Cary Living Magazine

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publisher

a n o t e from the

Publisher/EDITOR Sioux Watson Advertising Sales Kathleen Moran | Charis Painter | Sioux Watson Michelle Palladino | Ashley Carter

Apex is on top right now, with Money Magazine’s recent accolade giving this Western Wake County town the #1 spot on its “Best Places to Live” list. Like some other towns in the Triangle, Apex’s high-paying techindustry jobs are still 18 miles away in RTP – a commute made shorter by the newish 540 toll road. Money Magazine mentions that the population of Apex has doubled to 42,150 since 2000, and even offers a link to find homes for sale in Apex now! Watch out Cary, Apex is coming of age.

Nonetheless, Cary Living Magazine would like to draw your attention five miles south of Apex to the wonders of Holly Springs, as we look at a few “hidden gems” of that smaller-by-half community.

Women face a slightly different set of health risks than men; we take a multifaceted look at four aspects of keeping a healthy mind and body as a woman in today’s world. Ready to add some flavor and excitement to your tepid gym workout? We’ve got some offbeat ideas for those willing

to try something new. Check out our interviews with three top female doctors in the specialty fields of cardiology, neurology and oncology; and be inspired by Wake County resident Karen Patch, who lives with a debilitating health issue yet joyously thrives and has a more than full lifestyle.

Whether you are new in town, a new parent or curious to explore new options for educating your offspring, we’ve got an education guide to read and save for future planning. Get on the phone and schedule a tour with some of Wake County’s finest schools to find out more.

I’m pleased to share with our readers many ways to keep it local in your free time by getting out of the house to enjoy music, theater, art, culture, and festivals unique to the area. David Fellerath provides a valuable look at ways to witness the best of what’s on in our September/ October Fall Preview.

There are dozens of hyper-local stories featuring regular Cary people to read about in this and every issue of Cary Living; if you know about someone who deserves to be covered in our pages, please give me a shout. I’m always available at sioux@ caryliving.com.

Sioux Sioux Watson Publisher/Editor

Your opinions matter to us. Let us know what you think of this issue of Cary Living.

Please email sioux@caryliving.com with your comments.

Creative Director Travis Aptt Graphic Design Jennifer Heinser | Lori Lay Contributing Writers Dan Bain | Jenni Hart Carol Wills Dave Droschak | Kurt Dusterberg Corbie Hill | Julie Johnson | David Fellerath Adam Sobsey | Heather Mallory Photographers Davies Photography | Rob Kinnan Photography Jennifer Robertson Photography Distribution manager Joe Lizana

Cary Living is published six times annually. Any reproduction in part or in whole of any part of this publication is prohibited without the express written consent of the publisher.

Cary Living is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photography or art. Unsolicited material is welcome and is considered intended for publication. Such material will become the property of the magazine and will be subject to editing.

Material will be returned if accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. Cary Living will not knowingly accept any real estate advertising in violation of US equal opportunity law.

Subscriptions 6 print issues (1 year) only $20 Available online via paypal ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 4818 Six Forks Road, Suite 204 Raleigh, NC 27609 Phone 919.782.4710, Fax 919.782.4763 www.caryliving.com

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features

52 departments

28 Hidden Gems: HOlly SPrings Holly Springs’ population has more than doubled in a decade. This sought-after community is a magnet for familes for a reason, and here we share just a sample of its gems.

52 EDUCATION GUIDE Your guide to some of the premiere schools our area is so well-known for. If you have any doubts as to where to start with your kids, your search stops here.

10 | Raising the Bar

32 WOMEN’S HEALTH We talk with doctors about common medical issues facing women, a few workouts to shake up your fall, and delve into the topic of vitamins and supplments. We also have an inspiring story about a brave woman living her life positively with Lupus.

62 Kayaking & Canoeing Are you a kayak or a canoe person?

Writer Corbie Hill will help you choose, and give you tips on where to start your paddling journey.

22 | Young Makers

66 Koka Booth Amphitheatre Have you ever wondered about the history behind our beloved and beautiful outdoor amphitheater? It boasts the name of one of our biggest community pillars for a reason.

80 | sightingS

42 FALL ARTS PREVIEW The full dish on what to expect this season, from art and music to theater and festivals.

12 | sport Scene 14 | Beer & Barrel 16 | SUNDAY SUPPER 18 | technology Scene 20 | Wine Review 24 | Giving Back 26 | calendar of events 70 | healthy living 74 | complete the room

raisingthebar

ask You

ANSWER

we

Q

My spouse and I have been sleeping in different bedrooms for two years and want to file for divorce. How soon can I get divorced?

In North Carolina, spouses must live separate and apart with the intent to be permanently separated for at least one year before either person can file for divorce. This means that one of you must move out and establish a different residence.

Living in different areas of the house does not qualify as separation for the purposes of divorce.

I was just served with a divorce complaint. My spouse has been paying all of my living expenses for the past two years and has promised to keep paying the same expenses when the divorce is final.

My spouse has asked me to sign a waiver to allow the divorce to be finalized as quickly as possible.

Is there anything I need to do to ensure that I keep getting the expenses paid?

In North Carolina, the courts have no jurisdiction to enter an order for spousal support or for property division after the divorce judgment is entered unless those claims are pending at the time the divorce judgment is entered or were determined by the court or by written notarized agreement before the entry of the divorce judgment. While your spouse may pay as promised, you cannot enforce an oral agreement so make sure those issues are settled in a notarized agreement or by court or that the claims are filed before the 10 | caryliving.com

judgment for divorce is entered. If not, you lose all right to ask the court for an order for help with spousal support and property division.

I would like to visit my grandchildren but my daughter and her husband will not allow me to do so. What can I do?

In most cases, parents have a constitutionally protected right to determine who sees their children.

In North Carolina, grandparents may ask the court for visitation in very limited circumstances; however, grandparents may not ask the court to order visitation if the mother and father are still living together unless the parents are unfit, have neglected the children or have otherwise acted inconsistently with their constitutionally protected rights.

I pay child support each month to my daughter’s mother but she will not allow me to see my daughter.

May I stop paying child support?

Child support and custody are not dependent upon each other. You may not discontinue paying child support because of a custodial issue. You will need to seek the assistance of the court to either enforce or establish your custodial time with your daughter. L

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MeettheCounsel

Deborah Sandlin

Susan Goetcheus

Sandlin Family Law Group | www.sandlinfamilylaw.com Certified in the area of family law by the North Carolina State Bar

This is paid legal advertisement. The information contained in this article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. No attorney client relationship is created by the publication and reading of this article. All domestic matters are different and all specific questions should be directed to an attorney who can answer those questions and provide legal advice based on your unique circumstances.

sportscene

New Digs NC State Opens $14 Million Indoor Practice Facility // By David Droschak / PhotogrAPhy BY David Droschak

IT’S NOT LOST ON MANY NORTH CAROLINA STATE FANS that the opening of the program’s new $14 million indoor practice facility coincides with the 10th anniversary of the Murphy Center, which houses the day-to-day operations of the football team.

The Wolfpack seemingly had been playing a decadelong game of “catch-up” with the rest of the Atlantic Coast Conference when it comes to football facilities – one of the main cogs of the recruiting process.

No longer.

NC State officially got the keys to the privately-funded Close-King Indoor Practice Facility on July 1st as the 2015 football season approached.

The main benefits of the new building center on practice schedule routines and player safety.

“We have two grass practice fields outside and a synthetic turf field, which gave us some flexibility, but not for lightning,” said Michael Lipitz, NC State deputy athletic director for internal operations. “This gives us the opportunity not to change practice schedules, to be safe and to still get our work in. That’s why you see these types of facilities at programs around the country, because for student-athletes their schedules are so tight, and the practice window is so tight; they have classes, they have study table, they have training table, and when you have to start shifting practice blocks around it really plays havoc with 12 | caryliving.com

everyone’s schedule.”

The state-of-the-art practice facility was in the planning stages for one year and it took another 12 months to erect.

It is centered between the Murphy Center and outdoor practice fields off Trinity Road, making it easy walking distance to all of the football facilities – which was key.

“One of the reasons we were able to build this for $14 million, which is relatively inexpensive as far as these facilities go, is that Murphy Center has everything the team needs day-to-day – it has the weight room, the locker room, the training room – and it’s right here – so we didn’t need to replicate all of those in this building,” Lipitz said. “The full $14 million went into the structure.”

The roof – at 65 feet high – even allows for punting.

“One of the unique things is there aren’t many of these facilities that have the barrel vault roof – a lot of them are A-frame – but it gives you the ceiling height and the clearance needed for special teams work,” Lipitz said. “The shape is a little more unique than others, but we felt it was worth going that direction for what it delivered.

“We now have an amazing facility footprint, and the indoor practice facility is really the final piece of the puzzle from a football standpoint,” added Lipitz.

The new indoor practice facility will also be used by baseball, softball, track and field teams and others when the football team is not center stage. L

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beer&barrel

Alie Hemperly pulls a pint of cask ale at Fortnight Brewing Company, using the traditional handpump, which literally uses the arm strength of the bartender, and not added CO2, to draw the beer into the glass – hence “pulling” a pint.

A Taste of England

Cask-Conditioned Ales // By julie johnson

“WARM AND FLAT” IS THE CLICHÉ THAT AMERICANS attach to classic English ales – not realizing that they are neither. Cask-conditioned ales, a staple of the English pub, are cool, softly carbonated, and, to their supporters, represent beer at its freshest and most flavorful.

That is certainly the opinion of Stuart Arnold, the transplanted Englishman who opened Fortnight Brewing Company two years ago in Cary (1006 SW Maynard Road).

Missing the traditional ales of his Yorkshire home, Arnold committed Fortnight to producing unadorned English beer styles, some always available from the cask.

Cask ale – also called “real ale” – is not a beer style, but a method of both maturing and serving beer. Fresh, unpasteurized beer is placed in a metal cask where the live yeast continues the fermentation process, creating natural CO2. After two weeks of aging, the finished beer is smooth, aromatic and lightly carbonated. The cask is moved to the site where it will be served and allowed to settle for two days: this living beer demands protection from further movement, gentle care and time to breathe. Once the cask is tapped, the beer is served via a handpump or “beer engine,” without the added CO2 that is usual in conventional tapping systems.

Fortnight’s welcoming taproom has four handpumps serving a selection of the brewery’s seven year-round beers.

For the perfect tutorial on cask ale, Arnold encourages visitors to taste a beer from the cask line-up side-by-side with the same beer matured and served conventionally. “I always tell them, this is night and day. You might not like it because you’re not used to it, but I can guarantee it’s a really good beer. The funny thing is, a lot of them come back and 14 | caryliving.com

say ‘You’re right, it’s much more flavorful!’ and I see them going back and buying pints of Two traditional beer engines are used to the cask ale, which dispense cask ale in the Back bar at Top of the Hill in chapel hill. is nice.”

A number of venues and festivals across the state promise cask-conditioned beer, but few will satisfy the purists, as most American brewers can’t resist the temptation to cram all manner of botanicals and other flavorings into the cask – sometimes with interesting results, but a clear breach of tradition.

Along with Fortnight, another reliable source in the Triangle for the “100% traditional English ale” that Arnold cherishes is Top of the Hill in Chapel Hill. Their cask program, said to be the first in the South, was established by TOPO’s original brewer, also an Englishman, and is being faithfully maintained by his successors. Two beers are served on cask in the Back Bar, around the corner of the building at 100 East Franklin Street. While some beers stray very slightly from the orthodox – at the time if writing, the robust porter on cask is flavored with coffee and vanilla – the second beer on draft is Top of the Hill’s always spot-on IPA.

In their quest to educate American beer drinkers in the subtleties of real ale, the two breweries are planning a collaboration brew, to be served at their two establishments.

Drop by to see how delicious “warm and flat” can be. L

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sundaysupper Tammy Calaway-Harper, owner, Belle

Heart

& SOUL // By Adam Sobsey // Photography By Rob Kinnan Photography

“I MADE BREAKFAST FOR DINNER LAST NIGHT,” Tammy Calaway-Harper says when she’s asked for a Sunday supper recipe. That’s not because she was lazy. Belle, her farm-to-table restaurant in the lovingly restored historic Jones House in downtown Cary, recently turned one year old. It’s open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch, and serves dinner three nights a week. Making Sunday supper at home is the opposite of lazy. It’s summoning the energy on a rare night off to maintain a family tradition that’s as nourishing as the fare itself

“It’s a sane moment,” Calaway-Harper says. “It’s important to have a hot meal, sit around the table as a family and talk about the day.” Her household can be a big one, depending on which of Calaway-Harper’s three children and two stepchildren are home at any given time. Three of the kids are in college, two of them away from the Triangle. When they’re home, it’s important to have them around for dinner. Calaway-Harper’s 16 | caryliving.com

daughter Shannon works at the restaurant when she’s home from college – family dinner extending into the family business.

Indeed, it’s right there in the name: Belle is named for Calaway-Harper’s paternal grandmother, and she cites both of her her grandmothers as “the heart and soul of the family.” She grew up on a farm in southern Ohio, where her extended family was scattered around the region.

“Our grandmother held us together with her Sunday dinners. Every Sunday, like clockwork, everybody in the family who could get there would come. My sister and I would help, after we got back from church. We’d shell peas or beans all morning. Belle would put together a whole spread: buttermilk fried chicken, vegetables we’d pick from her garden, eight different pies. At two o’clock we’d all sit down and eat. It’s my fondest memory. You didn’t just go there to eat. You’d stay all day and eat the leftovers before you went home.”

Those memories, and dinners, directly inform the menu and the homey atmosphere at Belle – located, quite appropriately, in an old house. Calaway-Harper was previously the proprietress of Sweet T Cakery (also a caterer, which she has since folded into Belle’s operations), and muffins and biscuits are still the order of the morning at breakfast time. At lunch, you’ll find irresistible fare like an Avocado Cobb Wedge Salad (bacon, blue cheese, buttermilk ranch) and “Cary’s Best Grilled Cheese” (smoked gouda and bacon jam). Much of the menu features locally sourced, seasonal ingredients – some of them from the restaurant’s own garden, just like she picked at grandma Belle’s. There will be even more hyper-local produce if Calaway-Harper can get town approval for a greenhouse she’d like to build outside the Jones house.

At dinner, Belle serves what might best be described as upscale farmhouse fare, with some hunt-to-haute, town-meets-country surprises rooted in CalawayHarper’s rural Ohio upbringing. “At Thanksgiving,” she remembers, “we might have pheasant instead of turkey, or something we went out to hunt. We would have rabbit for Easter.” You might find the latter on Belle’s menu.

Rabbit is not just delicious but also lean, too, part of Belle’s commitment to healthy eating. “We try to limit the amount of cream and butter in our sauces,” CalawayHarper says.

Calaway-Harper doesn’t have formal culinary training; all of her cooking derives, ultimately, from what she learned from her grandmothers, which was about more than food: “I love to entertain,” she says – both in the restaurant and at home on Sundays – “and Belle exemplifies that.” And of her maternal grandmother Ruby’s buttermilk fried chicken, which she chose for her Sunday supper recipe, she declares: “You’ll never eat other fried chicken after that.”

