Charlotte magazine

08/14/2025

“I’m not a regular general contractor,” says Mark Aymer, owner of Aymer Luxury Building and Design. “I don’t just seek out kitchens and bathrooms. I’m a unique builder.” It’s why his clients hired him to build a 34-foot-long pirate ship for their two children around the giant oak tree on their property in Lansdowne.

See inside this inventive tree house, up on our site, linked in our bio.

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08/13/2025

Do we have a potential Charlotte cast?

08/12/2025

In 2019, Duke Energy’s chief power grid officer, Scott Batson, decided the company should have someone who, in the words of Jason Hollifield, “woke up every morning thinking about what could go wrong—and went to bed every night making sure that we had prepared ourselves more effectively that day for if it did.”

Hollifield took that post. A few years later, Hurricane Helene hit. Up on our site and linked in our bio, he shares his life lessons with us.

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08/12/2025

Jeniffer Gonzalez Reyes, a sixth-grader at Ranson Middle School, got called to the principal’s office. Her anxiety spiked. She hadn’t done anything wrong. The meeting wasn’t about punishment, however, but opportunity: a personal invitation to apply to Circle de Luz, a Charlotte nonprofit that supports and empowers young Latinas. Someone nominated her for the organization, and even today—17 years later—Jen doesn’t know who it was.

Each year, the organization gives a spark of opportunity for young Latinas

08/11/2025

Calling all sneaker heads 👟

Kicking off fall exhibitions at : “Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks” explores the evolution of shoes, from 19th-century industrial breakthroughs to today’s boundary-pushing designs built for both the real world and the metaverse.

On view September 20, 2025–January 4, 2026 at Mint Museum Randolph

📷: Image courtesy of RTFKT

08/09/2025

Thanks to a grant from the NC Arts Council, these downed trees from Hurricane Helene have been transformed into beautiful monuments, on display at Banner Elk Elementary. Chainsaw artist Stringham Carvings in Crossnore, whose studio was flooded in the storms, created these works that will remain on permanent display.

08/07/2025

Almond, oat, soy, coconut, rice… Plant-based milk alternatives come from a variety of sources. But watermelon seeds?

owner, Jasmine Koch thinks it’s going to shake up the plant based milk category. That’s why her shops are the first to carry

Read about why she believes it’s better, up on our site, linked in our bio.

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08/05/2025

At 13, growing up in southwest Charlotte, Meredith McFadden was ordering her baseball gear when she had an idea. Her Southwest Middle School teammates, all boys, had their last names stitched onto the backs of their team sweatshirts. Meredith chose something different: “The Girl.”

“I fully leaned into it,” Meredith says. “I was just ‘the girl.’”

It’s how people have identified Meredith, now 22, throughout her baseball career. In May, she graduated from the University of South Carolina Athletics, having accomplished a collegiate baseball landmark: Meredith was the first female bullpen catcher for a Power Five baseball team.

Read about her journey in baseball and where she might go from here, up on our site, linked in the comments.

📷: .mcfadden44 courtesy of

08/04/2025

When the sun goes down, modern-day Charlotte has a full-grown skyline, decibel-splitting nightclubs, and more party districts—South End, NoDa, LoSo, MoRA—than you can shake a b***y at. But we’re here to tell you something: Charlotte nightlife is nothing new, kiddies.

In the 1980s and ’90s, Old Charlotte had more than a nightlife. It had a late-night culture.

Read the reflections of those who were there, up on our site, linked in the comments.

📷:The Double Door Inn by

07/31/2025

More than any other month, August—sweltering, slather-on-the-sunscreen-and-DEET August—is the season for outdoor events, especially ones that involve music and sports. It’s a full calendar and a heaping plate of opportunities for rubbing elbows with your fellow Charlotteans in the stands—provided you hydrate and temper your annoyance at the heat and crowds.

Check out our list of the best things to do and see in August in Charlotte. Up on our site, linked in the comments.

📷: by Nick Walker