Entertainment

Fayetteville Marksmen begin new season by building stronger team, deeper sense of belonging

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Tuesday, 13 October 2026

Written by Jamie Bishop

Training camp had ended about 30 minutes earlier when Alex Wall sat inside Crown Coliseum and considered what the Fayetteville Marksmen are really selling.
The obvious answer was all around him: professional hockey, cold ice, hard boards and a new season close enough to feel. But Wall, entering his seventh season with the organization and fourth full season as team president, has learned that the game is only the beginning.
“Hockey is the excuse,” he said. “Hockey is the excuse we get to bring people together.”
That philosophy will meet its largest early test Oct. 17, when the Marksmen host the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs at 6 p.m. for opening night. Fayetteville begins the season the previous evening in Roanoke, then returns home with less than 24 hours to recover, adjust and introduce a new team to its city.
Opening night brings familiar theater, but this year carries a sharper question: Can the Marksmen pair the show with a serious postseason run?
Wall believes the organization is ready to demand both.
Fayetteville finished last season 23-28-5-2, placed 10th in the SPHL and missed the playoffs. The Marksmen closed with a 6-0 victory over Macon, but the season reinforced a distinction Wall said the organization can no longer ignore. Attendance and entertainment matter. So does winning.
For years, the club concentrated on creating an experience that could welcome people who did not know a power play from a penalty kill. Videos, music, theme nights, lighting and intermission entertainment helped turn a hockey game into a full evening out. That approach grew the audience, but Wall said success off the ice could not become a substitute for progress on it.
“We don’t put on hockey games; we put on performances and shows,” he said. “Our goal is to entertain fans.”
The challenge, he acknowledged, is that an organization can focus so heavily on presentation that it drifts from the reason the building exists on game night. As the season-ticket base grew and casual guests became committed fans, their expectations changed. They still wanted Star Wars nights, family memories and music. They also wanted playoff hockey.
That realization shaped the hiring of Garrett Rutledge as head coach and director of hockey operations. Rutledge arrived after leading the Athens Rock Lobsters to a 44-11-1 record and a division title in the Federal Prospects Hockey League. He also worked with the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit during its 2024 Memorial Cup championship season.
For Wall, the hire was about “creating a new culture,” establishing a new identity and raising the standard of Marksmen hockey. He expects a team that plays hard and physically every shift, regardless of the score.
“That’s what the city deserves,” Wall said.
The ambition is no longer merely to qualify for the postseason. The Marksmen have reached the playoffs in most seasons under their current identity but have not advanced beyond the first round. Fayetteville’s last professional hockey championship came in 2007, when the FireAntz won the President’s Cup.
The 2026-27 season leads into the 20th anniversary of that title. Wall said the organization is developing promotions involving members of the championship team, connecting the building’s past with the club trying to create its own history.
“It’s time to start chasing the Cup again,” he said. “Making the playoffs isn’t the goal anymore. Now the goal is to make a run.”
His operating principle is simpler than predicting every turn: make the next best decision, then stack good decisions together.
That method has guided an organization Wall says has grown exponentially, most visibly in attendance but also in ways that never reach the standings. Players have advanced to higher levels. Staff members have learned the business, developed relationships in Fayetteville, and moved into larger opportunities. Each departure creates work, but it can also serve as evidence that the organization is developing people, not merely using them.
The same thinking shapes the club’s relationship with the city.
Fayetteville presents a distinct challenge for any institution trying to build tradition. Military families may arrive, become devoted fans, and receive orders elsewhere within two or three years. Players also come and go. In a community accustomed to transition, the Marksmen must offer continuity without assuming longevity.
Wall said the answer begins with being present. The team works with schools, Fort Bragg, businesses, nonprofits, and organizations that welcome new residents. The objective is for someone to learn that professional hockey belongs to Fayetteville, whether that person has lived here one day or 50 years.
At the Crown, that invitation starts before a fan reaches a seat. Wall views the experience as beginning when the ticket is purchased and continuing until the guest returns home. Parking, communication, music, promotions, and hospitality all influence whether a first visit becomes a family tradition.
Themed nights may place guests inside the worlds of Star Wars, Nickelodeon or Disney, but Wall said the larger promise is that children, parents, longtime hockey followers, and newcomers can enjoy the same evening for different reasons.
The hardest step is persuading someone to attend once. After that, he trusts the product and the people already in the stands.
Marksmen regulars often recognize first-time guests, explain unfamiliar rules and welcome them into the rhythm of the sport. That fan-to-fan generosity matters in a market where many people have never watched hockey live.
“It truly is a family type of community,” Wall said.
Perhaps no event demonstrates the club’s reach more clearly than its School Day Game. In 2023, the program filled the 9,500-seat Crown Coliseum and set an SPHL single-game attendance record. Wall counts the experience among his proudest accomplishments because thousands of children encountered hockey and, for some, professional sports for the first time.
The fox mascot, Marky Marksmen, provides another thread of continuity. Players may move quickly through a developmental league, but the mascot remains a recognizable face in schools and at community events. The fox, team name and military-rooted identity make the brand visible; Wall insists the people and programs behind them make it meaningful.
That work is becoming more active. Through Mini Marksmen, players introduce children to hockey. The organization is also developing a school-based street hockey tour with community partners built around movement, healthy living, teamwork and collaboration.
For Wall, those programs connect the demands of his job with the life waiting at home. He has three boys, all 5 and under. They sometimes step onto the ice or fist-bump players as the team heads out, seeing the organization not as a spreadsheet or schedule but as childhood memory taking shape.
Balancing the franchise and family is difficult, especially near opening night, when every day brings a different problem and never enough hours. Wall said the faces in the building keep the work centered.
“When you look around and you watch families get closer and you watch young kids have these core memories that they grow up with, there’s no better feeling than that,” he said.
Five years from now, Wall hopes the record books include a championship. Yet his larger measure is stability, a seamless association between the Marksmen and Fayetteville, strengthened through local businesses, nonprofits, military relationships and families who consider a night at the Crown part of living here.
The club does not possess the marketing budget of larger organizations. Wall said it has fought through challenging periods to reach a measure of sustainability. Its future still depends on fans becoming ambassadors, telling neighbors about a good night, and returning until attendance becomes attachment.
When the puck drops Oct. 17, the scoreboard will provide the easiest measurement. Rutledge’s team will begin showing whether a harder standard has taken root. The crowd will decide whether the energy feels worth carrying home.
But the deeper season will unfold away from the final score: in a child meeting Marky at school, a soldier discovering a hometown team, a first-time fan learning the rules from a stranger and a family building a memory together.
Hockey may be the excuse. Belonging is the goal.

