Note: If you have information on additional sales, let me know in the comments section, and I'll add them to the list.

Once again, it's time for spring consignment sales in the Triangle -- the perfect chance for parents to save money on spring and summer clothing for their kids.

The sales are a great way to make a little money on the clothes your kids have outgrown and then turn around and save again by purchasing the next size up from other Triangle families.

In addition to clothing, many sales also offer toys, books, games, bicycles and baby equipment. Clothing sizes range from newborn to juniors. Some sales also offer maternity clothes.

Most sales offer early shopping days for volunteers and sellers, and many offer discounts in the final days of their sales.

Here's the beginnings of a list of Triangle sales:

Sugarland bakery is celebrating its fifth birthday with a celebrity cupcake bake-off at its Raleigh location in Cameron Village

From 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, the public can watch celebrities paired with the bakery's pastry chefs have to create a cupcake based on a surprise theme. The winner will get $1,000 donated to the charity of their choice. The celebrities include WRAL anchor Debra Morgan, WQDR 94.7 morning deejay Mike Wheless, UNC football coach Larry Fedora and former "The Biggest Loser" competitors Ed Brantley and Heba Salama.

The event will kick off a month-long celebration featuring specials at the bakery's locations in Chapel Hill and Raleigh.

Plus, the bakery is sponsoring a month-long competition among local charities to win $500. Each charity will have an unique hash tag during March for their supporters to use on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook when sharing a photo of themselves at Sugarland with a sweet treat. The organization with the most posts that both tag Sugarland (@sugarlandnc) and include their organization's given hash tag will win.

To register a charity for the March competition, please contact Hannah Walker at hannah@sugarlandchapelhill.com.

For information about the bakery, go to sugarlandchapelhill.com.

Want to start a business this year? Move to Raleigh.

The National Federation of Independent Business named its five best places to start a business in 2013 on Thursday, and the City of Oaks is second on the list.

According to a NFIB press release, "Raleigh attracts companies transferring from more expensive locales. Not only was it ranked the top city for business and careers by Forbes, thanks to being the fastest growing job market in the U.S.; it's also the country's fastest growing city, according to the U.S. Census Bureau."

Here are the NFIB's top five:
1. Silicon Valley
2. Raleigh
3. Madison, Wisc.
4. Austin, Tex.
5. Boulder, Colo.

Read the complete report here.

Hundreds of Raleigh residents and fans of the city have sent Twitter posts to actor Zach Galifianakis in the past day or so.

The tweets direct the former N.C. State University student and "Hangover" star to the Raleigh Economic Development website, where the city's boosters have a simple favor to ask: Make a sign with a "saying of your choice as to why you think Raleigh is the place to be" and pose with it in a photo.

Economic Development director James Sauls wants to bring some star power to the city's booth at the South by Southwest Conference next month in Austin. He'd like to have a life-size cutout of the actor holding the sign.

Former NFL players and Raleigh residents Terrence and Torry Holt are already on board with the project, offering Galifianakis a signed football if he participates.

Meanwhile, the Twitter trend continues to build under the hashtag #zachraleigh, with each post offering a unique plea to the actor.

The best one I've seen so far came from Raleigh City Councilman Russ Stephenson:

"Zack @Galifianakisz You served me @ Amedeos & I served you @ Sadlacks. Now lets serve #Raleigh"

Here's the link to the Raleigh Economic Development page explaining the request: http://www.raleigh4u.com/connect/zach-galifianakis.

In this week's Pintful beer column, I take a look at Lonerider Brewing's new branding and the strategy behind the four-year-old company's new look.

The new packaging and labels – debuting on shelves in March – pop with bright, primary colors that correlate to the beer style and gritty Western characters that embody the brewery’s brand. “We wanted to make sure it was bold and graphic enough, colorful enough, to stand out and get the attention of somebody who might like it,” said Sumit Vohra, the CEO for the Raleigh Brewery.

A sneak peek of the new labels is to the right. The Western characters on the original glossy labels for Lonerider’s three trademark beers – Sweet Josie Brown Ale, Shotgun Betty Hefeweizen and Peacemaker Pale Ale – were drawn by three different illustrators and set against muted colors.

To make the new look, Vohra hired Clean Design, a Raleigh brand-marketing and design firm. Designer Jon Parker used an eye-catching wow-factor in the color scheme and illustrator Jeff Winstead upgraded the namesake characters to add a little more verve.

For instance, Shotgun Betty appears with a little more cowboy sex appeal and attitude on a bright yellow label that roughly matches the wheat beer’s color. (Matching coaster: “No, it doesn’t come with a piece of fruit” – a riff on other wheat beers like Blue Moon.)

