Hey y’all — if all goes as I’ve planned, this scheduled letter is landing in your inbox on Friday morning.
I’m writing this en route to my annual girls’ trip, taking off early from RDU where I spotted that Carolina Craft is open starting at 4 a.m. in Terminal 2.
A six-month pilot at RDU allowing alcohol sales during all open hours and to-go drinks from restaurants in the terminal means I could have gotten an adult beverage to kick off this kid-free trip.
I just went for an iced latte at Black & White Coffee Roasters. Maybe next time.
Speaking of the airport, there’s time to give input on how the nearby 136 acres of RDU-owned land will be developed. Could it become something like Charlotte’s Whitewater Center? Nothing is set in stone yet.
Keep scrolling for the details on the next community input meeting, plus…
An opportunity to tell an all-star group of Raleigh restaurateurs what should go in a space that’s been a rotating door of openings and closings.
How to volunteer to build internationally known public art in Dorothea Dix Park.
Paid subscribers can plan ahead with the September and October curated picks, from Hopscotch Day Parties to Holiday Express ticketing tips!
Thanks for being here. —Sarah Day
3 ways you can shape the future
🏗️ Give input on RDU’s “recreation and wellness destination”: ICYMI, the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority is redeveloping the land it once leased to the county near Lake Crabtree as part of a park. No particular development idea is confirmed, but the illustrations are heavy on zip lines.
The first public workshop was Aug. 19.
The next will be 4-7 p.m. (drop-in) Sept. 23 at Laurel Hills Community Center in Raleigh and Oct. 21 in RTP.
💭 Next up on Brookside: The space near The Optimist on Brookside Drive has been many businesses in the past six years, including Falafel & Co., Brookside Bodega and, most recently, Otomi Comida y Cocteles.
Now, with a supergroup of Raleigh restaurant owners and creatives including Cheetie Kumar and Paul Siler (Ajja), Angela Salamanca (Centro and Mala Pata) Marshall Davis (Mala Pata) and Justin Pasfield (Locals Seafood), it will be Big Cat on Brookside. They’re looking for neighborhood feedback in this form.
🌳 Volunteer to install the trolls: Dorothea Dix Park will soon be home to five trolls from Danish Recycle Artist Thomas Dambo. High Point and Charlotte will each get a troll installation too, making the North Carolina installation the largest in the U.S.
The locations are purposely opaque so the trolls can be “found.”
Volunteer registration already opened for Dix Park Conservancy members via emailed link. It opens to the general public at noon on Sept. 17.
Plus…
🍎 School reassignment proposals: Next school year’s school reassignment draft has been shared by Wake County public schools. The biggest changes affect eastern Wake County and Apex, but some families going to Raleigh and Cary may see changes, WRAL reports. That includes:
Some students from Dillard Drive Middle (Raleigh) could move to West Lake Middle (Apex).
Some students from Mills Park Elementary (Cary) could move to Salem Elementary (Apex), since Mills Park is overcrowded.
Check your 2026-27 proposed assignment here, and upcoming information sessions.
🍸 Espresso + martini: I’m already looking forward to the espresso martinis at Bar Marigold in Jubala Coffee’s forthcoming Downtown Raleigh location at 301 Hillsborough Street, in the Pendo office building. No ETA on the opening beyond “fall” yet.
ICYMI: Just Bring Yourself + the kids edition last week has 14 early fall ideas for families, plus news on high school rankings, an “AI-driven” school in North Raleigh, and a family-friendly brewery opening soon.
Curated events for September and October
Forget the firehose of event listings. Here are the best events and how to plan for them, curated just for paid subscribers.
Read on for tips to land those Holiday Express tickets, Hopscotch Day Party picks and more.
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