The film starts off with one of the most artistically challenging Pixar shorts to date, Night and Day. The idea is that the anthropomorphized “Day” meets the anthropomorphized “Night” and beautifully scored brilliantly animated hijinks ensue. With that taken care of, feel free to skip the next four paragraphs, since I am about to indulge in a rant.

I don’t know how to react to Toy Story 3 (103 minutes) with the childlike wonder that everyone else in America seems to reserve for movies that remind them of lollipops and teddy bears. Ok, the second and third films in the trilogy worked on adding some adventurous and determined female characters (even while subtly undercutting their agency by pairing them with romantic interests). Progress, not perfection, I suppose.

However, while everyone else is worshipping at the altar of Pixar, I am wondering why all the characters are white. I also can’t help but wonder why the toys all paid so much hostile attention to the Ken doll (Michael Keaton). It is repeatedly emphasized in the film that as a girl’s toy the Ken doll possesses many feminine qualities. Not only are these qualities emphasized and mocked, Ken is never shown affirming his right to behave as he wants. In fact, his behavior (enjoying clothes, being romantic, writing in the color purple) is played for laughs throughout the film, the implication being that since he is a so-called girl’s toy he is not “masculine” enough. This begs the question; do presumably neutered toys care about your gender?

But the most egregious –ism is in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene towards the end of the film. It happened so quick I can’t be sure I heard what I think I heard and a number of web searches failed to turn up any solid evidence. Never one for spreading rumors, I want to throw this out to see if anyone else noticed: a toy refers to the character of Big Baby as “mongo.”

It is one thing for a movie like Shrek to use the term when referring to the giant gingerbread man. Not okay, but contextualized as part of a film in which boundary pushing was the name of the game. On the other hand, in a film such as Toy Story 3 rated G and marketed to children should the slur “mongo” be an acceptable way for one toy to refer to another? But this might be a tempest in a teapot. I heard the word, but I haven’t been able to get independent verification. End rant.

All possible racism, sexism, heterosexism and other forms of prejudice aside, on the surface Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and the gang are in fine form. Andy (John Morris) is packing for college and clearing out his room. Inevitably he is forced to decide what to do with his beloved toys. After a mix-up his toys end up at Sunnyside Day Care under the seemingly benign Lotso (Ned Beatty). Life for the toys heads rapidly downhill as they discover the TERRIBLE SECRET haunting the seeming paradise of endlessly rotating children to play with. Of course, the whole plot is a kind of tribute to Orwell’s famous Animal Farm, where all toys are created equal but some toys are more equal than others.

Honestly, 90 percent of viewers can just go to the theater with their kids and enjoy a nice afternoon without worrying about all the subtext. But for those of you bored with a conventional understanding, feel free to take your sociology textbooks along.

For the second time in the last five years, the Fayetteville SwampDogs will play host to the nation’s collegiate baseball team, Team USA. On July 13 at “The Swamp,” fans will have the chance to watch their beloved SwampDogs in action against the premier collegiate players in the nation. The Fayetteville-Team USA contest will be presented by Family Foods Taco Bell and first pitch is at 7:05 for what guarantees to be an exciting night of baseball.

“The SwampDogs have always been great hosts for our National teams and our International opponents,” said Team USA General Manager Eric Campbell. “We are excited about coming back to Fayetteville, as we know there will be a good buzz in the stadium and, as always, a competitive opponent on the field. Fayetteville is a good baseball town with passionate, supportive and educated fans.”

The talent that has donned the red and white USA jerseys over the years has been impressive. Among the current Major Leaguers that played for the Team USA collegiate team are Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard, New York Yankee Mark Teixeira, Colorado Rockies veteran Todd Helton and Washington Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg played for the Team USA Collegiate team in 2008, along with Mike Leake, who currently pitches for the Cincinnati Reds. USA Baseball had 195 of their former players on MLB Opening Day rosters in 2010.

USA Baseball invited 38 college players to the 2010 USA Baseball Collegiate national team trials, which are being held right now. A selection committee is formed to select players for the trials. The 2010 USA Baseball Collegiate national team manager, Bill Kinneberg (Utah), and his three coaches, Dave Serrano (Cal-State Fullerton), Ed Blankmeyer (St. John’s) and Nino Giarratano (San Francisco) along with a former athlete from the national team program form the committee. The list of roster-invitees for Team USA in 2010 includes players from college baseball powerhouses South Carolina, Clemson, TCU, UCLA, Cal-State Fullerton, LSU and Rice.

The SwampDogs are one of two Coastal Plain League teams that will square off against Team USA. On July 12, Team USA will be taking on the Gastonia Grizzlies in Gastonia, N.C., at Sims Legion Park. Team USA’s stop in Fayetteville on July 13 is game two on their schedule leading up to the World Baseball Championships on July 30.

“We are extremely excited about this great opportunity,” said SwampDogs head coach/Director of Operations Darrell Handelsman. “Our players get to take on the best in the nation at the collegiate level and our fans get to see future major leaguers in action. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

The matchup will mark the second time in the last five years the two teams have played each other. The SwampDogs also took on Team Japan three years ago.

For tickets, call the SwampDogs front office at (910) 426-5900.

As a teenager with absolutely no musical ability (seriously, the only thing I play is my ipod), I’ll be the first to say that young performersare pretty cool. And I don’t mean school band/orchestra performers (though they deserve their due) I mean kids out there doing their own music and with no grades involved — they do it for the love of music. There are plenty of teens like this out there, but very few are fortunate enough to be able to really pursue their dream, so having both the love and the opportunity is amazing.

Lakota John is one such lucky kid. He started performing at a mere eight years old on the harmonica, his mother Tonia Locklear explained. Then when he was 10 he played the acoustic bottleneck slide. He is now 13 and plays the blues — and is pretty darn successful at it too.

“I just listened to my dad’s music growing up, and I just started playing at places like at church — and I just like the blues.” Lakota John explained.

The teenage years are all about learning. Learning how to deal with society, your place within, and how to be a grown up, but fun should never be far behind because until you turn like 30, depending on the person, you’re still a kid whether the law agrees or not. In what I consider to be the true teenage spirit Lakota John simply said, “I just like getting up and playing the blues on stage, and I like entertaining the crowd.”

Well Bravo! I say. Music played for the sake of music is the best of all!

Lakota John is pretty well known, and to some is considered a blues prodigy, but he owes part of his success to Claudia Schwartz who often invites him to play with her band Blues Enigma. Some credit is also due to Professor Mario Paparozzi who got him his first large show in Wilmington and taught him his first three chords. Also George Johnson who has been very supportive in welcoming him into the musical community, and introducing him to Schwartz and other artists, should be acknowledged and all should be given credit where credit is due.

When asked what his favorite part of performing was Lakota John again answered simply and truthfully, “Just getting gigs and stuff.”

Lakota John cites several different artists for inspiration such as Jimmy Hendrix, Duane Allman and several other notable musicians, but he doesn’t want to BE a musician. He wants to be an architect who performs music on the side.

Being thirteen and a performer is impressive, and doing it just for the love of music is even more so, but having that chance to share it with other people who appreciate your work is extraordinary!

(PHOTO) Local teen Lakota John loves to jam and play the blues.

As a child of the the 90s I missed out on the whole 80s scene, but I love music as much as anyone, and the 80s has some of my favorites. I can honestly say I have never worn parachute pants or leg warmers, and I’m not really sure why Members Only jackets were widely available or why gloves were fi ngerless (doesn’t that defeat the purpose?) — but I acknowledge that some of today’s trends are equally as questionable. Music however, transcends the decades.

That is why I think Suicide Blonde, which is an 80s cover band based out of Raleigh, is not just for the nostalgic, but for anyone who likes music. They relive the 80s by performing notable songs from universally known bands such as AC/ DC, Def Leppard and Men With Out Hats. It’s like watching Vh1’s Best of the 80s live!

The band consists of fi ve members. There is Dave Adams the front man and a keyboardist; Dustis Askew the guitarist; Lane Moss, the drummer; Warren Sumner the bassist; and keyboardist Greg Uselman, who is also the newest member. Each of the musicians has a unique background in music, but they are united with their intense love of music, and specifi cally the 80s era.

“Suicide Blond can help bring back memories of movies like Pretty in Pink and St. Elmo’s Fire, what it was like to wear a mullet, hop in the Trans-AM and drive to the blaring sounds of AC-DC, INXS, David Bowie or The Cure,” says Meredith Stiehl, the president of the Fayetteville Museum of Art, which sponsors the event.

For those who have never been to a Fayetteville After Five, Stiehl says that there are a few things that you should know. First, to get in is free, but you might want to consider bringing some extra pocket change for beverages and snacks, and bring a chair or a blanket to comfortably sit back relax, and “take in the free entertainment.”

Each Fayetteville After Five is different because of the bands, but Stiehl says it is, “always family friendly with plenty of room to lay out, throw a frisbee or for the kids to run around.”

This month, July 15 is the big day for Fayetteville After Five, as part of the free concert series presented by the Fayetteville Museum of Art. The event will be held in Festival Park, at the corner of Ray Avenue and Rowan Street. The gates open at 5 p.m. and the performances start between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Suicide Blond will start between 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. So at about fi ve, “head down to the park and forget the work day,” advises Stiehl.

The event ends at 10 p.m., and as a reminder — no outside beverages, food or dogs are allowed in the park, but don’t worry, you won’t go hungry as there will be vendors present.

It’s Vegas, baby! I recently went on a fact finding trip not sponsored by the U.S. State Department to fi nd facts in Las Vegas. I didn’t fi nd any facts but I did manage to learn some stuff. For instance, there is not a lot of difference between a dry heat in Vegas at 106 degrees and a wet heat in North Carolina at 117 degrees on the old heat index. Both are reasonably miserable. An acetylene torch is also a dry heat.

The trip out was fun. Our plane was diverted from Dallas due to thunderstorms. We got to land to refuel in wonderful Waco, Texas. Waco was once home to David Koresh and the Branch Davidians. I expected to see a plaque on the wall of the Waco airport commemorating Koresh or at least Janet Reno but all they had was the Waco Chamber of Commerce motto which is an upbeat, “Waco, We Do!”

We were in Vegas for a brief trip so I remained on eastern daylight time while I was there. This meant I woke up about 5:00 a.m. Vegas time. Nothing is more uplifting than going down stairs and seeing people who have been up all night gambling still going strong at 5:00 a.m. My favorites are the morning gamblers on oxygen holding a cigarette in one hand and pulling the slot machine with the other. Vegas is fun for the whole family, particularly if you are the Manson Family. We stayed at the Bellagio, which I recommend if you enjoy paying $7.50 for a glass of orange juice with breakfast.