“Even though we were making some pretty big changes graphically, the characters are still who they are,” said Scott Scaggs, Clean Design’s creative director. “It wasn’t a recasting of these characters.”

Read the full column here.

Trophy Brewing -- Raleigh's newest craft brewery -- is opening to the public for the first time Wednesday evening with six different beer offerings (see list below).

The beer starts flowing at 6 p.m. with pints available on draft as well as growler fills, said owner Chris Powers, who along with David Lockwood operates Busy Bee bar and restaurant downtown.

Click below for the beer lineup for Wednesday's opening.

This is a post by N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox:

Justin Chen, a newcomer to the Triangle but a veteran restaurateur, has opened Chopstix (5607 Creedmoor Road; 919-7781-6268) at Creedmoor Crossing, in the space long occupied by Jin Yuan (and more recently, Rose Garden Asian Bistro).

A native of China's Fujian Province, Chen comes to Raleigh by way of Ocean City, Maryland, where he still owns Blue Fish Japanese restaurant. The broader Asian concept (not to mention the name) for his new restaurant is inspired by Chopstix restaurants belonging to a friend in Maryland. The restaurant is not affiliated with the Chopstix in Durham.

The bulk of the extensive menu is devoted to the reigning champs of Asian cuisine in terms of popularity: sushi and Chinese-American fare. The offering also includes a handful of tempura, hibachi, teriyaki and Japanese noodle dishes, as well as a token nod to Thai cuisine.

Chopstix is open for lunch and dinner daily. The restaurant doesn't have a website yet, but you can pick up a takeout menu that includes a couple of coupons for free sushi rolls. It is not affiliated with the Chopstix in Durham.

The restaurant does have a Facebook page.

Send restaurant news to Greg at ggcox@bellsouth.net. Be sure to tune in to Greg's radio show at 11 a.m. Saturdays on WPTF.

The James Beard Foundation's list of restaurant and chef award semifinalists was just released and there was a strong showing from the Triangle and the entire state.

• Durham's Mateo Tapas is a semifinalist for Best New Restaurant.
• Phoebe Lawless of Scratch Bakery in Durham is a semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef.
• Lantern Restaurant in Chapel Hill is a semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant. (Owner and chef Andrea Reusing won a James Beard award for Best Chef Southeast in 2011.)
• Angus Barn in Raleigh is a semifinalist for Outstanding Wine Program.
• Sean Lilly Wilson of Durham's Fullsteam brewery and Eric Solomon of European Cellars in Charlotte are semifinalists for outstanding wine, spirits or beer professional.
• Katie Button of Curate in Asheville is a semifinalist for Rising Star Chef of the Year.
• The semifinalists for Best Chef Southeast are Ashley Christensen of Raleigh's Poole's Diner among other restaurants; Scott Crawford of Herons at the Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary; Vivian Howard of Chef & the Farmer in Kinston; Scott Howell of Nana's in Durham, Elliot Moss of The Admiral in Asheville; and Aaron Vandemark of Panciuto in Hillsborough.

To see the list of all the semifinalist nominees, go to jamesbeard.org/awards

The semifinalist nominees will be narrowed to finalists and those will be announced March 18 at a press conference in Charleston, S.C. The winner will be announced May 6 at a gala reception in New York City.

This how the awards work: The foundation puts out a call for nominations in the fall and this year more than 44,000 entries were received. A committee narrows the entrees to a list of semifinalists in each category. Then more than 600 judges across the country -- regional restaurant critics, food and wine editors, culinary educators and past James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Award winners -- vote for the five finalists and then choose a winner in each category.

The James Beard Foundation is a nonprofit that recognizes excellence in the culinary field from chefs and restaurants to journalists and cookbook authors. James Beard was a television personality and food writer who championed regional American cuisine. The foundation was created by his friends after his death in 1985.

Good news, Raleigh residents and small businesses — the City of Raleigh's yard waste recycling center is now accepting rigid plastics.

Carolina Ale House, the Raleigh-based popular sports bar chain, plans to open seven more locations within the next 18 months, including one on Glenwood South in early 2014.

The company owned by successful restaurateur Lou Moshakos already has 20 locations from North Carolina to south Florida. This expansion includes the company's first ventures into Texas and Tennessee.

A press release sent out today announced the upcoming locations:

• Concord, 8695 Concord Mills Blvd – July 2013
• Winston-Salem, Haynes Mall – Aug 2013
• Killeen, TX – August 2013
• Downtown Charleston, S.C., corner of King St. & Calhoun St. - October 2013
• Downtown Raleigh, NC, 500 Glenwood South – early 2014
• Knoxville, TN – early 2014
• Summerville, SC – early 2014