Around Town

Neighborhood news and community life

Illustration of a pale green movie ticket on a plaid picnic blanket. It reads: Food and Film, Blanket Encouraged. Shrek, on the outfield at Truist Field. Friday, Oct. 9, Gates 6:30, Movie 7:30. The tear-off stub reads Admit One, $10, Proceeds to Knights Charities.

Knights Show Shrek at Truist Field Friday Night

The Charlotte Knights show "Shrek" on the Truist Field outfield tonight, Friday, Oct. 9. Gates open at 6:30 p.m., the movie starts at 7:30, tickets are $10 plus tax, and proceeds go to Charlotte Knights Charities.

Jack Beckett·Oct 9, 2026

Events & City Life

An author arranges stacks of her novel at a festival book table under a white tent, beside text reading Charlotte BookPalooza, Saturday, Oct. 10, Truist Field, 86 authors, one ballpark.

Charlotte BookPalooza Brings 86 Authors to Truist Field on Oct. 10. Kids 15 and Under Get In Free.

Charlotte BookPalooza fills Truist Field on Saturday, Oct. 10, with 86 indie authors, local booksellers and a day of activities for readers.

Jack Beckett·Sep 28, 2026

Performers and children sing together on stage at the Tosco Music Beatles Tribute under jumping silhouettes, beside text reading FabFest, Charlotte's Beatles Festival, Free Saturday at CPCC.

FabFest, Charlotte's Beatles Festival, Is This Weekend. Saturday Is Free.

FabFest, Charlotte's Beatles festival, returns Oct. 2 and 3: a ticketed tribute concert Friday night at the Knight Theater and a free Saturday of…

Jack Beckett·Sep 28, 2026

Dolly Parton smiles holding two of her children's books against a teal backdrop, beside text reading Mecklenburg County, Dolly Parton Day, Friday, 9/25.

Mecklenburg Makes Sept. 25 Dolly Parton Day. Here's Where to Celebrate.

Three weeks after Dolly Parton's death, Mecklenburg County has named Friday, Sept. 25, Dolly Parton Day.

Jack Beckett·Sep 16, 2026

Secret Gardens of Fourth Ward garden tour returning May 16 and 17

Secret Gardens of Fourth Ward Tour Returns May 16-17

Jack Beckett·May 7, 2026

Charlotte Mercury graphic. The words Community life. in large white type on a dark navy background, above the line: What is happening on your block, and who makes it happen.

Charlotte SHOUT! Opens Today: 17 Days, 200 Events, and Most of Them Are Free

Charlotte SHOUT! returns April 3–19 with more than 200 events across Uptown, from all-day jazz and whole-hog barbecue to 20-plus art installations…

Jack Beckett·Apr 3, 2026

Mecklenburg County ABC Labor Day Hours 2025: Eight Charlotte-Area Stores Open 11 a.m.–4 p.m., One MXB-Only

Mecklenburg County ABC will open eight select stores on Labor Day, Sept. 1, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with one MXB-only site for bars and restaurants.

Jack Beckett·Aug 23, 2025

Charlotte Mercury graphic. The words Ballots & elections. in large white type on a dark navy background, above the line: Who is running, what they would decide, and how the count went.

Glory Days Apparel Warehouse Sale: Full Discount Breakdown, Free Hat Promo

Glory Days Apparel slashes prices for one day only: $10 tees, $25 hoodies, free hats with purchases of $100, and permanent discounts for brave…

Jack Beckett·Jul 25, 2025

Summer 2025 Is Officially One of Charlotte's Hottest Summers Yet

Charlotte has sweated through one of its hottest summers on record. Daily highs, warm nights, and sweltering streaks prove it: 2025 is not your…

Jack Beckett·Jul 24, 2025

Waxhaw Banker Draws 15-Year Sentence in $17 Million Loan-Fraud Case

Waxhaw's Kotto Paul gets 15 years after steering a $17 million loan fraud that snagged 17 banks and eight allies, federal judges say.

Jack Beckett·Jul 10, 2025

Charlotte Mercury graphic. The words Public safety. in large white type on a dark navy background, above the line: What happened, what was charged, and how the city answers.

12,000 Watch Fireworks in Uptown Charlotte as CMPD Seizes Guns, Cash, and Weed

SkyShow 2025 drew 12,000 to uptown Charlotte. CMPD reported no major incidents, unless you count the $5,000 in seized cash, guns, weed, and "drug…

Jack Beckett·Jul 4, 2025

Arts & Culture

An illustrated news graphic announces “¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues,” a Smithsonian exhibition on Latinos and American baseball opening July 18 in Charlotte, beside a baseball and red and blue ribbon shapes.