In order to become one with the Vegas strip, I walked every morning before the sun got to its full broil setting. One morning I culture trekked from the Bellagio up to Fremont Street which is about six miles. Street people on Las Vegas Boulevard early on a Saturday morning are pretty colorful. I saw a couple of older ladies in motorized scooters buzzing down the side walk. One lady was on oxygen and I overheard them discussing where to have breakfast. It was inspirational, they weren’t as mobile as they used to be, but they were still out having fun in Sin City. As Teddy Roosevelt would say, “Bully for them!”

I walked past the Circus Circus Casino and saw a sign for the “All You Can Stomach” breakfast buffet for only $9.99. The Circus Circus is up at the funky end of the strip and features a giant looming clown sign holding a hypnotic sucker to lure in hungry tourists. Anyone who has coulrophobia or clown fear, like I do, should stay away from the Circus Circus. That is one big angry clown they have up in the sky. He looks hungry. Another casino lured in hungry and insane tourists proclaiming, “With one pound of bacon, our BLT is heart stopping, nurses standing by.” You gotta love Vegas food, particularly if you are a cardiologist.

Once past the Stratosphere, the Strip turns into a No Man’s land of wedding chapels, tattoo parlors, bail bondsmen and homeless gamblers. One chapel boasted that Joan Collins and Michael Jordan had been married there, though apparently not to each other. I walked past the world famous Drive In Wedding Chapel where you can get married in a pink Elvis-style Caddy in a driveway. It was next to the sleaziest and emptiest dust covered adobe style motel that exists in the western hemisphere. Pure Vegas.

When I finally got to Fremont Street I was ready for a 99 cent shrimp cocktail. Unfortunately the BP Oil spill seems to have wiped out the cheap shrimp. I settled for a bagel and coffee. Fremont Street is old Vegas featuring very tired original casinos. At night it has a delightful light show under a several block long canopy of lights. Fremont Street in daylight is not so delightful. It looks like a hung over rentable lady of the evening without her make up or false teeth on a Monday morning. Even Vegas Vic looked carcinogenic in the dawn’s early light. It was pretty spooky.

The World Cup was on in casinos all over town. I actually watched a soccer game and got caught up in America’s ancient soccer rivalry with Ghana. The crowd went nuts when we tied the Ghana team on a penalty kick. Americans actually cheering for soccer. As the King of Siam would say, “Is a puzzlement.” My wife Lani pulled for the Ghanians because “they have so little and we have so much.”

Nothing is strange in Vegas, because everything is strange there.

OK, Fayetteville. It is that time of year again when we ask our Up & Coming Weekly readers to share with us their opinions about local venues, people, businesses and organizations that, in some positive way have made an impact on our community during the last 12 months. For 11 years, this has been our way of monitoring our community’s growth, development and quality-of-life index while allowing us to acknowledge and congratulate publicly those who have worked hard to leave their mark on this community.

If you are a regular reader of Up & Coming Weekly you know we take the Best of Fayetteville survey very seriously. Ourstaff goes to great lengths to discover and salute the “Best of the Best.”

For those not familiar with this process we encourage you to participate and fi ll out the ballot found on page 27 and 28 and submit it to us before the deadline. Most importantly, make sure you follow these important instructions:

1. Complete at least 15 categories.

2. Include your name and address.

3. Send in only one entry per person.

4. Mail only one entry per envelope.

5. And, the most important thing, DON’T CHEAT! Not that you would, of course, but tell your friends it will do them no good to “stuff” the ballot box or “single shot”.

Like I said, we take this survey very seriously and unlike other local ballots or newspaper reader’s choice surveys all of Up & Coming Weekly’s “Best of Fayetteville” ballots are mailed directly to a local CPA’s offi ce where they are counted, audited and verified. It is during this process that incomplete, duplicated, falsified, doctored and suspicious ballots are revealed and disallowed. As you can imagine this is a costly and time consuming process but one that has an 11-year track record of success and has proven to be quite effective. As a result, the “Best of Fayetteville” readers survey and recognition has been able to maintain its high level of dignity, honor and pride. Each winner is recognized with a plaque or certifi cate provided by Up & Coming Weekly and The Trophy House.

So, please, fi ll out and submit a ballot. Tell us like it is! Curious minds want to know: Who is the “Best of Fayetteville?” You may even win $100.

This year you can also enter online. Visit our e-edition and go straight to the online survey. Include your e-mail address on the ballot and we will subscribe you to our “free” VIP Early Bird Online Edition. Remember, stuffi ng the ballot box will not help. To really promote your cause, business or organization just tell your friends to pick up a copy of Up & Coming Weekly, follow the instructions and VOTE.

If you do not have access to the Up & Coming Weekly newspaper at your business or organization call us and we will make sure you are directed to the closest available outlet. Above all else, have fun with it! Call me anytime and thanks for reading. I enjoy your questions and comments. I can be reached at 484-6200 or by e-mail at bbowman@ upandcomingweekly.com.

Being a kid can be a really tough job, even in the best of circumstances, nevermind the heart break and tragedy that so many of them live with every day. When kids are neglected, abused and hurting they don’t have the tools they need or access to the information that can change their lives. That is why it is so important that there are places they can turn to for help and people looking out for their best interests. In this fi rst part of a continuing series, we explore some of our community organizations that are making a difference in children’s lives in Cumberland County. The exploration will continue in our

July 21 issue. The Child Advocacy Center deals in some pretty grim situations. In fact, according to their Web site:

• Child abuse is a community health epidemic with long-term consequences for the child, the family, the community, and society.

• Every 35 seconds a child in America is confirmed as abused or neglected.

• Every six hours a child in America is killed by abuse or neglect.

• One in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday.

• Cumberland County has the third highest number of child abuse cases reported (4,923 in FY 04-05), the second highest number of cases substantiated (1,512 in FY 04-05) and the highest number of homicides from child abuse in NC (5 in 2004).

• There are 386 sex offenders in Cumberland County registered with the NC Sex Offender Registry. (Actual number of sex offenders is generally thought to be 3 times higher than registered numbers).

While these numbers are discouraging and even daunting, make no mistake, the Child Advocacy Center is there fi ghting for kids and working to protect them when it is hard for the youngsters to understand or even talk about what they have been through — much less defend themselves — and they are just one of many organizations that seek to better the lives of children.

“Children that come through here have a pretty good safety net that is put in place for them,” said Roberta Humphries, executive director of the Child Advocacy Center in Fayetteville. “We help to facilitate the beginning stages of healing for that child. We have a forensic interviewer who is trained to conduct those interviews with children in a noninvasive non-threatenting and non-suggestive manner. That makes a big difference for the child.”

The Child Advocacy Center, by their own defi nition, “is a child-friendly place where a multidisciplinary team of community professionals join hands to care for abused children. They aim to decrease the overall impact of abuse by reducing further victimization to abused children; by increasing the number of successful prosecutions of perpetrators; by encouraging parents and caregivers to stop abusive and neglectful behaviors; by reducing the long-term costs to society; and by decreasing the number of child abuse victims through awareness and prevention education.”

In order to make interviewing children and information gathering more effi cient in child abuse cases, the Child Advocacy Center “brings together representatives from CC Department of Social Service’s Child Protective Services; CC Sheriff’s Offi ce; Fayetteville Police Department; Hope Mills Police Department; Spring Lake Police Department; the medical community via Southern Regional Area Health Education Center, Cape Fear Valley Health Systems and Womack Army Medical Center; CC District Attorney’s Offi ce; Guardian ad Litem; and Rape Crisis Volunteers of Cumberland County.”

Instead of having to retell/relive their experiences over and over and suffering through endless interviews, more information is gathered in fewer sittings, giving children a faster start on the road to healing, and saving both families and organizations precious time in building cases against those who seek to harm the most vulnerable among us.

Helping families and children to deal with abuse is just part of the equation though, education is also key in detecting and preventing abuse in our community. The Child Advocacy Center provides ongoing education to the organizations that partner with them, they review cases weekly, provide Continuing Education opportunities to organizations and professionals in the community and provide child abuse awareness and prevention information to the community.

“Often people don’t know or don’t understand the impact of their actions on children, take shaken baby syndrome for example, some people just don’t understand how much trauma that causes,” said Humphries. “Unfortunately, whenever families face stressors, child abuse numbers go up whether it is a deployment or unemployment or who knows what. A lot of times it is just a matter of educating people and giving them the tools they need — like anger management skills that can make a difference.”

For more information, to make a donation or to volunteer visit www. childadvocacycenter.com or give them a call at 486-9700.

Fayetteville Urban Ministry: Finding Friends

by STEPHANIE CRIDER

Fayetteville Urban Ministry’s whole purpose is to show God’s compassion for its neighbors. They do this through several programs: Emergency Assistance, Adult Literacy, Find a Friend and the Nehemiah Project. 

These are all practical programs that change lives for the better — and whether it is through direct services from Fayetteville Urban Ministry or the trickle down effect, the work that these folks do day in and day out, the dedication they show to their cause through out the year has an impact on young lives.

The adult literacy program teaches basic reading, writing and math skills to adults who read below a sixth grade level. Volunteer tutors work one on one with the students. The facility has a library, computer lab and a learning room for students and tutors to use. While this particular program is for adults, imagine the benefIts that a young child receives in having a literate adult in their lives. Everything from bed time to the kind of job the adult can get changes.

Ah, home sweet home — but how sweet is it really when rain or pine needles are falling through the roof, or the light fixtures are falling out of the ceiling or the floor has rotted away beneath you? Qualified contractors, volunteers and staff with the Nehemiah Project repair homes for moderate to low income home owners. According to www.fayurbmin. org/programs, last year this program performed repairs worth $120,547! Having a safe place to call home can make all the difference in the lives of youngsters and this program provides that.

Food and clothing are pretty basic needs, but sometimes parents are unable to provide this for their families. Fayetteville Urban Ministry provides emergency assistance where clients are able to shop at no cost for things like clothes, linens, and hygiene kits at no cost. Emergency food assistance is also available for families in crisis.

The Find a Friend Program is all about helping kids though. It focuses on pairing up youth with mentors and resources to make smart decisions and set them up for successful lives as adults. By helping youngsters to channel their energy constructively, develop a healthy respect for learning, improving social interaction skills and high self esteem Find a Friend helps the court system keep kids in positive, productive lifestyles.

