CARRBORO, N.C. – The Town of Carrboro announces festival lineups and date information for three of the Triangle’s most beloved fall festivals starting this September.
Fall festivals are made possible with support from the Town of Carrboro and the Carrboro Tourism Development Authority.
Following the successful return of another iconic music festival this past summer – the Freight Train Blues concert series, Carrboro is happy to continue to showcase a diversity of musicians from the Piedmont with FREE concerts at Town Commons, the Cat’s Cradle, and venues across the town with the return of the Carrboro Music Festival (opening night on Saturday, Sept. 30, with a full day of outdoor concerts on Sunday, Oct. 1); West End Poetry Festival (Oct. 19-21) featuring Poetry in the Round and a Community Poem Reading, and Carrboro Film Fest (Nov. 17-19) producing numerous independent films that challenge and expand our understanding of Southern culture.
"Carrboro has a proud tradition with these longstanding festivals, which have been offered for 15 to nearly 25 years running,” Mayor Damon Seils said. “Collaboration is key to our success, and we’re grateful to our partners for their commitment to cultural offerings that are shared so widely and are part of Carrboro’s arts legacy.”
Earlier this year, the Town of Carrboro presented with the MusicMaker Foundation, WUNC-FM and the Forests at Duke a series of roots music concerts at the Carrboro Town Commons on Friday evenings. The Freight Train Blues concert series honors the legacy of Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten, who was born in Carrboro in 1893. https://musicmaker.org/freight-train-blues-concert-series/ ;
FALL FESTIVAL LINEUP IN CARRBORO
Carrboro Music Festival – October 1, 2023
Established in 1998, the festival was originally held on June 21 as an official affiliate of the Fête de la Musique, which is also known as 'Make Music Day'. One of the largest free music festivals in North Carolina, the Carrboro Music Festival will host more than 100 acts on stages all over Carrboro, all for free. Venues are all over town, from Craftboro on South Greensboro to the Speakeasy, Cat’s Cradle, Century Center, ArtsCenter, 401 Main, and many other traditional and new locales. Opening night is Saturday, Sept. 30, at the Cat's Cradle! http://carrboromusicfestival.com/
West End Poetry Festival – October 19-21, 2023
The theme for this year’s festival is “Community.” The festival kicks off at 6 p.m. Thursday with a featured reading and open mic at Luna on Main Street. Events continue Friday at The ArtsCenter and all day Saturday at the Carrboro Century Center.
Carrboro held its first poetry festival, organized by then Carrboro Poet Laureate Patrick Herron, in 2005. Since then, many poets from North Carolina and beyond have participated. Participants have included finalists for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize; winners of the Kingsley Tufts Award, the Los Angeles Book Prize, the Oregon Book Award, and the Pushcart Prize; recipients of fellowships Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
http://www.westendpoetryfestival.org
Carrboro Film Fest – November 17-19, 2023
Since 2005, the festival brings “Southern films in one of the South’s funkiest small towns.” Embracing its identity as a Southern institution, the festival presents exclusively Southern films in a non-competitive setting. Held at The ArtsCenter, the Carrboro Film Fest is made possible with support from the Town of Carrboro and the Carrboro Tourism Development Authority.
www.carrborofilm.org
Carrboro named one of America’s Top 5 Small Arts Towns
Carrboro was named one of the top-five small towns for the arts in the U.S. by 24/7 Tempo in spring 2022. Carrboro ranked fifth in a lineup of 25 towns. The town shares the honor with such creative outposts as Santa Fe, N.M., and Marfa, Texas.
In Carrboro, Southern hospitality means everyone is welcome, and the foautolks here are curious about the world, engaged in their community, and lovers of the arts. The community encourages creativity and innovation. From festivals to farmers’ markets and everything in between, Carrboro strives to be a place where folks from all walks of life can work together to make it the best it can be.
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