TCB July 27, 2017 — the National Black Theatre Festival

Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point Jul. 27 – Aug. 2, 2017 triad-city-beat.com

Homegrown hops PAGE 6 Bourbon bar PAGE 17

Baseball twins PAGE 20

NBTF Comedian Sinbad opens

the 2017 National Black Theatre Festival PAGE 12

FREE

July 27 – August 2, 2017

UNIVERSITY CONCERT AND LECTURE SERIES RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S

South Pacific

in partnership with Triad Stage

Opens Sept. 17, 2017

Rhiannon Giddens UNCG Founders Day

8pm, Oct. 5, 2017 UNCG Auditorium

Photo: Tanya Rosen-Jones

The Juilliard String Quartet 8pm, Oct. 27, 2017 UNCG Auditorium Photo: Simon Powls

Limón Dance Company 8pm, Jan. 19, 2018 UNCG Auditorium

Dancer: Mark Willis

Colson Whitehead

Photo: Beatriz Schiller

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author 125th Anniversary Lecture

8pm, Feb. 8, 2018 School of Music Recital Hall Photo: Madeline Whitehead

plus, introducing the 2017-18 UC/LS Artist-in-Residence:

Lynn Harrell, cellist

8pm, Mar. 17, 2018 School of Music Recital Hall

for more information, visit:

Season subscriptions and single tickets available 8/1!

ucls.uncg.edu 2

336.272.0160

Fifty years, together Fifty years ago, while the Summer of Love bloomed in Haight-Ashbury, another love story unfolded between the suburbs of New Jersey, the

by Brian Clarey higher-learning institutions of Philadelphia and a simple neighborhood in upstate New York.

It was the year my parents were married — she a recent graduate of Chestnut Hill College and he a freshly minted lawyer with a Villanova pedigree. And when they sealed their union on July 29 in a lavish ceremony, they weren’t thinking about the hippies in San Francisco, or the race riots that had erupted that month in our nation’s inner cities.

They only had eyes for each other.

You can see it in those faded photos in their wedding album. They’re glowing, blissful, a little tipsy from the Champagne fountain.

They weren’t hippies — not by a longshot — but their love defied convention in its own way: The families, one full-blooded Italian and the other 100 percent Irish, considered this a mixed marriage back then. And rather than living in Morristown, NJ, where the Italian tribe had settled into comfortable lives, or in Albany where my father’s family had connections in state government, they set out to find their fate.

First came a stint in Virginia with the Navy — that’s where my older sister and I were born in 1969 and 1970 — and then a move to Long Island where my father could make the easy commute to his job with the US Attorney’s Office there.

It’s easy, 50 years later, to cast an enduring marriage with an artificial glow. And looking at them now it seems their Golden Anniversary was a foregone conclusion.

But I was there during those years that make up the meat of matrimony, saw them struggle to understand and accept each other, watched them overcome and grow with the seasons. Their partnership survived the first wave of divorces that hit many of my friends’ parents in the 1970s and ’80s, lasted through the crises of middle age and an emptied nest, endured everything the world — and each other — dumped upon them based on the simple promise they made to each other that day in 1967. Through it all, they stood side by side — not always holding hands, but always together.

In that time they’ve taught me everything I needed to know about commitment, about family, about love.

Though they shrug off this 50-year accomplishment as inevitable, I am so proud of them and the arc of their marriage that they created, together.

And I hope my wife and I — 16 years into our wedded bliss — can live by their example.

triad-city-beat.com

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

There’s a universal aspect to the play. We all have a conversation with our younger self — everyone has at least one a day — asking: Is our younger self going to be for it or against it? Every decision you make is leveraged against your younger self when you were guided through a right upbringing.

— Playwright and director Nathan Ross Freeman, in the Cover, page 12

BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR Brian Clarey brian@triad-city-beat.com

PUBLISHER EMERITUS Allen Broach allen@triad-city-beat.com

EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR Eric Ginsburg eric@triad-city-beat.com

SENIOR EDITOR Jordan Green

1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336-256-9320 ART ART DIRECTOR Jorge Maturino jorge@triad-city-beat.com

SALES SALES/DIGITAL MARKETING SPECIALIST Regina Curry regina@triad-city-beat.com

SALES EXECUTIVE Cheryl Green cheryl@triad-city-beat.com

jordan@triad-city-beat.com

CONTRIBUTORS Carolyn de Berry Kat Bodrie Spencer KM Brown

Jelisa Castrodale Matt Jones Joel Sronce

Courtesy cover photography Comedian Sinbad is in town for the National Black Theatre Festival, kicking off Saturday night.

EDITORIAL INTERNS Lauren Barber & Eric Hairston intern@triad-city-beat.com

TCB IN A FLASH DAILY @ triad-city-beat.com First copy is free, all additional copies are $1.00. ©2017 Beat Media Inc.

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July 27 – August 2, 2017

EVENTS Thursday, July 27 @ 8pm

Open Mic Night

Saturday, July 29 @ 8pm

Benefit Show

Sunday, July 30 @ 7pm

Derring-Do

Monday, July 31 @ 7pm

Mystery Movie Monday

CITY LIFE July 27 – August 2

by Eric Hairston

THURSDAY Phoenix Ensemble @ SECCA (W-S), 7 p.m.

This event culminates five weeks that 25 teens spent exploring themes of trauma and transformation in their lives. The teens, under the instruction of writer Nathan Ross Freeman — who is featured in this week’s cover story — bring their stories to the stage with performances of spoken word, song, film and movement. For more information, visit authoringaction.org.

FRIDAY The Color of Sound @ Gateway Gallery (W-S), 5 p.m.

The exhibit includes original works of art and fine crafts from Gateway Gallery artists, and features live music from the Enrichment Center Percussion Ensemble.

Food is provided by the center’s culinary arts students. For more information, visit enrichmentarc.org.

Early Bird Fridays @ Greenhill (GSO), 10 a.m.

The gallery invites guests to enjoy early-morning painting or to sculpt their own works of art out of clay. Participants are also encouraged to enjoy a self-guided art-making experience while taking time to view the current exhibit. For more information, visit greenhillnc.org.

Creative Infusion art social @ Artist Bloc (GSO), 9 p.m.

Live music, painting, dance and a performance by special guest poet Clarity take over the Gate City Boulevard artist space. For more information, visit theartistbloc.com.

602 S Elam Ave • Greensboro

(336) 698-3888

Charlie Daniels Band @ Winston-Salem Fairgrounds (W-S), 7 p.m.

Winston-Salem hosts the Charlie Daniels Band, a Southern rock band with country roots. The band is the third in the Camel City’s classic country concert series. The event also features performances by the Scooter Brown Band and Tammie Davis.

For more information, visit wsfairgrounds.com.

SPREADING JOY ONE PINT AT A TIME

SATURDAY Boundless Body Bootcamp @ LeBauer Park (GSO), 10 a.m.

Experience a full-body workout that combines cardio and strength training. The event is a free hour-long session set to motivating music featuring individual and partner routines. For more information, visit the Facebook event page.

Monday Geeks Who Drink Pub Quiz 7:30 Tuesday Live music with Piedmont Old Time Society Old Time music and Bluegrass 7:30 Wednesday Live music with J Timber and Joel Henry with special guests 8:30

Thursday Joymongers Band aka Levon Zevon aka Average Height Band 8:30pm Friday, Saturday, Sunday BEER

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joymongers.com | 336-763-5255 576 N. Eugene St. | Greensboro

Greensboro National Dance Day @ LeBauer Park (GSO), 7 p.m.

Celebrate dance from all over the world by taking in performances by various dance companies and live music. This event is free, and food trucks will be on hand to provide refreshments. For more information, visit the Facebook event page.

Animal House food fight & toga party @ Foothills Brewing Tasting Room (W-S), 6:30 p.m.

Foothills Brewing celebrates the anniversary of the film Animal House with a toga party and food fight.

The event will also feature music, a photo booth and — of course — lots of beer. For more information, visit the Facebook event page.

Sinbad @ Winston-Salem Fairgrounds (W-S), 7 p.m.

The National Black Theatre Festival kicks off with comedian Sinbad, who has appeared in numerous television shows and films such as “A Different World,” Jingle All The Way and First Kid. For more information, visit wsfairgrounds.com.

The Yoga of You @ Loving Scents Aromatherapy (GSO), 2 p.m.

Receive instruction, practical skills and tools to conquer stress in daily life. The class focuses on cultivating courage and self-awareness through movement, music and sound. The class also includes chair yoga practice, worksheets and exercises. For more information, visit lovingscents.com.

triad-city-beat.com

Eating the harvest

by Jordan Green

Sportsball Crossword Shot in the Triad Triaditude Adjustment

throat, I know that there are different types of beer such as lagers, ales, IPAs and stouts, but if you really think about it, the basic taste of the beer is somewhat like a dirty wet sock that has been left out in the sun to dry. In comparison to wine and liquor, beer would be the ugly stepsister that would only be the chosen if the other two weren’t available. There’s nothing like a smooth taste of a cognac or the complex taste of wine, which is certainly not in the same ballpark as your average beer.

Beer culture sucks, too. The last time I attended a beer event, I felt so out of place that I ended up leaving early because the crowd was mostly comprised of buzzed college students and old men trying to score. Who wants to be surrounded by a bunch of tipsy, middle-aged men while listening to a local band play a rendition of “Pour Some Sugar on Me”?

When I go to events with beer tastings or hit up a beer festival, I am surprised at how many people show up to consume such vile tasting drink. In fact, I only go to beer events because there just isn’t much else to do, and if I don’t go, I find my social life to be pretty lacking. I’d prefer if fewer events revolved around alcohol in general, but if they’re going to, let’s mix it up and stray from beer more often.