“We have been in existence since 1982, so we have turned around a lot of lives,” said Shauna Hopkins, Fayetteville Urban Ministry after school coordinator. “We currently have about 120 youth in the program but we serve almost 300 kids a year and our services are free of charge for the youth enrolled in our program.”

According to Hopkins, Find a Friend has four different parts to it. The interpersonal skills part works on things like kids’ social skills, behavioral problems, anger management and peer pressure.

“We also have our Beyond program which is building youth opportunities and destinies,” said Hopkins. “That is focused on gang intervention and gang prevention — we target certain areas in the community to help those kids out to stop them from being in a gang.”

The one on one mentoring component helps any at risk youth get a mentor like a big brother or big sister. There is also a mentoring program for children of incarcerated parents. “All the programs work together hand in hand to provide wrap around services for the youth we serve,” said Hopkins. “We serve the entire Cumberland County area and we serve ages six through 17 so we are pretty strung out most of the time,” she added with a laugh.

Not only does Hopkins get to work for an organization that makes a difference in the community, she builds relationships with the youth that come through the programs — and she loves it.

“The kids are the best part of my day,” said Hopkins. “I do it for them. Every time I see them I am reminded why I go thorough all the paper work and the meetings and all that stuff. I have said for many years that children are our best natural resources and we need to nurture them because they are the future they are going to be running the country one day”

To find out more about Fayetteville Urban Ministry, make a donation or referral, or to volunteer check out www.fayurbmin.org/ or call 483-5944.

Boys & Girls Club: Teaching a Positive Life

by ASHLEY YOUNG

With a mission to inspire all youth to become productive, responsible and caring citizens the Boys and Girls Club of Cumberland County strives to be a place where kids can be themselves, have fun with other kids their age and participate in structured activities, including basketball, softball, fl ag football and a game called “quickball.”

“It’s an after school program for youth ages 5-18 that teaches health and life skills, character and leadership development education and career development, sports, fi tness and recreation and the arts,” said Don Williams, Chief Professional Offi cer for the Cumberland County Boys and Girls Club.

Along with physical activities the club also implements a daily program called “Power Hour” which is a homework and tutorial enterprise to encourage kids to stay focused in school. Other programs include “Passport to Manhood,” for male children 11-14 years old, which encourages them to use responsibility and reinforces positive behavior, and “Street Smarts” which teaches kids to resist gangs and violence and resolve confLict in a peaceful manner.

The Boys and Girls Club was started by two gentlemen in 1968 because of the need for kids to have something positive to do after school, with juvenile crime on the rise. The club has been in service now for more than 42 years and four are open throughout Cumberland County. Their hours are from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m., Monday through Friday during the school year, and 7:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. during the summer. Parents can make their children members by fi lling out an application at any Boys and Girls Club.

The Cumberland County Boys and Girls Club welcomes kids of any gender, religion and race to come out and join the club. Scholarships are given to the kids so their membership is free. Many of the kids who spent their early years at the Boys and Girls Club have gone on to achieve academic success and many have joined the military. Donors and volunteers are welcome and with a faculty of one staff member per 20 kids, volunteers are needed.

“I think it’s a great program that really helps kids and the community and there is so much kids can gain by being part of a Boys and Girls Club. I’ve been involved for 21 years,” said Williams.

The Cumberland County Boys and Girls Club is located on 3475 Cumberland Road in Fayetteville and can be reached by phone at (910) 425-3852. For more information please visit ccbgc.org.

Ashton Woods: It Takes a Village 

by ASHLEY YOUNG

Sixteen years ago the Cumberland Interfaith Hospitality Network recognized the need for temporary housing for homeless families and their children in our community. In 1997, the Cumberland Interfaith Hospitality Network along with The Women’s Center of Fayetteville and many private citizens created a dream which became the reality of Ashton Woods Transitional Housing Village.

The village is a small community of 20 homes located on the corner of Bragg Boulevard and Old Shaw Road that was created for homeless families who need more time to get back on their feet than traditional shelters allow.

The Women’s Center of Fayetteville led in fundraising efforts and accepted the property deed. Nearly half a million dollars was raised and the property of Ashton Woods was purchased. The Cumberland Interfaith Hospitality Network helped in funding efforts and secured other grants and donations towards this program.

They also coordinated volunteers, managed the Ashton Woods property and worked with the families in need. Through this they were able to get hundreds of volunteers in the local community to help restore the homes and build a security fence around the village in order to prevent crime. Church youth and adult groups cleaned out and painted homes to prepare them. The City of Fayetteville provided funds to the Fayetteville Urban Ministries to help assist with the electrical, plumbing and HVAC repairs on eight of the houses. Ashton Woods offi cially opened in June of 1998.

Families who live within the Ashton Woods community are provided with a two bedroom home and may live there for two years. The families are responsible for paying utility bills including water and sewer, heating, water heater and electricity bills. Rent of the houses is subsidized during the families’ stay in order for them to work on specific goals to help increase their wage earning potential. These goals include completing GEDs and college, earning certifi cate programs, such as forklift driving, getting certified nursing assistance, etc. Subsidy is provided due to the fact that each family is expected to obtain employment, while accomplishing these goals, however payment for part time jobs is often limited, yielding around $200 per week, which is not enough to pay traditional rent.

Each family that lives within Ashton Woods participates in an intensive care management program which establishes a savings requirement to help prepare them for the move to permanent housing at the end of their stay. A spending budget is established to verify that all household income is being used to pay residents monthly utilities, pay debts that are owed and save remaining income for permanent housing goals.

“Our organization has a professional team which works with each family establishing goals, tracking progress, verifying their fi nancials, bank statements and daily household expenditures,” said Denise Jiles, Project Director of the Cumberland Interfaith Hospitality Network.

There are also services and support offered to children who have experienced signifi cant trauma due to their family’s housing instability. Also a fully functional library with over 2000 reading and reference resources, computers, tutors, and educational activities are provided so each child has the support necessary to continue their education and establish goals to keep them on the right track.

Another program for the kids is that every 18 months in the Ashton Woods program, kids choose a community project that they work for in order to make a positive difference. Last year they chose the Cumberland Community Foundation where they raised resources for painting the Cumberland Community resource room. The children worked throughout the year to obtain paint supplies and other needed materials.

“I believe this is one of the best programs for families experiencing homelessness in our state. It has been an essential part of recovery in the lives of hundreds of homeless children and their parents. I am proud to be a part of developing self suffi ciency in the lives of so many and hope that the impact we have continues to help our community in reducing dependency on public programs and eliminating homelessness one family at the time,” said Jiles. For more information, visit www.cumberlandihn.org/AshtonWoods.htm.

Branching Out, Making a Difference

by DR. SHANESSA FENNER

Great Oak recognizes and wants to address the socioeconomic issues among inner city male youth in educational achievement, juvenile incarceration, and joblessness and access to opportunities.

“Great Oak held a two-week leadership and development summer camp in June,” said Bobby Washington, executive director of Great Oak Youth Development Centers. “It entailed a theory being taught in the morning followed by a fi eld trip or other community service event in the afternoon.” Washington added that the youth were shown business plans and taken to various businesses that have been planned and executed. The camp also focused on teaching the youth about successful teamwork, respect for themselves and others, and how to bring out a positive self-image. The culminating activity of the camp consisted of the youth creating a business plan and presenting it to others.

Great Oak provides services to students aged 6 to 18. Parents, educators, or community offi cials must refer the students. The mission of Great Oak Youth Development Center is to provide a foundation for achievement and success among male youth within targeted communities by directly providing educational assistance, mentoring, leadership and skills training and cultural awareness activities. The defi cit is more pronounced and alarming for America’s black males.

The programs offered are Effective Black Parenting, Men and Boys Unity, Mentoring, Leadership Academy, Parental Involvement, Summer Leadership and Entrepreneurs’ Camp, and Reading Buddies. Great Oak was recognized by the governor for North Carolina’s Volunteer Service Medallion Award and recognized by the Fayetteville Business and Professional League as the Social Entrepreneur of the Year.

“It is our goal to expose the boys to education and cultural events,” said Washington. “We always work a college or university fi eld trip in when we take an extended field trip.”

Great Oak is a charitable nonprofi t organization that relies on donations for a substantial portion of funding to run their program. Applications may be requested

Ah, Summer! Nothing says it better than the sounds of beach music, good friends, great dancing and cold drinks. And, if you live in the Fayetteville area, you aren’t going to have to travel far to join in the fun. Shaggers, take out your dancing shoes and get ready for a Summer Workshop Party at the Fayetteville Holiday Inn Bordeaux.

This year’s Summer Workshop Party will be hosted by the Fayetteville Area Shag Association (FASA) July 9-11. This “park and party” workshop will include a hospitality room with refreshments and drinks, shag and dance lessons, entertainment, vendors and door prizes like a watch or television. The Holiday Inn Bordeaux will provide a 2,040 square foot ballroom dance floor for shaggers anytime they want to dance during the workshop. This is the first time that the Summer Workshop Party has been held at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux.

“We call it a workshop, but really it’s a big party with 100 shag clubs,” said Kathi Baloyot, of the Association of Carolina Shag Clubs.

Tickets are $65 for all events and registration can be made at the door or by going online www.shagdance.com/ summerwork.htm. Registration begins at 3 p.m. on Friday, July 9 and at 9 a.m. on July 10. Reservations to stay at the hotel can be made by calling the Holiday Inn Bordeaux, at (910)323-0111, and mentioning the shag workshop. Participants must be 21 years or older to register because alcoholic beverages will be served.

To date, 300 shaggers have already registered and the FASA is hoping for 400 people by the closing day of registration.

This summer workshop is one of five meetings the Association of Carolina Shag Clubs holds annually. More than 100 shag clubs are usually present and attendance by at least two representatives from each club is required. However, all shaggers are invited to come out and have a good time.

Disc jockeys for the event will include Tootie Brown, David Sessions, “Big” Al Pearce, Ricky Price and Murl Augustine.

“FASA was formed in 1984 with the purpose of perpetuating and preserving the Carolina Shag dance, to promote beach music and the atmosphere surrounding the dance, and to create and maintain an environment conducive to the dance,” said Baloyot.

FASA is a part of the Association of Carolina Shag Clubs, which was established in February 1984. The founders did not name the club based on location, but rather the Carolinas’ style of dancing.

