With the blossoming of a new summer, so too blossoms a new season for the local theatre community. One group in particular has some very exciting possibilities in store for the community. They are the River Valley Players.

The River Valley Players are a local nonprofi t theatre troupe consisting entirely of volunteers who perform in order to support local charities.

“We are striving to help other people that need help. Local charities that need an extra boost, and if we are able to help them in any way this is what we try to do,” says Gerry Cruse, founder and director of the Players.

When asked about which charities they choose to support, Cruse responded with, “We just get together and our board decides which one we want. We try to keep it local. Occasionally something comes up, like maybe a cancer research, or something of that sort, because we have all been involved in one way or another with that kind of an incident. But mostly we try to keep everything local if we can.”

Most recently the Players have supported Wounded Warriors with a musical tribute to the military, and are preparing to hold auditions for a performance to benefi t the Fayetteville Urban Ministries. Cruse describes the upcoming performance as, “a series of four short plays, all comedies, all very, very funny.” It will be preformed August 19-20 at the Haymont Grill. They also will have a Christmas performance, but that has yet to be decided upon.

The River Valley Players started several years ago in response to the disaster in New Orleans caused by the infamous Hurricane Katrina.

“I was working at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center at that time and we had a show group in there and we decided to do a show to raise funds for the children that had been displaced by Katrina, and we actually raised about $3,000 on that occasion,” said Cruse.

The biggest new project Cruse has in the works however, is a permanent home for the players and a community theater.

“There is an opportunity for the River Valley Players to obtain a building on Trade Street in Hope Mills that will make a perfect little community theatre,” says Cruse excitedly. “It will be a community theatre; there will be rooms that could be rented for functions. The theatre itself will be small but can be dressed up as a wedding chapel, and people can have receptions there. It’s just a good scheme, and we think it would do great. We would like to have, during the summer and continuing if necessary, theatre camps for young people. And also really involve the youth of Hope Mills in the performing arts, because there is nothing live in Hope Mills other than what’s in the schools,” Cruse explained.

The River Valley Players face the same issues most non-profit organizations face, however. They need support, and they need volunteers. When asked if she had enough volunteers, Cruse responded simply and firmly with a single word, “No.”

With the opportunity of obtaining a building, the group needs support from the community more than ever. “If we could get that going I would be totally delighted. It’s two buildings; they are about a hundred years old. So they are going to have to have some work done to bring them up to code before we can even start to think of putting stuff in there, let alone a gathering place for people. So, we have to make sure all of that is correct, and compliant with ADA rules. But I’m hoping we can get enough support to do this,” said Cruse.

In the heart of historic downtown Sanford sits the Temple Theater, just off Carthage Street. Built in 1925 and restored in the 1980s, the Temple Theater may look like a museum, but is an active live-production theater today. While Main Stage Productions only run from September through May, the summer is a special time for patrons.

Every year the Temple Theater runs a Youth Conservatory through the summer months. This is a special theater training camp for kids ages 8 to 18, with a cost of $300 per child. It is so popular that the theater runs two separate camps each summer. According to Jordan Childress, marketing director, both three week sessions filled up on registration day in April within 30 minutes of opening. This year it expanded the slots available from 38 to 45 to accommodate as many campers as it could.

After the three weeks of daily rehearsals and lessons, campers will do four performances of Alice in Wonderland, an original adaptation by the theater’s Producing Artistic Director, Peggy Taphorn. Music for this production was done by Michael Hoagland, based in New York. Hoagland is the same artist who wrote the music for the theater’s popular original production of A Christmas Carol, which is done each December.

The public is welcome to come see either session’s production of Alice in Wonderland. Performances for the first conservatory will be July 8-10, and for the second conservatory on August 5-7. Tickets for the conservatory performances are $12 for adults and $6 for kids. Performance times vary, so please see the temple website for specifi c dates and times. www.templeshows.com/html/summer.html

Calling all actors! On July 23, the theater will hold auditions for the 2011-2012 theater season. Performers are paid actors drawn from all over the triangle. Auditions will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The theater performs eight Main Stage productions and four Black Box productions each year.

On tap this season are some great plays, many of which are sure to be community favorites. Guys and Dolls will start the season on Sept. 15 and will run through Oct. 2.

Dial “M” for Murder will bring mystery to the stage Oct. 20-Nov. 6. The theater’s annual production of A Christmas Carol will end the 2011 shows, with a run from Dec. 1-Dec. 18.

The new year will come in with a bang, as Country Royalty comes to the stage Jan. 12-29, 2012. And, get ready for side-splitting comedy in February, as The Odd Couple runs Feb. 16- March 4, 2012.

The season will end with the wacky Little Shop of Horrors, April 26-May 13.

Temple Theatre offers the most flexible season ticket packages around. They are on sale every season from June through Sept. 10 - Oct. 3. Choose from the four or six ticket pass and then use them in any combination that you wish. The four-ticket Flex Pass is $72 and the six-ticket pass is $108. Call the box offi ce at 919-774-4155 to get all the details!

Teens wishing to try out for the Temple Teens group will audition at 4 p.m. on July 23. Temple Teens is a special group of teenage performers who prepare 30-45 minute shows around town at fundraisers and other events all year long.

The theater is calling for logo submissions for a new fall fundraiser. It is hosting the Brick City Beer Fest on Oct. 15, which will be an annual event.

Taphorn says, “The winning design will become the offi cial Brick City Beer Festival logo. Also, the winner will receive two T-shirts and two season tickets to Temple Theatre’s 2011-2012 season.”

Logo applicants must be residents of North Carolina and at least 18 years of age. Please call the theater for additional information at 919-774-4512.

Tickets for the Beer Fest go on sale July 10 for $25. Tickets will sell for $35 on Oct. 15. Due to the limited space at Depot Park, where the event will be held, advance purchase is strongly recommended. Designated driver tickets for those who will not sample beer will be $10 in advance and $15 at the door.

Since the theater is often rented out for other events, be sure to check the Temple website for other concerts and benefits.

“Move that bus!” These are the words residents of Fayetteville/Cumberland County will soon be hearing.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, the popular Emmy Award-winning ABC Television reality show, is bringing their famous bus to Fayetteville to surprise one very lucky local family with a complete home rebuild. Along with host Ty Pennington and the rest of the Extreme team, local volunteers and builder Blue Ridge Log Cabins will race against time to construct an entire house for a deserving family.

Fayetteville Mayor Tony Chavonne helped make the announcement at a press conference hosted by the builder earlier today in Fayetteville.

“It’s an honor that a family from Fayetteville has been chosen to receive the home of their dreams, courtesy of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team and Blue Ridge Log Cabins,” said Mayor Chavonne. “We have been presented with a great opportunity for our citizens to join together to help one of our own and show the world that Fayetteville truly is America’s Hometown.” 

Log homes are rare on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and log homes built through a fully modular process have been unheard of... until now. Blue Ridge Log Cabins, an 18-year-old company, has built more than 980 log homes throughout the nation and more than 500 in North Carolina.

“We couldn’t be happier to work alongside this fantastic community, and we hope everyone will turn out and join us in building an extraordinary home for this deserving family,” said Blue Ridge Log Cabins President and CEO Chip Smith.

The theme for the build, “Heroes, Hearts and Hard Hats,” was selected in honor of the patriotic pride and community spirit of America’s Hometown. Fayetteville’s heroes are being asked to come forward and participate in the seven-day, televised construction project. Community members, volunteers, leaders, craftsmen and business owners are all welcome.

While behind-the-scenes planning is taking place at warp speed, the name of the family and the exact location of the home will not be released until Thursday, July 14 when the design team and a crew of volunteers surprise the lucky family with their well-known, “Good Morning!” wake up call. Five families in the Fayetteville area are being considered as finalists.

If you want to participate in the project, here are some dates you will need to keep in mind. A community pep rally is slated for Thursday, July 7 from 5-7 p.m. at the Crown Coliseum.

On Thursday, July 15, the lucky family will be notified at 8 a.m. with a megaphone shout-out from the Extreme team.

Just one-week later, on Thursday, July 21, the completed house will be revealed and those famous words, “Bus Driver, Move That Bus!” will ring throughout Fayetteville.

To find out how you can get involved, visit www.blueridgelogcabins.com or www.joinextreme.com.

Photo below: The cast of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will make a local Fayetteville family’s dream come true this month.

My Dad has always been a Yankees’ man. It didn’t matter if the team was winning or losing, he was pulling for them. I grew up watching the N.Y. Yankees play ball in our living room — via the television — throughout my childhood.

My Dad loves the game of baseball. In his younger years, he played pitcher on a team in Alexandria, La. I remember the whole family loading up in the station wagon to go watch him play. At the time, I thought he should be playing for the Yankees. Such is life through the eyes of the child.

Later, I frequently found myself at the ball fi eld watching my older brothers and sister play softball. My brothers were giants on the fi eld. You could always count on them to knock it out of the park. And my sister, Susan, was no slouch either. She played a wicked fi rst base and no one could touch her at bat.

I played one season of softball, and realized it really wasn’t my sport. But it didn’t stop my love of the game.

My husband is a Yankees’ man. That and his service in the military are the two reasons I think my Dad loves him so much. When we found out I was expecting, the first thing my husband bought was a ball glove. When he presented it to me with a big smile on his face, I had a brief glimpse of my future... countless hours spent shuttling our little slugger to the ball park, sitting in the heat or rain watching games and waiting for the agony of defeat. I have to admit, I wasn’t too excited about that picture.

Thankfully, things change.

Our little one has, in fact, grown up with a ball of some sort in his hand since he was 4-years-old. His first venture into the world of athletics was T-ball. And like every mother who ever sat her son the field, I chased him around and tried to get him to understand that the butterfl ies were not what he should be interested in, but rather the ball hurtling from the sky at his head.

