Oh hey, Fuquay.
College football is back Saturday, and UNC is getting no warm up: the Tar Heels open against TCU in Dublin at noon, and yes, we remember how last year’s game went. Then, at 3:30, NC State heads to Virginia. As your newsletter editor, I don’t play favorites, red, blue, or otherwise. My only agenda is making sure everyone has a good time.
If you’d rather spend part of the weekend away from a TV, the local calendar is poppin’. Deep 6 is bringing Pearl Jam and the rest of the Seattle sound to Mason Jar, Aviator has multiple stages running, and Polly’s Petal Patch has somehow combined flowers, coffee and rolled ice cream into one weekend that’s great for the kids.
First time here? Welcome in. Every Friday, we send the best things to eat, drink, hear, and do around Fuquay-Varina. Know someone who’d be into it? Send them this: subscribe here.
— First Sip Fuquay Team
THE SHORT LIST
Start Here: Your Weekend Lineup
If you only read one thing this week, make it this. The biggest stuff happening across town this week:
Deep 6 @ Mason Jar Lager Company — Saturday, 7:00 PM: Pearl Jam is the headliner, but the set stretches across the Seattle/grunge universe: Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Foo Fighters, Candlebox and more.
U-Picks + Coffee + Rolled Ice Cream @ Polly’s Petal Patch — Sunday afternoon/evening: Pick flowers, grab coffee from Un Cafecito and let Frozen Ones roll your dessert on a freezing metal plate. Very efficient Sunday programming.
ALL WEEKEND
🌸 Flowers, coffee and rolled ice cream
Image Credit: Polly’s Petal Patch
U-Picks + Coffee + Ice Cream | Polly’s Petal Patch | Sunday, August 30 | Timed afternoon and evening sessions
Polly’s Petal Patch on Cokesbury Road has basically turned the flower farm into its own little weekend festival.
Friday night starts with Bloom & Graze from 6:30–8:30 PM, an after-hours night in the flower fields with U-Pick bouquets, charcuterie from Fig & Fleur Cart, mocktails and cold brew from The Hitching Post, and live music from Brian & Cheyenne under the lights. Bad news if you're just learning about it here: the event is already sold out. Good news for Polly’s: apparently Fuquay is very into flowers and charcuterie.
Saturday morning is the better option if you want more than flowers. Hourly U-Pick sessions start at 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 and noon, with Richly Linked offering permanent jewelry, Bradley Blue bringing vintage clothing and finds, and Un Cafecito handling the coffee. Regular U-Pick sessions return later at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and 7:00 PM if you'd rather skip the shopping and wander the garden once the heat starts backing off.
Then Sunday trades vintage clothes and jewelry for dessert. U-Pick sessions run hourly from 3:00–7:00 PM, with Un Cafecito back pouring handcrafted coffee and Frozen Ones serving rolled ice cream in multiple flavors. Flowers + coffee + ice cream is an extremely specific Sunday plan, but we're not arguing with it.
The U-Picks are $20 for a small jar or $25 for a large, and each reservation gets you an hour in the garden plus admission for one guest. Extra guests who aren't picking can grab a $5 Just Looking pass. You also don't need a garden ticket just to stop by and shop the visiting vendors outside the flower fields.
So: Friday is unfortunately spoken for, but Saturday gives you shopping + flowers and Sunday gives you coffee + ice cream + flowers. Pick your level of wholesome.
SATURDAY
🤘 Pearl Jam comes to Fuquay (kind of)
Image Credit: Deep 6
Deep 6: A Tribute to Pearl Jam and the Seattle Sound | Mason Jar Lager Company | Saturday, August 29, 7:00 PM
If Ten, Nevermind and Dirt still occupy permanent real estate somewhere in your brain, Saturday night is pretty straightforward.
Deep 6 starts with Pearl Jam but doesn’t stay there. The band pulls from Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Foo Fighters, Silverchair, Candlebox, Screaming Trees, Mudhoney, Bush and basically every other band that once convinced America to buy a flannel shirt.
It also lands on the same Saturday college football comes back, which feels right. Watch the games, recover emotionally, then spend the evening pretending it’s 1994.
SATURDAY
💿 One last trip through the decades at Track Record
Image Credit: Main and Broad Magazine / Track Record
’90s & ’00s Vinyl Night | Track Record Vinyl Shop & Listening Lounge | Saturday, August 29, 5:00–9:00 PM
Track Record is closing out its August Decades Series Saturday night by jumping into arguably the strongest possible stretch: the ’90s and early 2000s.
From 5:00–9:00 PM, the downtown record shop and listening lounge will be spinning vinyl from the era that gave us grunge, hip-hop’s biggest crossover years, pop-punk, boy bands, nu metal and whatever genre you want to put OutKast in.
It’s also unintentionally perfect timing. A few hours later, Deep 6 is playing Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Alice in Chains over at Mason Jar Lager Company, so downtown Fuquay has accidentally assembled a pretty convincing ’90s night.
Track Record is worth hanging around even without the theme: there are crates of new and used vinyl to dig through, listening areas, coffee and craft drinks, so this is less “stand around and watch a DJ” and more “grab something to drink and disappear into music for a couple hours.”
Go early, flip through some records, stay for the nostalgia, then decide whether you have enough flannel in the closet to continue the night at Mason Jar.
LIVE TUNES
🎶 Your Weekend Music Calendar
Image Credit: Radio Gnomes
Here’s this weekend’s lineup:
Friday, August 28
Radio Gnomes — Aviator Pizza Pub | 7:00–10:00 PM: Rock at the Pizza Pub.
Jared Place — Aviator TapHouse | 7:00–10:00 PM: Pop-rock at the TapHouse.
Midnight Thirty — Aviator Hangar Bar | 7:00–10:00 PM: Rock on the Hangar Bar stage.
Maverick Rose — Wingin’ It Fuquay | 7:00–10:00 PM: Live set at Wingin’ It.
Southern RanT — McWally’s | 7:00–9:00 PM: Friday-night live music alongside bowling, food and the final few days of McWally’s anniversary specials.
Wagstaff Road — Aviator Ready Room | 8:30–11:30 PM: Country for the later Friday crowd.
Saturday, August 29
Joe Hero — Aviator Hangar Bar | 5:00–8:00 PM: Foo Fighters-focused set to start the evening.
Deep 6 — Mason Jar Lager Company | 7:00 PM: Pearl Jam plus the wider Seattle/grunge catalog.
Jam Biscuit — Oaklyn Springs Brewery | 7:00 PM: Saturday-night set at the N. Main Street brewery.
Center Street Band — Aviator Pizza Pub | 7:00–10:00 PM: Rock/pop at the Pizza Pub.
Echo Blvd — Aviator Hangar Bar | 8:30–11:30 PM: Grunge at the Hangar Bar, meaning you can technically build an entire Saturday around distorted guitars.
Sunday, August 30
Open Mic — Oaklyn Springs Brewery | Sunday afternoon: Oaklyn Springs’ recurring Sunday acoustic open mic at the N. Main Street brewery.
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THE REST
Honorable mentions for the week
McWally’s Anniversary Specials — through the end of August: Birthday Butter Cake, Blue Raspberry Lemonade, a Blue Margarita, Anniversary Slider Trio, Churro Dirty Soda and Churro Bites are still hanging around after last weekend’s first-birthday bash.
Agave August @ Moonlight Lounge — Saturday: The Blueberry Basil Smash and $7 bartender-selected shots are closing out the month.
Win $500 Dish Review Contest @ Mason Jar Tavern — through September 1: Write a dish review for a chance at the $500 drawing. Different Mason Jar from the Deep 6 show, importantly.
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