Durham Event Calendar

This week, the American Dance Festival is in full swing as it celebrates its 75th anniversary. There are also several events for Father's Day, including an interesting looking luau at The Melting Pot.

See all of this week's events

Use the searchable event calendar

Historic Cleveland-Holloway Neighborhood Home Tour

The Cleveland-Holloway neighborhood just east of downtown Durham is hosting a home tour this Saturday, May 17. The tour starts at 1pm at 406 Oakwood Avenue, a 1920's Craftsman bungalow currently being renovated.

The cost is free, although a $5 donation to the neighborhood is greatly appreciated. For more information about the tour and available home in the Cleveland-Holloway area, visit http://chhomes.blogspot.com.

The neighborhood also garnered a cover on this week's Independent Weekly. See the article here.

Directions: From downtown, go 1 block east on Holloway. Just past the library, take a left on Queen Street and then a right on Ottawa. Go one block to Oakwood Avenue.

Annual Preservation Durham Home Tour

The 12th Annual Preservation Durham Home Tour is happening this Saturday, May 3. There are 13 historic Watts Hospital-Hillandale homes on tap, as well as the NC School of Science & Math (the former Watts Hostpital). The tour runs from 10:00am until 6:00pm, ticket info is below. This year's tour is also the kick-off of the WHH Centennial Celebration, marking the ground-breaking of Watts Hospital in May 1908.
Maverick Partners' principal Reynolds Maxwell owns a stop on the tour, the Mansfield House (pictured above). The home has been beautifully restored, and in my humble opinion is a must see.
Tickets are $20. See more details about the tour or purchase tickets on line here.
If you would prefer to buy your tickets in person, here are the outlets:
§ Preservation Durham Office - 200 N. Mangum Street
§ Broad Street Cafe - 1106 Broad Street
§ Locopops - 2600 Hillsboro Road
§ Morgan Imports - 113 S. Gregson Street
§ Regulator Bookshop - 720 Ninth Street
§ Cameron’s - University Mall, Chapel Hill
§ Quail Ridge Books - Ridgewood Shopping Center, Wade Avenue, Raleigh

Durham Event Calendar

This week's events cover a wide spectrum. Musicians of all ages are taking to the stage, with concerts from the Durham Public Schools Honors Band and the Duke Symphony Orchestra. Several exhibits continue to run at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.

If you haven't been to Parker & Otis in the Brightleaf district, now is a good time to visit. Check out Wine After Work on Thursday evenings for $2.50 glasses of wine and $1.75 bottled beer. Or, hang out with Friday night staple the Duke Street Dogs and get a full slate of music styles, including blues, country, fiddle tunes, waltzes, and jazz standards.

This week's events

Downtown events

Durham Event Calendar

Durham: A Self Portrait is back for a return engagement at the 14th Annual Black Diaspora Film Festival. This film sold out when it ran at The Carolina Theatre last November; it is now making the rounds of several venues across the city.

Also playing thie week: Arlo Guthrie at The Carolina Theatre and special Valentine's Day dinners across the city.

See the Event Calendar

See the Downtown Events Calendar

Durham Kress Open House Feb. 15

From the ABCD listserv: The Durham Kress is hosting an open house to showcase the three remaining units in the building. The open house is on February 15 from 4pm-7pm. Artwork by local artists Jonathan Schneider and Darius Quarles will be on display. There will also be a second open house on Sunday, February 17, from 2pm-4pm.
The Kress is located in downtown Durham at the corner of Mangum and Main Streets (103 W. Main)
Get the scoop on available units here.
Map to the open house: http://www.google.com/maps?q=103+w+main+street+durham+nc+27701&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=35.995016,-78.900695&spn=0.007517,0.012381&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=0

Durham Event Calendar

Here's the latest Durham Community Event Calendar. The Soul Power music series is underway at Duke, with Mavis Staples and the Blind Boys of Alabama taking the stage on February 8. Also at Duke, "Chicago, the Musical" will be onstage February 5. Also check out late night tango, Carolina shag, downtown art exhibits, and Duke women's basketball.
Events Calendar

Downtown Events

Update on the Old East Durham Open Home Tour

The Old East Durham Open Home Tour is set for this Sunday, January 27, from 1-4pm. Start at the Preservation Durham office (200 N. Mangum Street) or at 201 S. Driver Street. Attendees will have the chance to see homes currently for sale, and will also have a chance to visit with neighborhood homeowners that have rehabbed homes and have volunteered to show off the fruits of their labor. Be sure to collect an information packet, which includes info on homes for sale in the area, a neighborhood contact list, info on home and renovation loans, tax credits for historic property, and more.