Our next foray into the athletic world was basketball. Again, he was 4. He and his teammates were more interested in sliding down the floor of the YMCA gym than actually learning the fundamentals of the sport. And my son, JohnJohn, seemed to think that basketball was a contact sport. My husband and I took great pleasure from the calls of the other parents who would yell, “JohnJohn get the ball from him,” and watch as he tackled the opposing player to get the ball away.

Finesse was not his strong point.

Soccer seemed to be a good fit. He liked playing the goal. And I liked him in the goal. He dominated the goal. No one came into his goal, and pity the poor child who tried.

I remember sitting in my chair at the end of the field right by the goal — far away from the other parents — cheering him on. Later, friends explained to me that yelling, “No one comes in your goal — you own it” and “There’s no crying in soccer”— after he was hit in the face by the ball — wasn’t exactly cheering.

Soccer taught me that I had a competitive monster just waiting to come out.

Football was also a good fit for our boy. Somewhere around the age of 6, he started to grow. He has remained at the 95th to 98th percentile for his age in height and weight, so his appearance at football tryouts made coaches smile in antcipation.

He loves the game, and he is good at it. But baseball is truly his passion.

For the past five years, he has played at the Gray’s Creek Recreation Center. For the majority of that time, he has played for the same coach and with many of the same players. These boys have grown-up together and they have jelled into a pretty amazing team.

Our coach, Jim Lisi, has more passion for the sport than anyone I have ever met. But it’s not so much about winning, rather about encouraging the boys to do their best. Practice after practice, night after night, he put the boys through countless drills.

I remember the first season he coached, the boys didn’t even get on the field until they mastered what he called the fundamentals of baseball. We parents would sit and watch and wonder when they were ever going to get on the fi eld and how all of the little drills would make them a team. We couldn’t see it, but Jim did.

As is the case with every coach and every parent, we did not always see eye to eye. But Jim always took the time to listen, and, when he found merit in what we said, tried our way. Sometimes that got lost in translation, and rather than seeing how he bent, we saw only that it wasn’t as far as we wanted.

As parents, we sometimes grew tired of the numerous practices and his expectations of his team. While parents would mutter amongst themselves, the boys kept playing. They kept learning, and along the way, they kept winning.

As I watched our team win, I realized that Coach Jim was teaching the boys more than baseball. He’s been teaching them about excellence, about never settling for less, about never giving anything than their best. Those lessons aren’t always easy for 9- and 10-year-olds. Heck, they aren’t easy for adults.

But year, after year, our boys took those lessons to heart. So much so, that it altered their decisions. Last fall, my son opted out of football because he wanted to show Coach Jim that he could excel as a catcher. He made a conscious decision to give his best — even though he knew he wouldn’t be the starting catcher when he returned for spring ball.

That’s the kind of choices that many of the boys on our team have made over and over again, and this season, it paid off for them.

Our team, the Gray’s Creek Yankees (you didn’t really think it could be anything else, did you?) won our league championship.

Coach Jim was named the head coach for the All-Star Team. Being on that team was my son’s goal.The day the team was picked, Jim came by our house to let JohnJohn know he made the team. Why? He knew what it would mean to him, and he wanted to see the look on his face.

Our All-Star Team had a heck of a run. They won their pool, beating fi ve of the best teams in the county. They played with the hearts of champions and with a kindness and spirit that is rarely seen in league sports.

Our season ended on Thursday, June 30, as we fell 4-3 to the North Fayetteville All-Stars in one of the best ball games I have seen in years. Both teams played with a heart and spirit that made baseball the American sport.

On the sidelines, a huge group of Gray’s Creek residents — many of whom didn’t even have children playing on the team — cheered them on. Even in defeat, the crowd roared their approval and love for this team.

Watching, I realized that this is why we choose to live in a community like Gray’s Creek. It’s the people. It’s the love and support they have for their children and their neighbor’s children. I listened as person after person told player after player that they had played an excellent game and had nothing to be ashamed of. The boys looked to Jim to see if this was right.

He didn’t fail them.

We may not have made it to the state play-offs, but we had an All-American season, and that’s a memory and an honor that no one can ever take away from these boys.

Go Grays Creek All-Stars!

Photo: Gray’s Creek All-Stars showed community its heart.

“And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fi ght against nation nor train for war anymore”     Isaiah 2:4

The North Carolina Farm Center for Innovation and Sustainability with its ally, the N.C. Wal-Mart Foundation has declared war:

A war on hunger! A war on military veterans’ unemployment! A war on the waning sustainability of small farms!

The N.C. Swords to Plowshares project will train veterans and active-duty troops leaving the military in agricultural enterprises and innovative farming practices. Vets will get hands-on experience in organic pesticides, solar drip irrigation, biochar topsoil, “green organics” and high-tunnel technology in an “agricultural boot camp.”

Two-thirds of the training will focus on utilization of the land, equipment and skills that will allow the participants to compete for jobs in the state’s agricultural industries.

Unemployment among military veterans is a shocking 33 percent and jobs (particularly without skills) are as scarce as hen’s teeth. But collaboration with community partners such as Fayetteville Technical Community College, the Workforce Development Program and the Military Business Assistance Center and armed with a $50,000 grant from Wal-Mart, the Farm Center hopes to shift the attention of young warriors from the battlefi elds of Iraq and Afghanistan to the farm fi elds of southeastern North Carolina.

A national trend to grow food locally in order to assure food safety and food security has lead to the realization that young soldiers possess many of the qualities to succeed in naturally grown and organic-farming enterprises and related businesses.

Agriculture, like the military, is not for the faint of heart. Soldiers have to be able to operate independently, take risk, not be afraid of hard work and long days, be disciplined and enjoy the physical and the outdoors (i.e. does not want to sit behind a desk).

The mission: Feed the forces (our communities), develop the opportunity to grow your own business and decompress in an environment that creates rather than destroys.

Archie’s Acres is teaching Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton, Calif., to wage a “ground assault” on stray frogs that would clog an irrigation system. In Central Florida, a wounded warrior who left farming to join the military has come full circle, designing a wheelchair-accessible farm to grow “red, white and blueberries.”

Farming is one of the 10 Best Green Jobs and, according to CNN’s Money, demand for organic farmers is Number 2 in “hot jobs” in the “green space.” Many vets come from rural backgrounds and have access to low-interest loans to go into business for themselves.

In North Carolina, young recruits to agriculture would rejuvenate the aging farmer population which is both dwindling and has an average age of 58-years-old. Farming has become the cause du jour among young people with college degrees and trust funds, but the “gut” sense of the old timers is when many have dropped out, the vets will still be there.

With Fayetteville’s recognition as an All-America City, our new and exciting Botantical Garden Complex, a re-invigorated downtown and the recent opening of the N.C. Veterans Park, I guess it is getting pretty diffi cult to pinpoint just what we like “best” about this community.

For the 14th year in a row, we are going to try. Yes, get ready Cumberland County, Fayetteville and Fort Bragg — it is that time of year again when we poll our Up & Coming Weekly readers and ask them to share their opinions about local issues, people, businesses and organizations that in one way or the other has made an impact on our community during the last 12 months.For 14 years, this has been our way of monitoring local community development and our quality-of-life index while allowing us to acknowledge and congratulate publicly those who have dedicated themselves to improving our quality of life by leaving an indelible mark on our community.

If you are a regular reader of U&CW, you know we take this reader’s survey very, very seriously. Our staff goes to great lengths to find, congratulate and salute the “best of the best.” For those of you who may be new to the community and not familiar with the process, we encourage you to participate by completing the ballot found on page 27 and 28 of this issue and submitting it before the deadline of August 4th. Best of Fayetteville ballots my also be downloaded from our website by going to Up & Coming Weekly’s website and free electronic edition at www.upandcomingweekly.com. Most importantly, make sure you follow these instructions:

1. Fill in and complete at least 15 categories.

2. Include your name and address.

3. Complete only one entry per person.

4. Mail in or deliver to our offi ce (208 Rowan St.) only one entry per envelope.

5. The most important thing: DON’T CHEAT! Not that you would, of course, but tell your friends and associates it will do them no good to try and “stuff” the ballot box.

Like I said, we have been doing this for years and we take this survey very seriously. Our readers trust our publication and have confidence in the people, businesses and organizations that support our community newspaper. And, unlike most other local contests 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 the process of counting, auditing and verifying begins. It is here that incomplete, duplicated, falsified, doctored and suspicious ballots are revealed and disallowed. Yes, this is a very costly and time-consuming process, however, one that has a 14-year track record of success and dependability and has proven to be quite effective. The end results have been that the Best of Fayetteville readers survey and recognition has been able to maintain its high level of integrity, dignity, honor and pride. Each winner is proud to display their plaque or certifi ate provided by our original sponsor Jimmy Keefe and The Trophy House.

So, please participate by  lling out and submiting a ballot. Tell us like it is, and we will tell the community. Curious minds want to know: Who is the Best of Fayetteville? You may even win $100. We have a special drawing from all the valid submitted entries. The winner will be presented $100 at the Best of Fayetteville party on Sept. 13. We hope to see you there.

Don’t forget: This year you can vote online. Include your email address on the ballot and we will subscribe you to our “free” Online Early Bird 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 at your business or organization, call us at 910 484 6200 and we will make sure you are directed to the closest available outlet. With more than 500 locations county-wide that shouldn’t be a problem. Above all else, have fun with this and feel free to call me anytime. We love to hear from our readers.

Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly and for making us Fayetteville and Cumberland County’s #1 Community Newspaper.

