Top 19 New Posts Of 2019
This is our 646th unique post since we started over five years ago. Last year alone, we had well over 100 new articles -- roadside attractio...
https://www.strangecarolinas.com/2019/12/top-19-new-posts-of-2019.html
This is our 646th unique post since we started over five years ago. Last year alone, we had well over 100 new articles -- roadside attractions, interviews, concert reviews, and more. We're continuing our look back at the best of 2019 with your nineteen favorite new posts of 2019.
19. 2019 WNC Bigfoot Festival
Photos from the 2019 WNC Bigfoot Festival in Marion, NC.
18. Jaret Reddick On Jaret & Kelly and 25 Years With Bowling For Soup
Can you believe it's been twenty-five years since the birth of Bowling For Soup? After many albums, countless shows, and much success, frontman Jaret Reddick has launched a new side project, Jaret & Kelly, which finds him teaming up with Kelly Ogden, lead singer of The Dollyrots. We caught up with Reddick to discuss Jaret & Kelly, their album Sittin' In A Tree, and twenty-five years of Bowling For Soup.
17. Concert Review: Nelly, TLC, & Flo Rida
With most co-headliner tours, it's hard to find one with two top-notch quality acts. But the current Nelly, TLC, Flo Rida tour is a an ultra-rare treat: a triple-headlining bill where all three acts still kill it. The tour came to Charlotte's PNC Music Pavilion on July 26th and we had to be there!
16. Gus Cutty's Dolly Parton Mural
Gus Cutty completed this magnificent tribute to Dolly Parton in July of 2018. We waited until this year to write about it.
15. North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival
Our pictorial from the 2019 North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival, which featured 26 all-new displays, eleven of which are interactive, including a Land Rover you can climb inside.
14. Grahamland
Grahamland, formerly Graham & Dolce Fiberglass, is an extremely large collection of fiberglass figures alongside Andrew Jackson Highwway in Bolton. There's a ton of stuff: steer, flamingos, bears, fruit, octopi, a Jolly Green Giant, several lighthouses, and the pièce de résistance: two UniRoyal Gals. Currently, Hubert Graham, Grahamland's owner and creator, sells the figures and rents them out to people for parties and corporate events.
13. The Ghost Of Adluh Flour
Adluh Flour is a Columbia institution. Adluh Flour launched in 1900 and is the only working mill remaining in South Carolina. The building is on the National Register of Historic Properties and its neon sign and grain elevator are catnip for photographers. Adluh Flour is the home of the Official State Flour of South Carolina and was also home to a ghost. Or at least his cart.
12. Concert Review: KISS
I was a huge KISS fan growing up. Destroyer was the first album I bought with my own my money as a kid. Pretty sure I dressed as Paul and then Gene for subsequent Halloweens. Heck, I even enjoyed KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park. I was a superfan and like many members of the audience on Saturday night, KISS was a major part of my youth and there was no way I was going to miss the Raleigh date of their End Of The Road World Tour.
11. Road Eats: Lucha Libre Ice Cream & Churros
Many thought that when folks figured out how to infuse ice cream with alcohol, ice cream had finally evolved to its highest form. Not so! We've found Greensboro's Lucha Libre Ice Cream & Churros (4925 West Market Street, Greensboro,) an ice cream shop where the ice cream is infused with luchadores, also known as Mexican wrestlers.
10. Pennywise Mural
Alex DeLarge, co-founder of Southern Tiger Collective and the creator of the infamous Statesville Prince mural, painted this Pennywise mural on the side of Charlotte's Free Range Brewing as part of the October 2019 BattleWalls festival. Please note: this mural no longer exists.
9. Brown Mountain Lights Mural
In 2017, Marcus "The Urban Monk" Thomas painted a massive two-story mural based on the legend of the Brown Mountain Lights in an alley behind Morganton's Brown Mountain Bottleworks. We asked him the story behind the piece.
8. Concert Review: Drivin N Cryin
Drivin N Cryin, who have been going strong for over thirty years, brought their Southern rock stylings to Greensboro's White Oak Amphitheatre as part of the Now's The Time Tour with Collective Soul and Gin Blossoms.
