Local Weather: partly cloudy, 45°F
Carolina Basketball Celebration of a Century
The British Are Coming to Hillsborough
NC Comedy Arts Festival is Back for a 10th Year
WINTER = Shopping, Sports, Festivals and Weekend Getaways in Chapel Hill…
Carr Mill Mall
Chapel Hill..A great combination of charm, excitement and art
Top Ten to do List for 2010
Digital festival to draw on Triangle resources
What’s New on Franklin Street
UNC Men and Women’s Basketball in High Gear
Star of Bethlehem at the Planetarium
Nutcracker on Ice
A Christmas Carol Returns to Hillsborough
Hillsborough Arts Council Gallery
Chapel Hill Food Lover’s Guide Now Available
New Chapel Hill Food Lover’s Guide Published
Spirit of Chapel Hill Holiday House Tour is Dec. 12-13
A Small Triangle Town Doing Big Things in Down Economy
Take a Winter Owl Prowl
Hillsborough Holiday Weekend is December 4-6
An Evening With Mark Twain in Hillsborough
Gala Book Launch and Signing by Chapel Hil Food Lover’s Guide Moreton Neal
Holiday Events Calendar
Chapel Hill Food Lover’s Guide Debuts December 6
Carrboro Film Festival is November 22
Ooh La La! Ladies’ Night Out is November 19 in Downtown Hillsborough
Be in Kenan Stadium for the Last Home Football Game
Historic Hillsborough Candlelight Tour is December 6
Top Ten reasons to visit Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough during the holidays.
Holidays in Chapel Hill
Siena Hotel
Sheraton Chapel Hill
Residence Inn by Marriott
Holiday Inn - Chapel Hill
The Franklin Hotel
Courtyard by Marriott
The Carolina Inn Holiday Packages
Chapel Hill Gears Up for UNC-Duke Homecoming Game
Preservation Society Begins New Historical Cemetery Tour
UNC vs. Duke is November 7
Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau to Set Fans “A Glow” for the UNC-FSU Football Game
Enter the Fourth Annual Hillsborough Gingerbread Contest
New Orange County Food Lovers Guide will be published just in time for the Holidays
UNC Hosts Florida State on Thursday Oct 22 in Kenan Stadium
Welcome Tar Heel and Eagles Fans to Kenan Stadium
Fall (in love) in Orange County
Carrboro’s West End Poetry Festival
Late Night with Roy Williams is October 16
Cup-A-Joe
Johnny’s Cafe
Cluck University Chicken
Boogalou Green Ultra Lounge
Artichoke Basil
Butternut Squash Restaurant
Welcome Tar Heel and Cavalier Fans to Kenan Stadium
37th Annual Festifall is October 4 in downtown Chapel Hill
13th Annual Orange County Art Open Studio Tour is First Two Weekends in November
Welcome Tar Heel and Pirate Fans to Kenan Stadium
Jim’s Famous BBQ
Chapel Hill to Host Gay and Lesbian Travel Symposium During North Carolina Pride Week
Welcome Tar Heel and Bulldogs Fans to Kenan Stadium
Holiday House Tours, Crafts Shows and More Coming to Orange County
Elizabeth Edwards Opens Furniture Store in Downtown Chapel Hill
New Soccer Complex Opens in Western Orange County, NC
12th Annual Carrboro Music Festival is September 20
Celebrate the Automobile with Car Show in Hillsborough
Touch Downtown 2009 Chapel Hill
Hillsborough Family Fun Day
Artists and General Public Are Invited to the Chapel Hill Coop Meeting
Visitor Spending Continues to Rise in Orange County, NC
Elizabeth Edwards Opens Furniture Store in Downtown Chapel Hill
Touch Downtown Chapel Hill Campaign Focuses on 2009 UNC Football Weekends
Top 10 Things to See & Do
Gay & Lesbian Travel in the Triangle
Tired of the old clichè gay vacation spots? Grab your partner and visit beautiful Chapel Hill. With a liberal arts college at its heart, Chapel Hill is truly a “college town”. Full of professors, students, and professionals from the nearby Research Triangle Park, it is also considered one of the most liberal towns in North Carolina and a great destination for the gay traveler. U.S. Senator Jesse Helms once suggested erecting a fence around the town instead of building a new zoo in Asheboro.
The combination of the youthful university community and the culture that comes with one of the most over-educated populations in the country provides for a visit rich with culture, clubs, southern cuisine and trees as far as the eye can see. Chapel Hill, along with the neighboring Triangle cities of Durham and Raleigh, are very gay-welcoming communities. Chapel Hill’s gay community is as woven into the mainstream to a degree unmatched by any outside the nation’s largest metropolitan areas.
Chapel Hill is home to the oldest state university in the country, yet the area is also home to other unique “firsts.”
- Chapel Hill was the first municipality in the state to include sexual orientation as a category under North Carolina hate crimes law.
- The Chapel Hill town council was the first in the state to support the repeal of the North Carolina Defense of Marriage Act.
- Chapel Hill was the first municipality in the state to elect an openly gay council member.
- Orange County was the first county in North Carolina to elect an openly gay county commissioner.
- Carrboro, was first community in the state to elect openly gay mayor
- A Chapel Hill Presbyterian church was the first in the state to become More Light congregation.
Because of the abundant cultural attractions of Chapel Hill, the bucolic college town is the preferred place to stay for NC Pride, in Durham in late Sept, and the NC Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, in late August.
