-
Attend
the Shakori
Hills Grassroots Festival April and October.
It's fifteen minutes from the B&B. Four days
of music and dance, 4 stages, 40 bands.
-
Browse
the downtown Pittsboro antique shops. We'll
give you a card that entitles you to 10% off at any
of these during your stay.
-
First Sunday
of each month: Pittsboro merchants are sponsoring
art, music, crafts, sidewalk sales.
-
Have
an old-fashioned ice cream soda at the beautifully
restored S&T's Soda Shoppe.
-
Tour
the
Carnivore
Preservation Trust,
at 10 am and 2 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
CPT's 55-acre compound is home to approximately 140
animals representing 11 species of threatened and
endangered carnivores from around the world. These
include tigers, spotted leopards, snow leopards,
jaguars, ocelots, servals, caracals, binturongs, and
more.
-
North
Carolina is famous for its barbeque. Allen and
Sons Barbeque is just a few miles north on 15-501.
-
An
alternative to barbeque is just across the street
from the B&B, in the
General Store Cafe,
where everyone in Pittsboro eats breakfast, lunch,
and dinner. Thurs is live jazz, while Friday
and Sat feature other fine musical artists.
The second Sunday of each month, 3-7 PM, is an
open Irish jam session with dulcimers, fiddles,
whistles, flutes, and banjos.
-
On the
first two weekends of December, the studios of more
than 50 Chatham County artists will be open to the
public. Visit the
Arts Council
website for
details.
-
Visit
a couple of outstanding art museums: the
North Carolina
Museum of Art in
Raleigh, the
Ackland
in Chapel Hill.
-
A
special place for flowers:
Orchids by Hanks Chapel Greenhouses. Just
a few miles from the B&B.
-
Kids
of all ages enjoy
Exploris
in Raleigh, showcasing global cultures, communities,
and the inter-connectedness of all peoples.
-
See
the all-new exhibits at the
Natural
Sciences Museum
in Raleigh.
-
Attend
a performance at the charming little
Temple Theatre
in nearby Sanford.
-
Or see
what's playing at
Raleigh's Little Theatre, the
Carolina
Theatre of Durham,
the
Burning Coal
Theatre Company,
Theatre in the Park in Raleigh,
Playmakers
Repertory Company,
or NC State's University Theatre productions.
-
There's always something going on at Duke's
Institute of the Arts.
-
Taste
wine! In Siler City,
Horizon
Cellars offers tastings and tours.
-
Try
authentic Mexican food at these Siler City
restaurants: Tienda Gabriel, Tienda Romera, or La
Palma.
-
Also,
in Siler City: the
Arts
Incubator, renovated historic buildings
providing space for artists studios, a gallery, and
shop.
-
Garden-lovers love the
Coker
Arboretum in Chapel
Hill and the
Sarah P. Duke Gardens
in Durham.
-
Everyone must see the
Morehead
Planetarium
in Chapel Hill.
-
Keep
going west on 64 and you'll reach the
NC Zoo
in Asheboro, where exotic animals live in natural,
open settings.
-
Pack a
picnic and go swimming at
Jordan Lake.
A 3,900-acre reservoir in Wake and Chatham County,
Jordan Lake offers boating, camping, fishing,
swimming and a full-service commercial marina. It is
the largest summertime home of the bald eagle in the
Eastern United States.
-
Wandering through the
NC
Botanical Gardens
in Chapel Hill makes an ordinary day both special
and educational. By the way, the Botanical Gardens
houses the largest collection of rosemary specimens
in the world!
-
Shop!
Nearby Burlington is outlet heaven, while
The
Streets at Southpoint
is the biggest, newest mall in North Carolina.
-
Take a
sandwich and visit
Eno River State Park
in Durham. There's a huge festival there every July.
-
Pittsboro has a food co-op
- Chatham Marketplace.
It's a small, friendly, fun store n the old label mill, about 1/4 mile
from the B&B. Nice hot & cold salad bar, great breads, wine,
produce.
-
In
Graham, about 20 minutes away, there's a movie
theater that costs $2.
-
Interested in historical plantations? The
House in the Horseshoe,
in Sanford, features a Revolutionary War
re-enactment. The house (ca. 1770) was owned
by Philip Alston, whose band of Whigs was attacked
in 1781 by Tories. Later, four-term governor
Benjamin Williams lived in the house, which now
contains antiques of the colonial and Revolutionary
War eras.
-
Go to
Raven Rock State Park,
and hike down the trail to the Cape Fear river.
-
This
area offers some of the most exciting theatre
anywhere in the US. The City of Raleigh supports
Theatre In The Park,
a performing arts center located in the northern end
of Pullen Park (yes, a distant relative...).
Presenting comedy, musicals, Shakespeare and
contemporary drama and many original plays.
-
You
can easily while away an entire afternoon at
McIntyre's bookstore in
Fearrington
Village.
Also at Fearrington- get your picture taken with
those funny cows, black and white Belted Galloways.
Then pick up a sandwich at the Belted Goat deli, and eat under the
wisteria-covered pergola. Browse through the Fearrington shops:
the Potting Shed (plants), the Dovecote (home and garden gifts,
jewelry).
-
A few
miles north of Pittsboro, turn right and drive a
mile or so to Bynum, an old mill town where folks
are living in and fixing up the mill workers'
houses. Turn left on Thompson Rec Road, go
around the corner, and you'll see the home of Clyde
Jones, a folk artist, famous for his "critters" made
out of stuff that he finds.
