Your 5-minute guide to the best things to do in Charlotte | May 3-9
FRIDAY
▪ The finale of the Queen City’s 250th anniversary celebration, Charlotte SHOUT! — a 13-day art, music, food and idea festival hosted by Charlotte Center City Partners and Blumenthal Performing Arts — continues in the heart of Uptown Charlotte through May 11. Daily events are scheduled through next Saturday, from live jazz performances to panel discussions to cooking classes and much more. Most events are free to attend, but some require tickets. Full schedule: www.charlotteshout.com.
▪ One of the largest and most prestigious sporting events in the Carolinas, The Wells Fargo Championship, will be hosted at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte through Sunday. See champions like Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, Sean O’Hair, Rory McIlroy and more at the 2019 tournament. Times and ticket prices vary by day and event. 3700 Gleneagles Road.
▪ Sounds of Summer returns to First Ward Park for its third summer. Enjoy four free outdoor concerts in the park featuring live Roots and Americana music with a beautiful view of uptown Charlotte. Bring your own picnic or grab some grub from one of the food trucks on site. Craft beer and wine will also be available for purchase. 7-10 p.m. 301 E. 7th St. Free.
SATURDAY
▪ Festival in the Park has brought the Charlotte community together each fall since 1964 to enjoy arts and crafts, music and family-friendly entertainment. In an effort to further celebrate the arts, nine years ago the Festival board launched the Annual Kings Drive Art Walk, hosted each spring along the Little Sugar Creek Greenway. Take a stroll along the Greenway as you peruse works by fine and emerging artists at this yearly outing. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. 600 S. Kings Drive. Free.
▪ Beer aficionados from not just Charlotte, but all around the country will make their way to the field at Bank of America Stadium this Saturday for the Untappd Beer Festival. There will be more than 170 breweries on site pouring beer samples, including the Charlotte-area folks you know and love as well as breweries from around the country. This rain-or-shine event will feature live entertainment and four hours of unlimited samples, as well as a souvenir sampling glass. 4-8 p.m. 800 S. Mint St. Tickets start at $50.
▪ Five teams will compete in WFAE’s Queen City PodQuest Live Finale at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Tune in live as each team pitches their podcast idea to a panel of judges — and find out which team will win the chance work with the WFAE team to develop their podcast idea into a six- to eight-episode podcast series on the network. 4-7 p.m. 400 E. Martin Luther King Blvd. $5.
SUNDAY
▪ Round out your weekend with the Cinco de Mayo Front Porch Sundays Market in South End. Sweat it out at a free bootcamp-style workout led by Jamie Scott Fitness, get your healthy meals for the week at the micro-farmers’ market with Farm Fresh Carolinas, jam to live music by Keith Serpa and Scoot Pitman Trio and shop from 65-plus local vendors. UpDog Kombucha and Sycamore Brewing will be on-site to quench your thirst, and you can grab a bite from one of the food trucks on site. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 2161 Hawkins St. Free.
▪ Watch as the U.S. National Whitewater Center’s rapids are overtaken by rubber ducks at the 15th Annual Hope Floats Duck Race. This yearly fundraiser benefits Kindermourn, bringing support and healing to bereaved parents as well as grieving children and teens who have experienced loss. Last year, a record-breaking 35,000 rubber ducks of hopes made their way into the water. Kindermourn hopes to beat that number this year. 2-5 p.m. 5000 Whitewater Center Pkwy. Free.
MONDAY
▪ It’s strawberry season! Enjoy a six-course meal, each course incorporating this delightfully sweet-yet-tart seasonal fruit, at the 7th St. Public Market Strawberry Tasting. Assorted Table Wine Shoppe will pair two wines with the menu, while Tank’s Tap will pair two beers. There are only 40 spots available, so get your tickets while they last. 6:30-9 p.m. 224 E. 7th St. $60.
THURSDAY
▪ The May: NoDa Costume Crawl is here. This month’s theme: heroes. Dress up as your favorite superhero or your real-life hero, then take advantage of specials at restaurants, bars and shops throughout the NoDa neighborhood. In addition to crawling from business to business, you can also look forward to streetside activities like arts and crafts, music and more. 6-10 p.m. NoDa. Free.