'Meet me there': Community members anticipate Carrboro Day celebration

The Town of Carrboro will host its annual Carrboro Day celebration on May 5 at the Town Commons. The event, which will be held from 1-5 p.m., is meant to give Carrboro residents an opportunity to connect with neighbors, explore the Town's history and learn more about the Town's different initiatives and departments.

Mayor Barbara Foushee said Carrboro Day is a great opportunity for people to connect with the Town.

“Carrboro Day is a celebration of our town and the people in it but certainly it is another opportunity for some of our departments and Town staff to engage with our community because sometimes it is hard to come to the town hall during regular working hours,” Foushee said. 

Foushee said the variety of activities that will be available during the festival — including live music performances and food trucks — are an added bonus attendees can take advantage of.

The live music scheduled for Carrboro Day includes performances from Mariachi Los Viajeros Del Norte, XOXOK, Carolina Blue Grass Band, and Takiri Folclor Latino. 

Keenan Jenkins, who performs as XOXOK, said he is excited about performing at his first Carrboro Day celebration because, even though he doesn’t live in Carrboro currently, it still feels like home.

“I have not performed for Carrboro Day before but I'm glad to be doing it for the first time, and hopefully not the last time,” Jenkins said.  “It's an easy yes when the Town of Carrboro asks me to perform."

There will also be a variety of local food trucks at the event serving food during the performances and throughout the festival.

Nora Anaya, the president of Ta Contento food truck, said she is excited to bring her business, which serves Mexican dishes, to Carrboro Day and serve the Carrboro community.

Anaya said the inspiration for the dishes she serves comes from her experience immigrating to the United States and struggling to find fresh food. She said she wants to provide fresh food to everyone in the community, no matter their dietary restrictions.

“Carrboro has an amazing variety of population, and to be able to provide fresh [food], with a variety of requests such as vegan and vegetarian, is fascinating for me,” Anaya said.

Robert Jarrell will also be bringing his hand-scooped ice cream truck, Scoop Zone, to the Carrboro Day celebration. 

Jarrell said, even though this is the first time he will bring the food truck to the Carrboro Day celebration, the truck has been present at several other Carrboro events in the past year, including many of the live music performances the Town has hosted.

“We’ve definitely built a presence down there over the this past year," Jarrell said. “But this is our first time doing this festival so we are excited to see what the outcome is and get to meet new customers.” 

Along with Ta Contento and Scoop Zone, the DonutNV food truck will also be at Carrboro Day serving donuts and lemonade. 

Angelica Arnaldy, the owner of DonutNV, said she has brought her business all across the Triangle area and she really enjoys supporting local communities.

“It's all about bringing joy and sweetness to whatever events there are out there,” Arnaldy said.

In addition to the live music and food trucks, Carrboro Day will host an art show put on by the Orange County Artists Guild, live poetry readings, a historical presentation and a walking tour. 

Foushee said she hopes people will enjoy everything Carrboro Day has to offer and use it as a time to be present in and engage with the community.

"Meet me there," Foushee said.

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