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6 O.Henry 61 CardinalFEATURESPoetry by Marty Silverthorne 62 The Right Vibe Jim Dodson An ambitious plan is taking root to transform Greensboro and the Triad into a capital of live performance music 66 Greensboro’s Emerging Artists By Cassie Bustamante Three women cultivate joy, connection and self-discovery through their work 72 O.Henry Conversations By Billy Ingram The beat goes on at UNCG’s beloved summer music camp 78 A Slip of the Chisel. And a Whole New Life By Maria Johnson How former auto mechanic Paul Nixon became an artist 84 A Wink From the Universe By Cassie Bustamante For shop owner Kam Culler, it’s all about family and home 99 Almanac By Ashley Walshe Cover photograph by bert vanderveen September 2022 DEPARTMENTS 17 Simple Life By Jim Dodson 22 Short Stories 26 N.C. Folk Festival By Ogi Overman 30 Tea Leaf Astrologer By Zora Stellanova 33 Life’s Funny By Maria Johnson 39 The Omnivorous Reader By Stephen E. Smith 43 Bookshelf 46 The Creators of N.C. By Wiley Cash 53 Home Grown By Cynthia Adams 55 Birdwatch By Susan Campbell 57 Wandering Billy By Billy Ingram 114 Events Calendar 128 O.Henry Ending By Corrinne Rosquillo
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8 O.Henry The Art & Soul of MAGAZINEGreensboro volume 12, no. 9 “I have a fancy that every city has a voice.” 336.617.0090 111 Bain Street, Suite 334, Greensboro, NC 27406 www.ohenrymag.com PUBLISHER David Woronoff david@thepilot.com Andie Rose, Creative andiesouthernpines@gmail.comDirector Jim Dodson, jwdauthor@gmail.comEditor Cassie Bustamante, Managing Editor cassie@ohenrymag.com Miranda Glyder, Graphic Designer CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Cynthia Adams, David Claude Bailey, Maria Johnson CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Mallory Cash, Lynn Donovan, Amy Freeman, John Gessner, Bert VanderVeen, Mark Wagoner CONTRIBUTORS Harry Blair, Susan Campbell, Wiley Cash, Ross Howell Jr., Billy Ingram, Gerry O’Neill, Ogi Overman, Ron Rash, Kristine Shaw, Stephen E. Smith, Zora Stellanova, Ashley Walshe, Amberly Glitz Weber ADVERTISING SALES Marty Hefner, Advertising Manager Lisa Allen 336.210.6921 • lisa@ohenrymag.com Amy Grove 336.456.0827 • amy@ohenrymag.com Larice White 336.944.1749 • larice@ohenrymag.com Brad Beard, Graphic Designer Rebah Dolbow, Advertising ohenrymag@ohenrymag.comCoordinator O.H Henry Hogan, Finance Director 910.693.2497 Darlene Stark, Subscriptions & Circulation Director • 910.693.2488 OWNERS Jack Andrews, Frank Daniels III, Lee Dirks, David Woronoff In memoriam Frank Daniels Jr. © Copyright 2022. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. O.Henry Magazine is published by The Pilot LLC© 2021 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently owned and operated franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of Columbia Insurance Company, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. Equal Housing Opportunity. Xan Tisdale, 336-601-2337Realtor Kay Chesnutt, 336-202-9687Realtor Now Showng & Under Contract 210 WIL O PAT • NOW SHOWING 19 D FOUNTAIN MANOR • UNDER CONTRACT 11 Acres & Utility Building with 1/2 bath
Mariachi Cobre Salute Hispanic Heritage Month with Walt Disney World’s epic show featuring the dashing 12-piece Mariachi band and the Greensboro Symphony. 03.25.23 | 8:00PM Yolanda Adams Henry Panion, conductor Yolanda Adams, the Queen of contemporary gospel music and winner of four Grammy Awards and sixteen Stellar Awards, joins the GSO for an evening of healing, encouraging, and inspirational music! Yolanda Adams will showcase her powerful voice and singular sound blending gospel, soul and jazz.
12.31.22 8:00PM
Concerts will be held at UNCG School of Music, Tew Recital Hall Steven Tanger Center For The Performing ArtsSteven Tanger Center For The Performing Arts
• W. RESPIGHIMARSALIS 04.28.23 | 8:00PM Ben Folds A talented singer, songwriter, pianist, and dynamic performer, Ben Folds brings his impeccable musicianship, wry humor, and knack for pop songcraft to Greensboro. FRI 05.12.23 | 8:00PM Branford Marsalis, saxophone Dmitry Sitkovetsky, violin Marjorie Bagley, violin Scott Rawls, viola, Alexander Ezerman, cello Inara Zandmane, piano A. BUSCH • ZWILICH 11.05.22 | 8:00PM Sergey Antonov, cello SILVESTROV • TCHAIKOVSKYPROKOFIEV 11.19.22 | 8:00PM Michael Feinstein Legendary performer Michael Feinstein salutes and celebrates the great Judy Garland on her 100th Birthday! MON 11.07.22 | 7:00PM Sergey Antonov, cello Dmitry Sitkovetsky, violin Inara Zandmane, piano FRANCK • SCHUBERT A German Requiem Greensboro Symphony Master Chorale Julia Sitkovetsky, soprano Andrew Garland, baritone BRAHMS 02.11.23 | 8:00PM John Pizzarelli & Catherine Russell Grammy Award winners John Pizzarelli and Catherine Russell pay homage to legends Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra! SUN 04.16.23 | 4:00PM Trio Zimbalist Dmitry Sitkovetsky, violin Scott Rawls, viola SMETANA • BRAHMS 05.11.23 | 8:00PM Branford Marsalis BACH • MILHAUDGLAZUNOV • BRAHMS Green Dickson Wealth Management Group UBS Financial Services Inc. Additional support Hillsdale Fund • Joseph M. Bryan Foundation
Concerts will be held at the Steven Tanger Center For The Performing Arts
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets™ in Concert Cars fly, trees fight back, and monsters are on the loose in Harry’s second year at Hogwarts™ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! This concert features the film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets™ in high-definition, on a giant screen, while a live orchestra performs John Williams’ unforgettable score.
DEBUSSY • PRICE • FAURE
SITKOVETSKY & FRIENDS HAMBER
The Krüger Brothers Spend New Year’s Eve with the Krüger Brothers and the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra and enjoy a blend of Bluegrass, POPS, and Classical music. 02.19.23 4:00PM Dmitry Sitkovetsky, violin Kelly Burke, clarinet Inara Zandmane, piano Peter Zlotnick, percussion STRAVINSKY Josephus Thompson, narrator Andrew Plotnikov, Soldier Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Devil 04.15.23 BEETHOVENZimbalist
Concerts will be held at the Steven Tanger Center For The Performing Arts
06.10.23 | 7:00PM & 06.11.23 | 3:00PM
SUN
| 8:00PM Trio
10.01.22 | 8:00PM Michelle Cann, piano COLEMAN 09.24.22 | 8:00PM
DMITRY SITKOVETSKY, MUSIC DIRECTOR 2022 2023 SEASON TICKETS: 336.335.5456, ext. 224; GreensboroSymphony.org; Ticketmaster.com
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• PRICE GERSHWIN • RAVELDEBUSSY
SUN 10.02.22 | 4:00PM Michelle Cann, piano Dmitry Sitkovetsky, violin Scott Rawls, viola Alexander Ezerman, cello 01.21.23 | 8:00PM James Ehnes, BEETHOVENviolinSIBELIUS
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As is always the case in revolutions and family vacations, success lies in careful planning. With grown children and two sets of parents converging from compass points as disparate as Los Angeles, Chicago, New Jersey and North Carolina, it took no small amount of coordination to finalize a game plan.
Sometimes, though, the best things come later in life.
More than a year ago, mired in a world shut down by COVID, I proposed to my wife that we take our far-flung American clan to Scotland to celebrate her birthday and the playing of the 150th British Open Championship. It would be our first family summer vacation in more than half a dozen years.
News reports of transportation strikes and acute shortages
My Poetic Summer Vacation
Whenever our friend Joe comes to supper, he helps himself to a slice of my wife’s carrot cake before we all sit down to the meal. His philosophy, simple and sweet, is “Life’s short. Better eat dessert first.”
Fortunately, I am married to a woman who could organize a convention of drunken anarchists. With her usual efficiency, Dame Wendy promptly arranged flights, secured tournament tickets, parking passes and rental cars, and booked a dwelling in the East Lothian village of North Berwick, a place I’ve returned to many times since the early 1980s. Though I’d been to St Andrews many times in my long golf-writing career, the chance to attend the oldest golf championship in the birthplace of the game was something I’d dreamed of doing since I was knee-high to a ball washer. So was another bucket list item for the eternal English Lit major in me.Long a student of English romantic poetry, especially that of William Wordsworth, I’d always hoped to someday find my way to Tintern Abbey in Wales, the ancient ruin on the River Wye that inspired England’s greatest Romantic poet to write one of his most beloved poems of the same name. It was my clever wife who suggested a way to check two boxes with one trip. By flying to London a few days before the clan assembled in Scotland, we could take our own sweet time motoring through the countryside to Scotland, taking in the abbey and maybe even the Lake District, where the poet once resided.
England’s Romantic Age of poetry was, in large part, a reaction to the 19th Century’s bleak industrialization that robbed mankind of its intimate connection to nature. The world is too much with us; late and soon, warned old Bill Wordsworth. Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! Unfortunately, in the hours before we set off, the world still seemed very much with us.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 17 Simple Life O'NEILLGERRYBYILLUSTRATION
Like dessert, the sweetest endings are meant to be shared by Jim dodson
Few of the world’s iconic landmarks have made my proverbial jaw drop as did the first sight of ancient Tintern Abbey (circa 1131) as we rounded a high meadow curve above the winding River Wye. There it rose in the vale below, startlingly large and bigger than life. Scarce wonder Old Bill was inspired by his first sight of this setting: O sylvan Wye! thou wanderer thro' the woods / How often has my spirit turned to thee!
18 O.Henry The Art & Soul of Greensboro Simple Life of workers described travelers stranded at airports and train stations amid thousands of pieces of lost or unclaimed luggage.
Queues were said to be hours long at London Heathrow, the epicenter of traveler chaos. To add to the fun, Boris Johnson’s abrupt fall from grace had unleashed the usual jamboree of warring cabinet ministers eager to take possession of 10 Downing Street. Meanwhile, weather forecasters were warning of the deadliest heat wave to hit Britain since Medieval times.
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Remarkably — I’m not sure how — we managed to escape the madness, with luggage, golf clubs and most of our dignity still intact, speeding on to the gorgeous Welsh countryside in a zippy eco-rental car.
Two hours of exploring the quiet abbey ruins followed by a plowman’s lunch of crusty bread, local cheese and good Welsh ale, sent us up the River Wye Valley hungering for more. Over the next three days, in fact, we wound our way to the Lake District along rural backroads and narrow hedgerow lanes, pausing only to hike through spectacular forests and explore ancient market towns, including Ludlow, where my other favorite English poet, Alfred Edward Housman, set his famous paeon to over-indulgence: Terence, this is stupid stuff: You eat your victuals fast enough; There can’t be much amiss, ’tis clear, To see the rate you drink your beer. To our good fortune, Ludlow’s famous summer food festival was just getting underway, so we briefly joined the fête, discovering what Housman meant when he added: And malt does more than Milton can / To justify God’s way to man. By the time we reached our cottage in Scotland, I almost felt like a man who’d managed to shed the stresses and cares of modern life, just in time to celebrate an ancient game’s birthplace and The Open’s historic sesquicentennial. By design, we’d arranged tickets for the first and final day of the competition, allowing time for me to introduce my future son-in-law and his golf-mad papa to a trio of the most celebrated links courses in Scotland. As usual, the stout North Sea winds took a heavy toll on our scores, but we loved every minute of the challenge. Like Joe with his carrot cake, it was the perfect appetizer for the main course to come across the Firth of Forth at St Andrews.
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reynolda.org Robert Bechtle (1932–2020), Kona Kai 1967, Oil on canvas, Image Courtesy of the Gibbes Museum of Art/ Carolina Art Association. © Robert Bechtle and Whitney Chadwick Trust. Courtesy of the Robert Bechtle and Whitney Chadwick Trust and Gladstone Gallery. CHROME DREAMS AND INFINITE REFLECTIONS American Photorealism July 15–December 31, 2022 Chrome Dreams Major Sponsor Reynolda House Museum of American Art · Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Life
Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 21 Simple
“Dad,” she said, clearly moved by the history and pageantry around us, “thank you for bringing us here. I never imagined anything so beautiful.”
The theme of this year’s historic Open — displayed on everything from grandstands to golf caps — was “Everything Has Led To This,” a fitting coda for one who finally made a journey he’d dreamed about since boyhood. The finish was predictably rowdy and wonderful. In the end, the veteran favorite faded with dignity, allowing for a young and promising upstart to have his name carved on the coveted Claret Jug, joining 149 previous Champion Golfer(s) of the Year. My favorite moment, however, came when I walked my daughter and her intended through the iconic Royal & Ancient clubhouse, home to the keepers of the game, where I’ve had the good fortune to be a member for many years. Old friends and fellow members made them feel most welcome.
It was one of those moments that felt, in retrospect, a bit like a homecoming and a farewell. Whichever it was, I shall never forget it. Her words even called to mind my favorite lines from Old Bill’s Tintern Abbey, the perfect coda to a poetic summer journey: To them I may have owed another gift, Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood, In which the burthen of the mystery, In which the heavy and the weary weight Of all this unintelligible world, Is lightened: — that serene and blessed mood, In which the affections gently lead us on. OH Jim Dodson is the founding editor of O.Henry.
The hottest and driest summer in memory left the Grand Old Lady (as St Andrews’ Old Course is fondly called) at her most exposed in many a year. But to the record crowd of 290,000 on hand to shout and serenade their favorite players, that mattered little.
GL ASSES & CONTACT LENSES AND SO MUCH MORE!
