Cosmic Bowling is a Fun Night Out

Have you ever gone bowling in the dark? How about in a nightclub? Well, that's the experience at cosmic bowling! You don't actually go to a nightclub for cosmic bowling, but the atmosphere can be pretty similar. I went to cosmic bowling with a group of friends Saturday night, and we had a blast! We met at the bowling lanes at about a quarter till 10 and we rented our shoes and got our lanes. It was $15 for everything (shoes plus all you can bowl). Food and drinks cost extra, but there was a nice waitress who would bring whatever we wanted. I personally am kind of cheap, so once I found the water fountain, I was good!

Anyway, at 10 pm, the regular lights went down, and the disco lights and black light kicked in! Everything was colorful and festive, and of course, there was still enough light to bowl. The music was kicky and upbeat, and we couldn't help dancing around, as well as bowling, so it was definitely a great workout (which I needed, after eating at the buffet earlier)! We bowled several games, and I left at about 1am, but some of my friends were still going strong. All in all, it was a great experience, and if you haven't tried cosmic bowling, you should check it out!



At Triad Lanes in Greensboro, they call this “Lightning Strikes”--here are the details: http://triadlanes.com/lightning-strikes.aspx

You can also find What's Good in Greensbroro? on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Whats-Good-in-Greensboro-848569635208317/ . See you there!




Free-use image from Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/bowling-alley-balls-colors-playing-669358/

Downtown Greensboro First Friday Events for June 3rd

GreenHill arts center, 200 North Davie Street (near the corner of Davie and Friendly Ave), celebrates First Friday from 6-9pm, featuring a performance by gospel singer Mary D. Williams from 6:30-7:30. Also at GreenHill this month is the exhibition Influence, a collaboration with Art Alliance Greensboro, featuring ceramics, sculpture and works in 2D by a dozen Art Alliance instructors. The First Friday celebration will also serve as the opening for the Influence exhibit, which runs through the end of June. Cash bar. Admission is free, but donations gratefully accepted. 

The International Civil Rights Center & Museum, 134 South Elm Street (in the historic Woolworth Building) celebrates June as Black Music Appreciation month with a live performance by Smooth Grooves, and will also host a silent auction for the ICRCM Annual Golf Classic. Admission to this event is free to the public.

Chakras Spa and Salon will host its First Friday event with drinks and refreshments art by Sarah McClinton, and music by Kim Kennedy & Mandy Brooke. Chakras is offering a 15% discount at any spa or salon services scheduled by event attendees. See my feature article on Chakras Spa and Salon here:  http://whatsgoodingreensboro.blogspot.com/2014/12/chakras-spa-is-delight-for-senses-and.html

Elements Gallery, 526 S. Elm Street, an artists' cooperative gallery, will feature a fifth-anniversary celebration on First Friday with a wine-tasting, food, and live music among a display of member artists' work, featuring pottery, jewelry, and other handicrafts. 

You can also find What's Good in Greensbroro? on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Whats-Good-in-Greensboro-848569635208317/ . See you there!

Image from Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/music-jam-guitar-lady-girl-844869/

Greensboro's Next "First Friday" is October 2

First Friday has been a tradition in downtown Greensboro for quite a few years, now, but for visitors and new residents who haven't gotten the memo yet, this is the memo: Join downtown businesses as they put on an "open house", featuring even more special specials, more active activities, and more chill chillin', as you walk around, enjoying the party atmosphere. Typical for First Fridays: sidewalk sales, street musicians, gallery shows, special readings and performances.

There will be many participants, as always, but check out the following special events:

• The International Civil Rights Center & Museum at 134 South Elm Street will feature College Night from 6p - 8p, with free admission and performances by students from local colleges

 

• Urban Grinders at 116 N Elm Street will feature "Sprayday", an art exhibit by Tony Waldron, a Durham-based artist and UNCG grad who creates his works with "street" materials such as spray paint and markers

• Greenhill at 200 N Davie Street, is featuring music by local band Raving Knaves, playing rock and roll with a 50s-style, Chuck Berry influence. Band will play from 630p - 730p; free admission (cash bar)

• co//ab at 229 N Greene Street will be giving tours and answering questions about the space from 530p - 8p. Find out what coworking is all about!

• Chakras Spa at 229 S Elm Street will have an art show and competition featuring original art created on skateboard decks. With music by Winston Salem's DJ SK and food and drink by Castle Catering, this sounds like quite the party! Free admission, 730p - 10p

• Just Be at 352 S Elm will host Russian textile artist Aida Brodt for a meet-and-greet from 6p-9p, showcasing Brodt's work for sale in the store

Also happening on First Friday this coming Friday, October 2, will be jazz at The Worx, art and exploration at Elsewhere, reggae at VybzNation, and much more. Come party downtown Greensboro and join in the fun! 

You can also find What's Good in Greensbroro? on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Whats-Good-in-Greensboro-848569635208317/ . See you there!

