Friday Fun Food Facts – September 25, 2015

• The next edition (and final one of 2015) of Cary’s Chatham Street Chowdown will take place on Sunday, October 4th from noon until 4:30 p.m. along Chatham Street in downtown Cary. Looks like over 20 food trucks, a few restaurants and a wine and beer garden along with music and entertainment. Get all the details here.

• John Huisman (aka Triangle Explorer) informed me about the fact that every Thursday from September through November, the Town of Knightdale is hosting “Food Truck Thursdays” with a new food truck scheduled each week. The weekly truck will be parked at Knightdale Station Park near the amphitheater each Thursday from 11am to 2pm. Check out the schedule here.

• For a listing of ALL food truck events, head over to Art’s page, The Wandering Sheppard on all things food truck related here.

Events

• Tickets have gone on sale for one of the biggest foodie events around – the TerraVita Food & Drink Festival, which will be held in Chapel Hill October 8-10. It simply can’t be missed. Get details on all the events around this festival here.

• Tomorrow (September 26) downtown Fuquay Varina will host the Fuquay-Varina BBQ, Blues and Brews Festival from 3-8 p.m. There will be live music, 25 barbecue teams competing for a $1,000 prize, plenty of local craft beer and an auction at 5 p.m. for the painted Bengal Tiger statues that are currently displayed around downtown. Get all the details here.

• Durham’s Gughupf hosts its 6th Annual Rocktoberfest on Saturday September 26 from 4 to 10 p.m. Guglhupf adds its own twist to the traditional Oktoberfest, and this year’s festivities feature even more specialty beers to complement the delicious German cuisine. Throw in live music and a party atmosphere, and you’ve got a family-friendly celebration you’ll not want to miss! Reservations are not needed and there is no cover charge. There will be plenty of overflow parking, plus extra event seating. Guglhupf is located at 2706 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd, Durham. Get all the details here.

• Abundance NC’s 8th annual Pepper Festival will be from 3-7 p.m. on September 27th in Briar Chapel, located between Chapel Hill and Pittsboro. More than two dozen chefs will be serving samples of dishes made with locally-grown peppers. Chefs include chefs Angela Salamanca of Raleigh’s Centro, Colin Bedford of Fearrington Inn in Pittsboro, Marshall Smith of Glasshalfull in Carrboro, Jason Smith of 18 Seaboard in Raleigh, and John Childers of The Umstead Hotel in Cary. Tickets are $20-$30 in advance, $35 at the door. Get a full list of the chefs and all the details here.

• It is that time of the year again for the Southern Ideal Home Show at the NC State Fairgrounds. This year it will be held Sept. 25 – 27 and it will again feature their popular Brews and Bites event each day which highlights food and drinks from local restaurants, breweries and wineries. Lots of great choices and giveaways each day. Get all the details here.

• The Carolina RailHawks will be hosting the 4th Annual RailHawks Homebrew Soktoberfest on Saturday, September 26th. The pre-game festivities will begin at 5:30 pm at WakeMed Soccer Park and will run until 7:15 pm, followed by the RailHawks NASL match against Ottawa Fury FC. Soktoberfest is the RailHawks take on a German Oktoberfest, but with a focus on local craft and home brewers. A combination of German-themed food samples and traditional North Carolina fare, live music presented by ReverbNation, local craft beer, and homebrewed beer. Get more details here.

• Academy Street Bistro and TOPO Distillery are partnering to host a cocktail party to benefit the Interfaith Food Shuttle on October 1st at 5:30 p.m. Attendees will enjoy four different cocktails, each with a different aged spirit from TOPO and heavy hors d’oeuvres. The cost is $20 per person. Make reservations by calling 919-377-0509. More details here.

• This sounds like a lot of fun. The Raleigh Wine Shop in downtown will host a pop-up dinner called Wine & Swine on Thursday, October 1st featuring legendary pit-master Ed Mitchell and winemaker extraordinaire André Mack. The cost is $40 and you can get all the details here.

• On Sunday, October 4th from 1-4 p.m., the guys behind the soon-to-open Picnic in Durham (Wyatt Dickson and Ben Adams) will be joined by Texas (and soon to be South Carolina) pit-master John Lewis on Green Button Farm for a Sunday afternoon picnic. This is an opportunity to get up close and personal with these barbecue legends! In addition to the whole hog and beef brisket, they’ll also serve up seasonal sides, alongside chilled wine & beer from Wine Authorities, Ponysaurus and Fullsteam. Get all tickets and all the information here.

• You’ll want to go ahead and mark your calendar for the 2nd Annual Triangle Oktoberfest coming to Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre on October 3rd and 4th. There will be some great authentic German fare as well as some amazing breweries. Get all the details here.

• The 30th annual International Festival of Raleigh will take place October 9 through October 11 at the Raleigh Convention Center. The event features food from 27 different cultures and countries and a biergarten with cask beer tastings. Get all the details and purchase tickets in advance here. Use promo code “TFG15” and get $2 off adult ticket purchase!

• The town of Holly Springs is holding their 6th Annual Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, October 10th at the Holly Springs Farmers Market from 9 – 12:30 p.m. This is a wonderful community event, where both amateurs and professionals compete for both the judges’ approval as well as their fellow citizens with the People’s Choice award. Get all the details here.

• And if you are into eating healthier, you might want to go ahead and get this event on your calendar – the 2015 Triangle Vegfest which will be held at Moore Square and City Market in downtown Raleigh on Saturday, October 17th from noon until 5 p.m. Get all the details here.

• While you’re at it, make sure you mark your calendar for Saturday October 17th (4-8 p.m.) for Knightdale’s “Drafts & Carafe’s” Festival. This  event will also be held at the Knightdale Station Park and feature local wineries, breweries, vendors selling beer/wine related crafts/artwork, music and food trucks.

• The town of Garner will hold their second Downtown Garner Trick or Eat Food Truck Rodeo on October 25th from 12-5 on Main Street. They’ll have 14 food trucks, 3 craft brewers, and some activities for children. You can find more details here or on their Facebook event page here.

• The Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series, a single-elimination tournament highlighting the best of the Carolina’s food, agriculture and culinary talent, is gearing up for its Battle of Champions series in which five top regional chefs will battle it out to take home the coveted annual championship title. Foodies from the Carolinas and beyond are invited to attend the four live dinner events Oct. 28 to 31 in Raleigh, savoring the full-service, six-course meals and serving as judges. Tickets to these interactive battles go on sale Thursday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. here and are guaranteed to sell out quickly.

• And finally, this event isn’t until November, but I’m here to tell you if you wait much longer you won’t be able to get a ticket. Acme Restaurant in downtown Carrboro is known for its “damn good food” AND for its great events. This one tops the list. Their 3rd Annual Salt & Smoke event on Sunday, November 8th. They describe it as “oysters and barbecue, music and friends” but you really need to read about it here and get your tickets here.