March 18, 2025. Our first signing event with Sabine at SaBean's Cafe on Hwy. 15-501. 

Janury 15, 2025. After more than a year, the ChapelHill Cartoon Map should be finished this week. Then the printing and distribution begins! 

November 8, 2024

October  28, 2024

October 27, 2024.

Sept. 25, 2024 

August 28, 2024. 

August 27, 2024. 

August 13, 2024. 

July 19, 2024. New location of The Purple Bowl. 

July 17, 2024. The map is headed toward completion some time this summer. I still have a few downtown businesses to contact and there are a few spots on the border open. I'm also talking to people about participation of the hospital and the university. I'll be calling local printers soon about printing 5,000 24x36 posters of the artwork, and the map should be in distribution as the students start showing back up.

The Munson Law Firm on Route 15-501 is the latest addition.

July 7, 2024. 

June 27, 2024. 

THE DUMPSTER

WHERE WE THROW EVERYTHING

WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH

June 13, 2024... Drift Coffee & Kitchen opening on Elliott Road… Hubert Davis' oldest son Elijah may play for the Tar Heels next season...UNC Diamond Heels fighting for College World Series Championship in Omaha, Nebraska... North Estes Drive reopened after two years...Carrboro author Joanna Pearson releases her debut novel  Bright and Tender Dark... Chapel Hill police cracking down on speeding drivers... Two local dynamos planning a Juneteenth luncheon... Are the cicadas gone yet?!... Marley Vogel steering a Uhaul truck from Ithaca, NY to Cambridge, Mass to begin her career...

June 11, 2024. 

THE DUMPSTER

WHERE WE THROW EVERYTHING

WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH

April 26, 2024... Yes, the hummingbirds are back...So are the cicada nymphs... Recent city transplant discovering unexpected green thumb... Pollen-covered cars lining up at Carolina Car Wash... Super-fan showed up a week early for The Nomads' show at Captain John's... Valentina Odon and Carolyn Hickey-Levy sipping dacquiris at Natalie Marrone's art show & food drive...Vickie Boyer celebrated her birthday with Office Hours friends at Panera...Balky fire alarm scrambling the staff at the Top of the Hill... Local philosopher to visit Old Country to find time to think...Local artist Carol McMahon celebrating milestone birthday...

April 17, 2024... Local entrepreneur Tom Faulkner billing himself as the Coffee Cup Cowboy... Gary Giles trying to bring back church lady jokes... Local realtor Natalie Marrone to host an artful food drive on April 20th...New belted calf has joined the Fearrington Village herd... Corbett Storyk talking Yankee baseball on his Orange Hammer podcast...Jackie Vogel planning artistic surprise for daughter Marley's Cornell graduation... Did Scott Simmons pick up any treasures at the Chapel Hill Library Book Sale?!... Chapel Hill Fire Department has two new engines... The cicadas are coming and you'll hear them... chapelhillcartoonmap.com

The map is about two-thirds completed. The next two weeks will be headed toward some sort of deadline. April 16, 2024. 

April 16, 2024. The legendary Chapel Hill band The Nomads is on the map! 

Chapel Hill's historic Flower Ladies. 

THE DUMPSTER

WHERE WE THROW EVERYTHING

WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH

April 11, 2024... Plans for the new Mediterranean Deli progressing smoothly... David Stickel's realistic watercolors a big hit at NC Watercolor Society show at Sancar Turkish Center...Mama Dip's to feature 1976 prices to honor founder Mildred Council's 95th birthday... 97.9 The Hill holding it's annual tee shirt design contest... Flying Pierogi to open in Carrboro... Hummingbird spotting in Chapel Ridge... Total Eclipse spotting at Morehead Planetarium... Chapel Hill's Flower Ladies to make an appearance on the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map... Three members of Panera's Office Hours club discovered they have consecutive birthdays in September...Atlas Hogan named new Director of CH Public Library...

April 9, 2024. Working through the Eclipse on East Franklin Street. 

April 5, 2024. Working on East Franklin Street, including a view of the Total Eclipse from the Morehead Planetarium. 

April 4, 2024. 

