Attend a Durham Bulls game, run an 8K, indulge in limitless pours of beer and much more to do in Durham this spring.
Compiled by Megan Tillotson
Durham Bulls Baseball
April 12
Batter up! Our hometown baseball team opens its 2022 season at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in a match against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, which will be followed by postgame fireworks. The reigning Triple-A National Champions’ season includes 144 games with 72 home dates, 25 fireworks nights, Kids Run the Bases following Sunday home games, Afforda-BULL Eats at every Thursday home game featuring a menu of discounted food and beverage options, and fans can bring their dogs to five Bark in the Park nights.
Company SBB
April 15-16
Duke Performances welcomes award-winning choreographer and director Stefanie Batten Bland and her dance company to Reynolds Industries Theater for the world premiere of “Embarqued: Stories of Soil.” The dance-theater piece utilizes a performative ship mast as its physical and conceptual centerpiece as a way to delve into society’s cultural, political and spiritual relationship with memorials and shares African ancestral stories in order to reveal postcolonial histories and possible futures.
Piedmont Farm Tour
April 23-24
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the self-guided tour returns after a two-year hiatus. As part of the nation’s largest sustainable farm tour, Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, in partnership with Weaver Street Market, brings visitors to farms throughout North Carolina’s Piedmont region, including Split Acre Farm, Grass Grazed Farm, Hundred Acre Wood Farm & Sanctuary, Bull City Farm and Catawba Trail Farm.
Earth Day Festival
April 24
Durham Parks & Recreation hosts this annual celebration at Durham Central Park with a multitude of culinary offerings, Earth Day-inspired market goods, eclectic music, hands-on environmental education activities and more.
Melissa Etheridge
May 3
The Grammy-winning rock singer, songwriter and activist performs at The Carolina Theatre. Best known for hits including “I’m the Only One” and “Come to My Window” from her fourth album, “Yes I Am,” she takes the stage in Fletcher Hall on her One Way Out Tour, following the launch of her latest release of the same name.
‘Hamilton’
May 17-June 5
The hit musical following the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton returns to the Durham Performing Arts Center. Winner of 11 Tony awards and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, this critically acclaimed musical blends hip-hop, jazz and R&B with Broadway, creating a theater performance that educates and entertains.
Durham Blues & Brews Festival
May 21
The annual blues music and craft brews festival returns to Durham Central Park after a two-year pandemic break. Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy unlimited 12-ounce pours from 20 N.C. breweries/cideries/wineries, including Bull City Burger and Brewery, Ponysaurus Brewing Co., Clouds Brewing and Starpoint Brewing, and a variety of food trucks. Festival proceeds benefit The Exchange Club of Greater Durham, a service-oriented civic club working to improve the community and prevent child abuse.
52nd Annual Bimbé Cultural Arts Festival
May 21
Honoring African and African American history, culture, arts and traditions, Durham Parks & Recreation hosts an afternoon of live music, arts and crafts, ethnic food and fun family activities at Rock Quarry Park. The festival, which is free and open to the public, was established in 1969 by a group of local students and community members to honor the West African festival of harvest and celebration. Remember to bring a lawn chair or blanket.
Walk for the Animals
May 28
Bring your furry friend to Duke University’s East Campus Lawn for a 1.5-mile walk to benefit the Animal Protection Society of Durham, which cares for nearly 4,000 animals annually. Enter your pooch in pet contests; watch agility demonstrations; visit the dozens of vendors, from doggy day cares to vets and other animal-supportive businesses; meet adoptable dogs; and more.
Running of the Bulls 8K
June 4
Bull City Running Co. hosts its 14th annual community road race through the historic and revitalized downtown neighborhoods of Trinity Park and Old North Durham, and the American Tobacco Campus. Runners finish with a lap around the warning track inside the Historic Durham Athletic Park. Race features include cash prizes and Brooks running shoes for top finishers, a kids’ fun run, custom cowbell medals, and a DJ and refreshments at the end.
