Krista Abshure

Well today is the day! Kohl's officially opened at 8 am this morning! I can't wait to go shopping! For those of you who shopping challenged this will make things even more convenient! There is no reason to leave Fuquay Varina to find a great deal on many household, decorating and personal items! I am sure that I will see many of you there! By the way, if you are not sure of where Kohls is located; just drive down 401 and turn onto Lakestone Commmons Avenue. (by Applebees) You can't miss it!

I have posted some pictures from the Taste Of Fuquay Varina event that was held this past Saturday. I hope that you enjoy looking through them. I must say some of the cakes were just beautiful! There were also some that were not as pretty to look; but they tasted amazing! We tested 5 different kinds and all of them were wonderful. One of the other activities that was happening at this event was a chocolate eating contest. It was sponsored by The Chocolate Bean and the contestants were given chocolate truffles to eat. I believe that the winner ate 19 truffles. I know that doesn't sound like very many, but if you have had truffles before you that they are very chewy and rich tasting. I personally didn't compete, but I did manage to run in and purchase some of them. They were delicious!

The next big event for the town will be Day in Downtown on Ocotober 11th. This is an annual event held in Fuquay Varina. Some of the activites scheduled are a Car show sponsored by the Fuquay Cruisers, a chili cook off, arts and crafts, live music and a kids court! This event is something that my family and I have been attending since we moved here. It is a great opportunity to go out and meet your fellow community members. After all, Fuquay Varina's small town charm is one of the many reasons that people choose to move here!

Speaking of the Chili cook-off; the organizers of this event are still looking for groups or individuals that would like to show off their cooking skills. Of course, if you are not the show off type, but you can be enticed by the possibility of winning some cash, the $500 first prize is a great incentive to sign up! Contact www.Fuquay-Varina.com and let them know you would like to enter!

This upcoming weekend is an exciting event at Adams Vineyards! They are hosting their first Annual Grape Stomp! Doesn't that sound interesting and fun! There will be wine tasting; of course; kids activites, grape stomping contest, music, local artists and crafts! I have some friends who had the opportunity to try some of their wines last weekend and they had great things to say about it! Adam's Vineyards is located just outside of Fuquay Varina, on HWY 42 east. If you would like more info regarding this please go to www.adamsvineyards.com

Well that is it for now! Look for more another day!

There are lots of things going on in our town and as usual I thought I would give you an update!

If you have driven down 401 lately you might have noticed some construction going on right beside McDonalds. Well I have heard on very good authority that we will be having a "Cook out." This is a great place for burgers and fries and once it is up and running you will not be able to miss the amazing scents drifting around it! Yummy!

Another building that looks to be almost finished is The "Goddard School." This is a preschool that is being built on Old Honeycutt; just one street down from 401. I have spoken to parents whose children have attended "Goddard schools" at other locations and they have had many wonderful things to say about the programs that it offers. I definitely recommend checking it out when it opens; which of course I will let you know when that will be.

This Saturday; September 27th is the first annual "Taste of Fuquay Varina." It will be held from 2-5 pm on the historic Varina side of town. For those of you who are not familiar with Fuquay Varina; historic Varina is located on Broad street which is also called HWY 55. It is going to be lots of fun! You can purchase pieces of the contest cakes for $1.00 and purchase pieces of the wining cake for $2.00. My idea is to bring a bunch of friends and each of us buy a slice; then we can have a cake buffet and try many different kinds. But, you do what ever works best for you! There will also be lemonade stands, a cupcake walk, a Chocolate and Gelato food eating contest, author Cecilia Grimes, the Southern Re-enactors and the Gerald Parker Jazz Orchestra. I hope to see you there.

On Sunday, September 28th there will be an ice cream social at the Fuquay Varina Community center from 2-6 pm. There will be many different musical talents performing and best of all its free! Go to www.fuquay-varinaartscouncil.org for more information!

Well that is it for now! I hope to see you out and about this weekend enjoying the wonderful activities that Fuquay Varina has to offer!

As always there is alot going on here in our "little" town! For instance, have you noticed an increase in the amount of young children wearing helmets and pads lately? No, they have not decided to practice dressing up for Halloween early, it is Football season in Fuquay!!!

