• Submit your poem here by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, April 16.
• Include a title + author’s name in your submission. Titles are an exception to the rule, and do not need to pull words from the newsletter.
• Poems, excluding title and author’s name, must be 75 words or less.

• While we’ve placed a pretty big limitation on your poem’s words, the form + direction is up to you — and we can’t wait to see what you all come up with.
• The editorial team behind RALtoday will narrow submissions down to a group of finalists based on style, originality, artistic quality, and creativity. Finalists will be announced in our Friday, April 21 newsletter and we’ll ask our readers to vote for their favorite poem. The winner’s poem will be featured in our Wednesday, April 26 newsletter.
• Pro tip: To make the process easier on yourself, we recommend printing out today’s issue, highlighting the words you find most interesting, and crossing them out as you include them in your poem.
• Don’t forget to keep track of your articles (words like “the” or “and”).

• Wellness Wednesdays | Wednesday, Apr. 5 | 6-7 p.m. | Coastal Credit Union Midtown Park, 4011 Cardinal at North Hills St., Raleigh | $5 | Enjoy an outdoor workout session led by Pure Barre.

• ElectroLuminance | Thursday, Apr. 6 | 5:30-9:30 p.m. | Pullen Park, 520 Ashe Ave., Raleigh | $25 | Participate in this dance party experience at the LuminoCity installation — an immersive wonderland of lights.
• Beginner Calligraphy | Thursday, Apr. 6 | 7-8:30 p.m. | State of Beer, 401 Hillsborough St., Raleigh | $70 | Join this pretty lettering workshop to practice with a pointed dip pen and ink; price includes a beginner’s calligraphy kit.
• Cirque Italia Water Circus | Thursday, Apr. 6-Sunday, Apr. 9 | Times vary | International Foods, 3424 Olympia Dr., Raleigh | $10-$50 | Enjoy dazzling performances to this show set in the 1950s featuring a stage that holds 35,000 gallons of water.

• First Friday Market | Friday, Apr. 7 | 5-9 p.m. | Moore Square, 201 S. Blount St., Raleigh | Free | Shop from local makers, listen to live music, and enjoy “The Lego Movie” on the lawn starting at 7:30 p.m.

• Herbarium Workshop | Saturday, Apr. 8 | 10-11 a.m. | Raleigh City Farm, 800 N. Blount St., Raleigh | $10 | Take a walk through the garden and learn the process of arranging pressed flowers and plant materials.
• Parts and Arts: Swap Meet and Vendor Fair | Saturday, Apr. 8 | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | Tobacco Road Harley-Davidson, 1126 S. Saunders St., Raleigh | Free | Shop treasures from 30+ local vendors.
• Spring Fling Dog & Cat Fundraiser | Saturday, Apr. 8 | 12 p.m. | Booth Amphitheatre, 8003 Regency Pkwy., Cary | Free | Join Unleashed for this annual fundraising event featuring a doggie Easter egg hunt, local vendors and rescue groups, adoptable pets, food trucks, and live music.

For good eats

• Another Broken Egg for breakfast
• Bad Daddy Burger Bar for lunch
• The Full Moon Oyster Bar for dinner
• Kilwins Ice Cream or Crumbl Cookies to satisfy that sweet tooth

For everything-in-one-place

For fitness

• Elite Core (a Lagree fitness studio)
• Balance Martial Arts
• Pure Barre
• Stretch Lab
• Orangetheory Fitness

• 87° | Partly cloudy | 10% chance of rain

• Southwest Airlines is bringing back a nonstop flight between RDU and Kansas City in June (hey KCtoday). The previously discontinued flight was one of the airport’s most in-demand routes. Check out more nonstop flights coming soon to RDU. (Triangle Business Journal)

• Moore Square Market extended its vendor application process to be reviewed on an ongoing basis. Local farmers, artists, crafters, and other makers based within 90 miles of downtown Raleigh are eligible. The 2023 season begins Sunday, May 14.

• Join Dram & Draught at its downtown Raleigh or Fenton location on Thursday, April 6 for a spring and summer menu release party. From 4-7 p.m., sip on new drinks like the Blackberry Smoke mezcal cocktail.

• Passover (or Pesach) begins at sundown today, starting with Passover Seder. The feast usually includes matzah, brisket or chicken, and potato kugel. Shop kosher with one of the Chabad Center of Raleigh’s recommendations.

• 100,000. That’s how many guests attended the Dreamville Festival last weekend in Dix Park. This number tops last year’s attendance by nearly 20,000 people. Performers were spotted celebrating a successful festival at local spots like Big Ed’s Restaurant, He’s Not Here in Chapel Hill, and Dave & Buster’s in Cary. (Triangle Business Journal)

• In a new study by The Wall Street Journal, Raleigh ranked No. 5 on the publication’s list of the best job markets in the US. WRAL cites that the City of Oaks’ workforce has increased nearly 4% and technology, leisure, and hospitality jobs are up nearly 9% year over year.

• Do you have flowering crape myrtles on your property? You might not be taking care of them properly. Don’t commit crape murder and learn some pruning tips from The News & Observer.

• Air Experts is offering a Spring AC tune-up through Sunday, April 30 for just $59 per system. Snag the deal to make sure your AC keeps your home cool + comfortable as those Raleigh temps start to rise.*

• Mimosa bar, anyone? Offline is throwing its Raleigh members a garden party at Glasshouse on Sunday, April 16 with a three-course meal, live music, and mimosas in the beer garden. You can still snag an invite — skip the waitlist to become an Offline member with our code “RALTODAY” and watch the special restaurant events roll in.

• Trying to talk someone into an April vacation? Just show them these hotel deals on Expedia. We love: The Islander Resort that’s on a private beach in the Florida Keys.