(Photos courtesy of the Fayetteville Marksmen)

Small-town charm, big fall fun: Inside Eastover Fall Fest

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Tuesday, 13 October 2026

Written by Amber Little

The morning air is getting crisp, and the sunsets are coming sooner. Fall is gently gracing the Carolinas, and that means that it’s festival season. While Fayetteville will have plenty of offerings this fall, those who want a more small-town feel can head just 11 miles to the Eastover Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Eastover Park, located at 2721 Ball Park Road, Eastover, and hosted by the Eastover Civic Club.
Enjoy a family-friendly day with live music, games, a raffle, a silent auction, and local artisan and community vendors. This is the perfect time to find one-of-a-kind gifts, check names off the Christmas list, and support local businesses like Claudia's Cozy Creations. Don’t worry, the kids won’t get restless. Drop by the Family Fun Area for bounce houses, inflatable ax throwing, face painting, fairy hair and a hay ride!
This year’s event is packed with exciting performances, including Cool Heat, a variety cover band bringing the hits of the 60s, 70s, 80s, and the best of Motown and Beach music. Local Susan Carter Canady will be performing the National Anthem at the opening ceremony, as well as a performance by “The Firehouse,” Eastover’s studio of performing arts. Terry Jefferies will be holding down the mic this year as event MC.
Between shopping, dancing, and playing cornhole, grab something to eat from a wide selection of over 75 food trucks and vendors including: One Bowl, One Cup, Cornbread Kitchen and Smokehouse, Dr. Smoke BBQ and Catering, The Grateful Shed, Kwon’s Kitchen, The Tasty Turkey-Que, Trusted Apples, Batter and Bliss Co., LLC, Morning Mercies Coffee, LLC, Rolling Beanz, LLC, and Eastover Fire Department.
The Eastover Fall Festival is in its second year. Last year the festival saw over 600 visitors, no small feat for a small town. While the Fall Festival is a new event for the town, it’s not the first event organized by the Eastover Civic Club.
“This is our second year hosting the Eastover Fall Festival. However, prior to COVID, the Eastover Civic Club hosted Eastover Heritage and Heroes Day for 12 plus years. The current Fall Festival is a continuation of Heritage and Heroes Day. We are very proud of Eastover's history and heritage, and we always welcome the opportunity to share with everyone the many wonderful things Eastover has to offer,” Lisa Sessoms- Lewis explained. “We will also have information available about our upcoming 20th Anniversary celebration to be held on July 24, 2027. This event will honor and highlight the 20th Anniversary of the incorporation of the Town of Eastover.”
Organizers have worked meticulously to make sure that this one-day event leaves a lasting positive impression of their hometown. While Eastover may be small, its heart is big. Born and raised in Eastover, Semmons-Lewis wanted this year’s Fall Festival to reflect the town’s genuine sense of home.
“I want the community and surrounding areas to experience what I have always known makes Eastover special. I was born and raised in Eastover. To me, it's always been home. That's what I want people to feel when they attend our Fall Festival. Yes, I want them to have fun, eat some great food, listen to good music and purchase some wonderful items. But, most of all, I want them to see what makes Eastover a great place to live, work, and play.”
The Eastover Civic Club would like to thank the sponsors who have made this year’s fall festival possible.