The Fuquay Varina Athletic Association kicked off their fall football season this week. I; being fortunate enough to be the proud parent of two future Bengal football players; have spent the last week watching a "sea of youngsters" practice football at Action Park. If you ever want a good reminder of what football is really about I highly recommend coming down and watching these guys! Their games start in 3 weeks and will be played at the Wake Christian Football Field and at the Fuquay Varina Middle School field. Hope to see you there!

Next Saturday ;August 23; there will be plenty of soccer balls bouncing around as Fuquay Varina Athletic Association kicks off their season with a Soccer Tournament! This event will occur at the soccer fields located at Fleming Loop and at South Park.

Of course growing up in Fuquay Varina has it's privileges! One of which is that a Fuquay Varina High School senior will receive a gift toward their continuing education. The Fuquay Masonic Lodge #258 will be having a Charity Golf Tournament on August 26th. If you are interested in entering the tournament or being a sponsor check out http://fuquaymasoniclodge.org Remember the proceeds go to assisting one of our local seniors, so be sure to sign up!

Don't forget to register to be the best cake baker in Fuquay Varina! The First Annual Taste of Fuquay-Varina at Varina Station will be on September 27, 2008 from 2- 5 pm. There will be 5 different categories in the cake contest. Even one category for aspiring cake bakers that are under the age of 16! See www.fuquay-varinadowntown.com for more information. Entry deadline is coming up soon on August 19th!!!!!! If you are not a baker, I still recommend coming down to the festivities and enjoying the opportunity to have some samples of other people's baking skills!


Also coming up is The 6th Annual Downtown Chili Cook-off is Saturday, October 11th. If you think that you have the best chili recipe then I recommend that you put your cooking skills to work! As always this event is being supported by our town and you may contact www.Fuquay-Varinadowntown.com for information on how to register. Oh, by the way first prize is $500!

Well I hope you enjoyed the update on some of the local activities, please feel free to let me about anything special in Fuquay that I haven't mentioned. I will do my best to blog about it next time!

We are so lucky to live in such a special place like Fuquay Varina! The town's Chamber of Commerce and Revitalization Association is always busy planning activities for our community. Tomorrow evening is a great example of that.

We will be having the "Downtown Cruise-In"and it will be a lot of fun for the whole family. There will be 50's & 60's music and some beach music too! Last May when we had this event it was reported that we had over 2,000 people come join the activities. The Cruise-In will be on the Fuquay side of town, in the parking lot across from Cooleys restaurant; that is at the intersection of Vance and Main for all of you GPS users! :) Come to see the great classic cars and enjoy your new downtown.

I also wanted to let you know about an upcoming event that I just heard about. The Revitalization Association is hosting it's First Annual Taste of Fuquay-Varina. This will be held on Varina side of town at Varina Station. It sounds delicious! They will be having a cake baking contest with many different categories. So, if you are a cake baker or you know someone who is be sure to contact the committee to enter the contest. They will also be having a Lemonade contest. The proceeds from the contest will be donated to charities. There will be prizes, but the real prize is getting to spend time and get to know members of your community! I believe that participation is limited so call them quickly to sign up and for all the rules. I certainly didn't want to bore you with those!

You can look up the rules, request additional information, and sign up to participate at www.Fuquay-Varinadowntown.com

I hope to see you there, watch for photos of the events!

As an agent in Fuquay Varina I am often asked about local buildings that are being built. I am also expected to be up to date with all stores that are opening in town.

Well, I have good news... Kohls; our up and coming department store is scheduled to be opened in October! I can't wait to have another place to buy shoes!! Not to mention all of the other wonderful items that Kohls sells.

For those of you who haven't been through downtown lately the Starbucks and Verizon store have opened for business as well. Although I haven't had the opportunity to go to Verizon yet, I have already been to Starbucks to try it out! The staff there was wonderful and very patient with me. As I am not an educated coffee drinker, I just know I like it frozen :)

Regarding other construction in Fuquay Varina, it was also mentioned in our town newspaper; The Fuquay Independent; that there are plans for a project on the 34 acres behind Kroger. However, they did not mention what type of shopping center is expected to be built yet. We can all have fun trying to guess and I will be sure to let you know as soon as I find out. According to the newspaper there is also plans for a small shopping center located at the corner of Bass Lake Rd and Sunset Lake rd. I am excited about the growth in our town and can't wait to discover what new stores will be here soon.

I look forward to new shopping places and I will be sure to let you know what stores are coming to Fuquay Varina!