The first major event held by the Association of Carolina Shag Clubs was a cruise, with more than 150 shaggers, aboard the S.S. Galileo on March 3, 1984. For more information please visit www.shagdance.com/ home.htm or call Kathi Baloyot at home: (910) 630-1303, or by cell: (910) 818-9521,

On July 3, 1776, in a letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams, one of the Committee of Five who worked to create the Declaration of Independence, wrote:

“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

While July 2 was the actual date that Congress approved the resolution of independence, and although most members of Congress did not actually sign it until August 2, Americans celebrate the date displayed on the Declaration of Independence, and each year Fort Bragg offers a July 4th celebration that would make John Adams proud.

Considered one of the Top 20 Events in July by the Southeast Tourism Society, this year’s event at the Main Post Parade Field begins at 3:00 p.m.,culminating in a fireworks display, “Concert in the Sky,” simulcast on 96.5 The Drive radio, that ends at 10 p.m.

“We are celebrating America’s Birthday,” said Rhett Stroupe, business manager, Special Events at Fort Bragg’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR). “It is a privilege and honor to do it at Fort Bragg with America’s finest. It is a fun family day, where people can relax and get away from everyday stresses.”

An estimated 45,000 people attended the celebration in 2009, which is open to the public.

“It’s a very well-received event,” Stroupe said. “We encourage people to come early to beat the traffic.”

Nearly all of the celebratory activities that Adams recommended will be available. At 3 p.m., authorized vendors and Kiddie Land will open. Country music singer Jamie Tate and the 82d Division All-American Chorus take to the stage from 4:30 to 4:55, and up-and-coming country music and hip-hop superstar Colt Ford follows from 5 to 6 p.m. From 6 to 6:30 p.m., the U.S. Army Parachute Team, the Golden Knights, will present a freefall parachute demonstration. Chicago-based rock trio Chevelle will perform from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. After remarks from the commanding general, the National Anthem and flag ceremony, the 82d Division All-American Band will feature the “1812 Overture,” leading up to the illumination of the fireworks display.

New to this year’s festivities is the Wife-carrying Championships sponsored by Fort Bragg Sports. Open to military and government ID cardholders 18-years-old and over, the competition takes place from 3-5 p.m. Men carry their wife or female partner or women carry their husband or male partner on their backs or in their arms through an agility course.

“We saw it in Finland on TV and thought it would be interesting and something different,” said Heather Adams, sports specialist with the MWR Sports and Fitness department. “We’ll hold three heats and a final competition with all of the heat winners. We’ll be giving out trophies. Entry is free, and people can sign up on site.”

Also new to the annual celebration is an opportunity for attendees to “go green.”

“We’ll have recycling bins for aluminum and plastic products, and we’re asking folks to please use them,”Stroupe said.

And of course, no Fourth of July party is complete without great American food.

“There will be hot dogs, hamburgers, turkey legs, barbecue, water and sodas,” said Stroupe.

If you plan to attend one of the best birthday parties for America, be sure to leave your pets at home in the air conditioning. Pets and glass bottles are not allowed. Tents and shelters are permitted in the designated area on a first-come, first-served basis.

Let’s see…“Pomp and Parade”? Check. “Shews, Games and Sports”? Check. “Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations”? Check! Don’t miss Fort Bragg’s July 4th Celebration, a birthday party that would make John Adams smile.

For more information, call 396-3919 or visit www.fortbraggmwr.com.

The age of enlightenment was characterized by blasphemy, intellectual rebellion and the desire for truth. Candide, an opera adapted from Voltaire’s novella is a perfect example.

It is full of sarcasm, and a little erratic, but it portrays humanity with disturbing accuracy. It was written in 1759, but like any great classic it still rings true today, and was banned for a time by the church and government, further proving that the story has something to teach us.

When Candidewas first performed it was not very successful, but it is now very popular. It has been adapted many times, but the most successful version was written by Leonard Bernstein, and this summer Fayetteville State University will bring Bernstein’s opera to life July 16-17 at Seabrook Auditorium. This is the fifth year of summer opera at Fayetteville State, and the tradition is to alternate between a classic and a contemporary opera. Candide is considered a contemporary work.

One may ask how a play based on a story from 1759 can be considered contemporary and still apply, but Phoebe Hall, the director of the opera, explained, “I think the play is about two young people who go off and search for the brave new world when really the brave new world is the one you already live.

“It’s just the way you look at it changes,” continued Hall. “It’s still relevant today. People go looking for greener pastures when really the best thing that you could have is right in front of you. It’s just a matter of how you perceive it, and what you do with it.”

“I remember it as being very, very funny,” says Hall, when asked why she chose Candide for this year’s performance. “I wanted something that was fun, and funny, that was by an author that someone could relate to, and everyone knows who Leonard Bernstein is.”

During the age of enlightenment people were trying to break from the molds of society and into truth, and so much of the resulting literature was banned, but Candide by Voltaire survived and was adapted. “Everybody is looking for knowledge, and everyone wants to be aware,” said Hall, noting that the desire for knowledge is one of the reason that the work survived this long, and is still interesting for many people.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for staff, $3 for children, and $2 for students. For information call 672-1006. For reservations contact Antoinette Fairley, the ticket manager at 672-1724. Children are free when accompanied by an adult or at the matinee showing on July 16.

The Cumberland County crackdown on red light and stop sign violators has proven very successful. Congratulations. But why stop now?

Enforcing our laws against this very dangerous and epidemic problem in our community should be the highest priority. Sure, the two week crackdown was successful in terms of netting 262 tickets issued, however, this served to accentuate the seriousness of the problem. Unfortunately, in broadcasting the success of the crackdown we may have also telegraphed (unintentionally) to thousands of irresponsible vehicle operators that we do not intend to pay much attention to these violations in the future.

Matter of fact, the Fayetteville Observer reported in last Saturday’s newspaper, front page below the fold, that Cumberland County spokeswoman Debbie Tanna said, “Hopefully, we can make this an annual campaign.”

What? Hopefully? Annual campaign? Hmmmm? Does this mean we are assuming in Fayetteville and Cumberland County that these violators and perpetrators of death, carnage and property damage will be on holiday during the next 50 weeks?

I hope this doesn’t mean that our law enforcement officials have checked this box off on their annual “to do” list and now are moving on to other tasks. This may not be the intent, however, in tough economic times Cumberland County residents (aka taxpayers) are looking for not only good common sense but good value, as well. Doing anything just “one time” is not going to affect or change any situation or habit. Even a child knows when a parent isn’t serious about a rule or command (i.e., you are 200 miles away from home on vacation with the family when you say: “If you kids don’t behave I’ll turn this car around and we’ll all go home.”).

Go home? Yeah, right! No validity here.

Catching traffic violators for only two weeks during the year will have the same impact. Especially in a diverse and transient community like ours that sees a turnover in our population on a weekly basis.

Our law enforcement officials need to start enforcing these traffic laws on a consistent basis, prosecuting violators and establishing our community as one that puts a high value on human lives and public safety and these laws demand respect and adherence. Enforcement should be our highest priority and can only be accomplished through repetition and consistency. In the long run it would reduce our law-enforcement costs.

Other towns accomplish this.

When traveling to Tampa, Fla., on Hwy. 301 South, east of Jacksonville, Fla., I travel through the small towns of Lawtey, Waldo and Starke before I get to Gainesville, Fla. All have a stellar reputation for being extremely serious about traffic laws and public safety and have zero tolerance for violators. I have never seen an accident in these area, but what I always see is a constant flow of traffic obeying the speed limit and law-enforcement vehicles in strategic and highly visible locations — usually with blue lights flashing.

They are serious about their traffic laws. I have since found out that all three towns have a statewide reputation for compliance. Not a bad thing.

I know there are a lot of important issues we could be writing about in this space. However, in my opinion, none are more important than this issue. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Scary. Violation of red lights and stop signs is epidemic in Cumberland County and it needs to be addressed and it needs to be stopped. I am glad all the major law-enforcement agencies cooperated and participated in this exercise. We can only hope this crackdown becomes routine so we too can begin to develop a reputation for being a community of safe streets and thoroughfares and one that respects the law. Of course, we appreciate the men and women who have dedicated their careers and lives to law enforcement and making our community a safe place to live, work and play.

Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

Have you ever heard the phrase “as rich as Croesus”?

Those of a certain age, or possessing a classical education, will surely remember the phrase as both a description of great wealth and a reference to a famous Lydian king in ancient Asia Minor.

Lydia had become fabulously wealthy as the ancient world’s cross between Hong Kong, Wall Street and Dubai. It was a focus for international trade. It was a place of great financial innovation. It was, in fact, the place where coined money was invented.

Not coincidentally, Lydia also appears to be the place where dice were invented. If you think you can have money sloshing around without someone wanting to gamble with it, you have been living a very sheltered life. Come join us out here in Reality Land, won’t you?

Yes, I’m talking to you folks in North Carolina’s governing class — to state legislators, county commissioners, mayors and sheriffs. All of you who have supported past attempts to ban video poker, and now want to pass new legislation to ban the “Internet sweepstakes” parlors that have been springing up across North Carolina.

I’d heard about the phenomenon, of course, but it really came home to me a couple of weeks ago when I was frequenting my favorite seafood restaurant down in Calabash, Captain John’s. Right there across the parking lot was a former seafood hut that had been turned into an “Internet sweepstakes café.” Then I began noticing similar establishments all around Brunswick and Columbus counties, then all the way back to my home in southern Wake County.

Not being inclined to risk my money so frivolously, I didn’t go into any of these places. Don’t need to. I’m reasonably certain that they look and feel just like the old video-poker rooms I’d previously visited, or like any gambling establishment on the fringe of respectability and/or the law.

The patrons came in at least three varieties. First, there are the few people just out to try something new. Most won’t be back. Second, there are the people who fancy themselves to be “serious” gamblers and insist on the awesome potential of some secret system. They’ll be back, pathetically. Third, there are the many people who are so desperate that they’re willing to risk their last nickel hoping for a big score. They’ll be back until their money runs out.

I’m no fan of gambling. But I’m also no fan of government officials sticking their noses into other people’s business. Many of the same politicians who gave us North Carolina’s squalid Education Lottery then went after video poker — can’t have those grubby private businesses competing with the state for gambling dollars — and now want to shut down the most popular way to evade the ban, Internet sweepstakes.

The Greensboro News & Record’s Mark Binker reports that the House Democratic Caucus recently tried and failed to come to some kind of consensus on what to do about Internet sweepstakes. My guess is that there’s also a division among Republican legislators in both chambers.