A Smithsonian Baseball Exhibition Opens Saturday at the Charlotte Museum of History. See the Part of the Story We Missed.

The Smithsonian's "¡Pleibol!" opens Saturday at the Charlotte Museum of History, in partnership with the Charlotte Knights, and runs through October…

Jack Beckett·Jul 17, 2026

The Book Rack, a secondhand bookstore on Johnston Road in south Charlotte.

Fifty Thousand Secondhand Books, Almost None Over $8: The Book Rack's Quiet 30-Year Run

Fifty thousand secondhand books, almost none over eight dollars, and a trade that keeps them moving reader to reader.

Jack Beckett·Jul 1, 2026

Business

The Charlotte Startup Turning Used Wheels Into a Real Marketplace

WheelPrice, built by college friends, has spent three years making the enthusiast wheel trade less sketchy, bootstrapped, five people, and an…

Jack Beckett·Jun 3, 2026

BBS performance wheel — illustration for Charlotte Mercury business coverage

A Charlotte Startup Got to Unveil BBS's First-Ever Truck and SUV Wheel

WheelPrice's founders previewed BBS's first-ever truck and SUV wheel for a NASCAR Sundays crowd, the first time the storied German manufacturer has…

Jack Beckett·Jun 3, 2026

Charlotte Mercury graphic. The words Charlotte business. in large white type on a dark navy background, above the line: Who is hiring, who is building, where the money goes.

Atrium Moves to Take Control of WakeMed in $2 Billion Combination. Wake County's Vote Monday Is the First Real Test.

Atrium Health and WakeMed announced a strategic combination Friday that would make Atrium the sole corporate member of the WakeMed nonprofit.

Jack Beckett·May 1, 2026

Charlotte Mercury graphic. The words What gets built. in large white type on a dark navy background, above the line: Proposed, rezoned, argued over, built. Sometimes.

SMBC Group Commits to 2,000 Charlotte Jobs in $76 Million Incentive Deal

SMBC Group, the banking arm of one of Japan's three largest financial institutions, has committed to 2,000 jobs in Charlotte over six years in…

Jack Beckett·Apr 20, 2026

Why Scout Motors Picked Charlotte For Its U.S. Hub And What Mecklenburg County Put On The Table

Scout Motors picked Charlotte's Plaza Midwood for its U.S. hub, promising 1,200 high-wage jobs and $200 million in investment in exchange for…

Jack Beckett·Dec 3, 2025

Wells Fargo's $10 Million Fine Vanishes: A Charlotte Perspective on Accountability

Wells Fargo's last fake‑accounts case ends with a $0 fine for a former executive, drawing outrage from a Charlotte writer duped by the bank.

Jack Beckett·Oct 24, 2025

Tito's Tops, Tequila Surges: Mecklenburg County Hits Record $71M in Liquor Sales

Mecklenburg County liquor sales hit $71M, with tequila climbing and whiskey sinking. Tito's still king.

Jack Beckett·Jul 7, 2025

About this beat

Neighborhoods, residents, and the life of the city between the headlines.

Charlotte is 874,579 people, and the Charlotte Mercury doesn't just cover the institutions that govern them, it covers the communities they've built. From the historic wards of Uptown to the fast-changing corridors of east and west Charlotte, we report on the people, organizations, and neighborhood fights that make this city what it is.

What We Cover

Section	Focus
Neighborhood News	Development fights, community meetings, rezoning impacts on residents
People & Profiles	The Charlotteans shaping their blocks, blocks, and wards
Organizations & Nonprofits	Who's doing the work, what they're building, how they're funded
Events & Civic Life	Town halls, community cleanups, rallies, and public gatherings
Immigration & New Communities	Charlotte's growing international communities and the issues they navigate
Housing & Displacement	Affordability, evictions, gentrification, and where people can afford to live

The Neighborhoods We Watch

Charlotte's communities don't all have the same voice in city politics. We prioritize coverage of neighborhoods facing the biggest pressures, displacement, disinvestment, rapid change, and we bring those stories to the same readers who follow city hall.

Neighborhoods we follow closely: First Ward, Second Ward, Third Ward, Fourth Ward, Belmont, Grier Heights, Lakewood, Hidden Valley, University City, Steele Creek, South End, NoDa, Camp North End corridor.

Related Coverage

City Council, Where neighborhood decisions get made
Government, Full government beat
The Charlotte Mercury, Full newsroom

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