It certainly is Spring now; when it’s not raining, it’s wonderful outside. The sun invites you outside to have a few drinks, listen to some music, and light up the grill. Over the weekend, Raleigh worked all three into its first Cuegrass festival: a potent mixture of beers, bluegrass, and barbecue.

Cuegrass Festival Poster

There was a “Pigs on Parade” auction featuring piggy banks styled by local artists. The banks ranged from the cute, to the irreverent, to the detailed, to the disturbing. Proceeds from the auction went to support Feed the Farm a non-profit for helping local NC farmers.

Some local breweriers showed up to support the festival; both Aviator and LoneRider were there in style.

Local bluegrass bands on stage played to a friendly crowd. The Filmore Vally Boys, Town Mountain, and Old Habits got children happily dancing to their music while the parents were drinking the beers and munching some on some of Ed Mitchell’s barbecue.

Cuegrass Festival

Speaking of the barbecue, Ed Mitchell’s restaurant, The Pit, had stands to buy rib racks, pulled pork barbecue sandwiches, and grilled corn on the cob.

I can’t think of a better way to spend a sunny, early-Spring afternoon than a few pints of beer, some good live music and some barbecue fresh from the grill. The first, of hopefully many, Cuegrass Festival was a great success. (See more photos at the Flickr pool.)

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