Uptown Activity

[Charlotte_native]

The Charlotte Literary Festival is this weekend at Marshall Park and The Blake Hotel from 10am-8pm.

[Justadude]

I wouldn't call one small alcove a "festival". I was pretty disappointed with the scale of the event, considering how much hype it generated.

[Raintree21]

For it to get any bigger he'd need to get the backing from the city or CCCP. Perhaps he's just getting a foothold and in coming years he'll get some larger backing and we can start having BIG Irish events like St. Patricks day and so on (more so than just the crowded bars and beer specials that we currently have).

[Justadude]

^ St. Patrick's Day is a proper festival, though. Parade, several lots filled with amusements for both adults and children, lots of vendors, dancers, Tryon shut down most of the weekend, organized bar crawls, etc. That's a far cry from a niche lot with one vendor and a small stage.

I'm not trying to bash the attempt, and I certainly appreciate anything we can get uptown. I just felt that this was a case of misleading advertising and excessive hype.

[Charlotte_native]

I just felt that this was a case of misleading advertising and excessive hype.

[Charlotte_native]

Shriners from all over the country have been in town all week -- last night was their parade down Tryon, down 3rd to Marshall Park...

[Raintree21]

Crap, I forgot all about that parade. I wrote about it in the Boring Charlotte thread and was hoping to go to it. I'm glad the weather was good for the parade. Were there a lot of people out on the parade route? For those who don't know who the Shriners are, they are a Masonic order, primarily known for their Shriner's Hospitals for Children where they offer free medical care to children.

[Charlotte_native]

Crap, I forgot all about that parade. I wrote about it in the Boring Charlotte thread and was hoping to go to it. I'm glad the weather was good for the parade. Were there a lot of people out on the parade route? For those who don't know who the Shriners are, they are a Masonic order, primarily known for their Shriner's Hospitals for Children where they offer free medical care to children.

[Spartan]

There was a street-dance group out on the square last friday, right next to a painter. Very unexpected, but cool none-the-less.

[Charlotte_native]

Sorry for the quality -- cell phone pix -- discovered some Heart Walk this morning while walking the dog...rally and start in the intersection at The Square. Gonna try and pix from the Blues, Brews, and BBQ later today along North Tryon...

Its gonna be a fun weekend with all of this downtown plus the Panthers tomorrow.

[Charlotte_native]

The jazz band was back downtown last night. So much fun. Big completely mixed crowd milling about and dancing...

[Mobuchu]

As I'm sure many of you have noticed, the plaza in front of BofA has become a big hangout for many skateboarders and rollerbladers. I walked by on Saturday and there were close to 50 of them. They said its the one place they dont get much harassment from the cops or security guards. I think its great!! There are no rails or big drops for them to jump off of, just the little bump in the pavement where the sculpture sits. So they just take turns performing tricks off that spot. They dont mark anything up, dont run into people, and are actually really nice kids...I spoke with quite a few of them.

What it does do is create a nice little scene for onlookers to sit and watch for a bit. Many people walking by would stop and watch from one of the benches. I've always seen the skaters, but the #'s seem to be growing.

Anyway, I stopped back on Sunday to take a few pics. There were only a couple out, but they had no problem with their pic being taken. Actually they gave me an email so they could get some copies if any came out well. Like I said, nice kids, and I hope the buttoned down side of Charlotte doesn't chase them away.

11-18-07

Action shot, needless to say he didn't land this one...

[Justadude]

I never noticed the skate scene till I moved uptown, but I was really amazed once I realized how big it is. When I was a teen (late 90s) you couldn't do anything like this anywhere in Charlotte without getting harrassed. I really like that the cops let them be, especially since it's in a visible and safe area where the likelihood of them causing trouble is almost nil. Definitely one of my favorite changes to the city in the past 5 years or so.

[cltheel.sdl]

Pretty cool pics - I wish I knew how to skateboard. I might join them.