At the last of several community listening sessions, the superintendent says that the first step to solving the transportation problem is “getting the right people in the seats to get the work done.” Over his first three months, Lewis appoints a new deputy superintendent, chief operating officer, and chief financial officer.
Dec. 2, 2024
Rotational bus service begins
Each of the district’s routes are sorted into one of five groups that do not receive bus service on a single predetermined day each week. The temporary plan, which gets mixed reviews from families, is an attempt to bring some consistency to the chaos and at least allow parents to plan ahead. It also allows daily service for those who receive exceptional children and McKinney-Vento (homeless student) services.
“I never want to take my eye o the ball, [which] is to get every kid to school on time on a consistent basis. That is the long-term goal for all of us,” Mathew Palmer, director of operational services, tells the board.
Dec. 13, 2024
Rotational bus service is extended for an extra month
The end of rotational bus service is pushed from December 20 to January 17. In a pair of December meetings, the board introduces “family responsibility zones” and “express stops” as options for making best use of the still-limited number of bus drivers after rotational service ends.
“What we are facing in transportation is just a symptom of a district-wide problem—lack of real worker voice and management accountability,” bus driver Retha Daniel-Ruth says at a press conference.
Dec. 19, 2024
Jan. 23, 2025
DPS board meeting
The board is expected to hear updates on transportation services. The board will also hear public comments.
Jan. 21, 2025
Family responsibility zones replace rotational bus service, despite board concerns
Until further notice, students who live within 1.5 miles of 21 elementary schools are no longer provided transit to or from school. Any student older than pre-K is allowed to walk or bike alone. Board members approve the measure, but some worry about student safety along the specific routes selected by staff.
Bus drivers join Durham Association of Educators to accuse Superintendent Lewis of “union busting”
Outside the school board’s meeting, demonstrators tie the transit and pay crises to a lack of worker input in school system decisions and urge the board to approve the union’s “meet and confer” process. But the union accuses the superintendent of “union busting” in a disagreement over exactly who should be invited to the meetings between staff and administration.
“We’re trading— in my head—one set of eggs that are rotting for another set of eggs that are rotting,” says board member Joy Harrell Go . “I feel like we got one Band-Aid that’s not quite working yet. Do we switch one for the other? I don’t know.”
Jan. 9, 2025
Administration cancels express stop rollout after negative community feedback
Chief Operating Officer Larry Webb tells the board that express stops are not needed after all. The rollback follows community backlash against express stops, which would have required some families at three magnet schools to transport their children to a nearby DPS school that they do not attend, where the students would then catch a bus to their magnet school. While the express stop plan is tabled for now, Webb says that it is set to be implemented in the 2025–26 school year.
N E W S The Triangle Track Record
I traveled between Durham and Raleigh on Amtrak. It was great, until it wasn’t.
BY CHLOE COURTNEY BOHL chloe@indyweek.com
Afew times each week, I drive from Durham to Raleigh to meet sources for interviews or attend public meetings downtown. The trip takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or more each way, depending on the time of day and sheer luck. I’d estimate each round-trip journey sets me back about $3.50 in gas, plus the cost of parking—between $5 and $15 depending where I park and for how long.
The commute is tolerable (some of my INDY colleagues would beg to differ) but definitely not a highlight of my day. Sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic is maddening. Merging from I-885 onto I-40 from the left is harrowing. Never knowing what time I’m going to arrive at my final destination can be pretty inconvenient.
So I decided to give Amtrak a try, figuring it could save me time, money, and stress: On the train, one round trip between Durham and Raleigh costs $16. Amtrak also offers a $60 10-ride ticket for the route, which lowers the cost of a single trip to $6. The journey takes about 30 minutes each way, roughly equivalent to driving without traffic. Plus, the train lends an air of romance— mystery, mindfulness, main character energy—to an otherwise blah journey.
Admittedly, there are some obvious downsides to commuting by train around the Triangle. Amtrak only runs about five trains between Raleigh and Durham each day, departing between 6:30 a.m. and 10:15 p.m. If you miss the last one, you’re stuck overnight or with an expensive Uber ride. And the trip is only cost effective if you can easily and cheaply travel from home to the train and from the train to your final destination (I was able to walk).
Despite the constraints, more and more people are riding the train each year. An NC Department of Transportation (DOT)
spokesperson told me the agency has seen a 71 percent increase in ridership at the Raleigh, Cary, and Durham stations since 2022.
To test the viability of an Amtrak commute, I arranged two trips within a few days of each other: one from Durham to Raleigh and back, and another from Raleigh to Durham and back. The results of my experiment were mixed.
Trip number one, on a Wednesday, started and ended in Durham. I walked from my apartment to the Amtrak station, housed in a circa-1897 former tobacco warehouse on Main Street. Inside, people laden with backpacks and suitcases—most traveling much farther than I—waited patiently on long wooden benches. Over the loudspeaker, a voice beckoned us to the platform, and we gathered our things and filed out in an orderly line as the train chugged into view, right on schedule.
I picked out a seat in a mostly empty car and watched the scenery glide by: the backsides of familiar landmarks passed in a blur, then gave way to industrial buildings and stands of new-growth trees. The Wi-Fi worked and the seats offered ample legroom. We arrived on time, give or take a few minutes. I disembarked and walked over to my final destination on Fayetteville Street, feeling extremely pleased with myself. The ride home, several hours later, was equally smooth.
The following Monday I embarked on Amtrak adventure number two alongside INDY’s staff photojournalist, Angelica Edwards. Based on the previous week’s success, I had promised her a “super easy” travel day. The train gods had other plans.
