Home Care In Raleigh, NC

First Night Raleigh is our area’s biggest New Year’s Eve party. Every year, thousands gather for the art installations, carnival rides and live music — counting down to the beloved midnight Acorn Drop. The party starts in the afternoon and wraps up just after midnight (though an earlier, kid-friendly celebration wraps up the evening around 7:30 p.m.).

Here’s everything you need to know about attending, plus a list of five other New Year’s Eve events in the area, ranging from swanky to casual, family-friendly with early bedtimes to party-all-night 21+ shindigs.

Always be sure to check websites and/or social media pages before heading out, as details may change.

Where is First Night Raleigh?

Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh. The main outdoor music stage will be at City Plaza, located at 443 Fayetteville St.

First Night Raleigh schedule

There are daytime and evening activities, the including an early midnight countdown for sleepyheads.

Daytime activities (2-8 p.m.) include carnival rides, crafts, a DJ and the “People’s Procession” at 6 p.m., which leads into the 7 p.m. Early Countdown. The famous acorn will drop and set off fireworks hours well before the clock strikes midnight.

The “People’s Procession” will begin at the intersection of Fayetteville Street and Morgan Street, including Paperhand Puppet Intervention, NC State Pipes and Drums and Helping Hands Mission Band.

Evening activities include a silent disco (7:30-11 p.m.) and lots of live music across various stages and venues, including Transfer Co. Ballroom, Church of the Good Shepherd and House of Rebellion.

Find a full schedule, music/comedy lineup and details at artsplosure.org/events#performances-and-activities.

First Night Raleigh tickets

Tickets begin at $16, and adult day-of tickets are about $17. Children 5 and under are free. You can purchase tickets at eTix.com or at select Harris Teeter locations throughout Raleigh.

Tickets are required for outdoor rides, indoor activities, the silent disco, music and comedy sets, the Children’s Celebration and the People’s Procession. Tickets are not required to watch the Acorn Drop and fireworks show, nor to access downtown Raleigh’s food/drink vendors, the event website says.

5 other New Year’s Eve events in the Triangle

Here are five other New Year’s Eve events throughout the Triangle, from family-friendly gatherings with early departure times to late-night, dress-up affairs.

On New Year’s Day, Clyde Cooper’s BBQ is hosting a farewell buffet at their restaurant in downtown Raleigh, an area they’re moving from away from after 88 years. Tickets are $25 for adults and about $15 for kids.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Multiple Triangle businesses are demanding the leader of Shop Local Raleigh resign following a recent anonymous online comment that she allegedly made dismissing transgender youth.

According to our newsgathering partners at the News and Observer, Executive Director Jennifer Martin wrote a comment saying in part, "there's no such thing as a transgender son" in the Facebook group Networking Women of the Triangle.

Martin was responding to a parent seeking advice about their child. The parent, who posted anonymously, said their child is a girl who has been living as a boy for nearly three years and wanted to play in an after-school volleyball program for boys.

A member responded anonymously, saying, "There's no such thing as a transgender son. Blessings to you, but the sooner you help your son realize this, the more successful he (maybe a she) will be,"

Though the response was made anonymously, the Facebook group's admins were able to see who posted it, and it was attributed to Martin.

Shop Local Raleigh released a statement on Monday that says in part:

"The comment made does not reflect those of the organization. Shop Local Raleigh is dedicated to a culture of diversity, inclusion, and respect."

Since then, some businesses that are members of Shop Local Raleigh have called on Martin to be held accountable. An online petition has garnered more than 800 signatures.

Erica Vogel, who owns Be Like Missy, a boutique in Zebulon, said Monday that her business would no longer affiliate with Shop Local Raleigh.

"Shop Local Raleigh states that their mission is to support and uplift, and be sort of a home for our local small businesses, and I feel like what she did was not inclusive of our community, and it just really rubbed me the wrong way," Vogel said.

Shop Local Raleigh is a nonprofit organization that promotes small businesses. ABC11 has reached out to Martin but has not heard back.

ABC11 is a media partner for the Raleigh Christmas Parade presented by Shop Local Raleigh.

