Durham · Chapel Hill · Raleigh · July 21, 2026

Raleigh Restaurant Week, Your Power Bill Caught a Break, and Durham Throws a Disability Pride Parade

⚡ Quick Hits

🔥 Raleigh Restaurant Week's last call. Eat special meals and special prices through Sunday, July 26th.
⚡ Duke Energy just cut its proposed rate hike roughly in half after a wave of customer complaints.
🎉 A big weekend is coming: Durham's Disability Pride Parade on Saturday, the Underground Market on Sunday.

First Up

The whole Triangle spent this week watching the sky. Monday's storms flooded parts of Raleigh, dropped a tree onto a Cary home, and delayed flights at RDU, and forecasters say more could roll through into Thursday. But after a long dry stretch, plenty of neighbors are just glad to see it come down as it could put a dent into our drought.

📰 Around the Triangle

Your power bill just caught a break: After months of customer pushback, Duke Energy Carolinas agreed to cut its proposed rate hike roughly in half in a new settlement with businesses and clean-energy groups. (WUNC)
Raleigh Restaurant Week's last call: Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week runs through Sunday, July 26, with fixed-price menus at spots across downtown. A good excuse to finally try that place you keep driving past. (Downtown Raleigh Alliance)
Orange County has a new commissioner: Local Democrats picked CHCCS board member Rani Dasi to fill the open District 1 seat on the Board of Commissioners. (Chapelboro)
Glenwood parents make their case: As the Chapel Hill elementary school prepares to close, families are urging the board to keep its acclaimed Mandarin dual-language program together in whatever building comes next. (Chapelboro)
A beloved puppet tradition is back: Paperhand Puppet Intervention returns this fall to Chapel Hill's Forest Theatre with a new show, "The Wild Wisdom of the World." (Chapelboro)
A Raleigh landmark's secret history: For more than 40 years, North Carolina's politicians worked, ate, and slept at the Sir Walter hotel. INDY Week tells the story of the building where a lot of state politics actually happened. (INDY Week)

📅 Plan Your Week

🎲 Tuesday, July 21 (Today)

Trivia Night at DSSOLVR: DSSOLVR, Durham, 7 p.m. Free to play, no team limits, prizes for the top three, and it is dog friendly. (Details)
Free Yoga in the Park: Durham Central Park, 6 p.m. Gentle mat yoga for all levels. Bring a mat and just show up. 👨‍👩‍👧 (Details)

🥁 Wednesday, July 22

Midweek Mix: The Park at The Exchange, Raleigh. A free outdoor concert series on Wednesday evenings in Midtown. (Details)
Wednesday Market: Durham Central Park, Durham. The midweek Durham Farmers' Market, where everything on the table was grown or made by the person selling it. 👨‍👩‍👧 (Details)
Batala Drumming Practice: The Pavilion at Durham Central Park, 7 to 9 p.m. The local Afro-Brazilian drum troupe rehearses in the open, and it is loud in the best way. (Details)

📖 Thursday, July 23

Silent Book Club: DSSOLVR, Durham, 6:30 p.m. Bring a book, read in good company, no assigned reading and no book report. (Details)
America $2.50 Sketch Comedy: Mettlesome, Durham, 7:30 p.m. A road trip across a great nation that sometimes feels worth about two and a half bucks. (Details)

🔥 Friday, July 24

Firestarter Vol. 2: The Pinhook, Durham. A celebration of alternative queer Black and Brown aesthetics. (Details)
Mars: The Ultimate Voyage en Español: Morehead Planetarium, Chapel Hill. A full-dome trip to the red planet, narrated in Spanish. 👨‍👩‍👧 (Details)

♿ Saturday, July 25

Durham Disability Pride Parade: Duke Memorial United Methodist Church, Durham, 3 to 6:30 p.m., with the parade stepping off at 5:30. The fourth annual celebration is free and open to everyone. 👨‍👩‍👧 (Details)
Summer Concerts in the Park: Forest Hills Park, Durham. A free, family-friendly evening of live music and food from Durham Parks and Recreation. 👨‍👩‍👧 (Details)
Black Wall Street Historian-Guided Tour: CCB Plaza, Durham. Walk the heart of Durham's historic African American business district with a local historian. (Details)
Durham Ghost Walk: Fate & Folklore, Durham. A guided tour of the city's most haunted corners and the tobacco-baron ghosts said to still roam them. (Details)

🚲 Sunday, July 26

Durham Underground Market: Durham Central Park, Durham. More than 40 local vendors, food trucks, and a rotating live band every month. 👨‍👩‍👧 (Details)
Fourth Sunday Social Ride: CCB Plaza, Durham. A no-drop, social-paced group bike ride built for connection and getting outside, whatever your speed. 👨‍👩‍👧 (Details)

💬 Heard Around Town

Durham is handing out free trees. A flyer tucked into recent water bills lets residents request one for their yard or street, and neighbors are cheering the chance to shade all that asphalt. (Thread)
A towering new heron sculpture went up at Latta Park near the new Publix, maybe 15 or 20 feet tall, and Durham is already busy trying to name it. Early frontrunner: Hrafnar the Humongous Heron. (Thread)
A new Chapel Hill resident asked neighbors what the town's greatest unmet needs are, hoping to get involved this fall. The replies turned into a thoughtful civic wish list. (Thread)
Whoever was inside the Durham Bulls mascot suit doing go-kart burnouts between innings earned one new fan's undying respect. The chants, though, still need work. (Thread)

🏡 Triangle Pulse

📊 Stat of the week: Durham County homes are taking a median of 52 days to sell, up about 17% from a year ago. (Realtor.com research data, June 2026)

With active listings up nearly 11% and prices holding roughly flat, Durham buyers have a little more room to look, compare, and negotiate than they did last summer.

Before You Go

One good-news note to close on. A Durham regular took to the internet to thank a guy named Tony, whose rusty bar stools and everyday decency were a small reminder that not everyone online is a jerk. Sometimes it is just Tony. (Thread)

🧠 Brain break: today's Daily Fury is live. Five questions, the same five for everyone. Defend the Triangle's honor.

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