Whatever you think of the state’s current public policies on gambling, please don’t be deluded into thinking that government can actually forbid it. Again, gambling is literally as old as money. Last night, thousands of North Carolinians gambled their money on Web sites, in private card games, at pool halls, with bets on sporting events, by buying lottery tickets, at the Harrah’s casino on the Cherokee reservation and in Internetsweepstakes cafes.

If North Carolina bans the latter, all the other gambling will continue. And the video-poker industry will come up with yet another way to satisfy the manifest consumer demand for casino-style gaming.

So even if you’ll never agree with me that government ought to respect the rights of individuals to do what they want with their own money, at least consider the possibility that you might just be wasting your time and my tax dollars on a pointless exercise.

In other words, please stop betting my money so poorly. If I want to blow it, I’ll do it myself.

Imagine coming to a baseball game, where most of the admission is merely $6, and leaving with a brand-new car. It sounds crazy, unreal and most of all impossible, right? Don’t tell that to Fayetteville SwampDogs fan Robert Cox, who on Wednesday, June 9 left The Swamp with a $15,000 Nissan Versa from Stewart Nissan.

In the seventh inning of the SwampDogs matchup with Columbia, SwampDogs infielder Nick Natoli stole home to win Cox the brandnew car.

After silence and amazement while Natoli was dashing towards home in the seventh inning, cheers and jubilation erupted from the large crowd on hand for history at The Swamp.

“It was awesome hearing the crowd go crazy when I crossed the plate,” Natoli said. “I could tell right then that I was a part of something special.”

“It sent chills down my spine as I watched Nick run down the third base line,” SwampDogs Co-Owner Lew Handelsman said. “I started screaming we’re going to give away a car, we’re going to give away a car!!”

The car giveaway was a part of the SwampDogs promotion called “Steal of a Lifetime.” In this promotion every fan in attendance could enter their name in a box, free of charge, prior to and during each SwampDogs home game. If a SwampDogs player stole home, then the SwampDogs drew a name from a box. The name drawn won a $15,000 Nissan from Stewart Nissan. On that Wednesday night, Cox was the fortunate winner.

“One of the things I kept on thinking about is that one of our fans didn’t have to pay a single penny to win a car,” Handelsman said.

Natoli was the second SwampDog player in the last three years to steal home and win a fan a vehicle.

The SwampDogs handed the keys to Cox in a special ceremony during a doubleheader on Saturday, June 12 at The Swamp. The SwampDogs even allowed him to drive the car around the stadium, with Natoli in the passenger seat of course.

Cox has been going to SwampDogs games since the team originated. As a way of saying thanks for winning him a brand-new car, Cox says that he will take Natoli out to dinner — most likely in his new car

Brian Steverson has been in Fayetteville for about fi ve years. He’s a lifelong artist and has been sharing his talents with the community for the past two or three years. He’s become a regular at festivals, like the Dogwood Festival and International Folk Festival, and has recently joined the ranks of exhibiting artists at Arts Alive! that happens during the regular 4th Friday celebrations downtown.

On June 25, the Fayetteville Art Guild will host an exclusive exhibit of his work. His pieces will be on display at Gallery One13, 113 Gillespie St. on Fridays and Saturdays through the month of July.

“I am going to fIll the room the pieces — they will be mostly acrylics, some large and some small,” said Steverson “I plan to have everything there from portraits to landscapes to city scapes. I have a couple of still lifes in there, too.”

Steverson describes his works as somewhere between realism and impressionism. His goal though is not to create controversy or make a statement with this show.

“There is a wide variety of stuff in my paintings.” said Steverson. “Some look more real than others and some look more Monet-ish. Ultimately though, I try to make pleasing paintings. It is something nice to look at. There is no deep thought to them.”

While there is certainly a place for thought provoking art and art that shocks and makes a statement, there is also a place for art that is just fun to look at and art that will make you smile just because it is appealing and well done.

Steverson paints with red, yellow, blue and black and white on his palette, but that is hard to tell by looking at his work. The colors are vibrant and the shades are many. His work pace is quick and his brush strokes are sure, strangely enough, both are skills he picked up when he painted signs for a living.

“Nowadays computers are used to make billboards and then the images are put on to vinyl and it is stretched into place, but it wasn’t like that when I was doing it,” said Steverson. “Back in the day, they would give us six foot by 20 foot boards and say ‘You’ve got till the end of the day, (or noon, or whatever they decided) to be done with it.’ That is what made me fast and that is what made me where I could mix colors.

“I use red, yellow and blue because that is all they gave us when I was painting signs and then we had to mix the colors ourselves. We couldn’t buy 40,000 colors. That just wasn’t feasible,” he continued.

To look at Steverson’s work now, the fact that he mixes his own colors is impressive, and the speed with which he paints is fun to watch, but it is his ability to capture such a diverse number of subjects so accurately that really makes his work worth checking out. Whether it is a picture of the Old Capitol building, the Market House or airborne soldiers leaping from a plane, Steverson’s work speaks for itself, much like the work of other local artists with a message to share.

“There are a lot of really good artists downtown — if people would just come and take a look,” said Steverson.

Give Gallery One13 a call to find out more about this exhibit at 223-ARTS.

Yea! School’s out for summer break! Time to hit the books –– that is, books for fun and pleasure! Head on over to your local Cumberland County Public Library (CCPL) branch or the John L. Throckmorton Library on Fort Bragg and sign the family up for one of the free summer reading programs.

“Our summer reading club is a way to motivate kids –– all the family –– to read,” said Kellie Tomita, marketing and communications manager at the Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center. “We have great special programming for all ages.”

The CCPL summer reading program, which started June 7 and runs through July 31, offers clubs for three age groups, with gift incentives. Participants may pick up a packet of guidelines and a Reader’s Log at any library branch.

“Make a SPLASH. READ!” is for children birth through fi fth grade, who earn free prizes for the number of hours that they read or that someone reads to them. They may attend regularly scheduled story times or sign up for special ageappropriate programs featuring puppet shows, clowns, interaction with nature’s critters and more to earn prizes.

Teens are encouraged to “Make Waves at Your Library.” After reading fi ve books and fi lling out a reading log, teens may exchange the log for a prize and pick up a continuation log. Each completed continuation log may be brought into any library location and entered into drawings for gift certifi cates. All returned logs are then eligible for entry in the grand prize drawing for a gift certifi cate. Additionally, individual branches offer special programs for teens, such as movies, writing, gaming, anime, origami, jewelry and other crafts.

Adults may read or listen to books or attend one of the library’s book clubs in June or July to complete their logs. As with the teen program, adults may exchange their readers’ log for a prize, and each continuation log may be entered into drawings for gift certifi cates. Supplies of prizes and space at special programs are limited.

“We want to encourage people to read and to visit the library,” Tomita said. “The Friends of the Library do fundraisers for community programs. The summer reading program is one of these benefi ts. It’s rewarding to see the positive feedback. Last year we had husbands and wives competing and out-reading one another. We want reading to be fun and rewarding.”

“Voyage to Book Island,” the summer reading program at Fort Bragg’s John L. Throckmorton Library, located in Building 1-3346 on Randolph Street, takes place at 11 a.m., June 23 through July 28.

“It’s part of our literacy initiative,” said Bernadette Ross, reference librarian. “We want to emphasize reading as a lifelong skill for all ages. We’ll have stories, games, crafts –– entertainment, but educational for all. We’ll give gifts throughout the program –– grab bags, certifi cates. We offer a series of reading programs, including the summer reading program and our upcoming Picnic in the Grove on Nov. 6 to help children celebrate reading.”

For more information on the CCPL Summer Reading Program, call the Headquarters Library at 483-7727 ext. 300 or visit www.cumberland.lib. nc.us/ccplyouth/summerreadingclubs10.htm. For additional information on “Voyage to Book Island,” call the John L. Throckmorton Library at 396- BOOK, or visit /www.fortbraggmwr.com/libraryevents.php, because summer break doesn’t have to mean a break in reading.

With several buildings and multiple venues to its name, the Crown Center has plenty to offer. Whether you are looking to see a hockey game, a concert or a theatrical show, or even if you want to put on a production or event of your own, chances are that this facility can handle it.

What started as a civic center in 1967, consisting of a 2,400 seat theater and a 4,500 seat arena has grown into a complex spacious enough to host sporting events like the FireAntz hockey games and the Fayetteville Guard indoor football league.

While private events are certainly welcome, the Crown prides itself on hosting a wide variety of events that appeal to the vast range of demographics living in the greater Fayetteville area.

Just recently the Crown Center won a bid to host the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Eastern Regional Basketball Tournament for the next four years, beginning in 2011. The Eastern Regional Basketball Tournament is for boys’ and girls’ teams and is the last competition before the state championship.

Wrestling fans will have a chance to see some action on July 31 when the superstars of TNA (Total Nonstop Action) Wrestling roll intotown. The action starts at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.) and will feature “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy, “The Phenomenal One” A.J. Styles, TNA Tag Team Beer Money Inc., TNA World Heavy Weight Champion Rob Van Dam, TNA Founder Jeff Barrett, TNA Knockout Champion Madison Rayne and many more celebrities.

TNA Live! does more than entertain. They send fans backstage to meet TNA superstars. The ring announcer will hide a back stage pass on the premises and announce its location on Twitter before the show starts. Fans that purchase a ticket in the fi rst three rows are invited to a meet and greet with the stars an hour before the doors open. Tickets are on sale now.

World Vision, featuring Max Lucado, Michael W. Smith and Third Day will be here this fall too. The show is titled Make a Difference and is the only North Carolina stop for the show. The show will make a difference for children by helping to raise sponsors for 25,000 children through World Vision.

Frank Zaccaro has been the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Crown since last September and has been working hard to not only bring more big name entertainment to Fayetteville, but to also accommodate the local shows and events that the Crown hosts each year. He is really excited about the line up for the upcoming season.

“It is just going to be a really good season for us,” said Zaccaro. “It has been an exciting nine months so far. Fayetteville is kind of a unique market because we are right between Raleigh and Charlotte. That is our challenge — to overcome those markets. This past season we had some really big names come to town, Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood and Jeff Dunham. We are on peoples’ radar now. They know we are here and hopefully we can build on our successes of this past year to make next year even bigger and better.”

