
Weekender: 34 things to do in Charlotte this weekend, including Charlotte SHOUT! and an Empanada Festival
The weather is warming up just in time for outdoor spring events this weekend, including Charlotte SHOUT!.
Friday, April 4
🎊 Charlotte SHOUT! kicks off in Uptown with hundreds of events and attractions, including a mini golf course, live music and pop-up markets. | Prices vary | Runs through April 20 | Details
😋 Taste regional wines and cuisines with StrEATs Uncorked in Uptown. | $76.37 | 6-9pm | Details
🎥 Attend the Charlotte Latino Film Festival at the Independent Picture House, featuring films by Hispanic artists. | Prices vary | Showings vary | Details
👯♀️ See Cirque du Biere's aerial show at Hi-Wire Brewing. | $25 | 7pm | Details
🍽️ Eat some menu items from Marina's Tapas while you enjoy a glass of wine at Substrate. | Prices vary | 5pm | Details
🐷 Enjoy BBQ tastings at Carolina BBQ Festival at Victoria Yards with live music, local vendors, activations, merch and drinks. | $35+ | Runs through Saturday | Details
🥂 Celebrate with Sneak in Elizabeth as they toast to their one-year anniversary with a new cocktail menu and music from a live DJ. | Free | 5pm | Details
🤑 Shop from Nothing New's $20 vintage clothing sale in Concord. | Free entry | 10am | Details
🏎️ Explore Ten Tenths Motorclub, a new country club for car enthusiasts near Charlotte Motor Speedway through the Heritage Invitational. | Prices vary | Runs through Saturday | Details
✍️ Tap into your inner artist with sketching, plus visit the aquarium and science lab at Discovery Place Science. | $35 | 6-9pm | Details
🤵♂️ Dress up to attend a vintage circus-themed gala with entertainment and pop-up experiences at Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. | $250 | 7:30-11pm | Details
🎶 Listen to an a cappella ensemble of Motown hits that you can sing along to or dance to. | $25-$35 | Details
🏀 Cheer on the Charlotte Hornets as they take on the Sacramento Kings at Spectrum Center. | $24+ | 7pm | Details
🧠 Test your knowledge of Stranger Things at The Suffolk Punch with trivia. | Free | 7-9pm | Details
🖼️ Hop around to see several art exhibits through the First Friday Gallery Crawl in South End. | Free | 5:8:30pm | Details
⚾️ Take the family to see the Charlotte Knights play Norfolk Tides at Truist Field. | $38+ | 7:04pm | Details
Saturday, April 5
🏀 See the Harlem Globetrotters at Bojangles Coliseum. | $50+ | 2pm | Details
🛍️ Shop for handmade goods, decor, fashion and more with The Bowl Street Market in Ballantyne. | Free | 10am | Details
🌭 Pull up to Olde Mecklenburg Brewery for their Best Wurst Festival for sausage toss games, live music, jumbo pretzels, and if you bring your weiner dog, you'll get a free beer. | Free | 11am | Details
🐶 Snuggle with puppies in your pajamas at Vaulted Oak Brewing and stick around for treats. | $30 | 1pm | Details
🤣 Laugh the night away to improv jokes or take the stage to test out some of your own at Charlotte Comedy Theater. | $5 | 4pm | Details
⚽️ Cheer on Charlotte FC as they take on Nashville SC at Bank of America Stadium. | $38+ | 2:30-4:30pm | Details
🐇 Head to Metropolitan for free pictures with the Easter Bunny, sweet treats, a live DJ and crafts. | Free | 11am-2pm | Details
🍻 Drink your way through the Charlotte Brewfest in South End by tasting beer from more than 25 breweries and stick around for live music, food trucks and activities. | $28.90 | 1-4pm | Details
🧘 Grab your mat so you can unwind to an hour yoga flow at Sycamore Brewing. | Free | 10-11am | Details
✨ Taste your way around Latin America with an Empanada Fest at the Boileryard in Camp North End. Expect a DJ, dancing, live music, drink specials and more. | Free | 12-6pm | Details
🏃♂️ Run in a half or full marathon at Whitewater Center. | $65-$75 | 7am-3pm | Details
🍷 Sip on local wine, craft beers, and spirits in a souvenir glass at Wine & Food Festival in Ballantyne's Backyard. | $58.84+ | 12-5pm | Details
Sunday, April 6
🛍️ Support local businesses at Front Porch Sundays at Atherton Mill in South End. | Free | 10:30am-4:30pm | Details
💪 Pull up to a Wellness Festival with yoga, HIIT, sound baths, workshops and more at Bank of America Stadium. | $0-$115 | 8am-2pm | Details
🕯️ Create your own spring scented candle while you sip on a drink from Resident Culture Brewing at The Market at 7th Street. | $42.03 | 4-6pm | Details
🥃 Light up a cigar with your glass of whiskey at The Vintage Whiskey and Cigar Bar while you listen to jokes from comedian Shaun Jones. | $100 | 7pm | Details
⛹️♂️ See the Hornets play the Chicago Bulls at Spectrum Center. | $24+ | 1pm | Details
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
These Latino restaurateurs in unlikely places are nominated for a prestigious culinary prize