Dance Like Everyone is Watching (They Are)
StoriesShort
We’ve gotten our fair share of dancing experience through shaking our groove thang to the Just Dance! choreography of J.Lo’s “On the Floor,” but maybe it’s time we move it, move it to the beat of another drum. Greensboro’s National Dance Day speaks the international language of thrusting hips, twinkle toes and emotive facial expressions as it honors the timeless pastime of humans everywhere: dancing! Take notes as professional dancers grace — or tear up — the stage. Let the rhythm move you on over to an array of food trucks and vendors as you fuel up for the next hour or two of straight up boogying! Essentially the Coachella of the East Coast, dance the day away from 1–9 p.m., Saturday, September 17. greensborodowntownparks.org.Info:
22 O.Henry The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Taco ‘Bout a Good Time If you don’t like tacos, we’re nacho type! All roads lead to margaritas with a celebration of everyone’s favorite — if a little salty — duo since chips and salsa. At the Greensboro Taco and Margarita Festival, set out to find the taco with the perfect ratio of crunch to ooey-gooey deliciousness as you peruse the vendors lined up to serve you Saturday, September 24, at White Oak Amphitheatre. After you’ve wrestled with your hunger, get rowdy alongside pro-wrestlers — let’s hope they didn’t eat as much as we did before entering the ring. The fun starts early, with VIP doors opening at 11 a.m., and general admission at noon, but we all know it’s five o’clock somewhere. VIP/$49; GA/$15. Info: greensborocoliseum.com.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 23
A PLAY on Words
Change Your Tune
• September 3-4, Oak Hollow Festival Park: Now in its 11th year, the John Coltrane International Jazz and Blues Festival has truly become one of central North Carolina’s signature events. With Patti LaBelle headlining a power-packed global lineup, this year’s event is not only for the jazz lover, but is the music lover’s dream come true
• September 14, Ziggy’s.Space: In the mid-’90s, Reckless Kelly ventured from its native Idaho to test the waters of the musical Mecca of Austin. Ten studio albums and two live ones later, the band must’ve found them to their liking. Americana was just coming into being as a genre, and with the group’s blend of country and rock, they were — and are — a perfect fit.
With mischief-maker Puck on the loose, we advise holding on to your purses, car keys and loved ones while finding your seat in the Taylor Theatre Friday, September 30, at 7:30 p.m. Miss opening night? No worries! October welcomes the start of spooky season and the spirit of Shakespeare with perfor mances all month long. Info: vpa.uncg.edu.
Yes, I know that school is back in session, football season has started, and the Halloween bric-a-brac is already on the shelves — but it’s still summer. Nonetheless, post-Labor Day is a beautiful time of year for many reasons, one of which is that live music is being played both indoors and outdoors, with festival season in high gear. In addition to our own beloved Folk Festival, check out these goings-on.
For most of us, our experiences on American Idol are limited to our imaginary shower auditions, which always end with a golden ticket. Singer-songwriter Mandisa has taken that stage and those beyond with a voice that’s transcendent. As a Grammy-award winner and chart-topper, she has undoubtedly experienced great success in her career. Yet it’s her willingness to speak on the dark sides of her struggle with mental illness and journey of faith that offer a true measure of difference. A Night of Restoration, an annual fundraising gala hosted by Restoration Place Counseling, welcomes this powerhouse to share the ways in which she has discovered peace through her suffering and a restored sense of hope, a gift that she bares elegantly in her music. Join her for a night of intimate storytelling and live performance at 8 p.m. Friday, September 23, at the Carolina Theatre. Info: carolinatheatre.com.
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Ogi Sez Ogi Overman
September 2-4, Camp Springs Bluegrass Park: Oh, the stories I could tell about Camp Springs back in the day now that the statute of limitations has run out. After going dark for many years, it has sprung back to life, and the lineup is comparable to the New Grass Revival-Country Gentlemen days. Among the 15 acts, the one that jumps off the page for me is IIIrd Tyme Out, playing twice with both the current lineup and the original, with arguably the finest bluegrass vocalist alive, Russell Moore, in both incarnations.
September 11, Haw River Ballroom: I’ve been a fan of Western swing since the first time I heard Bob Wills holler, “Ah, come in, Johnny Gimble.” So, it would come as no surprise that my heroes are the finest living purveyors of the idiom, Asleep at the Wheel, with “Brother” Ray Benson at the helm. I’d waltz across Texas to see them, but will only have to go as far as Haw River.
• September 17, Greensboro Coliseum: To list her numerous awards, accolades and record sales tells only the stage and public part of the Mary J. Blige story. Her real-life story includes childhood abuse, alcoholism and addiction, and a battle with breast cancer. Through it all, she remains the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul and one of the most revered artists of our time.
We may be entering pumpkin spice season, but dreams of midsummer gardens and fireflies still dance around our pretty heads as Theseus and Hippolyta are married in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Venture deep into the enchanted forest with fairy and human friends alike as UNCG’s School of Theatre students honor the renowned playwright’s comedic portrayal of love, marriage and beguiling games of fantasy.
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If you can’t find something at the North Carolina Folk Festival that a) ignites your passions b) arouses your curiosity c) fuels your sense of discovery and/or d) restores your connectivity with the world around you, then you’re missing out on much of the beauty and wonderment of life.
26 O.Henry The Art & Soul of Greensboro by ogi overman
It’s the best weekend of the year. Period.
WhileIndeed.it is almost unfair to highlight only 10 items from the global smorgasbord, to feature the entire array of acts, events and eats would be impossible. So here is a sampling to whet your appetite:
To say that it’s been a raging success is putting it mildly. And much of the credit belongs to its president, CEO and director, Amy Grossmann, who assumed the reins in 2018 after working at ArtsGreensboro since the festival’s inception.
Now in its eighth year (counting the first three as the National Folk Festival, and the 2020 COVID-necessitated, virtual event), the festival will showcase downtown Greensboro, Sept. 9-11, transforming it from a business hub into a roving party with 100,000 or so of your closest friends.
FESTIVALFOLKN.C.OFCOURTESYPHOTOGRAPHS
“We’re building a temporary city within a city,” noted the upstate New York native. “It’s complex, and we tweak it every year, but we make it work.”
You can’t see it all — but you can try NC Folk Festival promises something for everybody, and then some.
• Drawing from the broad definition of “folk music” as all-inclusive and indigenous to a particular culture, i.e. “people’s music,” last year’s NCFF launched the Not Your Average Folk contest.
Larry Bellorín & Joe Troop Big Bang
• After going on hiatus for a couple of years, the Family Activities Area is back in full force. Its theme is “Playing Together,” featuring numerous interactive displays geared toward the younger set, many produced by the Greensboro History Museum. Find it in the Governmental Plaza, near the Courthouse Stage.
• Perhaps the best news for those who’ve braved the late-summer sun is that the City Stage in the Lincoln Financial lot will be tented this year. “It’s the biggest tent we’ve ever erected,” says Grossmann. “We’ve had several tented stages in the past but this the first time our main stage audience area will be covered.”
“We wanted to create an informal space where pickers can get together and just have fun and play music,” says Grossmann.
There is a touring consortium of Black country and Americana artists who are living proof that Nashville is evolving. Calling themselves Black Opry, five members of the rotating ensemble will do both solo sets and singer-songwriters in the round.
• Typical of the assemblage of worldwide talent on display is Larry Bellorín, a native of Monagas, Venezuela. A refugee who was forced into exile and sought asylum in North Carolina, Bellorín is a master of the Venezuelan harp, specifically in the genre called Llanera. He sings and plays several other instruments, and is a captivating storyteller. But the harp . . . oh my. You have to hear it for yourself.
• Perhaps taking a page from MerleFest, this year’s festival will launch Center City Jams, whereby anyone can bring their instrument and, well, jam. Held in Center City Park, some sessions will be facilitated by a pro, while others will be more spontaneous.
• Traditionally, country & western music has been the domain of white performers, but all that seems to be changing. And it’s not singularly due to the phenomenal success of Jimmy Allen.
SoultriiiBoom
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 27 N.C. Folk Festival
• “Songs of Hope & Justice” returns to its original slot as a pre-festival kickoff event, Thursday, Sept. 8, at the Van Dyke Performance Space. Piloted by Greensboro’s (and Danbury’s) favorite daughter, Laurelyn Dossett, and a number of her megatalented friends, the ticketed show features tunes from some of the folk/protest genre’s legends as well as some new and original compositions dealing with the ongoing fight for social justice.
Charley Pride would be smiling.
Diali Cissokho and Kiara Ba
The Rumble ft. Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr.
SeptemberNATIONAL GUM CARE MONTH Celebrate by coming to visit us!
Open to North Carolina musicians, applicants in the friendly competition were voted upon at the festival website, and three winners were awarded a slot on festival stages:
• 2nd place: The Zinc Kings
• 3rd place: The Travis Williams Group
• Honorable Mention: Discount Rothko
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
• 1st place: Anna Vtipil
N.C. Folk Festival
• Because of COVID protocols, no indoor events were held last year, which eliminated the immensely popular Dance at the Van Dyke. Happily, it is back this year, inviting patrons to the stage, where the Dance Project teaches Salsa to West African and everything in between. “This is a way to honor the vision of the great Jan Van Dyke, as well as give folks a chance to express themselves and learn new steps,” notes Grossmann.
• Formed last year from the remnants of the Grammynominated Cha Wa, The Rumble is steeped in the Mardi Gras Indian funk tradition. Fronted by Second Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr. (Big Chief Monk’s son), they are following in the footsteps of such icons as the Neville Brothers, Meters and Wild Magnolias. And those are some big footsteps. OH
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30 O.Henry The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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(August 23 September 22) Before a Virgo bakes a pie, they have already sliced it a dozen times in a dozen different ways. They have considered everything: how the vegan butter might affect the flakiness of the crust; whether the pie should be chilled before sliced; which knives to use for scoring and cutting; et cetera, et cetera. We know you’re analytical. But birthdays are meant to be fun. No need to dissect the flavor out of every slice. You’ll kill your own buzz.
Gemini (May 21 – June 20) Do they know that it’s a game to you?
Zora Stellanova has been divining with tea leaves since Game of Thrones’ Starbucks cup mishap of 2019. While she’s not exactly a medium, she’s far from average. She lives in the N.C. foothills with her Sphynx cat, Lyla.
Photo,
Aquarius (January 20 – February 18) Cut the rope. You know what I’m talking about.
Virgo
Cancer (June 21 – July 22) Someone needs a hug.
Tea leaf “fortunes” for the rest of you:
Scorpio (October 23 – November 21) Don’t overthink it. Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21) Rinse and repeat.
Aries (March 21 – April 19) Take a breather.
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Leo (July 23 – August 22) Go for the upgrade. OH
Taurus (April 20 – May 20) You’re paddling upstream again.
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No,Fact.Trundy — a fireplug of a guy who grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and looks like he’d just as soon slug you as hug you — is funny because he describes himself as “a crier.” Meaning that he cries. Easily. With tears.
“It turns out, happy is shit without sad,” he sniffs. Now feels like a good time to say that you should catch Trundy — and a raft of other comics — at the North Carolina Comedy Festival in downtown Greensboro this month. Why? Because they hold up a mirror with their stories. If all goes well, you laugh at them — and yourself.
by m aria Johnson
And not just because of his hair, sort of bouffant mohawk that rides high on his white-walled head. It’s a very stand-up cut. Cough-cough. And not just because — but honestly, largely because — of port-city mouth, which spits f-bombs and carries an implicit challenge: “You-lookin’-at-me?”
He’s a regular at The Idiot Box Comedy Club, the epicenter of the comedy festival, which will use six stages across the city. Idiot Box owner Jennie Stencel started the festival in 2018. This year’s lineup is the biggest ever, featuring 300 comedians from all over NorthTrundyAmerica.hasbeen a crowd favorite every year.
Life's Funny
It’s not even because he once worked as a professional wrestler named Rage.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 33
Eric Trundy is pacing around the stage, doing a bit about the grief he felt after his friend, Rene Luna, another comedian, died of testicular cancer last year.
Trundy confesses that he was sobbing as he was cleaning house, begging God to let him see Luna one more time. In the middle of his mourning, he saw a fly on the wall. He snaps a rag at the wall behind the stage to demonstrate what happened next: The fly dropped.
“I just love feelings, you know?” he says as he reaches for another tissue. Of course, the tissue box holder looks like a Rubik’s Cube because we’re sitting on the intentionally gaudy set of his YouTube talk show, a place that looks like your grandmother’s house. If your grandmother ran a bordello. In Vegas. The point is, Trundy loves emotions. All of them. Not just the happy ones.
“It’s why people watch comedians,” Trundy says. “There’s moreTrundyvulnerability.”isoneofthe most vulnerable, and funniest, guys around.
At that moment, he tells the crowd, it occurred to him: What if reincarnation is real? What if God heard his prayer and . . . The crowd laughs. They get it.
Trundy is a funny guy. Not just because he’s a professional comedian.
“I don’t think I would have survived had Anthony not helped me,” Trundy says.
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“I listened to comedy like other people listened to music,” he says.
As a teen, Trundy soothed himself with alcohol and comedy. He devoured cassette tapes of his favorite comics: George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Rodney Dangerfield.
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The Art of Living
“I got a few laughs, and I was hooked,” he says. “It’s a small dose of what it feels like when you fall in love …except it’s a whole room full of people understanding you. It’s intimate.” He quit his job and hit the road, which brought a new round of pressures. When Trundy and his wife divorced, a friend, comedian Anthony Lowe, let him stay at his family’s cabin in the woods.
“Eric lights up a stage and a room,” says Stencel. “He draws the audience in and gets them to laugh at life’s difficulties and his own struggles, but sometimes it’s just plain joy and silliness . . . He could be headlining all over the country.” That’s not hype. Trundy, 45, played coast-to-coast, at some of the nation’s biggest comedy clubs until about six years ago, when he was leveled by depression, a blue note that has been sounding since his childhood, which was marred by many forms of abuse.
The habit persisted for years, even as Trundy held down a successful career servicing industrial wastewater treatment systems in Virginia and North Carolina. When podcasts became popular, he heard comedians talk about getting their starts at open mic nights. That’s why he stepped on stage at The Idiot Box one Thursday night in 2011.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro Life's Funny
As partial repayment of the kindness, Trundy recently produced and directed A Bee in a Bird Suit, a comedy special for Lowe, now Annie Lowe, a transgender woman.“I’mvery lucky that one of my best friends is who she’s supposed to be, and I know for a fact that someone will watch that special and an opinion will change,” Trundy says. “The more you listen to people, the more empathy you have.”