7. The Moon-Eyed People
If you go into the Cherokee County Historical Museum, you'll find tons of Cherokee artifacts, tools, and over 700 dolls donated by local resident Louise Kilgore. If you venture into the museum's basement, you'll find The Moon-Eyed People, an unassuming three-foot sculpture encased in glass that look like conjoined aliens. But what exactly were The Moon-Eyed People? Some folks have told us they're aliens, while others have said they're like mole people who live underground.
6. Fairy Crosses
The Cherokee County Historical Museum is home to Cherokee artifacts, tools, over 700 dolls donated by local resident Louise Kilgore, and an effigy of the Moon-Eyed People. It's also home to lots of fairy crosses. Are fairy crosses really made by fairies? Cherokee history expert Billy Ray Palmer told us two different Cherokee legends that explain the formation of fairy crosses.
5. The Mocksville Bigfoot
In early 2019, Mocksville chainsaw artist Jeff Hursey created an eight-foot-tall Bigfoot and the whole world lost its mind. Soon after he installed it by the side of the road in Mocksville, people started calling the Davie County Animal Shelter, reporting a Bigfoot with red glowing eyes. The media picked it up, ran with it, and it received international attention.
4. Nipsey Hussle Mural
This tribute to the late rapper Nipsey Hussle was created by Greensboro artist AlexBTM in early April 2019. Please note: this mural is no longer there.
3. Greenville Mall Cemetery
One might think they take shoplifting VERY seriously in Greenville... In the parking lot of the Greenville Mall, behind Carolina Ale House, you'll find a small cement area encased by four-foot walls. The walls are high enough that most people don't notice what's inside them. But if you decide to get up close and take a peek over the walls, you'll find the Evans Family Cemetery, completely covered in cement.
2. Billie Eilish Mural
Greensboro's JEKS painted this tribute to seventeen-year-old singer Billie Eilish in March of 2019.
1. The Strange Carolinas Best Of NC 2019 Winners
For two weeks, readers of Strange Carolinas were invited to nominate their favorites in music, arts, food, shopping, and strangeness. From February 25th to March 15th 2019, readers were invited to vote for their favorites from the ten entries that received the most votes for each category during the nomination period. Therse are the winners of the 2019 Strange Carolinas Best Of NC Awards.
19. 2019 WNC Bigfoot Festival
Photos from the 2019 WNC Bigfoot Festival in Marion, NC.
18. Jaret Reddick On Jaret & Kelly and 25 Years With Bowling For Soup
Can you believe it's been twenty-five years since the birth of Bowling For Soup? After many albums, countless shows, and much success, frontman Jaret Reddick has launched a new side project, Jaret & Kelly, which finds him teaming up with Kelly Ogden, lead singer of The Dollyrots. We caught up with Reddick to discuss Jaret & Kelly, their album Sittin' In A Tree, and twenty-five years of Bowling For Soup.
17. Concert Review: Nelly, TLC, & Flo Rida
With most co-headliner tours, it's hard to find one with two top-notch quality acts. But the current Nelly, TLC, Flo Rida tour is a an ultra-rare treat: a triple-headlining bill where all three acts still kill it. The tour came to Charlotte's PNC Music Pavilion on July 26th and we had to be there!
16. Gus Cutty's Dolly Parton Mural
Gus Cutty completed this magnificent tribute to Dolly Parton in July of 2018. We waited until this year to write about it.
15. North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival
Our pictorial from the 2019 North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival, which featured 26 all-new displays, eleven of which are interactive, including a Land Rover you can climb inside.
14. Grahamland
Grahamland, formerly Graham & Dolce Fiberglass, is an extremely large collection of fiberglass figures alongside Andrew Jackson Highwway in Bolton. There's a ton of stuff: steer, flamingos, bears, fruit, octopi, a Jolly Green Giant, several lighthouses, and the pièce de résistance: two UniRoyal Gals. Currently, Hubert Graham, Grahamland's owner and creator, sells the figures and rents them out to people for parties and corporate events.
