Legends Pub is a special place. If you’ve ever been there, you know that walking through the door is like coming to the very best kind of family reunion. The laughter, the camaraderie, the feeling of acceptance … these are the elements that keep people coming back. 

Within the walls of Legends is an even more tight-knit group: The Gypsy Women. Through deployments, divorce, tragedy, illness as well as graduations, weddings, babies  and everything else life has thrown at them, the Gypsy Women have stood together, looking out for each other and for those around them. 

They’ve shared life’s joys and tragedies — together. It was in this spirit of sisterhood that the first Spring Fling was born 21 years ago. Every year since then, Legends Pub Owner Holly Whitley and the Gypsy Women have hosted the Spring Fling. It’s a time for fun, food, games, motorcycles and more. 

But it is also a time for helping others. In the event’s history, it has raised tens of thousands of dollars and helped individuals and organizations alike. This year, the event falls on June 9-11. Proceeds benefit the North Carolina State Veterans Home.

Kick off the weekend on Friday, June 9, with pool, music and fun at Legends Pub. 

Saturday, June 10, is the Scott Sather Memorial Run. The first bike goes out at noon. Sather was a regular at Legends. He was assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, an elite Air Force operations unit assigned to the Joint Special Operations Command at Pope Army Air Field. Sather was killed in Iraq on April 8, 2003. 

“He was one of our dearest friends and a loyal customer,” said Whitley. “Scott supported everything we did and was always there when we needed help with something. Losing him was a real blow for us. He touched so many lives.” The Scott Sather Memorial Run is a part of the Spring Fling every year.

 “He was the first airman killed in Iraq,” Whitley added. “It took over 11 years to get his memorial into Freedom Memorial Park. The monument well describes who Scott was.”

Sunday, June 11 is the bike show and rodeo. Whiltley said this is a fun way to end the weekend, relaxing with friends.

In addition to donating proceeds to the NC Veterans Home, one of the ways Whitley aims to help the NC Veterans Home is by providing toiletries and other necessities. Like everything Whitley does, it’s going to be fun. “We are filling brown paper bags with things like toothpaste, shampoo and body wash. 

“We are going to ‘sell’ the bags at the Spring Fling so people can ‘adopt’ a veteran when they purchase the bags. They can write a personal note on the bags and really make a veteran feel special and let them know they care,” Whitley explained. Legends will donate them to the NC Veterans Home. She added that Legends will also accept donations for the home to include things like packages of new socks, sweaters and sweat pants.

Legends Pub is filled with both active duty service members and veterans on any given night, and the choice to support those who served seemed natural, Whitley said. 

So many of the Legends family, several of them service members and veterans, have ended up on “the wall” at the back of the bar. This wall is adorned with photographs and memoriabilia honoring those lost to war, to illness, to accidents or to unfortunate circumstances. And in true Legends style, the wall is a place in the bar where memories are recounted and adventures and hijinx relived.

Located on Cochran Avenue, the N.C. State Veterans home is certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and works in conjunction with the Department of Veterans Services to provide comprehensive 24-hour care to aged and infirm veterans. 

The NC Veterans Home provides services that include dietetic programming; hospice; I.V. therapy; laundry; medication management; memory support unit; occupational therapy; oxygen therapy; pain management; pharmacy; physical therapy; recreational activities; religious services; short-term rehabilitation; speech therapy; tracheotomy; volunteer services; and wound care management.

Come out to the Legends Pub Annual Spring Fling to honor and to celebrate those with us and those passed with a crowd that’s sure to make you feel at home. Call Legends at (910) 867-2364 for more information.