Before moving to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, two decades ago, Oscar Ortega had left Mexico City at a young age and spent many years in several European countries, where he studied gastronomy with what he calls incredible teachers. But he never forgot 'where my roots came from, my origins,' he said in an interview with Noticias Telemundo. Cacao originated in Mexico, he explained, which was one of the reasons Ortega decided to dedicate himself to becoming a chocolatier, gelato maker and baker. This year, his Jackson Hole establishment, Atelier Ortega, is one of five finalists for the outstanding bakery prize of the prestigious James Beard Awards, which will be announced June 16 and are considered the Oscars of the culinary world. Ortega, whose desserts have won international competitions and who's been featured on numerous television programs, is one of almost 20 Latinos who are finalists across different categories, recognized for making their mark in the culinary and beverage arenas — including in states with smaller Latino populations. One of them is Wyoming, a state where 10% of the population is Hispanic and that many people might associate more with 'cowboy country' than with chocolate making, Ortega said with a laugh. 'But I said, 'Let's see, let's try,'' and he opened a chocolate and pastry shop in 2004. There were days when he didn't sell anything, he said, but then everything started selling out. To keep honing his skills, he began entering international culinary competitions. Initially, he represented Mexico, his native country, but after winning several times, he was invited to join the official U.S. team with which he has won several prestigious international awards. 'And after I made the desserts for the competitions, I would serve them in my bakery when I got back. And that's how it began to establish itself' to the point of getting James Beard recognition, Ortega said. Like Wyoming, Idaho and Alabama are not states with the largest Latino populations. But in Caldwell, Idaho, people of Hispanic descent make up almost 40% of the population compared to 13% in the rest of the state. In this city, Salvador Alamilla's dishes at his restaurant, Amano, have earned him a nomination for 2025 James Beard best chef: mountain, where he's competing against four other chefs in nearby states. The restaurant's website touts a dedication 'to uplifting the food and beverages of the Mexican diaspora through ancestral cooking methods.' From the beginning, Alamilla said, his restaurant sought to be a place that offered 'the dream of eating like you did at home, with food like your grandpa or mom used to make it.' That's why regardless of whether he wins the James Beard Award or not, he said he's already been rewarded by 'seeing how people react to this food, saying, 'That's how my dad made it,' or 'Wow, it tastes just like my grandma's.'' That's behind one of this season's signature dishes at Amano: seasoned goat meat that's slow-cooked in an underground pit, or birria en hoyo, as it's known in Spanish. He's been making it with input from everyone who works at the restaurant, based on how they remember their own older relatives did it using the ancient technique. Along with his wife, Becca Alamilla — who's also the restaurant's manager — the chef's mother, aunts, brother and cousin also work there. 'It's a family project that has become a community cornerstone here in Caldwell,' Alamilla said. For the family, that includes advocating for community initiatives, such as raising funds so local teachers can purchase more books by diverse authors. 'We can be a place that offers a connection to this beautiful culture that exists here because we're here,' Becca Alamillo said. 'I think it can help carry people back to a place that they had forgotten and then it brings back really special memories.' In Birmingham, Alabama, José Medina Camacho has been nominated for outstanding professional in beverage service as co-owner of the bar Adiõs. Medina Camacho told Noticias Telemundo that, at first, he didn't want to be involved in the food industry because his mother and stepfather worked in kitchens, and he saw how long and tiring their days would be. But once he decided to do it, 'I worked my way up the ladder in every aspect of a restaurant,' he said, 'dishwasher, line cook, busboy, server, and then manager in one place, bartender in another, putting together the wine list in yet another... everything.' During the pandemic, he considered moving to another industry, until his partner in what is now Adiõs suggested opening a bar. He said he was initially afraid to make that step, but then he thought it over. "I saw and went to bars all over the city and said, 'Yeah, something's missing here. Where are my people?'' he said. While people in the area knew about Southern hospitality, 'Mexican hospitality is on another level, and I wanted to show them that," he said. At first, people who came to his stylish bar didn't know what to expect; they asked for 'chips and salsa,' he said, because they didn't necessarily know that Latin American culinary establishments can offer so many other things. 'Now they love music in Spanish, they ask me about epazote (a Central American herb), they want to know all the differences between the types of mezcal or tequila,' Medina Camacho said. In that vein, one of the bar's current favorites is a martini made with aged tequila, pickled watermelon and campari. 'We want to attract the entire Birmingham community, whether Latin or American, and show them our culture ... I'm excited about the future, whatever the outcome is' regarding the nomination, he said. Back in Wyoming, Ortega believes his own career's advancements reflect how 'the influence of Mexican and Latin American cuisine has been incredibly significant' in the American culinary world over the last 10 years. 