GRANDMA RUBY’S

PAN-FRIED CHICKEN INGREDIENTS 1 (3-4lb) whole chicken, cut up ¾ tsp salt ½ tsp pepper 2 - 2 ½ cups all purpose flour 1 tsp rosemary, finely chopped 1 tsp ground red pepper 1 large egg ¾ cup buttermilk or whole milk (I prefer buttermilk) Good quality vegetable oil or frying oil

directions 1.

Sprinkle cut chicken with salt and pepper. Combine the flour, rosemary and red pepper together in a shallow dish.

With a whisk, combine egg and buttermilk in a separate bowl.

2. Heat oil in a large deep skillet with a lid (I prefer a cast-

iron skillet). Heat over medium heat to a temperature

of 350. You will want the oil to be about 1” deep in the pan.

3. Dip chicken in the buttermilk mixture and then dredge it

in the flour mixture. Shake off excess flour. Add the

chicken to the hot oil. Cover the pan with a lid

and reduce the heat to just below medium to maintain

the temperature.

4.

Fry the chicken for 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the pieces, until golden brown, turning occasionally to prevent burning or scorching. Drain the chicken on a paper towel or a wire rack over a paper towel.

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Makes 4 to 6 servings depending on your appetite! L

Belle 324 S Academy Street, Cary 919 . 378 . 9724 www.belleofcary.com

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photography © osmo

technologyscene

Real World Interaction Osmo Uses Physical Space as Digital Game Board // By dan bain

WANT TO SEE YOUR KIDS PLAY WITH REAL TOYS instead of digital games for a change? How about a system that combines both? Last year, Osmo released an ingenius game system for the iPad 2 or beyond (including iPad mini) that relies on real props in the physical space in front of the tablet, to interact with the games on the tablet. Its tagline is “Play beyond the screen™” and so far, more than 2,000 schools and 100,000 parents have bought it in an effort to get their children to do just that.

The system comes with a stand, a reflector unit, and a set of real-world playing pieces. To use it, simply insert your tablet into the stand, place the reflector’s angled mirror over the tablet’s front-facing camera, and launch one of (so far) four apps: Tangram, Newton, Words, or Masterpiece.

In Tangram, players arrange wooden puzzle pieces (provided) in front of the tablet to match the shapes on the display. Newton challenges players to draw lines on paper or manipulate real-world objects to guide onscreen falling balls toward their targets. Words is a Hangman-style game where players compete with player-specific letter tiles (provided) to guess the words on the screen. And Masterpiece is a drawing app in which the user can choose an image to draw from the camera, a gallery or the web; Osmo transforms the image into easy-to-draw lines on the display, and the user draws in front of the tablet while observing their pen, pencil, etc. in motion on the display.

18 | caryliving.com

Osmo retails for $79.99 and includes the stand, reflector, puzzle pieces and letter tiles. A “Creative Kit” is available for $39.99, meant for Masterpiece and Newton only (it doesn’t include the Tangram or Words accessories).

Each game requires a separate download of a free app, and is appropriate for anyone aged six and up, including adults.

Check out more information at www.playosmo.com, and prepare to get real again! L

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winereview Mascota Vineyards Gran Mascota Malbec

Porta Carmenere Reserva

Martin Ray Chardonnay Russian River Valley

91

Maipe Malbec Rose

Spier Pinotage

90

James Suckling

Wine Enthusiast

Mendoza, Argentina

Maipo Valley, Chile

Russian River, Sonoma, CA

Mendoza, Argentina

South Africa

Tar, blackberry and blueberry character.

Full to medium body, fine tannins and a fresh finish. Pairs beautifully with red meats, stews and hard cheeses.

Deep red in color with an intensely expressive nose that combines pepper, cassis, spices, chocolate and black fruit. Medium-bodied, soft and silky on the palate, with good structure, plenty of fruit and round tannins. It finishes warm and long.

Rich, creamy apple and pear fruit are complemented by subtle oak shadings in this elegant, graceful wine. Courtney Benham is sourcing grapes from premier vineyard sites to provide the consumer with fantastic value. Great with cheddar and apples.

100% Malbec. Intense pink color with violet hints. Fresh red fruit bouquet, strawberry, raspberry and cherry flavors, balanced acidity, dry and lingering clean finish.

Excellent with tuna or green salad, pasta, spicy Asian dishes.

Mouthwatering juicy plum and sweet fruit aromas are complemented by hints of tobacco. On the palate, mouth-filling cherry and tobacco flavors are soft and accessible, with a lingering finish.

Aged 10 months in oak. A unique hybrid grape from Pinot Noir and Cinsault.

$19.99/bottle

$9.99/bottle

$17.99/bottle

$12.99/bottle

$9.99/bottle

// By KEVIN GORDON, wine manager total wine & more, Crossroads Shopping Center 20 | caryliving.com

caryliving.com | 21

The Wheel, the Kiln and the Classroom Local artist connects with clay // By JENNI HART

EVERYONE HAS PONDERED THIS QUESTION AT SOME point: Which of the five senses could you not live without?

For Jennifer Siegel, ceramicist and teacher, it’s touch. And though objects wrought from clay can be quite fragile, Siegel feels she’s created her best work when others can’t resist touching it. “I love visual texture, and when people respond by physically interacting with my pieces, I know I’ve made a connection,” she says.

As instructor and clay studio manager at the NC State Crafts Center, and co-owner of the Roundabout Art Collective on Oberlin Road, Siegel finds a lot of opportunities to make connections. The Cary Arts Center also brings Siegel in to teach Wheel Therapy, a class where she asks students to throw clay while blindfolded. She says it forces an awareness that transcends the appearance of the pottery. “I see students fall in love with the steps when they have to rely on the way the clay feels in their hands,” she says.

The “aha” moment students experience when they master a concept reminds Siegel of her younger self and stirs up some mighty strong nostalgia. Except for a brief art camp encounter, Siegel’s first real foray into the world of 22 | caryliving.com

ceramics came her freshman year at Anderson University in South Carolina, where she enrolled in Intro to Wheel and Handbuilding classes. Her instructor’s ease and mastery ignited in her an insatiable desire to hone her skills. “He called me the most stubborn, impatient student he’d ever taught,” she says. “I was so eager to get to his level of expertise that I had no patience whatsoever.”

Siegel didn’t agree with her instructor’s assessment at the time, but looking back, she realizes the challenge to improve made her fiercely determined. With unlimited access to the university’s clay studio, she often worked through the night to master a difficult handbuilding concept. A visit from her mother around this time holds particular significance. She had worked especially hard creating a pot, and her mother was eager to take a photo, when Siegel realized one side of the pot had a different silhouette than the other. Mom, of course, was proud of her regardless.

After two years at Anderson, Siegel moved to Apex in 2005 to be closer to her father during a time of family transition. She enrolled at Central Carolina Community College in Siler City and endured a daunting commute to

Photo © Jennifer Seigel Photo © Jennifer Seigel

Photo © Steven Powell Photography

Photo © Jennifer Seigel

youngmakers

pursue an associate’s degree in applied science of ceramics and metal sculpture. Within a week of relocating, she visited the Sanford Pottery Festival for the first time. “I remember walking into the huge building and seeing all these people doing exactly what I couldn’t get enough of,” she says. The hook was set.

Within just six months at CCCC, Siegel was asked by the college to teach a pottery class. It was a continuing education course, where Siler City and Pittsboro residents often encountered ceramics for the first time. “I know what it’s like to meet someone with a creative spark, and what it’s like to feed off that,” she says. “For the first time, I got to be that for other people.”

After completing her degree, Siegel worked as a production potter for Goathouse Gallery in Pittsboro, then as an instructor for the Town of Cary. She’s now been with NC State’s Crafts Center three years – long enough to feel at home. Her job includes maintaining the studio, firing all the kiln work that comes through (she’ll fire approximately 15,000 pieces over the fall), teaching classes, directing outreach efforts and guiding the activities of a student employee.

Her favorite part of the work by far is connecting with her students. Because the classes are extracurricular, noncredit courses, the students often come from the community, or from degree programs a world apart from ceramics. Siegel gets to be the conduit that bridges that divide.

On the day of our interview, one of her students, a nuclear engineering student named Fahad, made a chance visit to the studio. I asked Fahad whether he could apply anything he had learned in his pottery class to his study of nuclear engineering. He shared that what he learned about the properties of clay and how it reacts to temperature changes was something he found helpful, because the fuel pellets in a nuclear plant are made from ceramic. As he explained the relationship, Siegel looked pensive; this was a revelation, even to her.

“We get students from the design school, architecture students, nuclear engineering students, and they’re often so meticulous and mathematical and exact with their thinking,” she says. “Then they get to come here and unlock that other side of themselves. They learn to be a little more forgiving and free.” Siegel adds that the studio is a handson experience, not theoretical or analytical, so students are seeing concepts and formulas take on three-dimensional form before their eyes as they work the clay.

Ceramics isn’t just a job for Siegel; she readily admits she loves what she does. But, ever the dreamer and planner, she envisions one day opening her own studio, ideally in a location serving those without easy access to the pricey materials and equipment needed to do ceramic work. “When you find something you just can’t get enough of, you need to pursue that,” she says. “Even in the face of all the reasons you could find not to.” When you learn that Siegel had a 10-year plan at age 10, and had checked off every box by the time she turned 20, you just know that studio is likely to become a reality.

In the meantime, you can see more of Siegel’s work by visiting Roundabout Art Collective, 305 Oberlin Road, or online at www.roundaboutartcollective.com. L

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caryliving.com | 23

Photos courtesy of Carol Wills

givingback

Dorcas Ministries: Doing the Right Thing

Howard Manning (far left photo, on right), executive director, with a volunteer. Volunteers (all photos above) donate time to the good cause at Dorcas Thrift Shop. Directly above, a literal sign of their intention to make a difference.

// By Carol Wills

HOWARD MANNING, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF Dorcas Ministries for the past 10 years, retired from Glaxo Smith Kline and spent a couple of years volunteering here before assuming the position he now holds. Shaking his head and laughing, he says, “I wish I’d been doing this all my life.”

“Our mission is to help those people in our community who are considered the least of us by providing to them basic human services,” he says. He refers to the parable in Matthew 25 about feeding the hungry, clothing those who have nothing to wear and sheltering the homeless.

The organization to which he now devotes his time and energy began in 1968 with the official name Christian Community in Action, founded by a woman named Margaret Keller. Her idea was that a group of churches working together could have a larger impact on the social needs of the community than each church working individually. CCA was the forerunner of Dorcas Ministries.

The name “Dorcas” comes from the New Testament’s description of a female disciple by that name in Joppa “who was always doing good and helping the poor.”

Dorcas Ministries serves residents of Cary and Morrisville.

Residents of Apex may be assisted with a referral from Western Wake Crisis Ministry in Apex.

“In 1968, founding an organization that included churches of different denominations, cultures and races was a very large undertaking. The first need that they addressed was for a free public kindergarten. In 1968, there was no public kindergarten in North Carolina,” says Manning.

Then, in 1972, the need for clothing and other household items for struggling families inspired the CCA 24 | caryliving.com

to open the Dorcas Thrift Shop. “Their idea was not to give clothing, but to sell it, so that these families could maintain their dignity and self-esteem,” he says. “Soon word got out that you could buy gently used clothing and other household necessities, like dishes and pots and pans, at the thrift shop at a very affordable price.”

In 2011, the CCA relocated their business to 187 High House Road, having purchased the entire shopping center in 2008. They took out $4.6 million dollars in loans at the time, but after four years in operation, they have been able to repay all but $1.9 million of that. Manning says that the debt reduction is due to governments, corporations and individuals who have made substantial contributions, helped by sales from the thrift shop. “Thrift shop sales provide 75 percent of all our funding,” he says. Dorcas aims to create a hub for nonprofit organizations in the shopping center.

In addition to providing compassionate counseling and aid to families in crisis, Dorcas Ministries provides job training, tuition assistance, financial aid, housing assistance, food and childcare. “We try to meet our clients at their point of need,” says Manning. Dorcas Ministries is also partnered with organizations that can counsel clients who may be having a problem with substance abuse.

A sign hanging over the door of one of the back rooms where donations are sorted and priced reads as follows: “Do we always do things right or do we do the right thing?”

This underlines Dorcas Ministries’ intention to make a real difference in people’s lives, not just give them a temporary helping hand. To that end, they have started a Jobs for

Life program (see www.jobsforlife. org), they also provide emergency financial assistance and have an emergency housing program to prevent homelessness by keeping people from being evicted from rental housing or losing their homes to foreclosure.

I spoke with Sovon Ferrell, who has been volunteering at Dorcas Ministries for about eight years. She devotes every Thursday to the task, and she loves it. “My first goal was just to give back,” says Ferrell. “I have been so blessed, and this place gave me the opportunity to give back to the community.” Originally from Alabama, Ferrell grew up in a family where her mother had to work two jobs to keep food on the table. She is the first person in her family to go to college. “When I was in college, my sorority’s mission was to serve others,” she says. “I saw the need when I was in need, and now my greatest satisfaction comes from helping others.”

In addition, she says that she enjoys establishing relationships with other volunteers. “I like joining my efforts with other people’s efforts for the same cause: to help people in need,” says Ferrell.

Her sentiments are echoed by Jean Haynie, who has been volunteering at the Thrift Shop since 1997. “You meet some wonderful, wonderful people here that you would never have met otherwise,” says Haynie.

The Food Pantry allows clients to select their own groceries from the large quantity of donated goods. “Last year we distributed $250,000 worth of food,” Manning says. In addition to food and assistance with past-due necessary bills (utilities, prescription medicine or rent/mortgage), durable medical equipment supplies such as walkers, crutches, canes or bedside commodes are provided free of charge when in stock.

To run such a large and busy operation, Dorcas relies on volunteers.

The number of churches supporting Dorcas Ministries has grown from 12 to 40, and the number of volunteers is about 500 at the present time, but more are needed as the ministry grows.

