November 6, 2025 • 7 mins
rom Puerto Rico to a Wake County art room, Aurelis Lugo is changing lives. Plus: the holiday tradition returning to downtown Raleigh, and why buildings are glowing green this week. Your daily dose of good news from Wake County with Steve Rhode.
Story Links:
- Raleigh Christmas Parade November 22: https://triangleonthecheap.com/raleigh-christmas-parade/
- Coastal coffee shop expansion to Raleigh: https://www.newsobserver.com/living/food-drink/article312760480.html
- Aurelis Lugo wins Star Among Us Award: https://www.wakeed.org/2025/09/30/wakeed-partnership-announces-2025-recipients-of-its-wake-county/
- Aurelis Lugo's work with students with disabilities: https://www.cbs17.com/community/the-bright-side/wake-county-teacher-wins-unsung-heroes-award-for-showcasing-artwork-of-students-with-disabilities/
- Operation Greenlight for veterans: https://www.wakeweekly.com/news/wake-county-turns-green-to-honor-veterans-and-connect-them-to-local-services-f9666a8c
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I'm Steve Rhode, and you're still not.
But this is good morning, Wake County.
Now downtown Raleigh is about tofill with the smell of hot
chocolate and the sound of tubaswarming up.
There's a coastal coffee shop that's decided the Triangle
needs what they've been brewing right at the beach.
And right now, there's an art teacher in Cary whose students,
(00:25):
kids with severe disabilities, have their work hanging in
galleries. And this week, buildings across
downtown are glowing green for areason you might not expect.
I'm glad you're back with me today.
Oh, stick around. I got your dad joke for you at
the end. It's safe, as always, for the
kiddos and the cars. So here's the thing about the
(00:49):
Raleigh Christmas Parade. It's not just a parade.
Saturday morning, November 22nd at 9:30 downtown becomes this
whole scene. Floats rolling down Fayetteville
St. marching bands from every high school you can think of,
that smell of roasted pecans from the vendors, hot chocolate
(01:10):
steaming in those paper cups, and families 5 deep on the
sidewalk. The route covers 1.4 miles
through the heart of downtown and Shop Local.
Raleigh's sponsoring the whole darn thing this year.
It's one of those mornings whereyou run into people you haven't
seen since last Christmas and your kids wave at every single
(01:33):
float like they know the people on them.
But this is how Raleigh kicks off the holiday season it has
been for years, so you might want to get local and get down
there early. Prime spots on Fayetteville St.
fill up fast. Bring a chair pro tip.
All right, so if you've ever been to the coast and found that
(01:57):
one perfect coffee shop that gets it right, you know the kind
of place where the barista knowsyour order and the vibe just
feels like vacation. Well, good news.
One of those places is expandingto Raleigh right here in Wake
County. The News and Observers has a
popular coastal coffee shop is opening another location here in
(02:20):
the Triangle. No exact address yet, but
they're bringing that beach towncoffee culture inland.
I mean, you know what I mean? I love getting coffee when I'm
at the coast. It's so chill.
Maybe it's because I'm at the coast, I don't know.
But it's always laid back. It's quality beans and maybe
some local pastries. The kind of spot where you
(02:41):
actually want to sit and stay a while.
I'm sure there's going to be Wi-Fi.
And for those of us who can't get to the coast every weekend,
this feels like the coast comingto us.
I'm curious to see where they land.
Oh, and there's a new coffee shop opening in Wake Forest.
(03:01):
It's a summer moon. It was over in Heritage.
Maybe it's going to stay there, but they're opening a bigger
shop right across from Wegmans. There's an Art Room at Herbert
Aikens Rd. Middle School in Cary where
something remarkable happens every day.
Students with severe mobility and cognitive disabilities, kids
(03:24):
that get overlooked a lot, are tearing paper, arranging
patterns, creating art. Their hands move with help from
teachers and volunteers. And Arles Lugo is right there.
She's not seeing limits. She sees what they can do.
She's a visual art specialist who came to Wake County from
(03:45):
Puerto Rico with 16 years of teaching experience behind her.
