Rad Fest

Radfest was held in Wilmington so I thought it would be worth giving a run down on the city for you culture vulture’s out there (I know some of us music nerds actually do like culture).

Its an old city as some of the architecture shows you having come into being in 1739, I know for some of you Europeans who came to the festival this is not old but to us its ancient! We are a smallish town with a population of around one hundred thousand and we are a port town. In downtown our river walk is around a mile and is definetly worth checking out if your new to the area. For you indie guys who are also beach bums the ocean is only about twenty minutes away by car, wrightsville beach is the place to go.

Although it’s not my scene we do have military ships in the town and you can do a tour of the world war two ship USS North Carolina battle ship which apparently is great if you are in to that kind of thing. Again if you like culture our own Cape Fear museum is worth visiting if you want some respite from the festival.

If you want a run down of the history of the town in detail Click here. A few other sites you may want to snap are the Confederate Memorial, the Cotton Exchange and Bellamy Mansion. Music wise there is a lot on offer and Wilmington has quite a long tradition in the more gentile classical music, Wilmington has its own Symphony Orchestra that plays throughout the year. I’m not a lover of Jazz but there is an awesome Jazz festival that lasts three days and is coming up to its thirtieth year. There is also a corresponding blues festival so you can see for such a small town we have a great music tradition. The Soapbox bar also has a great tradition of hosting an eclectic range of live bands and is worth checking out if you are in town for a few days. In terms of night clubs I tend not to go to them anymore but there are plenty to choose from including, Bonnie’s Beach N Bar, The Castaways, Charley Brownz lounge, Club Vida, City stage, Cocktails and Diamonds, Costello’s and Crazy Horse Gentlemens Club. Again I’m not big into the restaurant scene but there is everything available from steak houses, Vietnamese, Indian and even Mongolian check out a list here.

In terms of accommodation there is something for most budgets including the big hotel chains such as Marriott, Fairfield Inn, Hilton and so on. If you are on a budget I would scope out some local B&B’s which there are many and they tend to be good value, clean and welcoming. If you are going to be out all night it’s worth mentioning this when booking as some B&B’s have a cut off time that they allow you in at night. Crazy but true! I’ve heard good things about Beacon House and Porches Bed and Breakfast although I’m not sure of their prices.

With the resources I’ve given you here I’m sure you will have a great stay in our historic town.