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Welcome to 58th annual golf championship held at Gates Four

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Tuesday, 29 September 2026
Written by Mahalia Cooks

The Cumberland County Golf Championship returns for its 58th year in October, welcoming novice and seasoned competitors to tee up and give their all toward winning the title of CCGC Champion.
Registration runs until Monday, Oct. 5, offering competitors several divisions to throw their hats in the ring, including Men’s, Women’s, Senior Men’s, Senior Women’s and Super Senior. Registration for the Men’s and Super Senior Divisions is $145, while the Women’s Divisions cost $115; service fees apply. Registrants can sign up at https://pci.jotform.com/form/232342638462153.
In the spirit of keeping the game accessible to as many competitors as possible, a major change has been implemented for this year’s tournament. The minimum age for entry has been lowered to 13 so more future golfing pros can enter the Champion and Open Divisions. Previously, the age limit was 15.
The field will be divided based on sex and age and limited to 96 golfers; players will be flighted within their divisions according to their 36-hole scores.
Gates Four Golf & Country Club, trusted venue of the tournament since 2017, will host all rounds of the competition. General Manager Kevin Lavertu works hard each year to provide the ideal sporting environment with an 18-hole course redesigned in 2011 by Kris Spence, a respected golf course architect. This effort is why Gates Four is considered a premier club among golfers.
For many, playing in the tournament is about more than just vying for a trophy.
“It is a Cumberland County tradition, and it’s the oldest amateur golf tournament continuously running in North Carolina,” said Tournament Director and Up & Coming Weekly Publisher Bill Bowman.
Up & Coming Weekly has proudly put on the CCGC for almost a decade since The Fayetteville Observer stepped away from hosting it. Regular sponsors include SERVPRO, Healy Wholesale and Valley Auto World, among others.
“It’s been a very exciting and rewarding event for this community,” said Bowman. “Up & Coming Weekly is very honored to have been asked to carry this Fayetteville/Cumberland County tradition forward.”
The tournament will be preceded by the Gates Four Champions’ Reception and Pairings Party on Thursday, Oct. 8, held at the country club. This get-together gives players a chance to mingle and see who they’ll be playing against. Attendees include Kirk deViere, chairman of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners; Diane Wheatley, North Carolina representative for District 43; and other city and county representatives.
The game starts on Friday, Oct. 9 and will last until Sunday, Oct. 11, with 54 holes of individual stroke play. The Women’s Divisions will play 36 holes across Saturday, Oct. 10 and Oct. 11. The tournament adheres to rules set by the United States Golf Association; any local rules will be declared before the game begins. On the last day, golfers who make it to the Championship flight will play from the black tees, which will determine the CCGC Champion.
After the tournament ends on Oct. 11, the SERVPRO Winners Reception will be held at the country club’s pavilion around 4 p.m. to reward the best of the best. The chairman and state representatives will also be present at this celebration.
Alongside new golfers, there will be many familiar faces returning to ramp up the competition, including 2025 runner-up Billy West, Chase Suitt and 2025 CCGC Champion Chip Collins, who’s looking to score a three-peat after his 2024 and 2025 wins.
Each division has its winners in addition to the overall CCGC Champion. Here’s a look at who took home the trophies in 2025:
• Open Division: Tori Callaway (245)
• Senior Men’s: Steve Wheeler (231)
• Senior Women’s: Jennifer Eavenson (181)
• Women’s: Toni Blackwell (175)
• Super Senior: Larry Spivey (231)
Collins went pro after playing in the CCGC for many years and is now back to competing in our local championship.
“I didn’t really know how much I would miss playing in the tournament until I got back to playing in the tournament,” he said. “It’s nice to be back, and it’s nice to have won a couple after coming back as well.”
With new competitors signing up each year, including youth players, Collins anticipates that the old guard of repeat champions will eventually give way to the “coming of the new kids.” Until then, he looks forward to returning for the 2026 game and seeing past players, and he keeps his skills sharp by competing in other tournaments during the year.
“I play on two amateur tours throughout the year — the Golf Weekend tour and the APT tour,” he said. “Between those two tours and some other tournaments, I just play tournaments mostly on the weekend and practice when I can.”
In addition to offering a highly competitive game and a weekend of elite sportsmanship, the tournament also supports youth education through the Kidsville News! Literacy & Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The organization “provides free reading and educational resources to elementary-age students in Cumberland County schools,” according to Bowman.
When Up & Coming Weekly took charge of the CCGC in 2017, there wasn’t yet a charitable component.
“The tournament really was just a golf tournament, and I wanted it to tie in with our mission and our mandate,” said Bowman, referencing Up & Coming Weekly’s aim to elevate Cumberland County’s quality of life and media landscape. “I wanted it to be a tournament with a purpose.”
This goal is also shared by and reflected in the sponsors who have been supporting the CCGC since its 2017 revamp.
Spectators are welcome to come down to Gates Four at 6775 Irongate Drive to watch the golfers play and see who comes out on top. Be there from Oct. 9 to Oct. 11 to root for the players and witness the excellence of Cumberland County golfers. Contact Bill Bowman at 910-391-3859 for any questions about the event.

