RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) With decreasing COVID-19 metrics and increasing vaccinations, organizers are hoping to host events in the coming months.
Last month, Gov. Roy Cooper announced a loosening of capacity limitations at outdoor venues to 30% of capacity and indoor venues that host 5,000 or more people to 15% of capacity. While that means events can take place, whether it is feasible to do so is another matter. The talent has to meet a certain amount of fans, otherwise, why are they getting on a plane and traveling across the country? said Michael Broder, the President of GalaxyCon.
GalaxyCon, an annual, four-day event, is set to take place at the Raleigh Convention Center from July 29 to Aug. 1. Broder said they would need to have at least 33% of capacity to move forward.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) You can run through the long list with Jen Martin. First Night Raleigh, Artsplosure, St. Patrick s, The Pride Festival, Bluegrass, she ticked off. All of them canceled in 2020 because of COVID-19. It s not only frustrating for event organizers; the general public loves these events and this city is a big city that does events, said Martin, executive director of Shop Local Raleigh (SLR), the non-profit booster behind Raleigh s Christmas Parade and Brewgaloo, the city s annual celebration of North Carolina beer brewers.
But this week, Raleigh City Council began laying the groundwork for a comeback for the city s events scene. Starting April 1, the city will allow special events on a case-by-case basis. The move comes after Governor Roy Cooper eased COVID safety restrictions in his latest executive order. But, the measure still caps outside gatherings at 50 people.
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) It has been 51 years since the first cars drove down a newly-constructed Durham Freeway, linking downtown Durham to the new Research Triangle Park. But the highway s construction came at a cost still felt today the freeway tore through homes, businesses, and up-ended lives.
The overwhelming majority of those up-ended lives were Black lives.
Anita Scott Neville thinks about her father every time she drives down Fayetteville Street, across the Durham Freeway overpass and onto Pettigrew Street. (My father) would pull up in his truck, park over here and say, Baby, watch the traffic, and we d go across the street here, Neville recalled as she pointed to block of Pettigrew where new upscale residences are now built with more on the way.