We made it from Raleigh to Durham without incident. On the way, I surveyed a handful of our fellow travelers: most
were traveling to Kannapolis or High Point for work. Many were frequent train riders, lured by cost effectiveness and the chance to multitask in transit. A few were riding Amtrak for the first time ever that day. As we disembarked, Angelica and I noticed that the train’s carriages were each named for a different North Carolina icon: sweet potato, Fraser fir, channel bass.
Shortly after depositing us in downtown Durham, our train reportedly struck a man who was walking on the tracks, sending him to the hospital with serious injuries. We didn’t realize this at the time, but that same train was meant to pick us up for our return trip at five p.m. Throughout the day, Angelica and I received a string of email alerts from Amtrak announcing it was delayed by 30 minutes, then an hour, then two.
We considered catching the bus back to Raleigh instead, but GoTriangle estimated a 90-minute travel time. So we holed up in the INDY’s downtown office and waited it out, snacking on Goldfish and refreshing Amtrak’s online tracker as the sky darkened.
Our train finally arrived at seven p.m. Once we were on board, the conductor recognized us from the morning ride.
“What are y’all, suckers for punishment?” he asked us, bemused that we were back already. We burst out laughing.
The conductor explained he works nineand-a-half-hour days, five days a week. He
has regular passengers: a UNC-Greensboro professor who lives in Durham, a man who lives in Cary and works at the Durham VA, plenty of people commuting to Raleigh. And he’s seen more than his fair share of railway accidents—“more than I would like to admit.”
A second conductor came over to chat with us and, when he spotted Angelica’s camera, showed off his own amateur photography skills: Images taken from the back of the train at dawn, dusk, golden hour. Rail yards and city skylines from across the state. We talked until we pulled into Raleigh Union Station at 7:30 p.m.
I’ll be on the lookout for expanded rail service in North Carolina in the future. The NC DOT spokesperson says the agency is working to add an additional daily round trip between Raleigh and Charlotte (currently there are five). The S-Line Raleigh to Richmond project is also underway, and the Corridor Identification and Development program promises to expand intercity passenger rail around the state in future years. Will I be commuting to Raleigh on Amtrak again? Yes, though not on a busy workday when I have appointments I can’t miss. I’ll use it for day-trips and outings with flexible start and end times. I’ll probably buy that 10-ride pass, which is valid for 180 days, giving me plenty of time to get my money’s worth. W
Passengers board the Amtrak train. PHOTO BY ANGELICA EDWARDS
Camp listings & special advertising section
2025 INDY Summer Camp Guide
It’s freezing cold and dark at 5:30 p.m.—time to start planning for summer! That means summer camp sign-ups for when the kids are out of school and you’re still working. In our 2025 Summer Camp Guide, we offer plenty of ideas for summer camps that will keep your kids energized, engaged, learning, and getting creative.
Want the kids to be active this summer? Send them to dance, fencing, horseback riding, or science-and-nature summer camp. Want them to practice the arts or learn a new skill? There are cooking, visual and performing arts, and music camps available, too. Whatever your child’s interests, and whatever summer camp your family chooses, you can be sure of this: the memories kids make while learning, playing, and adventuring at camp stay with them for a lifetime.
2025 INDY Summer Camp Listings
Belle Vie Farm Summer Camp 2025
Belle Vie Farm
Location: Chapel Hill
Ages: 3-11
Contact: www.belleviefarm.org belleviefarmnc@gmail.com
Blue Skies of Mapleview Summer Horse Camp
Blue Skies of Mapleview LLC
Location: Hillsborough Ages: 8-18
Contact: blueskiesmapleview.us dpmblueskies@hotmail.com 919-933-1444
Broadreach Summer Adventures
Broadreach
Locations: Various locations including the Caribbean, Mexico, the Bahamas, Bali, Fiji, Curacao, Bonaire, Costa Rica, Ecuador and the Azores
Ages: Middle and High School students
Contact: gobroadreach.com brhq@gobroadreach.com (919) 256-8200
Burning Coal Theatre’s Summer Theatre Conservatory
Burning Coal Theatre
Location: Raleigh
Ages: 12-19
Contact: burningcoal.org/summer-theatre-conservatory info@burningcoal.org
Camp Riverlea Summer Camp
Camp Riverlea
Location: Durham
Ages: 5-12
Contact: campriverlea.com campersupport@campriverlea.com
Camp Woodcroft
Woodcroft Swim and Tennis Club
Location: Durham
Ages: 4-12
Contact: woodcroftclub.org/camps-at-woodcroft camp@woodcroftclub.org
Carolina Friends School Summer Programs
Carolina Friends School
Location: Durham
Ages: 4-18
Contact: cfsnc.org/summer
2025 INDY Summer Camp Listings
Chestnut Ridge Camp and Retreat Center
Location: Hillsborough
Ages: 5-17
Contact: campchestnutridge.org info@campchesntnutridge.org
Craft Habit Arts & Crafts Camps
Craft Habit
Location: Raleigh
Ages: K-6th Grade
Contact: crafthabitraleigh.com/calendar.htm crafthabitcamps@gmail.com
Craft Habit Sewing Camps
Craft Habit
Location: Raleigh Ages: K-6th Grade
Contact: crafthabitraleigh.com/calendar.htm crafthabitcamps@gmail.com
Creative Clay Camp
Glazed Expectations
Location: Carrboro
Ages: 5-12 yrs
Contact: glazedexpectations.com/summer-camp susannah@glazedexpectations.com
Durham Academy Summer
Durham Academy
Location: Durham
Ages: 4-18
Contact: da.org/summer summer@da.org
Durham Arts Council Camps
Durham Arts Council
Location: Durham
Ages: 5-18
Contact: durhamarts.org/dac-art-camps (919)560-2726 amiller@durhamarts.org
Durham Jazz Workshop Youth Jazz Camp
Durham Jazz Workshop
Location: Durham
Ages: Middle–High School age students with several years experience playing their instruments. No jazz experience required.