She didn't have art class growing up.
Art was her way of expressing what words couldn't capture.
And now, wow. Now she's made it her mission to
give every child that same medium of expression.
She started an expedition or otherwise known as an exhibition
(04:10):
called We Can 2. It's showcasing artwork by
students with severe disabilities, first at school,
then at the Fuquay Varina Art Center.
Now it's expanding to include students from multiple Wake
County schools. And it's made possible by a
grant that she won from Voya Financial.
(04:30):
She's the only teacher in North Carolina to receive that Unsung
Heroes award. And last week, she stood on a
stage at the Raleigh Convention Center and received Wake Ed
Partnerships Star Among Us Award, $5000 and recognition as
one of the best educators in Wake County.
(04:53):
She was named Herbert Atkins Rd.Middle 2024 Teacher of the Year,
she got a master's degree, and she's going for her doctorate at
UNC Chapel Hill. But look, here's what matters.
She believes art can build dialogue, equity and hope.
And she's proving it. Students who couldn't express
(05:14):
themselves before are now seeingtheir work displayed in
galleries. And the families come.
The kids see their artwork on the walls.
It makes them proud and their faces when they recognize what
they created. That moment is everything.
This is the kind of teacher who changes lives, not just teaches
(05:35):
art. Change is how students see
themselves. She's been recognized by the
Puerto Rican House of Representatives, she won the NEA
Global Learning Fellowship Award, and she's showing up
every day for kids that others might discard or not believe in.
Look, that's commitment. And that's what 16 years of
(05:56):
dedication looks like. And it's happening right here,
right here in Wake County. You might notice something
different downtown this week. Buildings are glowing green, not
from some environmental woke thing, although you know, that'd
(06:16):
be fine. It's because Wake County's part
of Operation Green Light, a nationwide thing running
November 4th through November 11th.
It's to honor veterans. And we've got over 55,000
veterans living right here in Wake County.
And this is a small way. It is, it's a teeny way, but
(06:38):
it's a way to say thanks and make sure they know about the
local services available to them.
Wake Weekly says it's about visibility, both honoring their
service and connecting them withsupport.
So if you see green lights on buildings downtown this week,
that's why. 55,000 neighbors whoserved, that's worth lighting up
(07:00):
for. All right, That dad joke I
promised you. Oh, it's coming up and it's come
up right now because I was goingto tell you a joke about time
travel, but you didn't like it. You might have to think about
that for a second. You might have to go back and
(07:24):
listen to that again too. All right, I skipped all the
outro fluff because I wanted to make sure that I told you that I
love you. Have a good day.
Bye.
I'm Steve Rhode, and you're still not.
But this is good morning, Wake County.
Now downtown Raleigh is about tofill with the smell of hot
chocolate and the sound of tubaswarming up.
There's a coastal coffee shop that's decided the Triangle
needs what they've been brewing right at the beach.
And right now, there's an art teacher in Cary whose students,
(00:25):
kids with severe disabilities, have their work hanging in
galleries. And this week, buildings across
downtown are glowing green for areason you might not expect.
I'm glad you're back with me today.
Oh, stick around. I got your dad joke for you at
the end. It's safe, as always, for the
kiddos and the cars. So here's the thing about the
(00:49):
Raleigh Christmas Parade. It's not just a parade.
Saturday morning, November 22nd at 9:30 downtown becomes this
whole scene. Floats rolling down Fayetteville
St. marching bands from every high school you can think of,
that smell of roasted pecans from the vendors, hot chocolate
(01:10):
steaming in those paper cups, and families 5 deep on the
sidewalk. The route covers 1.4 miles
through the heart of downtown and Shop Local.
Raleigh's sponsoring the whole darn thing this year.
It's one of those mornings whereyou run into people you haven't
seen since last Christmas and your kids wave at every single
(01:33):
float like they know the people on them.
But this is how Raleigh kicks off the holiday season it has
been for years, so you might want to get local and get down
there early. Prime spots on Fayetteville St.
fill up fast. Bring a chair pro tip.
