By Harold
A common New York-style weekend would include a park with live classical music and hamburgers from a celebrated semi-structure, Sunday brunch and a walk through the art gallery district.
In Manhattan, that meant the New York Philharmonic in Central Park, the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, your choice of hundreds of restaurants and a walk through Chelsea. I did my best impersonation of that in Durham this weekend, hitting up Pops in the Park with the Durham Symphony Orchestra at Trinity Park, the OnlyBurger van at Oval Park, brunch at Watts Grocery and then the Durham Art Walk.
So, how did it compare? First, the positives — there was never a wasted moment. I didn’t have to get to Trinity Park two hours early to claim a spot, I didn’t wait in line at Shake Shack for an hour, I didn’t wait for a table at brunch and I wasn’t crunched for space in the art galleries.
Individually, the Durham Symphony made it a point to play music that was popular and accessible to the general public (it was called the Phantom of the Opera tour), and I was so close I could actually see the musicians. Since the OnlyBurger van moves around Durham (you follow its location on Twitter and Facebook), the burger is like winning a prize at the end of a scavenger hunt, which is fun. Watts Grocery came with the added benefit of Southern-inspired food like churros with hot chocolate sauce and biscuits and sausage gravy. And you could meet the artists at the art galleries, and there were a lot of vendors in a very compact space.
OK, now the negatives. Instead of a majestic stage overlooking the Great Lawn of Central Park, the Durham Symphony actually sat in fold-out chairs on a blocked-off street, while I sat on the sidewalk to watch. The OnlyBurger hamburgers and fries were great — probably the best I’ve had since we moved here — but there was no milkshake to complement the meal. Watts Grocery was nice, but we only went there because our first two choices for lunch, like a lot of things around here, are closed on Sundays. And obviously all the art in Durham this weekend was from amateurs.
In conclusion, I was surprised and gratified that I could even have these experiences in Durham. I had no idea it had its own symphony, let alone one that did community outreach, and I didn’t know there were so many art galleries downtown. But, and I don’t think this is breaking news, obviously it’s not the same quality. It’s nice to see an artist you recognize every once in a while. And even the things I complained about in New York — the crowds, the inconvenience — makes the ultimate experience seem better there. The food tasted better because you were hungry from waiting in line for an hour, and the performance sounded better because you were anticipating it for two hours, and you were surrounded by thousands of others sharing in the experience.
Laura
Harold