March 27, 2024. Moving into town. 

March 25, 2024. Starting work on the East side of town! 

March 21, 2024. The Map is more than half done, with more than 200 hours in the artwork so far!

THE DUMPSTER

WHERE WE THROW EVERYTHING

WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH

March 20, 2024... Jason Torgerson getting ready for the Mebane Dogwood Festival...Jackie Vogel back from Florida Spring Break...Bruce, Tom, and Willie Dee Tucker have cars lined up at their Carolina Car Wash on East Main in Carrboro...3rd Annual Running with the Angels 5K Run on March 23rd … Carrboro Police's Operation Medicine Drop collecting expired medications... Siler City’s Easter Egg Roll-Thru on March 27th... Hope Love leading East Chapel Hill High School's theater program for over two decades... Sharon Anita Hill taking up zip lining... Chapel Hill American Legion Post 6 to host Whole Hog Classic Cookoff April 6th...

March 17, 2024. Happy St. Patrick's Day! Carrboro is coming into view! 

March 14, 2024. Happy Pi Day!

THE DUMPSTER

WHERE WE THROW EVERYTHING

WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH

March 13, 2024... Jack & Pat Evans caught on film at Tarheels basketball game... UNC undergrads showing up on Chapel Hill Cartoon Map... Senior pickle ball players showing some crazy skills at Seymour Center... Chatham County voters getting lost looking for polling places...Looks like another winter of cross-country skis collecting dust... Robert Humphries' Nomads band to rock a St. Patrick's Day party on March 15th at Captain John's Dockside...

March 7, 2024. The historic African American Pine Knolls neighborhood of Chapel Hill.  

THE DUMPSTER

WHERE WE THROW EVERYTHING

WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH

March 6, 2024...PEACH affordable housing construction in Pine Knolls to begin soon... Roller blader doing back flips on Franklin Street... Don Bonin dining al fresco in Fearrington Village...Local executive took timeout from busy schedule for Lo Ya Tenga concert at the Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw...Severe Weather Preparedness Week...Local floral businesses gearing up for prom season...Poplar Street chickens starting to lay more eggs means Spring is on the way...Chatham County Commissioner Katie Kenlan successfully completed UNC's Advanced Leadership Corps (ALC) training program...

March 1, 2024. 

THE DUMPSTER

   WHERE WE THROW ALL THE STUFF      WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH

February 28, 2024...UNC baseball team starting the season 5-0...Early voting is underway for March 5th Super Tuesday primaries...Elmer & Sharon Anita Hill back from their adventure on the high seas...Cornell grad Marley Vogel landed that big job at a Boston hospital...Student voter turnout extremely low in recent student government elections...May be too early to replant that live Christmas tree in the back yard...Local adopted puppy insists on stcking with her given name Paralellogram...UNC students protesting against Starbucks...

THE DUMPSTER

   WHERE WE THROW ALL THE STUFF      WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH

   February 21, 2024...Sabine and her crew at The Purple Bowl in the planning stages of their big move to the Midway...UNC police have a new therapy dog...Laura Lane and Pranabesh Sinha took home top honors in Toastmasters Area 2 Speech Contest... UNC mascot Rameses has been around for 100 years...Victor Ize-Iyamu of Deluxe Dry Cleaners has got to be the hardest working man in the Triangle...UNC's Parker Wolfe set a new school record in the 3,000 meters...Amy Pruitt running a tight NIA meeting at the Town Hall Grill in Southern Village... Local senior pickleball team getting their own tee shirts designed...Chapel Hill Tire counter person Daisy wide awake on Monday morning BC (before coffee)... Mark Prokop looking for his third straight Chapel Hill Business Person of the Year Award...UNC baseball team featuring a lot of big hitters this season...

Chapel Hill Leads Group President Lee Schearer presides ove CHLG Valentines Day Gift Swap.

Twin baby blue Priuses parked on North Merrit Mill Road.

CHAPEL HILL CARTOON MAP

February 18, 2024. Downtown is getting crowded and the art museum is getting its portrait painted. 

February 15, 2024. Hanging out at Panera Bread on West Franklin Street. 