Volunteers perform such tasks as sorting through and pricing donations, stocking the sales floor, operating the checkout and working in the food pantry, among other tasks. If you’d like to volunteer, check their website at www.dorcas-cary.org. L

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calendar

OF EVENTS

SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2015

Gallery Show: ‘PRODIGAL’ featuring Mary Ruth Dana & Janie Johnson Local Color Gallery September 4 | 6-9pm 311 W. Martin Street | Raleigh localcoloraleigh.com WineAway Friday Chatham Hill Winery September 4 | 7-10pm September 11 | 7-10pm September 25 | 7-10pm 8245 Chapel Hill Road | Cary chathamhillwine.com Live Art Demonstration: Watercolor Painting with Barbara Rohde Cary Gallery of Artists September 5 | 11am-2pm 200 S. Academy Street | Cary carygalleryofartists.org Labor Day Celebration Chatham Hill Winery September 5 | 11am-6pm September 6 | 1-5pm September 7 | 12-5pm 8245 Chapel Hill Road | Cary chathamhillwine.com Cary Downtown FARMERS’ MARKET 8am-12pm September 5, 12, 19, 26 October 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 1225 Morrisville Carpenter Road | Cary wwfm.ag UNC WELLNESS CENTER FARMERS’ MARKET UNC Wellness Center | 7:30am-12:30pm September 5, 12, 19, 26 October 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 300 Stonecroft Lane | Cary wwfm.ag/unc-wellness-location Waverly Place FARMERS’ MARKET 9am-1pm September 5, 12, 19, 26 October 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 102 New Waverly Place | Cary www.waverlyfm.com 26 | caryliving.com

Western Wake Farmers’ Market Carpenter Village | 8am-12pm September 5, 12, 19, 26 October 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 101 Gathering Park Circle | Cary wwfm.ag

Chisel and Forge: Works by Peter Oakley and Elizabeth Brim North Carolina Museum of Art September 12, 2015-March 20, 2016 2110 Blue Ridge Road | Raleigh ncartmuseum.org

Bar Plays by Cary Playwrights’ Forum Mac’s Tavern September 9 & 10 | 8pm 1014 Ryan Road | Cary 919.467.1188 macs-tavern.wix.com/macstavern

Free Outdoor yoga session sponsored by the Town of Cary Bond Park September 12 | 9:30-10am 801 High House Road | Cary strenuagoal.com

The Parekh Family Foundation Charity One Eleven Place September 11 | 6:30pm-12am 111 Realtors Way | Cary parekhfamilyfoundation.org/fundraiser-gala

74th Annual North Carolina Gourd Arts and Crafts Festival Holshouser Building, State Fairgrounds September 12 | 9am-5pm September 13 | 10am-4pm 1025 Blue Ridge Road | Raleigh ncgourdsociety.org/festival.htm

Barrel Sampling Chatham Hill Winery September 12 | 11am-6pm September 13 | 1-5pm 8245 Chapel Hill Road | Cary chathamhillwine.com 34th Annual Raleigh Greek Festival The Jim Graham Building, State Fairgrounds September 11 | 5-10pm September 12 | 11am-10pm September 13 | 11am-6pm 1025 Blue Ridge Road | Raleigh holytrinityraleigh.org greekfestivalraleigh.com Veteran’s Fall Festival VFW Post 7383 September 12 | 10am-4pm 522 Reedy Creek Road | Cary 919.467.1188

Pilates & Yoga Combo Class Herbert C. Young Community Center September 14 | 9:30-10:30am 101 Wilkinson Avenue | Cary townofcary.org Mommy & Me Stretch and Exercise Herbert C. Young Community Center September 14 | 10:40-11:40am 101 Wilkinson Avenue | Cary townofcary.org Healthy Lifestyle & Monday Lunch Group Herbert C. Young Community Center September 14 | 11:50am-12:50pm 101 Wilkinson Avenue | Cary townofcary.org

Cary Scavenger Hunt Page-Walker Arts & History Center September 12 | 8:30am-4pm 119 Ambassador Loop | Cary caryscavengerhunt.com

2015 Labor Day Carying Place 10k or 5k Run, Walk & Dash Koka Booth Amphitheatre September 17 | 7am-1pm 8003 Regency Parkway | Cary thecaryingplace.org

Live Art Demonstration: Flower Vases with Cynthia Mollenkopf & Susan Luster Cary Gallery of Artists September 12 | 11am-2pm 200 S. Academy Street | Cary carygalleryofartists.org

5th Annual Race for Our Heroes 5K Amberly Club House September 19 | 8am 1075 Residents Club Drive | Cary runsignup.com/Register/?raceId=19146​

Fall Garden Tour The Garden Hut September 12 | 10am-5pm September 13 | 1-5pm 1004 Old Honeycutt Road | Fuquay-Varina fuquayvarinagardenclub.weebly.com

Live Art Demonstration: Painting with Diana Coidan Cary Gallery of Artists September 19 | 11am-2pm 200 S. Academy Street | Cary carygalleryofartists.org

W 2 9 16 23 30

T 3 10 17 24

F 4 11 18 25

S 5 12 19 26

Outdoor Movie: The Sound of Music North Carolina Museum of Art September 19 | 8pm 2110 Blue Ridge Road | Raleigh ncartmuseum.org The Nose Knows Chatham Hill Winery September 19 | 11am-6pm September 20 | 1-5pm 8245 Chapel Hill Road | Cary chathamhillwine.com Interior Design: Creating Balance West Regional Library September 21 | 7-8pm 4000 Louis Stephens Drive | Cary Tuesday Novel Readers Book Discussion: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr West Regional Library September 22 | 10:30-11:30am 4000 Louis Stephens Drive | Cary Write It: Learn From the Experts – Writing For the Web West Regional Library September 23 | 7-8pm 4000 Louis Stephens Drive | Cary Cary Gallery of Artists’ 10th Anniversary Party Cary Gallery of Artists September 25 | 6-9pm 200 S. Academy Street | Cary carygalleryofartists.org Southern Ideal Home Show: Fall Edition NC State Fairgrounds September 25-27 1025 Blue Ridge Road | Raleigh Live Art Demonstration: Watercolor Painting with Anne Chellar Cary Gallery of Artists September 26 | 11am-2pm 200 S. Academy Street | Cary carygalleryofartists.org

OCTOBER

SEPTEMBER

S M T 1 6 7 8 13 14 15 20 21 22 27 28 29

S M T W T 1 4 5 6 7 8 11 12 13 14 15 18 19 20 21 22 25 26 27 28 29

F 2 9 16 23 30

S 3 10 17 24 31

The Energy of Youth: Depicting Childhood North Carolina Museum of Art September 26, 2015-April 3, 2016 2110 Blue Ridge Road | Raleigh ncartmuseum.org 6th annual Pedal for Peds Bike Ride and Silent Auction UNC Wellness Center September 26 350 Stonecroft Lane | Cary pedalforpeds.kintera.org Rotary District 7710 4th Annual GlobalRun4Water WakeMed Soccer Park September 27 | 4pm 201 Soccer Park Drive | Cary runsignup.com/Race/NC/Cary/GlobalRun4Water American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Out of the Darkness Fuquay-Varina Community Walk South Park, Jeff Wells Environmental Trail September 27 | 2-4pm 900 S. Main Street | Fuquay-Varina afsp.donordrive.com Harper Lee and Sweet Tea West Regional Library September 27 | 2-3pm 4000 Louis Stephens Drive | Cary Academy Street Bistro Cocktail Party with TOPO Distillery Academy Street Bistro October 1 | 5:30pm 200 S. Academy Street | Cary 919.377.0509 for reservations 14th Annual Pay It Forward Fundraising Event Raleigh Marriott City Center October 3 | 6:30pm 500 Fayetteville Street | Raleigh caringcommunityfoundation.org/events Salute to Freedom Gala Sheraton Imperial Hotel & Convention Center October 3 | 6pm 4700 Emperor Boulevard | Durham uso-nc.org Triangle Oktoberfest Koka Booth Amphitheatre October 3 & 4 8003 Regency Parkway | Cary triangleoktoberfest.org

Chatham Street Chowdown Food Truck Rally Downtown Cary October 4 | 12-4:30pm West Chatham Street | Cary Allen Tate’s FUNDay Carolina Country Club October 8 | 12-4:30pm 2500 Glenwood Avenue | Raleigh allentate.com 5th annual Read to Succeed BBQ Feed Lake Wheeler Park October 10 | 4-7pm 6404 Lake Wheeler Road | Raleigh Mystery Book Discussion: The Ranger by Ace Atkins West Regional Library October 14 | 10:30-11:30am 4000 Louis Stephens Drive | Cary The Ellie Helton Memorial 5K & Fun Run to benefit the Brain Aneurysm Foundation WakeMed Soccer Park October 17 201 Soccer Park Drive | Cary give.bafound.org/2015EllieHelton The Worlds of M.C. Escher: Nature, Science, and Imagination North Carolina Museum of Art October 17, 2015-January 17, 2016 2110 Blue Ridge Road | Raleigh ncartmuseum.org Haunted Carolina West Regional Library October 24 | 2:30-3:30pm 4000 Louis Stephens Drive | Cary Paying For College West Regional Library October 29 | 7-8pm 4000 Louis Stephens Drive | Cary

Send us...

Community events you would like published in the calendar can be emailed to jenniferh@caryliving.com. caryliving.com | 27

Image courtesy of the Town of Holly Springs

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GEMS of Holly Springs The population of Holly Springs is three times larger than it was in 2000 — a remarkable affirmation that a town that not too long ago was void of a traffic light is a desirable destination. And often with growth comes spice of life...along with some hidden gems worth seeking out.

Story & photos by Dave Droschak 28 | caryliving.com

All photos courtesy of Dave Droshack

Bass Lake

PARK

If you’re looking for relative solitude, some of the best fall foliage in Wake County, a place to cast your fishing line or just a quiet walk with your better half, then look no further than Bass Lake Park.

Located off Bass Lake Road, the name of the park is sort of a misnomer since most of the fish caught here are catfish. In fact, the Town of Holly Springs stocks the lake with 1,500 pounds of catfish each month between March and September.

Fishing is free off a grassy area near the parking lot, the banks of the lake or a floating pier. The largest whiskered fish ever snagged here weighted in at 14 pounds.

The 70-acre man-made lake used to be a private fishing pond in the 1950s until Hurricane Fran landed in town, blowing out the dam and draining the lake. The Town of Holly Springs acquired it in 1999 and the park opened in 2004.

“A majority of people who visit love the quiet atmosphere,” said Bass Lake Park customer service representative Stephanie Wage. “It feels a little more peaceful and private and not as chaotic as some of the other lakes around. People just love watching the birds, watching people fish and just enjoy the view sitting on the rocking chairs on the deck.”

The Education Center is another highlight, offering kids a great opportunity to see animals that they can find around the lake.

“Most of our fish were actually caught in the lake,” Wage said. “We have eight species of snakes, four species of turtles, two species of lizards, and an albino hedgehog, which is our only mammal. She is a big hit, but she’s nocturnal so she hides a lot of the time.”

Wage says the scenic park is also the setting for approximately 30 weddings a year.

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Niche

Wine lounge

WAr on terror

Memorial

Veterans Park is an unassuming sort of place, set off in the middle of a sprawling housing development with a small lake and paved walking trail.

Local teenager David Griffith didn’t know much about it either until Mayor Dick Sears suggested the site as a possible place for a memorial Griffith was planning for his Eagle Scout project and as a dedication to his older brother, who was killed in the line of duty in December 2011 in Afghanistan.

Few are likely to leave this quiet place now without shedding a tear or two.

The War on Terror Memorial, dedicated on Flag Day 2014, began as a way to honor 36-year-old Marine Sam Griffith, but morphed into a moving tribute to those killed on 9/11 and troops in Wake County who have died fighting for freedom.

David Griffith and his family raised $40,000 to pay for the two-ton piece of marble that is the centerpiece of the memorial. They were also able to top off the sculpture with a 51-pound cube of steel from the World Trade Center, donated by D.H. Griffin Construction of Greensboro – the contractor that removed the debris from the fallen buildings.

“That piece fell from Tower 2, a part of the beam that was holding the building up,” David Griffith said. “So, it’s the last piece of steel to fall; it was the core of the World Trade Center. They said it was the perfect occasion to give it to somebody. “

The brick patio and the marble are both shaped in a pentagon. The steel represents the World Trade Center and the whole tranquil environment around the park, the silent breeze that often blows the military flags at the site, represents the Pennsylvania field that was hit by Flight 93.

“I can’t even give you the slightest bit of an idea how happy it makes me to walk out here just on a regular day, walk over to the side of the memorial and see my brother’s smiling face, to squat down in front of him and just think how far I’ve come, how grateful I am to everybody and how proud I am to be his brother,” David Griffith said. “Ordinary people really can make a difference, and this memorial will always have a piece of my heart. I really hope it will have a piece of everyone’s heart in the community.”

30 | caryliving.com

When Ted Powell moved from regular customer to owner of Niche Wine Lounge three years ago he vowed to offer a unique experience along Main Street … and beyond.

“I changed everything,” said the 68-year-old Powell, who moved back to the area from Alabama to be near his grandchildren. “The artwork, the furniture, a new bar, new floors...I added a front deck, did some repairs to the back deck, added food, added tap beer.” Powell also upgraded the wine selections, importing products from Italy, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, and more.

“We went from six mediocre wines to 120 wines by the glass,” he said. “We’re the only place in the state that does that. There are places that have more wines but it’s all sold by the bottle. We cover it all by the glass.”

Niche has become so popular under Powell and general manager/bartender Aldo Baroti that patrons now come from as far away as Chapel Hill and Durham to relax in the casual pad of couches and purchase wine by the glass, ranging from $6-$17, or bottles, including one rare one which costs upwards of $850.

Powell credits Baroti, who moved here a few years ago from Italy, with the growing popularity of the business, which also concentrates on many charitable events.

“Aldo has a photographic memory, but he also has photographic taste buds,” Powell said. “When he tastes a wine he remembers it forever.”

Niche has live music on Friday and Saturday nights, along with “open mike” on Tuesday evenings. The wine lounge also offers a Monday “Happy Hour,” which is ultra popular and helps keep fresh product in stock.

“I was retired and got bored, or as Aldo says, ‘I couldn’t afford my tab so it was cheaper to buy the place,”’ Powell says with a chuckle.

Classic beer can

collection Settling into a seat at My Way Tavern in downtown Holly Springs – at the horseshoe-shaped bar made of 158-yearold reclaimed Eastern North Carolina barn wood, or battling some stiff competition at the sawdust shuffleboard table – evokes feelings of uncomplicated times.

But look up to get a taste for the most interesting story of this pub. There’s a story behind every collectable beer can stacked on shelves that ring the place several times over.

Just ask owner Andrew Stafford, the official walking, talking beer can collection encyclopedia. His collections of more than 1,600 beer cans – some of which are more than 60 years old – are quite the conversation piece.

“People will get up out of their chairs and wander around to look at them,” he said. “Some people have even brought cans to me that they have held onto through their family line. I ask them where their favorite seat is and I put the can where they can see it. That’s another part of My Way, for us to pay tribute to them and a part of their world.”

Stafford acquired most of the beer cans from a neighbor when he lived in Blacksburg, Virginia.

“He had collected them his whole life,” Stafford said of the retired Virginia Tech professor. “When I opened this place he was generous enough to sell them to me at a reasonable cost. I think his wife wanted them out of the house and he didn’t have anybody to pass them down to.”

The retired professor was from across the Pond, so there are a lot of European beer cans – and according to Stafford, not a single duplicate.

“And nowadays with all the microbrews popping up, cans are making a comeback…so the collection keeps growing,” he said. L

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healt

women’s

32 Doctor Q & A

36

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

38

Living Well with Lupus

40

Vitamins & Supplements

caryliving.com | 32

caryliving.com | 33

Three women doctors get real about to-do’s, to-don’ts, and things we should know but probably don’t! // By Heather Mallory

September is healthy aging month, so if you’ve indulged in a little too much summer fun, the fall is a great time to put health back at the top of your priority list. Women and men face different health challenges and often even experience different symptoms for similar conditions.

Thankfully, there is more information than ever about health and wellness targeted specifically toward women.

