Durham welcomes the Biscuits & Banjos festival in March 2025. The first-time event is curated by Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning artist, Rhiannon Giddens. The festival is dedicated to the celebration and exploration of Black music, art and culture in her home state of North Carolina. The event launches in April 2025, in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Black Banjo gathering – a landmark musical summit held in Boone, NC in 2005 that became the impetus behind the creation of Grammy-winning Black string band, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, which launched Rhiannon's career. The festival will take place at the Carolina Theatre, Durham Armory and Durham Performing Arts Center on the American Tobacco Campus (ATC).

More exciting ventures await ATC in 2025. Ment Beverage Co. recently opened a tasting room to showcase mead, cider, hard seltzer, Durham-made sake and nonalcoholic options like Hibiscus Hop Water. Owner, Robby Battle aims to make mead more accessible by featuring the honey-based beverage as a main ingredient in cocktails. Campus will also welcome a pioneer in Durham's craft beer scene, Fullsteam Brewery. The new 9,000-square-foot space, planned to open in August of 2025, will feature a restaurant and bar, brewing system and small stage for live performances.

Outside of downtown, the Research Triangle Park, the largest high technology research science park in the U.S., is expanding in what's being called RTP's future downtown district. HUB RTP will include apartments, shops and restaurants. Horseshoe, the flagship mixed-use development at the heart of HUB RTP is welcoming two-time James Beard-nominated Chef Preeti Waas and a second full-service location for her downtown Durham restaurant, Cheeni. Christopher Prieto – whose Prime Barbecue was just named #2 in America by Texas Monthly for “Top Texas-Style BBQ Joints Outside the Lone Star State, will also unveil his second restaurant concept, Prime STQ at Horseshoe. The name references the hybrid steakhouse (ST) and barbecue (Q) experience. Both Cheeni and Prime STQ are expected to open in Spring 2025.

In downtown's West End neighborhood, the Pauli Murray Center for History & Social Justice is now open to visitors. It is a national historic landmark anchored by Pauli Murray's childhood home. Pauli Murray was a lawyer, activist, and the first Black female episcopal priest in the country. The Center provides a place to operate and continue Murray's legacy. The exhibits, community dialogues, visual and performing arts, activism and workshops at the Center connect history to contemporary human rights issues. Only 3% of National Historic Places highlight the African American experience, just 4% focus on women's history and less than 1% celebrate LGBTQ+ history. The Pauli Murray Center represents all three.

We'd love for you to experience any of these story ideas and more in the Bull City in 2025. If you're interested in visiting next year, fill out this form and we'll start planning! Have a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year.