January 29, 2024. Expanding west into Carrboro and northeast to East Rosemary and MLK Boulevard.

January 28, 2024. The Friends of the Downtown are back in town!

January 24, 2024. The Map continues to grow. 

January 12, 2024. The Chapel Hill Cartoon Map has reached East Franklin Street!

January 7, 2024. 

Happy New Year 2024!

December 28, 2023. 

December 25, 2023. Took a Christmas walk around West Franklin/The Midway/ Carrboro, where the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map is really forming into shape.

December 19, 2023. Update on the Midway - Syd's, the Baxter Arcade, and Pho Happiness are now drawn in, along with more dancers, singers and musicians. 

December 16, 2023. I've been working on the artwork for about three months now, and it's about one third finished. It usually takes me that long to complete an entire map. Pho Happiness is the newest business that will be featured on the map. Home - Pho Happiness (phohappinessnc.com) 

December 11, 2023. New characters joining the Map and welcome to our new neighbor Ruby Mae Hubbard, born Dec. 8, 2023!

December 7, 2023. Queen Victoria joins the parade marching down Franklin Street!

December 6, 2023. Party on the Midway! 

Dec. 1, 2023. First Baptist Church on North Roberson Street, Chapel Hill. 

Nov. 30, 2023. Flyleaf books on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard will be on the northern border of the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map! Flyleaf Books | Reading Matters 

Nov. 28, 2023. Comedy Night in Chapel Hill Tickets, Sat, Dec 16, 2023 at 8:00 PM | Eventbrite 

November 19, 2023. Dancin' on the Midway! 

November 16, 2023. Dinosaurs have invaded Chapel Hill!

 November 12, 2023. The Blue Dogwood Public Market is going to be on the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map! Find out more about them here: BLUE DOGWOOD - Market 

Nov. 14, 2023. Some new additions to the map. 

November 4, 2023. Truck repair at Midway.

October 30, 2023. Done Deal: Purple Bowl to Move to 505 W. Franklin Street in 2024 - Chapelboro.com 

October 26, 2023. Roquette at Franklin Motors at the Carrboro border.

October 23, 2023. Cat Tales, Lantern Restaurant, and Heavenly Buffaloes being added to the map.

Oct. 20, 2023. The cats are gathering outside Cat Tales on West Franklin. (Also, look for the Little Mermaid.)

Oct. 8, 2023. A couple of new signs -Vimala's and Saturni - as the West End of the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map starts to take shape.

Oct. 5, 2023. There's a jazz band on the roof of Walt's Grill!

October 2, 2023. Chapel Hill' Black Trailblazers Mural at Walt's Grill on South Merritt Mill Road is on the map!

Sept. 29, 2023. Almost to the end of 'CHAPEL HILL'!

Sept. 28, 2023. It's at the beginning of looking like a Cartoon Map. 

Sept. 25, 2023. It's starting to look like fun!

Sept. 24, 2023. Inking in and coloring the 'CH' and the 'I' in 'CHAPEL HILL'.

Highland Green, Topsham, Maine, 2015.

Sept. 21. Pencil sketches.

Honesdale Ads, Wayne County Fair Poster, 1995

Sept. 20, 2023. The first streets and businesses are penciled in on the board. And off we go! This will take at least a couple of months.

Cape May, New Jersey

Lucy is Lost (Spanish edition) Checkerboard Press, 1991. 

Sept. 16, 2023. Started penciling in the border and the CHAPEL HILL logo. Long way to go. There will be about 35 hand-drawn cartoon business card-size ads around the border of the map.

September 15, 2023. Starting the actual artwork on the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map. The finished map will be 24"x36". There will be about 100 businesses on it. This could take a few months.

Lucy is Lost, Checkerboard Press, 1993

Spider Magazine, 1990.

Daffy Seagulls of Portland, Maine. 

Sept. 8, 2023. Scenes around town: The University United Methodist Church; Even 100 degree temps can't keep the ACLU's Kyle and Cam from their civic duties.