Culture

I’ve never claimed to a beer drinker, but I do occasionally find myself partaking in a brew or two.

This past weekend, I stopped by Foothills Brewing tasting room. When I walked in the door, I was bombarded by the fragrant smell of beer and the sound of a local rock band playing the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.”

I walked to the bar as if I were a regular, looked at the menu and picked the first thing I saw, which was the Carolina Blond.

I felt the low-alcohol beer would be my safest bet, since I had no designated driver and didn’t want to look out of place.

I stared at it intently, since I had already had paid the $3 and committed to a seat at the bar. I took a sip of it and was immediately hit with a bitter taste that sent my taste buds into a state of panic, making me draw back in revulsion. This experience isn’t an isolated one, instead confirming that — despite trying plenty of variations — I hate beer.

Many people have said that beer is an acquired taste and the more you drink it, the more you will like it, but I can honestly say during my time as an active duty Marine that I tasted many beers —some of which I can’t remember — and the acquired taste still isn’t there.

Before everyone jumps down my

Cover Story

by Eric Hairston

Opinion

Beer sucks

cheddar cheese. Divvied up between my child, wife and I, the chili was hardly discernible. Yet my satisfaction at eating something I grew myself was scarcely diminished.

By no stretch will this garden ever come close to feeding my family, much less allow us to survive the apocalypse. But I’m not in the least discouraged. When I encounter another gardener, I never miss the opportunity to collect pointers on composting, irrigation systems, plant varieties or any of the other endless factors that might influence the output. And every morning, when I go out to water the plants and pull weeds, it’s a centering prayer for the wisdom and expertise to figure out how to keep doing it better.

News

exquisite science of soil quality, sunlight exposure, access to water, disease resistance and protection against critters that goes into successful food production.

Over the past two months, I’ve watched the squash wither and die, while the tomato plants soared into the air with gangly limbs that have flowered but failed to yield any fruit. Similarly, the bell peppers have flowered, but the dried buds have fallen away instead of developing fruit. The two Anaheims have each produced little elongated peppers that have eventually ripened to full maturity at about two inches.

On Sunday morning, I plucked the second chili pepper, sprayed it with olive oil and popped it in the oven.

I peeled the skin off the flaccid specimen, chopped it up and threw it in some scrambled egg batter with

Up Front

A strange thing happened this summer with my inaugural efforts to grow a garden: Woeful failure has mutated into obsession and redoubled commitment.

Maybe it was the humility that I brought to the venture. Late in the planting season — early May — I decided I was going to grow something as a modest step towards self-sufficiency in the unfolding apocalypse. I didn’t expect much, but I was determined to give it my best shot as I yanked the English ivy off the dormant raised bed behind my garage. I sent soil samples to Raleigh for testing and consulted the NC Cooperative Extension for information about what nutrients I needed to remediate the soil.

Planting tomatoes, squash, bell peppers and Anaheim chili peppers, I quickly came to appreciate the

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July 27 – August 2, 2017 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Sportsball Crossword Shot in the Triad Triaditude Adjustment

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NEWS

Urban ag seen as model for generating income in High Point

by Jordan Green

From the Ground Up — a project of a local foundation — is attempting to help residents of east-central High Point supplement their income through urban agriculture.

Victoria Binder, the urban farm facilitator for From the Ground Up, glanced down at the sidewalk as she approached the hops farm on Park Street.

“There’s a burned jacket,” she said.

“I’m kind of disturbed that it’s here.”

When Patrick Harman, the project director, put in the hops crop on a vacant lot his family foundation purchased for $3,500, neighbors warned that the house across the house across the street was a brothel. Only two houses on the block are legitimately occupied. Nearly half of the lots are vacant and a condemned house next door with a collapsing porch ceiling faces the same fate.

But the 54 hops plants present a magisterial sight, rising about 10 feet off the ground, the sticky vines climbing strands of coconut-husk rope suspended from a network of wires manipulated by a pulley system, while the bone-colored, high-rise High Point Jail towers in the background.

The hops crop is Harman’s special project, part of an ambitious set of experimental urban agriculture initiatives that organizers hope will set a template for profitable enterprises in the economically depressed east-central core of High Point. Picking up on the recent craze for craft beer, Harman attended a hops farming conference in western North Carolina and visited a state demonstration farm near Asheville last year. He’ll get the first harvest of pinecone-like flowers in mid to late August, but the perennial doesn’t really produce an optimal harvest until the third year. The harvested cones have to be dried, and most brewers like to use pelletized hops, so Harman will either have to make an expensive investment in a pelletizer or pay someone to do it for him. He’d like to partner with a local brewer, maybe Brown Truck, but that decision is still a ways out, and it’s far from clear that the venture will net any profit, he said.

The Hayden-Harman Foundation has facilitated farmers markets at public

Urban Farm Facilitator Victoria Binder inspects From the Ground Up’s hops crop in east-central High Point.

JORDAN GREEN

housing communities, the High Point ons and cabbage provided by Gann.

Library and High Point Regional HosBefore Binder even had time to pital with Lee Gann, a local farmer, for arrange the produce, Melanie Joyce, a about four years. From the Ground Up resident of the Morehead Courts public launched last September and is in the housing community, strolled up to the midst of its first growing season. The table. group is responsible for three farms, “You know what I’m looking for — not counting the hops operation, in tomatoes,” she said. “How much are east-central High Point, and Binder said your watermelons? Those snaps are dethe project is indirectly involved in 10licious. I ate the whole thing last time.”

15 gardens.

With 30 minutes “This first year left in the two-hour To learn more about is a research year,” market, Harman and From the Ground Up, visit Binder had collected Binder said. “We’re trying to figure out $40. growinghighpoint.org. how much time and “That might be a resources go into getting one of these record,” Harman said. things started.”

“That is a record,” Binder said.

Harman added: “The long-term The shopping center is located in one vision is someone else is out here of High Point’s seven food deserts, and instead of us. We’re kind of covering with the impending closure of a Food the start-up costs, which is a barrier for Lion grocery store on Martin Luther a lot of people. We’re keeping track of King Jr. Drive, the community is facing everything we put into it and take out, a deepening crisis of food access. While so at the end of the year we can say, providing fresh produce to residents ‘If you plant a bunch of tomatoes, you like Joyce is a benefit of the project, the can earn $800 net through 46 hours of primary aim is to address the poverty labor,’ or whatever it is.” that causes grocery stores to shun the On Monday afternoon, Binder and area in the first place. Median houseHarman unloaded two folding tables hold income in east-central High Point and pitched a tent in an underutilized is roughly one-third of what households parking lot fronting a desolate strip across the city take in. The organizers shopping center on East Green Drive. hope to create micro-enterprises that They spread out tomatoes, okra, carrots, can help residents earn additional turnips, string beans, summer squash, income. zucchini, cucumbers and eggplant, Latishia Bahena, a stay-at-home mom mostly harvested from their Whiteoak whose family depends on her husband’s Street farm, along with some watermelearnings, was growing flowers and herbs

long before she considered the possibility that it could become a money-making venture.

“I love the herbs; I like to teach people what they can do with herbs,” she said. “I know in the South we love seasoned salt. Several years ago, I had some issues with water around my heart. That’s when I started using herbs because I had to cut out salt. I love to cook, and I needed to find a way to season my food.

“When people pass away, we flood the church with flowers,” Bahena continued. “I say, ‘I want my flowers before I die.’ I’m not waiting for my husband to bring me any. That’s how I started growing flowers.”

From the Ground Up set Bahena up with a vacant lot on Thissell Street so that she could expand her yield. Bahena regularly sells her flowers and herbs at the markets hosted by From the Ground Up, which move from Green Drive to Washington Street, the hospital and the library over the course of the week.

“A lot of people in my community think you need to be doing something wrong to make money,” Bahena said. “I want to be that person to show people there’s a better way to make money than doing something negative.”

Bahena said she’s earned as much as $75 a day selling her flowers and herbs.

With scarce rain and temperatures hovering in the 90s for the past couple weeks, however, her flowers have taken a beating. She discovered that it cost $1,500 to get the city to turn the water on for the vacant lot, and Bahena felt bad about running up the neighbor’s bill to irrigate her crop.

“Next year we’re getting water installed,” Binder said, “and getting drip irrigation so we can get some money out of this for her.”

During a recent visit to the Whiteoak Street farm, two boys who had been hanging out in front of the house across the street came over and volunteered to water the plants. Then they soaked each other, and eagerly accepted two cucumbers and a handful of okra from Binder as a thank you.

triad-city-beat.com

Up Front

News

Opinion

Cover Story

Culture

Sportsball

Crossword

Shot in the Triad

Triaditude Adjustment

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July 27 – August 2, 2017 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Sportsball Crossword Shot in the Triad Triaditude Adjustment

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North Carolina social worker defies grand jury subpoena

by Jordan Green

Katie Yow, a 31-year-old anarchist, is refusing to testify before a grand jury in Greensboro on July 31.

Katie Yow, a 31-year-old social worker and anarchist, has been called to testify before a federal grand jury in Greensboro on July 31.

But she won’t comply. Instead, supporters will hold a rally in front of the federal building at 9 a.m. to express encouragement for her act of resistance.

Grand juries are secret proceedings that empanel citizens to determine whether prosecutors have probable cause to issue criminal indictments.

Yow has said that she doesn’t know the subject of the grand jury, and that her lawyer has been unable to obtain information from the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina, despite multiple attempts.

Phone calls and emails from Triad City Beat likewise went unreturned.

Yow, who graduated from Guilford College and lived in Greensboro for several years before returning to the Triangle area, said in a public statement: “I am resisting this grand jury with the benefit of the example of decades of committed and courageous grand jury resistance by comrades across our movements. I am resisting this grand jury with the considerable support and wisdom of many people who work every day to combat state repression.”