All right, so if you've ever been to the coast and found that
(01:57):
one perfect coffee shop that gets it right, you know the kind
of place where the barista knowsyour order and the vibe just
feels like vacation. Well, good news.
One of those places is expandingto Raleigh right here in Wake
County. The News and Observers has a
popular coastal coffee shop is opening another location here in
(02:20):
the Triangle. No exact address yet, but
they're bringing that beach towncoffee culture inland.
I mean, you know what I mean? I love getting coffee when I'm
at the coast. It's so chill.
Maybe it's because I'm at the coast, I don't know.
But it's always laid back. It's quality beans and maybe
some local pastries. The kind of spot where you
(02:41):
actually want to sit and stay a while.
I'm sure there's going to be Wi-Fi.
And for those of us who can't get to the coast every weekend,
this feels like the coast comingto us.
I'm curious to see where they land.
Oh, and there's a new coffee shop opening in Wake Forest.
(03:01):
It's a summer moon. It was over in Heritage.
Maybe it's going to stay there, but they're opening a bigger
shop right across from Wegmans. There's an Art Room at Herbert
Aikens Rd. Middle School in Cary where
something remarkable happens every day.
Students with severe mobility and cognitive disabilities, kids
(03:24):
that get overlooked a lot, are tearing paper, arranging
patterns, creating art. Their hands move with help from
teachers and volunteers. And Arles Lugo is right there.
She's not seeing limits. She sees what they can do.
She's a visual art specialist who came to Wake County from
(03:45):
Puerto Rico with 16 years of teaching experience behind her.
She didn't have art class growing up.
Art was her way of expressing what words couldn't capture.
And now, wow. Now she's made it her mission to
give every child that same medium of expression.
She started an expedition or otherwise known as an exhibition
(04:10):
called We Can 2. It's showcasing artwork by
students with severe disabilities, first at school,
then at the Fuquay Varina Art Center.
Now it's expanding to include students from multiple Wake
County schools. And it's made possible by a
grant that she won from Voya Financial.
(04:30):
She's the only teacher in North Carolina to receive that Unsung
Heroes award. And last week, she stood on a
stage at the Raleigh Convention Center and received Wake Ed
Partnerships Star Among Us Award, $5000 and recognition as
one of the best educators in Wake County.
(04:53):
She was named Herbert Atkins Rd.Middle 2024 Teacher of the Year,
she got a master's degree, and she's going for her doctorate at
UNC Chapel Hill. But look, here's what matters.
She believes art can build dialogue, equity and hope.
And she's proving it. Students who couldn't express
(05:14):
themselves before are now seeingtheir work displayed in
galleries. And the families come.
The kids see their artwork on the walls.
It makes them proud and their faces when they recognize what
they created. That moment is everything.
This is the kind of teacher who changes lives, not just teaches
(05:35):
art. Change is how students see
themselves. She's been recognized by the
Puerto Rican House of Representatives, she won the NEA
Global Learning Fellowship Award, and she's showing up
every day for kids that others might discard or not believe in.
Look, that's commitment. And that's what 16 years of
(05:56):
dedication looks like. And it's happening right here,
right here in Wake County. You might notice something
different downtown this week. Buildings are glowing green, not
from some environmental woke thing, although you know, that'd
(06:16):
be fine. It's because Wake County's part
of Operation Green Light, a nationwide thing running
November 4th through November 11th.
It's to honor veterans. And we've got over 55,000
veterans living right here in Wake County.
And this is a small way. It is, it's a teeny way, but
(06:38):
it's a way to say thanks and make sure they know about the
local services available to them.
Wake Weekly says it's about visibility, both honoring their
service and connecting them withsupport.
So if you see green lights on buildings downtown this week,
that's why. 55,000 neighbors whoserved, that's worth lighting up
(07:00):
for. All right, That dad joke I
promised you. Oh, it's coming up and it's come
up right now because I was goingto tell you a joke about time
travel, but you didn't like it. You might have to think about
that for a second. You might have to go back and
(07:24):
listen to that again too. All right, I skipped all the
outro fluff because I wanted to make sure that I told you that I
love you. Have a good day.
Bye.
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