DiMillo's Floating Restaurant, Portland, Maine 2008

Downtown Portland, Maine, 2016

September 4, 2023. Que Chula Craft Tacos & Tequila Bar will be a colorful spot on the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map! Home - Que Chula Tacos 

Historic Jackson Street, Cape May, New Jersey, c. 1997

September 2, 2023. One of the newest businesses in Chapel Hill is The Grounds, a coffee shop, and The Pitch, an event space. Two spaces, one business, located near the corner of West Franklin and North Roberson. Lots of good energy. You'll be hearing from them. Check them out at HOME | The Pitch (thepitchchapelhill.com)  And, of course, they'll be on the Map!

Roving Rosie Reports, Checkerboard Press, 1992

August 30. 2023. Mama Dip's Kitchen is on the Map! Country Kitchen Cooking - Mama Dip's Kitchen (mamadips.com) 

G'Vanni's Restaurant, Portland, Maine, 2001

August 30, 2023. The Queen of Kombucha and the King of Chapel Hill. 

Downtown Portland, Maine, 1999

August 28, 2023. Today, at the corner of Columbia & Franklin,  I met Chris, a street musician who is known in Chapel Hill as the Trumpet Monk. He is an accomplished musician, world traveler, and a monk. You can find out more about him at TrumpetMonk – SoftArt.io 

August 24, 2023. Another historic place on Franklin Street is Blue's BBQ, which is also going to be on the map! %Blues on Franklin barbecue chapel hill nc 

August 24, 2023. The YoPo Yogurt Pump is one of the most popular stops in Chapel Hill. And it's on the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map! Home (yogurtpump.com) 

August 22, 2023. Eat and Drink at The Trophy Room and stay at the Graduate Chapel Hill on West Franklin Street, and on the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map. And they're Pet-Friendly!

August 20, 2023 - Summer in Chapel Hill

August 14, 2023. UNC students will be lining up at RUMORS on North Graham Street to sell tees, buy jeans, and pick up their copies of the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map!

Yarmouth, Maine will celebrate its 175th Anniversary in 2024! Here's a Cartoon Map I drew for their sesquicentennial in 1999. 

August 17, 2023. Today is 'Black Cat Appreciation Day'. 

Oviedo, Florida (1997)

Honesdale (PA) Street Festival (1999)

August 12, 2023. Chapel Hill Toastmaster Lee Folger waxes nostalgic for the landmark Ye Olde Waffle Shoppe, which may no longer be open but may be on the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map. Toastmasters International -Chapel Hill Toastmasters 

August 11, 2023. City Hall, Portland, Maine, 1996. 

August 10, 2023. My first Acai Fruit Bowl at The Purple Bowl on West Franklin Street! The Purple Bowl (purplebowlch.com) 

August 9, 2023. Uh oh. I think I'm in Carrboro. Just over the line. And that's another  Uproar Festival sculpture. They're everywhere! Uproar Festival of Public Art - Home (uproarfestnc.com) 

August 6, 2023. Visiting some of the Uproar Festival art in Downtown Chapel Hill. Uproar Festival of Public Art | Experience Downtown Chapel Hill 

August 7, 2023. Reminds me of "Moonlight Graham" from Field of Dreams.

Title: Fourth of July, near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Rural filling stations become community centers and general loafing grounds. The men in the baseball suits are on a local team which will play a game nearby. They are called the Cedargrove Team

Creator(s): Lange, Dorothea, photographer

Date Created/Published: 1939 July 4.

August 5, 2023. Can't wait to have my first Acai Fruit Bowl at The Purple Bowl on Franklin Street! Of course they're going to be on the Map! The Purple Bowl (purplebowlch.com) 

August 4, 2023. Page from 'Meet the Hoadleys' (1992)

August 3, 2023. Charting businesses along Franklin Street.