In her statement, Yow connected the subpoena she received to what she characterized as “a spike in FBI harassment across the state,” adding, “We also know that grand juries are used to intimidate communities of resistance.” Elaborating on the bigger picture of federal harassment against activists, Yow responded by email, citing a post by an anonymous author (not her, she said) on the It’s Going Down! anarchist website. The post states that “in the past six months, over half a dozen people with personal or political ties to anarchists in central North Carolina have been approached for questioning by the FBI,” beginning “in early winter with an apparent arson of the Orange County GOP office.”

Yow said in an email interview with TCB that she sees an upswing in both state repression and popular resistance

Nation leader Jorge Cornell’s 2009 campaign for Greensboro City Council, along with Eric Ginsburg. [Disclosure: Ginsburg serves as the managing editor for TCB.] When Cornell was indicted on federal racketeering charges in 2011, Yow played an active role in mobilizing support for him, and testified as a character witness in his trial. She has continued to support him as he serves a 28-year sentence at Petersburg Medium FCI in Virginia after several unsuccessful appeals to his 2012 conviction. Cornell and his supporters view his conviction — which hinged on the testimony of former Latin Kings who cooperated with the prosecution — as being wholly without merit. Yow said her friendship with Cornell has “been hugely influenCOURTESY PHOTO Katie Yow tial on the kind of person I am and the kind of work I do,” describing him as “bold and resourceful and a fighter.” under the Trump administration, “It is still difficult to talk about what but clarified that she doesn’t view the it means to all of us that he is in prison previous administration under Barack instead of out here with his family and Obama as better in any significant way. community,” she said. “Supporting “We are seeing an escalation in state him through the [racketeering] case violence right now, and we’re also seeing taught me what it means to stick by your a beautiful swell of organizing and friends when the state comes down. resistance,” she said. “What we know We’ve also learned so much about is that historically state repression does what the long haul looks like in terms intensify when movements become of supporting folks when they are in larger and more powerful, and I expect prison, and I hope that folks reading that what we’re seeing right now across this will reach out and find ways they movements will continue to increase. can support Jay and other folks who However, when I think about what is are inside. These experiences are part different in terms of state repression unof why I’m so der Trump, I think passionate about To learn more about about how much legal and prisoner of this is not new.

Katie Yow’s case, visit support, and why I think about how ncresiststhegrandjury.com. I’ve chosen to do long the legacy of mental-health white supremacy work with young folks who are impacted and state violence is, and how equally by incarceration and court involvement. long the histories of resistance are.

Resisting this grand jury is about show“As times are getting tougher again it ing my community the love and combecomes imperative that we honor and mitment I’ve learned from them, and uplift and resource the communities Jay is someone who teaches me what it and movements that have been fighting means to have a heart that strong.” this long fight, and it is also imperative Jude Ortiz, a writer and editor based that we stick together and build stronger in Oakland, Calif., started strategizing networks to support folks who are being with Yow to help her resist the grand targeted by political repression on whatjury shortly after she received the ever level it comes,” she added. subpoena on July 10. He said Yow’s Yow worked for several years as a support committee has grown to about teacher in the Guilford County Schools eight people spread across the country. system. She also co-managed North Through his work as a writer and activCarolina Almighty Latin King & Queen

ist helping people navigate the criminal justice system over the past 10 years, Ortiz said he has previously supported two friends who resisted grand jury subpoenas. One was immediately indicted after refusing to testify, while another was jailed for four months before being released without explanation, he said.

“There’s always a lot of uncertainty with grand jury proceedings,” Ortiz said. “People don’t have to be told what the investigation is about or whether they’re the target of investigation. They can be asked anything at all. The resistance of grand juries has a very strong tradition in the history of the United States. That history of resistance is not really paralleled in any other countries.

Other countries in the Western civilized world have abolished grand juries, except for the United States. Some of the most inspiring groundwork comes from the Puerto Rican independence struggle, and the grand jury subpoenas that were handed down in the 1970s and 1980s. There can always be a lot of consequences, as well as benefits to protecting the people we care about and the movements we’re a part of.”

Yow said she’s prepared to pay the consequences for her decision, but deflected attention from her own sacrifice.

“There are a lot of young folks in my life, and a lot of work that I do that has had to be put on hold or handed over to others,” she said. “The impact of having school and work disrupted is substantial, and this is hard for my family and loved ones. I am incredibly lucky to have a supportive family and community who have helped me plan.

“What feels more important to me to highlight as I go through this is how much more disruptive and traumatizing many people’s every-day experiences of the criminal justice system are. Every day people go to jail and prison and lose their jobs, their homes, are taken away from their families, have their futures changed, and they are given far less support because the wider society doesn’t view their cases as ‘political,’ and because this kind of state violence against communities of color is so normalized,” she continued. “Anytime someone has to go away, it is enormously difficult for them and the people that love them.”

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Up Front

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Shot in the Triad

Triaditude Adjustment

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July 27 – August 2, 2017 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Sportsball Crossword Shot in the Triad Triaditude Adjustment

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OPINION

EDITORIAL

To eliminate gerrymandering, the time is now North Carolina’s illegally gerrymandered districts have been in place since 2011. And this week, right here in the Triad, a federal court will decide how much longer we will have to live under them.

The hearing begins on Thursday in Greensboro, at the courthouse that hasn’t seen this much action since the John Edwards case of 2012.

It’s not the trial of the century, but it’s an awfully big deal for North Carolinians, particularly in those 28 state House and Senate districts that have been declared illegitimate. And since you can’t redraw a district without affecting the others in this zero-sum game, every resident of the state is being misrepresented.

Republicans in state government have been fighting for these districts since they drew them just a year after taking over state government for the first time in 100 years — initially defending them against a three-judge panel in 2016, and then in the Supreme Court last month. And now they want to hold off on drawing new, legal districts and staging a legitimate election for as long as they can — or, at least, not this year.

They will argue that a holding a special election this year would be too expensive, and would not allow enough time for candidates to file and prepare for their campaigns. And anyway, what’s the rush? Clearly the members of this General Assembly feel they have more damage to do before they start playing by the rules.

Perhaps there was a time in our state when our elected leaders actually cared about assembling a legislature that accurately represented the political will of their citizens. But clearly the majority of them currently do not.

And now we say again: Enough!

Enough justification for this cheesy, illegal political hackery. Enough subversion of our democracy.

Enough finger-pointing at past legislatures who employed the same sleazy tactic. Enough foot-dragging on what amounts to the most important political issue of our time in North Carolina.

We demand new districts and a special election — not next year, not in the spring, but now, with a primary in October and a political reckoning in November.

And in that election, voters should punish anyone who defends or has defended these illegal districts by showing them the door.

CITIZEN GREEN

The only thing scarier than Trump is the political vacuum when he goes down Each day’s developments and feel their full fury if they break with the president. Trump revelations make Trump’s hold on was elected because a significant portion of the Amerpower look increasingly shaky. ican electorate was angry, and they wanted a populist We now know that Donald demagogue who was willing to violate democratic norms.

Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul The revelations have not caused them to reassess Trump.

Manafort — who was candidate Instead, their hardening scorn for media elites, progresTrump’s campaign manager at the sives and institutional politics has reinforced their affection

by Jordan Green time — met with a Russian lawyer for Trump, and prompted them to reassess their views on with ties to Russian intelligence in an effort to obtain Russia. damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

Looking at the Trump saga through the lens of blueWe have Trump raging against Attorney General Jeff state America, it’s easy to imagine Trump’s supporters Sessions for his decision to recuse himself and for failing to becoming demoralized and lashing out in anger. In fact, disclose his contacts with a Russian official as a surrogate the general feeling among the president’s grassroots for candidate Trump. The repeated encounters between backers appears to be closer to euphoria at the prospect members of the Trump circle and Russians and their of a coming showdown. repeated disclosure failures suggest there’s at least some Alex Jones, host of “InfoWars,” announced in a July 21 smoke surrounding the suspicion that the Trump cambroadcast — based on alleged undisclosed sources — that paign promised a hostile foreign power favors in exchange Spicer’s departure was due to the discovery that he was for assistance with the 2016 election. What Russia wants one of the leakers. from Trump is obvious — an agreement to lift economic “The word is the hammer’s coming down,” Jones sanctions and a free hand to act aggressively against its gloated. neighbors without American interference. Trump’s bald “This is very exciting, very important,” he continued. statements about Sessions to the New York Times suggest “This is an amazing time to be alive. Stick to your guns. nothing so much as a gangster complaining that his lawyer Don’t let folks bully you. Hold fast. Move forward.” won’t help conceal his crimes.

The danger to the American republic is that Trump’s And then came the abrupt resignation of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

Blue-state America likely views Spicer’s departure as a signal that the rats are beginning to flee a sinking ship. It’s definitely a significant development, but it also marks the beginning of a dangerous new phase in the continuing deterioration of political cohesion in the United States.

There isn’t much mystery as to why Congressional Republicans, including Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) — the chair of the Intelligence Committee — are reluctant to hold Trump accountable.

They aren’t driving the vehicle of state. They know that the ire of Trump’s political base is as much directed JORDAN GREEN The white supremacist movement has chosen the Robert E. Lee at them as at progressive statue in Charlottesville, Va. as a rallying point.

Democrats, and that they will

Sportsball Crossword Shot in the Triad Triaditude Adjustment

I would like to commend Jordan Green on his editorial, “More innocent people will be locked up” published in the July 20 edition of Triad City Beat. The Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution clearly states no one

Culture

Pleading (for) the Fifth

Cover Story

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Support FREE, INDEPENDENT PRESS by reading Triad City Beat.

OR, support your business and the free press by advertising with us.

