SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — Li’l Friday features plenty of ways to enjoy the weekend via theater, music, art, culinary happenings and more.
All events featured were scheduled as of Thursday; however, it’s wise to check in ahead of attending any one. Inclement weather, changes in schedules and unforeseen circumstances may shift for organizers at the last minute.
Thursday, Sept. 18
Burger Week
Various locations • Burger prices vary
Stacked with flavor, Port City Taste Burger Week is in full swing through Sunday. With more than two dozen restaurants participating, there is a handheld available for every palate.
Part of Port City Taste restaurant weeks, Burger Week is hosted by Port City Daily and its sister companies, The Penguin 98.3 and The Dude 93.7. These events — with the official 10-day restaurant week taking place every spring — highlight the importance of eating local and encouraging more dollars to stay within the local economy. According to the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, for every $100 spent at a local business or restaurant, $68 stays in the community.
Burger Week started in 2021 and has grown in popularity since. This year roughly 30 burgers have been created — some standard, others going the creative mile. From the all-American classic to a Pierogi Burger to Mediterranean, Moroccan or Mexican flair, there are flavors aplenty to enjoy. And prices are set for every budget, from $9.99 to $25.
It’s easy for diners to participate: No coupons, no special passwords, no tickets are needed. Just head to one of the listed eateries, ask for the Burger Week menu and order up all the specials.
Plus, Burger Week is a competitive event, wherein diners can text a signature word representing each restaurant to recognize their favorite of the week. All words and numbers are included on the Burger Week menus, accessible below by clicking the blue menu items.
From Carolina Beach to downtown Wilmington, Leland to Wrightsville Beach to Sneads Ferry, click here to access all participating restaurants and their menus.
OTHER THURSDAY EVENTS
Native Plant Festival — The Native Plant Alliance has its fall event for five days, celebrating native plants and educating the public on sustainable landscape practices. Taking place at the New Hanover County Arboretum through Sept. 21, there will be workshops and talks hosted throughout the evenings; see the full lineup here. Plus there will be self-guided natural garden tours, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. The festival encourages people to explore the native plans from area nurseries on Saturday; plant vendors will not be at the Arboretum.
Robert Cray Band — Blues icon. Soul man. Rock and roller. Robert Cray has sold millions of albums and countless concert tickets, won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, received the Americana Music Lifetime Achievement Award, and designed two signature model Fender guitars. Across five decades, Cray has created a richly inclusive treasure of American music, including songs like “(Won’t Be) Coming Home,” “Right Next Door,” and “T-Bone Shuffle.” He will perform at Wilson Center on Thursday; tickets start at $34 here.
Cape Fear Arts in Motion — Forward Motion Dance Company is hosting two days of celebrating dance as part of its annual Cape Fear Arts in Motion. The performances will highlight area choreographers and dancers with musicians and visual artists showcasing multiple artforms while focusing on modern, contemporary, classical and jazz dance. The event is hosted annually by local choreographer Tracey Varga, who presents new performances and recreations of past works. One will include the live music of guitarist Edward Stephenson and violinist Bella Garcia, and a jazz piece from guest choreographer Alison Dutka Jones, director and dance instructor at GAFA Studios in Wilmington. Learn more here and tickets are $37, with performances taking place on Sept. 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Thalian Hall, 310 Chestnut St.
Friday, Sept. 19
Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue
Greenfield Lake Amphitheater, 1941 Amphitheater Drive • Tickets: $47
R&B, funk, blues, reggae and rock will permeate Greenfield Lake Amphitheater over two nights this weekend when Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue takes the stage.
Also known as Troy Andrews, Trombone Shorty is a child prodigy and son of Treme in New Orleans, who has performed with musical royalty worldwide through his decades-long career. They include musicians such as Ringo Starr, Dierks Bentley, Zac Brown, Robert Randolph, Leann Rimes and more.
He visits Wilmington annually to bring rich sounds, styles and heritage of the Big Easy to the Port City, often performing through his dozen-deep album catalog of music. This weekend Trombone Shorty will perform at GLA on Thursday, Sept. 18, and Friday, Sept. 19. Tickets are $47 here.
OTHER FRIDAY EVENTS
The Occult and Oddities Fest — A treasure trove of the unusual and arcane can be found this weekend at the Elks Lodge 532, 5102 Oleander Drive. All weekend long, Sept. 19 and 20, will be The Occult and Oddities Festival. It will feature vendor booths featuring handcrafted talismans, vintage curiosities, ritual tools, bones and bone art, crystals, taxidermy, spell kits and occult art. The whole weekend will be steeped in mystery, magic, and the otherworldly. Friday is a 21-and-up only event from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., with alcohol available for purchase and Hot Diggity Dogs selling hot dogs. All ages are welcome Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and food trucks include Kimchi Taco and The Botanical Coffee Bar. It’s a $5 entry for each day.
