Durham Magazine

11/13/2025

🍂☀️ Looks like we've got yet another beautiful fall weekend ahead in the Bull City 🎭🎶🏈

Jordan High School Theater celebrates a milestone moment as it brings Broadway to the stage with the first-ever high school production of "Water for Elephants." 🐘✨ Then, experience an unforgettable fusion of movement and music with Jenn Freeman’s "Is It Thursday Yet?" presented by Duke Arts. 💃🎵

Relive the rise of the queen of rock ‘n’ roll with Tina The Musical at DPAC⚡🎤, and join Durham Sports Commission to cheer on the Virginia Union University Panthers and the Johnson C. Smith University Golden Bulls during the CIAA Football Championship at Durham County Memorial Stadium. 🏈💛💙❤️

Don’t miss the fiery spectacle of Liberty Arts' ninth annual Iron Pour at Durham Central Park 🔥, or unwind with Jose Gonzalez JG's intimate indie folk at The Carolina Theatre of Durham. 🎸 Sunday brings jazz and sisterhood to Sharp 9 Gallery with "The Sistering," featuring Nnenna Freelon, Lenora Helm Hammonds, Lois Deloatch and Kate McGarry. 🎷❤️

Plus, the littlest Durhamites can send their plush pals on an overnight adventure during Museum of Life and Science’s Stuffed Animal Sleepover! 🧸🌙

📸 Tag Durham Magazine and show us how you’re spending your weekend! Tap the 🔗 below for the full roundup.

From annual festivals to fundraisers and more, read on for everything fun you can eat, drink and do in Durham this weekend.

11/06/2025

🎶🦸‍♂️ It's a weekend full of fandom, flavor and fine art in the Bull City! 💫🎨

Suit up for NCComicon at the Durham Convention Center, where creators and fans of all kinds unite for panels, art and cosplay. And don't miss your chance to support Families Moving Forward tonight at its Chefs for Change Gala & Live Auction at The Cookery, featuring five of Durham’s top chefs (only a few tix remain!). 👨‍🍳❤️

Celebrate Southern storytelling at Griot and Grey Owl Blk Southern Writers Conference across downtown venues – with special guests Nnenna Freelon, Pierce Freelon and North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green. ✍️🎤

Bring the fam to The Durham Hotel for a ’90s-themed Family Game Night benefiting Urban Ministries of Durham 🎲, explore 30+ artist studios during the Durham Pottery Tour 🏺, and catch Black Violin at DPAC for a genre-bending performance integrating classical melodies and hip-hop beats. 🎻🔥 Round out your weekend with Duke Arts as Duke University Chorale joins Tunisia88 for a cross-cultural concert at Baldwin Auditorium. 🌍🎵

📸 Tag and show us how you’re spending the weekend! Follow the 🔗 below for the full weekend lineup.

From annual festivals to fundraisers and more, read on for everything fun you can eat, drink and do in Durham this weekend.

11/05/2025

🚨𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘁 🚨

Drift Coffee Shop + Kitchen RTP opens its newest café at Horseshoe at Hub RTP - Raleigh Durham one week from today! ☕

The coastal-inspired café, known for its nourishing menu and focus on community, will open its newest coffee shop and restaurant on Wednesday, Nov. 12. The location at Horseshoe offers a modern, welcoming space for connection and calm, with green spaces, a nature trail and Burdens Creek just steps away. 🌳✨

“Our vision for Drift has always been about more than great coffee,” says owner Michael Powell, who founded the company with his brother, Ben Powell; they opened their first location in Ocean Isle Beach in 2014 and have since grown the brand to 12 North Carolina locations. 🌊 “We want to create spaces where people can slow down, connect and be inspired – whether they’re grabbing a morning flat white, getting lunch or stepping out of the office to reset for the afternoon. Horseshoe at Hub RTP captures that balance between progress and presence that we’ve been chasing since day one.” 🌿🩵

The menu features favorites such as the bodega breakfast sandwich, acai bowl, breakfast burrito, caprese sandwich, chicken pesto bowl and chopped salad. 🥪🥗Guests can order ahead via Drift’s app or website for pickup or delivery. 📲