Ladies Laugh Lounge gives women the mic

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Tuesday, 13 October 2026

Written by Tiffany Haywood

Kiki Wynns turns self-care into stage time for women as her Halloween-themed comedy series makes its Fayetteville debut.
“Physician, heal thyself.” We have heard the proverb hundreds of times, but psychologist-turned-comedian Kiki Wynns took its message to heart.
Like many people, Wynns found herself struggling to maintain everything during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was managing her psychology practice, caring for her family and feeling mentally stretched. After spending years encouraging others to make room for self-care and creativity, she finally decided to follow her own advice and enroll in an improv class.
“I took my own advice, and I signed up for an improv comedy class that summer,” Wynns said. “I loved it.”
Way to go, Kiki, because that decision did more than provide a creative outlet. Improv led Wynns to stand-up, and stand-up gave her a glimpse of how few women were being featured on many comedy lineups. After making space for herself onstage—and receiving an invitation to make space for others—she created Ladies Laugh Lounge to give women more opportunities and visibility in comedy.
On Oct. 16, the series will make its Fayetteville debut at the Cameo Art House Theatre.
Wynns’ journey from her first class to becoming a working comedian moved quickly. She performed her first four-minute open mic set at Raleigh Improv in summer 2022, about a year after taking that first class. After only three open mics, she received her first paid booking.
As her comedy career grew, Wynns noticed how rarely women were given room onstage. Raised by a single mother, she has long been interested in supporting women. Entering comedy showed her how heavily many lineups favored men.
“When I got into comedy, I realized it’s even more underrepresented for women,” she said.
Then Goodnights Comedy Club invited Wynns to create a show of her own. She chose an all-women concept, and Ladies Laugh Lounge debuted in August 2024. The first show sold out within weeks.
Since then, the series has expanded beyond Raleigh to stages in Nashville, Virginia and elsewhere in North Carolina. Wynns said the crowd is often mostly women, creating the atmosphere of a supportive ladies’ night. Despite “Ladies” being in the name, men and anyone else who wants to laugh are welcome.
“It’s so fun to have almost all women in the crowd—the amazing ladies-supporting-ladies energy, ladies’ night out,” Wynns said.
The Oct. 16 performance will be the first Ladies Laugh Lounge held in Fayetteville. Wynns selected the Cameo after another comedian recommended the downtown venue.
The show also includes homegrown connections. Comedian Annie Franceschi grew up in Fayetteville, and Ayeshia Ayeshia is a local comedian. Wynns also has a personal connection to the military community through her father, who retired from the Army. She plans to include material that can connect with service members and military spouses.
Wynns will headline the show, with comedian Jose Mwamba performing an opening set and serving as host. Susan Horne, Franceschi, Ayeshia and Heather Hill round out the lineup.
Wynns describes her comedy as clean, observational and rooted in real life. Her background in psychology influences how she observes people, relationships and everyday situations, then works those observations into her material.
“They’re more related than a lot of people realize—and even more related than I realized until I started merging these two worlds,” Wynns said.
Her material touches on marriage, parenting, aging and middle age. She describes it as roughly PG-13. The show is not intended for children, but Wynns does not rely on profanity or explicit shock value for laughs.
“I pride myself on having something really well-written that’s just about life and resonates with people,” she said.
For the Ladies Laugh Lounge “Spooky Edition,” the comedians will perform in Halloween costumes. Audience members are encouraged, but not required, to join them.
Still, who does not want an opportunity to put on a Halloween costume a little early? Costumes can get pricey, and getting another wear out of one sounds like a win. Ladies Laugh Lounge offers the perfect excuse.
“We’re all going to be dressed up in Halloween costumes,” Wynns said. “We’re asking the audience to come dressed up in costume.”
Comedy began as Wynns’ form of self-care, her own version of “physician, heal thyself.” Now, it allows her to create opportunities for other women while giving audiences a chance to put their everyday pressures aside and laugh.
“Spreading laughter is actually doing something just as important for the world as what I do in my day job,” Wynns said.
Ladies Laugh Lounge: Spooky Edition will be held Friday, Oct. 16, at the Cameo Art House Theatre, 225 Hay St. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 before applicable ticketing fees and are available through TicketMe Sandhills.