Opinion

BAD NEWS

I hope this email finds you well.

I’m writing to you in response to an article written by Jelisa [“Can we stop with this #GoodwillDateNight thing already?” by Jelisa Castrodale, July 20, 2017], and her response to my comment on Facebook.

I hope you will take the time to review her comments, as I do feel it’s important to be aware of the integrity of your employees when they bring attention to your paper.

I must also mention that I have the utmost respect for journalism, and have a good working relationship with many local journalists in my community. I would also like to point out the importance of the context of this article in regards to social status and appropriation.

I think the comments speak loud enough for themselves, but as she’s blocked me from further comment, I do wish my voice to be heard on a louder platform. In the words of Anas, “Journalism is about results. It’s about affecting your community or your society in the most progressive way.” If that’s true, then the message from Jelisa in this article is anti-journalism. There’s nothing more demoralizing than being preached to about a subject which you hold very near and dear to your heart.

I would love to hear your thoughts and have a thoughtful dialogue with you, as I obviously chose the wrong platform. And I originally was posting in response to other comments, not directly at Jelisa although she perceived my opinion as a personal attack. And now, as she evidently doesn’t appreciate dialogue or opposing viewpoints, has removed the ability to comment unless you’re her “friend.”

Brianna Golchoski, via email

shall be “deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” In North Carolina, this basic constitutional protection has been under siege since a Republican majority gained control of both the NC House and NC Senate in 2010. One year prior, the Racial Justice Act had been signed into law by then-governor Beverly Perdue, giving defendants on death row the ability to challenge their sentencing if they felt race played a major factor in a jury’s deliberations. This landmark legislation was repealed by the Republican-dominated General Assembly in 2013, and the state has since attempted to re-impose death penalties that had been overturned. Furthermore, a study

by Michigan State University researchers discovered “powerful evidence that race was a substantial factor” in prosecutors’ decisions to strike potential jurors in 173 death penalty cases in North Carolina, including 11 in Cumberland County alone. This is a national problem, but the issue seems to be particularly egregious in North Carolina. I have seen the multi-generational impact of wrongful convictions through the eyes of Augustus Dark, the father of Kalvin Michael Smith. In 1997, a Forsyth County jury convicted Smith of the brutal assault of Jill Lee Marker, and the armed robbery of the Silk Plant Forest store in Winston-Salem. Smith’s conviction occurred in spite of overwhelming evidence that the first suspect, Kenneth Lamoureux, most likely committed the crime. My documentary film Ordinary Injustice chronicles the story of one family’s suffering due to the callous actions of a single rogue detective and law enforcement officials — as well as members of the judiciary — who did nothing to stop this grave injustice. The NC General Assembly’s first and foremost responsibility is to safeguard our fundamental liberties. For the past six and half years, lawmakers in Raleigh have failed miserably to stand up for the rights of the citizens who put them in office. It’s time for candidates who understand the basic premise of representing the interests of all their constituents to step up and run for elected office.

Keith T. Barber, Winston-Salem

News

NO NEWS IS

With all due respect

Up Front

bach of the Traditionalist Workers Party and Richard Spencer, who are building a coalition under the banner of the alt-right.

Spencer and his allies credit Trump with delegitimizing the mainstream media, but ultimately want to supplant him, and also to sideline more moderate players like the Oath Keepers.

It stands to reason that as the House of Trump begins to shudder, the white supremacist movement would feel emboldened. They are pledging an unprecedented turnout at a separate Aug. 12 rally billed as “Unite the Right.”

“I think Charlottesville has the potential to be a breakthrough moment in our activism,” writes Hunter Wallace, a white supremacist commentator. “There is so much energy which has been bottled up online over the past 15 years that the dam is close to breaking. It is only a matter of time before it finally spills over into the real world, and we are getting very close to that point.”

Half of America is dumbstruck at the fact that a figure as appalling as Trump could become president. Unfortunately, many of us lack the imagination to comprehend how much worse things can get.

triad-city-beat.com

supporters see the effort to remove their man from office as a mirror image of the very same threat that the resistance sees in Trump — essentially a self-dealing gangster enterprise leading to certain tyranny.

“This is an effort to subvert the administration of President Donald Trump,” conservative media personality Lou Dobbs told Sean Hannity, the Fox News host and Trump media-apologist-in-chief, on July 14. “It is nothing less. It is an effort by the deep state to roll over a duly elected president and a legitimate government and to break the will of the American people.”

The activists on the extreme right, though fractured by infighting, are mobilizing in various ways for a showdown.

The Oath Keepers, a patriot militia group comprised of military veterans and retired law enforcement, and Bikers for Trump are turning out in support of the Rally for America in Washington DC on Saturday. The Facebook page for the event describes it as an opportunity “to show our pride in the USA and support for our new president.”

Oath Keepers have largely shunned the overt white supremacy of Matthew Heim-

11

July 27 – August 2, 2017

The 2017 National Black Theatr

Cover Story

Sinbad on Cosby, comedy, the Kardashians and Trump

by Brian Clarey Airplane jokes are a standard part of any comic’s set.

And sometimes, says Sinbad, they write themselves.

Last week while on a flight from a gig in Jacksonville, Fla., Sinbad’s plane got downed by a flock of angry birds — six turkey buzzards at 3,000 feet.

“They blew the engine out,” he says by phone from his home in Los Angeles. The plane returned to Jacksonville, where it sat on the runway for 45 minutes. And then black storm clouds rolled in, groundDavid Adkins, AKA Sinbad ing flights for the rest of the evening.

“I was thinking, Maybe I’m not supposed to go to Mississippi,” says the actor and comedian, whose given name is David Adkins. “It’s the first time I had to cancel a show because of an act of God.” His trip to Winston-Salem this week to perform on the opening night of the National Black Theatre Festival, he hopes, will be less eventful.

He’s been here before — in 2001, at the suggestion of the choreographer and actor Debbie Allen and character actor Glynn Turman, one of his co-stars from the 1980s TV show “A Different World.”

“It was incredible, man,” he says.

“A Different World” — which ran on NBC from 1987 to ’93 — was a departure for Sinbad, who up to that point had only done comedy. He played Coach Oakes in the first four seasons in the sitcom built around a fictional HBCU in

NBTF calendar

Check ncblackrep.org for showtimes

12

Virginia — a groundbreaking concept that he says never would have gotten off the ground if it weren’t for Bill Cosby, whose own TV show opened the door for shows, storylines and roles for black actors that defied easy racial stereotypes.

“Cos was the man,” he says.

“Black kids in college? He orchestrated that. You don’t think the networks wanted that, do you? They never wanted to make it.”

Cosby went on trial for COURTESY IMAGE sexual assault last month — a mistrial was declared after a hung jury could not say with certainty that he had drugged and sexually assaulted the defendant in 2004, though dozens of other women came forward with the similar accusations. A new trial has not yet been scheduled.

But before his fall from grace, Cosby inspired a generation of black actors and paved the way for a more dignified portrayal of black folks on TV. “Cos said, ‘I didn’t like what I was seeing [on television],’” Sinbad remembers. “’And either you’re a part of the solution or you’re a part of the problem.’

“It’s a shame that this is the thing he will be remembered for,” says Sinbad, who maintains his relationship with Cosby.

“It’s a shame that this is what his legacy will be reduced to.

There’s a bit of truth and a bit of falsehood to everything I’m hearing — but it’s hard for me to separate the man that I

EVENTS Sinbad live Annex Endstage, W-S Fairgrounds, 7 p.m., Saturday

know with what he’s being accused of. It’s a hard separation for me. I can’t even begin to understand what it must be like in his mind, to go into a room and be larger than life and then be persona non grata, nobody wants you there. That’s gotta kill the spirit.”

Sinbad’s four-decade career has been free of scandal — unless you count the legions of people on the internet who swear he played a genie in a movie called Shazaam in the 1990s.

Fact: He wasn’t.

“Man, that’s funny to me,” he says of this Snopes-worthy urban legend.

Since he first came to prominence by winning the 1980s talent competition “Star Search,” he has been known as a “clean” comic, though he admits Sinbad pe his earlier nightclub routines were pretty raw. on Saturd “Sometimes I wish I never cleaned my comedy up,” he says. “I wish I never changed at the Win it because it started to define me, and that’s Salem Fai the least defining thing about me. ‘Clean’ is not a compliment.”

Annex End Comedy, he says, has changed dramatical7 p.m. Tick ly since his early days. still availa “The stuff we talked about, these scenarios we created in sitcoms, it got real,” he says. ncblackre “Reality TV, you can’t beat that now. You got the crackhead mom, you got the Kardashians with those big, fake booties, you can’t make this stuff up.

You got a president who would have been a joke in a movie — a guy who’s crazy and accidentally becomes president — but that’s what happened.”

He cites Being There, the 1979 Peter Sellers film, and Dave, a movie from 1993 that enacted a similar trope.

“The difference between those movies and what’s really

SHOWS Monday, July 31 Opening night gala Salem Ballroom, Benton Convention Center, 5:30 p.m.

Anne & Emmett Gerald Freedman Theatre, UNC School of the Arts, Aug. 1-3

Baltimore Loma Hopkins Theatre, Summit School, Aug. 4-5

Beyond the Oak Trees Mainstage Theatre, Wake Forest University, Aug. 4-5

Black is the Color of My Voice Ring Theatre, Wake Forest University, Aug. 1-2

triad-city-beat.com

re Festival

COURTESY IMAGES

happening,” he says, “is those guys had good hearts. They ended up becoming good presidents because they had good hearts.”

He remembers a perennial bit from a comic named Pat Paulson, who campaigned for president in 1968, 1972, 1980, 1988, 1992 and 1996.

“That was the funniest running gag ever,” he says. “But it’s not a joke anymore.”