(Photo: Division and championship trophies are lined up ready for the top golfers in Cumberland County. Photo courtesy of Cumberland County Golf Championship)

Hallowe’en brings haints, diversions to 1897 Poe House

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Tuesday, 29 September 2026
Written by Tiffany Haywood

Sweet Tea Shakespeare actors turn the historic home into a turn-of-the-century Poe family party filled with period games, Southern ghost stories, audience participation and real Fayetteville history.
If you have ever attended a Sweet Tea Shakespeare production, you know it is never as simple as sitting and watching a play. It is a full-on experience. The company’s cast members and directors have a unique talent for breaking the fourth wall and bringing the audience completely into the story.
That is why Sweet Tea Shakespeare’s partnership with the 1897 Poe House for the upcoming Hallowe’en Revels production, “Haints and Diversions: A Poe Halloween Party,” feels like the perfect fit.
The words in the title help set the tone. A “haint” is a ghost, mischievous spirit or haunting presence, while a “diversion” was a period term for a game or entertaining activity that offered a break from ordinary life. Although diversion is often associated with distraction today, it once represented an opportunity to turn away from the everyday for a moment of entertainment, fun and, in this case, a little mischief.
Those haints and diversions become part of a turn-of-the-century Halloween story designed to bring history to life. Visitors will not simply tour the 1897 Poe House. They will enter as guests at a historically grounded Poe family Halloween party and participate as the story moves throughout the house.
The interactive format connects local history and turn-of-the-century Halloween traditions with celebrations that continue today.
Imagine entering the 1897 Poe House, perhaps even dressed in a period-inspired Halloween costume. After being greeted by a guide, guests will move from room to room, meeting and interacting with members of the Poe family and other people connected to them. Along the way, they will participate in Halloween activities and traditions while hearing ghost stories rooted in Southern and North Carolina history.
“It’s kind of like theater meets living history,” museum educator Mary Cooper said.
The annual Hallowe’en Revels program will be presented Oct. 16-17 and Oct. 29-30 at the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex. Developed in partnership with Sweet Tea Shakespeare, the approximately 45-minute guided production will feature more audience participation than previous Hallowe’en Revels presentations.
One important distinction: This Poe is not Edgar Allan Poe. E.A. Poe was a prominent Fayetteville businessman and owner of the Poe Brick Company. The production imagines how a family such as the Poes might have celebrated Halloween during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It does not claim that this specific party historically occurred.
This year’s production focuses more directly on historical Halloween traditions and a younger period in the Poe family’s life. Actors will portray real Poe family members and historical figures connected to them. The format also gives guests more opportunities to participate instead of simply watching the story unfold.
“It’s a different story every year,” business officer Stephen Thompson said.
The production is supported by research into Victorian- and Edwardian-era Halloween activities, decorations and costumes, along with Southern ghost stories, North Carolina folklore and relationships within the Poe family. Sweet Tea Shakespeare’s experience with audience interaction allows that research to become something guests can experience instead of information delivered during a traditional historic-house tour.
As a complete and total history buff, I love the idea of becoming part of a historical story. However, not everyone responds to history in the same way. Hallowe’en Revels gives visitors an opportunity to see how people from another period celebrated, played and entertained one another, and why their lives were not quite as removed from ours as they may seem.
“Just because it’s history doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have been fun, and it wouldn’t have been entertaining,” Cooper said.
The production was created with families in mind. There are no jump scares and no actors waiting around corners; this is not a haunted house. It does include ghost stories, fortune-telling and historically rooted supernatural themes, so parents should consider their children’s individual comfort levels. Some characters represent Poe children around ages 10 to 12, reflecting the younger period of the family’s life explored in the story.
Tours begin at 6 p.m., 7 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. each evening and are limited to 15 guests per time slot. Tickets are $10 per person and must be purchased in advance. Walk-up sales will not be available. Tickets can be purchased at https://bit.ly/4jjpOq4.
Guests will check in at the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex, 801 Arsenal Ave., before being escorted to the Poe House by their guide. The experience requires approximately 45 minutes of walking and standing, and guests will use stairs. The second floor of the Poe House is not wheelchair accessible. The museum gift shop will be open before and after each tour.
Cooper hopes guests leave the Poe House with a different understanding of what learning about the past can feel like.
“I definitely want them to go through and say, ‘Wow, history is exciting,’” she said.

