Here are 9 things to do on a Charlotte rainy day without breaking COVID-19 quarantine
In 2019, after a series of rainy days, CharlotteFive asked readers and meteorologists for their favorite wet-weather activities in Charlotte. The results were 9 cozy spots with soup, coffee, beer (of course beer, it’s Charlotte) and more.
Fast forward to 2020. With up to 9 inches of rain forecast for the Charlotte area beginning Thursday, Sept. 17, with the arrival of Hurricane Sally, the C5 team wondered if we should update our rainy day activity list.
One glitch: COVID-19. Oh yeah, we’re all in quarantine.
So, without further adieu, here are 9 rainy-day activities in Charlotte in 2020:
(1) Stay at home
(2) Stay at home
(3) Stay at home
(4) … You get the point.
2020, sigh.
But in all seriousness, as much as we are all over staying at home at this point, maybe there are still some new COVID-19 safe, home-based activities to try over the next few days as we avoid heading into Hurricane Sally’s potential flood zones.
(1) Stock up on desserts from Charlotte spots
This is very important, because when it’s flooding out there and you’re craving cheesecake, you’re going to be happy you planned ahead.
Our suggestions:
Cinnamon roll cookies from Honeybear Bake Shop (via Jess Swannie);
Apple pie cheesecake from The Cheesecake Studio & More (via Kadee Blakely);
Krispy Kreme doughnuts from the new vending machine in South End (via Jess).
Get a peach strudel and homemade ice cream drizzled with lavender honey from The Strudel Shop at Area 15.
(2) Take a virtual museum tour
In Charlotte, museums and aquariums are allowed to open at 50 percent capacity as part of North Carolina’s Phase 2.5 COVID-19 reopening plan. Sure, you can put on pants if you want, but we’re opting to stay in our pajamas and visit the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts & Culture in Charlotte, then hop over to Asheville for a tour of the Biltmore, and then we’ll go international for the British Library’s Harry Potter exhibit and Amsterdam’s the Rijksmuseum — all in one day.
Here’s what you need to know:
Google Arts & Culture has launched a Charlotte site. Hey, Charlotteans, how many of these spots have you not visited yet? Here’s your chance. Check out CharlotteFive reporter DeAnna Taylor’s suggestions for local places to explore from your couch. In addition to the Harvey B. Gantt Center, you can check out the Mint Museum, Goodyear Arts, Charlotte Symphony, the NASCAR Hall of Fame and more.
CharlotteFive reporter Laurie Larsh has mapped out 11 spectacular stops to armchair travel during COVID-19. In addition to the Biltmore, Harry Potter and the Rijksmuseum, you can check out Frida Kahlo’s diary, visit the inside of a space station or take a private virtual tour of Versailles. No passport needed.
(3) Save our local music venues
The rain will be here on Thursday, but so will the Art Auction to Save the Neighborhood Theatre. Proceeds from the virtual art auction will help keep the venue open. It starts at 6 p.m. For more Things to Do beginning Friday, check out CharlotteFive reporter Jillian Mueller’s weekly suggestions.
Other ways to help Charlotte’s struggling music venues:
Give your John Hancock to this petition seeking CARES Act assistance to help support Charlotte’s independent music venues.
Visit SaveourStages.com and generate a letter to our local representatives, asking for their help saving local music venues. “There’s no takeout or curbside version of concerts. We need the SOS Act to ensure we’ll still be around to reopen when live shows can return,” the Visualite posted on its Facebook page last month.
Buy some merch from The Evening Muse. The Muse recently started this shop as a way to try to survive the global pandemic. Your trucker hat purchase is more than just good fashion sense.
Visit digital publication Records on the Wall for information about local venues. Every week in July, it highlighted two music venues that needed help and included ways to donate. Check out its features on Petras, Smokey Joe’s, Amos’, Tommy’s Pub and more.