RALEIGH, N.C. - Wake Forest men's basketball will begin the 18-game ACC slate on Wednesday afternoon, facing NC State in a road Big Four showdown at the Lenovo Center.

The contest is scheduled for a 12 noon tip and will air nationally on ESPN2.

Last Time Out Wake Forest fell in its non-conference finale on Dec. 21, dropping a 98-67 result to No. 13 Vanderbilt at LJVM Coliseum.

Junior guard Myles Colvin recorded his first career double-double, finishing the game with a team-best 20 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, including four rebounds on the offensive glass. The Indianapolis native also added three steals and an assist while shooting 6-of-11 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

Sophomore guard Juke Harris totaled 19 points and six rebounds. Meanwhile, freshman guard Jaylen Cross recorded a career-high seven points, two rebounds and an assist across 13 minutes off the bench.

Deacs In ACC Play Wake Forest men's basketball over the last four seasons has earned 47 victories in ACC play, fourth-most in the ACC during that span. The 47 ACC victories between the 2021-22 and 2024-25 seasons are most over a four-year span in program history as well.

Turning Them Over Wake Forest's active defense has recorded 204 turnovers so far this season, second-most in the ACC and top-25 nationally.

Most Steals In Single Game In Steve Forbes Era

Myles In The Spotlight Arriving at Wake Forest following two seasons at Purdue and an appearance in the 2024 NCAA National Championship, junior guard Myles Colvin has experienced a breakout campaign for the Demon Deacons.

After leading the ACC in bench points through the first month of the season, Colvin has been in the starting lineup since the team's victory over West Virginia on Dec. 6. Over Wake Forest's last four games, Colvin is averaging 18 points and eight rebounds per game while shooting 60.5 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from three.

Against Queens, Colvin pieced together a record-breaking night en route to ACC Player of the Week and Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week honors before hitting the go-ahead three in a victory over Longwood.

The Indianapolis native completed non-conference play with his first career double-double (20 points and 12 rebounds) against Vanderbilt.

Continued Point Production Sophomore guard Juke Harris continues to pace the Demon Deacons in scoring this season, as he's reached a double-digit scoring total in all 12 games while ranking tied for fourth in the ACC in points per game (19.9).

Additionally, Harris is one of only four ACC players – and one of just 12 nationally – averaging 19 points and 6 rebounds per game this season, joining Duke's Cameron Boozer, Miami's Malik Reneau and North Carolina's Caleb Wilson. Nationally, Harris also ranks seventh amongst all sophomores in points per game.

ACC Scoring Leaders

Sophomore Scoring Leaders (Nationally)

Series History: Wake Forest vs. NC State

The Matchup NC State completed the non-conference portion of the schedule on Dec. 21 with a 14-point victory over Ole Miss, the Wolfpack's ninth win of the season.

Offensively, NC State has five players averaging double figures in scoring led by ACC Preseason Player of the Year Darrion Williams.

Television Information Wednesday's game will air on ESPN2 with Kevin Brown and Debbie Antonelli on the call. Fans can follow along via the Demon Deacons Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts (@WakeMBB).

Up Next Wake Forest will host its ACC home opener on Saturday, Jan. 3 facing Virginia Tech for the first of two meetings with the Hokies this season.

Tip-off for the contest is 12 noon and will air nationwide on the ACC Network.

The N.C. National Guard story begins with colonial militias and includes the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, airlift missions in Vietnam, vaccine distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic and deliveries of food and water to mountain communities devastated by Helene.

Now that history will be the focus of a new museum. The N.C. National Guard Museum will feature some of the Guard’s collection of thousands of artifacts and will highlight both what its soldiers and airmen have accomplished in the past and what they do today, said Col. Mark Almond.

“Telling the Guard’s story is extremely important,” said Almond, the director of process improvement. “My family knows what I do, but my neighbor doesn’t all the time.”

The museum will be off Blue Ridge Road in Raleigh, across from the N.C. Museum of Art. The state provided a former Department of Agriculture lab building, and lawmakers approved $12 million for construction, Almond said.

The Guard considered renovating the 50-year-old building, which for years had an M60 tank and an M110A2 Howitzer parked out front. But it determined that retrofitting laboratories into a public museum would be difficult and cost as much as or more than tearing the building down and starting from scratch, Almond said.