While Zaccaro has plenty of things in the works, contracts are waiting to be signed and fabulous events are in the making, but he would only mention a very few specifi cs about the rest of the plans for the coming season. Look for events featuring local businesses and performers — WIDU is coming back in a three-day extravaganza that hosts the biggest and best performers they’ve ever had. Fayetteville State University is working to bring a very big name artist to their homecoming. The Summer Jam concert that is traditionally held at theFort Bragg Fairgrounds will be at the Crown this year, too. Vince Gill and Amy Grant will perform a Christmas show as part of theCommunity Concerts 75th Anniversary Series.

“We’ve got an awful lot happening,” said Zacarro, adding that “We’ve got comedian Bill Engvall coming in after the fi rst of the year. ELO — it is called Orchestra now but it is the old Electric Light Orchestra — will be here this year, too. It is an incredible list of shows that we’ve got lined up. Our fall season is going to be just tremendous.

Keep an eye out or visit www.atthecrown.com. As deals are signed, the calendar will fi ll up quickly and you aren’t going to want to miss a thing.

Top left: Amy Grant and Vince Gill

Middle right: Jeff Hardy

Bottom left: Third Day

Art is defined as the production or expression of what is beautiful, and on 4th Friday art abounds.

On Friday June 25, from 6-10 p.m., in downtown Fayetteville the once silent beauty of art will be no more, it shall speak move and live through its artists in the 4th Friday theme Arts Alive!

There will be music, demonstrations and tons of art developing before your eyes. Artist will be in the streets, specifi cally on Maxwell Street, demonstrating their art.

“The idea is to come see the art, but to see it actually being preformed or demonstrated. So, you can see the process not just the fi nished project,” explained Chris Kastner, the executive director of Cape Fear Studios.

Cape Fear Studious is located in historic downtown Fayetteville. It is a nonprofi t organization whose mission is to, “involve, educate and enrich Cumberland County and surrounding communities with the opportunity to create and freely view art,” and this month Cape Fear Studious is diving into the theme, and is featuring two local artists; Rose Kennedy, who paints works with pastels, and Nancy Edge, who is is a potter . Their chosen theme is Nature’s Elements.

Rose Kennedy is a lifelong resident of southeastern North Carolina, and has worked as a commercial artist, producing numerous images for licensed products, such as greeting cards, needlework, giftwrap, wallpaper and book illustration.

“I enjoy exploring the brilliance of light and the nuances of shadows with this medium (soft and oil pastel). My subject matter is strongly infl uenced by my rural North Carolina roots, my travels, and an interest in nature and gardening,” she wrote on her Web site explaining her art, and drastic switch from watercolor and ink to pastels.

Kastner noted, “You really get a sense of movement from her work,” about the water falls featured in Rose Kennedy’s work.

Nancy Edge is an art teacher in the Cumberland County Schools System. She has recently been experimenting with racu pottery and firing techniques.

Just as in living nature, their work is unique and different. Kennedy is painting primarily landscapes, and Edge’s pottery contrasts by being 3-d. To add even more to the liveliness of the art both artist will be there to speak for their work, and the artists will provide demonstrations of their craft, and answer any questions about their work.

The work in the exhibit is 75 percent new, and never before seen in Cumberland County, and though there are two different mediums, they fl ow together seamlessly under the theme of Natures Elements.

The opening reception is from 6-9 p.m. at Cape Fear Studios on Maxwell Street between Russell and Franklin Streets.

With a combination of artists, performers, refreshments, bistros, galleries, shops and bookstores, appealing to people of all ages, 4th Friday, presented by the Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County is something you do not want to miss!

The fourth Friday of every month celebrates the arts and entertainment in downtown Fayetteville and is free to everyone. This month’s 4th Friday is June 25, and will include a Summer Swing performance at the Arts Council’s Grand Hall located on 301 Hay St, by the Gregg Gelb Quintet, from 7 to 9 p.m. The quintet features Gregg Gelb on the saxophone and clarinet, Steve Anderson on the keyboard, Paul Ingbretsen as bass, Chris Gelb on drums and Kathy Gelb with vocals.

One of the newest additions to 4th Friday is Arts Alive!, located on Maxwell Street, where artists illustrate their work from 6-10 p.m. Arts Alive! was introduced on May 28 and featured artists including Greg Hathaway with pottery, painter Brian Stevenso, and Shannon Davis with glass jewelry and sculptures. Poet Neal Ray, puppeteer Frank Byrne and the River Valley Players all entertained and plan to return on June 25.

Visual Pleasures also began on May 28 and featured an art exhibition with fi rst place winner, A. Jones Rodgers for her painting, “Fayetteville Connection.” Rodgers also won second place in the exhibition with “Grand Daughters.” The third place winner was Charlotte Lane with “Dalmatian-A Trouper.”

Any artists interested in participating in Arts Alive! at 4th Friday can submit a jury application or call Ashley Hunt, the Art Council’s special events coordinator, at 910-323-1776, extension 230.

Other events happening this coming 4th Friday include the opening of Nature’s Elements at the Cape Fear Studios at 148 Maxwell St., from 6-10 p.m. Thad Mumau will be signing When the Grass Turns Green and Minstrel Fool Randy Holliday will be performing folk songs and ballads on the guitar at the City Center Gallery and Books at 112 Hay St., from 6-9 p.m., where light refreshments will be served.

Cumberland County Headquarters Library at 300 Maiden Lane will feature the BluesEnigmaBand and will have light refreshments. Guests are also invited to the Fascinate-U Children’s Museum at 116 Green St., where they are invited to help fi nish the “Military Mural” which will be on display throughout June and refreshmentswill be served.

Exhibits and artifacts from old fashioned transportation will be on display at the Fayetteville Area Transportation Museum of 325 FranklinSt., and Kenny Huffman will be performing from 6-9 p.m. at Horne’s Café at 124 Hay St. Drummers are invited to join a drum circle under the Market House and Olde Town Gallery at 124 Maxwell St. will have work by watercolorist Gail Gilbert and White Trash and Colorful Accessories will showcase mosaic cake and cupcakes by Michelle Legler beginning at 6 p.m.

For more information please visit www.theartscouncil. com/4th_Friday.html.

Frank Byrne is one of many artists who will be on hand at 4th Friday.

On June 19, the Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center will host its annual Local Authors Showcase. The public is invited to meet and learn more about some of our area’s homegrown authors from noon until 4 p.m. in the Pate Room of the Headquarters Library, 300 Maiden Lane.

If you are interested in writing and would like to hear first-hand from those who have published books, this will be a great opportunity to not only browse some locally written titles, but also learn the ins and outs of self-publishing. Books will be on sale, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Friends of the Library.

Participating authors and their books, include: Bryan Avery, Olde Averasborough, Cape Fear River Town Suzanne Brandt, True Love Essie B. Bryant, My True Love Christian-Michelle Dickerson, The Razor and The Mirror Annette Dunlap, Frank: The Story of Frances Folsom Cleveland, America’s Youngest First Lady Robert Gable, Escape to Haven Naim S. Hasan Sr., Alien from the 8th Heaven Esther Holcombe, The Intruder Dorothy Hughes, The Journey Was Not Easy Ro-Shonda King, Plain Ice The Writer Karl W. Merritt Sr., From the Rough Side of the Mountain: Refl ections of a Country Preacher Theresa Slaughter, Raped by Man Saved by God Sherrell Straker-Valdezloqui, The Hurting Woman

For more information about additional library programs and services, visit www.cumberland.lib.nc.us, call 483-7727 or find us on Facebook.

Neighborhood Art Attack

The Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County knows that art lives in more than its building. So, in an attempt to let art breathe and move, the agency has been going from community to community within Cumberland County to bring art to the people. On Saturday, June 19, Hope Mills residents will get a chance to live and breathe art, as Arts Council’s Neighborhood Art Attack comes to town.

Arts organizations from around the county participate and actively engage residents in the diverse arts offerings in our community. The entertainment stage features a mix of professionals and local talent including students.

Make plans to join the Arts Council from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Hope Mills Municipal Park for a free Neighborhood Art Attack.

At this mini arts festival, enjoy hands-on activities with Cape Fear Basketmakers, Writers’ Ink Guild, Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center, painter Brian Steverson, 910moms.com, the Arts Council and many more agencies!

Entertainment at the Art Attack includes: Storyteller Gran’daddy Junebug, music of Brian Morgan & Friends, music by A Different Drum, magician John Tudor, Jef the Mime, sketch artist Patricia DiGiammarino and Alex the Minstrel.

The Arts Council’s 2010 Neighborhood Art Attacks are all sponsored by Miller-Motte College - Fayetteville Campus. The June 19 Art Attack is also sponsored by The Fayetteville Observer.

For more information about Neighborhood Art Attacks, visit the Web page at www.theartscouncil.com.

Since 2005 Claudia Swartz has been coordinating blues showcases to give local talent a venue to entertain the community and to give the community another fun event to attend.

In the past, these events have been held at the library.

There is a new twist to this event — a few new twists actually. The first is that Swartz is teaming up with The Rock Shop owner Shawn Adkins to bring Fayetteville a bigger and better Blues Showcase. In case you missed it, The Rock Shop (newly christened The Rock Shop Music Hall) has moved to King Street, and while they still have that fun and funky atmosphere going on, there is a lot more space to spread out and relax … and jam.

“This is going to be a major step up from the library showcases. We have put together a truly great blues show with all the best musicians here in town,” said Swartz. “Hopefully this will get a lot of people in. I am hoping that by bringing this to a bigger venue we can really pack them in.”

The other twist in this event is that the funds will be used to start a foundation to help local disabled musicians. The funds will be used to cover medical and living expenses for these artists. A few of the people that the foundation is looking to help are Chris Cox, Pat Vines, David “Thumbs” Johnson and Jerry B. 

“There are so many great artists here in Fayetteville that have suffered tragedies that have left them disabled,” said Swartz. “I just want to be able to help them out in their hour of need.”

The artists scheduled to perform are names you’ve probably heard before — Robbie Reid Band, Corky Jones, Bradley Muffet, Puncho Forrest, Chris Cox Band, David “Thumbs” Johnson, Willie Bradley, Blues Enigma, Claudia Swartz, Ray King and blues phenomenon Lakota John.

“Lakota John, the 13 year-old blues kid, is our pride and joy. He just turned 13 in April and he has been a blues musician since he was ten,” said Swartz. “He just sounds so amazing. He sounds like a grown man playing the blues. He is a really charismatic young man and he motivates a lot of young folks. We are proud and happy to bring him out on the big stage at The Rock Shop Music Hall.”