'And in part, it's because, from New York to San Diego, there's no kitchen without Latinos, whether they're chefs, those working alongside them or those financing them, and regardless of whether they're Michelin-starred restaurants or small establishments,' he said. Ortega would be the first Wyoming chef to win the James Beard Award. But he said that regardless of whether he wins, being considered a finalist is a boost after years of work, tireless hours in the kitchen and coaching a team. 'My priority, regardless of the outcome, remains having the opportunity to grow as a pastry chef, chocolatier and ice cream maker, internationally,' Ortega said. He still has one goal, however: re-creating his favorite dessert, which is a flan (custard) that tastes just like the one his late mother used to make. 'Imagine that: after so many years of working at this, I haven't been able to copy her recipe, which she took with her,' Ortega said with a sigh. 'But you have to keep trying.' An earlier version of this story was first published in Noticias Telemundo. This article was originally published on


Buzz Feed
a day ago
- Buzz Feed
How To Make Microwave Salmon: 5-Minute Recipe
In the age of air fryers, we've forgotten about the OG kitchen hero: the microwave. Chef Mic has been whipping up meals faster than you can say 'fish fillet' long before convection became trendy. That said, microwaving fish? It's the one culinary act we've all agreed is a crime against humanity. But when I saw Tasty had a microwave salmon recipe, I decided to reject modernity, embrace tradition, and take the bait. And since I live alone, there's no one around to report my fish felony to the food police. What surprised me wasn't the fact that it used the microwave; it was the speed. Five minutes?! Sounded a little fishy, literally. How could that possibly be enough time to cook salmon all the way through to 145°F? Turns out, salmon's naturally rich, fatty makeup (shoutout omega-3s) makes it weirdly microwave-friendly. Add a splash of liquid and you've got some steam. Then, Chef Mic locks it in, creating a mini salmon spa session that cooks the fillet to moist, flaky, fin-tastic perfection. To make it, place your salmon fillet in a microwave-safe dish and season generously with salt, pepper, and BBQ seasoning for that smoky-sweet contrast. Hey, you! Wanna cook this recipe in step-by-step mode? Download the free Tasty app right now. Pour a bit of apple juice and soy sauce around the fish (not directly on top), then cover the dish loosely with a microwave-safe lid or plastic wrap (not foil, obvi), leaving a small gap for steam to escape. Microwave on high for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fillet. Let it rest for 1 to 2 minutes before diving into perfectly cooked, tender, flaky, and shockingly good salmon. The sweet, salty, smoky flavor was way more complex than you'd expect from a microwave. The apple juice adds subtle sweetness, the soy sauce gives it depth, and the BBQ rub makes it taste like you reeled in something special, without breaking a sweat. With just one dish, cleanup's a breeze, too. No burnt pans, no fishy trays, and best of all: no lingering seafood smell! I lit a candle just in case, but didn't even need it. Chef Mic kept things effortless and odorless. No matter what's in your fridge, this salmon recipe will make a splash. It's quick, customizable, and pairs swimmingly with just about any seasoning. Feeling fancy? Add dill, capers, and a few lemon slices before cooking. Want some spice? A splash of sriracha, a spoonful of gochujang, or a pinch of chili flakes does the trick. Need a base? Serve it over rice, toss it into a salad, layer it onto noodles, or tuck it into a soft tortilla. This microwave salmon hack is clutch when you're short on time, low on energy, or just trying to avoid turning your kitchen into a sauna. It's a weeknight lifesaver, a heatwave hero, and the perfect fix for those 'I'm hot, I'm tired, and I need protein in five minutes' moments of dinner despair. It's also great for beginner cooks, college students with limited gear, or anyone feeding hungry eaters on a tight timeline. Kids love the speed. Parents love the simplicity. No flames, no fuss, no dish pileup. Just Chef Mic, quietly delivering a hot meal like the dependable, electromagnetic legend it is. To cook this foolproof recipe for microwave salmon in step-by-step mode, download the free Tasty app for iOS and Android, where you can explore our library of 7,500+ recipes without a subscription.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Backyard BBQ: Backyard Oasis & A Little Fishing
We had enough of a break in the rain to enjoy another installment of Backyard BBQ, this time in the Oak Knoll South neighborhood in Springfield. Our second go at Backyard BBQ this season features a beautiful backyard oasis, complete with a koi Tom Trtan, and I will be heading to a viewer's backyard every week to forecast the weather live while partaking in a little bit of you want to participate, you can sign up here!Weekly winners will receive: Your choice of Grilled chicken, Bratwurst, or Hot dogs Three sides of your choice – from classic BBQ favorites like potato salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw, baked beans or chips Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.