13. The Ghost Of Adluh Flour
Adluh Flour is a Columbia institution. Adluh Flour launched in 1900 and is the only working mill remaining in South Carolina. The building is on the National Register of Historic Properties and its neon sign and grain elevator are catnip for photographers. Adluh Flour is the home of the Official State Flour of South Carolina and was also home to a ghost. Or at least his cart.
12. Concert Review: KISS
I was a huge KISS fan growing up. Destroyer was the first album I bought with my own my money as a kid. Pretty sure I dressed as Paul and then Gene for subsequent Halloweens. Heck, I even enjoyed KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park. I was a superfan and like many members of the audience on Saturday night, KISS was a major part of my youth and there was no way I was going to miss the Raleigh date of their End Of The Road World Tour.
11. Road Eats: Lucha Libre Ice Cream & Churros
Many thought that when folks figured out how to infuse ice cream with alcohol, ice cream had finally evolved to its highest form. Not so! We've found Greensboro's Lucha Libre Ice Cream & Churros (4925 West Market Street, Greensboro,) an ice cream shop where the ice cream is infused with luchadores, also known as Mexican wrestlers.
10. Pennywise Mural
Alex DeLarge, co-founder of Southern Tiger Collective and the creator of the infamous Statesville Prince mural, painted this Pennywise mural on the side of Charlotte's Free Range Brewing as part of the October 2019 BattleWalls festival. Please note: this mural no longer exists.
9. Brown Mountain Lights Mural
In 2017, Marcus "The Urban Monk" Thomas painted a massive two-story mural based on the legend of the Brown Mountain Lights in an alley behind Morganton's Brown Mountain Bottleworks. We asked him the story behind the piece.
8. Concert Review: Drivin N Cryin
Drivin N Cryin, who have been going strong for over thirty years, brought their Southern rock stylings to Greensboro's White Oak Amphitheatre as part of the Now's The Time Tour with Collective Soul and Gin Blossoms.
7. The Moon-Eyed People
If you go into the Cherokee County Historical Museum, you'll find tons of Cherokee artifacts, tools, and over 700 dolls donated by local resident Louise Kilgore. If you venture into the museum's basement, you'll find The Moon-Eyed People, an unassuming three-foot sculpture encased in glass that look like conjoined aliens. But what exactly were The Moon-Eyed People? Some folks have told us they're aliens, while others have said they're like mole people who live underground.
6. Fairy Crosses
The Cherokee County Historical Museum is home to Cherokee artifacts, tools, over 700 dolls donated by local resident Louise Kilgore, and an effigy of the Moon-Eyed People. It's also home to lots of fairy crosses. Are fairy crosses really made by fairies? Cherokee history expert Billy Ray Palmer told us two different Cherokee legends that explain the formation of fairy crosses.
5. The Mocksville Bigfoot
In early 2019, Mocksville chainsaw artist Jeff Hursey created an eight-foot-tall Bigfoot and the whole world lost its mind. Soon after he installed it by the side of the road in Mocksville, people started calling the Davie County Animal Shelter, reporting a Bigfoot with red glowing eyes. The media picked it up, ran with it, and it received international attention.
4. Nipsey Hussle Mural
This tribute to the late rapper Nipsey Hussle was created by Greensboro artist AlexBTM in early April 2019. Please note: this mural is no longer there.
3. Greenville Mall Cemetery
One might think they take shoplifting VERY seriously in Greenville... In the parking lot of the Greenville Mall, behind Carolina Ale House, you'll find a small cement area encased by four-foot walls. The walls are high enough that most people don't notice what's inside them. But if you decide to get up close and take a peek over the walls, you'll find the Evans Family Cemetery, completely covered in cement.
2. Billie Eilish Mural
Greensboro's JEKS painted this tribute to seventeen-year-old singer Billie Eilish in March of 2019.
1. The Strange Carolinas Best Of NC 2019 Winners
For two weeks, readers of Strange Carolinas were invited to nominate their favorites in music, arts, food, shopping, and strangeness. From February 25th to March 15th 2019, readers were invited to vote for their favorites from the ten entries that received the most votes for each category during the nomination period. Therse are the winners of the 2019 Strange Carolinas Best Of NC Awards.