34 O.Henry
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Trundy shakes his head. “F****in’ adorable.” OH Trundy will headline a show Sept. 9 at The Crown at the Carolina Theatre. To learn more about the festival, which is scheduled for Sept. 2-12, go to nccomedyfestival.com. Maria Johnson is a contributing editor of O.Henry. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines, NC A 501(c)(3) organizationWe’re celebrating 100 years of our historic Boyd House with 100 events in 2022. Just a short drive away, there’s a perfect place to escape for the day.
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“I had been showing my ass to everybody for a good four or five minutes. This guy was so polite. He was letting me off the hook. He said, ‘Oh, you know, it happened to me one time, too.’” Trundy, who’s planted in a wing chair on the empty set of his talk show, giggles about how a stranger tried to ease his embarrassment by sharing that he’d shown his ass to the world, too. It worked.
Sunday, September 18 • 2 pm
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“Take it with a beer,” Trundy chips in. “It’s shaped like a pretzel.” He’s also shaping new bits for the stage, unafraid to show the, um, cracks in his life. He tells the story of rock climbing at a waterfall with a friend. On the way out, Trundy bent down to play with a cairn, a stack of rocks that marked a trial.
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Our 100-year-old historic house is a storied venue for events and programs that will spark your mind, and feed your senses. If you prefer, you are welcome to roam our 26 acres of gardens and grounds, or picnic on our lush lawns. We’re conveniently nestled in the heart of Southern Pines, a quaint town, which boasts a host of restaurants and cute boutiques that also offer something for everyone. So next time you have the urge to get out of town, put us on your GPS. You can experience a real getaway, but still get home in a single day.
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“Classical Music Sundays” Duo Rose with Skirmante Kezyte, Pianist Elizabeth Pacheco Rose, lyric soprano, and Saxton Rose, bassoon.
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“This lovely, tender gentleman — I think he was Hispanic — walks up to me and says ‘Excuse me. Your pants is broken.’” Trundy had split the seat of his pants while rock climbing.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro Life's Funny Trundy’s developing new projects for himself, too. He hosts a YouTube talk show called NBH, short for the ironically titled Never Been Happier. In a recent episode, he and comic pals Nick Ciaccia and DeJahzh Hedrick make fun of machismo by kicking around the idea of a birth control pill for“Itmen.would need a masculine name,” says“It’sCiaccia.gotta be tough to swallow,” says Hedrick.“They’re not like little pills,” Ciaccia imagines. “They’re big pills.” “Lots of jagged edges,” Hedrick adds. “They taste bad,” Ciaccia says, lapsing into a deep voice. “But I gotta take it.”
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By Stephen e. Smith
Left a quadriplegic after a motorcycle accident in 1976, he faithful ly dictated his poems to a caregiver and companion, and until the
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 39 Omnivorous Reader
There’s a good deal of irony and wit in Moose’s stories, even if her characters don’t see themselves as the object of humor, even when the situation and context are obviously comic, and readers will find themselves amused and charmed by her subtly craftedAnothernarratives.recent St. Andrews Press publication, Collected Poems of Marty Silverthorne, is justification enough for supporting small presses. Silverthorne died in 2019, and it’s unlikely, regardless of his talents as a poet, that a mainstream or university press would publish a book by an author who isn’t around to promote it at readings and in bookstores.
LittleSuccessPress Big things can come in small packages
Since its founding by professor Ronald Bayes in 1969, St. Andrews Press at St. Andrews University in Laurinburg has earned a reputation as one of the most consistent and persistent small presses in the country — which is no insignificant accomplishment considering that the average small press has a lifespan of five years. Within the last few months, under the editorship of Ted Wojtasik, the press has released two books that deserve a wide audience. The first is Ruth Moose’s The Goings on at Glen Arbor Acres, a collection of interrelated stories about life in an assisted living facility. Moose has long been a creative force in the North Carolina writing community. She has published two novels as well as numerous collections of short stories and poetry. Her work has appeared in Atlantic Monthly, Redbook, Ladies Home Journal and Our State magazine, and she taught for 15 years on the Creative Writing faculty at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Moose’s latest collection will not disappoint readers who are seeking to escape the everyday stress of politics and pandemic surges, neither of which is mentioned in these stories. There may be “goings on” aplenty at Glen Arbor Acres, but only of a benign nature. In “The Major’s Gun,” a character observes: “You have to be so careful around this place. One misheard word and the gossip goes rampant” — which is pretty much the source of the collection’s recurring conflicts. Moreover, readers won’t be troubled by stories about characters who undergo overwhelming misfortunes that culminate in disasters of epic proportions. Glen Arbor is no Keseyesque Cuckoo’s Nest. There’s no Nurse Ratched in the medication room, no physical or verbal combat, no racial utterances to be heard, or even a mildly offensive exclamation that might raise a wary eyebrow.
As a poet, Silverthorne had talent and perseverance to spare. He devoted himself to writing verse while working for 30 years as a counselor for persons suffering from alcohol and drug addiction.
Moose’s slice-of-life stories simply offer readers a window into the everyday dilemmas of Glen Arbor’s elderly residents who eat, drink and sleep in the gossipy microcosm where fate has deposited them. If they are allowed enough freedom to cause a mild degree of mischief, they’re always on the lookout for a new source of intrigue. They’ve identified an antagonist, Miss Anne Blackmore Rae (Miss ABR aka Always Be Right), the director of Glen Arbor, and a male protagonist, the Major, a resident who functions as an authority figure who might right trifling wrongs, a tired old god the ladies can turn to in times of emotional discomfort.
Moose focuses on her characters’ foibles and eccentricities — there is a nudist yoga teacher, a wig maker, a troll-like man who intrudes himself into the ladies’ daily walks, and the mystery of the director’s runaway dog who may or may not be dead. The most “teachable” story involves a resident who submits a poem to a national poetry contest and is notified by mail that she is a finalist who should attend a dinner meeting to receive her award. Of course, it’s a scam perpetrated on the unsuspecting — in this case, the elderly — but the aspiring poet buys a new dress and attends the ceremony. She doesn’t win (there’s a surprise), but she’s received by her peers at Glen Arbor as a literary luminary, proof that there is success to be had in the waning years, and that good friends value us for who we are, not for what we do.
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40 O.Henry
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Silverthorne makes rich and various uses of rhetorical devices — humor, anger, wit, irony, and juxtapositions of conflicting and indecorous feelings. In doing so, he has left readers with a rich record of a life lived to the fullest despite almost over whelming adversity. We are fortunate that St. Andrews Press and other small presses continue to publish books that might otherwise, for reasons unrelated to literary quality, go unread. The pandemic has hit little presses hard. Readings at bookstores and arts organizations have dropped off, and live audiences are difficult to gather in dangerous times. If you’d like to encourage small press publishing, buy their books. Poets and Writers magazine lists over 370 such literary entities that desperately need our support. OH
The Art & Soul of Greensboro Omnivorous Reader pandemic, he was a steadfast participant at regular meetings of the North Carolina PoetrySilverthorneSociety. is a “plain language” poet. His poems are straightforward retellings of the events that shaped his life, the loss and redemption, the small pleasures he experiences, the troubles and pain a person in his predicament suffers, as in “Inside of Me,” where the poet muses on what others expect of him after accepting his disability: Inside of me you expected to find/a motorcycle wrapped around a tree,/ whiskey bottles beside the road./You did not expect to find daffodils/blooming in a pine thicket,/crape myrtles close enough/to threaten their beauty//Inside of me you expected to find/the soiled pages of Penthouse./You did not expect Yeats and Keats/on a linen table cloth,/one large candle with a wavering flame,/a bottle of chardonnay.
Much of Silverthorne’s later poetry was written while mourning the loss of his wife, as in “Delicate Ashes:” . . . Back at home our neighbor held you in his hands,/his fingers around the beautiful blue bowl/of your body, the delicate ashes of your life . . .
Stephen E. Smith is a retired professor and the author of seven books of poetry and prose. He’s the recipient of the Poetry Northwest Young Poet’s Prize, the Zoe Kincaid Brockman Prize for poetry and four North Carolina Press Awards. Virginia Somerville by some of Broadway’s brightest right in the comfort of our community. Well•Spring,
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The school has a rough start, but as the day goes on, he soon realizes that he’s not the only one with first-day jitters.
September is here. For the kiddos that means heading back to school. Meeting new teachers, learning a new school building, making new friends . . . big kid school can be quite a transition for the littlest littles. Fortunately, the scariest apprehensions can be tamed with a snuggle and a good book. In our house, we’ve always used books to help prep our kids for new experiences. From the first trip to the dentist to the first time on an airplane to the first day of school, reading together ahead of time has blessed us with many smooth “firsts,” keeping meltdowns at bay. So this month’s Scuppernong Bookshelf goes out to the littles — and the parents — in all our lives. We’ve got a great collection of books about going back to school to help even the most nervous nellies feel excited about getting on the big yellow bus, ready for their next adventure.
School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex, illustrated by Christian Robinson
A confident little Black girl has a fantastic first day of school in this companion to The New York Times bestseller The King of Kindergarten. MJ is more than ready for her first day of kindergarten! With her hair freshly braided and her mom’s special tiara on her head, she knows she’s going to rock kindergarten. But the tiara isn’t just for show — it also reminds her of all the good things she brings to the classroom, stuff like her kindness, friendliness and impressive soccer skills. Like The King of Kindergarten, this book encourages back-to-school excitement and builds confidence in the newest students.
The New York Times bestselling author (The True Meaning of Smekday) and illustrator (Last Stop on Market Street) team up to bring you a fresh look at the first day of school — from the school’s perspective.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 43 Bookshelf
Llama Llama Back to School by Anna Dewdney and Duncan Reed, illustrated by JT Morrow It’s almost time for the first day of school for Llama! But Llama Llama isn’t ready for a summer full of backyard camping, family picnics and ice cream to end. He’s anxious about his first day back at school, but maybe, with some help from his friends and Mama Llama, it will be fun after all!
The Queen of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
September Books
It’s the first day of school at Frederick Douglass Elementary and everyone’s just a little bit nervous, especially the school itself. What will the children do once they come? Will they like the school? Will they be nice to him?
44 O.Henry The Art & Soul of Greensboro 520 North Hamilton Street • High Point, NC 27262 Info@boxwoodantiquemarket.comSundayTuesday-Saturday336-781-311110am-6pm1-6pm•CLOSEDMonday NOW ACCEPTING FINE CONSIGNMENT FURNITURE & ACCESSORIES! NOW ACCEPTING Fine Consignment
This Is a School by John Schu, illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison A school isn’t just a building; it is all the people who work and learn together. It is a place for discovery and asking questions. A place for sharing, for helping and for community. It is a place of hope and healing, even when that community can’t be together in the same room. John Schu, a librarian and former ambassador of school libraries for Scholastic, crafts a love letter to schools and the people that make up the communities within. OH Shannon Purdy Jones is co-owner of Scuppernong Books. Calling All Readers! We cordially invite you to join the new O.Henry Readers Club. We’d love to publish your thumbnail review of whatever great book you are reading at the moment. Submit — and join — simply by emailing our (bookish) managing editor at cassie@ohenrymag.com.
to exceed your
Our
and
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 45 Bookshelf
The Pigeon Has to Go to School by Mo Willems Why does the Pigeon have to go to school? He already knows everything! And what if he doesn’t like it? What if the teacher doesn’t like him? What if he learns too much?!? Ask not for whom the school bell rings; it rings for the Pigeon! We Don’t Eat Our Classmates: A Penelope Rex Book by Ryan T. Higgins It’s the first day of school for Penelope Rex, and she can’t wait to meet her classmates. But it’s hard to make human friends when they’re so darn delicious! That is, until Penelope gets a taste of her own medicine and finds she may not be at the top of the food chain after all.
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46 O.Henry The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Feature Is Female The future might be, too
By Wiley CaSh
Erika Arlee and Kristi Ray, co-founders of Wilmington’s Honey Head Films, grew up on sets. For Erika, one of her first on-set experiences was as a child growing up in Chapel Hill during the making of Attack of the Killer Dog, which she wrote, directed and co-starred in with her sister and one of their friends. Recalling the intensity of her childhood fascination with film, Erika says, “I wanted to make movies, and I wanted to hold the camera so badly.” Her early special effects included a plush stuffed animal dog that was tossed at the actors from offscreen so they could be, in fact, attacked by a killer dog.
The Creators of N.C.
For Kristi, who grew up in rural eastern North Carolina near New Bern, her first on-set experiences also took place at home, and included casting, producing and directing her older sister and cousin in back porch performances of Beauty and the Beast, Grease! and other movies that had left their mark. “I was always the director and the producer and the costumer,” she says. “And I would cast my cousin and my sister in the lead roles to get them to participate, and then I would play every other character that no one wanted to play.”
Regardless of whether they were handling stuffed animals while shouldering boxy VHS cameras or perusing thrift stores to outfit a cousin for a homemade play, both Erika and Kristi can trace their creative drive to those early days as girls who were desperate to see their dramatic visions come to life on the stage and screen.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 47
That energy, which is apparent to anyone who spends any amount of time with these two women, combined
Aside from vapid roles that relied on little more than youth and appearance, “there just wasn’t anything interesting for young women that we were finding,” Erika says.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
“This was the time when Winter’s Bone almost won an Oscar and there were a lot of really cool roles out there, they just weren’t around the Southeast, and they weren’t being offered to blonde girls who looked anything like us,” Kristi says. “We wanted to prove that we could play someone who wasn’t just a cute little girl at the mall.”
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Unlike Erika, who headed east to Wilmington after college, as a 17-year-old Kristi went west to Los Angeles to pursue acting after high school. “I probably ran out of money like a year into my journey there,” she says. “I came back to North Carolina and auditioned for a feature film that was being produced in the Triangle, and I got cast in the lead role.” Kristi’s performance and her skill were noticed, and she was soon offered a scholarship to the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York. As much as she benefited from her education, Kristi found that the atmosphere in New York wasn’t as supportive as the film community in North Carolina, so she came home and settled in Wilmington.
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Erika wrote a short film about two sisters called Lorelei that was written specifically for her and Kristi so they could reach toward what they knew was the full range of their abilities. The story of two women settling their mother’s estate in rural North Carolina eventually served as the backstory for A Song for Imogene, which stars Kristi and was directed by Erika.
