Raleigh Wide Open ends with mixed feelings

Raleigh Wide Open's fourth annual festival ended Saturday under cloudy skies and rain, but students and the general public still flocked out to experience the wide array of food, music, art and other activities downtown Raleigh had to offer.
The University's Ladies In Red a cappella group ventured out to perform two sets, the group's first time participating in the festival.
One of the group members, Grace Nowell, a junior in science, technology and society, said she was unaware of the festival before being invited.
“I had never heard about it until the business manager for Ladies In Red told us about it. It's a bunch of organizations that come out and show what they have to offer,” Nowell said.
Nowell said she had a good time walking around and eating, enjoying the festival's activities, despite the bad weather.
“I thought it was great. It was an awesome thing for Raleigh and for all the many different types of people that keep our community going,” Nowell said. “My favorite part was probably being able to perform for a diverse group of people from Raleigh that usually wouldn't be able to hear us.”
Samantha White, senior in food science and another member of Ladies In Red, also said the experience was enjoyable.
“It was super fun,” White said. “It was a good opportunity to reach people who normally wouldn't hear us and meet different performing groups.”
This year Raleigh Wide Open also included the second annual Cherry Bounce Festival, a music festival that lasted all week, with bands performing at different area locations such as Deep South, the Raleigh Times, Busy Bee Café and Tir na nOg. Cherry Bounce culminated on Saturday in front of the Raleigh Times bar, featuring bands like The Hood Internet and Man Man.
Tir na nOg, a location of Cherry Bounce and a participant in Raleigh Wide Open, had three bands scheduled to play, the event hosted by the WKNC 88.1. However, Annie Nice, the general manager of the Irish pub, was very disappointed with the festival overall, claiming a lack of marketing was to blame.
“It was not advertised well. It was a last minute job,” Nice said. “Nobody really knew about it until the day of. There should have been posters and brochures. It was primarily a big food thing. They could have had bigger signs. It was a huge disappointment compared to other years.”
Other than the issue of marketing, Nice said she would like to see the events extend out to more than just one main street downtown.
“It was Fayetteville Street Wide Open, not Raleigh Wide Open,” Nice said. “Widen the whole thing up.”
David “Woody” Lockwood, co-owner of the Busy Bee Cafe, said while his business mainly dealt with Cherry Bounce, it benefited from both festivals.
“I thought it was a great success. Honestly, I would say [the festivals] could have been different dates,” Lockwood said. “It brought a lot of people downtown, it was obvious with the foot traffic and the auto traffic.”
Lockwood said he will definitely participate in next year's events, saying it is a win-win for everyone.
“It exposes people that don't normally come downtown to what's down here,” Lockwood said. “There are no drawbacks for us; all it does is benefit businesses like us.”
The Raleigh Wide Open festival also included a parade, an appearance of the travelling Wheel of Fortune group and concluded with a fireworks show.