On Monday, July 4, North Carolinians from all walks of life will make their way to the intersection of Bragg Boulevard and Hay Street. There, they will celebrate the completion of Phase One of the North Carolina Veterans Park, a project that has been two and half years in design and construction and more than three decades in the making.

The park, a project of the City of Fayetteville, was first suggested by the N.C. General Assembly almost three decades ago. There was a competition between a number of areas at that time, but Cumberland County won the bid to build the park. That was before Hurricane Fran and Hurricane Floyd wreaked havoc on our state. Staring down the face of two natural disasters, the legislature pulled back funding and the park was put on hold.

Fast foward to 2008-2009, and the project began to gain some traction. At that time, former N.C. Senator Tony Rand was considering how much longer he was going to remain in the N.C. Senate. Rand, a proponent of the park and its placement within the confines of Cumberland County, brought the issues back up and was successful in getting an appropriation for the park. But, rather than the money going to the county, it went to the City of Fayetteville, which has taken the ball and run with it. Like Rand, city leaders saw the creation of the park adjacent to the Airborne and Special Operations Museum a win/win for the city’s historic downtown and the veterans who will make their way here for a visit.

According to Craig Hampton, who works on special projects for the city, the placement downtown is “dynamic.” Hampton noted that as the park grows, it will eventually connect to the ASOM, Festival Park and Freedom Memorial park via walkways and bridges.

The initial phase of construction will open during a special ceremony on Monday, July 4, that will feature participation by national, state and local veterans organizations, representatives from all five branches of the military and politcos, including N.C. Gov. Beverly Perdue; Joe Riojas, assistant secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Mayor Tony Chavonne, City of Fayetteville. A special guest at the event will be Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, who is currently in Iraq. Helmick will take part in the event via VTC. In keeping with the patriotic theme of the event, the 82nd Airborne Division Ceremonial Band and the All American Chorus will perform in the new N.C. Veterans Park Amphitheatre.

Following the dedication of the park at 10 a.m., the public will be invited into the park. Organizers are going a long way to make sure the day is one to remember and will provide free hotdogs, ice cream, lemonade and cake to those in attendance. And while the food is an added bonus, the majority of those in attendance will come to marvel at the park and the way it has transformed, yet again, the city center.

Phase 1 of the park consists of 4.5 acres on the southside of Cross Creek. It showcases 10 water features, a visitor’s center, amphitheatre and boardwalk.

According to Hampton, “It has lots of architectural elements in it. The elements convey what the story line says: Respect, honor and pride that the people have in their veterans.”

Hampton said the park is intended to be an “urban oasis,” that allows visitors to reflect, relax, enjoy and bond with their fellow veterans. It is a place where they can share their stories and their experiences, and it invites them to take pride in their service, and allows the community to honor them for it.

One of the unique elements of the park is the vast use of public art.

“Public art — in this case — has a broad defi nition,” explained Hampton. “Almost all of the things in the park have been designed to be appealing and have meaning — in short, the whole thing is public art.”

Of particular note is the Oath of Service Wall, where the casted hands of veterans from all 100 counties will be on display. This project, under the oversight of the Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County, and in particular, Fayetteville artist Soni Martin, truly defi nes what the park is all about.

On the wall, there are the hands of 100 N.C. veterans, who range in age from 20 to over 100. Each hand is raised, much as it would have been when the veteran took his oath of service. There are 99 right hands on the wall, and one left hand. As Martin, explained, “The one man didn’t have a right hand, or a leg for that matter, he lost it in defense of our nation.”

For more on the park, visit the website at www.ncveteranspark.org and look in next week’s edition for more on the art, artists and opening.

If, after reaching this point in the newspaper, you still aren’t sure what to do on the 4th of July, we have a couple of more suggestions for you.

You may want to drop into Fort Bragg and take in the festivities that ranked #16 on Parade Magazine’s America’s Bucket List.

The entry on #16 reads: Seek out the best 4th of July fireworks within 50 miles of your home. One of the biggest shows is in New York City, where up to six barges detonate simultaneous displays, but every state has spectacular options, like Disneyland Resort’s patriotic explosions in Anaheim, Calif., or the celebration at Fort Bragg in N.C., which includes a thrilling parachuting exhibition.

The event was also named one of the Top 20 events in the southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society. It seems that the rest of America has fi nally clued in on what those of us who live in the region have known all along — if you want to celebrate your freedom, there’s no better place to do so than with the men and women who protect it every day. The Fort Bragg 4th of July Celebration has always been a show stopper and this year, it looks to be even better than before.

The annual celebration is held at the Main Post Parade Field, right in the heart of Fort Bragg. Events kick off at 3 p.m. on Monday, July 4, and run throughout the evening, concluding with one of the area’s most inspiring fi reworks displays.

Throughout the afternoon, attendees can watch breathtaking parachute freefall demonstrations; observe the grandeur of the popular flag ceremony; the shock and awe of the fireworks; and take part in what has to be one of America’s largest picnics as thousands of people unfold their blankets, break out their picnic baskets or take advantage of the wide variety of food and beverages that will be available from vendors throughout the evening.

While the Fort Bragg event is known for its patriotic flavor, it’s also known for its musical guests. Each year Fort Bragg welcomes some of the nation’s most popular performers to the stage to delight the community.

In recent years, there has been a decidedly country flavor to the event, and that remains true this year, as the post welcomes Charlie Daniels and Little Big Town to the stage.

Daniels, a native of Wilmington, N.C., is best known for his fiddle playing and his hit songs “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and “In America.”

In recent years, he has made headlines for his support of the military and his views on politics. In 2003, Daniels published an Open Letter to the Hollywood Bunch in defense of President George W. Bush’s Iraq policy. His 2003 book Ain’t No Rag: Freedom, Family, and the Flag contains this letter as well as many other personal statements.

Daniels will be joined at the celebration by Little Big Town, a band that is known for its love of music and love of harmony. The band has sold more than 1.5 million records and garnered three Grammy nominations, including The Road to Here’s nomination for album of the year.

Come early and take in all the events and then keep your eyes on the skies for the fireworks show that is sure to please everyone in your family!If you’ve never been to Bragg’s 4th of July activities, the sheer size of the event and the number of people who come may seem overwhelming; however, the post has this event down to a science and if you follow a few simple rules, everything will run smoothly. A complete listing of access points, parking areas and prohibited areas is listed on the Fort Bragg MWR website. While the entire community is welcome, please keep in mind that persons entering the post must have ID and your vehicles are subject to search. No pets or glass bottles are permitted on the parade field, and shelters and umbrellas are allowed only in designated areas.

For more information, visit www. fortbraggmwr.com/sportsrec/specialevents/4thsoe.pdf.

Local soldiers are the focus of the newest exhibit gallery at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum. A Legacy of Army Service: Tar Heels 1940 to Present, is a temporary exhibit that opened in mid-June.

The exhibit complements the opening of the North Carolina State Veterans Park over 4th of July weekend. The park, located across the ASOM parking lot, commemorates a veteran’s journey before, during and after service. The exhibit does the same.

Many North Carolinians, nicknamed Tar Heels, share a rich legacy of service that embodies the army values. This exhibit honors these men and women. It particularly highlights soldiers with airborne and special operations connections. Also recognized are North Carolina Army National Guard and Army Reserve units including the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team (HBCT) headquartered in Clinton and the 824th Quartermasters based out of Fort Bragg.

The most striking part of the exhibit sits quietly near the back wall, and it doesn’t look like much at fi rst, just a two-sided, dark, wooden rack strung with 10 rows of silver-colored metal. It’s not behind a rope or a glass case. Unlike other exhibits, it’s meant to be touched, which is when it jingles and chimes and reveals not solid rows of metal but tightly-packed, thin, metal “dog tags.”

Like most people, Cpl. William Watson, who is stationed at Fort Bragg, ran his hand down a line of tags when he saw the display.

Hung alphabetically and by confl ict, the first one is stamped with a name, “Abernathy Jacob L” and the fi ght, “World War II.” He’s the fi rst of nearly 10,000 of the dog tags, each representing a North Carolina soldier killed in confl ict between World War II and May 2011.

“It definitely brings a lot of perspective,” Watson said. “It’s a part of history that’s right there in your hands. It makes it seem very human. Every soldier wears dog tags, so it’s a part of them. It feels somewhat connected.”But not just those North Carolinians who sacrifi ced all are highlighted in this unique exhibit. There are also uniforms, weapons, a military Jeep and interesting tidbits relating to the service of Tar Heel soldiers.

One display estimates that there were, in September 2010, about 765,900 military veterans currently living in North Carolina.

“I think it’s (the exhibit is) long overdue,” said former Army Ranger and current China Grove resident Keith Childers, who was visiting the museum with his family for Father’s Day.

“With Fort Bragg being right here in North Carolina and a lot of other installations … This is something for my children, to bring them and show them what I can, of some of what I’ve done.”

Posters throughout the exhibit single out 22 past and present state heroes who played a wide range of roles in the Army. Sure, most people will recognize Tarboro native Gen. Henry Hugh Shelton’s picture, but through the exhibit they can also learn about people like Fayetteville resident First Sgt. Tanya Michele Krieger, who served from 1979 to 1999, and whose display hangs right there next to the general’s.

Autryville resident Lawrence Gambino said the dog tag exhibit was the stand out item for him, as a Vietnam veteran who was drafted in the ‘70s.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” he said.

His son, Lawrence Gambino Jr., called the dog tag exhibit “almost a memorial.”

“But it’s more realistic,” Gambino Jr. said. “To see things a soldier would carry with him day-in and day-out through his Army career, it’s more symbolic to see something like that.”

The ASOM is located in downtown Fayetteville and open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays, and closed Mondays.

