PinePitch
Photograph By Diane McKay
Happiness is a Swift Carriage
For over 30 years, the Carriage Classic in the Pines has been one of horse country’s premier equestrian events. Drivers and passengers in formal dress and well-appointed carriages negotiate mazes and compete for prizes. Held at Big Sky Farm on Tremont Road in Southern Pines, the combined test for all levels will be on Friday, May 5 with dressage and cones. The pleasure classes begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 6 and Sunday, May 7 concluding at approximately 4 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday. For more information, see moorecountydrivingclub.net or contact Cheryl Bacon at (910) 309-7624.
Zoom, Zoom
The three-day, sixth annual Sandhills Motoring Festival revs up in the middle of the village of Pinehurst with a block party and live band on Friday, May 26, and ends on Sunday, May 28, with the Concours in the Village and an awards show. The Concours is free and open to the public and runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with more than 160 classic and collector cars competing in various categories. For more information and specific times of events go to www.sandhillsmotoringfestival.com.
Welcome Back
First Friday returns to the grassy knoll — well, OK, the Sunrise square and the First Bank Stage, 250 N.W. Broad Street, Southern Pines — on Friday, May 5, at 5 p.m. The Cinco de Mayo headliner is Daniel Donato bringing his cosmic country western sound. For more information call (910) 420-2549 or go to www.sunrisetheater.com. It may be a new year but the old rules still apply. No rolling or strolling coolers, and please leave you dogs and cats at home.
All That Jazz
Enjoy a night of music for a good cause on Friday, May 19, when the acclaimed Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon performs in a benefit for the West Southern Pines Center for African-American History, Cultural Arts & Business at the auditorium at 1250 W. New York Ave., Southern Pines. Cost is $75. For additional information and tickets go to www.ticketmesandhills.com.
Dig Down
Photograph by John Gessner
The Village Heritage Foundation hosts its Spring Garden Party on May 2 from 4-6 p.m. at Timmel Pavilion in the Village Arboretum, Pinehurst. Refreshments, wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Tickets are $30 per person with proceeds supporting the garden’s planned enhancements. In the event of rain, the venue will be the Fair Barn, 200 Beulah Hill Road S., Pinehurst. For tickets and information go to ticketmesandhills.com.
Hitting the Literary High Notes
You’ll be able to rub dangling participles with two of North Carolina’s literary giants on back-to-back evenings on May 9 and 10. First up is Lee Smith, who will read from her new novel, Silver Alert, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9, at the Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave. She’ll be followed by Daniel Wallace, who will discuss his memoir This Isn’t Going to End Well: The True Story of the Man I Thought I Knew at 5 p.m. on May 10 at The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Folks, it just doesn’t get any better than that.
Taste of the Wild
Join PineStraw magazine for a special farm-to-table dinner from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24, when Mark Elliott of Elliott’s on Linden and Saif Rahman of Vidrio in Raleigh collaborate on a three-course meal sponsored by Wilders Wagyu at the Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Cost is $100 and space is limited. For information and tickets go to www.ticketmesandhills.com.