Top 10 things you MUST do in April
After an uncharacteristically chilly March here in the Queen City, we’re ready for sunny skies and warmer temperatures.
If you’re also ready to come out of hibernation now that spring has sprung, here are the top events we recommend adding to your calendar for April.
(1) Front Porch Sundays Kick-Off Market in South End.
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Sunday, April 8. 12 – 5 p.m. Free. 2151 Hawkins St.
The first Sunday of every month from April through November, the South End community comes together for Front Porch Sundays. These monthly pop-up festivals feature more than 50 local vendors, multiple food trucks, live music, coffee from Crane Coffee Co., beer from Sycamore Brewing (two beer tents this year!), pet adoptions with the Greater Charlotte SPCA and more. Stop by to shop, eat and drink local, all in one place.
(2) 2nd Annual Freedom Park Pop-Up Picnic.
Saturday, April 14. 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. Free (or you can order a curated picnic basket of food and drink starting at $40). Freedom Park, 1900 E. Blvd.
Enjoy a spring evening in Freedom Park with live music and family-friendly activities. The event itself is free admission, but you can also order a picnic basket curated and prepared by local Charlotte restaurants starting at $40 — with 100 percent of all basket proceeds benefiting Catawba Lands Conservancy and Carolina Thread Trial. Or if you’d prefer, you can bring your own picnic, grab dinner from the New Wrap Order food truck or get dessert from King of Pops. Get more details (and pre-order your picnic basket) here.
(3) Tuck Fest at the U.S. National Whitewater Center.
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Festivities begin Thursday, April 19 at 4:30 p.m. and end Sunday, April 22 at 8 p.m. Free to spectate or $35 registration fee to participate (and $6 to park daily either way). U.S. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Pkwy.
The USNWC’s four-day celebration of the outdoor lifestyle is back for its fifth consecutive year, featuring live music, outdoor competitions, demos and more. You can participate in all types of outdoor activities throughout this multi-day festival, from trail running to stand-up paddle boarding to climbing and beyond. Plus, the festival will feature musical performances each day including folk, bluegrass, roots rock, and Americana genres. See the full festival schedule here, or register here.
(4) SEED20 OnStage 2018.
Monday, April 16. 5:30 – 10 p.m. Tickets start at $65. Knight Theater, 430 S. Tryon St.
Each fall, local start-ups and non-profits have the chance to apply to the SEED20 program. Once the application period ends, 20 lucky organizations will be selected to receive two months of individual and group coaching from SEED20. The 20 selected will learn the most effective ways to pitch their organizations, practice their pitches in front of a group of coaches to receive direct feedback, and will work with an individual coach distilling the feedback and refining their pitches into a crisp three-minute presentation.
These efforts culminate on Monday, April 16 at SEED20 OnStage, a high-energy event where 10 members of this year’s SEED20 class will compete to win cash awards by making three-minute pitches to a panel of judges and a community audience. Attendee ticket costs include access to watch these high-energy pitch presentations, as well as drinks, dinner and mingling before and after the event. Learn more (and get your tickets) here.
(5) Bark in the Ballpark with the Charlotte Knights.
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Monday, April 16. 7 – 10 p.m. Tickets start at $8. BB&T Ballpark, 424 W. Martin Luther King Blvd.
Dog owners, mark down this Monday ballgame on your calendars. Bark in the Ballpark is a special night where you’re allowed to bring your furry friend along to the game with you. Don’t have a pup of your own? Don’t worry, you can still come out to snuggle with adoptable dogs from the Carolina Big Hearts Big Barks Rescue at the game. Who knows, maybe you’ll even take a pooch home. Get your tickets here.
(6) Charlotte Wine & Food Weekend.
Wednesday, April 18 through Saturday, April 21. Registration prices start at $69. Location varies by restaurant.
Charlotte Wine & Food Weekend brings together a few of our favorite things: wine and food (obviously), and raising money for a good cause. All events throughout the weekend will benefit children and their families in the Charlotte community. CWFW begins with vintner dinners at various local restaurants on Wednesday and Thursday, where fine foods are paired with extraordinary wines and participants are able to enjoy a unique tasting and learning experience. Then comes the Grand Tasting and silent auction on Friday, featuring more than 100 wines from countries around the world, along with light bites and exclusive silent auction items. And Saturday brings the Grand Gala and live auction, featuring fine wine and a multi-course tasting menu prepared by Chef James Stouffer of Halcyon. Get your tickets to any (or all) of the above here.
(7) Girl Tribe’s (First-Ever) 3-Day Pop-Up Event.
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Friday, April 20 through Sunday, April 22. Free, or you can register for a variety of additional special events here. 2116 Hawkins St.
Girl Tribe has moved its spring pop-up to a whole new massive space on Hawkins St., where you’ll have not one but three days to shop from more than 90 women-owned businesses including boutiques, jewelry designers, home decor shops and more. Beyond the shopping, there will be upbeat music, craft cocktails and craft beer, bites from three different food trucks, tons of photo ops, and plenty of discounts.
Bonus: Hilliard Studio Method will be hosting a Girl Tribe Pop-Up exclusive fitness class both Saturday and Sunday morning, and your class purchase will include access to the VIP experience (meaning you’ll get special discounts and specials, a Girl Tribe reusable bag and bracelet, and more).
Whether you hit up preview night, go for the VIP experience or just shop ’til you drop for free during general admission hours, you can get your tickets here.
(8) #ShapingCLT: Social Change Brunch Series with Levine Museum of the New South.
Saturday, April 14. 12 – 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 each (but museum members receive a 25 percent discount). Free Range Brewing, 2320 N. Davidson St.
Levine Museum of the New South is launching a social change brunch series called #ShapingCLT, which will examine Charlotte’s future with the goal of moving participants beyond conversation and toward civic action. The inaugural brunch in this series on Saturday, April 14 at Free Range Brewing will explore the #MeToo movement and our next steps as both a local community and as a nation. Speakers at this month’s brunch will include Myloan Dinh, Tony Porter, Laura Noble, Muriel Hughes and Sonya Pfeiffer. Drinks and food will be available for purchase. Learn more and register here.
(9) The Music Yard’s (Free) Spring Concert Series on Saturdays in South End.
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Saturdays in April. 6 – 11 p.m. Free with Eventbrite registration. The Music Yard, 2433 South Blvd.
We announced a few weeks ago that The Music Yard, South End’s newest concert venue, would soon be opening between SouthBound and Mac’s Speed Shop. They’re kicking off the spring season with a concert every Saturday at 6 p.m. featuring headliners like Supatight, People’s Blues of Richmond and more. SouthBound’s Taco Stand and full bar will be open during these Saturday evening concerts, so you can enjoy food, booze and live music, all in one place. Get your free tickets to these concerts on Eventbrite here.
(10) Pet Palooza Festival & Walk.
Saturday, April 21. 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Event is free; walk registration is $35. Independence Park, 300 Hawthorne Ln.
Raise funds for the Humane Society of Charlotte at this annual pet-friendly 2K walk, then stick around for a festival in Independence Park featuring a pet adoption area, a “doga” (aka, dog yoga) class, food and beer trucks, live music and a pop-up market where you can peruse products from local vendors like Canine Cafe, The Dog Dasher, Bijou Workspace and more. Learn more and register here.
Featured Image: Charlotte Observer archives.
This story was originally published March 30, 2018 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Top 10 things you MUST do in April."