What’s up Fuquay. It’s the freakin’ weekend (almost).
Here's a fact to win a bar bet this weekend: Texas Pete has never had a thing to do with Texas. It's been cooked up in Winston-Salem since 1929, and the "Texas" was pure marketing because, apparently, "North Carolina Pete" didn't move bottles.
Weekends like this are exactly why we started First Sip. There isn't one big event dominating everyone's plans. Instead, it's a dozen smaller reasons to get out of the house: a brewery anniversary, free ice cream, and race cars. So before you default to "I guess we'll just figure something out," here's everything worth knowing around Fuquay this weekend.
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— 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:
Oaklyn Springs 8th Anniversary Party @ Oaklyn Springs Brewery — Saturday, 12:00-10:00 PM Eight exclusive anniversary beer releases, live music all day, food trucks, vendors, and raffle giveaways.
Cars in the Quay at Aviator — Saturday, July 18, 8:00 AM The monthly Cars & Coffee takes over the Aviator lot except this time it’s race cars. More on that below.
Free Ice Cream Social @ Fuquay Mineral Spring Park — Sunday, 4:00-6:00 PM National Ice Cream Day, celebrated with free ice cream, lemonade, and iced tea at the park. Easy Sunday afternoon.
SATURDAY MORNING
🏎️ Race cars take over Aviator
Image Credit: Cars in the Quay
Cars & Coffee Fuquay: Race Car Edition | Aviator Brewing | Saturday, July 18, 8:00-11:00 AM | Free
Cars in the Quay gathers at Aviator every third Saturday, but July’s featured display is built around race cars. The race cars get the spotlight, while the rest of the lot remains open to classics, exotics, project cars, daily drivers and vehicles whose owners have memorized the meaning of every dashboard light.
You don’t need to bring a race car (or know the difference between horsepower and torque) to enjoy it. Arrive early, walk the rows before the July heat settles in, and then head toward Oaklyn Springs when its anniversary party opens at noon. That is a suspiciously efficient Saturday itinerary.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
🍦 We all scream for free ice cream!
Image Credit: Town of Fuquay-Varina
Town Ice Cream Social | Fuquay Mineral Spring Park | Sunday, July 19, 4:00-6:00 PM | Free
The Town’s National Ice Cream Day celebration is deliberately simple: free ice cream, iced tea, lemonade and two hours in the park. No tickets, no complicated schedule and no need to explain to the kids why standing in line for free ice cream technically counts as a civic activity.
The location gives it more weight than the average summer giveaway. Mineral Spring Park surrounds the spring that began drawing visitors to the area in the 1800s and eventually gave Fuquay half of its name. More than a century later, people are still gathering around it for cold refreshments.
SATURDAY
☕ Craft summer market wisely moves indoors
Image Credit: Serenity Brews
Curated Craft Summer Market | Serenity Brews | Saturday, July 18, 10:00 AM-2:00 PM | Free
Serenity Brews is turning its coffee shop into an indoor marketplace for four hours, with a curated lineup of local artists, makers and small businesses selling handmade goods and original work. Permanent jewelry is also on the schedule, for anyone who prefers their impulse purchases clasped shut.
Bonus points: order something made with one of Serenity’s house-made syrups.
LIVE TUNES
🎶 Your Weekend Music Calendar
Image Credit: Pink Floyd
Friday gives you seven ways to hear live music without leaving the Fuquay orbit, and Saturday somehow gets even louder. Between an Oaklyn Springs birthday, four separate Aviator stages, and a Pink Floyd tribute just over the line in Holly Springs, the hard part this week isn’t finding live music…it’s choosing where to start.
Here’s this weekend’s lineup:
Friday, July 17
Open Jam Night at American Legion Post 116 - Friday, 6:00–10:00 PM: Local musicians take turns onstage
Dark Echoes: Pink Floyd Experience at Holly Springs Cultural Center - Friday, 6:00–9:00 PM: A full Pink Floyd tribute on the lawn.
Matthew Crowe at Aviator TapHouse - Friday, 7:00 PM: A singer-songwriter set at the TapHouse for anyone easing into Friday with a pint and no particularly ambitious plans.
Richard Boston at Wingin’ It - Friday, 7:00–10:00 PM: Boston pulls from music across several genres.
Strange Invitation at McWally’s - Friday, 7:00 PM: The full four-piece is bringing familiar hits to McWally’s
The Watchmen at Aviator Ready Room - Friday, 7:00–10:00 PM: The Ready Room gets its own three-hour set, leaving plenty of time to wander toward the Hangar if one Aviator stage doesn’t feel sufficient.
Undercover at Aviator Hangar Bar - Friday, 8:30–11:30 PM: Friday’s late shift and the final confirmed stop of the night, for anyone whose bedtime has already lost the argument.
Saturday, July 18
Oaklyn Springs’ 8th Anniversary at Oaklyn Springs Brewery - Saturday, 12:00–9:30 PM: Eight years calls for more than a cake. Live music runs throughout the celebration, with The Cheeze Factor closing from 6:30–9:30 PM
80’s Unleashed at Aviator Amphitheater - Saturday, 6:00–9:00 PM: The Amphitheater goes full neon for three hours of ’80s throwbacks.
Stone Age Romeos at Mason Jar Lager Co. - Saturday, 7:00 PM: Mason Jar’s Saturday-night headliner, with an early enough start to keep several second-stop possibilities alive.
Riot Wagon at Aviator TapHouse - Saturday, 7:00–10:00 PM: The Broad Street option in Saturday’s choose-your-own-Aviator adventure, with a full three-hour set before the night moves toward the brewery campus.
Tommy Thunderfoot & The Accelerators at Aviator Pizzeria & BeerShop - Saturday, 8:00 PM: Pizza, beer and a band.
Bad PR at Aviator Hangar Bar - Saturday, 8:30–11:30 PM: ’90s alternative and rock favorites close the Hangar.
Sunday, July 19
Will Woltz at Aviator TapHouse - Sunday, 2:00–5:00 PM: A Sunday-afternoon TapHouse set for easing back into normal life without doing anything rash.
Open Mic Jam at Oaklyn Springs Brewery - Sunday, 2:00–5:00 PM: Local performers rotate through the brewery stage.
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THE REST
Honorable mentions for the week
$2 Off Hard Seltzers @ McWally's — Friday, July 17: Friday Night Fizz Special runs all day.
$4 Mimosas @ The Mill — Sunday, July 19: Recurring Sunday special, easy recovery brunch option.
Fuquay-Varina Growers Market — Saturday, 8:00 AM–12:00 PM: Downtown market running through noon with produce, local vendors, the usual Saturday morning routine.
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