Photo: A display of 10,000 dog tags signifying North Carolinians who have lost their lives since World War II serves as a moving memorial at the exhibit at the ASOM.

Community Celebrations Abound in the Cape Fear Region

July 4, Independence Day, marks the day the Continental Congress adopted the final draft of the Declaration of Independence. From July 8, 1776 through the following month, the document was read publicly, and people celebrated whenever they heard it. In the year 1783, Independence Day was made an official holiday, and in 1941, Congress declared July 4th a federal holiday.

John Adams, the first vice president and the second President of the United States wrote to his wife, “I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival... it ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfi res and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore.”

In keeping with Adams’ wish for our nation, there will be a plethora of celebrations on the 4th of July weekend throughout this great nation and this great state. Locally, residents can pick and choose, where, how and when they celebrate our nation’s birthday. You’ll find a lot of information in this edition about various weekend events, but below, you will find a round up of “hometown” activities that are sure to put a smile on your face and a feeling of patriotism in your heart.

Aberdeen

Aberdeen’s 46th Annual 4th of July celebration has something for everyone. Look for things like games, prizes, food, live music and fi reworks. Activities and games will start around 5:30 p.m. with live music by The Entertainers beginning at 6 p.m. Fireworks will start at 9:15pm. Admission to the park is free, but kids can purchase a $3 wristband and participate in extra activities, win prizes and have their faces painted. Everything is taking place at Aberdeen Lake Park. Give them a call at 944-PARK to fi nd out more.

Carthage

Carthage residents will kick-off their 4th of July festivities with a parade. It starts at 11a.m. at Monroe Street. After the parade, spend some time downtown during the city’s street festival, where you can eat, listen to music and celebrate with your friends. Find out more at 947-2331.

Hope Mills

Hope Mills has reserved an entire day to celebrate the 4th. Forget the afternoon barbeque, the fun here starts with a parade at 10 a.m., which starts at Hope Mills Middle School and ends at Rockfish Elementary School. Spend the day at Municipal Park, which opens at noon with kids games, infl atables, arts and crafts and more.

The mayor will address the crowd at 7 p.m., and then the entertainment starts. Jill Charles and Redtrii will perform followed by Rough Draft Entertainment. The night ends with fireworks at 9:30 p.m.

Call 426-4109 for more information.

Lillington

Known as the Festival of the Park, Lillington’s annual 4th of July Celebration, will be held on Monday, July 4, in the Lillington Park located at 405 South 1st Street (one block off Main Street).

The event includes rides, food vendors, entertainment by the Band of Oz and fireworks. Gates open at 3 p.m. and there is no admission charge.

Lumberton

Music and a Fireworks display are in store for Lumberton residents on July 2. The band Goldrush will perform. It’s all happening at Lumberton Senior High School starting at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. It starts at 7 p.m. with the fireworks starting around 9 p.m. Call 671-3869 to fi nd out more.

Parkton

On Monday, July 4, Parkton is hosting its 50th Annual 4th of July celebration. The fun begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Town Square and will include a parade at 11 a.m. There will be music throughout the day. Enjoy some freshly cooked barbeque while spending time with friends and family.

Pinehurst

For a more subdued celebration, try the 4th of July Moore County Concert Band. The band will play at 3 p.m. in the Cardinal Ballroom, Carolina Hotel at Pinehurst Resort. For more information call (910)295-9023.

Pinehurst is starting its 4th of July celebration at 5 p.m. at the The Fair Barn, Pinehurst Harness Track, Route 5, Pinehurst. Fun and games for all ages, pony rides, Sparky and friends and more to delight the young and old. The Vision Band will perform at 6 p.m. Local vendors and caterers will provide food and beverages, or bring your own picnic and enjoy the evening. Bring a blanket and lawn chairs, the fi reworks start at 9:15 p.m. at the 1 Mile Track. Call 295-2817 for more information.

Southport

If you want to participate in North Carolina’s 4th of July celebration, take a short trip to Southport, where for more than 200 years, the community has celebrated the nation’s independence. The celebration began during colonial times when ships lay anchor in her harbor and shot their cannons. Now, 40,000 to 50,000 people come each year to bathe in the richness of spirit commemorating Old Glory.

These days there will not be a lot of cannons firing, but there will be fun for the entire family. The Southport celebration kicks-off on Saturday, June 25 with the opening ceremony at 7:45 a.m. at Waterfront Park and continues through the 4th, with a wide variety of activities for the entire family.

Some highlights of the festival are the The N.C. Freedom Run/Walk, a concert by the 2nd Marine Division Military Band, an arts festival, Beach Day at Oak Island, Shag contests, a street festival, live music and much more.

One event that will be particularly poignant is the 9/11 Flag Stitching. The event brings a fl ag that was rescued from the World Trade Center on 9/11 to the city as part of a national tour. Residents from around the country have the opportunity to make a stitch on the fl ag in memory of those who lost their lives that day.

There will be several fireworks in the region over the week of the celebration.

For complete details, events and list of entertainment, visit www.nc4thofjuly.com.

Wilmington

In Historic Downtown Wilmington, the 4th of July celebration will begin at 5 p.m., when Water Street comes alive with food, music and fun. Entertainment can be found at Riverfront Park with live music provided by the Daniel Parish Band. Along the boardwalk, everyone has a front row street for the fi reworks display, which will begin at 9 p.m.

The Battleship Blastis one of the largest choreographed fireworks displays in the state and this year, it will be especially meaningful because the Battleship North Carolina is celebrating its 50th year here in Wilmington. The 20-minute spectacular fi reworks display has drawn crowds of more than 50,000 people. The 50th Battleship Anniversary celebration will not disappoint and at 9:05 p.m. the Battleship fireworks spectacular will begin. You don’t want to miss this year, as the fi reworks display will take on new forms that have never been seen in Wilmington before.

Primary viewing for the fireworks will be from downtown Wilmington. The entire Battleship complex on Eagles Island will be closed at 6 p.m. and all vehicles will be required to leave by 6:30 p.m.

In 1941 Congress declared July 4th a national holiday. We can’t be sure what Congress had in mind, but today, communities across the country celebrate with parades and picnics, fi reworks and barbecues. Growing up, my family went to our uncle’s cabin on the lake in Southwick, Mass. We enjoyed watermelon, water skiing, hot dogs and hamburgers and of course the burnt marshmallows on a stick after the coals were smoldering out. The adults gathered in their areas while the cousins swam, played chase or fought to be the driver of the boat. Darkness came and we sat back as we watched the fi reworks in the sky. As we age into teenagers and adults, our memories fade and new ones are created.

Seventy years after the fi rst July 4th national holiday, I celebrate America’s Independence in Fayetteville, N.C., with the men and women who defend the freedoms we enjoy in the community where N.C., ratifi ed the Constitution. In 2010, Fox News said Fort Bragg’s fi reworks are among the nation’s best. Fort Bragg has achieved the Army’s Excellence Award and now the National Civic league awards Fayetteville an All-America City designation.

Coming home from Kansas City, where Fayetteville received the All-America City award, my taxi driver, who was from Albania but had lived in Kansas City for the last 15 years, was telling me the story of living in a communist country through the 1990s. He worked a government job, drove a government car and lived in a government housing development. Today, smiling, he has built a successful transportation company and other ventures and says he is living the American dream. I listened in awe as the appreciation of the United States of America was further ingrained in mind, body and soul.

From July 1-4, Cumberland County has a plethora of Americana activities to satisfy any taste or budget. Please utilize the wonderful resources available at www.VisitFayettevilleNC.com. You can check out the calendar of events or use any of our planning tools to customize a weekend for you and your friends or family. Remember, we have 6,000 rooms, so you can let the community entertain you and the hotels house your guests. No mess no fuss.

While online, take a second to “like” the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Face Book page to keep up with community happenings. Better yet, get involved with our sister projects of the Army’s Army.com or FayettevilleWantsYou.com.

Get F.I.T. without dieting by being a friend in tourism or a watcher in the group organized to show the world why we are America’s First Military Sanctuary and are committed to watching over those who watch over us.

In the near future, our community will host the Heroes Crusade — an athlete’s campaign. This three-day event includes a rugby tournament, a golf tournament and a walk, bike or run event and leads into the activities of Heroes Homecoming. During the 10 days of Heroes Homecoming, Cumberland County will celebrate the Vietnamese culture and present a Veterans Day weekend that honors the nation’s Vietnam Veterans.

As we look into the future, we can see that Cumberland County is all American. Spring Lake EDC is working hard to provide a plan that furthers their efforts and helps that city achieve its American Dream. Hope Mills is growing fast and adding many beautiful homes, restaurants and a new movie theater. At 10 a.m. on the 4th of July, Hope Mills will host a fun celebration. I look forward to the day when their lake is restored, and I am laying back, watching their fireworks. Life will have come full circle.

In the meantime, help us to help you. Learn about the community’s attributes and invite people to visit. Last year, our residents saved $93 in their tax bills because of visitor tax generation. We all win if United We Stand.

May God Bless you and yours for a safe and fruitful summer.

Super 8 (Rated PG-13)  4 Stars

J.J. Abrams nostalgic look at the 1970’s owes much to the early science fiction/fantasy work of Steven Spielberg. Super 8 (112 minutes) mostly succeeds in what it sets out to do, even if some of the younger actors are a bit precocious. If the film has a single major flaw, it is in the tendency to try wringing emo-tional depth out of smaltziness. On the other hand, as you would expect from the man behind the plane crash on Lost, the train crash that drives the first half of the film is rendered in spectacular detail.

In the early part of 1979 Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) loses his mother. There is something unresolved about his mother’s death, but the audience is left to ponder it as the movie advances four months in time to the end of school year.

