Written by Devin Johnson, Brianna Hales, and Maddie Norwood
During the festival, people can go to local cafes and restaurants. Last Friday brings in a lot of business to places such as the Wooden Nickel and Radius Pizzeria. Often the Wooden Nickel is so packed one can barely make it through the door. Cup-A-Joe holds a pie contest and sells all of the entries after winners have been chosen. The Hillsborough Arts Council runs an Art Walk. Art museums provide information about sculptures located around Hillsborough to residents. April 26 kicked off the first Last Friday of this year. Numerous vendors sold food and drinks while clubs and businesses tried to recruit new members and buyers. The Brand New Life, an indie rock and jazz band, played music on the steps of the Orange County Courthouse to entertain festival goers.
Haley Moser, an OHS junior, thinks that Last Fridays are “great” because “they’re a special occasion that's looked forward to by people of all ages. They’re an important tradition in Hillsborough because they allow people to “show off goods they make or to just socialize with people they might not see very often.”
The next Last Friday will take place on May 31. The Galactic Cowboy Orchestra, a bluegrass band, will perform.
A new and unique pizzeria has made its way to Hillsborough, NC. The new local restaurant is called Radius Pizzeria and Pub, and is located on 112 N. Churton St. The downtown addition is already a booming business, and they are open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 am to 10 pm and 11 am to 11 pm Thursday to Saturday. Dinner is not offered on Monday night.
Hillsborough locals Kate and Mick Carroll are the owners. They opened the pizzeria on March 15, putting their whole dream out there
The atmosphere at Radius is unlike almost any other place in Hillsborough. You walk in to see copper accents and bicycle wheel art pieces, which give the restaurant a really great rustic feeling. They also have an open bar that they did a very good job at keeping at distance from the family eating area. The employees there also give a great light to the place. They will engage in easy conversation about the architecture of the building, give you recommendations, and always have the nicest things to say.
As for the food choices, they have a wide menu of one of a kind pizzas, sandwiches, and salads. Prices are around $10-30 per person, depending on how much and what you get. They have classic Pepperoni Pizza and the Big Kid, a spaghetti and meatball pizza. The menu is something to see, and the food is something worth trying. It’s definitely different from most pizzerias, which really draws customers in. The full menu is available on their Facebook page.
The new Hillsborough addition provides Hillsborough with work for its students as well as food for the community. It’s a hit!
Friday, September 28, Nina Daye and Jenna Hunter's AP Environmental Science classes took an educational field trip to the Eno River in downtown Hillsborough. The day was broken up into two separate groups to facilitate the large number of students attending; first and second period went for the first two classes of the day and third and fourth went after lunch. When the students arrived at the river they broke off even more into two groups. One of the places the two groups could go to was the pavilion where the Hillsborough Farmer's Market is held. Here, two speakers talked about how pollution of the Eno River could affect the whole local river basin and other cities' clean water sources. They also discussed ways to prevent pollution such as starting rain gardens, in which people plant gardens downtown to soak up water and filters out pollutants that may otherwise travel back into the river. The last topic discussed detailed how the conservationists giving the presentation had restored the section of the Eno River that runs through Hillsborough by planting trees and creating a curvier river which slows down erosion. After this, the group took a tour around the Eno River and looked at plant life.
The next place the students went involved a more hands-on activity. Students were allowed to get into the river and measure things like pH levels, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen levels, all of which indicate the quality of the water. The third and fourth period group left OHS because of a school fire drill which only allowed their groups to do one test in the water. At first the students were a little hesitant to get into the cold water but soon warmed up to the idea. “Sloshing around in the water was fun,” said junior Thomas Rush. After this, it was time to look for living creatures within the water. Sophomore Megan Joyner said, “I liked getting into the river and looking for the macro-invertebrates.” Groups found water pennies, crayfish, and even leeches. One of the guest speakers talked about how important wildlife was to the river and how they are determine if a river is healthy or not.
Once students got back to campus they were expected to do a lab that covered everything they learned from the field trip.
The streets of downtown Hillsborough were filled with the laughter of children and the sweet melodies of different local bands all drawn together for a small festival on Friday, August 31. Every last Friday from April to October, citizens from local areas all flock to the stands lining South Churton street set up by local vendors and dance to the sounds of local bands harmonizing.
People come from other areas such as Mebane and Durham to hear the sounds and taste the delicious local foods from Weaver Street Market, The Wooden Nickel, Banditos, and Antonios, a new Italian restaurant located next to The Wooden Nickel. Local organizations set up stands to promote their businesses. Both boy and girl scout troops and various voting campaigns are among the stands, raising money for their respective causes.
[caption id="attachment_222" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Citizens gather at Last Fridays in downtown Hillsborough"]
[/caption]When asked what he liked most about the festival, Carlos Zapata, a 17 year old resident of Hillsborough and senior at Orange High School, said, “There are a lot of people you know and hang out with… I enjoy dancing to the local music the most.”
Anastasia Zitko, a junior, was also one of the student attendees at Last Fridays. When asked what her experience at Last Friday’s was like, she said, “ I had so much fun walking around the stands and eating at Weaver Street with my closest friends.”
Junior Lauren Asbury was asked how often she went to Last Fridays. She said, “I go almost every time... its always so much fun.”