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The Creators of N.C. and gathered force to create A Song for Imogene, the first featurelength film by Honey Head. While Erika and Kristi’s paths to filmmaking seem preordained, their path to one another was a little less certain. After growing up in Chapel Hill, Erika attended the University of North Carolina, double majoring in English and dramatic arts with a minor in creative writing. Although she’d always been drawn to film, it didn’t seem like something that was accessible on campus or in town, but Erika had seen Broadway productions, so she threw herself into acting and dance, thinking those outlets might be the only way for a Southern kid from a small town to find the stage. She never lost her interest in film or her desire to hold the camera, however, and by 2014 she was living in Wilmington, auditioning across the Southeast and working behind the camera with local writers and producers.
I don’t know how many successful relationships, business or otherwise, begin on Craigslist, but this one did. Erika had joined with a local actor to write and shoot a horror film that featured a number of their friends, but they needed a female lead, so she posted a call on Craigslist, which Kristi happened to find and answer. Their bond was almost immediate. Soon, the two women were filming one another for audition reels, reading scripts together, and sorting through what seemed to be a shrinking market of opportunity for young women in the film world.
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“When these young women go out into the professional world and work on sets, they won’t be afraid,” Kristi says. “They will have already gotten their anxiety out the door in a safe environment with us.” Erika and Kristi hope that the experience will leave these young women more mental space and emotional energy to collaborate and build community.
“We’re trying to get them at that stage where they’re a little bit more reserved,” Erika says.
“Erika’s an incredible director. She was the first female direc tor I’d ever worked with, so there’s this huge trust that I’ve always had,” Kristi says. “And her writing is really good, so it’s hard to do it Thepoorly.”crewfor
A Song for Imogene was 70 percent female, including eight female interns from university film programs from around the East Coast. For many of these young women, it was their first time on a film set. Erika and Kristi allowed them to explore what interested them while also playing key roles in the production. While they watched the interns bond they couldn’t help but recall their own experiences of doing the same just a few years earlier. Now, they had become the teachers and mentors.
The Creators of N.C.
The two-week camp, which kicked off its inaugural session in July, allowed the girls to learn cinematography, wardrobe, lighting and grip, screenwriting and directing. By the end of the camp they were casting and shooting their own short films. To ensure that the experience was accessible to girls regardless of their economic circumstances, Kristi and Erika were able to raise $18,000 from community partners to fund seven of the 12 girls at the camp. They’re excited to see what this first group will do next.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 51
shooting one another’s audition tapes are now at the helm of a feature film that’s in post-production and positioned to go out on the international film festival circuit. The relationship they’d built during their formative years, and through the experience of writing and shooting commercial work, had created a foundation that now guided them.
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“To feel this empowerment and to be in a cohort of women is something that’s going to be invaluable,” Kristi says.
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Erika and Kristi’s new film, A Song for Imogene, is certainly a female feature, and, with Honey Head and Shoot Like a Girl, the future of film might be, too. OH Wiley Cash is the Alumni Author-in-Residence at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. His new novel, When Ghosts Come Home, is available wherever books are sold.
Pondering their own struggles in the industry while witnessing their interns thrive, Erika and Kristi had an idea about how to help the next crop of female filmmakers enter film programs or step onto sets with confidence. They partnered with educator Sam McCleod to create a summer camp, called Shoot Like a Girl, that focuses on female filmmakers from the ninth to 12th grades.
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My father also held sacrosanct the Old Hickory House, a dimly-lit Charlotte roadhouse on North Tryon serving cue and, to my sister and I, decent Brunswick stew. A Yelp reviewer wrote, “Looks like the kind of place your parents’ doctor/lawyer/accountant met his receptionist for ‘overtime’ work back in the ’60s.’” It was unwittingly campy, untouched by market research or a decorator’s hand, with an unchanging atmosphere that no one would mistake for a chain. After an hour spent inside one of its cave-like booths, emerging into the light of day was nearly blinding.
On arrival, he strode directly to the stove.
By Cynthia adamS
“Mmmmm! Is that what I think it is?” I Dadgrinned.gavea weak smile. I lacked cooking cred. He warned, “You know I will have to be honest with you.” I nodded, handing him a generous bowlful. He raised a small spoonful to his lips, hesitated, then ate heartily. He shook his dark, full hair, proudly styled into an Elvis Presley tidal wave effect. “Old girl, you’ve done it! It’s as good as Hickory House’s!”
“Beginner’s luck, I guess,” muttering a lie that caused me to flushMyred.sister’s eyes were huge as he ate two bowls. My sister and father, sharing our table without our extended, large family, was a first.Unbeknownst to us that day, it was also a last.
“I thought he would know I can’t cook!” I protested. My sister was unconvinced. “Face it,” she said. “You loved it. You really and truly got him.”
Little — certainly not religion nor politics — was off limits but for an unfunny gray area: Ted Koppel and food.
“The funeral home washed out the Grecian Formula,” I whispered. She swatted me, hissing, “Shut up!” Her face darkened. “You are unreal! You never owned up, did“Lying“Toyou?”what?”toDaddy. You let him die thinking you made that damnShestew!”wasalways the good cook — not me. I nodded sheepishly.
There was much joking in my childhood home, mostly inspired by our father, a trickster of the first order.
OH Cynthia Adams is a contributing editor to O.Henry.
Another untouchable? To even slightly malign our mother’s cooking, caused Dad to swiftly veer from ha-ha to oh hell no!
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 53 Home Grown
I leaned in, whispering to his now expressionless face, “Daddy, I’m sorry I lied about the stew.” My sister’s big heart failed too, and she would follow him to an early grave. Other doors closed to the past. The Old Hickory House ceased operating its open pit after 60 years of roadhouse wonderment.Andsomewhere in the Great Hereafter, my father believes his lying daughter learned to cook — unless my sister set him straight.
Seriously? I was stunned into silence. My sister earnestly stud ied the tabletop as if ancient runes lay there.
MischiefUp
Stewing over the last laugh
Newsman Ted Koppel was my father’s unassailable source. After Koppel reported on sex trafficking, my father was apoplectic when a younger sister and I booked a trip to Cancun. Our refusal to cancel our trip, belittling Koppel’s reportage, outraged Dad.
Dad would not survive another year, suffering a fatal heart attack at 61. My sister cornered me at our father’s casket as I weepily marveled at his shocking gray hair.
Cooking
One Saturday, Dad called saying he was coming through Greensboro en route to his farm in Rogersville, Tennessee. My older sister happened to be visiting, and I was warming stew for her, knowing our shared passion for Hickory House’s smoky, perfectly cornmeal-thickened stew. I quickly thawed another quart for our Dad, telling my sister I was going to have some fun.
“How did you do it?” he pressed.
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Songster in the Shrubs
The Eastern towhee hides to survive
Eastern towhees are found, as their name implies, throughout the eastern United States. Here in the Southeast, they are yearround residents, although we do have some wintering individuals that breed further north. Their diet is variable, consisting of a variety of invertebrates (insects, spiders, millipedes) during the breeding season. However, in colder months, towhees can also be found scratching for seeds dropped by other birds from feeders. Their heavy bill allows them to take advantage of a variety of seeds. The powerful jaw muscles associated with such a strong bill make it a formidable weapon. If attacked, a towhee can inflict quite a bite. Males will viciously attack each other during territorial disputes and may inflict mortal wounds from grabbing the head or body of an opponent. Conflict is not infrequent where food is abundant, so the potential for fights exists throughout the year in our area.
Susan Campbell would love to receive your wildlife sightings and photographs at susan@ncaves.com.
OH
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 55 Birdwatch
It is not uncommon for Eastern towhees to raise three broods in a summer. Each brood involves three to five young. Nests are simple affairs, in short shrubbery or even directly on the ground. As a result, nestlings often do not remain in the nest long after their eyes open and downy feathers cover their bodies. They will move around noisily begging from the adults. Young towhees instinctively run for cover if their parents sound the alarm. A little known fact about this species is that it was first de scribed by some of the earliest Europeans to arrive in the New World. The artist-cartographer John White noticed towhees dur ing his visit to the English colony on Roanoke Island in 1685-86. It was this trip that documented the colony’s disappearance — the Lost Colony. White’s unpublished drawings of both males and females predated the famous work of Mark Catesby in Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands in the 1700s, since republished with a modern perspective as Catesby’s The Birds of Colonial America.
By SuSan CampBell
“Drink your tea, drink your tea,” the loud, emphatic call comes from dense shrubbery right outside our front door. It is the voice of a common, but frequently overlooked, Eastern towhee. It is hard to imagine that such a persistent songster could keep so well hidden, but towhees’ larger size makes them a target for predators, and keeping hidden is the survival strategy they employ. Belonging to the sparrow family, they are short-billed birds found in brushy or grassy habitat. The bird’s name originates from its typical “tow-hee” call. Many backyard birdwatchers in central North Carolina are rather confused when they finally catch their first glimpse of a towhee. Is it some kind of oriole? Perhaps it is a young rose-breasted grosbeak? Males are quite colorful with rufous or chestnut flanks set against a white belly with a black hood, back and wings as well as a long black and white tail. The bill, too, is jet black. Females sport brown feathers instead of black but still have rufous sides. Their legs are long and powerful: good for kicking around debris in search of insects and seeds. Towhee eyes, which are usually dark red, may be orangey in the Sandhills population. Farther east, individuals have irises that are a striking pale yellow.
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 57
Stack had played in local bands such as Saucer and R Father for most of his life. “I think small scale venues help prop up
Wandering Billy
The Greene Street Music Scene
— Katei Cranford
When I read about First Presbyterian Church’s plan to bring down one or more of the houses on Greene Street directly across from the chapel’s western entrance, I was relieved to discover those demolition plans did not include 711 Greene, known to a generation of Gate City indie music lovers as Hellraiser Haus.
For a fleeting moment in time, this cavernous four-bedroom, brick home was a DIY live concert stage, so named because there’s an exterior shot of the nearby church in one of the schlockiest movies ever made, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, where Greensboro (particularly around Lewis and South Elm) and the Triad were supposed to represent New York City. That alone should give you some idea of how laughably inept this unintentionally horrific production was.
Hellraiser Haus raised no hell, but elevated musicians
Over the last 20 years, various dwellings on the outskirts of downtown and circling our college campuses have doubled as underground punk/experimental music venues — Karate Dungeon, TYP, Dogwood, Dude Ranch and Tuba House, a mid-2010s era crashpad so precarious you half expected The Wicked Witch of the East’s stockinged legs to be jutting out of the foundation. Remind me sometime to tell you about running from the police with 9 inches of snow on the ground then taking refuse at Tuba House . . . on second thought, never mind. Ironically, given the name, the most civilized of these rhythmic refuges was Hellraiser Haus. “I moved in around 2012 so [711 Greene] served as a music venue from then until 2018,” Ryan Stack tells me. “We were mid-20s kids living in that house, surrounded by a church across the street, a separate church to the left of the house, an outreach center. It was in a wealthy neighborhood and for some reason that house went to a bunch of kids.”
By Billy [eye] ingram
“It was a killer spot in a strangely ideal location. One of the fanciest neighborhoods in town but with no actual neighbors at night. I still imagine that yard all packed out, a crowd sprawling out onto Greene Street.”
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508-A Prescott St.,
Almost every Hellraiser Haus booking featured at least one band on tour, with all of the cash collected at the door going to the performers. “We never took any money,“ Stack says. “We focused on exposing new and young bands, pairing them with larger bands that were out on the road.” Eye attended Hellraiser Haus on a few occasions, most notably around 2017 for Instant Regrets, Bronzed Chorus, Basement Life, Taylor Bays, and The Kneads. The basement hangout was outfit ted with a pool table and an arcade set up with dozens of vintage video games.
When promoter/performer Joe Garrigan revived GSOFest in 2017, Greensboro NC 27401 Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval® that follow the highest standards of safety care. care the Triad.
“Often neighbors walked by with their dogs or whatever,” Stack says. “They would be like, ‘We heard you playing music last night — sounded good.’” Without next-door neighbors, Stack says, they were “just a faint sound and a little bit of flavor in the neighborhood. Never ever got the cops called on us and we were there for about six years.”
“There was a band from Japan called Mothercoat that did a really killer set at our house,” Stack recalls. “Ice Balloons with Kyp Malone from TV on the Radio played there. I remember going to work and stepping over him as I came down the stairs cause he was sleeping on the floor. We kept collecting mattresses and bands would come through and be like, ‘I haven’t slept on a mattress in months!’”
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro Wandering Billy larger venues,” he says. “If there’s not a grassroots music scene where you can go and play for cheap or free, then there’s nothing. You can’t build anything up from“Thatthat.”strip was a little oasis adjacent to downtown,” Yes! Weekly’s maven of music Katei Cranford remembers. “And, lord, that house was fancy. Like a soap opera set in 1980. Something about cracking a PBR on an exquisitely-tiled counter while punk bands thrashed out in the living room like a party scene out of a John Hughes movie — opulence and degeneracy intertwined.”
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 59
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Shouldn’t be too surprising that Ryan Stack now lives in Glenwood where the music scene has been reignited at Etc. gso, formerly On Pop of the World, on Grove Street, a newly formed artistic collective booking resident powerhouses that never fail to rock, like Instant Regrets and The Old One-Two. Worldrenowned Eugene Chadbourne, possibly the 10th most famous person from Greensboro, will be performing at Etc. gso on Sunday, September 11. Joe Garrigan is drummer for longtime grinders The Kneads. They’ll be at Oden Brewery on September 10, along with The Bleeding Hearts and The Eyebrows from Charlotte. Perhaps First Presbyterian could leave a door ajar in case anyone needs a place to crash.
“We had hip hop, folk shows, metal shows. I never felt like the space was disrespected.” Stack discovered that he and the 10 or 15 individuals living at Hellraiser Haus at various times were in harmonic convergence. “We were trying to do something for the music community,” he says, “and they were fully on board with us when we needed things.”
fondly recalls his favorite evening, when Fat Wreck Chord label’s Night Birds played. “The place was slammed full,” he says. “The mosh pit got out of control and some dude went flying through the glass front door. He went to the hospital, the show went on, and all those nice punk folk donated exactly enough money to fix the door.”
Wandering Billy Hellraiser Haus was naturally the launchpad: “For touring bands,” Garrigan says, “it was a better situation than playing at a club, then finding a place to crash after theStackgig.”