Contact: durhamjazzworkshop.org/youth-jazz-summer-camp
2025 INDY Summer Camp Listings
JC Raulston Arboretum Summer Camps
JC Raulston Arboretum
Location: Raleigh
Ages: preschool to rising 8th grade
Contact: jcra.ncsu.edu/education/childrens-program/summer-gardencamps jcraprograms@ncsu.edu
Laying Hen Farm Summer Camp
Laying Hen Farm
Location: Hillsborough
Ages: 4-14
Contact: Layinghenfarm.com
Layinghenfarm@gmail.com
The Morningside School Summer Camps
The Morningside School
Location: Carrboro
Ages: 3-10
Contact: themorningsideschool.com sadie@themorningsideschool.com
Movie Makers Summer Camp
Movie Makers
Location: Durham
Ages: 6-17
Contact: movie-makers.net/summer-camp moviemakersnc@gmail.com
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Summer Camps
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Location: Raleigh
Ages: Rising K-12th grade
Contact: naturalsciences.org/calendar/summer-camps summercamps@naturalsciences.org
Pinecone Bluegrass Camp
Page-Walker Arts & History Center
Location: Cary
Ages: 10-17
Contact: pinecone.org/youth-programs/bluegrass-camps sara@pinecone.org
PineCone Jam Camp
Page-Walker Arts & History Center
Location: Cary
Ages: 10-17
Contact: pinecone.org/youth-programs/bluegrass-camps sara@pinecone.org
2025 INDY Summer Camp Listings
Radical Days of Summer
QORDS
Location: Changes each Summer but is always in the South Ages: 12-17
Contact: qords.org qords@qords.org
Raleigh Little Theatre Summer Camps
Raleigh Little Theatre
Location: Raleigh
Ages: Pre-K-Rising 9th grade
Contact: raleighlittletheatre.org/education/summer-camps education@raleighlittletheatre.org
Schoolhouse of Wonder Outdoor Camps
Schoolhouse of Wonder
Locations: 10 locations in Durham, Wake, and Orange Counties Ages: 4-17
schoolhouseofwonder.org schoolhouse@schoolhouseofwonder.org 919-477-2116
Summer Arts Camps at the Eno Arts Mill
Orange County Arts Commission
Location: Hillsborough Ages: 5-18
Contact: artsorange.org/camps
Sunrise Community Farm Center’s Summer Camp
Sunrise Community Farm Center
Location: Chapel Hill Ages: 5-16
Contact: sunrisecommunityfarmcenter.com admin@sunrisecfc.com (919) 968-8581
Teen Learn to Row Camp
Jordan Lake Rowing Club
Location: Apex
Contact: jordanlakerowingclub.org/learn-to-row director@jordanlakerowingclub.org
Town of Cary Summer Camps
Location: Cary Ages: 5-18
Contact: www.carync.gov/programs (919) 460-4000 311@carync.gov
2025 INDY Summer Camp Listings
Triangle Music School Summer Institute & Music
Explorers Camp
Triangle Music School
Location: Durham
Ages: 8+
Contact: trianglemusicschool.com 919-309-9834 lessons@trianglemusicschool.com
Triangle Ultimate Day Camps
Triangle Ultimate
Location: Carrboro, Morrisville, Durham, Chapel Hill, Apex
Ages: 7-15
Contact: triangleultimate.org/camps camps@triangleultimate.org
Triangle Ultimate Frisbee Camps
Triangle Ultimate
Location: Carrboro, Morrisville, Durham, Chapel Hill, Apex
Ages: 7-15
Contact: triangleultimate.org/camps info@triangleultimate.org
Two Sisters Adventure Company Summer Camps
Two Sisters Adventure Company
Location: Durham
Ages: 7-18
Contact: twosistersadventure.com/camps connect@twosistersadventure.com
Vault Theatre Summer Camps
Vault Theatre
Location: Durham
Ages: 6-16
Contact: vaulttheatre.org/camps info@vaultttheatre.org 919-886-4584
The Wonder Lab Summer Camp
The Wonder Lab
Location: Durham
Ages: 3-5
Contact: wonderlabdurham.com/summercamp camps@wonderlabdurham.com 919-213-8527
FO O D & D R I N
Time and Process
Since launching her Raleigh business in 2015, Annabelle Comisar’s English muffins have found a cult following.
BY ELLIOTT HARRELL food@indyweek.com
Michael’s English Muffins has a cult following. Take owner Annabelle Comisar’s recent trip to New York City, where an acquaintance mentioned that her best friend also lived in Raleigh and texted her to say that she was with the owner of Michael’s English Muffins. At the time, Comisar laughed, thinking chances were slim that the reference would ring any bells.
But the Raleigh connection instantly responded, gushing that she was a devotee of Michael’s and a frequent visitor to the farmers’ market to buy them.
And so it goes for Comisar and her muffins, which she’s been making since 2014. She has overnighted muffins to Italy for a fan’s mom, sends quarterly shipments to a fan in Florida, and during the holidays has to restock her muffins multiple times a week at Ladyfingers because they’re so popular.
Originally from Ohio, Comisar grew up in the restaurant industry. Her father—who is named Michael—owned the Maisonette, a much-lauded French restaurant in Cincinnati. It was there, Comisar says, that her attention to detail and fixation on quality began. In her late twenties, Comisar learned to make English muffins from scratch while working in a local artisan bakery. The following year, she moved to Raleigh to work as a wine distributor. Her muffins soon followed.