On stage, clean though he may be, he does not shy away from political material.

“I don’t call it ‘political material’ anymore,” he says. “Politics has gotten woven into real life. You cannot run away from politics now. You got a president who tweets every day. We can’t look away. I don’t think we should look away.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat or a liberal — we’re at that point where the country is so divided. You meet someone and erforms they ask who you voted for, and that directs where the conversation goes. You’re almost day night gonna have a hatred for someone or a disnstonlike of someone based on who they voted irgrounds for. Alternative facts. Now nothing is real; all news is fake; everybody’s lying. So what are dstage at we gonna do? If all the news is a lie, if all the kets are media is a lie, why are you watching?

“It’s the circus, man,” he says. “We’re all able at like the circus.” ep.org.

He says he can’t predict what he’ll say on Saturday night at the National Black Theatre Festival. He likes to wing it: pull people from the audience and bring them onstage, bring the opening act up for a back-and-forth, setup a DJ and a sax player. Sometimes he pulls out his bass.

“I call it ‘controlled insanity,’” he says. “I let my ADHD take me where it goes.

“To put it in musical terms,” he says, “I got a playlist, but sometimes we kick it to the curb.”

Black Magic Gaines Ballroom, Embassy Suites, Aug. 1-2

Black Men: Naked Truth Gaines Ballroom, Embassy Suites, Aug. 4-5

Black Sparta Hamlin Theatre Stage 1, Benton Convention Center, Aug. 4-5

The Fannie Lou Hamer Story celebrates civil rights icon

by Lauren Barber

Mzuri Moyo Aimbaye brings her one-woman musical Light of Mine” to fellow travelers to bolster activists’ resolve about civil rights legend Fannie Lou Hamer to Winston-Saafter police stopped the bus on its return. Hamer believed lem on Aug. 1. The singer and acclaimed playwright wrote the civil rights struggle was a deeply Christian one.

The Fannie Lou Hamer Story in 1998 after seeing interview The owner of the plantation where she worked fired her footage of Hamer, revealing the voting-rights activist’s upon her return that day, but Hamer did not back down. courage and compassion in the face of brutal jailhouse Instrumental in organizing Mississippi’s Freedom violence.

Summer, she also co-founded the Mississippi Freedom For 90 minutes, audiences can expect captivating stories, Democratic Party and, in 1964, testified in front of the a video montage highlighting Hamer’s activism and about Credentials Committee at the Democratic National Cona dozen songs of the Civil Rights Era as Aimbaye channels vention where her speech highlighted the abuses African the iconic, indomitable Hamer, whose efforts led to the Americans faced in the struggle to gain access to the passage of the Voter’s Rights Act of 1965. political process. On that occasion, she famously declared, Born into Mississippi sharecropping poverty in 1917, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

Hamer became a central A doctor had performed figure to the Civil Rights a hysterectomy on Hamer The performance, directed by Anita Movement as she promoted without her informed Dashielle-Sparks and organized by the African-American access consent during a tumor to the ballot box with the removal procedure, a wideNC Black Repertory Company, debuts Student Nonviolent Coorspread eugenics practice at 8 p.m. on Aug. 1 in the Mountcastle dinating Committee during in the late ’60s to curb the the turbulent 1960s. number of impoverished Forum in the Milton Rhodes Center for Since around 1900, African Americans in Misthe Arts, 209 N. Spruce St. (W-S). targeted state laws disensissippi. Hamer coined the franchised most potential phrase “Mississippi appenAfrican-American voters in Mississippi by raising barriers dectomy” as a euphemism for the involuntary sterilization to voter registration such as poll taxes and literacy and of black women. comprehension tests assessed by white registrars. In the As the North Carolina General Assembly grapples with a late 1950s and early 1960s, black people who attempted to recent Supreme Court decision deeming its 2011 redisregister to vote in the South faced state-sanctioned harasstricting campaign as a practice of racial gerrymandering, ment, loss of employment, physical assault and lynching. the National Black Theatre Festival hosts this play about On Aug. 31, 1962, Hamer traveled on a rented bus to Inthe role of a legendary African-American woman freedom dianola, Miss. to register and sing African-American spirifighter who was pivotal to securing the franchise for black tuals such as “Go Tell It on the Mountain” and “This Little Americans.

Breathe Catawba Arena Theatre, Stevens Center, Aug. 1-2

The Cause, My Soul (The Prequel to Othello) Hanesbrands Theatre, Aug. 1-2

Choir Boy Dillard Auditorium, Aug. 1-3

Colorstruck: Surviving the Trumpocalypse (Donald Lacy) Drama Workshop Theatre, Salem College, Aug. 1-3

An Evening with Two Theatre Divas (Ebony Jo-Ann, Vivian Reed) McChesney Scott Dunn Auditorium, SECCA, Aug. 2-5

13

July 27 – August 2, 2017 Cover Story

Nina Simone’s older and younger selves hold a dialogue in Nathan Ross Freeman play Little Girl Blue

by Jordan Green

Nina Simone’s monumental legacy as an iconic singer, civil rights activist and virtuoso pianist has continued to unfold since her death in France in 2003, with her work repurposed in hip-hop samples, exploited in a Ford commercial, dissected in academic papers, examined in a recent documentary and continuously embraced by new generations of fans.

Nathan Ross Freeman and Cheyenne Covington, respectively the director and producer of the play Little Girl Blue, knew they had to take a unique approach to pull off a dramatic exploration of such a complicated subject. Freeman, who is also the writer, came up with the idea of building the play around a conversation between Nina Simone, the established artist, and Eunice Waymon, the girl prodigy (Waymon was her given name, and she adopted Simone when she became a performer).

Sitting with Covington at the bar at Monstercade in Winston-Salem’s Washington Park neighborhood before it opened for service on a recent Friday afternoon, Freeman mused that Simone was unique in that her dreams were deferred by success as opposed to failure. The young Eunice Waymon trained to be a classical pianist with the support of her family and the entire community where she grew up in Tryon, NC. Her family relocated to Philadelphia where she hoped to be accepted into the Curtis Institute. When she was rejected — likely because of her race — she had to go to work in nightclubs to support the family. The rejection resulted in two tectonic shifts: She had to sing, and was forced to adapt her repertoire to popular tastes for show tunes and pop standards in the 1950s. Despite achieving commercial success as a singer, her goal to be a classical pianist was permanently derailed.

“There’s a universal aspect to the play,” Freeman said.

“We all have a conversation with our younger self — everyone has at least one a day — asking: Is our younger self going to be for it or against it? Every decision you make is leveraged against your younger self when you were guided through a right upbringing.”

Markeisha Ensley is cast as Nina, while Bijan Miarra plays Eunice. Freeman wanted to avoid creating a tribute or committing exploitation — the play completely bypasses Simone’s well-documented mental illness. Instead, it’s

Cheyenne Covington (left) and Nathan Ross Freeman respectively produced and directed Little Girl Blue, which sold out in two weeks after being booked at the National Black Theatre Festival.

set up as a conversation, with one passage showcasing a debate in song by interspersing “Sinnerman” and “Everything Must Change,” with Nina and Eunice singing both songs.

“I created a playlist — a collection of songs that would deal with love, memoir, protest, self, and, to a certain extent, the afterlife,” Freeman said.

“She had red lines,” he continued. “Once she crossed, she never went back, although she lamented.”

The first encounter with Simone’s music can be a life-changing experience. Freeman was a 19-year-old participating in a summer project to protest gentrification

JORDAN GREEN

in Harlem in 1969 when a fellow volunteer pulled out one of Simone’s albums and played “Four Women.”

“All of a sudden I would look out the window and everything was different,” Freeman recalled. “I have the same experience every time I hear it. If I heard it now, this room would look different.”

Covington, the play’s producer, underwent a similar epiphany when he first heard Simone’s music around 2000. Covington’s first production, High Priestess, featured jazz-soul singer Melva Houston interpreting Simone’s material. It was staged at PS 211, the performance space that would evolve into Krankies. From that

SHOWS (Cont.)

The Fannie Lou Hamer Story Mountcastle Forum, Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts, Aug. 1-3 The Fantasy and Adventure of Oz: A Dance Adaptation of The Wiz RJ Reynolds Auditorium, Aug. 3-5 Five Guys Named Moe Stevens Center, July 31-Aug. 5

14

Fully Awake & Facing Seventy: Heaven Betta Be a Honky Tonk Drama Workshop Theatre, Salem College, Aug. 1-3 Funny Colored Women Gettin’ the Last Laugh Hamlin Theatre Stage 2, Benton Convention Center, Aug. 2-5

GOGO and Big Sister Shirley Recital Hall, Salem College, Aug. 1-3

Just an Ordinary Lawyer Ring Theatre, Wake Forest University, Aug. 3-5

Maid’s Door Mainstage Theatre, Wake Forest University, Aug. 1-3

How I Got Over: A Gospel Musical Arts Council Theatre, Aug. 2-5

Keena Unbranded Drama Workshop Theatre, Salem College, Aug. 4-5

Mama, I’m Home (Peggi Blu) Gaines Ballroom, Embassy Suites, Aug. 1-5

In the Red and Brown Water Dillard Auditorium,

Little Girl Blue Ring Theatre, Wake Forest University, Aug. 1-2

Men of Soul KR Williams Auditorium, Winston-Salem State University, Aug. 2-5

Winston-Salem State University, Aug. 4-5

Michael Colyar’s Momma Hamlin Theatre Stage 1, Benton Convention Center, Aug. 1-3 Midnight Poetry Jam Salem Ballroom, Benton Convention Center, Aug. 1-4

Animating Stokely Carmichael

by Lauren Barber

Playwright and actor Meshaun Labrone will grace the National Black Theatre Festival with his solo performance, “Power! Stokely Carmichael” next week. The 70-minute show opens and closes with haunting imagery projected onto a backdrop behind Labrone from both past and present, recalling slavery, the Civil Rights Era and the Ferguson protests; Alabama firehoses and police dogs and NYPD riot gear.

