Spring Guide

With the flowers in full bloom and a drink in your hand, take a guided tour through the private gardens of the Elizabeth Lawrence House, part of Wing Haven Gardens. The surreal feeling of serene quiet amongst the busy streets will transport you to a place of wonderment and flowers amongst the gardens. Just don’t get sloshed and throw up on the roses. $15 for members, $20 for non-members. 

Housed in a pop-up amphitheater next to the light rail in NoDa, Digital Gardens celebrates electronic music and design with art installations, fire performances and a silent disco. EDM and bass programming acts include Jantsen, Liquid Stranger, graves, Wax Future, 1788-L, Virtual Riot, UZ, Stylust and more. This two-day event is peace, love, unity, respect only, so no bad vibes. $65-165. 

Reduce your water bill with a DIY rain barrel constructed from former Coca-Cola syrup drums. This interactive and constructive event will leave you with your own rain catching and conservation drum to collect rainwater while learning about water pollution prevention and community engagement. Free. 

Bring out your inner Tangled spirit and release a horde of water lanterns on the pond for a peaceful and memorable event with friends and family. As a partner of Water.org, this event supports efforts for millions worldwide to have access to clean and safe water. Not to worry, the lanterns won’t just pollute the lake — part of the ticket price goes toward park cleanup after the festival. $25 and up. 

This four-day extravaganza is basically two fests in one. There’s the great outdoors part featuring trail running, kayaking, biking, climbing, obstacle racing and more. Then there’s that whole show thing with an eclectic bill of alt-folk and country performers that just keeps getting better each year. Fantastic Negrito, The Milk Carton Kids, Tyler Childers and Sarah Shook & the Disarmers are just some of the acts hitting the stage. Free. 

The Charlotte Humane Society wants to tempt you into adopting a dog with a fun day filled with pups, live music, picnicking and serene walks through McAlpine Creek Park. The temptation will probably be too much to bear, but you should go adopt a new forever four-legged fur friend anyway. Free. 

It’s not a gardening event like our other highlights, but it’s our event, and that’s what matters. Martinis, mules, marys and more. Have you been searching for the perfect spring and summer cocktail to set the tone for the sunny Carolina days ahead? Find the best cocktail in the city as restaurants and bars go head-to-head to create the most thirst-quenching and taste bud-tantalizing vodka cocktail of the year. Vote for the best cocktail and be part of Queen City Nerve’s kickoff event. $20 and up. 

The return of warm weather means the return of Open Streets, in which miles of Queen City pavement become closed to those annoying two-ton chunks of metal we drive around all the time and open up to walkers, cyclists, scooterists and whomever else wants to come enjoy some fresh air minus the exhaust fumes. Different interactive experiences and vendors will line the streets. Free. 

Escape the bustle of the city and find a nature sanctuary for the weekend with your family. This all-ages, all-weekend event includes nature walks, stargazing and instruction. Learn to identify trees and wildflowers and become the educated nature enthusiast you are at heart. With child-age and adult classes, the whole family will benefit from some time away from the television. $50 and up. 

This fundraiser supports the educational missions of the James K. Polk museum. If that’s not enough to get you to show up, then neighborhood brewery Old Meck and OooWee BBQ will be available while David Childers throws a can’t-miss musical performance. $5. 

The popular beer-diary app and sharing platform has chosen Charlotte as the location for its first beer festival. Untappd is bringing in local and national breweries and cider makers to open the taps and flow crisp alcoholic beverages into your cup. It’s highly recommended to BYOPN. That’s bring your own pretzel necklace to munch on and absorb some of the alcohol. $50 and up. 

Ducks, ducks and more ducks. Kinder Mourn is flooding the channels at USNWC with thousands of “adopted” rubber ducks to raise money for families and children in grief after losing a loved one. Watch the river turn yellow, but not for the reason you’d think. Duck adoption encouraged. 

Music, brews, camping, Mountain Island Lake and more. There isn’t much more that we need to say. If you like any combination of those things, this is the spring weekend event for you. $28 and up. 

From one end to the other, Camp North End wants to show you the immersive world of technology and all the cutting-edge innovations that make it happen. Envelope yourself in the art of technology and the learn about the processes that make food, art and tech exist. Free. 

The success of 2018’s crawfish boil led charity organization Allen B. Gamble Foundation to throw another boil to raise mental health awareness. Eat some Louisiana-style crawfish without having to go to Bubba Gump’s. $40, RSVP required. 