Joe hangs out with a little Aryan youth gang, Charles (Riley Griffiths, who I bet we’re going to see more of), Preston (Zach Mills), Martin (Gabriel Basso) and Cary (Ryan Lee). Charles is making a low-budget zombie film to enter into a film festival, and he has managed to get The Girl from the Wrong Side of the Tracks, Alice (Elle Fanning), to help them out. Not only is she going to steal her dad’s (Ron Eldard…HEY! He played the romantic lead in an obscure Phoebe Cates movie called Drop Dead Fred! AND a doomed astronaut in Deep Impact!) car, and drive them to their shooting location, she also agrees to play a character in the movie.

While filming the rehearsal, all the boys develop a crush on Alice, but they are distracted by the impending train explosion, which takes approximately 30 minutes to finish. And is shown from about a million angles. And does not dis-able their unfortunately parked stolen car, despite the fact that the car was clearly in the path of the derailing train, and despite the fact that it is clearly shown being showered with fiery twisted metal. In fact, they are able to pop into the car and drive off without any of the Air Force guys stopping them or shooting their tires out, even though the kids take their time rummaging through the crash site and picking up interesting metal cubes.

Despite their luck at getting away unharmed, Colonel Nelec (Noah Emmerich) has his men take plaster casts of the tire tracks, and finds the empty film boxes. Luckily for the kids, he is a stupid colonel and makes all kinds of assumptions about the people who saw the crash, which buys them some time.

People, pets, microwaves, and car engines start disappear-ing. Joe’s dad (Kyle Chandler) practices being a terrible parent in between attempting to fill the shoes of the missing Sheriff while poking at the Air Force guys every chance he gets. Really, Mr. Lamb, you should trust the shady government dudes on a secret mission in your town.

The kids continue to film their movie, incorporating the Air Force presence into the film to raise production values, al-though how they managed to get their hands on a child-sized version of the Air Force uniform, including blue beret, remains an off-screen secret. After a little poking around, the kids, lack-ing only a Mystery Machine, easily discover the source of all the spooky goings on. Too bad the Air Force discovers them! Not that it matters, be-cause in order for the plot to advance the kids need to get away from the military.

Which they do, amidst some nicely framed shots of tanks rolling though playgrounds and military guys firing automatic weapons in the suburbs. Despite the push to declare Super 8 a next generation E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial, it’s not quite there. At least we get to see the final version of the kid’s zombie film over the closing credits.

This Independence Day weekend, hoist “Old Glory,” put on your red, white and blue and join the North Carolina Symphony for an evening of free music and fireworks on Friday, July 1, at 8 p.m. at Festival Park, located at the corner of Ray and Rowan streets in historic down-town Fayetteville.

Come celebrate our nation’s 235th birthday under the stars as guest con-ductor Sarah Ioannides leads the North Carolina Symphony and tenor Adam Ulrich through a program of selected favorites, ranging from classical composi-tions and arrangements of musicals to American jazz and patriotic tunes.

“The program is a lot of fun,” said Jeannie Mellinger, director of communica-tions for the North Carolina Symphony. “It’s very familiar music, patriotic favor-ites, the toe-tapping kinds of things that people love to listen to around the 4th of July.”

Among the tunes the audience will enjoy are “The Star-Spangled Banner,” a Duke Ellington Medley, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “The Sound of Music: A Symphonic Picture,” as well as the “Semper Fidelis March” and a salute to the Armed Forces. Additionally, Ulrich will perform a selection of pieces, including “La Donna e mobile” from Rigoletto and “American Anthem.”

Ulrich, a native of New York and an alumnus of the UNC School of the Arts and the A. J. Fletcher Opera Institute, is making his North Carolina Symphony debut under the direction of acclaimed guest conductor Ioannides, music director of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and the Spartanburg (S.C.) Philharmonic Orchestra since 2005, and recognized by the League of American Orchestras as one of the nation’s top emerging conductors.

“Sarah Iaonnides is one of the truly up-and-coming rising stars in the conducting world,” Mellinger said.

According to her website, Australian-born Iaonnides has been described “by the New York Times as a conductor with ‘unquestionable strength and authority,’” and “has received outstanding press for her innovative program-ming and creative artistic leadership with world premieres, vibrant multime-dia productions and stunning performances.” As a guest conductor, she has directed top orchestras, symphonies and ensembles on five continents, and she is looking forward to her engagement with the North Carolina Symphony this 4th of July weekend.

“I’m delighted to celebrate this magnificent American holiday with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra!” said Iaonnides. “We will offer a panoramic glimpse into the country highlighting the vision and optimism of the American spirit through classic American music. I find the history of American music fascinating with its rich diversity and have included selections from film, Broadway, jazz, sport, military marches, spiritual and patriotic Americana. We will also feature composers whose nationalities have come to join the wonderful melting pot of America. Adam Ulrich, a versatile young tenor with whom I’m excited to work, will play an integral role in the concert performing a mix of popular songs, and we also invite the audience to sing along to the Sound of Music. I truly look forward to a festive evening!”

And what better venue for a free concert with fireworks during our nation’s 235th birthday celebration than in a city noted for its History, Heroes and Hometown Feeling? 

For more information, visit www.ncsymphony.org or call 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724.

Photo: Acclaimed guest conductor Sarah Iaonnides has put together an enter-taining program for the July 1 concert. 

Uncle Sam’s birthday is fast approaching, and that only means one thing — it’s almost time for thegreatest fireworks show of the year at J.P. Riddle Stadium.

Sure, this would be a perfect place for a metaphor for something about lots of baseballs flying out of the ballpark for the Fayetteville SwampDogs, but we’re actu-ally talking about real fireworks to celebrate the birthday of the red, white, and blue. It’s the annual Independence Day fireworks show at J.P. Riddle, and it’s part of the Fayetteville SwampDogs All-Star Summer of Fun.

Tickets for the July 3 game against the Wilson Tobs are scarce, which includes the tribute to honor America and the fireworks extrava-ganza of the summer, following the game. But there are plenty of chances to see your SwampDogs in action this week as they battle Florence and Morehead City for the first-half divi-sion title.

On Thursday, come help the SwampDogs go “green” at their fourth annual Green Night as the Edenton Steamers make their only trip to Fayetteville. The first 500 fans will receive a reusable tote bag courtesy of Fayetteville PWC, FAMPO and Restore Warehouse. It’s also Methodist night, so wear your green as part of Green Night to show your support for the Monarchs.

Keeping with the theme, Friday is Recycle Night presented by DEX. The first 500 fans into the ballpark for the game against the Columbia Blowfish will receive a logo baseball courtesy of DEX, and any fan that brings their DEX phonebook to the ballpark will be entered into a prize drawing. It’s also Opening Night Part II, with tons of games and prizes to celebrate the start of the second half of the season.

Then on Sunday it’s all about celebrating the birth of America. Gates open at 5 p.m. for the special 7:05 p.m. start time against Wilson, so get to the park early to celebrate everything that is the 4th of July.

There’s no better place to celebrate Independence Day — or any other beautiful summer evening — than with the Fayetteville SwampDogs as part of the All-Star Summer of Fun at J.P. Riddle Stadium.

Photo: There’s no better place to celebrate Independence Day — or any other beautiful summer evening — than with the Fayetteville SwampDogs.

An agency of the state of North Carolina recently held a ludicrous meeting.

Yes, I know that’s not particularly news-worthy. It’s a safe bet that on every week-day, and more than a few weekends, state government convenes or hosts at least one meeting that wastes the time of its partici-pants and the money of the taxpayers.

But the meeting to which I refer, a state regulatory hearing about potential hospital expansion in Wake County, is a particularly egregious case. The hearing, just outside the state capitol in the Garner Historic Auditorium, featured a series of hospital lobbyists and executives trying to obtain state permission to open or expand hospitals in fast-growing areas of the county.

WakeMed, a private nonprofit that used to be a county-owned hospital, is one of the bidders. Rex Hospital, which used to be a private nonprofit but is now owned by the state, is another bidder. Novant Health, a Winston-Salem nonprofit that owns 13 hospitals across four states, is the third bidder.

Why can’t these competing institutions simply make their own decision about where to invest in new hospital capacity, weighing the costs and benefits according to their own projections and business strategies? Because the state of North Carolina won’t let them. North Carolina still utilizes a certificate-of-need system to authorize new hospital beds and other medical services.

Rather like Bulgarian shoe companies and Romanian food processors once had to do, North Carolina’s hospitals have to submit their ideas to gov-ernment officials, who then get to decide whether those ideas are consistent with a central plan.

In this case, reports the Raleigh News & Observer, the state has “determined that Wake County needs 101 new hospital beds over the next several years to keep up with increasing demand and the growing population.”

Really? How can the state’s hospital commissars be sure that the true need isn’t 104 beds or 97 beds? And if they predict incorrectly, who pays the price?

I suppose I could write a lengthy ex-planation of why central planning is a poor way of making medical decisions. I could point out that states without certificate-of-need laws do just fine, and that there is no empirical support for the assertion that certificate-of-need regulation improves the quality or reduces the cost of medical services.

I could — but that would be redundant. My JLF colleagues Roy Cordato and Joe Coletti have already explored these is-sues in great depth.

So I’ll just say this: If you think that the best way to decide who should build new hospitals, and where, is to entrust the decision to a heavily lob-bied state agency rather than competitive markets, you and I live in very different worlds.

In mine, it is the year 2011 and Soviet-style central plan-ning is on the outs. In what world do you reside?

Photo: North Carolina still utilizes a certificate-of-need system to authorize new hos-pital beds and other medical services. 

What is North Carolina’s most widely available summer pleasure that we often pass by without partaking?

It is the bounty of delicious fresh foods that are available throughout the state all summer long.

