The Carrboro Music Festival

Have I ever talked about how much I love my town? The town of Carrboro was established in 1911 and today the population is about 16,700 people. People talk to each other. There are lots of public spaces that are always full of people living together. We have two bike shops and three coffee shops (possibly more). Sidewalks are full of people walking. It is actually kind of hard for me to describe the way people in this town have managed to create a beautiful, walkable community full of babies, dogs, bikes, the young, and the old. You will just have to visit.


Once a year the town closes down and all of downtown turns into a stage.

180 bands play on every street corner. Some on real stages.
Some in parking lots.
Or in front of stores.

Or in the farmers market town square. That is where I buy my vegetables!

And at restaurants.

The music ranges from country, blue grass, rock, pop, soul, Latin, and everything in between. Every band had an audience and there were almost always people dancing. The best part it that the whole thing is free. It starts at 1 pm and goes until almost midnight.

We went downtown and got some milk shakes. Then walked around to listen to the bands, it was beautiful outside. It was wonderful to wander from stage to stage and watch the town party together.

I think we heard five languages being spoken. This is quite a town. The police officers were directing traffic with a smile. We were even encouraged to jay walk. By a cop. In Denver, she would have given us a ticket. In Carrboro, she laughed and told us to hurry up and have a good day.

The road became a canvas.

There were toys for the children. What does this look like to you?

Never mind. Don't answer that.

The town was full of children. Dancing children, climbing children, it was a family affair.

Events like this make me reflect on how lucky I am to live in such a community. It makes me think that despite our differences, our similarities are really more remarkable. With just an ounce of acceptance and a little bit of music, life is pretty good.

Sorry this post is so cheesy. This is really how I feel, sometimes walking around town causes me to burst into a spontaneous monologue about how wonderful it all is. True story, I am just a cheese ball at heart.