Ziggy Marley and Burning Spear — Performing at the Wilson Center at Cape Fear Community College, Ziggy Marley and reggae icon Burning Spear will take the stage Friday night. Marley — son of reggae godfather Bob, and an eight-time Grammy Award winner, Emmy winner, musician, producer, activist and humanitarian in his own right — blends multiple genres into reggae, including funk, blues, and rock. The storyteller and performer’s music covers environmental awareness, self-empowerment, and social injustice, backed by messages of love. He’s touring with Winston Rodney, a.k.a. Burning Spear, who started a career in music after encountering Bob Marley in the 1960s. Burning Spear has been nominated for 12 Grammys but won two for Best Reggae Album. An anti-racism activist and philanthropist, he was awarded the Jamaican government’s Order of Distinction for outstanding services to music and has established his own label. Tickets start at $27 here.
Saturday, Sept. 20
Blair Socci
Dead Crow Comedy Room, 511 N. Third St. • Tickets: $24-$35
The Los Angeles-based comedian, whose gruff voice has been likened by Variety as a cross between Fran Drescher and a Muppet, is coming to Dead Crow Comedy Room this weekend.
Blair Socci has appeared on “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” MTV, Comedy Central, and “Adult Swim,” and toured with Ron Funches, Anthony Jeselnik and Marc Maron. She first came through Wilmington in 2020 but since has been featured on “Bob’s Burgers” and in the Audible series “Ghostwriter.” She also released “Live From The Big Dog” on Youtube.
In the special, Socci details being petty: “I was just thinking so fondly about the time this flat-earther told me I was too young to understand why the earth is flat. But all I heard was: ‘You are very young.’ And I was like: ‘Thank you, flat daddy. Say it again one more time.’”
She will perform two shows at Dead Crow Comedy Room at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $24 to $35 here.
OTHER SATURDAY EVENTS
Arts and Drafts — Regional artists and vendors will be lined up at Fermental bottle shop in the Cargo District to celebrate Wilmington’s arts scene. There will be ceramics and sculpture, woodwork and jewelry, paintings and photography and more on display and for sale. Plus, Fermental will have numerous beers and wine for sale, as well as slushies. Food trucks include Rude Bwoys Jerk Grill at noon and Leo’s Pizza at 5 p.m., with live music from Roger Davis at 2 p.m., Dan Davis Jazz Trio at 4 p.m. and Masonboro Sound at 6 p.m. It’s free to attend.
Benny Hill — Local saxophonist and jazz-playing icon Benny Hill will be performing at Bottega on Fourth Street Friday at 7 p.m. The show is also a fundraiser for Play It Forward, which helps refurbish instruments to gift to area youth. Hill takes inspiration from the greats like Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, John Coltrane and Charlie Parker. Tickets are $10 at the door or here.
Live Fearlessly Festival — Following the death of its founder Jacob Venditti last month, the Live Fearlessly Foundation is hosting a celebration of Venditti, who died from complications due to cystic fibrosis. The young man founded Live Fearlessly to help others facing the diagnosis; the foundation empowers people with CF to live active, healthy lives whether through surfing, yoga, golfing or other activities. The group also offers assistance to people who are on a lung transplant list. The festival will take place at Waterman’s Brewing and feature music from local bands Blue Footed Boobies, Michael Eakins, GULP and OC3ANS. Tickets start at $15 here, with all proceeds benefitting LFF.
Cape Fear Latino Festival — This weekend at Live Oak Bank Pavilion, a festival celebrating Latino culture will take place at 11 a.m.. featuring diversity of music, dance food and more. Vendors will be lined up at the event, hosted by Cape Fear Latinos — a nonprofit organization that provides educational, legal, economic and other resources and services to Latinos in the area. It’s free and open to the public.
Bounce Into Fall — It’s fall, y’all … well, close enough. Though officially marked Monday, Sept. 22, two days before will welcome the official opening of one the area’s most popular pumpkin patch in town: Amber Dale’s at 2307 N. College Road. On Saturday, they’re opening with varied games and activities. Starting at 10:30 a.m., the public is welcome to enjoy the bounce house, (all proceeds benefit McMullen House, a nonprofit supporting first responders and veterans), a rock-climbing wall, slide, and other carnival games. Plus, concessions are open, serving donuts, lemonade and more.