Here’s a sample of how gay travelers might plan their itinerary:
A two-day visit to Chapel Hill begins with morning coffee at the tree-draped Cafe Driade (once featured on Rachel Ray’s $40 a day). This would be followed by shopping at A Southern Season in University Mall, a 59,000 sq.ft. Flagship gourmet emporium that is one of the largest specialty-only gourmet markets in the United States.
Next, travelers will want to drive five minutes to the centerpiece of Chapel Hill, Franklin Street, which houses a variety of restaurants, shops, theaters, clubs, and bars. Franklin Street cuts a three-mile swath through Chapel Hill and on into neighboring Carrboro, the town’s lovely sister city. Carrboro is the kind of small southern town where the past and the present seemed to have been fused into a single moment. Many of the buildings on Main Street and Weaver Street, the two main drags, haven’t changed in half a century. While in Carrboro, enjoy lunch and people-watching on the lawn at Weaver Street Market, followed by exploration of Carrboro’s numerous downtown galleries and shops.
Afternoons can be spent exploring the UNC campus with must-see visits to the Wilson Library on the campus’ main quad as well as the Ackland Art Museum.
Chapel Hill’s West End is a perfect place for dinner—Gay travelers might want to try a progressive dinner—a grand meal divided among four Chapel Hill restaurants that are in close proximity—start at the bar at Lantern (423 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 969-8846, lanternrestaurant.com), which is hidden in the back of the restaurant. The bar makes specialty cocktails like the Red Geisha: fresh organic strawberries with lime, ginger and vodka. Next, walk right across the street to Tallulah (456 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 933-1177, www.talullas.com) for small Turkish dishes like yaprak dolmasi: hand-rolled grape leaves filled with rice, spices and currant stuffing. For dessert, walk next door to Elaine’s on Franklin (454 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 960-2770, www.elainesonfranklin.com), known near and far for its chocolate cake. And finish the evening with a glass of wine at West End Wine Bar (450 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 967-7599, www.westendwinebar.com).
Pool players will enjoy Tyler’s Speakeasy or the Cellar’s (under the wine bar). If you’re here on Friday check out Blend located on the 100 block of Rosemary Street.
On the second day, visitors might explore some of the natural areas surrounding the Town—walks along the Bolin Creek Greenway. The North Carolina Botanical Garden, located in the center of Chapel Hill, is the largest natural botanical garden in the southeast, with 600 acres of nature trails, carnivorous plant collections, aquatics, and herb gardens. Hikes in the Duke Forest just north of town or canoeing on University Lake are other great options to spend a weekend afternoon.
On Saturday night, the 25-minute drive to Raleigh is worth the time. Hargett St. in Raleigh is the center of a 3 club area—Legends for the younger set, CC’s (directly across the street) for the slightly older crowd, and Flex (2 blocks up West St.) for the Leather/Levi/bear crowd.
Hotel Best Bets
For a complete list of hotels, log on to www.visitchapelhill.org.
As part of the exciting revitalization of downtown Chapel Hill, The Franklin Hotel opened in early 2007. “A jewel in the crown of Chapel Hill’s New West End,’” (Metro Magazine, October 2006), The Franklin is the first luxury boutique hotel located on Franklin Street in the heart of Chapel Hill’s historic downtown.
The Carolina Inn, a historic hotel located in downtown Chapel Hill. Historic charm, modern amenities, gracious service, and memorable food blend beautifully here, an AAA Four Diamond Award Winner & Member of Historic Hotels of America. The Inn is conveniently located on the doorsteps of the University of North Carolina, in the heart of downtown Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Inspired by the beauty of Italy, The Siena Hotel will captivate you with its elegance. A Four Diamond recipient since 1987, this luxury boutique hotel adds its distinctive European character to the area. Step through the doors of this elegant Tuscan villa to discover a luxurious dècor of hand-selected European antiques, Italian marble floors and majestic columns, against a backdrop of rich colors and fabrics.
For information about Orange County call the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau toll free at 1-888-968-2060. Ask for an Official Visitors Guide or visit the bureau’s web site at visitchapelhill.org. When you are in town, please drop by the Visitors Center at 501 W. Franklin Street in downtown Chapel Hill. The hours are Monday-Friday 8:30 am – 5 pm and Saturday 10 am – 2 pm.
Find Gay Welcoming, TAG Approved® Hotels in the Area
Gay Hotels in Chapel Hill and Gay Friendly Hotels in Chapel Hill
Red Window is Open in downtown Chapel Hill
Merge Records Celebrates 20th Anniversary
New West Ten Soccer Fields to Open
Go Natural Nails
UNC-Chapel Hill Alums Purchase The Franklin Hotel
Happy 20th Anniversary to Merge Records
Renovation Completed on 168-Room Sheraton Hotel in Chapel Hill, NC
Triangle Food Tour
Q Shack
Tar Heel Alumni Game Kicks off 100th Year Celebration of Carolina Basketball
Celebrate the 4th of July in Orange County
Subway Sandwiches
Hillsborough Family Fun Days
Carrboro Hosts New Outdoor Summer Concert Series
New Carrboro Open-Air Crafts Market Begins
Tar Heels Still Alive in the College World Series
Triangle-Area Chefs to be Hillsborough Hog Day BBQ Contest Judges
Carrboro: Rich with Music, Arts, and Community
Carolina Faces Southern Mississippi in CWS
Starbucks Coffee
Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Received Hermes Communications Awards
Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau wins Seven State Tourism Marketing Awards
Noodles & Company
Tourism Arts Campaign Launched
Fifth Graders Brand Chapel Hill
Carmine’s Italian Restaurant
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