SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — Li’l Friday features dozens of ways for people to enjoy the weekend via theater, music, art, culinary happenings and more.
All events featured were scheduled as of Thursday; however, it’s wise to check in ahead of attending any one. Inclement weather, changes in schedules and unforeseen circumstances may shift for organizers at the last minute.
Thursday, March 12
42nd Jazz Fest
Beckwith Recital Hall in CAB, UNCW campus • Tickets: $17
A two-day jazz festival is taking place this weekend, hosted by UNCW’s Music Department. It will feature concerts, masterclasses and a UNCW Jazz Ensemble Concert.
The Andrew Renfroe Quartet kicks off the event at 7:30 p.m. in the Beckwith Recital Hall. The quartet is led by Renfroe, a first-call guitarist for artists like Braxton Cook, Keyon Harrold, Carmen Lundy, Rachel Eckroth, Ben Williams, and others. He has released 2020’s EP “Dark Grey” and 2021’s “Run in the Storm.”
Renfroe is inspired by the Delta blues, particularly Son House, and John Coltrane, as well as the traditional music from West Africa’s Burkina Faso. Tickets to his show are $17.
The JazzFest’s main artist this year is Colleen Clark, a drummer, composer and educator, who will offer clinics for high school jazz ensembles on March 13. The festival also will conclude with a concert featuring the Colleen Clark Quartet. Learn more here.
Friday, March 13
Empty Bowls
First Baptist Activity Center, 1939 Independence Blvd. • Tickets: $50
Empty Bowls Wilmington is a two-decade tradition to fight hunger locally.
Local potters create handmade bowls, restaurants provide homemade soups, and volunteers and neighbors come together to for lunch, with all proceeds benefiting Good Shepherd Center’s Soup Kitchen and Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard’s food pantry. This year’s fundraising goal is $75,000 to combat food insecurity in the region.
More than 1,000 attendees have come through in previous events, each paying $50 a ticket, which includes one choice from a variety of specialty soups donated by local restaurants and an artisan bowl to take home. This year’s lunch will take place from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Activity Center, 1939 Independence Blvd.
Tickets can be purchased online at the 2026 Empty Bowls website.
OTHER FRIDAY EVENTS
‘1776 the Musical’ — A Tony Award-winning musical by Peter Stone, “1776 the Musical” is being hosted at Thalian Hall this weekend in honor of America’s 250-year celebration. The show dramatizes the signing of the Declaration of Independence in the summer of 1776. Tensions rise in the Second Continental Congress, with John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin struggling to persuade a divided nation to declare freedom from British rule. The performance is coproduced by Thalian Association and Thalian Hall and takes place March 13-15. Tickets are $42 here.
Ian Lara — New York comedian Ian Lara is taking over Dead Crow Comedy Room this weekend with four shows.Lara has performed on Comedy Central, “Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and was named Variety’s 2023 Comics to Watch. The comedian has released a few specials, including “Growing Shame,” “Romantic Comedy” and most recently “Material Boy.” Lara’s observational humor riffs on dating, city life and his own upbringing as a Dominican-American. He quips on “Material Boy”: “We got a band for my [comedy] special — that’s a big deal. Once a Dominican man starts getting bands, that’s how you know he got money … they start putting bands where they don’t belong. I got one friend who got a band for his son’s third-grade graduation. He didn’t even graduate, he just passed.” Tickets are $24 here.
Saturday, March 14
Wilmington St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Celebrations
Downtown Wilmington • Free
Put on your green or be prepared for a pinch!
Wilmington’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday, moving along Front Street and Hanover Street down to Dock Street. Featured will be are civic groups, music troupes, dance and culture organizations, first responders, government officials and veterans’ groups.
Staging area closures begin at 8 a.m. and include:
- Front Street between Second and Red Cross streets
- Hanover Street between Nutt and Second streets
- Second Street between Brunswick and Hanover streets
- Brunswick Street between Nutt and Front streets
Parade route closures begin at 10 a.m. and include:
- Front Street between Red Cross and Orange streets
- Dock Street between Front and Second streets
Waterline Brewery downtown is hosting the official afterparty to the parade and will have live music from The Midatlantic and Martin McConnell, plus Feelin Swine BBQ will serve food, and there will be local vendors and Irish cheer.
It’s free and open to the public and lawn chairs are welcome to the 721 Surry St. site, located at the base of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.
OTHER SATURDAY EVENTS
Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Festival — Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Festival — From noon to 6 p.m., an event taking place at Live Oak Bank Pavilion, 10 Cowan St., will welcome beer, bourbon and barbecue lovers. There will be more than 60 beers and 40 bourbons, with a lot of barbecue, bacon, biscuits and smoked meats served. A souvenir glass is handed over to ticketholders to sip all the bourbon and beer to their heart’s content. Live music is played throughout the day, with games onsite, including Connect Four, giant Jenga and cornhole. This year audiences will be entertained by DJ Anna Lynn Green and the ‘80s tribute band Kids in America. Tickets start at $45 here, with VIP allowed at noon and general admission at 2 p.m.