“I started making muffins off the balcony of my apartment complex with a griddle,” she says of her first foray into the business. “I would take them to chefs and they would say, ‘If you had a certified kitchen I would totally buy them.’”
She didn’t have a certified kitchen, but a friend offered her his—with a catch. “He said I could use his kitchen when his staff wasn’t there,” Comisar says. “So from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m.”
In 2015, Comisar officially launched Michael’s English Muffins, the name a nod to her father’s hospitality prowess. At first, Comisar sold the muffins at local farmers’ markets while trying to grow her wholesale business. In 2018, she found a retail location on Capital Boulevard in North Raleigh.
MICHAEL’S ENGLISH MUFFINS
3611 Spring Forest Road, Suite 114 | Michaelsenglishmuffins.com
“People thought I was crazy,” she says of the spot’s location. “It’s off the beaten path.” Her retail spot sells muffins, of course, but also a mix of sandwiches, such as the It’s a Gouda Day sandwich with gouda cheese, pimento, bacon spread, and “more bacon.”
“The community in the South and in Raleigh is just very supportive of local products.”
Comisar forged ahead, adamant that she could make it work and finance it all herself.
“It was all sweat equity,” she says. “I didn’t want to owe anyone any money.”
Since then, the muffins have made their way into over 50 restaurants, cafés, and other retail locations, mostly around the Triangle. In December, Comisar announced that eight local Food Lions will also carry her muffins.
So what makes these English muffins, which retail for $9.50–$10.50 per four-pack, worthy of a cult following?
The answer, Comisar says, is fairly simple.
“Time,” she says. “And our process.” Dough is fermented overnight, often up to 24 hours before it’s rolled out, proofed, cooked on a griddle, and finally cooled before being packaged.
The result? A perfectly chewy, pillowy muffin that’s thick enough to get nice and toasted on the outside while staying soft on the inside. You may never want to eat a standard grocery store version again after trying one.
“No one else makes [English muffins] from scratch here,” Comisar says. This—considering the Triangle’s diverse range of doughnut options or the fact that you can just about throw a rock and hit a biscuit spot in the South—makes her business stand out.
The original flavor is Comisar’s best seller, but she’s partial to the sweet potato cinnamon version. Her other flavors right now are everything, fruit, and rosemary and olive oil, but Comisar says she’d love to add new flavors like fennel in the future.
While Comisar is excited about the business’s growth and recent foray into her first big-box retailer, quality is still her North Star. “I don’t ever want to break the tipping point,” she says, adding that if Michael’s English Muffins gets big, her team will continue to use the same attention to detail for every muffin they make.
As for what she thinks about the local loyalty to her muffins?
“People tell me there’s a cult,” she laughs. “But I think the community in the South and in Raleigh is just very supportive of local products.” W
Owner Annabelle Comisar and General Manager Annie Klosowiak prepare a batch of English muffins before sunrise. PHOTO BY ANGELICA EDWARDS
A Twist on a Classic
Scott Crawford’s new Cary restaurant may have a modern pulse—but at its heart is a tribute to a traditional American steakhouse experience.
BY NATION HAHN arts@indyweek.com
My father, who became a butcher after returning home from serving overseas in the Vietnam War, held steak in the highest regard. It was the hallmark of celebration, a symbol of something special. That reverential treatment of a great steak has stayed with me, shaping my own appreciation for a perfectly cooked rib eye or filet.
From the now-departed rib eye at St. Roch to the flame-grilled rib eye and salad bar at the Peddler and the near-perfect combination of a martini and steak at Nana’s, my pursuit of great steak in the Triangle has been an ongoing journey. So when Scott Crawford announced his own steakhouse, Crawford Brothers, my expectations were sky-high.
I’ve now visited Crawford Brothers four times since it opened in late December. Crawford Brothers not only met my expectations but, in many ways, exceeded them, offering a dining experience that is both a tribute to classic steakhouses and a testament to a more modern, almost whimsical approach to what you might expect when you hear the word “steakhouse.”
Small details set the experience apart: When you arrive and step through the door, a host greets you with a warm hello, offering to take your coat as they check on your table. Located off Fenton Gateway Drive, the space combines a classic steakhouse’s rich colors and dim lighting with the sleek lines and modernity that define a Crawford Hospitality space.
This was intentional, Crawford says: “Our vision summed up: to truly find the balance between a traditional steakhouse and a modern steakhouse.”
“The vision started out as our interpretation and take on a contemporary American steakhouse,” he continues. “My initial vision
was for a modern steakhouse with a modern take, but as I traveled I dined at a wide array of steakhouses. I began to fall back in love with steakhouses as they were.”
The kitchen is designed as an openair space, serving as a focal point of the restaurant. The layout is divided into thirds, including a convertible private dining room with clear views of the kitchen and floor-toceiling windows. The front half of the main space features a striking circular bar, while the back half offers cozy booths and intimate tables near the open kitchen.
Menu highlights include a mix of classics and inventive dishes, such as dry-aged burgers, crab cakes with minimal filler, and playful presentations like tuna tartare nestled atop a bed of ice.
The opening dishes have been consistently delicious, including both the steak and tuna tartare. The steak tartare features a balanced mix of mustard, capers, parsley, and shallots, served alongside grilled sourdough; the mustard and capers provide the perfect accents to enhance the tartare, although some might think the mustard is a bit too front and center.
The tuna tartare shines with a subtle combination of lemon and tamari, allowing the quality of the tuna to take center stage. Another standout: the duck meatballs. The smoky richness of tomato, the sweetness of caramelized onions, and the slightly sharp bite of pecorino perfectly complement the flavor of the duck, making this dish a must-order.
