I know we haven’t even made it through this weekend yet, but I’m just putting this out there in case you have to get your affairs in order. Next weekend (May 12th) is a big one. The North Carolina Brewers and Music Festival, Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Festival and Rock at the Dock V are all happening on the same day. Today a Groupon offer has come out to make one of those choices slightly more tempting…

If beer is more your focus, the North Carolina Brewers and Music Festival in Huntersville might just be more your scene. It’s not that the other to events won’t have it, but they are more focused on other aspects: bourbon and BBQ (natch) for the Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Festival in South Park and believe it or not, MMA at Rock at the Dock V by Lake Norman.

For the evening portion of the Brewers and Music Festival (the beer samplings end earlier in the day), a reduced admission offer is available now for both adults and children. There will still be beer on hand, but not as many choices (nor free) as earlier. This way you can make your way around the various offerings and then have the significant other and the kids meet you out for some music as the sun goes down.

It’s okay for the kids to see you drunk as long as they don’t know how you got that way, right?

North Carolina Brewers and Music Festival deal on Groupon

Let’s assume for a minute that there is a part of you that somehow wants to care about either one of the professional sports teams in Charlotte. We’ll set aside the fact that our football team was the worst team in the league with only two wins two years ago before marginally improving to a six-win team last year. And I suppose we might somehow overlook the fact that our basketball team is officially the worst team in the history of the known universe. If I said today is a big day, would you believe me?For the pessimists out there, today is the day to end the pain. Tonight is the Charlotte Bobcats’ last game in a season that has raised the bar by lowering it to new depths. Currently staring at a record of 7-58, and facing a playoff-bound New York Knicks team, its safe to say that we are probably looking at another six months before the Cats might see another check mark in the ‘W’ column. Tonight is your chance to say farewell. Next year can only be an improvement. (Right?)

For those with less than apocalyptic views on local sports, you get the chance to stoke the fires of optimism by making your way to Bank of America Stadium and witnessing the genesis of the next NFL season (or at least the full-throated media coverage of the next season). The NFL Draft is tonight and the Panthers are throwing a draft party. With the 9th pick, all signs point to picking up someone to help shore up a porous defense. But that doesn’t make for much excitement from a draft perspective, so there will be plenty more to do including locker room tours, autograph signing, a mini combine for the kids and live music by the Voltage Brothers and Parmalee.

So if it’s sports you want, you have either a retirement party or a pep rally. Two choices to suit whatever your disposition may be.

I can’t even count how many deal sites there are out there these days. Of course there’s Groupon and Living Social, but there are easily 100+ other multi-city and regional sites looking to pair local businesses with new customers.

It must be at least somewhat of a worthwhile effort, because Google has even thrown its hat in the ring, hoping to leverage its size and reach to provide greater deals for those looking for a bargain. Having launched in Portland in June of 2011, Google Offers has now been rolled out to 38 cities with Charlotte being one of the latest locales added.

When you join, Google gets all up in your bizness (natch) and asks you to show the general areas where you live, work and play. The presumption is that it takes this info, along with a listing of services that you like/dislike, and presents data tailored to the areas of town you frequent. In truth, Google is probably just building a heat map of population density to prioritize its military offensive. They’ll catch you off-guard while you’re stuffing your face with a cheesesteak.

Today’s deal: half off on a beer-tasting at The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery.

The folks behind Mortimer’s in the Epicenter are close to opening their newest restaurant, Leroy Fox. Much like what Mortimer’s did when they introduced a menu change, Leroy Fox has been hosting preview nights to allow friends, family and others in the neighborhood to get a sampling of what the menu has to offer. Last night’s sampling featured wings of various flavors (my favorite being the honey habanero wings), artichoke fries and steak nachos, as well as a number of other items. We also heard that that we can expect other southern staples such as shrimp and grits.

Leroy Fox opens on January 12th in Cotswald. Swing by their Facebook page for more info leading up to the opening.

As part of a Boys’ Night Out, me and The Boy headed stopped by Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find in Elizabeth. It had been years since I had been to a comic book shop. When I was younger I amassed a collection of Avengers, X-Men, Spider Man and a host of other titles that still sit in a chest in my bonus room today. I’ve picked up a few trades from time to time since, but I haven’t been a regular comic collector in years. Still, I have a lot of fond memories of looking forward to each pending issue of a title that had completely captured my attentions and look forward to passing that down to my own kids.

Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find is on E. 7th Street across the street from Showmars. The store is one of the largest that I had ever been in. Immediately to the right inside the door is a section of comics for kids of all ages. I set The Boy in front of the shelves in this section for him to peruse the likes of Spider Ham, Archie and Super Dinosaur. I then set out to see what the rest of the store had to offer.

