A crowd of local community members and visitors gathered late last month at one of The Carolina Inn’s most recent “Fridays On The Front Porch.” The Jim Hayes Band played a mixture of mellow rock and blues as people congregated around blankets and searched for shady spots to stand.
Hayes said he and his band have been playing at the inn for a few years: “It’s a beautiful place and the location couldn’t be better, right in the heart of everything that’s going on at Chapel Hill.”
Hayes said they were especially honored to be there that evening.
While live music and food trucks can be found at the inn at the end of every week from the beginning of April through the middle of October, this specific Friday marked the official launch date of The Carolina Inn’s new celebratory lager. The beer was made in conjunction with the Carolina Brewery to commemorate the inn’s 100-year anniversary and is aptly named “1924,” after the first year The Carolina Inn was open.
As the sun lowered over the trees, General Manager Mark Sherburne thanked everyone who came out to celebrate.
Local community members and visitors gathered in front of the Carolina Inn to kick off its 100-year celebration.
“This is a kickoff to 100 years,” he said, “so thank you all for being here, happy 100th and cheers to you all for being here.”
Sherburne said he and his team are excited for the next 100 years to come.
“I think by continuing to be a cornerstone of this community, definitely there’s been a lot of events for many generations that have been celebrated here,” said Sherburne. “People have really celebrated some major milestone events at the inn. Not only just weddings and engagements or anniversaries, but just also a good time to come out and enjoy Chapel Hill as a whole. We definitely want to continue with that tradition, but just trying some new things to move forward.”
According to Sherburne, the beer launch was just the first of many events planned to celebrate 100 years.
Director of Sales and Marketing Hedi Werner and Sales Manager Tiffany Jackson from The Carolina Inn joined 97.9 The Hill ahead of the kick-off event to share what else is in store for the coming year.
“In November of 2024, we’re actually going to have a time capsule event,” said Werner. “And then December 2024, being our anniversary month, we are going to put a big party together for the community. So it’s going to be a fun year, a busy year, but a year of celebration.”
“We’re going to have our amazing holiday events like always, like our holiday craft market and beer garden, featuring the centennial larger,” added Jackson, “but we’ll also have our [favorite] programming, like our brunch with Santa and we’re going to have a few new events including a birthday party to help us celebrate, where they’ll get to build their own centennial bear, and we’ll have face painting and cupcakes and just a great way to bring everybody together to celebrate.”
Celebrations for the anniversary will also include activities like Gatsby-inspired parties, 1920’s themed dinners, historical tours and specialty afternoon teas.
While Werner said she can’t wait for the coming year, she also said she is thankful for The Carolina Inn’s longevity.
“I think the thing the team is most excited about is that we made it 100 years,” said Jackson. “You know, we made it through changes in decades, we made it through COVID. And it’s a time that we just really get to celebrate that fact that we get to serve our community. And we are just so grateful to do that. We get to touch people’s lives every day, even if it’s in a small way.”
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