Woofstock 2026 returns to save lives

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Tuesday, 29 September 2026
Written by Katie Herring

Most of us have likely seen social media posts sharing information about pets that need a good home. Whether they have been lost or abandoned or surrendered through no fault of their own, many dogs, cats, and other pets in our community depend on the kindness and generosity of people for their shelter and basic care. While we may not be able to house and feed them ourselves, there is a way to support organizations that do just that.
On Oct. 9, the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society will host its 14th annual Woofstock celebration at the picturesque Cape Fear Botanical Garden. Doors open at 6 p.m. for an evening filled with live entertainment, fine food, and community philanthropy with a single, worthy goal: to rescue shelter animals across Cumberland County.
North Carolina currently ranks second in the nation for shelter euthanasia rates. As the only licensed, no-kill, non-profit animal shelter in Cumberland County, FAPS receives no government funding and relies entirely on local generosity to keep its doors open. Since 2012, Woofstock has served as the shelter's primary fundraising event. Money raised through Woofstock directly funds medical care, nourishment and shelter for hundreds of homeless pets every year.
Headlining this year's benefit is On The Border-The Ultimate EAGLES Tribute. A nationally recognized touring band, On The Border will perform two full sets of classic hits.
Alongside the classic rock lineup, attendees will enjoy a full BBQ dinner, drinks and the chance to win exciting prizes. This year’s 50/50 cash raffle offers a major reward for supporters. Last year’s winner walked away with more than $2,000, and participants do not need to be present on event night to win.
The silent auction promises an array of premium packages.
“The silent auction is stacked this year,” says Jackie Peery, Executive Director of FAPS.
Highlighted items that participants can bid on include a complete orthodontic treatment package valued over $6,000, a seven-day Caribbean cruise, designer handbags, curated bourbon and cigar baskets, signed Bob Timberlake art prints, gift cards to Evolution Ink and themed baskets covering everything from "Cat Mom" to "Date Night."
Presented by headliner sponsor Mercedes-Benz of Fayetteville, tickets went on sale September 1. General admission is priced at $60, while $100 VIP passes grant access to the exclusive Tito's VIP Lounge inside the Grand Hall.
Unsurprisingly, VIP passes are nearly gone. As of September 22, only 9 VIP tickets remain available.
While sponsorship packages for Woofstock 2026 are officially closed due to finalized print materials, FAPS welcomes local businesses to explore year-round partnership opportunities for upcoming programs.
Despite being the city's largest event for animal welfare, attendees should leave their pets at home.
“Woofstock is a human-only, pet-free event,” emphasized Peery. “We celebrate our animals by keeping them safe and comfortable at home rather than bringing them (or kids) into a crowded evening event.”
By bringing together 500 attendees for an evening of music and giving, Woofstock 2026 ensures that Cumberland County's homeless pets get the second chance they deserve. Tickets can be purchased at https://secure.qgiv.com/event/woofstock2026/.

Celebrating 33 years of gospel singing

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Tuesday, 29 September 2026
Written by Dr. Shanessa Fenner

