- Details
-
Tuesday, 11 August 2026
-
Written by Tiffany Haywood
Cumberland Cooks transforms a five-minute idea into an immersive family experience filled with New Orleans food, history, music and imagination.
In just five minutes, Je’Lesa Jefferson created a concept that could bring children into the library for a hands-on experience connecting food with culture, history and imagination.
Jefferson, a library associate with Cumberland County Public Library, developed “Beignets on the Bayou” during a youth services training at Headquarters Library. Staff members were challenged to create a program idea in five minutes.
Jefferson’s thought was simple and immediately visual.
“Wouldn’t it be cool to eat the food that we see on the screen?” she recalled.
A self-described “very Disney-coded” person who carries a “The Princess and the Frog” backpack, Jefferson looked to Princess Tiana’s beignets as a familiar entry point for children and families.
“I thought that it would be cute to set up a program and not just talk about Princess Tiana and beignets, but actually talk about the culture behind it in New Orleans,” she said.
The program is part of Cumberland Cooks, an initiative that uses two Charlie Carts shared among all eight Cumberland County Public Library locations. The carts are mobile kitchens that allow branches to offer hands-on cooking instruction.
Participants in “Beignets on the Bayou” will enter a room decorated to resemble a bayou before dividing into smaller groups for hands-on activities. They will prepare bite-sized beignets, listen to jazz, sip “swamp juice” and explore a presentation featuring New Orleans history and culture.
While the beignets bake, children can move through themed activities, including a Jazz Junction station, a frog craft station, trivia and a beignet bakery station. Jefferson also plans to introduce them to early jazz pioneer Charles “Buddy” Bolden and the cornet.
The Disney theme gives children and adults something familiar before leading them into a broader conversation about the people, music and traditions behind the food.
The goal is to let children taste, listen, create and learn their way through the experience.
Wendy Foley, Hope Mills Library associate for youth services, recognized the potential in the idea and encouraged Jefferson to take the lead.
Foley helped define the target audience, work through the budget, determine the necessary supplies, build a timeline and think through the logistics involved in bringing the program together. Her role was to provide structure while leaving room for the idea to grow in Jefferson’s hands.
“She brought all the creativity, and I was just there to help her turn her vision into the program,” Foley said.
“Beignets on the Bayou” is the first program Jefferson has developed, and she said watching it move from idea to execution has shown her what goes into building youth programming from the ground up.
During the process, she was promoted from library technician to library associate and is preparing to join West Regional Library as a youth services associate.
“Seeing the stages from the idea to the execution and everything that goes on within it is pretty great,” Jefferson said.
“Beignets on the Bayou” will take place Monday, Aug. 17, from 3 to 4:15 p.m. at Hope Mills Community Library. The class, designed for 10 children ages 6 to 11 and their parents or guardians, has reached capacity.
Cooking together gives families an opportunity to connect while children practice skills they can carry into adulthood, according to Amanda Dekker, branch manager at Headquarters Library. That shared experience is why parents and guardians participate alongside their children.
Dekker said Cumberland Cooks classes became popular enough at Headquarters Library that staff continued offering monthly cooking programs even when the Charlie Cart rotated to another location.
With grocery prices placing added pressure on household budgets, Cumberland Cooks focuses on recipes that are affordable, quick and approachable. Staff also try to use equipment commonly found in most home kitchens so families do not have to purchase specialty tools to recreate the meals.
Across the Cumberland Cooks program, Dekker said participants have enjoyed the recipes and become more willing to try unfamiliar ingredients. She hopes the broader initiative continues growing until all eight library locations can offer regular cooking classes.
That same mission is reflected in “Beignets on the Bayou,” where the value extends beyond the beignets families will prepare.
“Food can be something more than you just eat,” Foley said. “It can tell a story about the culture and traditions.”
Jefferson hopes families leave with a positive memory, greater curiosity about other cultures and a renewed connection to their local library.
What began as one quick thought has become an experience inviting children to taste, listen, create, learn and return.
To learn more about programs the Cumberland County Library system has to offer, visit https://cumberland.librarycalendar.com/events/upcoming
- Details
-
Tuesday, 11 August 2026
-
Written by Jamie Bishop
There is something fitting about live music beside the Cape Fear River.