-
Head
south-west to
Seagrove
and visit the NC Pottery Museum, housing a sampling
of Seagrove-area potters' work. Then visit your
favorites in their nearby studios.
Lyn Morrow
has a great selection of her own and other potters'
work, just 5 miles up 15-501.
-
See
what's happening at the
Arts Center
in Carrboro. In
addition to their gallery, writing, pottery,
photography, and dance classes are offered.
-
For
club music, visit
Cat's
Cradle, The Cave, Go Studios, and Local 506
in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
-
Stroll
down the street one block to the Pittsboro branch of
the Chatham County Library.
-
Nearby
Snow Camp
was founded by Quakers in 1749. Each summer
the Historical Drama Society performs theater
portraying the Quakers' struggles in the
Revolutionary War and their efforts to transport
fugitive slaves to freedom through the Underground
Railroad.
-
Buy
fresh organic produce at the local
Farmer's Markets
- in Pittsboro (Thursdays), Carrboro (Saturdays),
and Fearrington (Tuesdays).
-
Tour
Piedmont
Biofuels, where used vegetable oil is turned
into clean diesel fuel. Fewer emissions to
pollute the air, and no dependence on foreign oil.
-
The
Carolina
Ballet has
frequent performances. In Raleigh.
-
Raleigh's Sports and Entertainment Arena hosts ice
hockey with the
Hurricanes
- they're exciting and fun!
-
Ride
an antique carousel. There's one in Burlington City
Park, and another in Pullen Park in Raleigh.
-
Sanford, south of Pittsboro on 15-501, has a walking
tour of its historic district.
-
If
you're interested in railroads, visit. Sanford's
Railroad House Museum. Less than 30 minutes from
Pittsboro, south on 15-501.
-
Full Frame, a four-day documentary film
festival, takes place in Durham in April.
-
Visit
the 1881 Chatham County Courthouse and Historical
Museum, a block away. A 1907 monument to the
Confederate soldier stands guard. The museum is
inside the courthouse.
-
Join us for
Afternoon Tea, on the porch if the
weather's nice, or in the dining room if it's not.
-
Take a
short ride to the Devil's Stompin' Ground Road on
902. This byway takes its colorful name from a local
legend attached to a clearing, in which is a
circular path said to have been worn down by the
devil's pacing as he plotted new forms of mischief.
-
St.
Joseph’s Historic Foundation/
Hayti Heritage
Center in
Durham features performers in the African-American
cultural tradition. Blues, hip-hop, writers and
poets, films - a spirited, lively place to visit.
-
Artsplosure,
in downtown Raleigh in late May, is a free outdoor
performing and visual arts event, featuring Juried
arts exhibitions and marketplace, the Young
Collector’s Mart, Kidsplosure, unique interactive
sculptural installations, and performances by
national and regional roots, jazz, and contemporary
musicians.
-
The
North Carolina
Symphony
holds a Summerfest Outdoor Concert Series in Cary.
Each Saturday night families bring picnics and lawn
chairs and listen to live orchestral music under the
towering pines of Regency Park in Cary.
-
Six
weeks each summer in Durham, you can attend the
American Dance Festival
and see the world's greatest dance troupes.
-
Each
year in early July, a giant festival is held on the
banks of the Eno River, to raise funds to take care
of the river. Lots of performing artists, crafts,
food, displays.
-
Another fascinating place- the
North Carolina Museum of History
in Raleigh
-
A
great place for children is the
Museum of Life and
Science in
Durham. Has an outdoor nature park, train ride,
farmyard animals, Carolina wildlife, Aerospace,
Small Science, playground, discovery rooms,
traveling exhibits, and the new Magic Wings
Butterfly House, a tropical garden with butterflies
from Asia, Africa, Central and South America.
-
A fine
museum experience may be had at
Duke
University Museum of Art
in Durham.
-
Go see
to world-class outdoor music acts at the
Alltel
pavilion in
Raleigh.
-
Golf!
An excellent nearby course is Quarry Hills in
Graham, about 15 miles away. We've heard good
things about the
Tobacco Road Club
in Sanford. We're only an hour from the
marvelous courses at Pinehurst and Southern Pines.
-
Taste
wine! In Morrisville - 30 minutes away, near
RDU airport, visit
Chatham
Hills Winery.
-
The
Southern Supreme
showroom in Bear Creek is a great place to visit.
Famous for their fruitcake, they also sell gift
baskets of nuts, jellies, chocolates, cookies.
-
Something the whole family will enjoy - panning for
gold! At
The Rocks,
in nearby Moncure, you can mine for gemstones.
-
The
Chapel
Hill Museum
is devoted to displaying the history, culture, art,
and craft of Chapel Hill. Worth a visit.
-
Canoe
on
University Lake or
Cane Creek Reservoir. Both are open
weekends, and offer canoe rentals. They are
west of Chapel Hill, about 30 minutes drive from the
B&B.
-
Central Pittsboro is registered on the National
Register of Historic Places, with over 100
contributing properties ranging in date from 1780s
to 1949. Historical architecture buffs
will enjoy seeing these buildings, which reflect the
town's evolution from a back-country village to a
bustling Piedmont town.
-
Enjoy
a brisk walk on the pleasant one-mile exercise trail
around the community college, about a half-mile
away.
-
Stay
put in our B&B. Have a late breakfast. Rock on
the porch, listen to the birds. Watch an old
movie, read a book. Just let yourself be lazy
- you deserve it!