Heading deeper into the store, it was really quite simple to make my way around- to the left were the comics and on the right the graphic novels. The selection appeared to be fairly extensive. I had no idea the number of titles currently being published, but a quick glance at the wall running the length of the store and it was readily apparent how long I had been away from (and how clueless I had become of) the comics industry.

In the middle of the store, towards the back, were the older comics. I immediately thought of my own collection and was tempted to ask the clerk on hand about the potential of bringing them in for sale. Another customer beat me to it and I overheard as the clerk stated that they were not big on buying individual issues. It’s just as well, as I’d probably get a bigger kick out of passing them down to The Boy.

The store happens to be the coordinator of Charlotte’s largest comic book convention, HeroesCon. This year it will be June 22-24 at the Charlotte Convention Center and will be celebrating its 30th anniversary.

It’s New Year’s Eve, which for most of you ne’er do wells means booze and fireworks (a truly stellar combination). If you haven’t procured your libations yet and don’t quite know what you’re going to want for the run-up to the midnight hour, keep your options open and make a stop a Frugal MacDoogal’s just off I-77 next to Carrowinds.

Choice is the least of your concern when you step into this bifurcated warehouse with the drunkardly Scot on the wall, and the choices begin as soon as you walk through the front doors. The building is split in order to provide both beer and spirits (certainly due to some ridiculous state regulation). The right side holds the beer and wine. Selections are laid out largely based on country of origin, and the cooler in the back holds the more common beer selection for those of you who have a hard time straying from the Bud Light you’ve been drinking since college.

And then there are the kegs. I’m not sure of too many other places in Charlotte with as many options presented here.

The other side of the fence holds just about every spirit and cordial you can think of. Scotch, whiskey, tequila, vodka…it’s all here. And looking at all of the choices will make you realize you have absolutely no knowledge of 90% of what is in here.

No matter which side of the aisle you are on, bring cash. With the credit card companies charging a percentage of the sales they process, it’s a wonder that more business don’t just pass that fee on to the customer (I suppose they do in other ways). Frugal’s let’s you know what’s up right up front. If you want to use your card, you have to pay a premium. It’s not so much worth fretting over, but a penny saved is a penny earned. Or so I’ve been told. I’ve probably lost more money in dropped pennies while taking my change at the drive-thru.

The Bobcats hosted the Milwaukee Bucks for their 2011-2012 season opener. It turned out to be a nail-biter as they went from a 13-point deficit to a ten point lead, only to find themselves trading the lead for the last minute-and-a-half. Eventually they would pull it out in a 95-96 win.

While it wasn’t a sold-out night, plenty of fans did make it a point to catch the first game of the season. And you can count a number of Panthers among them, including Jon Beason, Charles Godfrey and Cam Newton. It wasn’t just local sports personalities, either. The confusion was palpable in the air when Derek Jeter showed up on the big screen, watching safely from the club seats. It was almost as if the whole arena had a thought bubble form overhead saying, “What is he doing here?”

So the ‘Cats are undefeated. Who knows for how long as they face Lebron, D-Wade and the Heat on Wednesday and the Orlando Magic on Friday.

At least they are home games.

A few months back, Chow Down Uptown events started popping up on a regular basis. The food truck meet-up was originally set up across the street from Seventh Street Station and has since been relocated to the NC Music Factory.

The addition of the food truck event has been good news for the QC, and as always, good news spreads. This Wednesday, Chow Down is in South End to provide tasty noms for those in the area:

8 trucks have committed for Wednesday: Napolitano’s, Maki Taco, Roaming Fork, Herband Legend, Outdoor Feasts, Goody Woodys (Charlotte’s newest food truck), Cupcake Delirium and Tasty Yo.

Kinda wish it was on Tuesday when Atherton Market would be open, but that would probably be a logistical nightmare. No matter, it’ll still be a good spot to hit up. Oh, and a little advice – Roaming Fork’s blackened fish tacos are insane!

The NBA lockout is finally over and the season is about to begin. There’s no telling what impact it has had on the relationship between players and owners, but I have a hard time believing anyone associated with the league doesn’t recognizing that its relationship with fans took a big hit.

Michael Jordan certainly appears to believe so. In a recent letter to fans, he has outlined some of the initial measures the team is taking to make up for the inconvenience the 2011-2012 season has become:

As a thank you for your support, we have a number of fan appreciation events that will be taking place. It all starts on December 17th when you can get your first look at our team during a free scrimmage at Time Warner Cable Arena. Then at our preseason game on December 19th against the Atlanta Hawks, all kids 14 and under can attend for free. Opening night is always a special game and on December 26th we would like to offer 50% off concessions for everyone in attendance. As another thank you, for our first 3 games in January, every ticket in the upper level will be only $5.

Meh. As a season ticket holder there is very little I find enticing about what is being offered so far. Except maybe the concessions bit. Finally the beers will be priced at what they’re worth!