Need a reason to remember why we need to support these iconic spaces? Check out the Charlotte Museum of History’s virtual tour of the Unforgettable Music Venues of Charlotte. You can tour pieces of Charlotte’s lost or endangered venues, including the Double Door Inn, the Excelsior Club, and Tremont Music Hall.
(4) Create your own virtual gym
Yeah, we know you can hit up the actual gym now, as part of North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s Phase 2.5 order. Even so, our list of local virtual workouts continues to grow. If you’re not quite ready to sweat and breathe in the same room as other humans, there are still tons of local trainers out there ready to give you the virtual workout you need.
Check out:
A HIIT workout with Razz Sharpless of AdventHER Body. This class packs intense bursts of cardio into a 30-minute session — all from the comfort of your living room.
MMA Yoga at Arrichion. It’s yoga with small hand weights, so grab some soup cans and get to it.
Traditional Dance with Niche Faulkner via SweatNet. Skirt not required, but encouraged.
(5) Watch movies or TV shows filmed in Charlotte
We know, you’ve already seen everything on Netflix. You’ve definitely watched all the pandemic-themed dramas (Contagion, Containment, Outbreak). But when’s the last time you revisited shows or movies that were filmed in Charlotte?
Here are a few options:
American Animals, 2018. This movie is based on a true story in which four men attempt a perfect plan for an art heist. Scenes were filmed in Charlotte and Davidson and you can watch via HBO or buy it on Amazon.
Married at First Sight, 2019 (Season 9). The reality show that arranges marriages between strangers is a guilty pleasure made all the better by seeing couples visit local Charlotte favorites (Heist Brewery, Dandelion Market, Baoding all serve as date spots). Bonus: Since this is from 2019, you can live vicariously through the characters as they navigate a pre-COVID-19 dating scene. No masks in sight. You can watch via Hulu or Netflix.
The Hunger Games, 2012. We’ve all heard the comparison between the government’s response to the pandemic and the fictional televised fight-to-the-death. Now seems like a good time to take notes from Katniss. Filming in the area included Charlotte, Shelby and Concord. Rent via Prime video.
(6) Work on Fattening the Curve
You’ve made banana bread and sourdough. You’ve made Kindred’s Milk Bread. What else should you serve with all that bread? Check out Abigail Ilfeld’s story about a Charlotte-based Facebook group, FattenTheCurve, for all the recipe inspiration and encouragement you’ll need to get creative in the kitchen.
(7) Stock up on beer
Any self-respecting Charlotte beer lover knows a fully stocked fridge with a variety of local options is the only way to go for a virtual Zoom party or any other rainy day social activities. Check out CharlotteFive reporter Jennings Cool’s list of 13 Charlotte bottle shops to get your favorites. For something different, peep Daniel Hartis’ coverage of breweries creating Sun Drop-inspired brews. If beer isn’t your thing, you’re in luck, come Friday: Summit Seltzer’s taproom is opening in Wesley Heights.
(8) Learn how to unlearn gender bias
Lululemon recently promoted a Charlotte gender bias workshop. With one post, Charlottean Rebby Kern became a global household name — and then things went terribly wrong. Read CharlotteFive reporter Emiene Wright’s coverage of what happened to Charlotte yoga teacher and Lululemon ambassador Kern, and then sign up for their workshop on Thursday, titled Decolonizing Gender: unveil historical erasure and resist capitalism.
(9) Save the wildlife
Hurricane season can be devastating to our state’s wildlife. High winds, storm surge and rainfall can blow baby animals out of trees and defoliate forest canopies. Local wildlife rescuers Ruby Davis and Morgan Rafael are saving as many as they can on 105 acres near Charlotte, home to the Carolina Wildlife Conservation Center. After you see the adorable rescued animals in our recent article, you’ll be saying “Just go ahead and take my money.”
This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Here are 9 things to do on a Charlotte rainy day without breaking COVID-19 quarantine."
