The Independent Weekly's 2011 Best of the Triangle Party Moves to Durham Central Park, Includes More Family Fun

The Independent Weekly's 2011 Best of the Triangle Party, a celebration of the Triangle’s favorite places and things is tomorrow. Coincident with the annual Best of the Triangle which is on stands now, this year’s party will take place on Saturday, June 11, 2011, in Durham Central Park, one of Downtown Durham's most notable public spaces. Best of the Triangle winners are determined by reader vote, and with a record number of ballots tallied again this year, the friendly community competition continues to grow along with the region the Independent—or the Indy, as it’s often called—has covered for the past 28 years.

The 2011 party will feature live music from Floating Action, American Aquarium and more, as well as a special performance by the locally based and internationally recognized Bouncing Bulldogs rope skipping team. Highlighted by food, drinks, products and services from Best of the Triangle finalists, the party will also incorporate more family oriented activities, including a fire truck, clown, bouncy castle, caricature drawing and face painting.

Lenovo, the Morrisville-based computer maker, has enthusiastically and generously taken on the role of Title Partner for this year’s Best of the Triangle Party. Their donation of two laptops will be added to many other items—earrings from Jewelsmith, Hopscotch Music Festival VIP tickets, gift certificates and giveaways—for the charity raffle benefiting Durham Central Park. All of the proceeds from this raffle will go toward building a permanent stage in the park.

As seen in the logo above, acclaimed artist Paul Friedrich has used his beloved character Onion Head Monster to create the Best of the Triangle winner’s plaques, volunteer t-shirts and other graphic imagery. Paul will be on hand during the party exhibiting and selling his work.

Steve Schewel and David Birkhead, both longtime Durham, N.C., residents, dreamt of founding an alternative newspaper in the South during the early ’80s. In 1982, they hired their first editor and did just that, publishing the first issue in April 1983. In the years since, the Independent has helped change the state’s press coverage and political culture by influencing the mainstream media, pressuring political leaders and moving its readers to positive action.

The Independent has served as a consistent and strident cultural critic in North Carolina for decades, regularly winning awards for its arts and music writing, not to mention its long legacy of award-winning news coverage. With the support of its readers, advertisers, people like Paul Friedrich and organizations like Lenovo, the Independent is proud to exemplify its commitment to community with the 2011 Best of the Triangle Party.

Durham Wins Big

Durham is fortunate to have many great features that excite, entice and satisfy visitors and residents alike...turns out that folks across the Research Triangle Region think so.


Image reprinted with permission of the Independent Weekly.

According to the Independent Weekly's Best of the Triangle 2011: Readers Choice Poll, Durham businesses, or those with locations in Durham, fared pretty well (read as: INCREDIBLY WELL).  In total, Durham businesses won 91 spots on the list out of 237 total; just about 40% - a strong showing of which Durham can be proud.

Durham fared well in the food arena - the food scene here is one of the country's most celebrated.  The New York Times cited the food in Durham as one of the reasons for naming Durham to a global list of the Top 41 Places to Visit in 2011.

Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau engages a similar ranking process annually and will lanuch their survey in late summer.  Lists like these are powerful visitor marketing tools because those looking to learn about a destination are interested in what those who live there think is the best, where they go and what they do for fun. 

Stay tuned for DCVB's Local Favorites survey in a few months.  For now, get out and show these Durham busiensses some love.

Beyond the Deadlines

The Durham Arts Council (DAC) and the Independent Weekly present Beyond the Deadlines: Independent Weekly photography by D.L. Anderson and Jeremy M. Lange, March 18-May 15, 2011 in the Allenton and Semans Galleries of the Durham Arts Council.

Anderson and Lange, staff photographers for the Independent Weekly, present photographs that go beyond the assignment to offer a deeper view of the region. Anderson has worked for many clients including MERGE Records and The Wall Street Journal and specializes in editorial and portrait photography as well as video and multimedia productions. Publications such as The New York Times and Rolling Stone have featured Lange’s work, which includes portrait and editorial photography.

The artists’ reception on March 18th from 5-7 PM is part of downtown Durham’s Third Friday gallery tour and will feature food, music and an opportunity for the public to view the exhibit and meet the artists. The exhibit and the reception are co-sponsored by the DAC and the Independent Weekly and are part of the DAC’s year-round exhibits program. An artists’ talk will take place in the gallery at 6:30 PM and Heplicity, a jazz duo composed of James Wallace and Jeff Crawford, will be performing live from 5:30-7 PM.

Anderson and Lange are producing a limited edition, signed catalogue for sale with an introductory essay by Tom Rankin, director of the Center for Documentary Studies. Rankin praises the artists’ work stating that, “they look and work to find an angle, a human dimension that engages, reveals and brings us meaning through their imagery, showing us the day-to-day where mere words would be insufficient.” Sherry Devries, Director of the DAC, agrees saying, “These two photographers are incredibly talented and this exhibit as a whole is exciting for the DAC because it features images of people and events in our own regional community and highlights photojournalism as a medium.”

The artist’s reception is free and open to the public and will be held at the DAC’s historic downtown building at 120 Morris Street, Durham, NC, 27701. For more details visit the DAC Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DurhamArts, visit our website at www.durhamarts.org, phone (919)560-ARTS or contact Barclay McConnell, DAC Artist Services Manager at bmcconnell@durhamarts.org. The exhibits are open to the public during DAC building hours: 9 AM-9 PM Monday-Saturday, 1-6 PM Sunday.