Three of the top health risks facing women are heart disease, stroke and cancer. Below, three women specialists – a cardiologist, a neurologist and an oncologist – weigh in on what women need to know and do to optimize their chances for healthy aging.

Dr. Rama G. Garimella

Cardiologist, Cary Cardiology According to the American Heart Association (AHA), heart disease is the number one killer of women, causing one out of every three deaths.

Unfortunately, women often underestimate the threat cardiovascular disease poses to their health. “Women are more concerned about breast cancer than heart attacks,” says Dr. Rama Garimella, but heart disease, she points out, kills approximately seven times as many women as breast cancer.

Women are also less likely to seek life-saving emergency treatment 34 | caryliving.com

for a heart attack than men. One reason may be that they simply don’t realize they are having a heart attack. Women don’t necessarily have chest pain during a heart attack, says Garimella. For women, symptoms might be epigastric pain (upper abdominal pain), jaw pain, neck pain, or unexplained shortness of breath, sweating, weakness, fatigue or dizziness. Diabetics, in particular, may have very mild symptoms. Garimella recommends that any woman who feels she is having active symptoms should go straight to the emergency room. Do not wait for an appointment to see your doctor.

The four major risk factors that Garimella highlighted are (1) diabetes, (2) hypertension (high blood pressure), (3) high cholesterol, and (4) smoking. Garimella warns women against relying on generic target numbers for cholesterol or blood pressure because secondary factors like family history, birth control use, or conditions like hypothyroidism and obesity will affect how your physician determines your target numbers and your overall risk.

The good news is that despite the prevalence of heart disease, there is a great deal women can do to prevent it.

DR. GARIMELLA’S WOMEN’S HEALTH CHECKLIST:

• Stop smoking: Smoking is the most important preventable

cause of premature death in the United States.

• Clean up your diet: The AHA recently found that the

Southern style diet (fried or fatty foods, processed meats,

such as bacon and ham, sugary drinks,and so on) is associated

with an increased risk of heart disease. Garimella recommends

replacing red meat with chicken, turkey or fish; replacing

processed grains with whole and multi-grain options; and

favoring green veggies over starchy ones.

• Exercise: Garimella recommends an activity that elevates your

heart rate for 30 to 45 minutes every single day.

• Know your family history.

• Screen for the four risk factors and get them under control.

Dr. Rhonda W. Gabr

Neurologist, Raleigh Neurology The National Stroke Association reports that strokes kill twice as many women as breast cancer and that more women die annually of strokes than men.

Despite these statistics, women rarely focus on stroke as a primary health risk. “We tend to hear more about breast cancer than stroke,” says Dr. Rhonda Gabr. “People aren’t really aware that stroke carries a fairly high mortality rate.”

Perhaps more surprising is that misperceptions about women and their stroke risk factors also persist among primary care physicians, affecting the way stroke risks are treated in women versus men. According to

Dr. Ellen Willard

Oncologist, Pinehurst Medical Clinic, FirstHealth Outpatient Cancer Center

Gabr, there is a “lack of aggressiveness in managing stroke risk factors in women.”

“If a woman has high cholesterol,” Gabr says, “I might find that her doctor is willing to let her try to control it with diet, or that type of thing, more than a male patient because of the conception that women’s overall vascular risk isn’t higher, and that’s just not true.”

Fortunately, Gabr isn’t alone in noticing the need for genderspecific stroke management. In February 2014 the AHA/American Stroke Association announced that, for the first time, guidelines had been developed to specifically address preventing strokes in women.

Though certain primary stroke risk factors are the same for both women and men – hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, and family history of stroke – a woman’s risk of stroke can be dramatically affected by risk factors that are unique to women: oral contraceptive use, history of classic migraines with aura, pregnancy, preeclampsia, hormone replacement therapy and atrial fibrillation, especially in women over 75.

For many, the pill is the symbol of women’s liberation, but neurologists take a different view: “I’m something of a crusader against birth control pills,” says Gabr. “We have 18 neurologists in the practice, and we all see strokes in young women in the hospital on a regular basis.” Despite the warnings on the packages, Gabr says that young women are “clearly surprised if you say, your stroke was due to oral contraceptive use.”

Because estrogen is likely the ingredient that increases stroke risk, Gabr says that neurologists are also inclined to discourage the use of hormone replacement therapy in menopausal women.

Getting treatment fast is essential to positive outcomes for stroke. Women experiencing stroke symptoms should call 911 or get to a hospital immediately. Gabr explains that stroke symptoms are “sudden and maximal at onset.” It is the suddenness and the intensity of the symptoms that is key.

SYMPTOMS OF STROKE – CALL 911:

• Sudden blurriness or change in vision

• Sudden numbness in face or body

• Sudden weakness

• Sudden inability to walk

• Sudden difficulty or inability to speak or swallow

• Sudden acute headache DR. GABR’S WOMEN’S HEALTH CHECKLIST:

• Stop smoking!

• Avoid oral contraception and hormone replacement therapy.

• Monitor and reduce your stroke risks. Gabr says women need

to find a well- versed primary care physician who won’t treat

their stroke risks with laxity. “You want a doctor who isn’t

happy with high blood pressure readings, for example, who

wants you to keep a log, who wants you to come in frequently,

who makes sure that those numbers are under good control.”

• Be familiar with your family history of stroke and discuss it

with your physician.

“Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in women,” says Dr. Ellen Willard. “It is not, however, the most common cause of cancer death.” That distinction belongs to lung cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, the three most commonly diagnosed cancers in women are (1) breast, (2) lung, (3) colon; the cancers with the highest mortality rates in women are (1) lung, (2) breast, (3) colon.

Willard attributes breast cancer’s lower death rate despite a higher rate of incidence (relative to lung) to earlier diagnosis of breast cancer and to the availability of more treatment options. Lung cancer, on the other hand, is often diagnosed later, and the treatment success is simply not as good. Furthermore, although many women think they don’t have to worry about lung cancer because they’ve never smoked, Willard confirms that, recently, she’s “starting to see lung cancer in women who are nonsmokers.”

While there are certainly risk factors with cancer, as with heart disease and stroke, they are not cut-and-dried. The role of family history, for instance, is often misunderstood. Willard frequently hears patients say, “I didn’t think anything about the thing in my breast because nobody in my family had cancer.” Although it’s true that family history can influence your risk of certain cancers, Willard notes that “the vast majority of cancers are sporadic, which means they aren’t inherited.”

Willard also stresses that cancer is not one disease. Different types of cancer – even the same types of cancer – behave differently.

How one cancer presents, gets diagnosed, or is treated might be quite different from another cancer, which is why it’s so difficult to define a set list of symptoms or risk factors.

The upside is that improved cancer screening, like mammograms and colonoscopies, can lead to earlier diagnosis, which can lead to better outcome. Colonoscopy can even be considered preventive, because the removal of premalignant tissue can prevent cancer. New screening guidelines for chest CTs have been put in place, which may be able to help with earlier detection of lung cancers. Genetic testing may also be advisable, but Willard says, “No genetic testing should be done without pretest counseling and assessment of family history.”

DR. WILLARD’S WOMEN’S HEALTH CHECKLIST:

• Don’t smoke!

• Limit your sun exposure: Wear sunscreen and avoid tanning

beds. The incidence of melanoma is increasing.

• Lose weight: Obesity is a risk factor for certain cancers.

• Talk to family members. Try to get the full details of your

family history, such as exactly what type of cancer a family

member had, age of onset, or time to recurrence.

• Stay up-to-date with screenings: Talk to your doctor about

family history and other health conditions to determine when

to start cancer screening and what the frequency should be.

• Don’t put off going to the doctor. Delays in treatment lead to

greater costs – to your wallet and your health. L

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GIRLS JUST WANT TO

HAVE FUN THREE WORKOUTS GUARANTEED TO SHAKE THINGS UP! // By Heather Mallory

With so many offbeat fitness trends popping up, finding a fun workout has never been easier. And according to psychologist Michelle Segar in her new book No Sweat, women are far more likely to stick with a fun workout than with one that feels like a chore. So if you want to get fit but running bores you to tears, check out the workouts below and find out how more women are using fun, fantasy, and a sense of community to make their exercise goals a reality.

FENCING

Fencing is an aerobic and anaerobic sport with explosive starts and stops followed by recovery time in between, which keeps the heart and lungs working. Fencing engages the entire body but is a particularly good workout for the legs, glutes and core. Physically, fencers develop flexibility, balance, agility, coordination, quickness and timing. Mentally, fencers must learn to strategize, maintain focus, and rapidly analyze and react to a dynamic opponent. It has been called Physical Chess at the Speed of Light.

Women of all ages and fitness levels can take up fencing. In fact, fencing coach Jennifer Oldham says, “The best time to start fencing is now.” One woman who took up fencing in her 40s is North Carolina-based romance novelist and history professor Katharine Ashe. She has only been fencing a few months but is completely hooked: “I love it. I just love it. It’s incredibly good exercise, and hard!” Ashe, who started fencing as research for one of her books, says, “Most of the challenges I’ve given myself during the past 20 years or so have been intellectual and professional.

Taking up a new sport that requires the marriage of the body and the intellect is a challenge, and it’s a really fun challenge.”

36 | caryliving.com

POLE DANCING

Pole dancing is both exactly and not at all what you think. Yes, pole dancing refers to the activity popularized by strippers and exotic dancers. No, pole dancing classes do not involve men, lap dances or tips. Picture instead a girls’ night out that melts away the pounds and teaches impressive acrobatic skills.

Pole dancing, or pole fitness, as it is sometimes called, is a great way to get both isometric and cardiovascular exercise. It is truly a full-body workout, and its proponents list strength, flexibility, stamina, weight loss, decreased joint pain, lower levels of stress and increased confidence among its benefits. Classes are usually for women only, but some studios are now offering men’s classes or weekly coed classes.

Asked what type of woman does pole dancing, Dakota Fox, owner of Aradia Fitness in Cary, says, “Honestly our typical student is everybody. We have college students to grandmothers in our classes; we have working moms and career women. The women in the class are the women you see in the grocery store.”

Kristen, a 30-something web designer who’s been pole dancing for about three years, explains, “It’s really all in good fun. The nature of pole dancing is to be proud of your body

no matter what your body shape. We all support each other and cheer each other on. It’s not competitive.”

Kristen, who confesses that she’s “never been a terribly athletic person” lost about 20 pounds during her first year and has a newfound love for the muscles she’s developed, “I think strong is the new skinny.”

Photo courtesy of Dakota Fox

Dakota Fox of Aradia Fitness

Photo © Jeannie Blinson Photography

CROSSFIT

CrossFit defies easy description. According to its website, CrossFit is a both a workout that “optimizes fitness” and “the community that spontaneously arises when people do these workouts together.” With its emphasis on community and coaching as well as on diet and lifestyle changes, some say it’s more a way of life than a workout.

CrossFit builds strength and metabolic conditioning using high-intensity workouts that, according to CrossFit gym co-owner and coach Jeannie Barrow, “span many different modalities ranging from running to weight lifting, throwing, jumping, body weight and movement.”

At the heart of CrossFit is the coaching relationship.

Coaches typically program your workout, select your weight, and oversee your technique, so it’s perfect for women who don’t really know what to do and feel like their workouts aren’t getting results. Similarly, it’s appropriate for women of all ages and fitness levels, because workouts are intended to be scalable, which means coaches can adjust the load and intensity of the workout for each individual.

Barrow says women stick with Kelly McAuflliffe at CrossFit Wake Forest CrossFit because of the community and because they get results: they can run faster; they can lift more; their bodies are leaner. But most important, she says, “They’re better at life.”

Kelly McAuliffe is a girlie girl.

Before CrossFit, she spent most of her life with perfect nails and never broke a sweat. The closest she came to weight lifting was blow-drying her hair. She was never overweight, but decided that she needed to exercise to stay healthy. “There’s this illusion that if you do CrossFit, you’re going to look like a man,” she says. “I weigh 107lbs, I’m small-boned, I wear a doublezero, and I’m 5’3”, but I can deadlift 175lbs.” Kelly says that since she started CrossFit, she really is better at life. “I used to want to be thin; now, I want to be fit.” L

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WELL with Lupus K // By Carol Wills

Karen Patch’s eyes sparkle when she talks. Her conversation is punctuated by smiles. She is one of the most positive people you could ever hope to meet. She has also been living with lupus ever since she was 14 years old.

Born in Salisbury, Karen spent most of her childhood in a home built by her parents on Lake Norman the year she turned 11. She was an outdoors sort of kid, enjoying frequent rides on her little sailboat and water-skiing on the lake. She was an avid sailor and spent summers racing and teaching at her local sailing club.

The diagnosis that put a stop to her sailing came just as she was entering high school. But you couldn’t stop Karen, or even slow her down. She learned to play the oboe and was chosen to play in the North Carolina Youth Symphony. She volunteered at the Nature Museum, played on her high school tennis team, and spent two and a half months in Germany as an exchange student.

“My mom said I was a very independent girl. I got my first real job at a gift shop when I was 16. I just came home one day and told my parents I had a job,” she remembers.

These days Karen works at SAS as a technical manager in the Education Practice, finding ways to utilize SAS technology to help people understand more about education and how we can support organizations in creating new educational opportunities. She lives with her husband, Jay Spain, who is a documentary filmmaker from Raleigh, her two daughters,

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Ariana and Lia, and a merry household of four adorable dogs, three of them “rescues” and one, a sweet puppy who just wandered into their yard and made himself at home.

Karen says her greatest daily challenge is managing stress, which is particularly acute for lupus patients.

She says there are two kinds of stress: manageable and unmanageable. There are the unmanageable stresses such as side effects from the eight medicines that she takes regularly, that she just finds a way to live with, and there are environmental factors such as the sun and cold. And then there are the more manageable stresses of work and family life, which she has found numerous ways to deal with. She utilizes biofeedback, meditation, exercise, walking, going to the gym and finding quiet time somewhere during the day to help keep these stresses under control.

Managing stress can help lessen the incidence of flares, which for Karen are times when the blood vessels in her body get inflamed and press on nerves, causing either numbness or pain. When she’s experiencing symptoms of Raynaud’s Disease (which is when arteries in her fingers or toes go into vasospasm, narrowing her blood vessels and temporarily limiting her blood supply) she has found it helps to utilize

Photo © Jennifer Robertson Photography

Living

biofeedback, which might be as simple as imagining herself sitting on the warm sand of a beach. For the lupus, she has also undergone chemotherapy over three different times for periods as long as six months. For her, sometimes chemotherapy or high doses of prednisone are the medications that help her most.

Of course all medical treatment includes vulnerability to side effects. Prednisone can weaken bones and she has had a few broken ones over the past few years. Karen also has scleroderma, another autoimmune disease which for her has led to esophageal issues, pulmonary complications and broken blood vessels on her face. Throughout it all, Karen’s positive attitude has never wavered. She approaches life as an obstacle course, approaching each of these challenges, not with fear, but asking herself, “How are we going to get around this or through this?”

Karen’s doctor once told her, “If you put 10 people with lupus in a room, they would all have different symptoms.”