I have been spoiled by the year-round availability and wide selection of fruits and vegetables at our grocery stores. So I sometimes forget how much better foods are when they are fresh from the field, tree or vine.

Then somebody shares a fresh-picked ripe strawberry, peach or tomato.

And I remember joyously the pleasures of in-season eating.

This year I have help. It comes from four new books from food experts who celebrate the value of farm-fresh eating. Each author takes a little bit different approach to getting the food from farm to table.

Award winning chef Andrea Reusing organizes her recipes and advice by seasons of the year. Sara Foster catalogues her fa-vorite recipes and stories by types of dishes, from hors d’oeuvres to sweets. Watauga County native Sheri Castle puts her collec-tion of recipes in separate chapters for about 40 vegetables and fruits. They are in A to Z order from apples to zucchini. Finally, travel writer Diane Daniel organizes by geographical location the farms, markets, restaurants and other places where we can find and buy in-season fresh vegetables and fruit.

We will take up the Reusing’s and Foster’s books in this column and follow up next week with a discussion of those by Castle and Daniel.

Andrea Reusing owns the acclaimed Chapel Hill restaurant Lantern, one of the former Gourmet Magazine’s Top Fifty restaurants. Her Cooking In The Moment: A Year of Seasonal Recipes takes its readers through every season, showing how to shop for and prepare the variety of local foods that are avail-able in North Carolina during different times of the year. Reusing’s restaurant is known for its complex Asian-inspired flavors. There is some of that influence in the recipes in her book.

But, for the most part, the foods and the directions are simple and designed to take advantage of what is fresh and available. I loved her great advice about my favorite food, the tomato: “The secret to eating great tomatoes all summer long lies not in which variety — but in watching them — making space for them to lie flat someplace cool near the kitchen, checking them daily, eating the ones that need eating and continuously making plans for the ones that are getting there. Even tomatoes that are picked ripe need a little time out at room temperature to reach their peak flavor. It is shocking how long it can take even a just slightly firm tomato to get there … and how fast a perfect one rots.”

Many folks in the Research Triangle area know Sara Foster for the wonderful food and fellowship at Foster’s Market in Durham and Chapel Hill. Fans throughout the country admire her as a communicator about southern foods, wonderful teacher, and author of lovely and understandable cooking books.

She grew up in Tennessee in the country surrounded by family and other rural and small-town characters and family. Her recipes reflect southern-cooking traditions familiar to North Carolinians.

Foster also worked for and with Martha Stewart. The elegant photography to illustrate the recipes, the photos and stories about old-time, home-cooking restaurants throughout the South, and the overall presentation of the book show that Foster knows how to produce a product Martha Stewart-style. As a result, when you have finished look-ing through her book, you will want to stand up and give an ovation for the production.

The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Dodger nine that day. The divorce score stood four to two with but one more inning to play.

Is there anything sadder than having the storied LA Dodgers baseball team sent to foster care because its parents and owners, Frank and Jamie McCourt are grinding through a bitter divorce?

The team that once starred Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax and Kirk Gibson is up for adoption. Daddy Frank McCourt may not be able to make the end of June payroll for the Dodgers. If Frank doesn’t pay the players, then the Lord High Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has indicated he will seize the Dodgers, put them in foster care with Major League Baseball and sell the team to the highest bidder. Oh, the humanity.

The McCourts enjoyed a life style of the rich and famous by sucking the Dodgers’ financial well dry to support their oh so tasteful but expensive habits.

As the Dodgers’ money ran out and their love ran away, they were no longer the fun couple they used to be. Frank and Jamie are fussing over who owns the Dodgers just like normal divorcing folks might fuss over who gets the dog in property settlement. You may not have noticed, but sometimes people going through a divorce can become cranky and dance upon the far shores of unreasonable behavior.

Frank has to pay an $8.3 million dollar deferred compensation payment due at the end of June to former Dodger Manny Ramirez in addition to the regular Dodger payroll. Things are a little tight fi nancially in Dodgertown. Manny may be out picking up bottles on the side of the road if Frank can’t make that payment. Frank had worked out a scheme with Fox TV that had Fox paying $385 million in up-front payments which Frank, Jamie and their lawyers would have split $173 million with the rest going to the team. Commissioner Selig nixed the Fox deal because he wasn’t sure that paying $173 million to the Marvelous McCourts was going to help out the Dodgers team. Picky, picky, picky.

My law partner Ritchie Smith has handled more divorce cases than any sentient human being should ever have to endure. In one memorable case, Ritchie almost had a particularly acrimonious divorce case settled. All the bank accounts and real estate had been divided between the combatants. The only remaining item at issue was an electric can opener.

The fight to decide which spouse would walk away with the can opener threatened to bring the entire agreement crashing down onto the former love birds like Sampson pulling the temple of Dagon down on the Philistines.

In a burst of inspiration, Ritchie went out and bought a new electric can opener and thus presented a can opener to both parties. The case settled. Is there no one out there in baseball land who can buy a really nice can opener for the McCourts so they can go away into that good night?

Well, you can help by contributing to the Save the Dodgers Fund. Or you can turn the page. The Dodger Fund allows you to adopt a Dodger player by combining with other Dodger fans and paying his salary for the rest of the season. Your contribution to the Dodger Fund will allow baseball players to continue to be able to afford performance enhancing ointments, Corvettes and bling.

For example, there are 9.5 million North Carolina residents according to the 2010 census. If each N.C. resident just gave 87 cents to the Dodgers Fund we could pay all of Manny Ramirez’s deferred compensation in June. The entire Dodgers payroll for 2011 is estimated at a mere $113 million. The U.S. population is about 308 million people. If every American gave only 36 cents to the Save the Dodgers Fund, Frank could meet his entire payroll and the Dodgers wouldn’t have to go into foster care.

Won’t you give so that the McCourts can live the life style to which they have become accustomed?

“The sneer is gone from McCourt’s lips, his teeth are clenched in hate/He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the Dodgers plate/And now Fox TV holds the billions, and now it lets it go/And now the air is shattered by the force of McCourt’s blow.

Oh somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright/The band is playing somewhere and somewhere hearts are light/And somewhere men are laughing and somewhere children shout/But there is no joy in LA — mighty McCourt has struck out.”

The United States is in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and there does not seem to be much light at tunnel’s end. Every American family is adversely affected by this situation and will continue to be for many years.

Well, maybe not all.

An elite cadre of Wall Street bankers, hedge-fund managers and brokerage executives are still enjoying an extraordinary high life. Last year Wall Street bonuses exceeded $100 billion. Whose money was that and just how much perspiration was produced by the recipients to entitle them to such over-the-top compensation?

How it happened is really not all that complicated. The nation’s fi nancial troubles became a crisis with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, a highly regarded and respected investment banking and fi nancial services institution which declared bankruptcy in September 15, 2008. The collapse of that 150-year-old business was caused by greed, gullibility, poor management and some level of fraudulent behavior by Lehman management. The problem began some years earlier when applications for residential mortgages were accepted and approved without investigation into the borrower’s ability to repay. The fundamental concept of credit is that the borrower can and will repay. But this was not a concern with sub-prime mortgage lenders.

The thinking in Washington was that everyone had the right to own their own home and no one should be excluded from this privilege just because they were already burdened with debt or had a low income or no income. Such borrowers were offered what became known as sub-prime mortgages. These loans involved higher interest rates because the risk of repayment default was greater. But the completely fl awed rationale was that residential property would always increase in value so a foreclosed mortgage really posed no serious risk to the lender.

How wrong this was.

Most of these sub-prime loans were bundled together by investment banking fi rms and were sold globally. Millions of these mortgages became toxic assets when the loans went into default. Lehman sold these bundled mortgages but also retained very signifi cant quantities because the yield was extraordinarily high. But that yield was dependent on timely repayment which was not happening. In spite of outrageous end-of-quarter manipulations to deceive analysts Lehman’s balance sheet became obviously and seriously negative.

The price of their stock fell to the fl oor and their board sought federal relief which was denied. In the midst all of this, Lehman executive George Herbert Walker IV (and cousin to George Walker Bush) had the audacity to not eschew millions in bonuses for himself and his team because they were entitled to them. What a self-serving arrogant jerk is George Herbert Walker IV. These Lehman executives and many others with financial services firms were responsible for the loss of millions of American jobs and hundreds of thousands of families being turned out of their homes. And for this they felt they were entitled to millions in bonuses? What are we missing here?

So it leaves a most obvious question on the table. How could these super intelligent, highly educated and trained bankers, investment brokers and hedge-fund managers have been so stupid?

The answer is that they were not and they are not. Well, for the most part, at least.

There really is no explaining Bank of America’s acquisition of Countrywide Financial if Bank of America conducted appropriate due diligence. But Bank of America Chairman Ken Lewis was entranced by a 7 percent+ return on Countrywide’s assets so they did the deal. Then they reluctantly agreed to acquire Merrill Lynch, which was within hours of collapse, only to fi nd out later how desperate the esteemed brokerage house’s condition was.

Bank of America, Wells Fargo and other lenders then began frantic foreclosures on the properties in default with absolutely no regard for the borrower’s rights. People were ushered out of their homes after part-time paper signers executed foreclosure documents without concern for proper foreclosure protocols. This was done with the full knowledge of the CEOs and boards of these banks, which now use institutional advertising to promote a “good guy” image.

That is arrogance personified.

Now comes the question of who pays. Our country pays. The world pays. Every man, woman and child, except the few select from Wall Street are paying and will continue to pay for many, many years.

FDR realized that the way out of the Great Depression was to get some money in people’s pockets. The banks had to start lending and the government had to lead the way with job creation.

It worked.