I’ve tried several cuts of steak, including the coulotte and the filet. All of the meat is presented simply on a plate—standing on its own. You can order large cuts designed for groups (or those with big appetites) or more individual portions. The steakhouse
also offers special dry-aged cuts each night priced by the ounce.
Crawford tells me that he also hopes the menu has items that appeal to diners who want a more casual meal: “We hope people will find something on the menu for everyone—ranging from our dry-aged burger with aged cheddar and bacon jam and tallow fries on the side to our Amish roast chicken to halibut.”
Beef is the menu’s centerpiece in many respects, but you will also find robust seafood offerings. On my first visit, the seared halibut was the most surprising dish. Beurre blanc and fennel combined with the halibut for a buttery, rich experience that had the entire party asking for another bite.
Sides and sauces are designed to be accompaniments, ordered separately and shared. My one disappointment during my early visits was the limited serving size of the various sauces, given their $10–$20 price point.
A variety of vegetable options are offered as side dishes, including a twice-baked potato and creamed spinach. If you have been a fan of Crawford’s restaurants for a while now, your eyes may well drift to the mushroom bread pudding that has made its way from the Crawford and Son menu to Crawford Brothers. The steakhouse rolls transported me back to the steakhouses of my youth, where yeast rolls with butter were often the highlight of the meal for
my then-limited palate. They also reminded me of the early days of Crawford and Son, where yeast rolls were a must-order.
This brings us to the end of the menu— don’t skip dessert. My group loved the simple soft-serve dish, which includes a delicious swirl of Videri chocolate. For those looking for a final experience, the Baked Alaska looks like a standout dish.
The drink menu includes an array of martini options, several whiskey-based cocktails including a signature old-fashioned with Buffalo Trace, and excellent wine. The thread of whimsy extends to the drink menu with an appletini—a drink you might associate with the 1990s, but on the Crawford Brothers menu, it is a delightful drink with the essence of cinnamon on top.
The journey to opening and what comes next
Crawford Brothers delivered a memorable experience on every visit. On three occasions, my party and I embraced it as a special event, indulging in steaks, seafood, and small plates. On the fourth visit, we opted for the burger. Though the bill was lighter, the experience was just as exceptional. It’s clear that Scott Crawford’s vision for the restaurant has quickly and successfully come to life.
A cut of steak at Crawford Brothers Steakhouse. PHOTO BY JESSICA CRAWFORD
The journey to opening Crawford Brothers wasn’t always easy, though.
“We signed this deal a long time ago and we were gearing up to move into design and menu development when COVID-19 hit,” Crawford says. “The world is upended in 2020 and 2021. The Fenton development also underwent changes as the world changed. We went back to the table to see if we wanted to change the location or the size of the space. We looked at every option—and eventually we reached a consensus with the developer and then we geared up again.”
Even after the ups and downs, Crawford’s original vision is largely intact.
The restaurant’s opening was the culmination of a busy year for Crawford Hospitality, which included the opening of Brodeto in May and Crawford Genuine at Raleigh-Durham International Airport this spring, both of which build on the long-running success of Crawford and Son and Jolie in downtown Raleigh.
When I ask Crawford what’s next for the company, he laughs before saying he hopes 2025 will bring a little rest and a lot of travel.
“For us, this year is our year of being operators,” he continues. “We are good operators and we pride ourselves on oper-
ating restaurants. We want to get to know these restaurants and to better understand how our guests are using these restaurants now that they are a few months in—or several years in, depending on the concept.”
He also shares that the company has hired its first director of culture, a role tasked with strengthening the company’s approach internally and externally.
This year, Crawford Hospitality aims to build on the strong foundations of each of its concepts. For Crawford Brothers, this means the menu and approach will continue to evolve as the team finds its rhythm in the weeks ahead. Crawford promises more tableside preparations, dishes with exciting touches and whimsical flair, and even cocktails crafted tableside, reminiscent of the experience at Dukes in London.
Reflecting on my visit to Crawford Brothers, I was reminded of my father’s words whenever friends joined us for dinner: “Order whatever you want, even the rib eye.” To him, steak represented both a great meal and the essence of hospitality. I look forward to bringing him to Crawford Brothers someday and saying the same. This restaurant feels like a fitting new chapter for steakhouses in the Triangle—honoring tradition while looking toward the future. It’s well worth a visit. W
“We hope people will find something on the menu for everyone,” Scott Crawford says. PHOTO BY JESSICA CRAWFORD
to know understand restaurants in—or sevconcept.” company has culture, a role company’s externally. Hospitality aims to of each of Brothers, this will continits rhythm promises dishes with flair, and reminisLondon. Crawford father’s us for dineven the represented both of hospibringing him to and saying like a fitsteakhouses in the while looking a visit. W
TO ATTEND
I See in Words: Red Desert
January 22, 8 p.m. | Shadowbox Studio, Durham
INDY SELECTS
Upcoming things to do, hear, and see, handpicked by the INDY team
As the Poetry Fox, Chris Vitiello has written tens of thousands of poems on the spot at events around the Triangle. Now Vitiello, who is also Durham’s poet laureate, brings this spirit of spontaneous creation to his I See in Words series at Shadowbox Studio, where attendees gather in the darkness to pen poems during film screenings. This time, they’ll watch Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1964 psychological drama Red Desert (Antonioni’s first venture into color filmmaking) and share verses inspired by the film afterward. It’s a fitting event for Shadowbox, which has spent the last decade fostering inventive artistic endeavors from its unexpected home in a storage unit complex. Lena Geller