Jennifer Pearson of the DC Theatre Review wrote, “Labrone fills the near empty stage with more characters, scenes, and events than the typical one-man show.”

Labrone launched the play during DC’s Capitol Fringe Festival in 2015.

Through powerful and energetic vignettes, Labrone relays the life story of Stokely Carmichael, a Trinidadian American who rose to prominence in the Civil Rights Movement and, later in life, the global pan-African movement. He became an activist as a student at Howard University, a historically black university in Washington, DC, and active in the black power movement as a leader of the Student Nonviolence Coordinating Committee, an “Honorary Prime Minister” of the Black Panther Party and DJ COREY Playwright and actor Meshaun a leader of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party.

PHOTOGRAPHY Labrone At first a lesser-known protégé of Dr. Martin Luther In 1966, Carmichael became chairman of the Student King, Jr., Carmichael urged King to take more radical Nonviolence Coordinating Committee, after fellow freestances such as using the language of black power and dom rider John Lewis — later elected to the US Congress firmly denouncing imperialism as represented by the Viet— stepped down. An admirer nam War, in which thousands of Malcolm X, Carmichael of black soldiers lost their lives.

The play, directed by Jennifer is credited with steering the Carmichael regarded organization in a more radical grassroots African-American Knight and organized by the NC direction, focusing on black activist Fannie Lou Hamer Black Repertory Company, debuts power as an intrinsic goal. The — the central character of Aug. 1 at 8 p.m. in the Mountcastle shift reflected young African a double-booked performance during the festival — a Forum in the Milton Rhodes Center Americans disillusionment with the slow-moving movepersonal hero. During the for the Arts, 206 N. Spruce St. (W-S). ment.

Freedom Sumer, Carmichael “Power!” is an opportunity participated in the Freedom to learn more about a pivotal Rides that aimed to desegrecivil rights activist in an intimate and historically accurate gate bus-station restaurants along US Route 40 between creative performance.

Baltimore and Washington, DC.

triad-city-beat.com

point, Covington dreamed of doing something more ambitious, and he talked to Freeman about what the project would look like.

“Two years ago, I thought I wanted to put major money behind it and do it right,” Covington said. “I wanted Nathan, and I presented him with an offer he couldn’t refuse.”

The conceptual development of Little Girl Blue coincided with one of the lowest and most difficult periods of Covington’s life. Around 2005 he came down with Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammation of the bowels, and almost died. Throughout his recuperation, Simone’s music was an almost constant companion.

“I suffered a lot, and through that learned that if you want it bad enough you’ll do whatever you have to, to get it,” Covington said.

As a testament to Covington’s vision, Little Girl Blue attracted the support of two stalwarts of the National Black Theatre Festival. Freeman first came to Winston-Salem in 1985 to stage his play The Contract at the invitation of Larry Leon Hamlin, the festival founder. Hamlin wound up keeping Freeman on as the first resident playwright of the NC Black Repertory Co. And Mabel Robinson, who recently retired as artistic director for the NC Black Repertory Co., agreed to serve as dramaturge for Little Girl Blue.

“Mabel sets the tone; she’s our metronome,” Covington said. “What she says is golden. Nathan is the director, but she’ll point it out if she senses something is off.”

Covington and Freeman developed Little Girl Blue with the hope of having a production that could be staged on Broadway and tour the globe, but the play already marks a significant arrival. The four performances of Little Girl Blue — paired with the Nina Simone-inspired Black Is the Color of My Voice — sold out within two weeks.

Freeman said the play was a decadeslong fulfillment for both of them.

Covington smiled and recalled attending the summer session of the NC School of the Arts in the mid-1990s, and volunteering as a driver for the National Black Theatre Festival.

“And here we are,” he said.

SHOWS (Cont.)

Miss Julie, Clarissa and John Loma Hopkins Theatre, Summit School, Aug. 1-3

Power! Stokely Carmichael Montcastle Forum, Milton Rhodes Center for theArts, Aug. 1-3

Southern Boys Shirley Recital Hall, Salem College, Aug. 4-5

Sugar Ray Mountcastle Forum, Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts, Aug. 4-5

National Youth Talent Showcase Salewm Ballroom, Benton Convention Center, Aug. 3-4

Sammy: Celebrating the Legacy Gerald Freedman Theatre, UNC School of the Arts, Aug. 4-5

The Sting of White Roses Hanesbrands Theatre 8 p.m., Aug. 3-5

Type/Caste DramaWorkshop Theatre, Salem College, Aug. 4-5

Portraits of Love Reese Theatre, Embassy Suites, Aug. 3-5

Something Like a Fairytale, the Musical Reese Theatre, Embassy Suites, Aug. 1-2

Storytelling Festival: Stories for Young People Gaines Ballroom, Embassy Suites, Aug. 3-4

What I learned in Paris Catawba Arena Theatre, Stevens Center, Aug. 3-5

We Love You Shirley Chisholm Mountcastle Forum, Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts, Aug. 4-5

15

July 27 – August 2, 2017 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Sportsball Crossword Shot in the Triad Triaditude Adjustment

16

CULTURE High Point Korean BBQ goes deeper than its name

by Eric Ginsburg

T

here are two ways to approach the Triad’s newest Korean restaurant: the more affordable lunch menu, or one of several pre-designed group orders with a hefty pricetag.

The simply named High Point Korean BBQ, which opened in April, is one of just a couple Korean restaurants in the region. Though some local venues serve a couple of dishes from the peninsula (RIP El Nuevo, the former Mexican restaurant run by Koreans with several fusion options), as well as a select few food trucks, only two other restaurants focus on cuisine from Korea — Dasarang and Seoul Garden. Both are in Greensboro.

High Point Korean BBQ sports a menu robust enough to cover two restaurants, with items ranging from the more common jap chae (stir-fried, clear noodles with vegetables) and seafood pancake to the godeungeo gui bento, which the menu describes as broiled mackerel seasoned with salt. The restaurant serves a $26 pork and oyster chef’s special and more than a half dozen soups, including one with bone broth and beef and another that appears to have a whole chicken in it.

But the most interesting thing about the offerings at High Point Korean BBQ isn’t the variety of options — it’s the variety of approaches. Lunch specials run $9-11 for entrees, like two kinds of the ever-popular bibimbap and five different bulgogi dishes. But for patrons who show up with a group of friends or a large family, there are several set group orders available for $30 a person.

That’s a good bit more than even the most expensive of the four summer specials (a cold buckwheat-noodle soup

The bibimbap with beef bulgogi is one of the most recognizable and worthwhile dishes at the Triad’s newest Korean restaurant, one of several options on the reasonably priced lunch menu.

ERIC GINSBURG

and prime short-rib beef combo that costs $20) and it’s probdish that’s found considerable popularity in the United States, ably too much of a commitment for anyone who isn’t already didn’t quite rival its counterpart at Don, but it didn’t disapconfident that they’re a fan of Korean food. If downing a bowl point, either. Especially as it appears to be the only option in of kimchi jjigae — a spicy stew with pork, vegetables, tofu, and High Point, it’s a welcome addition. the ever-present fermented cabbage or radish — sounds like a There are six entrees that fall under the Korean BBQ portion delight rather than a challenge, then pony up. of the menu, including chicken, beef and pork bulgogis and Quiet piano music plays in the background of the expansamgyupsai, described as “pork sliced bacon style.” But with sive High Point Korean BBQ, and the restaurant feels more the beef bulgogi ringing in at $18 for dinner, it would make like slightly upscale restaurants 98 Asian more sense to wait for the $10 lunch Bistro and Hakka Chow than its somespecial or pick the group dinner Course A, what divey local Korean counterparts. which includes beef bulgogi along with jap Visit High Point Korean Like Seoul Garden, meals at the Third chae, oyster bassam, kimchi, veggie temBBQ at 2107 Kirkwood St. City establishment begin with banchan pura, scorched rice, a mushroom and beef #104 (HP) between 11 a.m.

— a collection of small dishes including dish and six sides. and 10 p.m. any day. seaweed salad, kimchi, fermented radish, The downside — there’s a four-person potato salad and more. But unlike the minimum on these family-style options.

Greensboro restaurant, the server at High The upside: It’s hard to imagine less than Point Korean BBQ helpfully named each item as she placed it four people, however hungry, putting more than that away down. anyway.

Everything Fans of Korean food will no doubt rejoice that there’s a new arrived quickly, the restaurant promoting the under-represented culinary tradibibimbap with beef tion in the Triad. And maybe a couple High Pointers will notice still sizzling when it on their trips to the local favorite Biscuit Factory a stone’s it arrived in a stone throw away, and wander in. pot akin to Don Many of the Korean dishes will feel like more of a jump for Japanese in Greensthe inexperienced than Japanese, greasy Chinese or even Thai boro and the broth and Vietnamese. But as more accessible Korean BBQ options of the sul lung tang seep deeper into the American mainstream, the draw will no — a brisket and doubt grow. That could mean more people starting out with clear-noodle dish the restaurant’s pretty approachable lunch menu and later that tasted slightly graduating to the group options, possibly taking advantage of bland — still bubone of the more secluded seating rooms off to one side of the bling with heat. The restaurant. bibimbap, a Korean One can only hope.

triad-city-beat.com

Bourbon, beer bars join downtown milieu

Up Front News Opinion

Dogwood Hops and Crops, adjacent to the Trophy Room, is a beer and wine bar that’s the Dr. Jekyll to Trophy Room’s Mr. Hyde.