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Buddha is there on a table and guards her keepsakes, a cleaned-out bookshelf holds her high school portrait, a cross-stitch she made for me. Every little corner has its memory of how short a sweet life can be.
From Collected Poems of Marty Silverthorne
LikeCardinalaspotofblood against the blue sky, a Cardinal perches on the shepherd’s hook where I hang suet and a cylinder of seed-feeders I gave Sylvia for her last Mother’s Day. The birds are a gift to me now. Her beautiful ashes fill a marble blue urn and rest near one of her crazy quilts in the foyer to welcome visitors.
— Marty Silverthorne
September 2022
An ambitious plan is taking root to transform Greensboro and the Triad into a capital of live performance music
62 O.Henry The Art & Soul of Greensboro V be
The Right
S eventeen years ago, Greensboro philanthropist and businessman Bobby Long personally signed a $25 million letter of credit with the PGA Tour that saved one of the most venerable professional golf tournaments from the dustbin of history. At that time, the former Greater Greensboro Open — known then as the foundering Chrysler Championship — was losing its title sponsor with no potential successors waiting in the wings. Within a year, however, in partnership with a creative young tournament dynamo named Mark Brazil, Long broadened the outreach of the formerly Greensboro-focused event to the wider Piedmont Triad region and secured a major tournament sponsorship with thenChairman Steve Holmes of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. It was a master stroke that transformed the new Wyndham Championship into one of the most innovative and family-friendly events in professional golf. Since that time, the team of Long and Brazil, along with their colleagues at Piedmont Triad Charitable Foundation, have gone on to serve a host of regional charities and projects aimed at improving the quality of life and economic opportunity across the region.
Just as they revitalized the PGA Tour’s sixth oldest golf tournament — in part by identifying the Tour’s rising stars and building relationships with them — the plan is to do the same with emerging and established musician and songwriters in our region. The hope is that the Triad will become a more affordable and less daunting music venue than Nashville
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 63
By Jim DoDson
Last March, the dynamic duo joined 10-time Country Music Association’s Musician of the Year Mac McAnally for a concert at downtown Greensboro’s One Thirteen Brewhouse + Rooftop Bar to quietly kick off an ambitious initiative they call “Live Music Vibe.” It aims to develop the Gate City and surrounding communities into a regional capital for budding songwriters, musicians and live performance music. “In a nutshell, we’re hop ing to do for live performance music in the region what we did for professional golf,” explains Brazil, Piedmont Triad Charitable Foundation CEO, who once again is the enthusiastic tip of the project spear. “We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, mind you. We are learning as we go from some of the sharpest people in the music industry, aiming to provide a place where upand-coming songwriters and performers can afford to come and develop their craft before live audiences.”
(left to right) Will Easter, Marcedes Carrol, & Brooks Forsyth
The idea of a regional music series that could complement and maybe someday rival the traditional live performance capitals of Nashville and Austin, Texas, in fact, came out of an impromptu conversation McAnally and Bobby Long had with Jimmy Buffett prior to the pandemic about how the music world was changing. The three men mused upon what opportunities might emerge from an unprecedented period of lockdowns.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
64 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro and other big-time music capitals. As Mac McAnally points out, the traditional capitals of live performance music, are frequently out of reach for many promising singers and songwriters. With a robust musical heritage that includes everything from the opening of the Carolina Theatre in 1927 (hailed as the “Showplace of the Carolinas”) to the legendary Chitlin Circuit of the 1950s and ’60s, Greensboro owns a rich musical heritage. With the city’s timely designation as the permanent home of the North Carolina Folk Festival, Greensboro seems to primed to become a launchpad for rising“Whenperformers.youare starting out in the business, finding a place to play to an appreciative audience is really what it’s all about,” McAnally, a mainstay of Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band, points out. “To make more places accessible for up-and-coming songwriters and musicians to try new music and refine their craft is something that can only expand the music business — and bring new people to it.” He notes that in the music industry of the 1950s, bands and musicians toured largely to promote their records, but the monumental growth of the record business over subsequent decades, plus the introduction of digital sales, basically killed off the touring business. With record sales flat, the legendary country music performer — a former session musician from Alabama who went on to write major hits for country music royalty — thinks the timing may be ideal for the return of live performance touring and development of local grassroots talent.
“Our goal is to simply be additive — to contribute to opportunities for people here to see great music and up-and-coming artists as well as terrific local talent,” explains Mark Brazil, who outlines a threeplinth strategy for developing the Triad Music Vibe.
The first two legs involve partnering with McAnally on a singer-songwriter series that brings emerging musical talent (anywhere from 10 to 15 artists per year) to the area, in addition to providing performance opportunities for local songwriters and musicians. The third aspect is to bring more live performance music to downtown Greensboro, particularly the Carrie Smithey
Greensboro has a lot to offer the music world. It will be exciting to be part of that.”
Back in April, Brazil and Scott Baxter, CEO of Kontoor Brands, put together an evening of live performance at several of Lewis Street’s most popular night spots. “It went over extremely well,” Brazil notes. “It was kind of a glimpse of what Greensboro and other cities in the region could be in the future.”
five or six blocks on lower South Elm Street, creating what Brazil calls “a gathering spot for great live music.”
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 65
Billy Don Burns
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF FLAT IRON; BY JOSH KING AND RYAN BELL
All of this is music to the ears of Brazil and Long. Inspired by the success of Myrtle Beach’s Carolina Country Music Fest and North Wilksboro’s popular MerleFest, Mark Brazil envisions the live performance vibe someday growing strong enough for the Triad to support its very own music fest.
Recently opened Steel Hands Brewing on Gate City Boulevard just completed its own “Nashville Nights” series, a local touring program that got its start at their original Columbia, South Carolina, location several years ago. “Because of its strong music culture and younger population, we identified Greensboro as a great place to expand our operation and the concept of bringing touring artists and live sets for local songwriting talent,” explains Ashley Lambert of Steel Hands, which staged 11 performance evenings from June to August. “It was so well received,” she adds, “we’re planning to expand the series next summer — adding a really great outdoor venue.”
“At this point,” agrees Bobby Long, “we are still in the discovery stage, connecting with key folks who have an eye for emerging talent. We’re blessed to have Mac and others helping us bring this thing about. We think if new up-and-coming artists find a warm welcome here and across the Triad, they’ll keep coming back.
“I come from a small town that's still inside me,” says McAnally. “And I was blessed to shape my career through live performance in listening rooms and bars across America.
OH
As the North Carolina Folk Fest returns to town, the timing and the vibe both seem right for a grassroots awakening that already seems afoot. Several of the city’s most popular breweries feature live music several nights of the week.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 65
A follow-up event at the Flat Iron and recording studio on Summit Avenue introduced a trio of rising national singersong writers to a local audience, including a gifted Montana artist named Marcedes Carroll, who may partner with the initiative going forward.
We’re introducing three local artists who you may not yet know, but won’t soon forget. Each brings something unique to the art world, ranging from vibrant, music-inspired watercolors, to collage that explores transformation, to acrylic paintings that celebrate the wonder of the female body.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Yet, an artist’s bravest act is being vulnerable enough to share your work with the world. Our city has cultivated a community that welcomes up-and-coming artists with open arms, and new creatives are arriving on the scene regularly, excited to be a part of the artistic and collaborative energy thrumming throughout Greensboro.
EmergingGreensboro’sArtists
Creating art is not for the meek. It’s gritty and emotional, filled with trial and tribulation, plus hours upon hours of grueling, behind-thescenes labor such as stretching canvases, tediously cutting out tiny images from magazines until the hands start cramping or digging into the deepest parts of one’s soul. But as any artist knows, the hunger to create can’t be ignored.
By Cassie Bustamante • PhotograPhs By Bert VanDerVeen
After all, the connection and community the Gate City provides are often what the artist seeks through her work — especially in a post-pandemic world.
Surrealist Salvador Dalí once said, “A true artist is not one who is inspired but one who inspires others.” These “true artists” have brought their work forth as a way to tell their stories while inspiring others to see and feel their own truths.
Three women cultivate joy, connection and self-discovery through their work
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Perfect beauty in imperfection — that is what Reneesha McCoy sees in the world around her. Whether it’s in her own body, the chaos of life or the so-called blemishes on her artwork, McCoy lives her life in a way that honors the raw state of being human, perfectly — or, rather, imperfectly — all of which is reflected in her paintings.
“When I worked in retail,” she says, “I was always on the path of ‘Who am I?’”
It seems McCoy has finally found the answer. “If you go back through all my journals, there’s a lot of ‘just be,’ and I didn’t know what that looked like,” says McCoy. “And now I do from myLeaningart.” into the essence of her being, she has stepped into her true self, an artist. Learn more about Reneesha McCoy and see her work at rnwulf.com.
I Knew I Could FlyI Cook Berries on the Fire Everybody Danced and I Sat Still Reneesha McCoy the childern sleep
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“I just kept trying and trying,” she says, “until I was like, ‘Wow — I’m an Inspiredartist.’”bythe changes her body has undergone through childbirth and breastfeeding, her own raw emotions, and her desire to be inclusive, McCoy’s paintings feature nude female forms with a mix of skin tones, posed in a manner that often expresses insecurity. She uses acrylics, which are quick drying, allowing her to paint while her children sleep. Working through her thoughts on her canvases, McCoy notes, “It is not only that I am just releasing everything. It’s also that it means something to someone else.”
In 2020, with no professional training, McCoy picked up a paintbrush. “I kept thinking, ‘I have this feeling and I need to express it,’” she says. The 33-year-old mother of two trusted her instincts.
McCoy’s paintings have given her back the one thing she was missing from her retail job — human connection. Posting on social media allows her to engage directly with customers and followers. “I’ve had people tell me,” she says, “‘Hey, that’s how I felt.’”
For several years, McCoy felt something tugging at her to create, but it was the 2019 birth of her son, Phoenix, that gave her the push to heed that call, leaving behind a 10-year retail career. After trying her hand at multiple endeavors, her partner, Scott, also an artist, suggested she consider art.
Relatability is at the heart of every canvas she touches. “We all go through things,” she says, adding that her work is “not just about the body — it’s about life.”
While McCoy now paints to support herself and her family, she still feels the tug that started it all, that urge to create. Even as exhausted parents to 3-year-old Phoenix and 1-year-old Penelope, McCoy and Scott reach for their work every day, painting in their living room while the kids nap. “We should probably nap and sleep,” McCoy laughs, “but we don’t do that because [our work] makes us happy and whole.” She adds, “I would choose this life right now, this journey, overAsanything.”awoman who has struggled with insecurity throughout her life, painting has given McCoy a confidence she never expected.
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Deb Frederick | Designe for joy
Petite in stature, Deb Frederick is a force when it comes to radiating high-vibe energy, her joy and lust for life obvious to anyone who meets her. It’s no wonder that her bold watercolor paintings reflect her vivacious spirit and love for music and culture.
Marriage and children soon followed. While painting was her passion, Frederick decided to take a lucrative position with a textile company, noting that her “creative skills could be transferred to an industry where creativity is needed.”
Little did she know that her fashion design career would take off, allowing her to travel the world and discover new countries and cultures. Though it meant she wasn’t painting, as she says with a laugh, “I’m not mad about it.”
When the COVID pandemic struck in 2020, Frederick wasn’t surprised when she was laid off because, she suspects, Band Beats
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As a child, Frederick discovered she had natural talent when she tried her hand at drawing “Winky,” a character on the back of a cereal box, for a contest — and won. “From then on,” she says, “my parents supported me and my art.” Her sketches evolved into paintings and her paintings evolved into an exploration of lifestyle. In 1981, she earned her B.F.A. degree from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
Sundresses and Festivals Saxophone Retro Modern
Learn more about Deb Frederick and see her work at debfredart.com. Woman
The of O.Henry of her age and salary. Her 35-plus year apparel design career came to an end, but — in typical Frederick fashion — she found joy in her situation. “It didn’t feel like I fell,” she notes. Shortly after, she picked up her paintbrush again.
Recognizing that many children aren’t as fortunate, her hope is to mentor young people who “have the drive and desire,” but are lacking the “110 percent support” she had growing up.
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“Safe,” a painting that she’ll never sell, was her way “back in” to the world of watercolors. Inspired by a moment caught between American Idol contestant Samantha Diaz and her grandmother, it features a beaming Diaz, locked in her grandmother’s tight embrace. Frederick, who was born in Panama but left the country as a small child, never met her own grandmothers. Imagining that their arms would have comforted her similarly, she painted with a heart full of love, noting that two heart shapes can be subtly made out in forms of the two figures. Upon finishing “Safe,” she stood back in awe, whispering, “Did I do that? I forgot I could do that.” Since then, Frederick has taken her brush to several sheets of watercolor paper, receiving praise from friends, family and the community, just as she did from her parents years ago.
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Frederick’s being sizzles with palpable enthusiasm when it comes to sharing her art, whether it’s through her own creations or teaching. “There’s so much more to discover,” she says, “and I’m excited about the journey.”
Nature is full of surprises. Take the wren, for example. A bit of an understated bird. That is, until you hear one sing. The same might be said of Jessica Dame. Shy and unassuming, the longtime librarian expresses herself in bold and surprising ways through her collage work, blending bright floral and avian imagery with the female figure, juxtaposing striking black ink with flirty colors.
In a world that’s dominated by digital collage, Dame, 36, appreci ates the nostalgia of an art form that influenced the pop-culture scene throughout her ’90s youth. “Part of what makes [analog collage] therapeutic and great is that you’re getting away from the screen,” she says. “You’re doing something with your hands.” Dame notes with a laugh that from an early age she was collaging, illustrating and publishing her works. “My oldest memories,” she says, “are of making books about whales and unicorns when I was a kid.” Her love of imagery and books led her to earn a B.A. in art history from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va., Head Above Water Strawberry Shortcake Jessica Dame | The therapy of flight
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A past piece features a female figure clothed in a black slipdress, whose head is replaced by lotus blooms. “I was reading about the lotus flower and how they grow in mud,” says Dame. “They’re so pristine and beautiful, but can’t grow without that mud. It’s such a Zen metaphor for life.”
Recently, Greensboro’s Historic Magnolia House hung four Dame pieces in the guest bedroom named for James Baldwin. She decorated her own floral ink illustrations, layering in collage pieces that feature Baldwin’s written works.
