Providence girls relay team finishes page 25 strong
Carolina Crush Lacrosse offers travel and learning opportunity page 10
Locally Owned & Operated www.matthewsminthillweekly.com
Volume 8, Number 21 • May 21 to 27, 2015
Finding color in a time of need Independence raises funds for Tanzanian students with color run, festival
MINT HILL MADNESS TO BE BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER Madness Healthy Living also will feature an NFL Punt, Pass & Kick competition for kids 6 to 15 years old, which will take place Saturday, May 23, from noon to 3 p.m. on the park’s lower soccer field. The Battle at Mint Hill, a “Garage Games” competition, will take place on Saturday at 9 a.m. on the tennis courts and will test athletes in four-person teams through three workouts. Smith said this year’s focus on veterans stems from the festival being a Memorial Day weekend event. “Last year was the first year we put this together (for Memorial Day weekend). Personally, I didn’t feel like it was
MINT HILL – Walking miles to retrieve fresh water; living in their school buildings to protect themselves from wildlife and crooks; and paying one to two months’ salary to attend school – that’s life for some children who live in rural Africa. Independence High School sought to alleviate those children’s struggles through a color run and festival on Saturday, May 16, to support TanzaCare, a Charlottebased nonprofit that raises funds for students in Africa. The inspiration for the event came when TanzaCare Executive Director Kelly Gaines visited Independence’s Interact Club. Gaines shared about the conditions children in rural Tanzania live in and the importance of education to those children. “I can tell you from going to Independence, it was eye opening for them – it’s eye opening for most of the adults I talk to about how they live,” Gaines said. TanzaCare is the brainchild of Gaines’s daughter, Allie, a Myers Park graduate who now attends the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While on a family trip to Tanzania, Allie decided to climb Mt.
(see Mint Hill Madness on page 12)
(see Color Run on page 15)
Festival to highlight health and wellness, veterans and fireworks Photo courtesy of Mint Hill
by Josh Whitener editor@matthewsminthillweekly.com
MINT HILL – Longtime attendees of the annual Mint Hill Madness Festival can expect this year’s event to be bigger and better than ever, according to festival organizers. The 32nd annual Mint Hill Madness Festival will take place this weekend, running Friday to Sunday, May 22 to 24, at Mint Hill Veterans Memorial Park, 8850 Fairview Road, with a few events occurring in downtown Mint Hill. This is only the second year the town has hosted the festival over Memorial Day weekend – the festival was traditionally held in the fall – but the town
is expecting a bigger turnout and will welcome more than 130 vendors this year, according to Sheryl Smith, executive assistant for Mint Hill. “We have a lot of new things we’re doing this year,” Smith said. “We’ve implemented a health and wellness initiative this year … we’re really focusing on veterans … The festival gives you so much of a sense of what Mint Hill is.” The health and wellness initiative, dubbed “Madness Healthy Living,” is sponsored by Publix of Mint Hill and will incorporate wellness-related vendors, free health screenings and groups promoting healthy eating options, according to a news release.
by Courtney Schultz education@matthewsminthillweekly.com
INDEX: News Briefs, 6; Crime Blotter, 7; Education, 14; Arts, 17; Calendar, 20; Sports, 23; Classifieds, 27