Carolina Beach Fall Block Party — Four Carolina Beach businesses are coming together along St. Joseph Street to host a block party celebrating fall. From 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., attendees are welcome to the 800 block to enjoy live music all day, food vendors, kid-friendly events and wine specials from Neapolitan Wine Bar, rum cocktails from Four Hounds Distillery, putt-putt and beer at Putter Pub, and food from HopLite Irish Pub. Dogs are welcome and the event is family-friendly, lasting until 9 p.m.
Wilmington Symphony Orchestra: A New Era — With conductor and music director Steven Errante stepping down last year, a new chapter opens for Wilmington Symphony Orchestra this weekend. Wilson Center will have WSO’s opening night with Peter Askim, taking the podium for his inaugural show. Features include the 2025 Grammy-winning Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz’s incandescent “Kauyumari” and “[n e w w o r k]” from Wilmington’s own Algernon Robinson. Robinson is known for “Elegy for the Victims of 1898,” a Wilmington original debuted by WSO in 2023. “[n e w w o r k]” is inspired by Robinson’s lifelong connection to the city and WSO. Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 5” will also be featured. Tickets start at $31 here.
Kaleo — An Icelandic blues-rock band, inspired by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, the Doors and Carlos Santana, will be performing at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater on Saturday, in honor of its 2025 release “Mixed Emotions.” Forbes has called it “the rock record of the year” so far. Lead vocalist and guitarist Jökull Júlíusson, drummer Davíð Antonsson, bassist Daniel Kristjánsson, lead guitarist Rubin Pollock and harmonicist Þorleifur Gaukur Davíðsson make up the group, which hit Gold in the United States in 2016 for the release of “A/B.” They were only the second Icelandic group to reach such heights, behind Of Mice and Men and Bjork, with the song “No Good” from the album also nominated for a Grammy. It seems the show is sold out but verified ticket resales are going for $53 here.
Sunday, Sept. 21
William and Judith
Thalian Hall, 310 Chestnut St. • Tickets: $35
The greatest writer of the English language and world-revered playwright who brought to life the comedies and tragedies of everyday life is the centerpiece of “William and Judith.” The play is being produced by Big Dawg Productions at Thalian Hall for the next two weekends.
Written by Cody Daigle-Orians, “William and Judith” is fantasia, fictionalizing the relationship between Wiliam Shakespeare and sister, Judith — who is disowned by her family for refusing to marry. She moves to London at a time when William undergoes a creative crisis and must confront creative thievery that threatens his work and family. The show delves into the creative process and self-identity.
Directed by Mirla Criste, the local cast consists of Charles Auten, Tamica Katzmann, Joshua Lowry, Jon Ripley, La’Tuan Dupra, Truü Danns and Wes McAdams. The show takes place Sept. 18 – 28, Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, 3 p.m.
Tickets are $35 here.
OTHER SUNDAY EVENTS
Peace Day in the Park — First put forth by the United Nations in 1982, Peace Day was founded as a way to cease fire and promote non-violence. Locally, it will be celebrated at Long Leaf Park from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at shelter number 4. There will be speakers and musicians, including acoustic guitarist and songwriter Jayce Esterline, Wilmington musician Catesby Jones and Jim Ashley. Amanda Boomershine, former president of the local chapter UN, will read the UN proclamation. Former WHQR radio host Jemilia Ericson will share the story of Peace Pilgrim, a woman who walked for peace for 28 years. Jocelyn Beam will tackle the African philosophy of Ubuntu — “I am because we are” — and Rev. Paula Zabkar will speak about the WIlmington Peace Festival. The event is also hosted by Grandmothers of Peace, with Kimberly McLaughlin-Smith — a.k.a. The Night Nurse reggae host — will speak about the organization. Children are welcome and can participate in creating paper peace cranes, plus there will be bubbles.
Baila in the Boatyard — Always wanted to learn to salsa? Head to Tequila Comida’s waterfront downtown along the Cape Fear River from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wilmington Latin Dance will have a free lesson beginning at 7 p.m. — then there will be open dancing under the stars on the boat deck until 10 p.m. Plus, food and drinks are available for purchase. It’s free to attend and all dance levels are welcome; no partner is needed. The restaurant is located at 14 Harnett St.
Lollipopalooza — Wrightsville Beach Brewery also has a family-friendly event planned for Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. in the outdoor beer garden. In collaboration with Revolver Music Productions, there will be a kids concert, cotton candy, fairy hair, face painting, and more. It’s free to attend and WBB is located at 6201 Oleander Drive.
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