The opening of this location also marks the start of a new chapter for Drift, as it launches its in-house coffee roasting program – having broken ground on a roastery in Wilmington, North Carolina, this fall, where it will begin roasting next year – and debuts a catering service for The Research Triangle Park offices, including boxed breakfasts, bulk bowls and customizable packages. 🍱

📍3151 Elion Dr., Ste. C
🕖 Open daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
📸 No. 1-4 courtesy of Drift
📸 No. 5-7 courtesy The Plaid Penguin

11/04/2025

🎉 A huge congratulations to restaurants Little Bull, Nanas, Seraphine Durham and NikosDurham for earning recommendations MICHELIN Guide's inaugural selection for the American South – its first-ever regional edition since Michelin began covering North America in 2005. 🌟👏 We're incredibly proud of the talented chefs and teams behind these esteemed eateries and happy to see their hard work recognized on such a prestigious stage.👨‍🍳🍽️ Join us in celebrating these culinary powerhouses! 🍾✨

📸 No. 1 at Little Bull by John Michael Simpson
📸 No. 2-3 at Nanas by John Michael Simpson
📸 No. 4-5 at Seraphine by John Michael Simpson
📸 No. 6-7 at Seraphine by Chloe Mateus
📸 No. 8 at Nikos

10/31/2025

We’re quite boo-llish on Halloween this year! 👻 🐃 Have a fang-tastic time celebrating all things spooky and sweet, Durham! 🦇🍬🎃 Drop your frightfully fun plans in the comments below!👇🕷️

10/30/2025

🎃👻 It’s Halloweekend in the Bull City – and the lineup is frightfully fun! 💀🎶

Choose from a spellbinding slate of celebrations, including:

Motorco's All Y’all Halloween Ball;
Ment Beverage Co.'s Halloween Pet Costume Party;
Museum of Life and Science's BooFest;
The Blue Note Grill's Halloween Bash With The Fabulous Nitelife Boogie;
Mystic Farm's Mystic Halloween Costume Party;
The Pinhook's Dancing With the Phantoms; and
Ponysaurus Brewing Co.'s Halloween Costume Contest and Beer Brat Grill Out.

➕ Plus, honor tradition at Duke University Chapel with Duke Arts' Día de los Mu***os Ofrenda 🕯️🌼, then watch queens take the mic at DPAC during SIX. 🎤✨

Bring the whole family along for festive fun at Book Harvest’s Book or Treat 🎃📚, or learn about dazzling design at Hamilton Hill Jewelry’s Artist Talk + Trunk Show with Peter Schmid. 💎

Keep the rhythm going Saturday when sax legend Boney James brings the heat to The Carolina Theatre of Durham 🎷🔥, and wrap up your weekend at Durham Central Park and The Glass Jug Beer Lab - Downtown Durham’s Food Truck Rodeo. 🚚🍔

📸 Tag us in your Halloween adventures + tap the 🔗 below for the full weekend lineup!

From annual festivals to fundraisers and more, read on for everything fun you can eat, drink and do in Durham this weekend.

10/28/2025

🏙️ Curious about what's up, downtown? ✨

Transformations continue to take shape across the city's center, from modern apartments and creative workspaces to reimagined trails and green spaces. 🚧 Recent and upcoming projects are adding housing, dining and retail options, building onto the next chapter of Downtown Durham. 🏗️

A comprehensive guide to the nearly 50 development projects that are underway in and around downtown Durham

10/27/2025

🧖‍♀️ 𝘽𝙚𝙚𝙢 𝙇𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙎𝙖𝙪𝙣𝙖 𝙂𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 🧖‍♀️

Enhance circulation and 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙚 your muscles with .durham.nc’s red light and infrared saunas! 🔴 We’ve partnered with Beem to gift one lucky winner a free week of red light and infrared sauna sessions with power plate! ☀️

ᴛᴏ ᴇɴᴛᴇʀ:
💟 ʟɪᴋᴇ and save this post
📲 ꜰᴏʟʟᴏᴡ + .durham.nc
😊 ᴛᴀɢ a friend who deserves some self-care! (Multiple entries allowed, separate comments please.)
👀 ꜱʜᴀʀᴇ this post to your story and tag for ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ extra entries! Good luck ☘️

📸 by

𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗢𝗰𝘁. 𝟯𝟬, 𝗮𝘁 𝟭𝟭 𝗮.𝗺. 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝘿𝙪𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙢 𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙚’𝙨 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝗼𝗻. 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝟭𝟴 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗵𝗮𝗺 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲. 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗻𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆.

