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Scientists just discovered a brand-new monkey species in the Congo with orange lips. Finding a new primate is incredibly rare—only a handful have been identified in Africa over the last 75 years. Somewhere, there's a zoologist who's spent their entire career searching for a monkey that looks like it just finished a bag of Cheetos. Fortunately, your weekend plans should be much easier to find. Here's what's happening around Fuquay.
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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:
Pro Wrestling @ Mason Jar Lager Company - Saturday, 3:00 PM Free pro wrestling, explicitly family-friendly
Christmas in July Mill Market @ The Mill - Saturday, 10:00 AM–3:00 PM Local makers and handmade goods take over The Mill for five hours.
Pups Poker Walk for Heart 2 Heart - Saturday, Registration 9:15 AM Walk downtown with your dog, draw poker cards, and support Duke-area heart families.
Kids' Bike Safety Day & Helmet Giveaway @ Growers Market - Saturday, 9:30–11:30 AM Free helmets while supplies last
KnB's Marketplace 19th Anniversary Open House - Saturday, 10:00 AM–5:00 PM Forty vendors, one downtown antiques mall, and a birthday worth a visit.
FRIDAY
🍺 McWally’s Pint Night: Buy the cider, keep the glass
Image Credit: Flat Rock Brewing / McWally’s
Pint Night featuring Life's a Peach | McWally's | Friday, July 25, 6:00–8:00 PM
Friday evening at McWally's, Flat Rock Cider Company's Life's a Peach is on tap and the pint glass is yours to take home. A Flat Rock rep will be in the building with brand extras. The two-hour window (6:00–8:00 PM) is tight enough to plan around and quick enough to pair with a second stop.
Flat Rock Cider is out of Hendersonville, NC, which makes this as a great way to support a local brewer. If cider usually isn't your thing, McWally’s has plenty else on tap so come on in.
SATURDAY
🤼 Pro wrestling crashes Mason Jar — free, and family-friendly
Image Credit: GOUGE Wrestling
GOUGE Wrestling | Mason Jar Lager Company | Saturday, July 25, 3:00 PM | Free
GOUGE Wrestling brings its touring independent circuit to the Mason Jar Lager Company Saturday afternoon, turning what is normally a taproom patio into a legitimate wrestling venue. Independent wrestling events like this tend to run two to three hours. The Mason Jar's outdoor setup handles crowds well, and the playground on-site means parents don't have to choose between watching a suplex and keeping an eye on the kids.
The combination of craft lager and live wrestling is genuinely unusual for a town this size, and GOUGE has built a regional following across the Carolinas for running credible, high-energy independent shows. Arrive close to 3:00 PM to grab a spot — once this gets out, standing room near the ring will go fast. If you're making a full Saturday of it, the Growers Market wraps by noon and leaves plenty of time to grab lunch before the matches start.
SATURDAY
🎄 The Mill goes full Christmas in July
Image Credit: The Mill
Christmas in July Mill Market | The Mill | Saturday, July 25, 10:00 AM–3:00 PM
The Mill turns its floor over to a vendor market Saturday, with local makers setting up to sell handmade goods under a Christmas-in-July theme — holiday-adjacent gifts and seasonal shopping, not a literal ornament sale. It's a five-hour window, long enough to actually browse instead of rushing through.
Running 10 to 3 puts it squarely inside the same morning as the Growers Market and the bike safety day, so downtown has a genuine multi-stop Saturday shape if you're willing to walk between them. Supporting small businesses is the stated point, and a themed market tends to pull vendors who skip the standard weekend pop-ups.
SATURDAY MORNING
🐾 Bring the dog, bring the kids, and help a Duke heart family
Image Credit: Pexels
Pups Poker Walk | Downtown Fuquay-Varina | Saturday, July 25, Registration 9:15 AM, Walk 10:00 AM
EarthWise Pet Fuquay runs its annual Pups Poker Walk Saturday morning — leash up the dog, hit five stops around downtown, and draw one poker card at each. Best hand at the end wins a grand prize package plus EarthWise Pet swag. Every dollar raised goes to Heart 2 Heart Collaborative, which supports local families navigating a child's congenital heart disease alongside Duke.
Registration opens at 9:15, walking starts at 10 which is early enough to beat the heat and still leave the rest of Saturday open.
