Charlotte magazine

08/22/2025

As other spirits wane, why is tequila climbing the liquor ladder?

08/22/2025

Choosing a school for your child is a big decision. As parents, we know you might not have the time to visit each school individually. The Charlotte Parent School Fair is a unique opportunity for area parents (and kids!) to learn about the different private, public, and charter school options available to them, all in one place. The event features schools, information sessions, and vendors. Kids can enjoy balloon art and story time. We will have special appearances from Wicked characters, as well as Spider-Man! This event is FREE to attend. RSVP now (link in bio) for the chance to win a $250 prize pack of local restaurant gift cards or tickets to sponsor Charlotte Ballet’s production of Nutcracker, which runs Dec. 5-21 at Belk Theater!

This event has been held annually since 2016, and it is the only event in the area where parents can learn about school choice all in one place. Want to get involved? If your school/organization is interested in participating or sponsoring the event, email publisher Andy Smith at [email protected].

Thank you to our sponsors Blumenthal Arts (), Charlotte Ballet (), and Junior Achievement of Central Carolinas ().

Participating Schools + Vendors:
Charlotte Lab School ()
Emerald School of Excellence ()
KIPP Change Academy ()
Movement Schools ()
Omni Montessori School ()
Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School (.catholicschool)
The John Crosland School ()
The St. Sophia School ()
Big Blue Swim School ()
British Swim School ()
Charlotte Ballet ()
Charlotte Fire Dept ()
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library ()
Clear Foundations Therapy & Assessments ()
JSW Coaching Experience, LLC DBA The Math Guru ()
Junior Achievement of Central Carolinas ()
And more to be announced soon!

RSVP at the link in our bio!

08/19/2025

At birth and death, doulas fill gaps in “hands-on” care that doctors, nurses, friends, loved ones, and money often can’t provide.

Over seven months, photographer visited and documented the experiences of families as they welcomed new lives and prepared for the loss of others. See them at the link in our bio.

08/19/2025

More wheat beers are coming to Charlotte breweries. And although they’re not for everyone, some local brewers are finding a winning formula. Triple C Brewing Company’s Uncle John’s won the silver medal in the American-Style Wheat Beer category at the U.S. Open Beer Championship, held in Oxford, Ohio, in June. Another Triple C beer, Planet Pulp, won gold in the New England/Juicy IPA category.

They’re (ahem) not universally beloved. But in the depths of summer, a surging number of beer drinkers opt to wheat for it

08/18/2025

Alice Zealy, 43, remodeled her first camper five years ago as a pandemic project. She wanted a safer way to travel, so she bought a camper for $7,500 and brought it back to her partner’s workshop, where she spent the next nine months renovating it. When she finished, she shared photos on social media. “I found out there are a ton of RV groups on Facebook,” she says. “All my friends went crazy and started sharing with these groups. People started reaching out and saying, ‘Could you do one for me?’”

See inside this one she transformed for clients in Maryland, up on our site, linked in the comments.

📷: Mary-Knox Zealy

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.

📷:

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