Image is my own photo of Chakras Spa. Read my article about Chakras here  http://whatsgoodingreensboro.blogspot.com/2014/12/chakras-spa-is-delight-for-senses-and.html

Greensboro Downtown Residents' Association Will Hold the 2015 Sip-n-Stroll on April 11th

The 2015 Sip-n-Stroll is a tour of Greensboro's finest downtown establishments serving wine and craft beers. Strollers will enjoy tastings of beer and wine, and many participating venues will be featuring drink and appetizer specials, as well. The Sip-n-Stroll will take place from 1-5pm on Saturday, April 11th, after which Strollers will enjoy a concert from 5-7pm at The Railyard featuring a performance by Empty Pocket. 

Tickets are $30 until March 28th, $35 from March 29th to April 10th and $40 on April 11th. Ticket price includes a souvenir event tasting glass, two tastings of wine/beer from each participating location and admission to the after concert at The Railyard. Tickets for the 2015 Sip-n-Stroll can be purchased at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2015-sip-n-stroll-a-downtown-greensboro-craft-beer-wine-experience-tickets-15867034728 .

Among the participants in the 2015 Sip-n-Stroll are Scuppernong Books (click here for more info), The Pour House, The Worx, Spice Cantina, Crafted! The Art of the Taco (click here for more info), Gibb's Hundred, Mellow Mushroom, Liberty Oak, Beer Co., Zeto Wines, Cafe Europa, Stumble Stilskins, and more.

So come to downtown Greensboro for a fun stroll, some fine food and drink, and some entertainment on a spring afternoon / evening. It's a great way to celebrate! 

You can also find What's Good in Greensbroro? on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Whats-Good-in-Greensboro-848569635208317/ . See you there!

Sip-n-Stroll logo used with permission. 

Fleetwood Mac Performs Tonight at the Greensboro Coliseum

Rock legends Fleetwood Mac, who have been making music for almost fifty years and who have provided the soundtrack for the lives of multiple generations of fans, are in Greensboro tonight for a concert at the Greensboro Coliseum, starting at 8pm.The tour is called "Fleetwood Mac: On with the Show"and will feature plenty of classics and favorites from their decades of incredible music.

Diehard Fleetwood Mac fans will appreciate that this tour features the "classic lineup" of Christine and John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, the team behind such brilliant and enduring albums as Rumours and Tusk. One of the reasons that I personally always admired the band was their ensemble approach to performing: Fleetwood Mac has three equally talented singer-songwriters: Christine McVie, Nicks, and Buckingham, and each one of them sang their own compositions, giving the band three lead singers, all of whom could write both critically and commercially successful music. And what wonderful, distinctive voices they have, as well!  

Tickets are still available for tonight's concert, presented by Live Nation. Click here for details and tickets, as well as more photos of the band!

 You can also find What's Good in Greensbroro? on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Whats-Good-in-Greensboro-848569635208317/ . See you there!

Image of Fleetwood Mac in 1977 from Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fleetwood_Mac_%281977%29.jpg

Downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, is Really Happening!

Get to Know the New Hot Spots Downtown

Wow, Greensboro's downtown sure has changed since I moved here! It used to be a few restaurants struggling amidst stuffy old used bookstores and secondhand shops. Most of the downtown "life" occurred during the day, when people were at work in all the office buildings and the few restaurants that existed mainly to serve them were open for lunch, but once 5 o'clock rolled around, the sidewalks basically got rolled up as folks drove back out to their suburban homes. Oh sure, there were a few interesting things, like Triad Stage and Carolina Theater, and a couple of neat little places like Thousands o' Prints and the yarn store, but there weren't a lot of reasons to hang around.

Cue the development blitz! Buildings were renovated into condos, and with people actually living downtown, there was a built-in customer base. More places started opening. More galleries! More stores! A good half-dozen actual nightclubs opened, as well as plenty of bars and restaurants. They finally finished restoring the old Woolworth store--the historical one, where the Greensboro Four, black college students from local A&T University, led a "sit-in" at the Woolworth lunch counter, which was segregated at the time--and turned it into the International Civil Rights Museum, thus adding to our downtown museum count, which also includes, among others, the Children's Museum, Blandwood Mansion, and the Weatherspoon Art Museum at UNCG (see my review of that here). We even have a spa downtown! And a bakery! 

All this has happened over the last decade or so, but in just the past couple of years, the momentum for new places seems to be growing--so many cool little boho stores, galleries and restaurants have opened on South Elm Street, I can barely keep track, and even more are coming. If you haven't visited downtown Greensboro in a while, you should come back and check it out. We'll keep the sidewalks unrolled for you! 

You can also find What's Good in Greensbroro? on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Whats-Good-in-Greensboro-848569635208317/ . See you there!

Nighttime cityscape by Turboknowledge, from Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greensboro_City_Scape.jpg