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The votes are in! Wake News & Events is delighted to congratulate the winners of our 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards:

To settle the tie, we will hold the Great Wake County Readers’ Choice Pizza Runoff! This will take place from Wednesday, September 16, through October 5, 2026. Watch for the ballot launch and be sure to vote and help us determine, once and for all, who serves the very best pizza in Wake County!

Each category winner will receive a beautiful award to display proudly, a spotlight article in the Wake News & Events Newsletter, and one full year of advertising in our business directory. This is a value of approximately $1,500.00 in advertising plus bragging rights!

Thank you to every business that participated and to everyone who voted. Your vote counts!

Only two questions remain: Who will win the Great Pizza Runoff—and what category should we vote on next? Email me your suggestions. [email protected]

Wake County is still growing fast — about 60–66 new residents a day — and a few recent numbers show the place is delivering more than just traffic.

Wake County Public Schools posted a 3.8-point jump in overall test proficiency to 68.2% for 2025–26, the strongest single-year gain in more than a decade and the first time this decade the district beat its pre-pandemic mark. Sixty percent of schools earned an A or B; none got an F. Low-performing schools dropped from 30 to 17. The class of 2026 graduated at 91.3%, and every early-college high school hit 100%. The district also opened fall with 98.6% of teaching jobs filled.

Jobs and Investment

Siemens is expanding in Wendell. A $100 million project is lining up near I-87 in eastern Wake. Merritt broke ground on a 790,000-square-foot industrial park near RDU in Cary. Hospitals want hundreds of new beds, including proposed WakeMed hospitals in Rolesville and Wendell. Life-sciences money keeps landing in RTP and Morrisville. That’s the same mix — talent, universities, and room to build — that has made the Triangle a magnet.

Housing Cooled

The frenzy is over. Inventory is up, the market is closer to balanced, and August’s recorded median sale price sat at $440,000 after a normal late-summer dip. Prices are not crashing; they’re normalizing after years of spikes. Buyers have more choice. The county also reports it has already backed a large share of its 2,500-unit affordable-housing target through 2029.

A Win on the Streets.

Wake at Home closed its first encampment and moved 33 people from a Raleigh site into housing with support. Point-in-time homelessness was slightly lower than the year before. It’s a start, not a finish.

Why it matters.

Schools that improve, classrooms that are staffed, companies that keep building, and a housing market that is less frantic are the practical reasons families and firms still choose Wake. The pressure on roads, housing costs, and school budgets is real. The latest data just says the county is not standing still.

Greensboro does not charge you to hear The Roots. That is the first thing to know about the North Carolina Folk Festival, the state’s largest free music event and the spiritual heir to the National Folk Festival years that put this downtown on the map.

The 2026 edition runs Friday through Sunday across outdoor stages in the Elm Street / LeBauer Park core of downtown. Official hours start Friday with a 4:45–5:30 p.m. opening ceremony at GO BY Raymond James City Stage, featuring the N.C. A&T Cold Steel Drumline and poet laureate Jaki Shelton Green. Friday’s headliner is St. Paul & the Broken Bones, 8:30–10:00 p.m. Saturday belongs to The Roots featuring Questlove, 8:30–10:00 p.m. Sunday closes with Grammy winner Molly Tuttle. Music generally runs from late afternoon Friday, about noon Saturday, and about 1 p.m. Sunday.

This is not a single-gate festival. Walk between City Stage, the NC By Train Stage at the Depot, the T-Fiber Stage at LeBauer Park, and smaller stages on Summit Avenue and the Flat Iron. Expect folk, bluegrass, soul, brass, West African dance, and a makers’ marketplace. VIP packages add shade, restrooms, and a lounge if you prefer not to stand. Park once and walk. Take NC by Train if you can. Stay on Elm Street after the last set.

Need to know: Free. Multi-stage. Downtown Greensboro. ncfolkfestival.com

If Folk Festival is about sound, Foodie Land is about appetite. The touring mega-market lands on the infield-adjacent grounds of Charlotte Motor Speedway at 5555 Concord Parkway South, Concord, NC 28027. Hours are Friday 3–10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 1–10 p.m.

Organizers bill more than 250 multicultural food and craft vendors, plus games and live music. Think night-market energy on a NASCAR campus: hand-pulled noodles, global street food, dessert lines, and merchandise stalls. Tickets are sold online in advance; there is no box office at the gate. Children 5 and under are free. Parking is $10 per vehicle. There is no re-entry, so plan a long stay and do not leave the grounds for a nap in the car.

This is the trip for groups who want to eat their way across continents without leaving Cabarrus County. Wear comfortable shoes. Bring a small bag only. Eat early on Friday if you want shorter lines; Saturday night is the crush.

Need to know: Paid tickets, online only. Speedway parking $10. foodielandnm.com/city/charlotte

Center Fest is 51 years old and still feels like a neighborhood that decided to become a gallery. Presented by the Durham Arts Council, it fills the Five Points streets — Main, Chapel Hill, and Market between Great Jones and Corcoran — with more than 100 juried artists: clay, jewelry, fiber, glass, painting, photography, and wood.

Hours: Saturday, Sept. 19, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Admission is free with a $5 suggested donation at the gate. City parking decks are typically free for the weekend if you pull a ticket on the way in.

The live stage at CCB Plaza runs all day: tap, youth jazz, African rhythm, flamenco, brass, and a Saturday-night Earth, Wind & Fire tribute. Family improv shows land at the WTVD Theatre inside the Durham Arts Council (120 Morris Street) at 1 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Eat in the festival booths or duck into a brick-and-mortar restaurant two doors off the route. This is the easiest festival on this list to combine with a hotel stay, a museum visit, and dinner on Parrish or Main.

Need to know: Free / $5 donation. Walkable downtown. durhamarts.org/centerfest

Hog Day is Orange County’s oldest and largest community festival, running since 1983 and still giving its proceeds to local youth programs. Official 2026 hours: Friday, Sept. 18, 6–10 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 19, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., along East Margaret Lane in historic downtown Hillsborough. Admission is free.

Friday night is music and the slow start of the pits. Saturday is the full show: barbecue competition, arts-and-crafts vendors, a children’s area, live bands, and the Brakes & Shakes car show from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Orange County Board of Education lot at 200 East King Street. Come for the smoke. Stay for the small-town density — you can walk from the pigs to a bookstore to the river in ten minutes.

River Park has been part of the Hog Day footprint in past years; 2026 listings put the official street address on East Margaret Lane. Confirm the vendor map on hogday.org the week of the event if you are meeting someone at a specific booth.

Need to know: Free. BBQ contest Saturday. hogday.org

One day. One lake. About 10,000 people. Asia Fest, produced by Asian Focus, is the Triangle’s big celebration of Asian food, performance, and sport, built around dragon-boat racing on Symphony Lake beside the amphitheater.

The grounds hold close to 100 exhibits: cultural booths, games, a mini health fair, and a serious food row. On the water, mixed club, community, and corporate crews race a 300-meter course. On the stage, expect dance, music, and martial arts through the afternoon. Published ticket guidance for 2026: about $10–$12 for ages 13–64 (early-bird vs. regular), free for ages 12 and under and, on several listings, age 65 and older. Venue pages have also listed lower day-of prices, so buy from the official Asia Fest / Booth Amphitheatre ticket link and screenshot your confirmation. Children 12 and under typically do not need a ticket.

Arrive when the gates open if you want a rail for the first heats. Bring sun coverage. The site is beautiful and exposed. Pair this with a Saturday night in downtown Cary or a short drive to Durham for Center Fest’s evening close.

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