This means that there is no one approach to healing that would work all the time for all people with lupus. Karen has a community of friends who are also living with lupus. Each year, she and her family and friends help raise money for the North Carolina chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America. She has participated in several support groups, trying to continually surround herself with people whose attitudes are as positive as hers. “What you put out there, you get back,” is one of her favorite sayings. She checks in often with friends who have lupus and they check on her, as well.

Not surprisingly, one of her staunchest supporters (besides her husband and children) is her dog TJ, a rescue animal who has become a beloved member of the household. He has boxer blood, but is marked like a Dalmatian with spots of black and white. Only three years old, he is one of the most empathetic animals Karen has ever had the pleasure of working with. She thinks he’d make a terrific therapy dog. TJ seems to know when Karen isn’t feeling well, and he makes a point of comforting her by lying on her bed. And when she’s feeling okay, TJ is a warmhearted and enthusiastic companion for walks around the neighborhood.

Recently, Karen’s 21-year-old daughter, Ariana, who is a senior at Appalachian State University, spent a summer session studying abroad in Italy. Ever since she was an exchange student, Karen has wanted to travel abroad with her children and she decided to fulfill that dream by touring Europe with Ariana.

She came back with a suitcase containing French chocolates and gifts for family and friends. No one who knows Karen would expect any less. And she’s all ready to go back in a few years with her other daughter, Lia, only proving that living with lupus can also mean living well. L

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Photo © Jennifer Robertson Photography

Karen’s dog, TJ, shares her zest for life.

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Vitamins &

Supplements for Optimum Health

// By JENNI HART

More than half of American adults report indulging in the vitamin habit, so it’s no surprise the vitamin, mineral and supplement industry boasts $10 billion in annual sales. Many doctors and nutritionists, however, say a balanced diet is sufficient to meet most nutritional requirements. But how many of us can say for certain our diets are always balanced? Joye Willcox, Ph.D., RD, LD, helps us untangle some of the facts about nutritional supplements.

Q When it comes to vitamins, minerals and supplements, do women have different needs than men?

A For most nutrients, needs are not gender-specific. However, when

a registered dietitian or nutritionist provides medical nutrition therapy, a few are addressed differently. This may vary depending on age. With calcium, for example, from age 19 to 50, men and women require 1000 mg each day. After age 70, 1200 mg is recommended for both. But from age 51 to 70, women should increase calcium intake to 1200 mg to combat osteoporosis that can develop after menopause.

Here are the vitamins and minerals that are of special concern to women: • Folic Acid (Folate): Adequate intake prevents some birth defects,so women capable of becoming pregnant should get 400 mcg through supplementation or fortified foods in addition to what is already present in their diet. During pregnancy, this increases to 600 mcg.

• Calcium and Vitamin D: Adequate intake can prevent osteoporosis,which is more common in women than men due to differences in bone density.

• Iron: Especially important to maintain adequate intake during childbearing years due to the monthly loss of blood.

Q For women whose diets are less than ideal, can taking daily vitamins, minerals or supplements help?

A In the past, I recommended a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement for everyone – and took one myself – as a sort of nutrition insurance.

However, several large-scale studies have shown no real health benefit to this practice. So, aside from the specific exceptions listed earlier, I recommend a supplement only when daily calorie intake is lower than 1600. Below this level, it becomes more difficult, though not impossible, to get all the recommended nutrients. Women are more likely than men to be in the lower calorie range, especially if they are trying to reduce to a healthier weight. And for anyone following a strict vegan diet, I recommend supplements unless we can document adequate intake of iron, calcium, zinc and vitamin B-12.

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“A supplement should do just that – supplement, rather than replace, a healthy diet. Food should be first because there are hundreds of nutrients and other compounds found in food that work synergistically to promote health.”

– Joye Willcox, Ph.D., RD, LD, Healthy Diets, Inc.

Q Is there harm in taking unnecessary supplements?

A If a nutrient need is being met through the diet, getting more of that

nutrient through supplementation will not help and may actually hurt. I strongly warn against high doses of individual nutrient supplements unless they are specifically recommended or cleared by your physician or registered dietitian. It is best to choose supplements that provide no more than 100 percent of the Recommended Dietary Allowance.

Q Should you test first to detect a deficiency?

A It depends on the nutrient. Iron and vitamin D deficiencies are

commonly diagnosed with a routine blood test during a medical exam. Unfortunately, a calcium deficiency is not so easily measured.

The test is usually an abnormal bone density scan. Severe calcium deficiency can cause muscle cramping, numbness, and tingling in the fingers.

Q Do you recommend any herbal or “natural” remedies or supplements?

A Federal law requirements for safety and efficacy don’t apply to

dietary supplements, so I only recommend one when the label states clearly what is in the product and in what quantity. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “natural” and “herbal” do not always mean safe. An herbal supplement can contain other compounds, and all of its ingredients may not even be known. I recommend a search on the National Institutes of Health website to learn all you can about a product before taking it.

Research-based results can be found at www.nccih.nih.gov.

Q Are there any other tips you can share?

A I recommend clients keep a web-based food journal such as www. myfitnesspal.com to help them determine the adequacy of their diet in meeting their nutritional needs. cL

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FALL

Arts PREVIEW

// By David Fellerath

At first glance, every festival may look the same: lots of people having fun. But there are many ways to throw a party. Some are done for profit, and others are to raise money and awareness for good causes. If well executed, the end is the same: fun and festivity.

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Photo © Jenn Wilburn

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Two enticing events in Cary, both at Koka Booth Ampitheater, celebrate the extraordinary vitality of East and South Asian culture in Wake County. The older of the two is Cary Diwali (October 10th), which, in its 15th year, has firmly established itself as a premier family event. Sponsored by Sum Hub, a nonprofit founded by six South Asian families back when Cary had yet to be known for curries and Bollywood cinemas, today the festival still has free admission (and parking only costs $5).

According to board member Mamta Bisarya, Sum Hub (“all of us”) was founded to “educate the community at large about Indian culture.” Working with an all-volunteer staff, these educational efforts have yielded twice-yearly festivals: an indoor one in the fall that is devoted to classical Indian dance and music, and the ever-more popular fall Diwali fest, which adds food, crafts and Bollywood music and dance to the mix.

The first Diwali festival drew 2,500 people to the Herb Young Community Center. Due to the overwhelming response, the festival moved to Koka Booth the following year and again drew 2,500 visitors. In 2014, Bisarya says, more than 14,000 people turned up.

This year’s festival is called “Mahotsav: A Grand Celebration.” After a day of festivity, the keynote attraction will be a mainstage performance by Bollywood star playback singer Kavita Krishnamurti. Although it’s free, seating is limited and people have been turned away in the past – so stake out your spot early. After the performance, which runs 6-8pm, a fireworks display will close out the evening.

humsub.net/our-event/cary-diwali

A smaller but equally intriguing event will be returning September 19th after a highly successful inaugural outing last year. The Dragon Boat Festival is a day of boat racing on Symphony Lake at Koka Booth. Upward of 20 teams of 12 rowers each will man the narrow boats – each festooned with a dragon’s head on the prow. Last year’s event drew more than 3,000 people, says Lily Chan, president of Asian Focus, the Cary-based nonprofit that is sponsoring the event.

This nautical festival represents a departure for Asian Focus, says Chan. The group delivers social services primarily (but not exclusively) to the Asian community. Formed in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis, Asian Focus serves as a “platform” to match services with the needs of the Asian community, whether it’s job training or acclimation assistance to recent arrivals.

But once the decision was made to partner with Tampabased Pan Am Dragon Boat, Asian Focus threw itself into the party business with gusto. Chan and her board located major sponsorships from Lenovo and Intel, and landed more than a dozen additional partnerships with a score of other businesses ranging from Merck to Grand Asia Market. Last year, more than a dozen public officials turned up the for the event, a testament to the ever increasing importance of Asians in the community. dragonboatnc.wix.com/festival

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In Raleigh, the festivities are less ethnocentric and more about the joys of food, music and Raleigh’s ambitions for itself. This fall, one of the most prescient of these festivals, SPARKcon, will celebrate – almost unbelievably – its 10th anniversary. It began as an idea hatched by people associated with DesignBox in the Warehouse District as an opensource festival whereby Raleigh’s downtown creative class could hash out their vision of the city.

Today, the festival continues in its original spirit, although it’s now headquartered at the Visual Art Exchange. Some things have emerged as hugely popular annual events: fashionSPARK, which should be on Saturday. sparkcon.com

(left) Bollywood and classical singer Kavita Krishnamurti headlines Cary Diwali. (above and right) Scenes from last year’s inaugural Dragon Boat Festival at Symphony Lake in Cary.

Another festival in southern Wake returns for its second year, but it’s one that is more characteristic of events to be found in Raleigh. The name Beericana says it all, and it happens in Holly Springs on September 12th at Sugg Farm Park. According to co-founder Adam Eshbaugh, there will be 70 craft brewers in attendance, along with an assortment of food trucks and musical acts. Eshbaugh and co-founder Wayne Holt work in sales and contracting, respectively, but began Beericana as a venture which would bring the state’s exploding craft beer scene to a fast growing region of Wake County – and indeed, where both live.

When asked why craft beer is all the rage, Eshbaugh cites two major developments: The passage of the “pop the cap” law in 2008, which allowed for the raising of the limit on alcoholic content, as well as changes to rules governing the selling of small batches of beer. The two developments dramatically expanded the repertoire and markets of Tar Heel brewer-entrepreneurs. beericana.com

Residents of southern and western Wake who miss this drinking opportunity will have another place to bring their pretzel necklaces: The second annual Triangle Oktoberfest at Koka Booth, which runs October 3rd-4th. triangleoktoberfest.org

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Hopscotch returns September 10th-12th. As usual, the programming features three packed nights of club shows punctuated with big-name acts in the open air of City Plaza. The clubs cover the genres, from electronic and experimental to hip-hop, metal and folk-pop. The band names run from Drippy Inputs to Shitty Boots, from Wymyns Prysyn to River Whyless, from X to Zs.

X? That’s right, Gen X punk heroes X, evidently with the original lineup, will support Dwight Yoakam at City Plaza on the festival’s final night in a meeting of LA roots punk and LA hip country. TV on the Radio and Godspeed You! Black Emperor headline the other two City Plaza shows. Tickets and wristbands are available at a variety of price points: hopscotchmusicfest.com

Although the programming of the American Roots Music & Arts Festival is less adventurous, it promises big names for those who want to fork out the ducats and head out to Walnut Creek October 17th-18th. Headliners – heck, they’re all headliners – include Willie Nelson, The Roots, Tedeschi Trucks, Warren Haynes, Sheryl Crow, Modest Mouse and, on both nights, the rugged country star and North Carolina

photograph by dan hacker

native Eric Church. blackbirdmusicgroup.com/american

photograph by michael hyatt

roots-music-arts-festival

But for quality, quantity and sheer value, the music festival of the season is the International Bluegrass Music Association’s now-annual takeover of downtown Raleigh. Wide Open Bluegrass 2015 runs October 2nd-3rd and features a free street fest with five music stages and more dancin’ and fiddlin’ than you can shake a chicken wing at.

Oh, there will be barbecue, too: The North Carolina Whole Hog Barbecue State Championship will be held somewhere – and you’ll surely smell it everywhere. Lots going on, including the awards ceremony in Memorial Auditorium and ticketed headline acts at Red Hat Amphitheater, capped off by Alison Krauss & Union Station, featuring Jerry Douglas. wideopenbluegrass.com

(above) X, seen in their 1980s heyday, join Dwight Yoakam for Hopscotch’s final night. (left) Sheryl Crow is among the performers scheduled for the American Roots Music & Arts Festival.

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(clockwise from top) Highlights at NC State this fall include Emel Mathlouthi; Bandaloop; and Kenny Barron Trio.

Saving ye oldie-but-goodie for last: the North Carolina State Fair. Although there’s no reason to change the formula of artery-destroying “food” and heart-stopping amusement rides, there’s a big change on a different front: the music programming. After years of criticism for its lackluster mix of semi-famous country acts and reality show performers, the fair has shifted to a strategy of emphasizing Tar Heel musicians.

On the Dorton Arena mainstage, local acts like Orquesta GarDel and the Love Language will join a schedule that will also feature the legendary Tar Heel fiddler Charlie Daniels.

During the day, the smaller Waterfall stage will feature a more adventurous roster of up-and-comers playing in genres ranging from post-metal to acoustic jazz to Celtic. The fair runs October 15th-25th. ncstatefair.org/2015/Attractions/Music.htm

More concerts and music series In Cary, you don’t have to wait for IBMA and Wide Open Bluegrass to get your fiddlin’ fixin’s. The Pickin’ in the Pines series runs four Wednesdays in September beginning September 9th and features the likes of Johnson County’s Amanda Daughtry and Wilmington’s Ryan Cavanaugh (“the most versatile banjo player in the world whose name isn’t Fleck,” according to the publicity materials). boothamphitheatre.com/events

Catch one of NCMA’s last outdoor concerts of the season on September 25th, when the California folk-rock neoEagles outfit Dawes comes to town. The band is fresh off collaborations with Marcus Mumford and Rhiannon Giddens, so expect peaceful easy feelings at the turn of the autumnal equinox. ncartmuseum.org

Downtown, the North Carolina Symphony seems to be making some of its biggest pops gambits to date. To be sure, the fall schedule contains such traditional classical highlights as the September 25th-26th Gershwin show featuring Jean YvesThibaudet, along with the world premiere of “Hiraeth,” 46 | caryliving.com

Over on the NC State campus, the live performances series, formerly known as Center Stage, has been re-branded as NC State LIVE . We’re intrigued by the October 29th performance by the Tunisian singersongwriter Emel Mathlouthi at Stewart Theatre. Mathlouthi’s songs are well-known in North Africa as she has contributed to the soundtrack of youthful democratic dissent in both Tunisia and Egypt. ncsu.edu/centerstage

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Photography by Andrew Eccles

work is too approachable, too ready to become a dorm-room poster, and perhaps it’s the fact that his work seemingly has no connection to the real world going on outside the artist’s studio – that world being the Europe that saw wars and modernism and ideological upheavals of all kinds.

Through the tumult, Escher plugged away at his lithographs of impossible worlds that were often inspired by his studies of early Italian Renaissance paintings with their studied perspectives, and his interest in mathematics, logic and the imagination.

The North Carolina Museum of Art has pulled together more than 130 prints from around the world for this retrospective that opens October 17th and runs for three months.

Among the pieces on view will be such sublime efforts as his cerebral dual self-portrait “Bond of Union” (1956) and the famed “Drawing Hands” (1948). Given the educational and professional demographics of Wake County, we’re betting this show will be a hit. And well it should be, for the Dutch visionary deserves nothing less. ncartmuseum.org

The great diva Renée Fleming appears October 11th at Meymandi Concert Hall.

