Feast from the Furnace | April 13, 2019

Glass blowing demonstrations by Durham-based designer Elijah Leed.

Watch as he makes beautiful hand-blown glass art while you sip wine and feast on an array of small plate appetizers cooked in the same furnace. The evening will kickoff with a leisurely tour of the Liberty Arts studio where you can interact with some of our very talented artists and browse the art they create, while grooving to Dex and the Half Tones, a Durham based 6-piece Jazz band featuring bebop, swing, latin and blues tunes.

This one-of-a-kind fundraising dining event is one you won’t want to miss.

Your Chef will be Chris MacLaurin. McLaurin was raised to appreciate simple food made with quality ingredients and lots of love. After cooking in DC for a number of years Chris returned to Durham in 2013. Time at Rose's Meat Market and Sweet Shop as well as Picnic Restaurant introduced him to the amazing food community found in the Triangle. Most recently he was the executive Chef at LaPlace in Hillsborough. Chris is now working to open his own restaurant in Durham.

(Sorry, but we are not able to accommodate dietary restrictions. Also, we are not able to issue refunds for this event.)

Major fun - celebrate with us! | April 12, 2019

Major the Bull turns 15

To help mark his 15th birthday during Durham’s year-long sesquicentennial celebration, the community’s beloved Major the Bull sculpture in CCB Plaza will be receiving new, bronze signage, in both English and Spanish, and the Bull City is invited to the celebration. 

Hosted by the City of Durham and Liberty Arts, the event will take place in front of the Bull sculpture at CCB Plaza, which is located at the corner of Corcoran and West Parrish Streets in downtown Durham, on Friday, April 12 at 11 a.m. At this event, community members will have the opportunity to meet the artist team behind the sculpture, Leah Foushee Waller and Mike Waller, and hear them speak about creating the Bull, and what the sculpture means to Durham today. Mayor Steve Schewel also will speak and Liberty Arts representatives will be giving out free cupcakes.  

The sculpture, titled Major the Bull, was cast in bronze and created from start to finish in Durham at Liberty Arts, a studio and foundry dedicated to enriching our communities with arts experiences that inspire, empower, educate, and entertain. The sculpture and plaza were gifted through a grant by the Central Carolina Bank to the residents of Durham. The statue depicts a bull, a symbol for Durham since the 1800s, and stands 10 feet tall. The monument reinforces the strong qualities of the city and its residents, even in the face of negative perceptions of the area.