Today banks are not lending. The very institutions that created the crisis are refusing to provide credit — which is the means for businesses to start, construction to begin and American citizens to do business with each other in a traditional and time-tested manner.

So the next time you walk into your local bank branch and you are offered a cup of lemonade and a cookie, just politely decline. Instead say, Brother, can you spare me a dime?”

With the chant of USA, USA, USA ringing in their ears, the 60 plus Fayetteville delegates to the All-America City Awards waited expectantly Friday night during the National Civic League’s All America City Awards banquet. They didn’t have long to wait.

Fayetteville, the Cinderella story of the annual convention, was the second city given the designation as an All America City, but it was first in the hearts of the people gathered in Kansas City, Kan.

“We were the second city to be announced as an All America City and the room just went crazy,” said Mayor Tony Chavonne, who accepted the award on behalf of the city and its citizens. “The spirit that was there was just amazing, and it had been all week. When we walked in to make our presentation, we got a standing ovation. We showed the world what it means to have a military community. That night at the awards, the soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Chorus started the chant of ‘USA, USA’ and the entire room was chanting right along with them.”

Chavonne said that while the conference was meant to be a celebration of the nation’s best and brightestcities, it really became a tribute to our nation’s military. “When I accepted the award, I thanked everyone for their strong support for us, our soldiers and all the military,” he said. “It became a lot bigger than about the individual cities and really became about our love of our nation and our support for our military. Everyone was on the same page on that love and support, and that’s the story we went there to tell,” he said. 

Fayetteville’s bid for the All-America City designation began last December when a group of volunteers began holding meetings throughout the community to determine what stories and community developments needed to be highlighted in the competition. When the report, written by Sarah VanderClute, was complete, three issues made it to the top: Fayetteville’s new image as a city of History, Heroes and a Hometown Feeling, economic development andliteracy as achieved through Reading Rocks. The initial application was filed in late February, in March, the city received notice that it was one of 26 cities named as finalist in the competition.

That’s when the hard work began. With the help of Moonlight Communications and the artistic direction of Bo Thorp, the Fayetteville delegation composed of civic leaders, community volunteers, educators, business leaders and the 82nd Airborne Chorus, began to work on their presentation to the judges at the conference.

Chavonne explained that each city has 10 minutes to tell their story to the judges and another 10 minutes to answer questions posed by the judges. In the weeks leading up to the competition, Thorp drilled the delegation and created a work of art that told the city’s story. The presentation included snippets from the organizers of Fayetteville Cares who talked about what an honor it is to “Watch over those who watch over us.” Children from the community and educators talked about strides in literacy achieved by community participation in the annual Reading Rocks Walk-a-Thon. Civic leaders talked about strides in economic development and the creation of “community” between the military posts and the city. Backed up by the Chorus, the presentation was as All-American as apple pie, and according to Chavonne, clearly established the city as “America’s Hometown.”

Throughout the week, the delegation had the opportunity to interact with other delegates and found that telling Fayetteville’s story was easy, but the delegates also had the opportunity to learn from each other.

Fayetteville Police Chief Tom Bergamine was excited to talk with the Fort Worth, Texas, chief of police.

“One of the key points he made was the way the city was dealing with their homeless issue,” said Bergamine. “The police department did a cost analysis of what dealing with the homeless population cost the city, and then they reached out to private businesses, the clergy and civic organizations to tackle the issue. I had a conversation with the chief about the success of their program and will follow-up with him now that I am back home to see how we can integrate this approach.”

For Jenny Beaver, a life-long resident of Fayetteville and community volunteer, participation in the conference was an affirmation of what she has always believed about her hometown.

“When we got up to give our presentation, we just blew them out of the water,” said Beaver. “When we walked in with the chorus, we got a standing ovation and the judges teared up. They could not have been more respectful or appreciative of our military. As each of the 10 cities were named All-America Cities, the love of the military that we have here in Fayetteville became the theme of the evening. It made me proud to be an American and proud to be a Fayettevillian. I can’t recall ever being prouder — it was just a moment.”

George Breece, who lead the contingent to a win in 2001, was excited to be on hand for the city’s third win. “A lot of people have been working very hard over the past few months and this designation shows that Fayetteville is truly America’s hometown,” said Breece. “We have the largest military base in America and our commitment to these men and women as a community means a great deal.”

On Friday, July 1 at 7:30 p.m., city leaders are inviting the whole community down to Festival Park to celebrate this honor. A presentation during a patriotic performance by the North Carolina Symphony, as well as apple pie, ice cream and fireworks seems to be a fitting way to celebrate History, Heroes and a Hometown Feeling for one of the nation’s newest All-America Cities.

X-Men First Cass (Rated PG-13)  5 Stars

I still refuse to forgive Bryan Singer for the twin betrayals of leaving the first X-Men franchise to direct Superman Returns, but clearly he was going through some stuff. So, I tried to overlook his production/writing credit for X-Men: First Class(132 minutes) and not hate the film the instant the open-ing credits rolled. And appar-ently, I love everything Director Mathew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Stardust) has done, so his work really helps make up for what Brett Ratner did with X-Men: Last Stand.

The film opens at a Polish concentration camp. Future Hellfire Club member Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) tortures a young Erik Lensherr into reveal-ing the extent of his magnetic abilities. Meanwhile, in a New York mansion, a young Charles Xavier meets a shapeshifting young Raven Darkholme.

Sometime later, the two (played by James McAvoy and Jennifer Lawrence) hang out in English pubs while Xavier tries to pick up chicks. An adult Lensherr (my new crush, Michael Fassbender) is now a Nazi hunter tracking Shaw so he can have his revenge. Shaw is in Vegas with Emma Frost (January Jones, acting well within her comfort zone of cold and scary). He has invited Colonel Hendry (Glenn Morshower from 24) in for a private chat about warmongering. Too bad the CIA is well aware of the secret meet and greet, and they send in agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) to figure out if the Hellfire Club is a bunch of commies. She doesn’t see any communism, but she does see Azazel (Jason Flemyng) disappear Colonel Hendry. This sends her looking for now-profes-sor Xavier, who is a world renowned specialist on mutation (or something … that’s not as clear as it could be, but it gets three of the primaries in the same place, so go with it).

MacTaggart, putting up with enormously sexist attitudes from the suits, brings Xavier and Raven it to chat with the CIA. Because on the eve of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1) the CIA will drop everything so that senior officials can debrief a brand new Ph.D. on the say so of an already discredited agent. And (2) during that debriefing, his young blonde waitress friend is always welcome. And (3) when the also discredited office laughingstock (Oliver Platt) offers to take over the newly revealed superpowered and stash them in his “facility” that we are (4) then forced to wonder where he found fund-ing for, that is also, apparently, not a problem. I guess what I’m trying to say here is, don’t overthink it.

Before the weirdly trusting mutants place themselves into the hands of the shadowy government suborganization operating with an apparently un-limited budget and a complete lack of accountability, they follow up on a lead to get Shaw. During their attempt to capture him, they meet Erik. The group, including Erik, troops back to D.C. and immediately uses a Cerebro proto-type to find some mutants to join their government funded youth gang. While the new best friends recruit a mix of mutants from the various X-comics, the Hellfire Club sets its diabolical plan in motion. After some pushy-pushy with the Hellfire Club, the (more or less) good guys start training, which doesn’t take nearly as long as it should, but does set up the nifty climax.

Speaking as a fan from the ‘80s and ‘90s, First Class seems to get more inspiration from post-millennial, post-House of M revisions to canon, but there are plenty of tributes to the famous original history (as much as any serial comic can be said to have a famous original history). Of course, it doesn’t always blend seamlessly. Even so, much of the slightly awkward blending can be forgiven in the name of creating a good story that keeps the audience involved with fast paced action. Overall, I’m ready for the next one.

President Obama’s Start-Up America Initiative has brought a lot of attention to the need for en-trepreneurship in our country as a means of revitalizing the economy and creating needed jobs in local communities. Fayetteville Technical Community College has an active en-trepreneurial program which teaches students how and where to find ideas, how to plan for a new business and where to find the money neces-sary to start these ventures. Once the program is completed, a student not only understands what entrepre-neurship is, but also has the tools and knowledge necessary to become a successful entrepreneur. Students also become familiar with community resources available including FTCC’s Small Business Center, which pro-vides a wealth of information for anyone planning to start a business or currently operating one

.FTCC has several options for those who want to learn more about this opportunity. There are three certificates available including Entrepreneurship I, Entrepreneurial Innovations and Entrepreneurial Applications. These programs can be studied as complete programs or as part of the associate degree program in business administration. Each certificate has a different focus ranging from basic entrepreneurship to idea creation and start-up; however, each certificate provides the student with a comprehensive understanding of the entrepreneurial process.

The entrepreneurial program also has a global element; FTCC recently participated in the Prime Minister’s Initiative for Entrepreneurship, which was a part-nership between U. S. Colleges and Colleges in the United Kingdom. This initiative resulted in a tool called an Entrepreneurial Passport, which will be used in both countries to promote collaboration between students in each country. This tool is an instruction manual for en-trepreneurs and allows students to explore ideas to determine their validity while getting feedback from other students in different locations. The partnership merged best prac-tices from two different countries, expanding the student’s under-standing of a global marketplace. Entrepreneurship is important to the American economy, and FTCC has education and support in place to enhance the process. Learn more about the many programs offered at FTCC by visiting www.faytechcc.edu.

Photo: Fayetteville Technical Community College has an active entrepreneurial program which teaches students how and where to find ideas, how to plan for a new business, and where to find the money necessary to start these ventures.

Continued attention to National Safety Awareness Month in June al-lows us to focus again on senior safety.

Nearly 90 percent of seniors say they want to stay in their home. Doing so gives them a wonderful sense of continued independence.