Durham at a Crossroads: The 1986 Mayoral Recall Battle
January 25, 3 p.m. | Durham County Main Library, Durham
In the ultra-blue Durham of 2025, it’s hard to imagine a mayor facing a recall election on the basis of their solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. But in 1986, against the backdrop of the decline of the manufacturing economy, the city split over Mayor Wib Gulley’s signing of
an antidiscrimination proclamation that called for equal treatment of gay and lesbian residents. Factions broke out—some seeking to recall the mayor, others in support of the proclamation—and the community became fiercely divided. In the end, the tolerant faction won out, a turning point that gave the Bull City a post-manufacturing identity to grow into. In a discussion hosted by the Durham County Library and moderated by Eddie Davis, panelists Steve Schewel, Mab Segrest, Mandy Carter, Joe Harvard, and Leah Davis look back. Registration is required, but if you can’t make it, the event will be recorded and shared virtually at a later date. —Chase Pellegrini de Paur
TO HEAR
Joshua Espinoza Trio
January 25, 7 p.m. | Sharp 9 Gallery, Durham
With cutting-edge spaces like Missy Lane’s and Sharp 9 Gallery accessible and NCCU’s renowned jazz studies program down the road, jazz is well and alive in the Bull City. But if you’re new to or a little intimidated by jazz, gateway artists like Joshua Espinoza’s trio group are the way to go: Espinoza, a Latino-American pianist based in Baltimore, has made it his mission to make people fall in love with the genre by translating popular music to jazz. Expect to hear songs by The Beatles, Eagles, and Billy Joel performed by Espinoza alongside bassist Kris Monson and drummer Jaron Lamar Davis. Admission is $30 and doors open 45 minutes before the show starts. —Sarah Edwards
Hiss Golden Messenger
Jan. 25, 7:30 p.m. | Cat’s Cradle, Chapel Hill
Durham’s M. C. Taylor has a prolific career, packed with albums and awards (and bucolic INDY cover stories), but all vocations have an origin point: For Taylor,
that was 2010, the year he sat down at his kitchen table and wrote the album Bad Debt, pressing 200 initial vinyl records. It wasn’t his first album, but it was one that was creatively formative—Bad Debt, Taylor told the INDY in 2018, “changed my life on a molecular level. I found a thing that I could do.” At this seated solo show, Taylor revisits the experience with a performance of Bad Debt. Lou Hazel, a Durham singer-songwriter with an endearing Dylan sound, opens. For an artist with as deep a history and catalog as Taylor, I love this idea of celebrating a single album and moment in time. —SE
Sam Green: 32 Sounds
January 25, 7:30 p.m. & January 26, 2 p.m. | Reynolds Industry Theater, Durham
Theoretically, a recommendation should have a somewhat informed perspective from its writer, but I can’t pretend to know what the 32 Sounds experience will be like. It’s intriguingly billed as a cinematic performance—a documentary, sensory activity, and live collaboration all rolled into one. Across two Duke Arts weekend events, Oscar-nominated documentarian Sam Green invites you to put on headphones and lose yourself to sound—not just in traditional music, but in the calming purr of a cat, the satisfying whirl of skates across ice, the slightest sound that can evoke a flood of emotions. Green’s documentary 32 Sounds is also available to screen on the Criterion Collection, but this performance is the real deal: DJ/composer JD Samson performs the soundtrack score live. —SE
PHOTO BY BRETT VILLENA
PHOTO COURTESY OF CRITERION
CULTURE CALENDAR
WED 1/22
THURS 1/23
MUSIC
Candlelight: Tribute to Whitney Houston on Strings Jan. 22-23, various times. Aria Center, Durham.
Kathleen Edwards 8 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
NoCap: Before I Disappear Again Tour 7 p.m. The Ritz, Raleigh.
The Strumbellas, Wildermiss 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
Vitamin String Quartet: The Music of Taylor Swift, Bridgerton, and Beyond 8 p.m. The Carolina Theatre, Durham.
PAGE
Elaine Neil Orr: Dancing Woman 7 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh.
SCREEN
I See in Words: Red Desert 8 p.m. Shadowbox Studio, Durham.
MUSIC
Blind Pilot, Dean Johnson 8 p.m. Haw River Ballroom, Saxapahaw.
Chew, Delta 8, Shmuck, Pollute 8 p.m. Rubies on Five Points, Durham.
Dan Bern, Charles Latham 8 p.m. The Pinhook, Durham.
lighthearted, Madisinn, Lady Die 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle Back Room, Carrboro
Moon Zooz, Honeycomb 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
Neffy 7 p.m. The Carolina Theatre, Durham.
Weymouth, North By North, Manic Third Planet 8 p.m. Local 506, Chapel Hill.
PAGE
2024 Wilde Awards Live
6 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill.
Silent Book Club at Letters
6 p.m. Letters Bookshop, Durham.
SCREEN
Full Frame Winter Road Show: DAUGHTERS
7:30 p.m. The Cary Theater, Cary.
Love Is the Devil 8 p.m. Shadowbox Studio, Durham.
FRI 1/24
MUSIC
070 Shake: The Petrichor Tour 7 p.m. The Ritz, Raleigh.
Curtis Eller’s American Circus Album Release Show
8 p.m. Local 506, Chapel Hill.
Elizabeth LaPrelle and the Family Band 7 p.m. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Durham.
For the Record, Ran Albright, Bella Peadon 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
Hot In Herre: 2000s Dance Party 9 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
Jack Wilkins Quartet 7:30 p.m. Sharp 9 Gallery, Durham.
Juicy Jam: A Night of Food and Funk 8 p.m. The Fruit, Durham.
NC Symphony: Scheherazade Jan. 24-25, 8 p.m. Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh.
On the Border 8 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh.
The Shakedown, Balsa Gliders, Nasty Habits, Pine1Nine 5 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh.
Soccer Mommy, L’Rain 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
Tacoma Park, Treason 8 p.m. Shadowbox Studio, Durham.