Cassie Bustamante is managing editor of O.Henry magazine.Barred Owl
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 71 as well as a Master’s in library science and information from the University of South Carolina.
And, it seems, the sacred water lily is a perfect metaphor for Dame, who is flourishing creatively after a challenging stage of life.
Like many in 2020, Dame discovered bird-watching, journaling what she saw. She’d always been infatuated by birds because “they’re so free and so elegant, so beautiful.” Her most recent collages feature birds paired with florals, an underlying theme of blooming, something she seems to be doing herself. While nature has always been prevalent throughout her work, lately she’s been exploring the idea of transformation. “I don’t know why quite yet,” she says. “I’m seeking that through my art.”
In 2019, Dame uprooted her life, leaving her career behind to move to Greensboro from Columbia, South Carolina, with her partner, who had accepted a position at UNCG. New to the city and out of work when COVID entered the scene, she temporarily lost her mojo, but soon found her footing again. She told herself, “Don’t cover up the desire [to create] with chores,” finding time and space to reconnect to her art.
What’s next for Dame? “Right now, just keep making stuff.”
But it should be no surprise that this librarian-turned-artist’s ultimate dream is to see work on the cover of a book. OH Learn more about Jessica Dame and see her work at jessicadame.com/collage.
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And yet, in 2023, UNCG’s Summer Music Camp will celebrate its 40th anniversary. It’s the largest university music camp in America, attracting more than 2,000 middle and high school students from around the globe for two, one-week sessions of intensive training across a wide spectrum of musical disciplines. Camp culminates with a series of Friday night orchestral and band concerts, along with piano and choral recitals, for audiences numbering into theAsthousands.preparations were underway this summer, I spoke with former camp educators, counselors and attendees in an effort to understand this phenomenon, to discover what it takes to string together one of this musical city’s most important yearly events, one that not only contributes greatly to our local economy, but, more importantly, expands Greensboro’s cultural footprint.
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hen John Locke came aboard as UNCG’s director of bands in 1982, he approached local music educators about the university’s vision of conducting a yearly summer music camp for youngsters. Outside of Robert Blocker, newly hired dean of the School of Music, no one believed this was in any way a sound idea, much less feasible. Like many of his colleagues, longtime band director at Page High School, Charles Murph, was blunt when presented with the concept. “John, I really like you,” he said. “But this is never gonna work.”
The beat goes on at UNCG’s beloved summer music camp
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John Locke: When we sent out applications, everybody knew to get those things in the mail quickly. “Write the $40 deposit check, Mom. I gotta take it to get my band director’s signature and you better put it in the mail tomorrow ‘cause if I don’t get in I’m not speaking to you for the rest of my life.” It was a hot ticket. We got up to 2,000 students every summer, and even had a thousand more on the waiting list.
John Locke: The campus faculty, the band directors in town at Page and Grimsley high schools all said, “I’m telling you now, it’s not gonna work.” There was a popular music camp at Appalachian in 1982 and a big camp at East Carolina that had populated the state with its band director graduates, so [ECU would] get the good kids. UNCG’s first summer music camp was 1983. We had 361 students. Then we had 750 or so the second year, 980 the third year, and we never looked back.
John Locke, Summer Music Camp Director 1983-2018: The director of bands position came open at UNCG in 1982, I was the first one to interview . . . The new dean of the School of Music, Robert Blocker, looked at my resume and saw that I’d headed a music camp at Southeast Missouri State and he was thinking, “This is exactly what UNCG needs.”
Edward DeMattos, Summer Music Camp Attendee, 1996-2001: I went to UNCG’s music camp from sixth grade to 10th grade. It was a family thing. My brother and sister both attended summer music camp before — and at the same time — as me. They absolutely loved it and would come home every summer raving about it, so I couldn’t wait to go.
Melissa Capozio Jones, Summer Music Camp Counselor 2012-14: They obviously hire a lot of the music students as counselors and I was one of them. A little stressful, definitely a little underpaid, but just a lot of fun, especially for someone who was majoring in music education. Having the opportunity to run sectionals and work with the students was like a crash course in teaching, too.
Kamala Lee, Summer Music Camp Attendee 2002: I played clarinet. I guess because I kind of paid attention in class so I got to go. At camp, in one week, I went from playing really easy sheet music to playing stuff that I never thought I would ever be able to play. Looking back on it, and even hearing it again, we played a Shrek medley and it was awesome. It didn’t sound like a bunch of middle schoolers playing.
Kevin Geraldi, Associate Camp Director 2005-21: My first summer working with the music camp was July of 2005. I accepted a position as an assistant professor in the School of Music and assistant associate director of bands. John Locke brought me in and I started working for the camp right away, before I ever taught a day in the School of Music.
Kevin Geraldi: Ed Rooker taught at camps from the very beginning, through the later part of his teaching career and all the way through his retirement. He had great energy and great passion and joy for teaching his students. So a lot of students kept coming back to camp to play in his band.
Cody Jones: One of my favorite teachers was Mr. Ed Rooker, who actually has passed away since (2014). He was a very popular conductor. They separated the bands out by colors and he was always the red band. He called it The Big Red Band.
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Edward DeMattos: The freedom they would give you at these camps, you didn’t have counselors walking you here and there, making sure you were on time for classes. You were expected to be where you needed to be and allowed to be a free and indepen dent person away from your parents. You just weren’t allowed to cross Tate Street. Dr. Locke’s speech at the beginning of every band camp always, always included the line: “And do not cross Tate Street!”
Kevin Geraldi: When you’re talking about something that functions for 2,000 students over the course of the two weeks, it’s kind of all over the map in terms of logistical challenges. We’ve got a really great system set up that’s existed for a long time. Every
Cody Jones, Summer Music Camp Attendee 2004-06: One of my favorite memories was going to The Corner on Tate Street, they had all kinds of laser pointers and stuff that kids would annoy the counselors with. That guy would sell you a little spud gun and two potatoes and you just stab the potato and shoot spuds at people and, again, counselors hated them.
Kevin Geraldi: The students arrive on Sunday afternoon. They begin their rehearsals on Sunday evening and learn a whole concert’s worth of music over the course of that week. We would have a thousand students giving concerts all at the same time, all over the UNCG campus. It was really exciting and enjoyable to see how much they learned in that amount of time, how fast they could grow. Then to see how much fulfillment and enjoyment they got out of making music together, that’s a huge reason music camp exists.
John Locke: We’ve had the who’s who of band directors in the Southeast, particularly from North Carolina, but from Virginia and Maryland and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee. These teachers felt honored to be asked to come to UNCG and teach at the camp, which was good because we didn’t pay them that much. It was a labor of love for them.
John Locke: This thing is year round — it’s all consuming. There isn’t a week that goes by, even in September, October, that you’re not tying up loose ends from the last camp or making plans for the next one. I don’t recommend it to anybody because it imposes a certain insanity on your life. But I don’t really have any regrets. I loved doing it. [After retiring in 2018, John Locke remains active as a guest conductor for bands throughout the United States and Canada.]
Kevin Geraldi: I’ll really miss the many people who have devoted an unbelievable number of years, 30, 35 years of summers working for the camp. And I’ll miss all the newer people that come with great energy, great passion and enthusiasm and new ideas. [In 2022, Kevin Geraldi accepted a position as director of bands at The School of Music at the University of Illinois.]
John Locke: If you have 2,000 students on your campus, you literally have 4,000 parents on your campus. And you’ve probably got another 2,000 or 3,000 brothers and sisters, and another 1,000 or 1,500 grandmas and grandpas, cousins who show up for the concert. UNCG’s got a hundred different majors you can pursue and these campers now know a little bit about the campus. It at least puts UNCG on the list of colleges they might attend because they had a great time at music camp.
UNCG Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr., 2015 to present: Summer Music Camp is wonderful on all counts. John Locke was a real driving force, I give him a lot of credit for maintaining the high quality of the program. They’re not appealing to the lowest common denominator. These kids really have to step up musically.
In 2011, Billy Ingram published an oral history about two young ladies who joined Dean Martin’s Golddiggers girl group in the 1970s and their adventures with The Rat Pack and other Las Vegas legends called Beyond Our Wildest Dreams. Available where books are sold and on Amazon.
G With preparations underway for the 40th season of UNCG’s summer music program, it’s worth noting, counselors in tow, those happy campers can now cross Tate Street. OH
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aul Nixon, an Irishman by way of McLeansville, could be a character from a Celtic fairy tale. He’s spry and compact with a workingman’s handshake, playful eyes, a flourish of salt and pepper hair, and sloping eyebrows that mimic the tilt of his mustache.
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A brogue twines around his words, which he knits into long stories. His laugh tumbles out often because he’s fond of telling jokes, like this one: Back when he was a car mechanic, he was used to seeing people cry — when he handed them a bill for repairs.
How former auto mechanic Paul Nixon became an artist
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A Slip of the Chisel. And a Whole New Life
Yuk-yuk-yuk. Then he adds a kicker: When he became an artist, at age 45, his clients’ tears were real, flowing from the heart.
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Fellow Dubliner William Butler Yeats, an early 20th century star of Irish poetry and drama, spent boyhood holidays there, too, and was inspired by the place’s supernatural aura. Some of Yeats’ writing and personal effects are preserved in the same museum that houses Nixon’s staff.
Churches are good customers, and Nixon has shipped many pieces to out-of-town flocks.
Nixon donated the walnut staff — and a bust of Celtic warrior Queen Maeve — as a nod to the place that molded him. He confesses that his gifts doubled as a tweak to a high school art teacher whose words he remembers exactly: “Your subject matter is too small, and I don’t think you can make it as an artist.”
Her words pressed a thumb on the scale of Nixon’s already low self-worth, and they added to Nixon’s fear of making mistakes, which was reinforced by teachers who lashed the tops of fingers with bamboo canes when students goofed.
Shy and unsure of himself, young Nixon threw himself into a multitude of physically demanding jobs after school— construction worker, alongside his cabinetmaker father; TV stuntman; and mechanic for a caravan on an African safari.
He just finished another commission for Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, a series of ornate wood-and-glass boxes for the congregation’s Mary of Fatima statues, portable shrines that parishioners can take home as focal points of prayer.
In 1985, at age 29, he embarked on a personal expedition, leaving Ireland for America.
“It changed my life in a profound way, he says. “I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, I think I have something that’s worth exploring.’”
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He has carved elaborate croziers — a fancy word for wooden staffs — for an assortment of clergy. He also made an intricate staff — a tribute to St. Patrick — that’s on permanent display at the Sligo County Museum in Ireland, his childhood stomping ground.
He spent summers there with his maternal grandmother in a 300-year-old thatched roof cottage at the foot of Tievebaun Mountain, aka White Mountain, believed to be the home of a faerie door in Irish folklore.
He’s best known for his bronze works in this area: The figures of a firefighter and two children in front the Greensboro Fire Department headquarters on Church Street; a sculpture, installed at the local hospice, honoring Patrick, a therapy dog who attended many people in their final hours; a bust of a World War II soldier — whose multi-ethnic facial features represent the vast fabric of American fighters — at a VFW post in Summerfield; and a pair of winged lions at the entrance of the Grandover Resort.
In a month when Greensboro focuses on folk art — much of it on display downtown at the North Carolina Folk Festival — it’s worth hearing the story of a local guy who, for decades, was more folk than artist, a grease-under-the-fingernails sort who harbored a sensitivity to beauty and a yearning to express his feelings in a way that others could recognize and appreciate — the essence of an “Ifartist.this happened to me, it could happen to other people, but it does take patience,” says the 67-year-old Nixon, who traded carburetors and transmissions for a creative portfolio that includes sculpture, carving, painting, stained glass and digitally-composed photography, along with art and antiques repair.
“I knew I had to lose myself to find myself,” he says. He unearthed part of himself in White Plains, N.Y., where he
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“My wife has always seen more in me than I’ve seen in myself,” he Henotes.found the cane and studied his mistake. He thought about leaves he’d seen in nature. What if he made the clipped leaf look like it was folded back on itself? He picked up a knife and kept going.
“I’d never experienced that before,” he says. This is his cue to tell the joke about the car repair bills. But you can tell he’s not kidding when he talks about the impact that Aunt Mary’s emotional response had on him. He left the car repair business about five years later, after he finished the Greensboro Fire Department bronze and partnered with a local art Hisgallery.income dropped more than he’d anticipated.
“It didn’t have much luster,” he says. “I wanted it to be special.” He picked up a knife knowing he could make it better, or worse, by carving a design on the cane. He took a chance. He cut away the wood to reveal one leaf and called his wife, who admired his“Whatwork. are you going to do now?” she said. “I think I’m going to do a vine coming around the handle,” he Fortysaid. hours later, he threw the stick under his work bench, disgusted.Aslipof the chisel had sliced off the tip of a leaf.
A week later, Francesca noticed that he’d stopped working on the stick. She asked about it.
“Thankfully, Francesca believed in me and supported me. Eventually, my income improved considerably, to where I have a happy wife and a happy life,” he says.
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“It’s given me a sense of purpose to know I’m affecting people in a positive way,” he says. “It’s a rich reward for me.” OH Maria Johnson is a contributing editor of O.Henry. Email her at ohenrymaria@gmail.com. See some of Paul Nixon’s work at paulnixonart.com.
Family provided a new path when Francesca’s Uncle Raley gave Nixon a wood lathe. Francesca suggested that Nixon make a walking stick for Raley’s wife, Mary. Nixon turned a block of walnut into a plain shaft and handle.
“I can’t do it,” he said. “I don’t have enough experience.”
bought part ownership of an auto garage and pursued ballroom dancing as a way to meet women.
Aunt Mary burst into tears when Nixon and his wife presented her with the vine-wrapped cane one Sunday after church.
Twenty years after his chisel skidded through a spot of soft wood, he’s no longer afraid of making mistakes, an inherent part of creating.“Forthe most part, taking risks always seems to take me to the next level, in that my confidence and art skills continuously improve,” he says. His practice also pays off beyond the bottom line.
“That was it,” he says. “We only dated three months when I proposed.”Theymoved to the Piedmont in 1999 to be closer to Francesca’s family, and Nixon continued his work under the hood in a Greensboro garage.
Francesca replied that Aunt Mary was expecting something unique, so he’d better resume the project.