If you’ve never attended a local blues showcase, Swartz promises that it is is something that you will want to mark on your annual entertainment calendar. “It is a very vibrant scene and I am happy that I can do what I am doing by promoting these terrific talents,” said Swartz. “It is just a wonderful, wonderful, magical show — it will be like a theatrical production. I hope that people will come. The best musicians in Fayetteville deserve support from the community, especially since we are trying to help less fortunate musicians who have played here for a long, long time.”

The fun kicks off at 8:30 p.m. and lasts until 1:30 a.m. Tickets are available at Edwards Music Company on McPherson Church Road for $10. Tickets will be $12 at the door on the night of the event. For more info give the Rock Shop Music Hall a call at 321-ROCK.

2010 has been a year of change for Ali Durham, the owner of A Star Iron, 4011 Sycamore Dairy Rd. During this year, Durham has known great sorrow and great joy. She is bringing the two together to strengthen not only herself, but the community as well.

A gregarious transplant from Baltimore, Md., Durham and her husband Duke, are happy to call Fayetteville home. They moved here of their own volition, and in doing so, Ali found a life she never knew she wanted.

A former tattoo artist who studied physiology and psychology in college, Durham never saw herself in the role of fitness guru. In fact, it’s the last thing she thought she would be.

“I had no interest in going into fi tness at all. I always loved gymnastics, but in my junior year of high school, I had some knee issues. The doctor told me I could not do anything active for the rest of my life or have knee surgery. At 16, I elected not to have surgery,” she said. “I just dabbled trying to find what I liked. I worked a lot of odd jobs — an aerospace company, a trucking company — the last thing I found in Baltimore was a job as a tattoo artist. I was able to parlay my study of physiology into a job, and I was making money doing art. That’s where I met my husband.”

One thing Durham did not dabble with was family. Her family ties run deep, and when she had the opportunity to move to Fayetteville to be near her sister and her children, she took it.

Since neither she nor her sister worked at the time, they began spending time at the gym. It was there, that she made a connection that changed her life forever.

“My sister belonged to Corey Everson’s Gym, and we worked out there for a couple of years. There was a manager there who asked me if I really liked working out, and then she told me about John Velandra (a Fayetteville fitness legend who was killed this year in a car wreck),” continued Durham. “She set up a meeting for me with John, and I will never forget that day. My husband had married a rocker/tattoo artist who stayed up until 3 a.m. and lived on fast food and Mountain Dew. He didn’t know how much our lives were going to change.”

Durham said she walked into her meeting with Velandra wearing jeans and carrying her beloved Mountain Dew.

“John just had this way about him. It wasn’t like an interview, it was more like meeting someone for coffee. By the end of the three-hour meeting, I walked out thinking, I can’t drink Mountain Dew anymore,” said Durham. “He didn’t ask me not to, he just gave me the facts. We hit it off, and John took me on as a trainer. From August 2004 to October 2004, I spent 40 hours a week at his side, learning about fitness.”

But Velandra taught her more than what muscles did what and how to build those muscles.

“John not only dealt with people on the outside, but everything that went with it. What happens on the outside comes from the inside,” she said. “Most days I feel more like a therapist than a trainer. That’s a really big part of it. If you can’t get a person to start looking inside, then they are going to go down a bad path.”

Durham said that the reason most people don’t take care of themselves is deeper seated than time.

“A lot of it has to do with self esteem and body issues,” she said. “People are going through a process, and a lot of people feel uncomfortable going to gym. They are afraid of what people will think. They feel they are stared at. I have a client who came one time, she liked what we did, and she came back. She said it wasn’t like going to the gym and feeling like she couldn’t keep up with everybody. She told me she wanted to quit, but she couldn’t because everyone at the gym was cheering her on.”

That’s the kind of community that Durham is building at her new business, A Star Iron.

“One of the biggest things John instilled in me was that everybody is on their own journey. You don’t know what’s gotten them to that point, but you have to be prepared for anything that comes out,” she continued. “When you are working out hard with people, you can see them start to cry when they accomplish something. Sometimes, it seems like you know more about them than their significant other.”

Durham’s gym is not your grandmother’s gym. When you walk in, you might see people flipping tires or throwing weights. It’s all about building strength. “

A lot of movement we do gives people confidence,” she said. “We have women come in who have never lifted more than five pound dumbbells, who find themselves dead lifting 175 pounds.”

She noted that there is an eclectic group of people who frequent the gym. There are those women with self-esteem issues who are working out right beside Special Forces soldiers. She noted that she tells everyone to leave their egos at the door.

“In the gym, we don’t care what’s on your uniform or how deep your pockets are,” she continued. “We are all here to have a good time and journey our way into fitness It’s not about judgment. Everybody does the same workout, and it doesn’t matter who finishes first, because that person stays to cheer the others on.”

The exercise program is based on the CrossFit methodology. Durham said she modifies the program to make it work for everyone. “The workout is the workout, but I want people to work at their skill level. The entire workout is based on general functional fi tness, so it is appropriate for everyone”

From start to finish, the workout takes between 45 minutes and an hour. It encompasses everything from Olympic weight lifting to gymnastic movements to plyometrics, which is a type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements, and improve the functions of the nervous system, generally for the purpose of improving performance in sport, to metabolic conditioning.

Durham noted that participants have their strong points in the workout, and not everyone excels in every aspect of the workout. Durham said that the facility is an adult facility that offers group classes, as well as personal training and sports nutrition counseling. The gym is holding its grand opening on June 19, along with the other merchants in the Sycamore Station shopping center. The event scheduled between 12-4 p.m., is a chance for folks to come out and see the workout. “We want people to give it a try,” she said. “If you don’t like it, don’t come back. But the majority of the people who come end up staying.”

Just as Durham stayed by Velandra’s side until his untimely death. “I would never have done this as long as John was in business,” she said. “He was my best friend. I truly believed in the product he offered and how he approached the business — it was way more personal than business.”

When Velandra’s family decided to close his gym, Durham and her husband decided to open theirs. It has helped her deal with the loss of her mentor. “A lot of the people who come are the same people who came to John’s gym. We are a family. It’s a community,” she said.

For more information about Durham or A Star Iron, visit her Facebook page or call 764-1144.

Meredith Stiehl has a lot riding on her shoulders. Stiehl, the president of the Fayetteville Museum of Art’s Board of Directors, has spent a lot of sleepless nights, and packed days working to keep the museum alive. When the decision to close the museum’s doors was made, Stiehl was the one who broke the news to the community, and was the one who has worked to close the facility.

“As the board president, I know, and the museum board knows that our vision has got to be based on an accurate view of the current reality,” said Stiehl during a recent interview. “We have to make decisions based on where we are right now.”

Where the museum is right now is in debt, without a staff and with its facility for sale. It is also in a bad relationship with the Arts Council Fayetteville/Cumberland County and is facing a community that is at best confused about what has happened over the past couple of years. This is the reality Stiehl lays down with at night and gets up with in the morning.

“I really wanted to believe over the past year that we could all hold hands and come together and work things out,” said Stiehl. “But that didn’t happen. So now, we have to go from here.”

Stiehl is the first to say that she is not in the business of finger pointing. “I’m not laying the blame for our closure on anyone. If any fingers are pointing, they are pointing right back at us,” she said. “But now we have to move forward.”

Part of that movement forward is the establishment of an advisory board made up of members of the community who are not board members. Stiehl established the group in March of 2009, but it was derailed in the face of the city’s task force to study the viability of the museum. On Thursday, June 10, the board met for the first time, and for the first time in a long time, Stiehl believes the museum might be on the right track.

The museum’s board of directors accepted an offer by the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County on a way ahead. Upon the agreement of the boards of both agencies, the Arts Council will pay for a “nationally recognized visual arts museum consultant, approved by the American Association of Museums, to provide an institutional assessment of the museum and to make recommendations for a way ahead.

Stiehl said the consultant will look at everything from the museum’s finances to long- and short-term debt to its expenses. The consultant will look at personnel issues, performance issues and facility issues.

“They will go out into the community to hear what the community has to say about the museum and to see if we are meeting its needs,” said Stiehl.

The museum board will work with the Arts Council to pick the consultant. Stiehl knows that the term consultant will immediately turn a lot of people off, but she wants them to give the consultant a chance to hear their needs and to get a picture of what the community needs and wants from the museum — even if the answer is the community doesn’t want a museum.

“We want them to talk to a broad spectrum of the community,” she said. “We are going to need that input if they are going to guide our community.”

Stiehl said since the formation of the advisory group, which she said is filled with many people who may be considered the museum’s critics, more people have come forward to say they want in on charting the path forward.

“We welcome their input,” said Stiehl, who said she has had countless phone calls, and has learned more about the museum’s operations and the community’s thoughts than she had known previously.

“At this point, we really have to go back to the beginning,” she said. “Thirty-eight years ago, when the charter for the museum was signed, they had to plot the course, and we have to do the same thing. We are starting at the beginning.”

Part of that includes clearing up unfinished business. Stiehl, along with a group of volunteers has being working to ensure that area artists get their artwork back. That bills are paid, and that the closing is done in an appropriate manner. “We want to handle things in a professional manner,” she said.

“I believe the Arts Council and the museum are equally committed to keeping a strong visual arts museum in the community,” she said. “And, I believe we are on the right path. I believe we have found a common ground.”

The Fayetteville Museum of Art demonstrated valiant resolve to keep its doors open during a shaky economy and amid criticism. Committed to its mission in the face of public scrutiny, the museum was dependent on donations and support from the community to survive.

After the museum published the blueprint of their contemporary building to be built in Festival Park, the drama began and has played out in the local newspapers. From the whine of frisbee enthusiasts who wanted open space in Festival Park, to City Councilman Theodore Mohn initiating the City’s Task Force to review the museum’s  financial records in 2008, the drama unfolded publicly.

All the speculation, criticism,  fingerpointing and innuendo ended when the museum announced it would have to close it doors on May 31, 2010 due to the lack of  financial support to sustain the operation.

The Fayetteville Observer’s coverage of the situation culminated in a lengthy article (“Why Did the Museum Fail?” 5/30/2010) which highlighted some of the events that have taken place since the museum opened in 1971. The time line in the article skipped many years during the museum’s history, picking up the story in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

The above article noted two obstacles that prevented large financial support of the museum —a grant from the Arts Council and the possible support of a bill by Senator Tony Rand to support of the museum’s new building. Both did not take place.