STAGE
A Good Time: Stand-up Comedy Showcase 7 p.m. Vault Craft Beer, Raleigh.
Hoodoo Hussy presents: Black Belt Burlesque! 8 p.m. the Pinhook, Durham.
Patton Oswalt: Effervescent 7 p.m. Carolina Theatre, Durham.
Love Is the Devil screens at Shadowbox Studio on Thursday, January 23.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SHADOWBOX STUDIO
CULTURE CALENDAR
SAT 1/25
SUN 1/26
MUSIC
Beaux Mondes: Vintage Speakeasy 7 p.m. Succotash, Durham.
Cloud Cult 8 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
Concert Singers of Cary: “For a Breath of Ecstasy” 7:30 p.m. Greenwood Forest Baptist Church, Cary.
Gary Green and the Invisibles 11 a.m. Lanza’s Cafe, Carrboro.
Hiss Golden Messenger, Lou Hazel 7:30 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
ILLUME: Glow Paint Dance Party 10 p.m. Ruby Deluxe, Raleigh.
Jessica Lea Mayfield, Margaux 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle Back Room, Carrboro.
Joshua Espinoza Trio 7:30 p.m. Sharp 9 Gallery, Durham.
Laura Jane Vincent, Tom Troyer, Sam Thorn 8 p.m. Local 506, Chapel Hill.
Muzz 9 p.m. The Fruit, Durham.
Opera’s Past, Present, and Future 1 p.m. Durham Arts Council, Durham.
Rebecca Kleinmann
Ensemble Experience
11 a.m. The Carolina Theatre, Durham.
The Rock and Roll Playhouse 12:30 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
STAGE
32 Sounds: Sam Green Jan. 25-26, various times. Reynolds Industries Theater, Durham.
Killers of Kill Tony 7 p.m. DPAC, Durham.
ZERO PROOF: A SOBER DRAG SHOW 7 p.m. The Pinhook, Durham.
SCREEN
NCMA Cinema: Gods of Mexico 12 p.m. North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh.
MUSIC
Donna the Buffalo 8 p.m. Haw River Ballroom, Saxapahaw.
Donny Benét, Fancy Gap 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
Gross Reality, Necrocosm, Goatchoker 5 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh.
ICONS: Clint Holmes and the Christian Tamburr Quartet 3 p.m. The Cary Theater, Cary.
J Candeed and the Particle Accelerators 4 p.m. Slim’s Downtown, Raleigh.
Jordana, Rachel Bobbitt 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle Back Room, Carrboro.
Live Jazz with Joseph Silvers 11 a.m. Lanza’s Cafe, Carrboro.
Sights and Sounds Concert Series: Trio Flamecrest 2 p.m. North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh.
Twisted Teens, Ensign’99, Frank Meadows 8 p.m. Rubies on Five Points, Durham.
STAGE
LookOut 7 p.m. Mettlesome Theater, Durham.
Superbloom: Ian Aber and Shelley Gruenberg 8 p.m. The Pinhook, Durham.
TUES 1/28
WED 1/29
MUSIC
TX2, tiLLie, Flat Out 6:50 p.m. Local 506, Chapel Hill.
PAGE
Billy Collins 6 p.m. Durham Main Library, Durham.
James Boyle: The Line: AI and the Future of Personhood 5:30 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill.
SCREEN
North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra 7:30 p.m. Sharp 9 Gallery, Durham.
MUSIC
Al Stewart and Livingston Taylor 8 p.m. The Carolina Theatre, Durham.
MJ Lenderman and the Wind, Wild Pink Jan. 29-30, 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
STAGE
Bad Momz of Comedy Jan. 29-30, 8 p.m. Halle Cultural Arts Center, Apex. Death of a Salesman Jan. 29–Feb. 16, various times. PlayMakers Repertory Company, Chapel Hill.
Curtis Eller’s American Circus performs at Local 506 on Friday, January 24.
CULTURE CALENDAR
WED 1/29
THURS
PAGE
Night Sky with Exit Wounds: Adapting the Words of Ocean Vuong 5:30 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill.
Sally Breedlove, Willa Kane, Madison Perry and Alysia Yates: Eighth Day Prayers 7 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh.
COMMUNITY
INDY Presents: What’s Your Vision for Durham in 2030? 6 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
MUSIC
DJ Lucas, Papo2oo4, Subjxct 5, Saky, Oceangrin 8 p.m. Local 506, Chapel Hill.
Fox N’ Vead 8 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
Highly Suspect 7 p.m. The Ritz, Raleigh.
Jess Klein, Wes Collins 7 p.m. The Eno House, Hillsborough.
The Nashville Nights Band 8 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh.
Tyler Ramsey, Emma Geiger 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle Back Room, Carrboro.
STAGE
Class Acts! A Comedy Show 7 p.m. Durty Bull Brewing Company, Durham.
Paint Me This House of Love Jan. 30–Feb. 16, various times. Burning Coal Theatre Company, Raleigh.
PAGE
Eddie Huffman: Doc Watson: A Life in Music 5:30 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill.
SCREEN
Cosmic Rays at Shadowbox: NC Experimental Short Films 8 p.m. Shadowbox Studio, Durham.
Full Frame Winter Road Show: UNION 7:30 p.m. The Cary Theater, Cary.
MUSIC
Big Richard, The Shoats 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle Back Room, Carrboro.
Butler Knowles Quartet
7 p.m. Sharp 9 Gallery, Durham.
Freedy Johnston, Darren Jessee, Django Haskins 7 p.m. The Pinhook, Durham.
Iris DeMent 7:30 p.m. Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh.
Mary J. Blige 7 p.m. PNC Arena, Raleigh.
