Durham is where self-made synth beats are created alongside home-grown and international talent.
Where renowned hip hop artists come home to spit with our next generation of performers.

Where there’s no need to wait for Friday night; both large and small festivals and cultural events win the hearts of wandering souls from near and far — all week long.

Each year, 5,000 classes, tours, markets, competitions and performances await you here. The key to your next adventure lies in your own curiosity. Come taste, see, hear and discover.

Annual Events & Festivals The only way through is to do. Learn More

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Featured Events

North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

The North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (NCGLFF) is the second largest gay, lesbian and transgender film festival in the Southeast, attracting thousands of patrons yearly. Since its beginning in 1995, the Festival has featured a diverse array of shorts, documentaries and feature films. The NCGLFF celebrates a worldwide glimpse of today's gay and lesbian life, helps bring the community together and features entertaining and sophisticated films and filmmaking.

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Triangle Vegfest

Triangle Vegfest is coming back to Durham with more vendors than ever to accommodate growing interest in plant-based diets and lifestyles. Saturday will consist of a series of panels and lectures and Sunday will feature 70+ food, clothing, and other vegan and animal welfare vendors from all over the country. There will be everything from clothing to skincare and a variety of information from animal welfare nonprofits. Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge, one of the largest...

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Harvest and Hornworm Festival

In the morning, see demonstrations of historic tobacco harvesting, stringing and curing. In the afternoon, hear the sounds of the only tobacco auction left in Durham. Throughout the day enjoy the hornworm race, MoonPie eating contest, musical entertainment, craft vendors, refreshments and more.

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Bull City Rumble

North Carolina's largest vintage motorcycle show, the Bull City Rumble is a world-renowned vintage motorcycle and scooter rally hosted by Ton Up NC annually on Labor Day Weekend. Thematically, the event has its roots in the traditional rivalry of Mods vs. Rockers, the sensationalized clash of two youth cultures- scooter riding mods and motorcycle riding rockers, in 1960's England. The event has evolved from its humble beginnings in a parking lot in 2005 to a...

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CenterFest Arts Festival

SAVE THE DATE! The Durham Arts Council is bringing the 45th Annual CenterFest Arts Festival to downtown Durham on Sept 21 & 22, 2019. Visual artists from near and far will showcase their work, and 75 performing arts groups provide continuous music, dance and entertainment throughout the festival including extended Saturday evening entertainment. Add in food courts, hands on activities and Durham’s inspiring nonprofit and government services sectors and you have the best way to...

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Art of Cool Festival

AOCFEST will feature a range of R&B, Neo Soul, Hip-Hop, Jazz, alternative and spoken word performances and speakers at 6 venues. Three-time GRAMMY® award-winning singer-songwriter, New York Times best-selling poet, and critically acclaimed actor Jill Scott will headline the AOCFEST stage on Friday, September 27th. Dreamville Records singer-songwriter Ari Lennox who hails from Washington D.C. will also perform at AOCFEST Friday evening. That same evening, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels will hit the Motorco Music Hall stage...

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Pride: Durham, NC

Pride: Durham, NC serves as the annual celebration of community, family, pride, and activism in Durham and across the state. Pride: Durham, NC brings love and activism back to the forefront of Pride as a way to drive stronger connections and further growth and success in a tumultuous political climate. All people with love in their hearts and progress fueling them are welcome at Pride: Durham, NC.

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The Durham 150 Closing Ceremony Presented by Duke University and Duke Health

The Durham 150 Closing Ceremony will be a culminating event of Durham 150, the official yearlong commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the City of Durham’s incorporation, and will explore the history of Durham through narration, video, live performance and music. Tickets are now on sale. Purchase Durham 150 Closing Ceremony tickets here. The production will open with remarks from Mayor Steve Schewel, along with a welcome from Occaneechi Tribal Chairman, Tony Hayes. The Ocaneechi...

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The Nutcracker

From the moment the curtain rises, the magic of this Holiday classic is mesmerizing. Take a journey to a land of whimsical characters featuring magical illusions, magnificent sets, and beautiful costumes. Listen as a live symphony orchestra plays Tchaikovsky’s famed score. The Nutcracker is the perfect story ballet for the young and the young at heart. You'll want to visit once, twice, or more during this Holiday season!

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Pieces: A Paradoxy

With an expectant, held breath, with heart in hands, piece by piece, bit by bit, I anticipate the beauty of becoming. The Durham Art Guild... Details

5 Points Gallery Presents - Metamorphosis

“Metamorphosis: a process of transformation, reorganization.” Exciting changes are afoot as ten prior Pleiades Gallery members along with... Details

North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

The North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (NCGLFF) is the second largest gay, lesbian and transgender film festival in the... Details

Durham Art Guild's 65th Annual Juried Exhibition

This is the Guild's longest-running, largest, and most impressive annual exhibition featuring the work of 50 regional artists working in a... Details

Art Exhibit - "Circa 1960"

The period around 1960 was one of great artistic evolution in the United States. The long-standing influence exerted by Abstract... Details

Spare Change

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Art Exhibit - Possibility, by Rachel Kosbab

Abstract paintings inspired by memories of outdoor scenes and environments. Opening reception will be held Friday, July 19, 6pm, as part of... Details

Art Exhibit – "Godchild"

Divinity and art in the Western world have worked together to create a set of toxic ideals, one in which Whiteness is the sole standard of... Details

Art Exhibit — "Where We Find Ourselves: The Photographs of Hugh Mangum, 1897-1922"

Self-taught photographer Hugh Mangum was born in 1877 in the newly incorporated, tobacco- fueled boomtown of Durham, NC. As an itinerant... Details

Golden Expression: the First Annual Exhibition of Golden Belt Resident Artists

View selections from Golden Belt artists – and visit the studios where these works are created. Details

Nash Street Ramblers – Brightleaf Summer Concert Series

Please no outside food, drinks or coolers. Details

Art Exhibit - Screenprints, by Kristen DeGree

Print work inspired by nature, on view in the Durham Arts Council Allenton Gallery. Opening reception will be held on Friday, July 19, 6pm,... Details