KAT BODRIE

Cover Story

W

Triaditude Adjustment

Table Experience Summer Dinner @ Single Brothers Garden (W-S), Saturday, 7 p.m.

Guests are invited to enjoy a three-course meal prepared by chef Christopher Brown at Single Brothers Garden in Old Salem. The event also includes healthy living tips by health & wellness coach Ashley Lebelle. For more information, visit ashleylebelle.squarespace.com.

Shot in the Triad

Pick of the Week

Crossword

Kat loves red wine, Milan Kundera, and the Shins. She wears scarves at katbodrie. com.

Sportsball

on the way, but I’d like to see more craft on draft. The corkage fees for beer and wine were puzzling at first, but Andrews explained, “We sell at retail price with a fee for drinking it here instead of taking a percentage off if you take it home.”

Growlers don’t have an extra charge besides the price of three pints, and an app for growler delivery service should roll out the first week of August.

If only they’d deliver bourbon to my house, too.

Culture

hy anyone would go to a bourburnt orange peel and brandied cherry juice. Next time, I’ll bon bar and order a martini, I have to try the Kentucky Brunch — Evan Williams, peach just don’t know. puree, lemonade, and champagne — whose description reads, But if bourbon isn’t your thing, there “Served best with a cigarette and reckless behavior.” are plenty of other choices — includIt’s hard not to be taken by the sheer number of bottles on ing a martini — at the Trophy Room in the shelves, and I was surprised a ladder wasn’t easily accessidowntown Winble to bartenders. There’s run-of-the-millston-Salem. wares like Tito’s and North Carolina-made

by Kat Bodrie Visit the Trophy Room and Across from the stuff like Kill Devil rum. When a bartender Millennium Center and practically neighpulled out Don Julio 1942 tequila, our Dogwood Hops and Crops bors with Crafted: Art of the Taco, the corner of the bar held its collective breath at 517 N. Liberty St. (W-S) Trophy Room set up shop on Liberty Street at the elegance of the tall — and pricey — or find it on Facebook. last month, drawing a crowd eager to bottle. experience the city’s first bar dedicated to If that alone doesn’t make this place one particular liquor. upscale, take a look at what’s behind the wire netting on Decidedly unlike 913 Whiskey Bar in either side of the bar. A brass placard denotes each locker’s Greensboro, it’s a marriage of speakeasy and owner; the cost of the locker is the price of a bottle by number hunting lodge, as the deer head with gold antof shots. lers immediately indicates. Other details bring Next door, Dogwood Hops and Crops is the Dr. Jekyll to Trothe outside in, including large, brown leaves phy Room’s Mr. Hyde. It’s lighter, with a garage door in front under the clear veneer of the bar, as well as the and a giant “Dogwood” sign lit up over the bar. There are a few wood dominating the space, from the floors to beer taps, several coolers of cans and bottles, lots of wine opthe beautiful cabinetry behind the bar. tions and a rotating panini menu. Both bars are owned by Joey It all has a cozy, open feel, great for kicking back Hurdel, Austin Ridge, who also with friends and family, especially after a long day manages Dogwood, and Adam after work.

Andrews, who runs restaurants Bourbon and rye whiskeys run the gamut from Jeffrey Adams and the Old Maker’s Mark to Jefferson’s. I was particularly taken by Fourth Street Filling Station. the availability of Angel’s Envy and Filibuster. If you’re More munchie options are looking for Jack, you’ll find a few upscale single-barrel The Trophy Room, an upscale options. bourbon bar in downtown The cocktail menu doesn’t disappoint, either. I tried a Winston-Salem, combines Moscow mule called the Texas Sweetheart, with Maker’s speakeasy and hunting lodge themes, perfect for kicking back Mark and a jalapeño kick. My co-worker Herb Everett — with friends and family. husband of News & Record columnist Susan Ladd — went KAT BODRIE with the Rita Ballou: a double layer of rye and mezcal, with

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July 27 – August 2, 2017 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture

T

he crowd stretched across the ample hillside of Barber Park as a thunder vibrated the earth.

Though a summer storm was waiting in the gunmetal clouds overhead, the thunder came from the stage — a long row of drums circled around the dance troupe. Skilled hands tapped on the calfskin heads of congas, djembes and ashikos. The rhythms sounded as the dancers’ bare feet raced and glided across the stage and, suddenly, the dancers were walking among the grass. While among the gathered crowd, the dancers began taking the hands of the audience, lifting them up, beckoning them to join in the music.

People rose from their place on the grass like blossoming flowers, excited, smiles stretched across their faces as the music moved their spirits.

And this was only the opening of the concert.

Greensboro’s SUAH African Dance Theater kicked off the evening for the seventh concert in the Levitt AMP music series on July 22. The dance group moved to the music provided by a vast drum circle, as well as a full band playing the melodies and a giving slightly modern vibe to the traditional music.

Dressed in the colorful, ceremonial attire of Liberia, the dancers were comprised of a mix of men and women.

The final dance of their set featured a call-and-response form. The men stood on the left of the stage as the women stood opposite. The first dancer stepped

out into the middle of the stage, tapping his feet to the beat of the drums, moving his body and arms in a hawklike motion, calling another dancer to join in. Suddenly, all the dancers moved in unison, like waves across the stage.

Their bodies twisted fluidly and seemingly without effort, simply responding to the driving music.

Audience members rose from their seats sporadically, hearing the call of the drums, and joined in the dance. And if the crowd felt inspired from the opening dances, there was still much more that was to come.

As the drums and dancers cleared the stage and new equipment took their place, Cheick Hamala Diabate sat at the front of the stage. Surrounded by a myriad of instruments laid at his feet, he plucked into the opening song, and the conversations that had arisen between sets were silenced. Holding his guitar in the classical tradition, the melodies echoed across the hill. The full band behind him dove into the rhythm, and truly, the evening began.

Originally from Mali, Cheick Hamala Diabate has been touring around the world since 1985. His music is steeped in the traditional melodies and songs of his native northwest African nation, while also incorporating stripped-down forms of American blues and jazz. But what sets Diabate apart is his use of traditional instruments. Famed for featuring n’goni, Diabate is recognized worldwide as a master of the traditional

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Cheik Hamala Diabate brings traditional music and dancing to the Levitt AMP music series.

West African instrument. The n’goni is a distant relative of the American banjo, wrapped in animal skin with only three strings. Diabate is renowned for his music, having been nominated for a Grammy award in 2007, and he has gained countless recognition for his songs which has led him into collaboration with such acts as Bela Fleck, Corey Harris and many more.

But though there is a catalogue of Diabate’s accomplishments, there was no place for it at this concert. The show was about the music, and Diabate and his band did not let the audience down.

Drums — which provided unique African rhythms — held down the set neatly in synchronicity with a hand-drummer and bass guitar, while Diabate plucked his strings and sang in his native Bambara tongue. Off to the side of the stage was a single interpretive dancer, moving to the music in wildly beautiful bursts of energy. And just as the crowd was settling in to the sounds of the music, Diabate showed his famous power of musicianship and slid into a modern form. The backing vocalist began rapping over the ambient, resounding tones.

Pouring out lines at an incredible speed,

SPENCER KM BROWN

the back-up singer spoke in his native Bambara language. Diabate’s majestic melodies and use of electronic effects pedals drove the sounds emanating from the stage. Though used only sparingly, the tones he created blended music that can seem quite foreign to an average ear, and yet he brought them into a familiar realm of sound.

Sometimes free, city-organized events and concerts can seem boring and uninspired. But the music brought to Barber Park on July 22 surpassed an average free summer concert. It marked the continuing growth in musical taste in the Triad, as the crowd was vast and danced for long durations of the concert.

Even after an hour of playing music, Diabate still had a peaceful smile on his face as he looked out over the crowd.

With a quick glance to his band as he began the final song, there was a brief moment where Diabate closed his eyes, and seemed truly lost in the music. And with his dancer glistened in sweat and the band playing just as tight as when they began, the crowd cheered all the more, as if they hoped the concert would not end any time soon.

Pick of the Week Laser Pink Floyd @ Greensboro Science Center, Friday, 7 p.m.

This Pink Floyd experience like no other features a laser light show with tracks from one of the band’s best albums, The Wall .The show is suitable for all ages. For more information, visit greensboroscience.org.

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Greensboro Zine Fest @ Revolution Mill (GSO), July 30, noon Celebrate all kinds of DIY and printed material at this festival featuring zinesters, printmakers, bookbinders, comic artists and illustrators. The fest also includes workshops and other activities. For more information, visit the Facebook event page.

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Carolina and how our road systems were built almost entirely

by African-American and Lumbee men,” McDonald said. “You can go in the museum and learn those stories and feel what it was like.”

Though few participants knew one another when they arrived in Greensboro, they moved in practiced unison on July 22.

“The youth group performed this for the first time two days ago,” Alyzza May, a member of the local planning committee, said. “It shows we can learn things quickly together… to create solutions to climate change which, in part, is bringing down big oil and corporations that are extracting from our commu-

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nder the partial cover of Center City Park’s wooden pavilion, youth performers steered colossal pole puppets — faceless gray suits symbolizing big oil, giant fists in shades of brown labeled “People power” and “El poder de la gente,” and vibrant flags representing wind, air and sun — but not before a proper introduction.

Last week, the NC Climate Justice Summit hosted the annual Rooted in Community food-justice conference for youth in Greensboro. The theatrical performance, an adaptation of the NC Climate Justice’s roadshow, marked the third and final day of the youth gathering and highlighted economic, environmental and social-justice issues. Expert puppet artists from Paperhand Puppet Intervention showed a different group of young people and families to how to create the puppets earlier this year with the goal of enabling them to use puppets to shape the narrative of justice movements.

