Your 5-minute guide to the best things to do in Charlotte | Oct. 13-19
What is there to do in Charlotte this weekend? Here’s our experts’ picks on everything from entertainment – movies to music to theater – to food and wine, beer and restaurants. And shopping, of course...
Friday
The Jazz Room at Stage Door Theater kicks off the 10th season of its monthly jazz series with a special Trick or Treat edition, featuring swinging tunes like “Autumn in New York” and “The Great Pumpkin Waltz.” Two shows each on Friday and Saturday; $14.
Hickory’s own Jon Reep returns to Comedy Zone for a three-night, five-show run of Carolina comedy. Best known as the Season 5 winner of “Last Comic Standing” and from film, TV, and comedy specials, he is one of North Carolina’s most popular comedic exports this side of Zach Galifianakis. $20-$25.
Ever long to be a judge on Food Network’s “Chopped” or “Iron Chef”? Chefs Chris Coleman and Nicolas Daniels – of Stoke Charlotte and Loft & Cellar, respectively – are giving guests the opportunity to step into that role with the first in the Ten Paces Dinner Series, which pits chef against chef. Each will pitch his five-course menu to the crowd. Whoever wins each course in this wood-fired-meets-international battle is the victor. $85.
Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and Cirque de la Symphonie present Cirque Goes to the Cinema, which raises the awe factor as aerialists, acrobats and contortionists create daring acts and defy convention and the orchestra revisits music from “Star Wars,” “Rocky,” “Titanic,” “Chicago” and other beloved films. 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; $19-$120.
Saturday
Get a closer look at a World War I military base – and what it meant to Charlotte, whose population it doubled at the time – in the Levine Museum of the New South’s “Splendid Service: Camp Greene & the Making of a New South City.” It opens Oct. 14, the camp’s 100th anniversary. Diaries and letters from soldiers, photos and other items are among this examination of a base that was put up hastily (less than three months) and grew to include an airfield, stables, a post office and a bakery, in addition to its barracks, tents and hospital. The museum’s Kathryn Hill calls it “one of Charlotte’s most under-told stories.”
“See My Voice” is the theme of The Art Works 945 Annual Show at the Urban Ministry Center, which features work by local artists that are currently homeless or have experienced homelessness. Artists will be on hand to discuss their work. Sales benefit individual artists as well as the program. Free.
The Charlotte Film Society’s Saturday Night Cine Club welcomes the Observer’s Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Kevin Siers as its special guest speaker after screening the new documentary “Pulitzer at 100.” He’ll touch on his own work as well as that of Observer predecessors (and also Pulitzer winners) Doug Marlette and Gene Payne. The film commemorates the prize’s 100-year anniversary in 2016 and features recipients such as Carl Bernstein, Toni Morrison, Wynton Marsalis and Tony Kushner, with stars Helen Mirren, Natalie Portman, and Liev Schreiber reading from prize-winning works. Theater Charlotte; $5 members, $10 non-members.
Planet Improv’s resident comedy troupe, the Chuckleheads, celebrates its 10th anniversary with a show benefitting A Child’s Place – a local nonprofit that provides assistance and relief for homeless children. The Happy Birthday To Us 10 Comedy Improv Musical Variety Extravaganza Starring the Chuckleheads: A Perfect 10! is a family-friendly show for all ages. CPCC; $10-$15.
Sunday
The Frock Shop boutique and Nourish vegan-meal delivery company make like bell bottoms, throwing it back to the ’70s with a night of food, fashion and music they’re calling Sunday Supper: Nourish Your Groove. Donald Telling’s Island Mysteries provides the live soundtrack, while the Nourish team offers a gluten-free menu of skewers, sears, shooters, cocktails, fondues and petit fours. The Frock Shop; $55.
Tuesday
Opening for Imagine Dragons at TWC Arena in 2015, Halsey was able to carry the crowd with a stark, yet commanding solo set. No band, no dancers, just a captivating young woman with a bold voice and catchy dark, electro-pop songs. No doubt she can handle her headliner status this time with openers Party Next Door and Charly XCX. Spectrum Center; $29.50-$69.50.
Thursday
Grammy winners Anthony Hamilton of Charlotte, Western North Carolina’s Steep Canyon Rangers, Troutman native Jim Lauderdale and Wadesboro songwriter/musician Richard Lewis Spencer (who played with Otis Redding, the Winstons and the Impressions) join fellow honorees at the NC Music Hall of Fame’s 2017 Induction Ceremony at Kannapolis’ historic Gem Theater. The other inductees: the late Piedmont blues guitarist Etta Baker, Rockingham-bred “American Idol” alumni Bucky Covington, and pioneering Durham gospel group the Sensational Nightingales. The ceremony begins at 7:15 p.m. and features performances from several including Hamilton, who will receive the key to the city from Mayor Jennifer Roberts in recognition of Anthony Hamilton Day. $35/$80 VIP.
This story was originally published October 10, 2017 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Your 5-minute guide to the best things to do in Charlotte | Oct. 13-19."