Raleigh Wide Open 4 will be the first time all of Fayetteville Street really is wide open all the way from the Capitol to Memorial Auditorium.
For previous RWOs, only the four blocks closest to the Capitol were open. The rest were under construction some way of other. But with the underground parking for the Convention Center completed and City Plaza completed — it’s getting there; not to worry — the construction fences can come down. A 10 a.m. parade will mark the event.
What does everybody think of the Jim Gallucci-designed light towers? I was downtown last night and saw them with the LED lighting switched on — one tower’s red, one blue, one green, one yellow. They do make an impression. (The renderings always showed them as pale yellow.)
RWO 4 will be City Plaza’s debut, with its four glass-box shops (donuts, a sub shop), lights, lighted water-fountain and so on — I’m curious to see how it works. (And RWO, with its swarming masses, won’t be the test of that question.)
And yes, there will be fireworks — at 10:45 pm.
The schedule:
10:00 am – Parade down Fayetteville Street
11:00 am – Festival opens, food and art vendors, street performers
Fireworks Main Stage – City Plaza
7:30 – 8:30 – Tao Rodriguez-Seeger
9:00 – 10:30 – Delbert McClinton
Cherry Bounce Stage – Hargett Street
12:00 – 3:30 – TBA
4:00 – 4:45 – Schooner
5:15 – 6:00 – Peggy Sue
6:30 – 7:30 – TBA
8:00 – 9:00 – Man Man
Acoustic Stage – City Plaza
11:30 – 12:45 – Chuck Phillips Duo
1:15 – 2:30 – th’ Bullfrog
3:00 – 4:15 – Eric Scholtz
4:45 – 6:00 – Chuck Phillips Duo
Raleigh Rocks – Davie Street
12:00 – 1:00 – The Shucks
1:30 – 2:30 – The Design
3:00 – 4:00 – Adam Pitts
4:30 – 5:30 – River City Ransom
6:00 – 7:00 – Airiel Down
10:45 pm – Fireworks
