On November 6 and 7, the Fuquay-Varina Downtown Association's two biggest late-fall events land on back-to-back days. The town-run Fuquay-Varina Arts Center has a show scheduled after each of them. The timing works differently each day. On Friday, the downtown event and the concert overlap. On Saturday, the festival ends three and a half hours before the curtain goes up.
How you handle that Saturday gap decides how the weekend goes. A few of the newest kitchens in town opened this summer on the blocks that sit inside it.
Friday: First Friday and the Arts Center overlap
The Downtown Association's First Friday is on the town calendar for Friday, November 6, from 5 to 9 p.m. across downtown Fuquay-Varina. The association described October's edition as a night when businesses in both downtown districts stay open late, with the Downtown Social District in effect for shopping, sipping and strolling.
At 7:30 that same evening, The Sister Moon Project plays the Fuquay-Varina Arts Center at 123 E. Vance Street. The town's event page names Grace Kelly, Chrissi Poland and Christian Tamburr and describes a set of Sting and The Police songs. Tickets are $24 on the Arts Center ticketing page. The show is part of the Icons of Jazz series, and a four-show package costs $80. Camille Thurman's "Divine & Dexterous" on October 22 is another show in the series.
The concert starts with First Friday half over, so the two share the evening. The Arts Center is in downtown Fuquay, inside the same district First Friday covers. That means you could spend 5 to 7 on Main Street and the side streets, then walk to Vance Street before the show. October's First Friday showed how the evening spreads out. The free historical trolley stopped at 108 Raleigh Street outside the Downtown Association office and in front of Quaint Plaza on East Broad Street. The Arts Center gallery and concession stand stayed open until 8. November's lineup of business specials and side events hasn't been posted yet. The association asks people to check back as each First Friday gets closer.
Saturday: three and a half hours between events
Saturday runs in order, one event after the other, with a long gap between them.
- Noon to 4 p.m. The 11th BBQ, Blues & Brews fills the Varina Parking Lot at 801 Durham Street. The Downtown Association bills it as southwestern Wake County's biggest festival of its kind. It brings BBQ sampling and judging from regional grill teams, live blues, local craft beverages and a vendor market. Tasting tickets are sold ahead of time. The event goes on rain or shine. The organizers ask people to leave pets at home because of the crowds and loud music.
- 4 to 7:30 p.m. Nothing is scheduled.
- 7:30 p.m. Noche Flamenca takes the Arts Center stage, and all tickets are $22.
The festival ends in Varina's historic downtown, and the show starts in downtown Fuquay. In between, most people will be looking for dinner. Afternoon tastings tend to leave people less than full by evening. Three of this year's openings sit right where Saturday's schedule leaves that gap.
The openings in the gap
Suburban Living's September roundup listed three restaurants as newly open. Two are on East Broad Street in Varina, a short distance from the festival lot. The third is in downtown Fuquay, close to the Arts Center.
| Restaurant | Address | District | What's on the menu |
|---|---|---|---|
| TrY Seafood Grill | 525 East Broad Street | Downtown Varina | Family-owned; grilled, steamed or fried coastal and Southern-inspired seafood; patio seating and takeout |
| Momo Station | 405 East Broad Street, Suite 249, in Quaint Plaza | Downtown Varina | Nepalese momos served five ways, plus Himalayan street snacks and chowmein |
| Sully's Misfits Kitchen | 213 Fayetteville Street, Suite 1B, inside The Brick | Downtown Fuquay | Massachusetts dive-bar comfort food, including Boston-style roast beef, tavern pies and grilled linguica |
TrY Seafood Grill took over the former Aviation Smokehouse space. That makes it a new kitchen at an address many locals already know. Momo Station serves its dumplings steamed, pan-fried as kothey, fried, tossed in spicy chili sauce, or in a warm tomato-sesame broth as jhol. Fillings are chicken, vegetable or paneer. WRAL reported Momo Station open by the end of July. Triangle Food Blog listed Sully's as open in mid-July. None of the three has published an exact first day, but all of them have been serving for months. On November 7, they will be busy for the first time with a festival crowd.
Saturday's gap naturally splits into two moves. The two Varina spots are closer to the BBQ, Blues & Brews lot for an early dinner. Sully's suits a later meal on the Fuquay side, just before the Arts Center. Quaint Plaza was also a trolley stop during October's First Friday, which shows how the Downtown Association treats East Broad Street as half of downtown.
The weeks on either side keep the same split
November 6–7 is the clearest example of a pattern that runs through the whole season. The town's outdoor events are held in daylight or early evening. The Arts Center takes over at 7:30.
Outdoors, mostly in daylight
- October 15, 6 to 9 p.m. FM2FV Concert Series with Spare Change at Centennial Square, 102 N. Main Street. The town calendar lists it as free, with food trucks and local brews.
- October 17. The Haunted Trail at Carroll Howard Johnson Environmental Education Park, 301 Wagstaff Road. The Family Trail runs from 5 to 6 p.m. and the Full Fright session from 7 to 9 p.m.
- October 23, 2 to 5 p.m. Trick-or-Treat Downtown, sponsored by the Downtown Association.
- October 31, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Fuquay-Varina Fire Department Annual Open House at Fire Station No. 1, 301 S. Fuquay Avenue. The town lists station tours, firefighting equipment, a kids' agility course, face painting and fire safety tips.
- November 28. Small Business Saturday on the Downtown Association's calendar.
At the Arts Center, after dark
- October 22, 7:30 p.m. Icons of Jazz with Camille Thurman, $24.
- October 30, 7:30 p.m. Magician Jeki Yoo.
- November 13 and 14. The fourth Fuquay Film Festival, running 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday. A $20 all-festival pass covers short-film screenings, workshops and panels on both days.
- November 25, 7:30 p.m. The Embers Holiday Show, with all seats at $22. The town's calendar lists it as "The Embers Christmas."
October 31 shows the pattern in a single day. The fire station open house wraps up at 2 p.m., well before trick-or-treat hours. The Film Festival breaks it on purpose. Its Saturday session runs 11 hours, so the Arts Center hosts a daytime event of its own that weekend. After November, the Town Tree Lighting moves back outdoors to downtown Fuquay on Thursday, December 3, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Two Main Street-area addresses still dark
Two more places to eat are on the way, but neither had announced an opening date as of the latest reports. The Rican Lab is building a brick-and-mortar restaurant at 330 S. Main Street, in the former Fainting Goat space. Suburban Living expects more of the Puerto Rican cooking its food truck already serves. In September, WRAL reported Guthrie's as coming to 1960 Cinema Drive, also with no date given. A Main Street opening for The Rican Lab would put another option within walking distance of the Arts Center. Until one of them sets a date, Saturday's gap belongs to East Broad Street and The Brick.
Plenty of Fuquay-Varina homeowners have been here long enough to know which First Friday blocks get crowded and when the BBQ, Blues & Brews lot fills up. Many of them are also the first to ask what their home is worth as downtown keeps adding places like these. If you're curious where your home stands this fall, Keith O'Hare can pull the numbers for your street. Get your free home valuation.