Demolition began in late October, and the tank and artillery piece have been moved to temporary locations at Guard headquarters across Reedy Creek Road.

Construction of a new building is expected to begin in the coming year and be finished by the end of 2027. The building’s design should be completed this winter, Almond said, about the time a new nonprofit organization is formed to accept donations for the museum.

For now, the Guard’s considerable collection of uniforms, weapons and other artifacts are in a warehouse nearby. Many of the items were donated by former Guard members or their families, according to Staff Sgt. Gary Spencer, who oversaw the collection during his time as curator of the museum.

“There’s a story behind everything,” Spencer said in a 2022 video promoting the museum. “As long as something that comes into us belonged to someone that served with us, they’ve got a story.”

The museum will also have at least two special exhibits. One will be a diorama depicting the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge between North Carolina militia members and soldiers loyal to the British crown near Wilmington in February 1776.

The second will feature touch-screen kiosks where people can learn about individual men who served with the 30th Infantry Division. The division was composed of Guard soldiers who landed in France five days after D-Day and fought into Germany. In 2020, President Donald Trump awarded the division the Presidential Unit Citation for “extraordinary heroism” at the Battle of Mortain in Normandy in August 1944.

Some Triangle business owners are demanding the leader of the nonprofit Shop Local Raleigh apologize, donate money, or even resign over her recent anonymous online comment dismissing transgender youth identity.

“There’s no such thing as a transgender son,” Shop Local Raleigh’s executive director Jennifer Martin wrote last week in the Facebook group Networking Women of the Triangle. “Blessing to you, but the sooner you help your son realize this, the more successful he (maybe a she) will be.”

Martin was responding to a group message from a Wake County parent seeking sports opportunities for their transgender child. While Martin made this post anonymously, her identity was visible to the group’s administrators, who banned her and made her identity known to the wider Facebook group. The News & Observer has since reviewed screenshots provided by one administrator confirming Martin’s personal account sent the comment.

“It’s caused a real stir in the art community,” said Durham jewelry maker Bethany Duffrin, who launched an online petition calling for Martin to be held accountable for her language.

Duffrin is one of several Shop Local Raleigh members questioning whether they would stay in the organization. In a Dec. 25 Facebook post, the Raleigh-based event planner Night Market Company stated it didn’t intend to renew its Shop Local Raleigh membership over the controversy.

“I think the only way that our LGBT and ally community will feel comfortable supporting Shop Local Raleigh is if bigger actions are taken,” said Erica Vogel, who runs a jewelry and leather goods business in Rolesville called Be Like Missy. “I think [Martin] doesn’t deserve to represent our small business collective.”

Founded in 2009, Shop Local Raleigh promotes more than 900 member companies through directory listings, social media posts, networking events, discount vendor fees and advertisements. Businesses range from food trucks to HVAC services, with yearly membership fees between $50 and $275. The nonprofit, which is part of the Greater Raleigh Merchants Association, also runs the annual craft beer festival Brewgaloo and the Raleigh Christmas Parade.

“The Board of Directors of the Greater Raleigh Merchants Association (Shop Local Raleigh) is aware of concerns surrounding a recent, personal, social media comment made by our Executive Director,” GRMA wrote in a statement to The N&O on Monday. “The Board is currently addressing the matter. The comment made does not reflect those of the organization. Shop Local Raleigh is dedicated to a culture of diversity, inclusion, and respect.”

Martin did not respond to The N&O’s emailed questions about her comment. Her Facebook and LinkedIn accounts are each not currently active. She has led Shop Local Raleigh since at least 2012, newspaper archives show.

On Dec. 22, Martin emailed Vogel after Vogel posted on Facebook about not wanting to renew her Shop Local Raleigh membership. In Vogel’s message, she had incorrectly referred to Martin as the owner of Shop Local Raleigh and Brewgaloo.

“I am always open to conversation and work hard to be welcoming and supportive of all small businesses in our community,” Martin wrote. “Because your post references businesses I do not own, I’m asking that it be removed. If not, we will need to have our attorney formally request its removal.”