A kissa listening session at CAM Raleigh.

by Sarah Kirkland Snider, which draws inspiration from the composer’s ties to Salisbury, NC. On October 11th, superstar soprano Renée Fleming appears at a special gala fundraiser. But the Symphony will offer two Harry Potterthemed concerts in Meymandi Concert Hall on October 30th-31st, titled Halloween at Hogwarts: The Music of Harry Potter.

ncsymphony.org

On September 18th-19th, NC Symphony will be the hired orchestra for a presentation of The Lord of the Rings in Concert: The Fellowship of the Ring. Performing at Red Hat Amphitheater alongside the North Carolina Master Chorale and the Raleigh Boychoir, the Symphony will provide live accompaniment to the first installment of Peter Jackson’s monster swords-and-sorcery trilogy. dukeenergycenterraleigh.com/event/lord-of-the-rings-6326

The same weekend, October 30th and November 1st, elsewhere in the Duke Energy Center for Performing Arts, North Carolina Opera will fully stage Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. ncopera.org/performances/madama-butterfly

Visual Art MC Escher is a curiosity in the art world. His architecturally impossible constructions are instantly recognizable and endlessly diverting, yet he doesn’t command the respect of other, lesser artists. To many people, Escher is a youthful enthusiasm, a gateway into more serious things, in the manner of Pachelbel’s Canon, perhaps, or Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker novels. Why should this be so? Perhaps Escher’s 48 | caryliving.com

photograph by ivan weiss

CAM Raleigh: Be sure to drop in on Big, Bent Ears: A multimedia installation about listening, which has been taking place mostly on Mondays and Thursdays since the summer and will continue through December. The brainchild of the ever-industrious impresario Sam Stephenson (The Jazz Loft Project, Bull City Summer), and Ivan Weiss, Big, Bent Ears, takes its inspiration from the Japanese kissas, which are free-form music listening sessions.

Stephenson and Weiss have recruited prominent area musicians and tastemakers (Laura Ballence, Mac McCaughan, Ben Barwick, Caitlin Cary, Skillet Gilmore, Grayson Haver Currin, et al.) to bring their music collections and play them against a background of still and moving images by the likes of Weiss, Kate Joyce, Alex Boerner and more.

It’s a rolling, ad hoc schedule, so check the website frequently. camraleigh.org/big-bent-ears

At Cary Gallery of Artists , the art space will spend September celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Each Saturday from 11am-2pm there will be live art demonstrations, beginning September 5th with a watercolor demonstration by Barbara Rohde. carygalleryofartists.org

(below. far left) M. C. Escher, Hand with Reflecting Sphere (Self-Portrait in Spherical Mirror), 1935, lithograph, 12 1/2 x 8 3/8 in., Collection of Rock J. Walker, New York, © 2015 The M. C. Escher Company, The Netherlands. (right) M. C. Escher, Drawing Hands, 1948, lithograph, 11 1/8 x 13 1/8 in., Private collection, Texas, © 2015 The M. C. Escher Company, The Netherlands. All rights reserved. www.mcescher.com

SANDLIN FAMILY LAW GROUP

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Photo © Jennifer Seigel

(right) Monty Python’s SPAMALOT! plays at Raleigh Little Theatre through September 20th. (left) NC Theatre presents Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods from October 20th-25th.

Don’t miss Bandaloop flying into Raleigh on September 17th-18th. photograph by Curtis Brown Photography

Dance We can dance where we want to, and that includes vertically and aerially in Stewart Theatre, when the Oakland, California-based vertical performance troupe Bandaloop comes to the NC State campus September 17th-18th. ncsu.edu/centerstage

The Carolina Ballet has two back-to-back productions beginning late September. For a new choreographing of Gustav Holst’s The Planets , the troupe will hold forth in Memorial Auditorium for four performances only, September 24th-27th. Then, from October 8th-25th, the company will unveil a world premiere of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique: Un Bal in Fletcher Opera Theater. carolinaballet.com

On September 25th in Cary’s Booth Amphitheatre, Indian dance will be on display in the form of Dholi Taro Bhangra: Dancing Under the Stars. boothamphitheatre.com/events/dholi-taro-bhangra

dancing-under-the-stars

Film Has it really been 50 years since the camera alighted on Julie Andrews playing a proto-hippie nun singing on an Alpine meadow? Why, yes it has, and that’s all the prompting the NC Museum of Art needs to show the one and only The Sound of Music outdoors on September 19th. Show begins at 8pm. ncartmuseum.org

Theater The film industry may be fleeing North Carolina, but they’ll never take Dirty Dancing away from us. Especially now that Broadway Series South and NC Theatre are co-producing this stage version, Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage at Memorial Auditorium, from September 8th-13th. dukeenergycenterraleigh.com/event/dirty-dancing-5757

For $60, you, too, can attend the Billionaires Club Annual Masquerade, mingle with the swells over cocktails, and witness a murder. Yes, you can, at Murder at the Masquerade , presented for two nights only, September 11th-12th, at Koka 50 | caryliving.com

Booth Amphitheatre. boothamphitheatre.com/events/murder-at-the-masquerade

Paperhand Puppet Intervention – For a 16th season, Saxapahaw’s singular eco-anarchist collective of puppeteers and musicians will present an original work of musical theater at the NC Museum of Art. September 11th-13th. ncartmuseum.org

The late Wendy Wasserstein is best known for The Heidi Chronicles, but Cary Players is opting for one of her earlier efforts, a relationship comedy called Isn’t It Romantic . Two women, one Jewish and one Gentile, navigate the social world of the 1970s.

Post-Sex and the City, post-Girls, it will be interesting to see if the script is more than a period piece. The show runs at the Cary Arts Center from September 18th through October 4th. caryplayers.org

C.S. Lewis was famed for the relatively subtle Christian allegory of his Narnia chronicles, but in Screwtape Letters , he gave the devil his due. Broadway Series South brings in a touring one-man show for four performances October 2nd-4th, which will include talkbacks with Max McLean, who adapted Lewis’ work for this production. dukeenergycenterraleigh.com/event/screwtape-letters-6057

Christopher Tierney (Johnny) and Gillian Abbott (Baby) in DIRTY DANCING – THE CLASSIC STORY ON STAGE September 8th-13th, courtesy of Broadway Series South and NC Theatre. photograph by by Matthew Murphy

photograph by Curtis Brown Photography

Several years ago, Burning Coal Theatre co-produced a cirque-aerial rendering of Shakespeare’s Henry V. Now aerial theater is back, and with it is the return to area theater of Kendall Rileigh, a Duke grad who relocated to New York a decade ago. Now with Brooklyn-based Only Child Aerial Theatre, Rileigh’s story about a 1970s psychiatric facility forms the basis of Asylum . Featuring original songs by Sophie B. Hawkins, this production runs October 15thNovember 1st. burningcoal.org/mainstage

Raleigh Little Theatre eases into autumn with Monty Python’s SPAMALOT! , which runs until September 13th. In October, however, they put on their powdered wigs and overstuffed corsets for a little costume comedy. The Rivals , an 18th-century satire by the then-young Irish playwright Richard Sheridan, is the title, and it runs October 2nd-18th. raleighlittletheatre.org

Although the 2014 film version of Into the Woods was at best a qualified success, it hasn’t dimmed the appeal of Stephen Sondheim’s musical for the regional stage repertory. North Carolina Theatre will present it for one week only in Memorial Auditorium, October 20th-25th. nctheatre.com L

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Welcome to Wake County, home of the largest school system in NC, and 16th largest in the US! Locally, families have some of the best selections of education options to choose from on the planet, and each spring and fall we round up schools ranging from preschool to 12th grade, and have them share their histories, unique programs, features and benefits for maximum student achievement.

Modern educators realize children have different learning styles and some schools are a better fit than others for individual learners.

Other considerations are the social and emotional needs of each child, which can mean a smaller school or simply a different school in some cases. When your child has the best match for optimal learning, the future is bright for a lifetime of learning and succeeding. Please read through these fine options and call for a tour of schools that might be right for your child!

52 | caryliving.com

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e d u c at i o n G U I D E SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

2015

CARY Academy At Cary Academy it’s all about community, as it has been since the school opened in 1997 as a college preparatory program for grades 6-12. Students come from all over the Triangle to attend CA, helping us develop a diverse and inclusive community. Students of color make up 32% of the student body, and annually we award need-based financial aid to approximately 15% percent of our students.

At Cary Academy, technology is heavily woven into every student activity.

Since 2006, all teachers and students have been issued tablet PCs. Our academic program includes mathematics, science, world languages, history, English, art, music, theater and dance. Our world language program offers Spanish, German, French and Mandarin Chinese; all sophomores have the opportunity to participate in an international exchange program as part of their world language studies. Robust extracurricular activities include awardwinning debate teams, robotics clubs and Science Olympiad squads.

Teachers promote community by acting as mentors/facilitators who stress independent learning, critical thinking skills and problem-solving techniques.

There also is a strong parent-teacher association that brings visiting artists to campus and hosts events such as tailgates and Meet the Teacher nights.

Sports and the fine arts are important to the CA community. In the Middle School, students may begin trying out for sports in the seventh grade, and there is a no-cut policy. In the Upper School, students may participate in 21 varsity sports. In 2014-15, the CA Chargers posted impressive results in the 3A North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association state championships: the boys tennis team won for the second year in a row, the boys swim team won the state title, and boys and girls cross country, girls swimming, and girls track and field were state runners-up. The Fine Arts program offers a strong performing arts schedule with musicals, plays, recitals and technical theater.

1500 North Harrison Avenue C a r y, N C 2 7 5 1 3 919-228-4550 d e n i s e _ g o o d m a n @ c a r y a c a d e m y. o r g w w w. c a r y a c a d e m y. o r g caryliving.com | 53

2015 e d u c at i o n

GUIDE

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

CARY CHRISTIAN school Since opening our doors in 1996, Cary Christian School has been committed to providing an excellent classical education founded upon a biblical worldview. Our vision is to graduate young men and women who think clearly and listen carefully with discernment and understanding; who reason persuasively and articulate precisely; who are capable of evaluating their entire range of experience in the light of Scripture; and who do so with eagerness, in joyful submission to God. In keeping with our mission, we have created a culture of community on our 21-acre campus where students of all ages can flourish...becoming everything that God has created them to be. It is our desire that each of them know Jesus Christ as Lord; love others as themselves; and grow in knowledge and skill, in order that they may understand their callings from God and be able to carry out those callings well for the good of others. In short, we seek to educate our students in matters of the mind, the body, and the heart so that they may pursue and produce the True, the Good, and the Beautiful.

On May 21st, 55 young men and women received diplomas, which represent years of diligent work and the stretching of mind and character. These graduates, whose average SAT score was over 350 points above the national average, are venturing off to colleges and universities all across the United States with scholarship offerings totaling more than $4.5 million. They will begin study in a variety of fields from engineering to business administration, from pre-law to education and the fine arts.

To find out more about Cary Christian School or to schedule a campus tour, please call 919-303-2560. You may also visit our website at www.carychristianschool.org.

1330 Old Apex Road C a r y, N C 2 7 5 1 3 919-303-2560 mainoffice@carychristianschool.org www.carychristianschool.org 54 | caryliving.com

e d u c at i o n G U I D E SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

2015

RAVENSCROFT Lead From Here: Combines academic excellence with citizen leadership development, for children of all ages “I wish I had it earlier.”

Business leaders who have worked with the Center for Creative Leadership* (CCL), a top five provider of executive education worldwide, consistently say they wish they had experienced the leadership training earlier.

Now, it is possible.

Ravenscroft partners with CCL to deliver Lead From Here. Lead From Here is a first-of-its-kind, groundbreaking pre-kindergarten through grade 12 curriculum designed to teach the academic and leadership skills that hundreds of business, government, nonprofit and education leaders from the around the world have identified** as crucial – but frustratingly rare – in today’s workforce.

Ravenscroft’s education model combines academic excellence and grounds students in 15 citizen leadership competencies that equip students to be growth-minded, resilient, visionary, collaborate and more.

Everyone can Lead From Here to create positive change in the world.

“CCL is greatly privileged to partner with Ravenscroft on this pioneering initiative that will contribute to a better world – our first Research and Innovation Incubator with a Pre-K through 12 school,” said John Ryan, CEO of CCL, after the organization formalized a 10-year agreement with Ravenscroft.

The world is changing at an amazing speed, and we are facing increasingly complex times. The careers that lie ahead for our children may not even exist today.

At Ravenscroft, we are confident that we are preparing them to succeed.

We nurture the individual potential of each student from the inside out to help them become effective and enlightened citizen leaders that enjoy deeply fulfilled lives. * Ranked No. 4 overall in the 2015 Financial Times worldwide survey of executive education. ** From a survey of 462 leaders around the globe conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership.

7409 Falls of Neuse Road Raleigh, NC 27615 919.847.0900 admissions@ravenscroft.org ravenscroft.org/admissions caryliving.com | 55

2015 e d u c at i o n

GUIDE

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Saint mary’s school Saint Mary’s School is an independent, Episcopal, college preparatory, boarding and day school for girls in grades 9-12.

Dedicated to academic excellence and personal achievement since 1842, Saint Mary’s School believes in the greatness of girls. The school’s integrated, hands-on academic program challenges girls to embrace the habits of a lifelong learner and guides them in building a foundation for college and life. Leadership curriculum and real-life experiences empower girls to serve and shape their world with courage and purpose.

Saint Mary’s rich Episcopal heritage informs values and inspires girls to act with honor and to respect the worth and dignity of every individual.

Dozens of sports, clubs, music studies, volunteer and real-world experiences provide girls with opportunities to explore and discover new talents and passions. The school’s historic, 23-acre campus located in downtown Raleigh and within close proximity to the Research Triangle offers a uniquely vibrant 24/7 learning and living community.

The Saint Mary’s School program includes honors and AP courses, three languages, 11 sports, a renowned arts program, college counseling, leadership education, boarding experience, service learning, travel opportunities and more.

For almost 175 years, the school has prepared girls for the challenges and opportunities of their day. Saint Mary’s School wants every girl to find her courage – to believe in herself, to expand her boundaries and to grow as a young woman of intellect, integrity and purpose.

Where will you find your courage?

Day Student Shadow Days October 12 December 4 Admission Overnight and Visitation Days November 8-9 January 18-19 Please call the Admission Office at 919.424.4100 to register for these events or arrange for a campus visit.

900 Hillsborough Street Raleigh, NC 27603 919.424.4100 admission@sms.edu sms.edu 56 | caryliving.com

e d u c at i o n G U I D E SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

2015

st. david’s school St. David’s School’s prestigious academic reputation is enhanced by the way it answers the question that Aristotle posed so many centuries ago: “Ought education to be directed more towards the intellect or towards the character of the soul?” Chairman of the Board Joe Knott answers that question by explaining that “St. David’s School is not an ‘either-or’ choice; it is a ‘both-and’ proposition.”

St. David’s is a rigorous college preparatory school with a commitment to biblical integration and development of virtue. St. David’s students are accepted to and succeed in the most prestigious colleges in the country, and they do so as people of character who have been challenged in their faith, ready to engage the world in a significant way in the areas of faith, virtue and knowledge. Headmaster Kevin Lockerbie explains that St. David’s is a unique place that “combines a rigorous college preparatory program taught

by Christian faculty members who intentionally integrate biblical truth in and out of the classroom.”

St. David’s students leave as critical thinkers who embrace who they are as whole people. Students and their families do not have to check their faith at the door to engage academically, and conversely, they do not have to leave behind academic excellence to engage spiritually. Students are encouraged to think for themselves, to reason through difficult problems of all types, and to develop intellectually through wrestling with difficult challenges. The school’s world-class faculty members engage their students at the very highest level, and they do so as Christians. This preparation of the whole person equips students to succeed in college and life.