“It was putting myself in the public lights — and being afraid of it — yet it was an adrenaline rush for me. It became a passion,” he Herecalls.met his wife, Francesca, a physical therapist, when she brought her car to the shop. He took her ballroom dancing on their first date.
The of
For shop owner Kam Culler, it’s all about family and home
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Culler, who was just 23 when she began fixing up her midcentury 1959 splitlevel ranch in Old Starmount Forest, is an independent go-getter. In the last few action-packed years, she’s married the love of her life, given birth to a second child and started her own business — all while rehabbing her home. “I’ve had a lot of From the Universe
PhotograPhs By a my Freeman
Culler pivots and shows off a colorful string of pom-poms. “Those are from Charlee’s 4th birthday. We did Kidchella.”
G rowth charts on door frames and bright orange permanent marker doodles on the wall might not be popular Pinterest decor, but for Kam Culler, home is all about the memories she creates there with herPointingfamily. to a shimmering gold-and-aqua tassel garland hanging in a door, she says, “Those are from our housewarming party five years ago.”
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In the kitchen, the previous owners had repurposed some old plates their children had broken into a mosaic backsplash. While it wasn’t Culler’s style, she thought, “Alright, this is definitely a house for a kid.”
When she first looked at homes as a single mom to then toddler Charlee in 2017, something about this house spoke to her. While Culler loves homes of that era for the charm and character they offer, this ranch style specifically symbolized to her “America’s frontier spirit and a new age and new growth of a new culture.”
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help from my friends and family, and my late sister-in-law,” she says. “But I want people to see a woman can do it all.”
Shortly after moving in, an old magnolia on the property fell on the back
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After seeing a multitude of houses, Culler, just 23-years-old at the time, trusted her instincts and made the decision to purchase the ranch, envisioning a future for herself and Charlee. Knowing that the house needed some work and updating, she was ready to commit because “it just felt homey.”
Feeding not only her cosmic spirit, the house offered a little wink from the universe, a nod to let her know this was the one. The previous owners had created a poker room off of the garage that most people would want to change immediately. But the space held special meaning to her. Holding up her forearm, she cheerfully points out, “My grandfather and I play poker. My tattoo that says ‘lucky’ is for him.”
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But the pièce de resistance, according to her, is the large, white basin-style bathtub. “That was the one thing,” quips Culler, who’s 6-feet tall. “I was like, ‘If we’re going to redo this, I want a bathtub that can fit my boobs and knees in’ — achieved!”Construction was already underway on the playroom and bathroom when Culler decided to have her kitchen countertops replaced. But, “funny story again,” it turned out not to be as simple as that. Shelving and cabinetry were removed from the walls for measuring, revealing that the walls beneath were not lined with drywall.
Of course, it’s not shelves that make the kitchen for Culler, but what’s on them. Over the years, Charlee has spent many birthdays at Mad Splatter, creating something new to commemorate each family milestone. While plants and everyday dishes occupy much of the shelves’ real estate, Charlee’s works of art hold the esteemed position on the top shelf.
of the house, setting a series of renovations into motion. The room that would become the playroom, for instance, flooded and required a complete overhaul, as did the upstairs bath room off of her main bedroom.
Recently, Culler rearranged the open shelving to accommodate the color-blindness of her newest family member, her husband Kyle. He came into her life in the middle of 2020 when he pulled into her driveway, “delivering plants — imagine that!” Looking around Culler’s lush house, it’s not hard to imagine at all. When the COVID pandemic struck in March of 2020, Culler was a 26-year-old single mom. Now she’s a married
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Today, the galley kitchen features modern dark green-gray cabinets with black cup pulls, a charcoal-grouted white subway tile backsplash, smooth white quartz countertops, white Café appliances with copper accents and open shelving consisting of 2-inch walnut slabs. It is as striking as it is functional.
“It was brick, wood, and the cabinets were literally superglued, so there was no saving them.”
While she hadn’t planned to update so soon, Culler hired Savas Construction to create a whimsical and feminine play space for daughter Charlee (and Wrennlee, who just joined the family in July). The room now features walls that are white on top and a soft pink on the bottom, paired with Kam’s signature colorful and cozy textiles found throughout her home. In the corner, Charlee can safely write on the wall on a wood-framed, house-shaped chalkboard. In her own bathroom, Culler repurposed a vintage dresser, its aqua paint adding a vibrant splash of color against the black-and-white ceramic floor tile and modern white shiplap walls. Photos of a smiling Culler and Charlee taken throughout the years at Anthropologie’s mother-daughter fashion shows and dance recitals adorn the walls.
As a mother to two girls, Culler wants to illustrate that anything is possible when a woman leans into her dreams and leans on her people.
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Kyle didn’t bring much baggage, just several journals from years of service as a missionary. “He’s lived in a thousand places,” Culler points out, adding that all of those years of living minimally have served him well in his transition into this house. He has one wardrobe in the bedroom to himself and a small collection of what Culler calls “tiny little man hats,” as compared to her own wide-brimmed assortment. She wasn’t about to let the busy-ness of life alter her dreams to have a shop of her own. “Yes, I’m a mom and then I do this,” she adds, referring to owning her business.
The Borough Market & Bar was created to cultivate a stronger sense of community and would not be possible without her own supportive community. “I would not be where I am without my family,” muses Culler. Sadly, her 23-year-old sister-in-law, Caroline, passed away in May. She was also pregnant with a girl and due shortly after Culler, who had made the decision to hire her because “we knew, or thought, she was here to stay.” Caroline had been at The Borough from the beginning, opening boxes and putting out merchandise. “I had a lot of help from her,” Culler sighs, tears forming in her eyes. A dresser in Culler’s living room, the space where she spends most of her time, holds a treasured illustration of the two young women that a friend gave her for her birthday shortly after Caroline’s passing.
mother of two girls, Charlee and newborn Wrennlee.
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Culler’s grandfather, Jerry Hardy, has also played an integral part in the creation of The Borough Market & Bar. “He’s my person,” declares Culler. “Pop is who really helped the vision come to life after COVID.”
The couple married at Cadillac Service Garage in a bohemian-inspired setting designed by Culler in October 2021. Two weeks later, she signed the lease on what would become The Borough Market & Bar. Just one month later, she discovered she was pregnant again.
That vision is centered on a sense of home and com munity. Culler was inspired by a visit to London’s Borough Market as an Elon undergrad, studying abroad, appreciating its communal vibes. Armed with over 10 years of working in retail for Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Lululemon, she was able to make the dream a reality. Her own Battleground Avenue establishment is divided into two spaces: a lounge and bar area that invites customers to relax over a cup of coffee or signature cocktail, and a boutique filled with eclectic goods from female-owned smallAfterbusinesses.alongperiod of many people using their kitchens as home offices, Culler wanted to offer a relaxed alternative.
“They get to have their sacred space of home back, but go somewhere pretty and inspiring to work.”
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The bar specializes in bourbon beverages, which is no accident since it’s Culler’s preferred spirit, a true reflection of who she is — a woman who honors her family’s past.
Art & Soul
The of Greensboro
“Bourbon is like the story of my life. The longer it’s aged, the more craftsmanship goes into it,” she says. “It tastes better. It can open up your senses.”
Looking for a sense of quality and heritage, Culler curates products for the shop just as she would for her home. She loves pieces she knows can be passed down through generations, much like the sideboard that once belonged to her grandparents.
This fall, she will partner with several neighborhood businesses to offer “Whiskey Around the World” pairing dinners at The Borough Market & Bar. Her boutique is a commercial tribute to Greensboro creatives, featuring murals from local artists, Marley Soden and Jenna Rice, plus large paintings from Angie the Rose. The boutique also includes smaller pieces of art from Thea DeLoreto and Amber Taylor Creative, plus plants from Tiny Plant Market.
“Smell and light sensory is a big thing with me,” Culler explains, pointing out why her home sanctuary is a space filled with twinkling lights, earthy hues of rust and pink, luscious green plants, family mementos, stray toys and nubby pillows, sofa and rugs. It’s here that she decompresses with a hot cup of coffee and her prayer journal after a long day down on Battleground Avenue.
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As if on cue, Charlee materializes in the hallway, dressed head-totoe in her latest dance recital costume, a lavender top with sequins and tulle ruffles paired with shiny teal lamé tights that emulate the look of Disney’s Little Mermaid. In this sparkling and magical moment, it’s easy to see that in this house, dreams are not only created, but brought to life.
OH
Glancing around her transformed living room, she muses, “I really wanted to be that hippie, herb mom, but I’m probably more like Amazon, Target and Starbucks.”
However one chooses to describe her, like her home and busi ness, Culler is an American original — an independent woman with a style all her own.
Pausing to reflect on the full life she and Kyle have embarked on, Culler sees their Starmount Forest ranch filled with “princesses and fairies, dance recitals and gymnastics, leotards and make up and sparkles and hair.” Even Kyle, who’s bald, gets in on the action, studying YouTube videos on braiding so that he can be “the ultimate girl dad.”
Cassie Bustamante is the managing editor of O.Henry magazine and a frequent shopper of Greensboro establishments — especially when there’s a coffee bar inside.
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Join O.Henry magazine at The Colonnade at Revolution Mill, Greensboro, as we host Kristy Woodson Harvey, a New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, includ ing Under the Southern Sky and The Peachtree Bluff Series. Following drinks and hors d’oeuvres, she'll share stories from her latest novel, The Wedding Veil. Set at the Bilt more, this historical-contemporary novel is about Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt of Biltmore, a present-day family, and the famous, missing Vanderbilt veil. Set at the Biltmore, this historical-contemporary novel fol lows the mystery of the famous missing Vanderbilt veil across generations, from Edith to Cornelia and beyond. "One of the hottest new Southern writers."—Parade.com
Kristy Woodson Harvey Thursday, November 3, 2022 6 — 8 p.m. The Colonnade at Revolution Mill 900 Revolution Mill Drive Greensboro, NC 27405
The summer ended. Day by day, and taking its time, the summer ended.
The apples are falling. Figs, drooping. And among the early fall bloomers — crape myrtle, chrysanthemum and autumn crocus — one has a name truly fit for the season: the equinox flower. Lycoris radiata (also known as the red spider lily, red magic lily and surprise lily) bloom on naked stalks, often after a heavy rainfall. The coral-red blossoms comprise an explosion of curled petals with long stamens that resemble the legs of a you-know-what (see alternate names). Winter foliage follows. In Japan, the name for the red spider lily — Manjushage — means “flower of the heavens.” While this dazzling flower is often associated with death and the afterlife, don’t let that stop you from planting it in your own garden. The butterflies love them. Japanese rice farmers use them to deter mice. But should they attract the lost soul of some distant ancestor, ancient Buddhist text tells that this eye-catching beauty will help to guide them along.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 99 ALMANAC
Equinox Flower
In August, when the hummingbirds were weaving among hibis cus, she scattered a few more notes. The marbled muscadine leaf, swirled with gold, brown and rust. The crimson maple leaf, bril liant as a summer flower. The star-shaped sweetgum leaf, splotched like a palette with autumn’s fiery hues. Somehow you missed them. Suddenly, it seems, September is here, playfully tugging at the loose threads of summer. But she doesn’t just surprise you once. On cool mornings, she permeates the air, perfume thick with earth and musk. Now and again, she pinches your cheeks; tousles your hair. Her very presence is electric. The trees shiver and blush. Chimney swifts and swallows haunt the evening sky with dark, flickering clouds. A screech owl sings out, voice quavering like a treble violin. Now that she’s got your attention, she begins to unravel the golden season leaf by marbled, rust-colored leaf. She doesn’t rush, nor does she dawdle. She just sips the light from the summer sky, strips the green from the rustling trees and, sometimes, surprises herself.
— James Baldwin, Just Above My Head On This Harvest MoonThefullharvest moon rises on Saturday, Sept. 10 — 12 days before the autumnal equinox, aka, the first day of fall. And what of the harvest? Garlic, garlic, garlic. Bushels of apples and sweet, plump figs. Potatoes, tomatoes and greens galore. Don’t forget the honey. The days are growing shorter. As the golden season fades, savor what is here, now: the nectar and fruits of a waning summer. OH
September takes you by surprise again. She told you she was coming. Tried to, anyway. Back in July, when the butterflies were puddling on the wet earth, she sent her first announcement — a tulip poplar leaf: half orange, half“Seeyellow.you soon,” she scribbled across its waxy surface. Perhaps it slipped through the cracks.