SATURDAY
🕰️ KnB’s Marketplace marks 19 years downtown with an open house
Image Credit: KnB Marketplace / James Spidle
KnB's Marketplace 19th Anniversary Open House | KnB's Marketplace | Saturday, July 25, 10:00 AM–5:00 PM
KnB's Marketplace marks 19 years downtown with an open house Saturday. The antiques and vintage mall packs roughly 40 vendors into 5,000 square feet on Raleigh Street, and an anniversary is as good a reason as any to actually dig through what's there instead of walking past.
This one runs at a slower pace than the rest of Saturday's lineup, so no set start-to-finish activity, just a full day to browse. Worth pairing with a downtown loop if you're already out for the Growers Market or the poker walk; KnB's is an easy add-on if you're within walking distance of Main Street.
SATURDAY MORNING
🚲 Get your kid a free bike helmet at the Fuquay Growers Market
Kids' Bike Safety Day & Helmet Giveaway | Fuquay-Varina Growers Market | Saturday, July 25, 9:30–11:30 AM | Free
The Growers Market's regular Saturday run gets a family-focused add-on this week: the market, the Poe Center for Health Education, and the Fuquay-Varina Chamber of Commerce are teaming up for a bike safety day, with free helmets handed out while supplies last and local experts walking kids through safe riding basics.
It runs 9:30 to 11:30, right inside the market's regular 8 AM–noon window.
LIVE TUNES
🎶 Your Weekend Music Calendar
Image Credit: The Ridge Band
Here’s this weekend’s lineup:
Friday, July 24
2Digh4 at Mason Jar Lager Company - Friday, 7:00–10:00 PM: Fuquay’s own country-rock crew mixes originals with a wide cover list.
Josh Branch at Oaklyn Springs Brewery - Friday, 7:00–10:00 PM: A three-hour brewery set on North Main for anyone who prefers settling in over venue-hopping.
Not It! at Aviator Pizzeria & BeerShop - Friday, 7:00–10:00 PM: One of three simultaneous Aviator choices, with pizza within reach.
Skull Jams at Aviator Ready Room - Friday, 7:00–10:00 PM: ’90s rock covers in the Ready Room, for anyone whose playlist still begins with flannel.
The Ridge Band at Aviator Hangar Bar - Friday, 8:30–11:30 PM: Classic rock, country, pop and dance covers.
Saturday, July 25
MixTape at Aviator Amphitheater - Saturday, 6:00 PM: An outdoor amphitheater set that gives Saturday an early, open-air start.
Sayer McShane at The Brick - Saturday, 6:00 PM: An early downtown set before The Brick’s later-night energy takes over.
Ray Martin at Oaklyn Springs Brewery - Saturday, 7:00–10:00 PM: Rock, pop and country favorites on North Main.
Kyle Mullins at Oaklyn Springs Taproom - Saturday, 7:00–10:00 PM: Country and rock covers spanning several decades at the Broad Street taproom.
2Digh4 at American Legion Post 116 - Saturday, 7:00–10:00 PM: The hometown band moves from Mason Jar Friday to the Legion Saturday.
Southern RanT at Aviator Hangar Bar - Saturday, 9:00 PM: Southern and country-rock covers close out the Hangar’s Saturday slate.
Sunday, July 26
Open Mic at Oaklyn Springs Brewery - Sunday, 2:00–5:00 PM: A rotating local lineup and the week’s best chance to hear someone before they become a regular booking.
Tony Jones at Oaklyn Springs Taproom - Sunday, 3:00–6:00 PM: An easy Sunday-afternoon set on Broad Street, scheduled exactly when the weekend needs to downshift.
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THE REST
Honorable mentions for the week
Sneaky Friday @ Moonlight Liquor Lounge — Friday: Their recurring Friday preview of a cocktail in development
Fuquay-Varina Growers Market — Saturday, 9:00 AM–1:00 PM: Running Saturdays through early September at the Chamber lot on N. Main
$4 Mimosas @ The Mill — Sunday: Standing Sunday special
$3 Domestics @ The Mill — Monday: Monday gets a little easier at $3 a can.
Wine Wednesday @ The Mill — Wednesday, July 29: $1 off glasses, $4 off bottles
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