NC Opera: Florencia en el Amazonas Jan. 31–Feb. 2, various times. Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh.
NC Symphony: Bach Double Violin Concerto 12 p.m. Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh.
Robbie Fulks 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
Stop Light Observations, Winyah 8 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh.
Sungazer: Against the Fall of Night Tour 9 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
Wallice, Ally Evenson 8 p.m. Local 506, Chapel Hill.
STAGE
States of Hope: HopeBoykinDance 7 p.m. Reynolds Industries Theater, Durham.
SCREEN
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Concert Jan. 31–Feb. 1, various times. DPAC, Durham.
MUSIC
25th Annual Bob Marley Bash: Mickey Mills and Steel, Jamrock, Zion Project, DJ Ras J 7:30 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
Dua Saleh 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle Back Room, Carrboro.
Hot Sleepers, Tapes on Ten, Late Model 8 p.m. Shadowbox Studio, Durham.
Jeremy Pelt Quintet 9 p.m. Sharp 9 Gallery, Durham.
Natalie Jane: Sick to My Stomach Tour 8 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
Ole 60 7 p.m. The Ritz, Raleigh, NC
PARADOX: A ’90s Rave Experience 9 p.m. The Fruit, Durham.
SONAM Winter Concert for Durham Crisis Response Center 4 p.m. First Presbyterian Church, Durham.
Butler Knowles performs at Sharp 9 Gallery on Friday, January 31.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SHARP 9 GALLERY
SUN 2/2 MON 2/3
SCREEN
Open Screening 9 p.m. Shadowbox Studio, Durham.
7
TUES 2/4
MUSIC
Phantogram
p.m. The Ritz, Raleigh.
MUSIC
Willow Avalon 8 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
Dua Saleh performs at the Cat’s Cradle Back Room on Saturday, February 1. PHOTO COURTESY OF CAT’S CRADLE
CROSSWORD
Los Angeles Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Patti Varol
Carole King album with the song used as the “Gilmore Girls” theme 4 Dreamboat of Greek mythology 5 Some turns 6 San Joaquin Valley city 7 Word with can or pan
8 Saying that goes without saying 9 Blair of “The Exorcist”
SU | DO | KU
© Puzzles by Pappocom
level: HARD
There is really only one rule to Sudoku: Fill in the game board so that the numbers 1 through 9 occur exactly once in each row, column, and 3x3 box. The numbers can appear in any order and diagonals are not considered. Your initial game board will consist of several numbers that are already placed. Those numbers cannot be changed. Your goal is to fill in the empty squares following the simple rule above.
If you’re stumped, find the answer keys for these puzzles and archives of previous puzzles (and their solutions) at indyweek.com/puzzles-page or scan this QR code for a link. Best of luck, and have fun!
Annual gaming tournament, for
Dating 11 Chem. in some calming pet treats 12 Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto 13 Graph theory pioneer 14 “I agree to those terms!”
15 Juneau native
16 Gary Larson comic strip, with “The”
17 After-hours employee, perhaps
19 In __ to: deeply engrossed in 23 Vietnamese New Year 25 Better informed 28 119-Down formula 30 Chimpanzees, e.g.
31 Gilbert of “The Conners”
32 Rapper Shakur
33 Makes an oopsie
38 Take turns
40 Moo __ pork 41 Ballpoint tips 43 Little hellion
44 Latin “Seize the day”
46 Parakeet enclosure
48 Graded injury
e.g.
Unaccountedfor times on a résumé
EMPLOYMENT
Data Scientists/Business Intelligence Analysts
Data Scientists/Business Intelligence Analysts–Multiple Openings - Durham, NC. Analyte IT Services LLC needs professionals: Work using Power BI & ETL pipeline development, CI/CD deployment, Cloud management, Python scripting & Data migration. Req. - Bachelors + 5 yrs. Comp. sal. Relocate to unanticipated sites. No National/International travel. Please mail resume to Ref: President, 4819 Emperor BLVD, Ste 418E, Durham, NC, 27703.
Sr. Product Owner
Sr. Product Owner-Agile, F/T at Truist (Raleigh, NC) In the Scaled Agile Framework, partner w/ product managers to balance business, technology & dsgn priorities to deliver brand-defining product & service exp. Work w/ Product Managers to translate the product vision into epics & features that can be actioned by the delivery teams. Work will span the entire delivery process; from assisting w/ identification of areas for improvement, to more detailed work in authoring user stories, working closely w/ tech’l leads/scrum teams to ensure the solution effectively addresses exp priorities while maintaining tech’l integrity, & overseeing tech’l execution of efforts. Must have Bach’s deg in Comp Sci, IS, IT or a related tech’l field. Must have 5 yrs of progressive exp in business or product analyst positions w/in the banking &/or fin’l services industry performing/utilizing the following: leading cross functional teams; working as a Product Owner for Agile team(s); defining & delivering large-scale business initiatives to execute on a product roadmap, incl stakeholder mgmt, reqmts elicitation, test planning/support & business-level product validation; demonstrating tech’l acumen & working w/ the technology organization to align product & technology roadmaps; translating strategic plans into tactical daily actions for execution; leading cross-functional teams w/out formal authority; managing concurrent projects in a fast-based, results-driven environment; interpreting data & trends, diagnosing problems, & recommending action plans to resolve issues; & working w/: Rally, Splunk, & Tableau. Position may be eligible to work remotely but is based out of & reports to Truist offices in Raleigh, NC. Must be available to travel to Raleigh, NC regularly for meetings & reviews w/ manager & project teams w/in 24-hrs’ notice. Apply online (https://careers.truist.com/) or email resume to: Paige.Whitesell@Truist.com. (Ref Job#R0097671)