Old dudes may gripe that Greta Van Fleet is just a bunch of damn kids playing rock ‘n’ roll, but that’s the way it’s supposed to be, right? The three Kiszka brothers plus a drummer bash out meaty, beaty, big and bouncy RAWK that worships at Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy, before ascending a “Stairway to Heaven” to dance at the “Misty Mountain Hop.” $71 and up. 

At one time Bob Seger was a full-throttle garage rocker like his fellow motor city madman Mitch Ryder. But that was long before the sun cooled and the solar system formed. By the time Seger and his Silver Bullet Band found FM radio success in the 1970s, the gravel voiced singer had cleaned up his act and hit paydirt with karaoke bar staples like “Night Moves” and “Old Time Rock & Roll.” $45 and up. 

This inaugural event is a celebration of art created in, about or for gardens. The festival will kickoff on Friday with an opening exhibit followed by a series of adult workshops on Saturday and kids’ classes on Sunday. Check out a juried botanical art show, an exhibit of winning images from the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens’ first macro-photography contest, several installation art pieces and a variety of artist-decorated garden totems throughout the seven-acre woodland garden. Free. 

Superstition and luck don’t hurt when it comes to the battle against cancer, but what’s really needed is people willing to fight for funding. The folks at DrumStrong have been fighting that fight for a lucky 13 years, and they’re celebrating with a day of interactive rhythmic experiences including a six-hour drum circle (no, you don’t have to drum the whole time). The more you raise and donate, the more you get out of the party. 

“Greetings, oh pale and tragic ones! That pale yellowish orb you see in the sky is the sun. Contrary to your customs, it’s OK to get some of its light upon your skin!” It’s the fourth annual outdoor get-together for folks who dress like members of the Cure year-round. Festivities include refreshments, a performance by Stray Cat Sideshow and a Black Parade through the park culminating in a traditional group photo. Free. 

One year, Nerve’s editor-in-chief Ryan Pitkin ran into a guy selling sugar gliders for $600 at Speed Street. We don’t know if that will be the case again this year, but there will be a ton of food, music and drunk people to shove past. Free. 

As always, USNWC knows how to throw an all-day party of fitness and relaxation. If you’re one of those crazy people who likes to punish yourself by running, there are 5- and 8-mile races. Or you could just drink a beer and watch the fireworks. Free. 

Can’t stand to leave your fur baby at home while you run off to the ballgame? Well, for four games this season, you can bring the pup you love with you while you watch the Charlotte Knights. Just make sure they don’t try to play fetch with a fly ball. $9 and up. 

It was 37 years ago when Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off of a live bat onstage and had to get rushed to the hospital for rabies shots. Whether you see Ozzie as the Prince of Darkness or a lumbering buffoon, you have to admit that stuff like the reverse bat attack is part of his charm. The former Black Sabbath frontman is a showman through and through, and metal wouldn’t be the same without him. Thrash metal outfit Megadeath opens the show with their panzer tank assault. $22 and up. 

Taste the cuisine of the Queen City without having to jump all over town. Taste of Charlotte is jamming over 100 restaurants Uptown to bring fest-goers the ultimate smorgasbord of samples, along with music and shopping opportunities. Grab a bite, or a hundred bites, and discover Charlotte’s restaurant foodscape. Free (but not if you’re hungry). 

As the son of award-winning country singer-songwriter Rhett Atkins, Thomas Rhett certainly knows his way around the music business. Some may say he knows it a little too well, with his catchy songwriting hitting on all sorts of popular genres like a pinball: “Here’s some bro country. Now how about some electronic beats, or a dash of disco?” Still, somehow it goes down easy. $38 and up. 

The Catawba River isn’t just a pretty sight, it’s also the setting for a full day of open-water racing. Swim, paddle, kayak or whatever your preference for navigating the aquatics, just be sure to bring your river-race face. $35 to race. 

It’s time to get your hands dirty. Neighbors and friends are invited for a day of community garden work. It’s a great way to get to know the weird couple down the street and learn a thing or two about growing your own food, instead of waiting for everyone else to make it for you, ya slob. Free. 

What better way to get in gear for summer than with lobster rolls and crisp cider and beer? Free. 

Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle believed in fairies. He even advocated for fairy photographs purporting to be authentic. They weren’t, but we guarantee that the little people in the garden this time will be real. Sure, they’ll just be your kids dressed in fairy finery for snapshots, but why quibble? This garden party offers plenty of summer solstice magic — flowers, storytelling and moths that fly by moonlight. $10. 

Cruise in to this car show/drag race every third Friday of June, July and August for music, food, beer and even an area for the little kid car enthusiasts to enjoy safely. Bring in your own car if you’re in the mood to show it off, or put your money where your mouth is and sign it up for a race. Free.