I think the statement in the Observer’s article by one of the city’s task force members, George Breece, says it all, “Museum officials were slow to understand there had been a political shift against the park location.”

How could the museum know the political shift had changed after they were given two acres in Festival Park in April 2007? They proceeded to have a renowned architect design a stunning contemporary building.

It’s all debatable — people who are interested in the arts, either for political reasons or for their affection of the arts, have an opinion about the “political shift” and any contributing factors that contributed to the museum closing.

For me, after much reflection, I see it as a long story. If chapters in the story had been scripted different, we would have a different ending.

First and foremost, an art museum in Fayetteville will always have a difficult task to support itself until more large donors come to the table consistently. Not only big donors, but it is also the responsibility of all art advocates in the community to buy a membership, participate in the events and buy art from the museum, the museum store and from local artists.

Support of the museum was so much more than going to a Fayetteville After Five event. It’s an annual, monthly commitment to being a part of making a museum possible, making the arts possible.

Those members of the community who have given large sums of money for support and for those of you who have regularly given what you could, you are the reason the museum was able to hold on as long as it did. Without you, the museum could not have existed since 1971.

For those who are interested in the arts, didn’t contribute to its operation, but thought others would make the museum an art venue for the community and the museum would always be there — well, here we are. It’s a part of the story, a chapter that could have been scripted differently with a lot more support from members in the community.

Then there was the 2004 chapter when plans were in place for a building at the opening to Festival Park. We covered it in Up and Coming Weekly; we fought the fight for the museum to find its new home where the Lundy Building now stands. The museum was strong, the economy was strong, the downtown was hot with investors, and was poised for the museum to move to Festival Park.

Again, politics thwarted the move for the museum. The Downtown Development Corporation presented the Lundy Group building to the City of Fayetteville; their reasons for not accepting the PennMark proposal (which included the museum of art) was simply “it did not meet the requirements for new projects downtown” (“DDC Already Answers Questions”, Up and Coming Weekly, November 24-30, 2004).

John Malzone, successful downtown real estate agent and developer, stated the following in reference to the choice between the Lundy Building and the PennMark proposal: “To select other projects (the Lundy proposal) because of political pressure would send a terrible signal to the investment community” (Fayetteville Observer, 11/28/04).

The Lundy proposal boasted about its plans “to construct a building that would have shops and restaurants on the fi rst fl oor and offi ces on the second and third floor (Fayetteville Observer, August 14, 2004). The Lundy building was selected and built (details of what it cost the city are not included here). Those plans were never fulfilled.

In the article titled “Festival Park and the FMA: Red Flags are Flying”, (Up and Coming, December 8-14, 2004) the red flags were clearly listed and they all came true: “doubts about the DDC’s lack of sensitivity to the Renaissance Plan for an arts complex downtown” and “do we have such a poor image of ourselves (as a city) that we think developers will be interested in us (Fayetteville) if we hand over prime real estate right next to a park which is being developed by the city.”

We can nit-pick all the details between the DDC and city council’s decisions, not having the foresight to see the Fayetteville Museum of Art where the Lundy building stands in 2004. Now I hear people in 2010 say: “Wouldn’t it be a great idea for the Fayetteville Museum of Art to purchase the Lundy building?” Great idea, but the support of the idea is just six years too late for our community.

In the end, the Fayetteville Museum of Art has made a significant impact on this community over the years and there are many people in the community who have helped to keep them operational.

Thank you to those who made the museum possible, and to Tom Grubb, Michele Horn and the entire staff at the Fayetteville Museum of Art for all the years you tirelessly spearheaded so many amazing exhibits every month, over and over again, year after year, for the people of Fayetteville and the region; for giving so many children an opportunity to engage in the arts in your youth programs.

When I think of the Fayetteville Museum of Art, I remember the quality it ascribed to, paintings that would wow you as you walked into the gallery, sculpture installations that brought awe, photographs, prints and sculptures that made a difference for so many, for so many years. I will remember all the wonderful receptions hosted by the museum, the quality of their intent and dedication, moments where you could meet and mingle with individuals who knew the value of the arts.

The negative affects of not having a museum of art are immediate, but it will also have harmful far reaching effects. What it says about our community as a whole is not positive. The Fayetteville Museum of Art, like the arts in Fayetteville, was always a fragile gem in our community. Over the years, it needed to be protected by the many, not just the few. An Artist’s Perspective on the Museum Closing

Robin Hood(140 minutes) tries way too hard to live up to the promise of an exciting new Robin Hood legend, but fails to deliver any real substance to back up the potential suggested by years of media buzz.

Waaay back in 2007 there was this really cool script circulating. The new script featured a heroic sheriff of Nottingham facing off against a less than noble Robin Hood, both in love with Maid Marian. A few Hollywoodstyle tweaks later, the sheriff of Nottingham is trapped between loyalty to the throne of an unpopular ruler and an outlaw attempting to gain rights for the people of England. After yet more adjustments, a sassy young upstart named Robin adopts the identity of the dead sheriff of Nottingham for some reason and does some Robin Hood stuff.

You know what? If Director Ridley Scott had gone with any of these three ideas, we might have a Robin Hood movie worth adding to the canon. Instead, at some point he said to himself, “Gosh, we could be innovative and challenge popular ideas OR we could take these fresh new perspectives and rewrite them until they end up as just one more standardized, sexist Robin Hood tale.” Guess which option he went with?

Much like the far superior Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves the film opens during the last years of the Crusades. Richard the Lionheart (Danny Huston) is kind of opinionated and has issues when people don’t agree with him. Unfortunately, he also has issues with people who agree with him too much, so Robin (Russell Crowe) ends up in a bit of sticky wicket when his opinion is solicited.

Following all this radically innovative character development, we are introduced to Lady Marian (Cate Blanchett) and her father-in-law Walter (Max von Sydow). The duo are under pressure from the sheriff of Nottingham to pay more taxes, and are losing their crop to the weird, halfnaked, masked orphans of the Greenwood (Sherwood Forest, by any other name.)

The plot thickens, as apparently jerky Prince John (Oscar Isaac) is too busy working out his Oedipal complex to realize his right hand man Godfrey (Mark Strong) doesn’t have his best interests at heart. Thrown into this mix are some French dudes and a lot of back room dealing and backstabbing.

After a bit more plot development, lots of drinking, a few half-naked peasants, and several battle scenes, Robin, Marian, and the Merry Men are more or less in the same place, along with Friar Tuck (Mark Addy).

At this point, some random soldiers start attacking the peasantry in the name of John, which is understandably upsetting to all the nobles. Fortunately, Robin is a fabulous archer, capable of wooing a lady and inspiring the masses in a single breath. He is oh-so-manly. Marian is really quite lucky that a big strong man is around to solve her problems and prevent her from experiencing any authentic character development.

The film lumbers its way towards a dramatic Braveheart style battle, set on the beaches and featuring sweaty dudes in armor. At the very moment the audience believes that Marian is going to find her feminist redemption, Robin steps in and saves the day. Overall, it wasn’t a bad action movie; it just wasn’t a particularly outstanding Robin Hood movie either.

Yes, you read it right — an upcoming motorcycle ride will help kids learn to fish!

On Sunday, June 13, riders from across the region will embark from the Crown Coliseum headed to the USS North Carolina in Wilmington. The Ducks Unlimited Bike Ride will have riders on all types of motorcycles and trikes, gathered together to support the mission of Ducks Unlimited, the world’s leader in wetlands and waterfowl conservation.

Proceeds from the ride support the work of the Ducks Unlimited chapter here in Cumberland County. Specifically, the ride will help fund the groups annual Green Wing Adventure. The annual David Varnedoe Green Wing Adventure provides an opportunity for 700 area children to go fishing and learn about conservation. The event takes place in mid-September each year at the John Pechman Fishing Center.

“Last year we took more than 700 kids fishing and our goal is 800 this year,” said M.L. Core, Chairman of the Cumberland County chapter of Ducks Unlimited, adding that one day is devoted entirely to children from the Falcon Children’s Home.

“The GreenWing program is for kids age 17 and younger. It teaches them not to pollute our wetlands and to appreciate the natural habitats of America’s waterfowl,” he added. Each child receives a rod and reel, T-shirt, hat, tackle box, a year’s membership to GreenWing and a year’s subscription to Puddler Magazine. According to ride chairman Bernard Vann, the Ducks Unlimited Bike Ride helps pay for all those rods and reels.

Registration for the ride will be from 7:30 to 10 a.m. The ride will be escorted by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department and will depart from the Crown Coliseum at 10 a.m. Upon arrival to the USS North Carolina Battleship in Wilmington, riders will be treated to a party at Battleship Park. The full meal will include Bar-B-Q pork, home cooked by David Collier of Collier Farms, and Bar-B-Q chicken, provided by Kinlaw’s Supermarket, as well as a live band to entertain the crowd with Beach music and hits from the ‘50s and ‘60s, according Vann. There will be a break along the route on 421 about 10 miles from Clinton.

Those who participated last year will notice that the date of the ride is much earlier than last year.

“We moved the ride up to June, instead of August, on account of the heat. We’re trying to have it when it’s not quite so hot,” explained Vann. “Last year we had 122 riders, a real good turnout for that time of year.”

The $45 registration fee entitles the biker to receive a T-shirt, door prize drawings and meal, as well as a chance at the Ducks Unlimited 12-gauge Shotgun drawing. Additional riders are $25 and they will also receive a shirt, meal and chance at the door prizes. The T-shirts feature original artwork designed by artist Jimmy Norris. Cars and trucks are welcome to participate in the ride as well.

Ducks Unlimited is a nonprofit organization made up of almost all volunteers. According to Core, there are 132 chapters in N.C. and they raise several million per year.

“It’s one of the only nonprofit organizations in the U.S. where 98 percent of the money actually goes towards preserving wetlands. Only 2 percent is used for administration costs,” said Core. “Out of 132 chapters in the state, Cumberland County was number one in sponsors and participation in 2009. And our program was in the top 100 in the nation — we actually ranked 28 in the U.S.”

Tickets for the Ducks Unlimited Bike Ride can be purchased in advance at several area locations including: Steel Dreams, Chrome Custom Cycles, M&M Leather, Prestige Automotive Service, and Cape Fear Harley Davidson, all in Fayetteville, The Shop in Hope Mills, Holly’s Grill in Autryville, and Jamie Deese in Pembroke. For more information, contact Bernard Vann, the ride chairman, at 624-6252 or M.L. Core at 988-2444.