(Photo: Graphic courtesy of Kiki Wynns)

Cameo to show "Nosferatu" with live score from FSO

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Tuesday, 13 October 2026

Written by Sheila D Barker

It has been more than a century since Count Orlok first crept across movie screens, as Nosferatu remains one of the most enduring vampire movies of all time. Let's return to the darkness, this time accompanied by live musicians.
The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra and the Cameo Art House Theatre will bring F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent horror classic, Nosferatu, on Oct. 24 at the Cameo on 225 Hay Street. A small ensemble of musicians from the FSO will perform a live score as the movie plays on the big screen, combining film and live music for a must-not-miss Halloween event. The FSO ensemble will consist of 8 musicians, mainly strings, and the piano.
Long before we saw Bela Lugosi don the Dracula cape, and more than a 100 years before Robert Eggers brought a new version of Nosferatu to a new audience, there was Max Schreck's Count Orlok.
Released in Germany in 1922, Nosferatu was directed by F.W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It is considered one of the defining works of German Expressionist cinema and, without a doubt, is one of the most influential horror films of all time.
Nosferatu was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Names and details were changed, but the basic story remained recognizable. Murnau's vampire is also very different-looking when compared to the Dracula of later movies played by Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee.
And then there are the shadows. One of the most enduring images is Orlok's distorted silhouette cast across a wall, his long fingers reaching ahead of him. Due to Murnau's use of unusual camera techniques, he turned otherwise recognizable surroundings into something unsettling and created a visual vocabulary that filmmakers continued to use for generations.
Watching Nosferatu with live musicians will connect modern audiences with an important part of early moviegoing: that silent films were not necessarily experienced in silence. Composer Hans Erdmann wrote music for the film's original 1922 presentation, and the restored versions of the film can be seen with Erdmann's score, as well as scores created by
other composers.
People who have attended this great Halloween event in the past most likely saw it at Dirtbag Ales.
"We have loved performing Nosferatu at Dirtbag Ales, but as interest in the program grew, we realized it was becoming difficult for everyone interested to see the movie and hear the music in that space,” said Thomas Hill, Marketing and Office Manager, FSO. "We hope to enhance the viewing and listening experience by moving to a space dedicated to watching movies. The musicians will also be in a more prominent position-on the stage below the screen-rather than tucked in a corner."
Don't miss a spooky night at the Cameo, where a 1922 vampire will once again be accompanied by musicians playing as his shadow crosses the screen, bringing an experience from the earliest days of horror cinema to downtown Fayetteville more than a century later.
Doors will open at 7 p.m., and the film will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 with general admission seating. Tickets can be purchased on the Cameo website at https://tinyurl.com/yjdt4uw9.