At some point, the frenzy of basketball that engulfs the end of March and early April fades and thousands of residents will venture away from the HighDef glow long enough to find that they are surrounded by the riot of color that is this town in spring.
Here in the Piedmont, April is far from cruel. Rather, it is downright inviting — the month when, if one is so inclined, outdoor opportunities really open up. In town, Thursdays on the lawn at Weaver Street will return May 22. In the meantime, patio dining and porch conversation prevail. And there’ll be more people artwalking, whether in the Carrboro-Chapel Hill Metroplex on the second Friday or downtown Pittsboro on the first Sunday.
Farther down the April calendar comes the Spring Garden Tour and then the 13th Annual Piedmont Farm Tour, a perfect way to learn a bit about the people who grow your food and the places they call home. The farm tour is one of those events where you pay by the carload (buttons are $25 in advance), and seeing as how it takes place April 19 and 20 and is a celebration of Earth Day, pack that vehicle full.
Around the same weekend, in Silk Hope, not far from many of those farms, is another annual outdoor adventure: the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival, where, in addition to a lot of community and green events and displays, there’s a few dozen musical acts over four days. Note: This may be your only chance to see Arrested Development (the band, not the TV show) perform in a pasture in Chatham County.
In addition to keeping track of this month’s entertainment opportunities, this month’s issue of MILL offers a look back through words and illustrations at the railroad that runs through town. The J Line — as it is know to the Norfolk-Southern folks — is a little spur off the Durham-to-Greensboro K Line, built originally to take advantage of iron prices. It’s been a part of the lore of Carrboro and surrounding environs for more than 100 years, and writers Leslie Smith and Ethan Clauset and illustrator Phil Blank strive to capture a bit of that for you.
—Kirk Ross