But having mom or dad live alone can be a source of worry for their adult children. The, ”What if?” sce-narios can often overwhelm the mind. “What if she falls down?” “What if he forgets something on the stove?” “What if she doesn’t tell me it’s get-ting harder for her to get around?”

If you feel like this, you’re not alone. In 2007, the AARP surveyed Boomer women and found that two-thirds are concerned about their par-ents’ ability to live independently.

Vast amounts of information are available at your fingertips withthe internet.

Available on www.caregiverstress.com is the following:

Answering the Call features a senior emergency kit, which includes work-sheets and checklists which were developed by Humana Points of Caregiving. It is designed to help family caregivers gather details about a senior’s doctors, pharmacy and insurance company, medications and dosages, as well as aller-gies. Power of attorney and other important information.

This toolkit will provide you with all the important information you need in a centrally located file so you are ready for a crisis, day or night. The toolkit materials are available for download on www.caregiverstress.com.

Other topics available at the same location are:

• Senior Depression

• Senior Scams

• Senior Driving an Individual Issue

• Look and See Signs of Aging

• Threat of Natural Disasters Calls for Preparedness Plan to Protect

Seniors

• When it’s Time to go to the Doctor … Here’s What to Ask

• Senior Holiday Checklist• Senior Safety Checklist

• 10 Signs a Senior May Be in Trouble

Photo: Nearly 90 percent of seniors say they want to stay in their home. Doing so gives them a wonderful sense of continued indepen-dence.

The dog days of summer are upon us.

Sure, that’s usually more of a reference to August, but we’re not talking about the heat. We’re talking about the best baseball around — the Fayetteville SwampDogs. Back in action for their 11th season, the SwampDogs are once again poised for a run at the Petitt Cup Championship in the Coastal Plain League. It’s the All-Star Summer of Fun as the SwampDogs will host the CPL All-Star Game on July 17-18, and there’s no better way to spend a summer evening than taking in the best baseball the Cape Fear region has to offer.

Infielder Eric Grabe is back for his third season with the club, and has brought with him teammates from the University of Tampa. Junior, Cody Davis, has already made his impact felt both at the plate and on the mound, serving as the team’s centerfi elder and closer. Shawn Pleffner has provided a power bat in the middle of the SwampDogs order, while other upperclassmen like Danny Gesick of Shawnee State, Dillon Checkal of San Diego, and Joe Vaskas of Emporia State have all delivered on different nights to keep the dynamic offense balanced.

Perhaps the biggest reason for the SwampDogs early success has been the quality and depth of the pitching staff. Starters Dom Macaluso and Brandon Browne lead a rotation that has limited opposing offenses, ensuring the offense plenty of opportunities to score, while the bullpen has been arguably the best in the CPL. Headlined by Cory Kent, Michael Anarumo, Derek Brooks and Davis, the relief corps earned six wins and fi ve saves in the opening week, pacing Fayetteville to the early division lead.

The SwampDogs will host three home games this week, starting Thursday night against the Peninsula Pilots. The first 500 fans into the ballpark will receive a stein courtesy of Miller Lite and Healy WholeSale. We’ll also salute HGTV, as fans can find people to answer all of their home improvement needs.

On Friday, the SwampDogs continue their rivalry with the Florence Redwolves on Military Appreciation Night. The SwampDogs honor the military every night, but this night will be extra special! The first 500 fans will also receive a visor courtesy of Rick Hendrick Toyota. The 24th is also Dog Day at “The Swamp,” where fans can bring their dog to the ballpark and enjoy the game.

The week’s final home game will be Monday, June 27, as the SwampDogs play host to the Columbia Blowfi sh on Trunk-or-Treat Night! Come celebrate the biggest, safest, and best community event in October even earlier by dressing in costume and participating in a costume contest.

Despite twice having the league’s best record, head coach Darrel Handelsman says this might be the best team he’s had in seven seasons at “The Swamp.” So don’t miss your chance to catch the SwampDogs in action at J.P. Riddle Stadium — the best kind of “dog days” this All Star Summer of Fun has to offer.

The City of Fayetteville has made a Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) manual available that focuses on developers and the administrative process. The manual is available on the city’s website at www.cityoffayetteville.org by clicking on “New UDO Zoning” under “Most Visited Areas.”

The UDO regulations, which replace Chapters 25-Subdivisions and 30-Zoning in the City Code, govern the use and development of land in Fayetteville. After July 1, both new regulations and a zoning map are expected to be in effect.

The manual is not required but was developed to help make the UDO more user-friendly. The document facilitates the application of the UDO and related application processes.

Everyone should check the new zoning district defi nitions for their property and surrounding properties. The proposed zoning map, answers to most questions, and how to get more information is available in the public libraries, at City Hall (433 Hay St.), and at www.cityoffayetteville.org by clicking on “New UDO Zoning” under “Most Visited Areas” at the left of the page. You may call 433-1FAY (1329) if you do not have web access.

There is one UDO public hearing left and it focuses on the 390 properties remaining to be translated to the new zoning district that is the closest match. The hearing is scheduled for Monday, June 27 at 7 p.m. during a City Council Meeting, being held at City Hall Council Chamber, 433 Hay St.

History, Science and Fun Await You In Raleigh

If the summer heat has you scrambling for something cool to do, why not take a road trip to Raleigh? The capitol city boasts eclectic cafes, cozy pubs, funky shops and some of the best museums in the southeast. If you head out early enough, you just might be able check them all out in a single day.

The North Carolina Museum of History, located downtown at 5 East Edenton St., is a great place to start. With more than 55,000 square feet of space, the museum houses more than 150,000 artifacts, some of which date back six centuries. Susan Lamb, the museum’s public information offi cer, says, “There is always something new to see and do so come and explore North Carolina’s rich history and learn about its people. The museum’s compelling exhibits highlight the state’s military history, sports heroes, decorative arts and more, and admission is free.”

This summer the museum is once again hosting its 2nd Saturdays series which features craft demonstrations by talented toymakers, jewelry designers and potters. Most of these programs are free and during the months of July and August, hands-on make-it-and-take-it sessions will allow attendees to actively participate in activities such as bead and ornament making.

Currently the museum is offering part one of a fun and interactive exhibit entitled, The Story of North Carolina. The engaging format offers visitors the opportunity to tour a reproduction of an American-Indian dwelling, milk a cow and fi nd out what a pirate ship in the 1700s really looked like. For more information about exhibits, hours, parking and more, visit the museum website at www.ncmuseumofhistory.org.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, located right across the plaza, is one you shouldn’t miss. Four fl oors of exhibits include a 20-foot indoor waterfall, live butterfly house as well as real animals. Sometimes referred to as “the dinosaur museum,” this is one the kids will love! The Discovery Room gives children the ability to explore on their own by trying on animal costumes or using microscopes to take closer looks at items ranging from coral to butterfly wings. If you happen to get hungry while there, no worries, there’s a café on the fourth floor.

Our Expanding Oceans is a special exhibit running now through Nov. 6 that explores global climate themes ranging from icebergs to rising seas. The museum stays open late every first Friday (with the exception of July).

“This is a great night out for younger adults. We have a live band, serve beer/wine and snacks, have a reception for a new gallery artist and the best part, (we) show a really bad sci-fi flick in the auditorium,” said Jonathan Pishney, communication director, adding that one recent film shown was, Devil Girl From Mars. He noted that while the events are free, they do charge for food and beverages.

Perhaps their biggest event of the year is the annual BugFest, which will be held on Sept. 17. The highlight of this free event is the food that’s served. If you happen to be a fan of bug-infused delicacies like “ant-chiladas” or “chocolate chirp cookies” (think crickets), then you need to put this one on your calendar. Keep up with museum news by visiting the website at www.naturalsciences.org.

Also located downtown in Moore’s Square is the well-known children’s museum, Marbles. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more entertaining indoor destination than this whimsical place! Catering to kids 10 and under, Marbles is explosive with hands-on activities and exhibits. One of the museum’s most popular exhibits, Splash, features a science submarine where youngsters can don lab coats, gloves and goggles and become instant marine biologists! Prepare to get wet in The Lighthouse with oversized water bowls that allow kids to discover what sinks and what floats. Don’t worry about messing up clothes as the museum even provides smocks.

Around Town is a pint-sized community that lets the little ones explore how people work, live and play together. Kids can get in the driver’s seat of a city bus, jump into uniform and become a fi refi ghter, a cashier, weigh, sort and deliver mail, conduct a train, treat an injured pet and more! Marbles is also home to the area’s only 3D-giant screen IMAX theater. For more information about admission, exhibits and show times, visit thewebsite at www.marbleskidsmuseum.org.

A final museum worth checking out is the North Carolina Museum of Art located on Blue Ridge Road, just a few minutes from downtown. As with most of the museums highlighted, there’s no general admission, just an occasional charge for a special exhibit. Here, you will find colorful textiles from Africa, paintings of American landscapes, a 6,000-year-old ceramic jar from Egypt as well as more than 30 bronzes from Europe.

A popular feature at the museum is its 160-acre park with walking trails, picnic area and large art sculptures carefully displayed along the way. You may want to head here when you’re hungry so you’ll have an excuse to dine at Iris. Located at the museum, Iris is a contemporary and sophisticated full-service restaurant that uses local and seasoned ingredients to come up with delicious culinary art! You can get updates about current exhibits and special events at the North Carolina Museum of Art by logging onto the website at www.ncartmuseum.org.

 Photos: North Carolina Museum of History is offering part one of a fun and interactive exhibit entitled, The Story of North Carolina. The engaging format offers visitors the opportunity to tour a reproduction of an American-Indian dwelling (pictured below left), milk a cow and find out what a pirate ship in the 1700s really looked like.