Bevelyn Ukah is the youth coordinator for the Food Youth Initiative, the local organization that orchestrated the event.

She was among the mentors and organizers who honored Goldie Wells, interim councilwoman and candidate for District 2, and Christina Young, professor and director of public health LAUREN BARBER and education at UNCG, for their contributions to furthering Youth participating in Rooted in Community’s annual food justice conference perform a puppet show focused on climate justice in Center City Park. environmental and social justice. The honorees emphasized the importance of young voices in movement building. nities.”

As one of the youth’s props urged, Two days prior to the show, youth led their own workshops, To the pounding of djembe drums, hand-held xylophones the time had come to “look, listen and many of which focused on how the power of storytelling — and and the rattle of snare drums, performers chanted, “We resist decide.” amplifying the stories of others — is key to moving hearts and until we rise; We stand up for lives!” and proudly hoisted their minds on issues like climate change. battle flags. After several scenes in which the Ree Ree Wei, a 19-year-old youth leader associated with giant hands labeled “people power” met the Transplanting Traditions Farm in Chapel Hill, attended a worksuits, pipelines and methane gas, three imshop focused on how to implement social media “as a tool to mense-yet-elegant green giants with human-like send a message to people that has a huge impact and leaves faces graced the outdoor stage. Flowing clothes them thinking about others.” of various shades of green draped the oversized As a Burmese refugee, she said that this type of training puppets effervescent leaf hands and large, pink is an invaluable resource as she and flowers affixed to the others strategize for how to use flipside of the puppets’ writing and other creative practices faces seemed to symbolLearn more about Rooted in Comto effect change. ize hopefulness, if not Young people from as far away as munity at rootedincommunity.org simply a reverence for the US Virgin Islands attended the and the Youth Food Initiative at nature.

Rooted in Community conference, cefs.ncsu.edu.

At the finale, youth and brought their stories with them. performers paraded Event emcee and local youth leader their puppets around the Noah McDonald said he learned periphery of Center City Park while the chorus of about a primarily indigenous Lumbee youth-led project to condjembe drums and chanting continued. The encirvert a prison into a sustainable farm, museum and recreation cling march indicated to everyone within its path center in Scotland County. that they are now part of this story.

“They talked about the history of chain gangs in North

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CULTURE Puppets headline climate, food summit for youth

by Lauren Barber

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July 27 – August 2, 2017 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Sportsball Triaditude Adjustment

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Players join the Dash from worlds far, far away

L

Brady Conlan grew up in uis Alexander Basabe Northridge, Calif., and earned stood alone in center first-team All Conference field, islanded by the nods during his junior and selengths of unguardable green, nior years at Cal State Dominyet contained within the towerguez Hills. He was drafted to ing fence behind him. the White Sox organization in Under the plum-dark sky at 2016. But despite his profesBB&T Ballpark on July 21, in

by Joel Sronce sional achievements, Conlan’s the solitude of the outfield, most rewarding baseball isolation visited the lanky 20-year-old in more than a experience originated through physical form. his heritage, and through Growing up in Venezuela, Basabe and his twin another corner of the former brother, Luis Alejandro Basabe, always played baseball Spanish Empire. together. When they were just 16, both were drafted as JAMES GEISER/ Luis Alexander JODY STEWART/ Conlan’s mother, who free agents by the Boston Red Sox. The brothers played Brady Conlan WINSTON-SALEM DASH Basabe WINSTON-SALEM DASH speaks fluent Spanish with rookie ball in the Dominican Summer League, then Conlan’s grandparents, was ultimately joined the Class A minor-league affiliate of to go on a vacation there for a couple weeks in the born in the Philippines and moved to the United States the Red Sox in Greenville, SC. offseason, but I’m sure it’s a whole different experience when she was 4 years old. Through her lineage, and Yet one year ago, Boston traded Luis Alejandro to if you actually live there and really get to be part of the with the consent of his college coach, Conlan left Calthe Arizona Diamondbacks, and he currently plays for people.” ifornia for the first few weeks of his senior season to their Class A minor-league team in Geneva, Ill. The Conlan hopes that baseball may introduce him play in the World Baseball Classic qualifiers in Austrabrothers separated indefinitely for the first time. to new worlds. For Basabe, through foul and fair, it lia as a member of the Filipino national team.

A few months later, Luis Alexander left the Red Sox already has.

Conlan has still never been to the Philippines, and organization in a blockbuster trade for Chicago White It was Star Wars Night at BB&T Ballpark on July many of his teammates at the Classic have never been Sox pitcher Chris Sale, one of baseball’s best. Four Bos21, and many fans showed up in costumes or simply to the United States. But by playing alongside them, ton prospects entered the Chicago system, including took pictures with the best-dressed of the evening. the 23-year-old got the chance to learn their Luis Alexander, who now plays center field Darth Vader loomed from the scoreboard screen in the heritage — his own heritage — and perhaps a for the Winston-Salem Dash — the Advanced outfield, and for every strike the Dash pitchers threw, different side of the sport.

A affiliate of the White Sox — 800 miles from The Dash Chewbacca’s gargle sounded out across the stadium.

“It was crazy going from college, where his twin brother. return for a Baseball is a junction where many cultures meet. everything’s serious… [to playing] with these Talking before the July 21 game, Luis AlexOn our own blue planet, certain interpretations of week-long guys, and they’re just having so much fun ander said he spends the majority of his time the sport might resemble Mos Eisley, the Star Wars in Winston-Salem in his apartment or at the homestand and really don’t take anything for granted,” spaceport where people from every corner come. Not Conlan recalled. “At batting practice they’re stadium. Though he acknowledged that he a wretched hive of scum and villainy, but a world of on July 31. always laughing and joking around. You and his brother still talk all day, he seems to deals and dreams. Languages and fortunes, charismas could tell it was so special to them. And so have made peace with their separation. and fates cascade into one another. it made me feel like it was a rare opportunity, which it “This is a business,” Luis Alexander said. “We have to And for a few magical seconds, a small craft takes was. I mean, it was unbelievable.” figure out how to make some adjustments. This is life, off from home plate, unbounded. With luck it escapes The Filipino team didn’t advance past the qualifying this is baseball. You never know where you’re going to the field’s limits, as if defying the boundaries of an round in Australia, but Conlan’s participation in the be.” empire.

Classic has given him a desire to pursue international In his brother’s absence, Luis Alexander seeks fraFor a fortunate few —like Conlan and Basabe — the baseball if opportunities arise. ternity with other players. Not fully confident in his game itself has physically brought them to worlds “I definitely want to go to the Philippines, sooner English, returning to his native tongue helps to break unforeseen. rather than later,” he said. “But if any time there’s down the barriers that baseball cannot.

After all: This is baseball. You never know where a chance for me to go to another country through “I like to talk to Conlan,” Luis Alexander said, adding you’re going to be. baseball, that would be awesome as well. It’s one thing with a laugh: “[His Spanish] is okay.”

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International soccer tournament @ Hester Park (GSO), Saturday, 9 a.m.

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All teams are guaranteed to play three games, and the winners of each pool play in the championship round. For more information, visit the Facebook event page.

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Wizard People Dear Reader!

Harry Potter’s 37th Birthday Bash.

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Playing July 27 – 29 Friday Night Standup Presents

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Crossword

24 Old Toyota compact model 28 Ride an updraft 29 Alamogordo experiments, for short 32 “Bed-in for Peace” activist 33 Geog. high points 34 “Ay, dios ___!”

35 Empowered 37 1945 meeting place for Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt 38 Article accompanier, often 39 It only requires one to ride 42 “Do ___ Diddy Diddy” (1964 #1 hit) 43 Cloud layers 44 Cheesy 45 Points toward 47 One small sip 49 “Ten Summoner’s Tales” singer 50 Dolphins’ habitat?

51 Exeunt ___ (Shakespearean stage direction) 52 Figure out 55 Many a charitable gp.

56 Some members of the fam 60 “Aw, hell ___!”

61 Altoids container

Board Game Night FEATURING ALL NEW GAMES!

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Down 1 D.A.’s group 2 Do some House work?

3 Over the top 4 Had a big laugh 5 Parisian negative 6 Against (which appears amidst the five long Across answers) 7 “The Walking Dead” villain 8 Spiner who played Data 9 ___-surface missile 10 Author Beverly who created Ramona and Beezus 11 Food you’re asked how you like?

12 Source of the line “The meek shall inherit the earth” 15 CBS procedural that ran for 15 seasons 18 “Letters from ___ Jima” (2006 film) 22 Maguire who played Spidey 23 Held a session

Playing July 28 – 31

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Across 1 “Just Putting It Out There” comedian Nancherla 7 Org. associated with the John Tesh song “Roundball Rock” 10 Diamond headgear 13 Mandrill relative 14 Cartman’s first name 16 Record collector’s platters 17 The economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan, to economists 19 Ecol. watchdog (we can hope) 20 Bering or Messina, for short 21 Greedy person’s mantr 23 “Glengarry Glen Ross” dramatist 25 “Hold ___ your hat!”

26 City in Utah County, Utah 27 Escapes artfully 29 Bottomless pit 30 “Tic ___ Dough” (TV game show) 31 Reason to write your name on your food, maybe 36 Uptempo song by The Cure 40 Spray can contents 41 Opp. of SSE 43 Bathroom unit 46 And others, in citations 48 Silly fool 49 Beijing skyline feature 53 1991 Wimbledon winner Michael 54 The days of Caesar, colloquially 57 “Eggs ___ style” 58 Toning targets 59 Menace in many a classic B movie 62 “Sister, Sister” sister 63 “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down ___” 64 “The Chew” regular Mario 65 D.A., for one 66 APO mail recipients 67 Malmo’s home

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