St. David’s is an independent school in the Episcopal school tradition that prepares young men and women for college and life by challenging them to excel in the vital areas of faith, virtue and knowledge.

3400 White Oak Road Raleigh, NC 27609 919.782.3331 admissions@sdsw.org sdsw.org

caryliving.com | 57

2015 e d u c at i o n

GUIDE

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

St. Mary Magdalene St. Mary Magdalene School, located in the heart of Apex, is about to celebrate its sixteenth year.

What can a student expect to find in a St. Mary Magdalene classroom?

First and foremost, he or she can expect a faculty and staff who are devoted to the students. and a warm positive setting in which to learn.

As a result, the turnover rate of the faculty is extremely low, providing a stable and consistent learning environment.

Students should also expect to be challenged in all academic subjects.

Once students are in the middle school grades, they may be placed in honors language arts classes and/or take up to two years of high school math.

In combination with their classroom studies, students can anticipate gaining a strong tie to their community. Because faith and spirituality are central to St. Mary Magdalene School, developing ethical, spiritual, and caring young people is just as important as developing sound thinkers. Through classroom and school-wide service projects, young people have the opportunity to help one another, local charities, and global causes.

Additionally, as Apex’s only preschool-8th grade Catholic school, StMM caters to Catholic and non-Catholic families from all over the Triangle.

It is of utmost importance to the administrators, teachers, and staff that the students receive the best education to fully nurture the strengths of each individual. Therefore, the curriculum is enriched with technology, school field trips, cultural arts performances, writers-in-residence, artists-in-residence, band, chorus, Spanish, and much more.

Before and after school, students will also find all sorts of clubs or sports to enjoy: chess team, math counts club, golf team, an array of JV and varsity girls and boys sports, MLSM (a service club), STEM club, National Junior Honor Society, and the on-site garden helpers to list just a few.

St. Mary Magdalene is always creating new ways to reach each student.

Come check it out. We think you’ll be impressed.

625 Magdala Place Apex, NC 27502 919.657.4800 klavon@stmm.net www.stmm.net 58 | caryliving.com

e d u c at i o n G U I D E SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

2015

Cardinal Gibbons

1401 Edwards Mill Road Raleigh, NC 27606 919.834.1625 Established 1909 cghsnc.org t w i t t e r. c o m / n e w s _ c g h s n c

Cardinal Gibbons High School is a place of opportunity, a school community dedicated to outstanding Catholic education, where students are invited to lead, serve and grow. These opportunities exist daily in our exceptional academic, spiritual life, performing and visual art, and athletic programs. Collaboration flourishes on our campus, where you will find students creating, inventing and exploring in state-ofthe-art facilities, using current technology.

Our devoted, caring faculty engage and encourage students to achieve, ensuring they are prepared for success in college.

A family’s time at Cardinal Gibbons is a life-changing experience, enriched by our school’s unique energy, and we invite you to campus to discover your opportunity.

Open House for Prospective Students Sunday, November 1, 2015, 1 - 4 p.m. cghsnc.org/openhouse

La Petite Academy What a great place to start. Our schools offer nurturing care and creative learning experiences. Exceptionally strong, sound social and educational foundations are formed here. At La Petite Academy®, your child will discover respect, collaboration, and the joy of learning. Our exclusive School Readiness Pathway charts each child’s unique course to elementary school, with specialized curriculum and developmentally appropriate programs for infants and beyond. Plus, our Grow Fit™ initiative ensures the complete well-being of your growing child through a focus on healthy living, nutritious eating and physical fitness.

Connect with us 877.861.5078 LaPetite.com caryliving.com | 59

2015 e d u c at i o n

GUIDE

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

ResUrrection Lutheran Resurrection Lutheran School (RLS) offers an Christ-centered, academically challenging and dually accredited educational alternative for families living in Wake County. Parents are attracted to our dedicated teachers, reputation in the community, caring Christian environment, active parent participation and enrichment opportunities.

At RLS, we follow the North Carolina State Standards as a baseline while integrating national standards and extension activities. We encourage students to take advantage of a wide variety of extracurricular activities to promote exploration. Enrichment opportunities include MATHCOUNTS, Jr FIRST LEGO LEAGUE, VEX Robotics, drama, music, athletic teams and clubs, cultural arts programs, field trips and overnight travel in middle school.

100 Lochmere Drive West C a r y, N C 2 7 5 1 8 919.851.7270 ext. 30 c o n t a c t @ r l s c a r y. o r g w w w. r l s c a r y. o r g

St. Michael CATHolic school St. Michael School, a vital part of the mission of St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, serves students from Pre-K through Grade 8 with two classes in grades K-8 and one full-day PreK classroom. Our students thrive in a challenging academic environment, supported by a caring faculty. They acquire leadership skills, grow in their faith, and begin a lifetime of service to others.

Discover Catholic education at our Open Houses: Thursday, November 19, 9-10:30am Thursday, December 10, 9 –10:30am Thursday, January 7, 9-10:30am Wednesday, January 13, 6-7:30pm

810 High House Rd. C a r y, N C 2 7 5 1 3 919.468.6150 a d m i s s i o n s @ s t m c a r y. o r g w w w. s t m c a r y. o r g 60 | caryliving.com

EDUCATION

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1 Cardinal Gibbons School

1401 Edwards Mill Road

Cary

cghsnc.org

919-834-1625

2 Cary Academy

1500 N Harrison Avenue

Cary

caryacademy.com

919-228-4550

3 Cary Christian School

1330 Old Apex Road

Cary

carychristianschool.org

919-303-2560

4 La Petite Academy

104 Baines Court

Cary

lapetite.com

919-469-5735

5 Ravenscroft

7409 Falls of Neuse Road

Raleigh

ravenscroft.com/admissions

919-847-0900

6 Resurrection Lutheran School

100 W Lochmere Drive

Cary

rlscary.org

919-851-7270

7 Saint Mary’s School

900 Hillsborough Street

Raleigh

sms.edu

919-424-4100

8 St. David’s School

3400 White Oak Road

Raleigh

sdsw.org

919-782-3331

9 St. Mary Magdalene

625 Magdalene Place

Apex

stmm.net

919-657-4800

10 St. Michael Catholic School

810 High House Road

Cary

stmcary.org

919-468-6150 caryliving.com | 61

PICK YOUR PADDle

By Corbie Hill

W

When I was a kid, I had a weathered old fiberglass canoe. To be clear, it was my mom’s, which she got secondhand from a Boy Scout camp sometime in the ‘50s or ‘60s. She let me use it, and we stored it about a mile from our house, at my grandparents’ place. The boat itself had been patched and repaired countless times, but it held water just fine.

As for my grandparents’ house, what appeared to be a ditch beside it was actually a tiny creek – one that soon opened up to Pierce Creek, just northeast of Oriental in rural Pamlico County. Here the Neuse River empties into the Pamlico Sound. It is miles wide at this point – a sailor’s paradise. It was quite nice in a canoe as well.

I hugged the shoreline in my weathered little boat, exploring side channels that wended through sharp-bladed marsh grass. I saw birds of prey and wading herons, blue

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crabs and their fiddler crab cousins, snapping turtles and all kinds of snakes. I was on the water – what else mattered?

Sometimes I miss it. I live in the middle of the state now, where the water is a lot smaller. Still, even this coastal native has to admit there are some nice rivers and lakes nearby: Jordan Lake and the Haw River aren’t far; the Neuse runs right through Raleigh, and Harris Lake is just south of Apex. The world looks different from the water, and there’s not much closer to the water you can get than a canoe or a kayak.

I reached out to Ingrid Haddon, president of Carolina Kayak Club, for tips on getting into kayaking and canoeing without spending too much money. She gave me pointers on safety, used boats and local waterways. To find out more about her organization, visit carolinakayakclub.org.

ARE YOU A KAYAK OR CANOE PERSON?

Maybe you’re both, but let’s pick one to start off. First, figure out what kind of paddling you want to do – this can help narrow the field, as you’ll seek a different sort of boat for ocean kayaking, freshwater lake paddling, or whitewater runs. Research online what kinds of boats are out there and what their strengths and functions are – or ask someone at an outfitter.

Kayaks are fast, singleperson boats. They’re easier to portage and easier to lash to the top of the Subaru, but there’s not a ton of storage space in them. Canoes, with their open tops, are easier to pack; you can bring a cooler or a picnic, you can bring a pet or a child, but be sure everyone aboard has the proper flotation device (more on that under “Safety”). Canoes, though, are more prone to weather cocking – that is, more susceptible to being pushed around by the wind. Both boats can be solo boats.

BUYING USED

So maybe you’ve found a canoe or a kayak at a yard sale, or perhaps you have a Craigslist or Ebay habit. Good for you – nothing wrong with saving money – but be careful not to buy a lemon! First off, look for obvious damage – scratches, holes, and the like. There are ways to patch these, true, but let’s learn one skill set at a time, so no boats with holes in them for now. For kayaks, you should see how old the deck lines are – if they need replacing, that’s an extra expense. If it has hatches, check their flexibility.

Have a seat in the boat to see if it’s a good fit. It’s good

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practice, too, to take it out for a test paddle.

Finally, see if it floats. If it sinks, you probably shouldn’t buy it...

SAFETY

Even if you’re trying to save money, do not skimp on safety gear. Of boating fatality victims, the United States Coast Guard estimates more than 80% would have been saved by a life jacket.

As such, its regulations require kayakers and canoeists to always wear an approved personal flotation device and have a whistle.

Before you go out, Haddon says, know how to complete a self-rescue and an assisted rescue.

Taking to the water means risking extremes of temperature, so understand ahead of time the symptoms of hypothermia (loss of body heat) and hyperthermia (overheating). If you’re paddling in cold water, wear proper clothing in case of submersion, understand the risks, and don’t go alone. Be sure to bring water and at least a snack, too.

The American Canoe Association’s “Top 10 Safety Tips” go into excellent detail and can be found at AmericanCanoe.org/?page=Top_10.

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The differences between kayaks and canoes is the shape of the sides and the style of paddling. Also, each type has multiple styles for the specific type of water you will be paddling on.

GO PADDLING

Google area paddle trails, Haddon recommends. Often you’ll end up with printable maps of area rivers or detailed information on said waterways.

RIVERS

Paddle a little or a lot on the Neuse River, which runs from the Piedmont to the coast. There are leisurely spots in Raleigh and Clayton, sure, but also excellent vistas at Goldsboro’s Cliffs of the Neuse State Park. At New Bern and beyond, the waterway becomes positively huge.

West of Wake County, the Haw River runs south through Burlington and the mill villages of Saxapahaw and Bynum. A put-in site at Bynum, easily reached by heading a few miles north out of Pittsboro on 15-501, allows paddlers to access the river just above and below a small dam. Saxapahaw, while more remote, is a popular paddlers’ destination.

LAKES

Nearby lakes Jordan, Harris and Falls all have their own distinctive draws. Falls Lake is just north of Raleigh, while Jordan Lake is quite close to Apex and Cary. While sometimes plagued by Jet Skis, Jordan Lake also boasts healthy bald eagle and osprey populations. Find a quiet spot and be rewarded.

A LITTLE FARTHER OUT

If you’re looking to make a day or a weekend of it, Eastern North Carolina’s massive Lake Mattumuskeet is a reliable stop-off for migratory birds. The Catawba River in the foothills and western Piedmont features an extensive canoe trail, while the Roanoke River Partners maintain and rent out camping platforms up and down the river (rent these at roanokeriverpartners.org). L

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For 15 years, Koka Booth Amphitheatre has delivered world class performances from — and under — the stars

Music to Our // By KURT DUSTERBERG

L

Ears For 15 years, Koka Booth Amphitheatre has delivered

world class performances from – and under – the stars

Lyman Collins can laugh now when he looks back on the early days of Koka Booth Amphitheatre.

Collins, who manages the venue for the town of Cary, was eager to make the first Fourth of July fireworks display a memorable one for both the North Carolina Symphony and the audience.

“You want to create a dramatic moment and bring the lights down,” Collins remembers. “It was the first time we had done it. We didn’t think too much about what would happen when you plunged the symphony into darkness.”

And how did that go over? “Well, they didn’t like it,” he says with a laugh. “We learned not to do that anymore.”

66 | caryliving.com

Since then, Collins and the Koka Booth staff have ironed out the remaining kinks. Today the amphitheatre is celebrating its 15th anniversary. Over the years, the facility has become a fixture in the Cary performing arts community, bringing in a wide array of music acts, as well as several annual festivals and a weekly movie series.

But it’s the concerts that have helped make Koka Booth a go-to summer hot spot. With a capacity of 7,000, the midsize facility has hosted up-and-comers such as John Mayer and The Lumineers, as well as established acts like Bonnie Raitt and Elvis Costello. The lineup doesn’t stop with pop music. Bluegrass legends Alison Krauss and Union Station have played Koka

“We go to these concerts sometimes, and we’ve never heard of the group that’s playing,” he says. “All of a sudden, I’m buying the last 10 CDs by them. It’s good, though. It’s musical discovery. It’s a gorgeous venue and the people are very friendly.”

After 15 years, Collins and the Koka Booth staff have the routine down, although there are occasional unforeseen circumstances. One night Collins nearly panicked after Harry Connick, Jr. invited patrons sitting on the lawn to come fill a section of empty reserved seats near the stage. Those seats were spoken for by a corporate group that was being wined and dined in a separate hospitality area. The staff scrambled to set up additional chairs to keep everyone happy.

The amphitheatre has plenty of competition in the Triangle. With a capacity of close to 20,000, Walnut Creek books many of the biggest touring acts each summer. Red Hat Amphitheatre in downtown Raleigh has reserved seating for 6,000.

But Koka Booth has its own place on the live music landscape. The staff puts emphasis on making the venue especially appealing to the performers. In a bit of a happy mistake, the stage area was constructed without a green room, the hospitality area where the artists relax before the show. Instead, they settle in under a tent, overlooking the lake. And concert-goers have an equally pleasant first impression. Once the staff takes your ticket, you wind through a path in the woods before the grounds open up before you.

Photo courtesy of Koka Booth Amphitheatre

Photo courtesy of Koka Booth Amphitheatre

Booth four times, the most performances by any concert acts. Rock legends Bob Dylan, Robert Plant and Crosby, Stills and Nash have graced the stage too.

Cary residents Kathy and Chris Ackerman have been regulars for years, first with their children, and now with their grandchildren. Last year they upgraded to a season pass.

“You feel like the band is truly performing for you,” Kathy says. “You don’t get that at a giant amphitheatre.

The lawn is pristine, you set up your chair and you’re sitting under the pines and the sky darkens around you.”

There is something cozy about the setting. The lawn is expansive, but the audience feels tucked in, nestled among the tall pines with a view of Symphony Lake behind the stage.

“We want to keep the natural experience, the feeling that you are practically in the woods,” says Collins.

“We’re pretty conscious of not over-commercializing the venue. We don’t slap a sponsor name on everything.”