August 2, 2023. The latest great Chapel Hill restaurant to join the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map -  Lantern Restaurant | A marriage of Asian flavors and North Carolina ingredients sourced mainly from local farms and fisheries in Chapel Hill, NC  

Coffee By Design, Congress Street, Portland, Maine, 2008

July 30, 2023. Here's a piece of artwork from the Festival of Public Art and a story about a Bike tour of the Uproar Festival of Public Art - Triangle Blog Blog 

July 29, 2023. I always say that when I finish one of these cartoon maps, I know the town better than a lot of the people who live there! Today marked a big step in my Chapel Hill education when I stopped by Julian's, the iconic clothing store on East Franklin Street. The new owner of Julan's is Bart Fox, who is the grandson of founder Maurice Julian, and nephew of well-known fashion designer Alexander Julian, the previous owner of the store.  Bart showed me around the store, including old photos and paintings of various locations the store has occupied since its founding in 1942. He also showed me the store's collection of more than 25,000 fabric samples!  Julian's will be represented on the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map, and may become our Official Haberdasher ! Celebrating 80 Years of Julian’s | Experience Downtown Chapel Hill  Facebook 

July 27, 2023. This would be a good week to stop in and have a cold one at Lapin Bleu on the Midway (N. Graham Street). I was there a few weeks ago for a Cajun dance band and had a blast. It's going to be a regular party place, and it's going to be on the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map too! Facebook 

Congress Square, Portland, Maine

July 25, 2023. So, I did this interview with Corbett Robert Storyk, who does a podcast about the construction business, about which I know practically nothing, but we ended up talking for nearly two hours about everything, including construction, and he even invited me back for another go at it! So, if you've got a couple of hours to kill - or you could break it up into smaller segments - tune in to this. I think it might be pretty entertaining. There were parts of it that even I chuckled at.  0046 Ed King - The Orange Hammer | Podcast on Spotify 

July 23, 2023. Two Men and A Truck will be moving things around on the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map! Movers in Durham, NC | TWO MEN AND A TRUCK 

July 22, 2023. Alumni Hall has jumped on board the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map! We're picking up steam as we roll down the track!   North Carolina Tar Heels | UNC Collegiate Apparel and Accessories | Alumni Hall 

July 21, 2023. Four Corners on East Franklin Street is a great place to watch a soccer match. It's right next to the Courthouse Post Office and it's going to be on the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map! Four Corners - Chapel Hill, NC (fourcornersgrille.com) 

July 20, 2023. Fey and Jewel from the ACLU pose with me and a sample cartoon map at Franklin & Columbia Street in Downtown Chapel Hill. 

Marching Band, Carbondale, Pennsylvania Pioneer Days, 1990.

July 19, 2023. If ever there was a building that cried out to be on a Cartoon Map, it's the one that houses Heavenly Buffaloes on West Franklin Street. Everything about this place  - from the name, to the bright colors, to the funky architecture - says 'fun'! And so it will be. Chapel Hill — Heavenly Buffaloes 

Green Hand Books, Portland, Maine

July 16, 2016.  TRU is a unique deli/beer & wine bar on Henderson Street in Chapel Hill, in a luxurious setting, and they'll soon be on the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map! HOME | trudeli 

July 15, 2023. Classic Carolina is going to be on the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map! And its sandwich board too! Classic Carolina ⚡ (classiccarolinaunc.com) 

Longfellow Square, Portland, Maine. 

July 14, 2023. Did you know that there's a place in Chapel Hill where you can go to just hang out with cats, and even adopt one of them if you want?! (I can't because they make me sneeze, but they're going on the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map anyway!) Cat Tales Cat Cafe 

Latest business to sign up for the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map! Wheat - Chapel Hill, 143 E Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC, Dessert Preparations - MapQuest 

July 8, 2023. Tony B. has signed up the Blue Horn Lounge for the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map!  He also lent me one of the umbrellas that he has inherited  from one of his customers. HOME | My Site (bluehorn.bar) 

July 6, 2023. The newly-restored Chapel Hill Post Office Courthouse cupola is looking good. 

Bryan works for the City maintaining and emptying it's parking meters, and is also a talented artist.

Spending the Fourth of July at SATURNI, which is the newest advertiser on the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map! 

June 24, 2023. Quantum Soul, which is located on the Midway on the western border of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, will be part of the Chapel Hill Cartoon Map. (For more about all the places on the Midway, see here: Welcome to the Midway (visitchapelhill.org)