As the sun settles over downtown Fayetteville, the rhythm of guitars, drums and familiar songs drifts across the water, creating an atmosphere that feels less like a concert and more like a community gathering. For years, Rock’n on the River has become one of the city’s signature summer traditions, bringing together local musicians, tribute acts and music lovers for evenings that celebrate both the region’s talent and its enduring appreciation for live performance.
The series continues Friday, Aug. 21, at Deep Creek Grill, 1122 Person St., with an evening that pairs two bands separated by style but united by a love of classic music. Harley & Big Country opens at 6 p.m., followed by ZZ Top Notch at 8 p.m., delivering a night that moves from Southern rock and country favorites into the unmistakable sound of one of rock’s most recognizable bands.
For Harley Wright, frontman of Harley & Big Country, the performance is more than another stop on the calendar. It’s a hometown show.
“We’re playing for people we grew up with,” Wright said. “Family, friends, people we went to school with. Being on the river makes it feel like home.”
That connection runs deep.
Four members of Harley & Big Country are graduates of Cape Fear High School, and the band’s roots stretch across East Fayetteville, Beaver Dam and Cedar Creek. While the lineup has changed over the years, its commitment to making music has remained remarkably steady.
The road hasn’t always been easy.
During the past decade, the band lost three members to illness, including founding guitarist Jimmy Salazar and guitarist Ronnie McIntosh. Each loss forced the group to rebuild, but never to quit.
“We’ve taken some hard hits,” Wright reflected. “But music makes people smile. There are songs that make you laugh and songs that make you cry, and we’ve learned to keep playing through both.”
Today’s lineup blends experience with youth, including guitarist Evan Wade, whom Wright describes as “the future of the band.” Together, they perform a mix of Southern rock, country and classic rock, refusing to confine themselves to a single genre.
“We’re just a local band,” Wright said. “We’ve all got jobs and families. This is fun for us. If people leave knowing they had a good time listening to good local music, then we’ve done what we came to do.”
Following Harley & Big Country, the stage belongs to ZZ Top Notch, a tribute band dedicated to preserving the music and spirit of Texas rock legends ZZ Top.
For Chuck Sirko, recreating the band’s sound is about much more than playing familiar songs.
“We grew up on this music,” Sirko said. “Whether people realize it or not, they’ve heard these songs. When you see people tapping their feet and singing along, you know you’re connecting with them.”
That connection extends beyond the music itself.
Sirko sports the signature long beard associated with Billy Gibbons, prompting comparisons long before the tribute band was formed.
“People would walk up and call me Billy Gibbons,” he laughed. “Eventually I figured, if everybody already thinks that, maybe it’s time to get paid for it.”
The band doesn’t simply perform ZZ Top’s catalog, it recreates the experience through costumes, stage choreography and faithful renditions of classics like “La Grange,” “Tush,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs.”
If Sirko had to choose only one favorite?
“It has to be ‘La Grange,’” he said. “We roll right into ‘Tush,’ and that’s the climax of our show. It’s just cool to play.”
Though the members of ZZ Top Notch are veterans of the stage, Sirko says the motivation remains unchanged.
“We want to keep this music alive for people who never had the chance to see ZZ Top perform,” he said. “Getting on stage and playing these songs is an absolute thrill.”
Both musicians also credit Rock’n on the River organizer Greg Adair for creating opportunities that extend beyond a single performance.
Wright praised Adair’s commitment to showcasing hometown musicians, while Sirko thanked him for bringing tribute acts and local artists together on one stage, helping the series grow into one of Fayetteville’s most anticipated summer events.
For audiences, the evening offers more than live entertainment.
It celebrates a community where musicians still know the people standing in front of the stage, where local talent shares the spotlight with legendary music, and where the banks of the Cape Fear River continue to provide one of Fayetteville’s favorite places to gather.
Sometimes, the best concerts aren’t measured by ticket sales or stadium lights.
Sometimes they’re measured by familiar faces, timeless songs and a summer evening spent listening to music by the river. Rock’n On the River is a free event held at Deep Creek Outfitters at 1122 Person St. The concert is free, but parking is $10. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets. Outside coolers are not permitted. For more information, visit the Rock’n On the River Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100049990406810
How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