Massey Hill Baptist Church presents the 33rd Annual Gospel Singing Celebration Saturday, October 3 at 6 p.m.
“I started singing when I was five years old, and I have been involved with quartet music,” said Larry Chason, organizer of the event. “I have been doing solo work for 33 years in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.”
Chason’s humble beginnings began with him singing alongside his mother and sister at his home church, Pittman Grove Baptist Church, in the Rockfish Community of Hoke County.
“I sang with several quartets and back in 1989, I started doing solo work and the Lord has blessed me traveling by myself,” said Chason. “We have been able to sing with a lot of bigger groups, I do a lot of promoting of regional groups, and I am excited to be able to help the groups when they call me.”
He added, “I sing the old-style southern gospel music.”
The gospel celebration highlights performances by Gabriel’s Call from Durham, North Carolina, Jennifer Rhone from Balm In Gilead Family Counseling Ministries and Chason. Gabriel’s Call is a talented trio featuring Patsy Sanders, Bruce Wimberley and Tim Davis.
“There’s nothing like the old-style southern gospel music,” said Chason. “That’s what I try to bring to churches when I go and sing a lot of the hymns.”
When asked to name his favorite gospel song, he answered without hesitation.
“My favorite gospel song is “The Lighthouse” and it was written in 1970 by Ronny Hinson. I will never forget it,” said Chason. “It was the first song that I sang on the piano with my mother, and it has always played a special part in my life.”
He stated, “’Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven’” (Matthew 5:16) is my testimony. Yes, I make mistakes, but I want people to know that the light of Jesus is real.”
Chason’s heart and desire, wherever the Lord leads him, is to share the gift that God has blessed him with and use it for His glory. His prayer is that through every song, someone’s heart will be touched, a life will be encouraged, and a soul will be drawn closer to the Lord.
“We are at the end of time, and everybody needs to have that assurance that they know the Lord,” said Chason. “There is something about music that calms the storm and soothes the soul.”
He added, “I don’t call it a concert; I call it a worship service.”
September 19, 2025, was the day that changed everything; Chason lost his beloved wife.
“The Lord called her home, and one of her main wishes was that I would continue to use the gift that God has so graciously given to me,” said Chason. “She wanted me to go sing, spread the gospel, and I’m doing it now more than ever.”
For Chason, it has been an incredible journey of faith, ministry, and music. “We have been privileged to record 8 CDs and we are working on our ninth CD now,” said Chason. “My best friend, Lucy Hemmingway, and I co-wrote a song that will be on my brand-new project entitled ‘God’s Got It,’ and it will be released the first of the year.”
Chason added, “Those were the last words that my wife whispered to me before the Lord called her home: God’s got it.”
The 2018 Long Leaf Pine recipient is expecting a powerful turnout and hopes the community will rally behind his efforts.
“We would love to have a generous love offering to help take care of the expenses of the groups and the advertising,” said Chason. “I give God all the praise and glory, so come join us for an evening of worshipping and praising the Lord.”
For more information, call 910-818-9769 or email chasonlighthousemusic@yahoo.com.

Greater Life of Fayetteville holds night of jazz fundraiser

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Tuesday, 29 September 2026
Written by Mahalia Cooks

Pull out your most elegant black-tie attire to indulge in an evening of jazz, dancing and cultural cuisine while supporting local youth through fundraising.
An Evening With the Arts: A Night of Jazz is hosted by the nonprofit organization Greater Life of Fayetteville and will take place on Saturday, Oct. 10 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The event will be held at the Country Club Community Outreach Center at 651 Country Club Drive.
GLOF’s mission is to help at-risk youth and those struggling with behavioral challenges by providing them with meaningful opportunities for enrichment, such as workshops, intervention programs, an after-school program and a summer academy. The I Am YOU-Nique Summer Academy provides STEM education and classes on a wide variety of subjects, such as law enforcement, etiquette and gardening.
By attending this gala, residents help uplift families and youth throughout Cumberland County; funds will go directly to GLOF’s year-round programs. Two of these are the Virtual Learning program, which provides a safe, low-friction environment for kids to learn virtually, and the Mentoring program, which connects children with mentors to help reduce school dropouts and truancy rates.
Jazz tunes will be performed by Pete Everett & The Total Package Band. This musical outfit specializes in funk, jazz and gospel music and plays for audiences worldwide. In addition to their covers, the band plays original compositions made by Everett. He’s opened for and played backup for many revered artists throughout the years, including Chaka Khan, the Whispers, Frankie Beverly & Maze and Earth, Wind & Fire.
Tickets for the gala are $50 and come with a letter of appreciation. Through various contributor levels, gala attendees can show their support by sending their desired amount:
• Bronze Contributor: $1,000 for reserved seating for four guests
• Silver Contributor: $2,500 for reserved seating for six guests
• Gold Contributor: $5,000 for a reserved VIP table for eight guests and premium co-recognition
• Platinum Contributor: $10,000 for a reserved VIP table for 12 guests and premium recognition
Each contributor level offers several perks, such as appreciation certificates and plaques and ad placement in the gala’s program.
Pay for tickets online through Eventbrite by visiting https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-with-the-arts-a-night-of-jazz-black-tie-gala-tickets-1998492204983. To avoid processing fees, you can also mail checks to P.O. Box 41432, Fayetteville, NC, 28309. Checks should be made payable to Greater Life of Fayetteville.
The guest MC for the evening will be TV and radio personality Gilbert Baez, who hosts Good Morning Fayetteville on 640 WFNC. He’s served the North Carolina news broadcasting industry for decades as a news reporter, weather anchor and photojournalist.
Previous GLOF galas have focused on themes of art expression and Filipino culture and cuisine, preserving a tradition of highlighting the local arts and culture scene and giving artists a platform. This ties in with GLOF’s continued efforts to get young learners acquainted with different art forms and instill the value of creativity.
For more information about the event, reach out to GLOF President and CEO Georgeanna Pinckney at 910-364-9531 or hello@glofnc.org.

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