New Cutting Edge Culture Greets Raleigh Conventions

- Fresh Sights, Sounds, Tastes Enhance Meeting Goers’ Experience in the “Shimmer District”

- Plug-In 2011 Crosses Finish Line a Major Success

Raleigh - Aug. 16, 2011 -  A new concert series, a celebrity chef and a dashing dragon are bolstering the Raleigh Convention Center’s position as a creative hub for great meetings, including the recent Plug-In 2011.

Starting August 27, the newly launched Bud Light CityFest will bring nationally known rock acts to the Downtown Raleigh Amphitheater, a popular destination that opened last year across the street from the convention center. Over five Saturday nights, acts such as Better Than Ezra (Sept. 17) and Rusted Root (Oct.1) will take the stage while audiences also enjoy attractions such as mechanical bulls.

Just around the corner, a giant mural now graces a six story parking deck. The designers, a team of NC State students known as “the Balloon Boys,” won a contest to create the artwork for the $30 million project. The mural, dubbed “The Fantastic Sky Race,” features 15 vibrant banners depicting a dragon and a polar bear in a race that puts NASCAR to shame. The piece also includes Sir Walter Raleigh -- a statue of whom outside the convention center frequently appears in special garb tailored to upcoming meetings and other happenings.   

The outsize art adds to the sculptures in nearby City Plaza and the convention center’s LED-lit, 9,284 sq ft Cree Shimmer Wall, which provides a dazzling backdrop to the amphitheater. So dazzling, in fact, that it’s been noted in songs and rapped freestyles by acts from the Bare Naked Ladies to the Decemberists to the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh. So prevalent is the wall, Raleigh-ites have taken to calling the surrounding area the “Shimmer District.”

Finally, should all the music and art leave meeting goers ready for sustenance, celebrity chef Ashley Christensen is ready with classic cooking and, perhaps, autographs. Christensen guest starred on “Iron Chef America” with Bobbly Flay on July 24.  Her Poole’s Diner, which features food from area farmers, is located steps from the convention center.  Her latest venture -- a combination restaurant, burger joint and bar -- opens soon just two blocks north.

“At a time when so many cities are offering less, Raleigh continues to add elements that make a convention here so much more than just a meeting,” says Marketing Director Laurie Okun. “We specialize in creativity, and you can literally see it everywhere you look."

Conventions recently experiencing Raleigh's ongoing renaissance include Plug-In 2011 (7/18-20). The conference’s trip to Raleigh marked its first move outside California’s Silicon Valley, as well as a major success. Attendance for “public day” on Monday, July 18, tied Plug-In’s all-time record, with close to 1,400 people coming out to experience the power of plug-in vehicles.   

For more information, please visit www.RaleighConvention.com.

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