Scotopia — Mouths of Babe, a local theater company exploring contemporary, engaging narratives on modern social issues, is returning with its annual Scotopia Play Festival on March 14 through 22, at Thalian Hall’s Ruth and Bucky Stein Theater and Jengo’s Playhouse. A variety of plays, workshops, solo performers, and musical performances are on deck. Scoptopia Shorts consist of one-act play, 10-minutes plays, chosen from 400 submissions worldwide. They kick off the festival this weekend, as local Justin Lacy’s music and handmade stop-motion animations open the show on Saturday, March 14 at 7 p.m. Sarus dance festival founder Karola Luttringhaus will showcase “What’s a Woman, Beth?” on Sunday, March 15, 2 p.m., followed by Gary Owens’ award-winning “Iphigenia in Splott” from Raleigh’s Burning Coal Theatre. MoB’s Scotopia aims to highlight fresh voices and seasoned artists to provide “risk-taking theater” that bolsters creativity and prompts audiences to contemplate and foster deeper community connection. All shows this weekend are at Thalian Hall, with tickets and the schedule here.
Swing Dance Social — Cape Fear Swing Dance Society is hosting a social and beginner lesson at the Historic USO, at Orange and Second streets at 6:30 p.m. No partner or experience is needed. After the dance lesson, social dancing will take place, with live music from The Indigo Sea Jazz Band. Tickets are $15.
Wilmington Shamrock Festival — The Bend in Ogden (7227 Market St.) is returning with its annual Shamrock Fest held from noon to 4 p.m. There will be food trucks, craft beers and cocktails and live music from local bands. Plus a vendor market will feature local, small businesses. It’s free to attend, with Masonboro Grille and Grumpy’s Ice Cream also onsite.
Classical Connections feat. Tift Merritt — A well-known North Carolina artist, beloved to Wilmington audiences, will be performing at Wilson Center at 7:30 p.m. Tift Merritt lived in the Port City when she was 19 and began playing gigs locally before releasing seven albums, including “Tambourine” in 2004, nominated for a Grammy and American Music Award. She has returned many times since to small venues and even played Greenfield Lake Amphitheater but this weekend she is taking the stage with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Peter Askim. The concert contains themes of redemption, recovery, and resilience, and will feature the music of Beethoven, Michael R. Dudley, Salina Fisher, and Merritt. The show is hosted as part of WSO’s Classical Connections, which fuses classical music with other genres. Tickets start at $31.
Steve Haydu St. Patrick’s Lo Tide Run — The annual St. Patrick’s Day run in Carolina Beach welcomes hundreds of participants to its 10K and 5K. The crowd decks out in its best green gear and starts and finishes on Cape Fear Boulevard near the Carolina Beach Boardwalk Stage. Awards are given to the top three males and females in various categories, as well as spirit and fundraising awards. Registration is $40 to $45 and all funds raised benefit individuals and families that are struggling due to a cancer diagnosis. Online registration closes 10 minutes before the race begins.
Emily Burdette and the Elements — Local musician Emily Burdette has a new album release taking place Saturday night at Bourgie Nights. Burdette has paired up with the band the Elements for the first time to release her second full-length, “This is Where It Starts.” The Wilmington-based musician has been performing locally over the last decade and formed the Elements with drummer Jason Cecil, electric guitarist Joe Pierce, bass player Chad Smith, and harmony vocalist Jordan Hughes in 2025. Before performing tracks from their release, local band Striking Copper will open the show with rhythm-driving rock. Tickets are $15 here or $21 at the door.
Sunday, March 15
KC and the Sunshine Band
Wilson Center, 703 S. Third St. • Tickets: $60 and up
KC and the Sunshine Band is bringing their signature funky sound to the Wilson Center Sunday.
The American Music Award and Grammy-winning group grooved its way into the cultural sphere nearly 50 years ago when Harry Wayne Casey, a.k.a. KC, developed a unique fusion of R&B and funk, with a hint of a Latin percussion. The group has released multiple hits that have become dancefloor anthems, such as “Get Down Tonight,” “That’s The Way (I Like It),” and “Shake Your Booty.”
In March of 2015, KC and the Sunshine Band released the album “Feeling You! The 60s” in tribute to the era that shaped the band. It includes covers of tracks created by Bob Dylan, Ben E. King, The Righteous Brothers, Aaron Neville, and more.
Tickets to the show start at $60 here.
OTHER SUNDAY EVENT
Pleasure Island Restaurant Week — Kicking off March 14, Pleasure Island Restaurant Week features two dozen eateries and drinkeries on the island, offering specials for one week only. See them all here from restaurants like Michael’s Seafood, The Tropical, Malama Cafe, Ocean Grill and Tiki Bar, K-38 and more. Also, be sure to download the app to participate in the Top Taster Digital Bingo Card; every three check-ins at a participating restaurant lands the diner one entry to win the Top Taster $500 price package.
Oscar’s Watch Party — The 98th annual Academy Awards take place Sunday and the local art house cinema, Jengo’s Playhouse, will be hosting a watch party at 7 p.m. “Marty Supreme,” “F1,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Sinners,” “Bugonia” and more are up for Best Picture, with Jesse Buckley, Rose Byrne and Kate Hudson, as well as Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ethan Hawke, among others in the running for Best Actress and Actor categories. Conan O’Brien will host the event, and music will be performed by Raphael Saadiq and Miles Caton in a “Sinners” tribute, as will “KPop Demon Hunters” trio HUNTR/X. Don your best creative attire and enjoy concessions available for purchase from the Jengo’s bar. Tickets for entry are $10 here.
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