10/24/2025

Downtown Durham’s fitness scene has something for everyone – from scaling walls to finding your flow! 🧗‍♂️🌿

Climb, connect and explore at The Boulder Garden. 🏔️

Discover joy, connection and empowerment at Virge Yoga. 🧘‍♀️

Spin your way to strength and community at Revel Durham. 🚴‍♀️

Stretch, breathe and play at Recess Yoga Durham. 🙆

And lift, sweat and celebrate progress at Tribal Fit. 💪

✨ Which spot are you trying first?

Find your preferred workout, from rock climbing & spinning to weightlifting & yoga, with 7 new fitness centers in the heart of the Bull City

10/23/2025

🍁🌙 The days are getting shorter and the nights cooler, but the Bull City is heating up with music, magic and a little mischief this weekend! 🎶🕯️

Start strong Thursday with legendary jazz singer Nnenna Freelon at Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University as she launches her new memoir, then grab your coven for The Durham Hotel’s Witches Night Out on The Roof with Gemynii spinning spellbinding beats. 🧙‍♀️🍸

Step into the supernatural at Duke Homestead State Historic Site’s Halloween Phantasmagoria, or catch Conrad Tao’s electrifying piano performance, presented by Duke Arts, Friday night. 🎹💫

The fun continues Saturday with spooky science at Museum of Life and Science’s BooFest and howling good times at Durham Parks and Recreation and Beyond Fences’s Barktoberfest at Durham Central Park. 🐾👻 End the night with big laughs as Jo Koy takes the DPAC stage on his “Just Being Koy” tour. 😂🎤

Finally, swing into Sunday with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's high-energy show at The Carolina Theatre of Durham! 🎷🎺

📸 Tag us in your weekend adventures + tap the 🔗 below for the full lineup!

From annual festivals to fundraisers and more, read on for everything fun you can eat, drink and do in Durham this weekend.

10/17/2025

⚽🏳️‍🌈🏐 Play. Connect. Belong.

Durham Q***r Sports is more than a league – it’s a space where LGBTQIA+ athletes and allies can play, connect and truly be themselves. Every game – be it kickball, soccer or volleyball – is low-pressure, inclusive and full of judgment-free fun. 💫 Whether you’re a seasoned player or trying a sport for the first time, there’s a spot for you on the field. 💖

This local league offers low-pressure games where LGBTQIA+ players and allies of all skill levels can enjoy sports safely

10/16/2025

🍁🎉 From spooky markets to milestone celebrations, this weekend has something for everyone! 👻

Stroll through Downtown Durham, Inc. during Third Friday Durham's magical Art Walk & Gallery Crawl, and check out Jenny Pailthorp Blazing's new exhibit at 5 Points Gallery. Attend the opening of Museum of Durham History’s "Made in the Triangle" exhibit to learn about the Bull City's pivotal role in the creation of The Research Triangle Park💡, and celebrate 25 years of creativity and community with Walltown Children's Theatre’s Homecoming Weekend of performances, parties and special guests 🎭.

Celebrations continue Saturday with Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University’s 20th anniversary bash and grand opening of the Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family Sculpture Garden. 🖼️ Then shop eerie art and meet adoptable pups at The Glass Jug Beer Lab - RTP, The Creatives Club and Independent Animal Rescue’s Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun market. 🕯️🐾 Toast the season with craft brews and bites at Blacktoberfest 🍻, and bring the whole family to Durham Parks and Recreation’s HallowEno for hayrides, campfire stories and games 🎃🔥.

Cap it all off with Sunday's Bull City Race Fest, beginning and ending at American To***co Campus and winding through scenic downtown streets. 🏃‍♀️

📸 Tag us in your weekend adventures + tap the 🔗 below for the full lineup!

From annual festivals to fundraisers and more, read on for everything fun you can eat, drink and do in Durham this weekend.