Brian Ryder can trace his passion for music to his childhood, if only because he was raised in Liverpool, England – home of the Beatles. After living in Cary for most of his adult life, his company moved him back to Great Britain, where he settled in London for two years.

“Even though we have lots of concert venues in London, it just wasn’t the same as Koka Booth,” he says.

Now permanently settled in Cary, he and his wife, Andrea, have a season pass and attend 20-30 events each year.

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“The impression of anyone who walks through the amphitheatre is the feel of the place,” Collins says. “It has its own unique feel. The way the artist can build a rapport with the audience is obvious.”

That relationship is rarely lost on the audience.

Ryder remembers connecting with Tracy Chapman’s performance.

“It was a perfect night, weather wise,” Ryder says.

“The sound system that night, it almost felt like she was singing in front of me. It was perfect.”

As for Ackerman, she gives a nod to Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Heart.

“Heart can still rock it, no question,” she says.

“They pulled it off.”

That’s exactly what they’ve done at Koka Booth Amphitheatre for 15 years – pulled it off. For many local residents, the lineup isn’t as important as the location.

“If there’s something going on at Koka Booth, we’re likely to be there,” Ackerman says. “We don’t have to think about it. It’s a no-brainer.” L

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WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Photo courtesy of Koka Booth Amphitheatre

Cary’s former mayor, of course.

For many Cary residents, the name Koka Booth is virtually synonymous with the concert space. It has a festive ring to it, allowing you to forget that the name belongs to a resident.

Sixteen years have passed since Koka Booth retired from local politics.

He began serving on the Cary Town Council in 1978 and later spent 12 years as mayor (1987-99). Now 82, Booth remains in the town he helped build, although slowed by dementia. Booth’s wife, Blanche, says he has trouble communicating, but he remains active.

“Physically he’s fine,” Blanche Booth says. “It’s his mental state. He has trouble with communication and memory.”

But “Kokie,” as she calls him, stays active with his family. The Booth’s two children live in Cary, and Koka and Blanche stay busy with four grandchildren and one great granddaughter.

Booth’s 22 years serving Cary were characterized by rapid growth. As Research Triangle Park attracted more industry, Cary’s population – and tax base – grew rapidly.

Booth was an enthusiastic supporter of Cary’s growth, ushering in new neighborhoods, infrastructure and recreational facilities. He pushed for the development of the Fred G. Bond Metro Park on High House Road.

“He is proud of bringing business and industry to Cary,” Blanche says.

“When we moved here, there were less than 10,000 people. We had to go to Raleigh for everything. He’s just proud of Cary, period.”

She points out that Koka had a lot of help.

“A lot of people helped Cary become what it is,” she says. “He never claimed he did it all by himself. He

Photo courtesy of Koka Booth Amphitheatre

always said nobody could have had better council members than he had.”

And the amphitheatre that bears his name?

One of the Booths’ sons played in the Cary High School Band, and Koka was a big supporter. He believed the town would support a venue that catered to a variety of musical performances. It took a decade to come to fruition, but 15 years later, the venue is one of Cary’s most popular spots, drawing more than 100,000 people each year.

“He wanted a place where people could go and hear music and enjoy being outside,” she says.

The Booths are still regular patrons, enjoying the symphony whenever they can.

“All the employees are so kind to come by and give us a hug,” she says. “We’re really close to some of the employees still.”

Booth retired from politics in 1999, but he maintained his career at SAS until 2004, when he had a stroke. The years since have presented many challenges, but Koka remains active in ways that are consistent with his lifelong desire to help other people.

“He enjoys working with our sons and grandsons,” Blanche says. “If our sons need help with yard work, he takes time to do outside activities.

That’s what he really enjoys.” L

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h e a lt h y

Is it Your Thyroid?

living

5 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR THYROID HEALTH: 5 WAYS TO IMPROVE THYROID HEALTH: 11.

Remove toxic chemicals from your personal care

products including BPA and phthalates. Even small

doses have been shown to affect thyroid function.

22.

Incorporate bone broth into your diet. Bone broth

contains collagen and amino acids that help renew

the body.

33.

Utilize intermittent fasting. Stop eating around 7pm

BY Dr. Amy Jackson D.C., F.I.A.M.A., The Health Studio THYROID DISEASE IS A MASSIVE PANDEMIC. IShave A MASSIVE PANDEMIC. AboutTHYROID 27 millionDISEASE Americans thyroid conditions,

the next day. The major benefit of fasting is

About million have thyroid conditions, however, only27half haveAmericans been diagnosed.

Thyroid however, onlythe half#1 have been diagnosed. conditions are now endocrine disorder inThyroid the U.S.,

conditions are now the #1 can endocrine disorder surpassing diabetes.

Symptoms start long beforeinathe U.S., surpassing Symptoms We canoften start long positive blood test for diabetes. a thyroid condition. see

44.

before positive test for a thyroid condition. We patients who ahave had blood symptoms 10-20 years before oftena see patients who have hadthose symptoms 10-20 years they have positive blood test.

Even that have before theywith havea athyroid positive blood test. those that been diagnosed condition mayEven still not have been diagnosed with a thyroid condition may still have symptoms. have symptoms.

Thyroid symptoms can include weight gain despite exercise, Thyroid fatigue, symptoms canfog include weight gain despite diet and brain and sleep problems,

exercise, brain fog, along diet withand many others. fatigue, If you suspect youand maysleep have problems a along with many If youways suspect you you mayget have a thyroid condition, thereothers. are several to help thyroid back on track.condition, there are several ways to help you get back on track.

70 | caryliving.com

at night and do not eat a meal again until lunch time hormone regulation.

Stop eating gluten. Gluten is inflammatory to the majority of the population.

5. Get to the root cause. Get the right blood tests to

5

know the source of the problem. We always run reverse T3 and selenium tests in our office for our

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thyroid patients. L

To learn more, join us at our free thyroid event. Go to www.stopsickandtired.com to register.

caryliving.com | 71

h e a lt h y

living

MYTH: CANCER ISN’T PAINFUL. REALITY: While most breast cancers don’t hurt and are usually found by noticing a palpable mass or an abnormality on screening mammograms, some cancers are painful. The pain is typically localized to a specific spot and is persistent. The vast majority of the time, it will be due to benign conditions such as a cyst, but persistent, localized breast pain lasting longer than one month (the length of a typical menstrual cycle) should be brought to your healthcare provider’s attention, particularly if you are post-menopausal.

BREAST CANCER

MYTHS

BY Gayle Ackerman DiLalla | MD, FACS, Tolnitch Surgical Associates, Clinical Associate, Division of Surgical Oncology, Dept. of Surgery, Duke University Health System Member, Duke Cancer Institute

MYTH: BREAST IMPLANTS WILL MAKE DETECTING BREAST CANCER MORE DIFFICULT. REALITY: Breast augmentation is performed by placing implants behind the chest wall muscle or sometimes behind the breast tissue and doesn’t decrease the ability to feel masses or see abnormalities on mammograms, as additional specialized views are used.

MYTH: I DON’T “KNOW HOW” DO A SELF-BREAST EXAM, SO IT’S OKAY TO SKIP IT. REALITY: Honestly, it doesn’t really matter how you do a selfexam. Sure, there are cards with directions and different “patterns”. Some people find it easier to do in the shower and

EVERY OCTOBER, THE PINK RIBBONS FLOURISH.

many women are unsure of what they are feeling or feeling for.

From book clubs to the NFL, breast cancer awareness

But the bottom line is to get familiar with your own breasts and

receives center stage. And most women have at least

check monthly so you notice if you feel something that’s new or

some understanding of the role of self-breast exams,

different. If you are still having periods, you can wait one cycle –

screening mammograms and routine visits to their

if it persists, it’s time to check in with your doctor.

primary care providers in maintaining breast health.

But there are many breast health concerns that

are less well understood and cause women of all ages

MYTH: IF YOU DON’T HAVE A FAMILY HISTORY OF BREAST

unnecessary anxiety.

CANCER, YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY.

REALITY: The majority of women who develop breast cancer

The undue stress of these and other breast health

misconceptions can paralyze women with fear. Make

have no family history of the disease. While family history can

sure you ask questions and share your breast health

add to your risk and women who carry a gene mutation can have

concerns with your primary health care provider and

an even greater risk, women with no family history should still

seek specialized care from a breast care specialist.

pay attention to their breast health. L

72 | caryliving.com

c

h e a lt h y

Female Athletes And the risk of

ACL Injuries

living

program, can reduce this wear and tear, thus reducing the risk of injury.

Most importantly, in order to keeping playing

your favorite sport, lay the foundation for a balanced body with a Postural Restoration® based

c

training approach. L

TIPS FOR INJURY REDUCTION FOR SPORTS:

1

BY Sangini Rane PT, Postural Restoration Certified, Apex PT Postural Restoration Center

times more likely than boys to suffer serious non-contact ACL injury.

According the British Journal of Sports Medicine, 70% of all ACL tears are non-contact injuries as a result of sudden deceleration, landing and

(ideally PRI certified).

2

Start every training program with a good

based on the assessment.

3

YOUNG FEMALE ATHLETES ARE TWO TO EIGHT

Get an assessment from a qualified PT or coach

4 5

dynamic warm-up individualized to your need

Know what exercises to avoid from a traditional program and what NOT to do (that could strengthen improper patterns).

Improve your overall strength.

Learn how to land and decelerate properly.

pivoting movements. Risk factors for ACL injury in females include: •

Narrower groove in the femur, through which the ACL travels

Repositioning

•

Wider pelvis, causing the knees to bend inward

the pelvis.

•

More lax ligaments and excessive joint motion

•

Stronger quadriceps than hamstrings

•

Slower reflex time

•

Changes in estrogen levels

•

Flat-footed landing

Studies have shown that adding neuromuscular and propriocep-

Restoring muscle strength in the repositioned pelvis.

tive exercises to a strength and conditioning program can reduce the risk of injury. However, traditional programs fail to recognize that the body is asymmetrical and can create posture and movement patterns that can increase the existing disparities between the right and left side of the body, in terms of both muscle activity and wear

Functional retraining

and tear.

in the newly acquired

position.

A Postural Restoration©-based fitness and training model can go

a step further in reducing injury risk in any athlete. Teaching an athlete to “get out of“ their habitual asymmetric pattern and bringing them more towards a “neutral” position, before and during their training

Images used with permission: Portural Restoration Institute® Copyright © 2015 posturalrestoration.com

caryliving.com | 73

complete the

Room

BONUS ROOM

What is a bonus room, you ask? Largely a US term, it was first used in the early nineties to describe a finished room over a garage, in which to dispose of noisy teenagers.

Todays bonus room is a large room used as a multi-purpose area, such as a family room, sewing or hobby room, game room, home cinema, office or den. We offer up these exceptional ideas for your personal bonus room.

74 | caryliving.com

“Family” Photo Frame The word “family” is spelled out using photographic imagery for the letters for a creative way to spruce up! // The Perfect Piece, $50

License Plate Clock This unique clock face is sure to be a centerpiece in any bonus room. Great for over a desk or guest bed, and large enough to be the focal point. // The Perfect Piece, $85

Reading Cat Reading would be much more fun with this lounging kitty in a cozy reading corner, or on a bookshelf or window ledge. // Elizabeth’s Garden, $46

Holly Springs Painted Sign If you’ve ever been to Holly Springs, we think this simply speaks for itself. // Southern Charm, $31.50

Hand Poured Soy Candle Made in the USA and poured into recycled wine, beer, or liquor bottles with the best essential oils. // Southern Charm, $52.50

Chalkboard Lamp Change your lamp with the seasons, or to welcome a guest! Lamp comes with three pieces of colored chalk. // The Perfect Piece, $49

Hand Stitched Pug Pillow This little fella is just begging to sit on that chair in your bonus room. This pug is sure to be a conversation piece. // Elizabeth’s Garden, $69

caryliving.com | 75

SHOP local

76 | caryliving.com

Cary, Apex, Morrisville, Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs support locally-owned, independent businesses

Cary, Apex, Morrisville, Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs support locally-owned, independent businesses

SHOP local

caryliving.com | 77

SHOP local

78 | caryliving.com

Cary, Apex, Morrisville, Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs support locally-owned, independent businesses

cary living

sightings

Photos © Rob Kinnan Photography

Neuse River Golden Retriever Rescue dog swim

Montague Lake was the location for an exhuberant dog swim on July 11th. Golden Retrievers were joined by many other breeds excited to be participating in fetching toys and tennis balls from the water.

Photos © Rob Kinnan Photography

Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival

On August 1st, lovers of everything beer, bourbon and BBQ converged on Koka Booth Amphitheatre. Festival-goers enjoyed a cigar tent and endless tastings of beer and bourbon to a backdrop of music.

Seminars were given in the “Tasting Theater” with master distillers, brewmasters, and pit masters from the deep South.

80 | caryliving.com

Photos © Rob Kinnan Photography

CARY GALLERY OF ARTISTS EXHIBIT

The Cary Gallery af Artists in downtown Cary recently featured painters Ann Howe and Anne Chellar, with glass and jewelry by Jean Cheely, in the month of August.

Photos © Rob Kinnan Photography

Downtown Cary Food & FleA

Ashworth Village in downtown Cary was abuzz with crafts, food, music and art on July 12th. The Food & Flea is a monthly crafters market on the second Sunday of each month in Ashworth Village from noon to 4pm.

Want your Event featured In sightings?

Contact us to have a photographer attend your event!

kathleen@caryliving.com • 919.782.4710

Photos © Rob Kinnan Photography

Indian Independence DAY Festival

Morrisville saw a beautiful display of Indian pride and culture on August 15th at the HSNC Temple. Observed annually on this day, it is a national holiday in India commemorating the nation’s independence from the British empire in 1947.

Lazy Daze arts & crafts festival

On Sunday August 22nd, Cary once again hosted the annual festival, one of the largest single-day juried festivals in the US. Music played at each corner, and a “Kid’s World” was complete with ice cream, face painting and shows. Pictured (clockwise from top right): Kathy King Jewelry, purses made from vintage kimonos from Kaleidoscope by Erin, a chainsaw carving by Boon Hill Gallery Chainsaw Art, a talented street performer, and recycled aluminum airplanes and animals by Can Do Planes, which consists of retired Boeing Aerospace Engineer Shao Lin Xia and his wife Sompit Xia.

Photos courtesy of Town & Country Realty

Town & Country Realty Open House with American Meltdown

Town & Country Realty hosted the American Meltdown food truck on June 24th for an open house in celebration of their new office at 200 Pinner Weald Way, Suite 102 in Cary. Attendees enjoyed a fabulous catered lunch and the event also featured a raffle. The American Meltdown food truck staff took time away from cooking delicious food to pose for photos with the company.

Photos © Rob Kinnan Photography

WATERCOLOR society of North Carolina exhibit

The Halle Cultural Arts Center on North Salem Street in Apex was filled with art from the Watercolor Society of North Carolina Art Show in the month of August. A reception was held on July 24th. caryliving.com | 81

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N O V EMB ER / D EC EMB ER 2015

holiday gift guide holiday entertaining handbook hidden gems of morrisville giving back to cary

82 | caryliving.com