East Durham Gains New Energy Part II

Uplift East Durham and Preservation Durham are hosting an Old East Durham Open Home Tour this Sunday, January 27 from 1-4pm. From the Uplift East Durham blog:
"We are inviting potential home buyers to take a look at available homes and meet neighbors in the area. If you're a neighbor that wants to share your community with people looking for a home, tell them about this event. If you're a potential buyer that never considered our area, come see what a fabulous community we are. This neighborhood has fast access to lots of major highways, shopping centers, culture, the heart of the city and historic homes!"
Contact Aidil Ortiz Collins at 919-260-4807 or aidiloc@gmail.com for more info. I'm requesting a list of tour homes, and will post here if I receive it in time.

What to Do in Durham This Week

I'm always amazed by the sheer number and diversity of things happening in Durham. I get this calendar of events every week from the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau. To be honest, it's usually so overwhelming, I just take a quick glance and bail out. However, the fact that I work all the time is no reason to deprive others of the chance to experience all the great things to do here.

Over the next few weeks, you can check out everything from a cooking class at Four Square (comforting seafood, sounds divine) to a Nelson Mandela Art Exhibit. Join the list and have the calendar delivered to your Inbox, or just check it out here - I'll make a serious effort to post it every week.

Open House and Goodies From Mangum 506

We're hosting an open house for Mangum 506 this weekend during Art Walk in downtown Durham.

When: Saturday, 11/17 10am-5pm and Sunday, 11/18 1pm-5pm.

Where: Center Studio Architecture, 339 W. Main Street, downtown Durham.

No Five Points Martinis at this one (I know you're disappointed), but we have something better. For all contracts signed before December 15, 2007, the developer is offering a free appliance package. All units come with a range, microwave, and dishwasher standard (EnergyStar, of course). This offer also includes the refrigerator and washer/dryer, for free. The architect, developer, and marketing and sales team will be on hand at the open house to mingle and answer your questions.

I attended the Downtown Durham, Inc Annual Meeting last night. Always interesting. I've attended off and on for the past few years. The crowd has definitely gotten smaller over the years. I don't think this is a bad thing. DDI describes itself as a catalyst for downtown revitalization. Downtown Durham has now become home to world class office space, companies, and one of the largest private Porsche collections in the country. The growth and development of downtown Durham is going viral, which means there is less need for someone to constantly be pushing, proding, and stoking the fire of revitalization. At its own admission, DDI was not able to recognize all of the projects that happened downtown over the past year (and didn't seem to even know about a few of them). Downtown is now too big to be defined by one organization - a good thing, indeed.

DCVB Honors Bull Durham

The Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau has announced the honoree for this year's annual tribute luncheon. They will be honoring the 20th anniversary of a Durham original, the movie Bull Durham. I haven't been able to attend a tribute luncheon before, but I hear they are always great. Online reservations are now open, email reservations@durham-cvb.com for more info.

Register now for 3rd Annual Community Dinners

I received this invite from Reyn Bowman. After all the negative publicity surrounding town-gown relations, it's great to see this event going into its third year.

Durham Residents:

In October, freshmen students from Duke University and residents of Durham will come together for the 3rd Annual Community Dinners project.

Residents can sign-up, now through September 28, to host 2-4 new students for dinner in their homes one evening, October 8-31.

The Community Dinners were created as a grassroots effort to give students new to Duke University and Durham the opportunity to get to know their Durham neighbors and immediately expand Duke-Durham relationships beyond the campus walls.

The project is supported and facilitated by Duke University and the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, with plans to expand its scope with support from North Carolina Central University in the coming year.

Please visit www.durhamtowngown.com for more information and to register.

Support A Local Affordable Housing Developer

Durham Community Land Trustees (DCLT) will host its yearly benefit concert on September 26 at the Carolina Theatre. This year's concert is Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. I went last year - there was a great reception before the concert, and the concert (NNenna Freelon) was wonderful.

Get info on tickets at www.dclt.org. DCLT is celebrating 20 years of providing affordable homes in Durham. They use a fairly innovative approach, which you'll hear more about if you read this blog regularly. Although if you just can't wait to learn more, check out their website.

Tips and Secrets for Landing Your Dream Home

Starting September 18, I'll be heading up a 5 week homebuyer seminar with Duke Continuing Ed. I'm trying to make this as different as possible from the typical homebuyer seminars you see advertised in the local paper. No, really. Lots of local info and real life examples (trust me, truth is so much more fun than fiction in real estate). No heavy handed pitches to drum up business for my company. Absolutely no party line, "it's ALWAYS a good time to buy a home" and "how to buy a home for NO money down" rhetoric. Just good information, lots of time to ask questions, and a truthful approach to real estate. More info and registration at
http://www.learnmore.duke.edu/weekend/courses/classdetail.asp?ClassCategories=Self&Submit=SEARCH&ClassID=11171.