By a shley Walshe September
A SpecialSectionAdvertising
One of the world’s most beloved operas, La traviata has inspired popular films from Pretty Woman to Moulin Rouge. Live at The Stevens Center of the UNCSA Winston-Salem, NC 336.725.7101 or PiedmontOpera.org LA TRAVIATA Piedmont Opera presents Verdi’s October 21st at 8 PM October 23rd at 2 PM October 25th at 7:30 PM
102 O.Henry The Art & Soul of Greensboro We Shall Be Known NEW FAVORITES BY WOMEN COMPOSERS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 8PM MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 7:30PM Glad Tidings CELEBRATE THE SOUNDS OF THE SEASON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 8PM MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 7:30PM Hidden Gems FEATURING CRY OF JEREMIAH SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 8PM MONDAY, MARCH 27, 7:30PM Classics and Beyond MUSIC THAT STANDS THE TEST OF TIME SATURDAY, MAY 6, 8PM MONDAY, MAY 8, 7:30PM THE CHORAL ARTS COLLECTIVE ENROLLING FOR FALL 2022! A pprentice c hoir : G r A des 2-5 i ntermedi Ate c hoir : G r A des 6-8 c oncert c hoir : G r A des 9-12 No Experience Necessary! GreensboroYouthChorus.org ChoralArtsCollective.org | (336) 333-2220 | 200 N Davie St #8 | Ste 337 | Greensboro, NC 27401 40th Season Season & Single BelCantoCompany.comTickets: OHenry_SeptArtsIssue_DRAFT.indd 1 8/10/2022 10:22:45 AM
SEE SHOP EXPLORE CREATE Your downtown hub for arts, culture and creativity. GREENSBORO CULTURALCreativeGreensboro.comCENTER@CreativeGreensboro Building management provided by THE CITY’S OFFICE FOR ARTS & CULTURE 200 N. Davie Street • Greensboro, NC
104 O.Henry The Art & Soul of Greensboro Art in the Arboretum SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2 • 12 NOON-5 PM GREENSBORO ARBORETUM 401 Ashland Drive | Free Admission! This juried art and fine craft event will feature local artists exhibiting their hand-crafted offerings in an outdoor gallery. There will be also be live entertainment, interactive art activities, food and beverage vendors, and more. NEW STUDENT SPECIAL Join the DANCE! 5 LESSONS FOR $50 At Fred Astaire Dance Studios you’ll find a warm, friendly community where you’ll discover a whole new world of fun! No partner is required to take lessons . We’ll pair you with an instructor, and you’ll be dancing in no time! 1500 Mill Street, Suite 105 | Greensboro, NC 27408 (336) 379-9808 | fredastaire.com/greensboro
24th ARTSTOCKAnnualTour OCTOBER 8-9 • Preview Exhibit of participating artists SEPTEMBER 12-23 • Opening Reception SEPTEMBER 9 • 6-8 • 1401 Gallery - 1401 Benjamin Parkway Greensboro TOP: Green Lily’s 60 x 40 oil on linen | donnellrilee.com BOTTOM: Enchanted Day 40 x 30 acrylic | crystaleadiemiller.com TOP: Advance Glow 36 x 36 acrylic | crystaleadiemiller.com BOTTOM: Blue and White Lily’s 40 x 60 oil on linen | donnellrilee.com Originals by Sally Donnell Rilee available at her home studio near Friendly Center Originals by Crystal Eadie Miller available at The Studio House in Summerfield LOCAL ARTISTS OPEN THEIR STUDIOS See more about the event tour and locations of local artists at artstocktour.com
106 O.Henry The Art & Soul of Greensboro A SMALL GROUP SHOW 9.2 – 10.16 CASA AZUL DIA DE MUERTOS OFRENDAS 11.1 – 11.12 5TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY INVITATIONAL 11.22 – 12.23 HOME TO GREENSBORO’S LOCAL ART COMMUNITY Downtown Greensboro in the Greensboro Cultural Center 200 N. Davie Street Info about exhibitions and www.mycvagreensboro.orgclasses336.333.7475 LOOK WHAT’S NEXT The CVA is a non-profit resident organization of the Greensboro Cultural Center, made possible by a significant in-kind contribution from Creative Greensboro, the City of Greensboro’s office for arts & culture. art + community C VA
3 3 ANNIVERSARYEAR Y TH
Urban Bush Women, a dance company whose works weave contemporary dance, music, and text with history, culture, and spiritual traditions of the African Diaspora
Winston Duke, star of the blockbuster Marvel Studios movie Black Panther
Joshua Bell, one of the most celebrated violinists of our time, in recital Shaun Leonardo, multidisciplinary artist whose work negotiates societal expectations of manhood
The Indigo Girls, a folk-rock duo that has been the voice of a generation, in concert with The Greensboro Symphony Orchestra Seraph Brass, a dynamic ensemble drawing from a roster of America’s top female brass players
UNC Greensboro’s Concert and Lecture Series celebrates its 110th Season with an exciting line-up of world renowned artists:
WINSTONAUGUSTDUKE26 INDIGO GIRLS WITH THE SYMPHONYGREENSBOROORCHESTRAJANUARY13URBAN BUSH OCTOBERWOMEN14JOSHUABELLOCTOBER3 Visit UCLS.UNCG.EDU to buy tickets. LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH LIVE ARTS!
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Linger over coffee and signature local treats in one of our bakeries, coffee shops, diners, restaurants or outdoor cafes. Browse in unique gift or antique shops, quaint bookstores, clothing boutiques and galleries featuring artisan crafts. From an old gas station given new life as a general store to history and children’s museums, from craft brews to hand-dipped ice cream, there’s something here for everyone.
SAVOR LIFE’S SWEET MOMENTS.
110 O.Henry The Art & Soul of Greensboro Saturday 7:30am - 12noon Wednesday (thru mid-October) 8am - 12noon 501 Yanceyville Street Shop local from 80+ vendors direct from the grower, producer & maker. Enjoy our new coffee bar, chef made meals-to-go and baked goods, too! Connecting Farmers, Food & Friends ALSOGSOFarmersMarket.OrgTHISFALLATTHE CURB MARKET... Sunshine Quesadilla Breakfast Fundraiser - Saturday, September 10 Curiosities at the Curb Vintage Sale - Sunday, September 18, 12-3pm* Made 4 the Holidays Artisan Festival - Sundays, November 13 & December 4 **Early Bird Tickets Now on Sale! SATURDAYS Joinus FOR MUSIC MAKERS ON THE 9AM-11:30AMLAWN Oil Painter Angela L. Gunter 336.350.3741RegionalOriginal,WorksofArt,Prints&Commissions www.Gunterhaus.com
GET YOUR TICKETS TO THE SEASONPERFORMANCE2022-23TODAY Our robust performance season starts this fall with these events and many more! DANCE / DESIGN & PRODUCTION / DRAMA / FILMMAKING / MUSIC UNCSA.EDU Scan for the performanceentirecalendar TICKET 336-721-1945INFOboxo ce@uncsa.edu uncsa.edu/performancesSWEENEY TODD Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler Nov. 10-12, 17-19 at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. FREEDMAN THEATRE $25 Adult $20 Student THE NUTCRACKER Dec. 9, 14-16 at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10 and 17 at noon and 5 p.m. Dec. 11 and 18 at 2 p.m. STEVENS CENTER Tickets as low as $40 AMADEUS by Peter Sha er Oct. 27-29 at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. CATAWBA THEATRE $25 Adult $20 Student NOWONTICKETSSALE
112 O.Henry The Art & Soul of Greensboro Art Galleries in Mebane, Burlington, and Graham Piccaso’s Gift Shop featuring local and regional artists Arts Advocators for written, visual, and performing arts Come Visit Us and Keep Art Alive 213 S Main St, Graham, NC 27253 Mon - Sat, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. 336 - 226www.alamancearts.org4495 We are committed to shaping the cultural identity of Alamance County by making art a tangible presence in the lives of its citizens. Notable Night in Hollywood Gala tickets are $175.00 and include the Symphony concert. Tickets available at https://www.gsoguild.org. The Symphony Guild provides support and fundraising for the Greensboro Symphony’s Music Education Programs. We welcome new members interested in Music and supporting Music Education! Proudly Supporting Music & Arts in Our Community
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 113 C.P. LOGAN OPEN STUDIO AND GARDEN SEPTEMBER 11TH • 1-5:00 PM 1206 W. Cornwallis Dr. Hundreds of originals for sale by students Free and Open to All! CONNIE P. LOGAN - ARTIST/TEACHER www. CPLogan.com FALL & SHOWCHRISTMASNOVEMBER4TH&5TH11AM-4PMEACHDAY 612 JOYNER STREET, GREENSBORO, NC | 336-312-0099 STUDIO OPEN BY APPOINTMENT ANYTIME KEVIN RUTAN’S STUDIO
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WEDNESDAYS ZUMBA IN THE PARK. 5:30–6:30 p.m. Shake and groove in this weekly class led by Velmy Liz Trinidad. Free. LeBauer Park, 208 N. Davie St., Greensboro. greensboro-nc.govForestlevel.EnjoyGREENSBOROgreensborodowntownparks.org/calendar.Info:CHESSCLUB.6–9p.m.chessonasocialandcompetitiveFree.LewisRecreationCenter,3110LawnDrive,Greensboro.Info:(clickon“events”).
MONDAYS FLOW INTO FALL. 6–7 p.m. Instructor Cheri Timmons guides participants through a yoga flow for students of all levels. Free. LeBauer Park, 208 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: facebook.com/BeardedGoatGSO.Goat,Dark7–9TRIVIA(clickGreensboro.Center,danceadultTOTALtownparks.org/calendar.greensborodown-BODYDANCE.7–8p.m.Anfitnessprogramconsistingofcardioroutines.Free.LewisRecreation3110ForestLawnDrive,Info:greensboro-nc.govon“events”).ATTHEBEARDEDGOAT.p.m.TeamtriviawithDonfromZeroNerdypodcast!Free.TheBearded116E.LewisSt.,Greensboro.Info:
THURSDAYS CYCLING CLUB. 6–8:30 p.m. Cyclists meet up for an easy downtown ride. Free. LeBauer Park, 208 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: parks.org/calendar.greensborodowntown-
September 2022
HOLLY GODDARD JONES. 6 p.m. This UNCG faculty fictional reading celebrates the release of Jones’ latest collec tion of short stories, Antipodes, followed by a book signing. Free. Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: scuppernongbooks.com/event. 01 & 15 ORGANIC ARTIST. 5–6 p.m. Participants use nature as a source of inspiration and in their artwork during this family-friendly program at the Community Garden Shelter. Tickets: $5; registration required. Keeley Park, 4110 Keeley Road, McCleansville. Info: greensboro-nc.gov (click on “events”).
01 GARDEN SCIENTIST. 5:45–6:45 p.m. Children 7–12 participate in science ex periments related to garden management. Free; registration required. Caldcleugh Garden, 1700 Orchard St., Greensboro. Info: greensboro-nc.gov (click on “events”).
Greensboro
02 GREENHILL FIRST FRIDAY. 6–8 p.m. Choreographer and dancer Tristan Walsh of UNCG’s School of Dance presents Intermittent Presence, a series of four performances inspired by the PRESENCE exhibition. Free. GreenHill Center for
Although a conscientious effort has been made to provide accurate and up-to-date information, all events are subject to change and errors can occur. Please call to verify times, costs, status and location before attending an event. 09.03.2022Passages
FRIDAYS TUNES @ NOON. 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Enjoy live music and lunch in Market Square. Free. LeBauer Park, 208 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: greensborodowntownparks.org/calendar.
Weekly Events September Events
TOURS. 1:30–2:30 p.m. & 3–4 p.m. The final guided battlefield tours of the summer depart from the park’s visitor center. Free. Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, 2332 New Garden Road, Greensboro. Info: nps.gov. 04 KARAOKE & LINE DANCING. 4–7 p.m. DJ Energizer lays down tracks for an evening of singing and dancing. Free. Center City Park, 200 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: parks.org/calendar.greensborodowntown07 YOGA IN THE GALLERY. 6–6:45 p.m. Join Dancing Dogs Yoga for restorative yoga surrounded by art. Free; registration required. GreenHill Center for NC Art, 200 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: greenhillnc.org/events.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 115 Calendar NC Art, 200 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: greenhillnc.org/events.
FF DRUM CIRCLE. 6:30–9 p.m. Join Healing Earth Rhythms for a community drum circle every first Friday of the month. Free. Center City Park, 200 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: tion.org.Greensboro.Complex,advance;ofGreenGREENparks.org/calendar.Greensboro.Free.FirstCasaNOCHEparks.org/calendar.greensborodowntownLATINA.6:30–10p.m.JoinAzulandMariaGonzalezduringFridayforanightofLatindancing.LeBauerPark,208N.DavieSt.,Info:greensborodowntown-QUEENBINGO.7p.m.TheQueenandhergirlshostanightbingo,comedyanddrag.Tickets:$20/$25.GreensboroColiseum1921W.GateCityBlvd.,Info:guilfordgreenfounda-
FRAMES & HOUSEWIFE. 8 p.m. Enjoy a night of emo-pop, then some neo-soul in the Crown Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St, Greensboro. Info: carolinatheatre.com/events. Tickets: $10/advance; $12. MORNING PARKTUNES. 11 a.m.–noon. Join NathanRyan and the Whomevers on the first Saturday of every month for an afternoon of music, plus games, arts and crafts. Free. LeBauer Park, 208 N. Davie St., Greensboro.
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mierePASSAGES.greensboro-nc.govmonth.andonline4–5:30VIRTUALgreensborodowntownparks.org/calendar.Info:POETRYWORKSHOP.p.m.BenjaminBardsleadsanworkshopforpoetsofallagesskilllevelseveryfirstSaturdayoftheFree;registrationrequired.Info:(clickon“events”).7–9p.m.Enjoythepre-of
Passages: An Homage to Our ‘Extra’ordinary Lives by Artist-in-Residence Activate Entertainment Project. Free. LeBauer Park, 208 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: parks.org/calendar.greensborodowntown 03 – 04 REPTICON. 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Learn from live animal encounters and shop reptiles. Tickets: $15/two-day pass; $12/adult; $6/children 5-12. Greensboro Coliseum Complex, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Info: greensborocoliseum. BATTLEFIELDcom/events.
WHEN YOU SUPPORT THE ARTS Creivy HaensCre ivy Ha ens Invest in Greensboro's Creative Economy for a vibrant and equitable future for all. artsgreensboro.org | #artsgso Angela Gunter, artist and 2022 ArtsGreensboro grantee “I GIVE MY SINCEREST THANKS TO MY GENEROUS GRANTORS WHO HAVE HELPED TO FURTHER MY ARTISTIC UNDERSTANDING, TECHNIQUES, AND SKILLS.” Holly Goddard Jones 09.01.2022 Virtual Poetry 09.03.2022Workshop
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 117 Calendar READING THE WORLD. 7–8 p.m. Scuppernong Books hosts an online discussion of Chasing Homer, a classic escape nightmare novel by Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai. Free. Info:Center,Guilfordfolx“ProgrammingQTBIPOCscuppernongbooks.com/event.Info:NIGHT.6–8p.m.ledbyblackandbrownforblackandbrownfolx.”Free.GreenFoundation&LGBTQ121N.GreeneSt.,Greensboro.guildfordgreenfoundation.org. 07 & 21 GATE CITY GROOVES. 6–7 p.m. Learn hip hop dances focusing on oldschool, new-school and ’90s grooves. Free. LeBauer Park, 208 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: parks.org/calendar.greensborodowntown 07 & 22 YES YOU CAN. 10 a.m.–noon. Learn about fermentation canning and its ability to create good gut health. Free. Trotter Active Adult Center, 3906 Betula St. Greensboro. Info: greensboro-nc.gov (click on “events”). Reading the 09.07.2022World Yes You Can 09.07 & 09.22.2022 Think of us as your new friend in the know! Bringing you the intel you need about happenings in and around Greensboro every Tuesday morning. Sign up for our weekly newsletter about what’s happening in Greensboro. www.OHeyGreensboro.com
JOYTIME RETREAT. The two-day women’s retreat features Christian author, speaker and radio personality Dr. Joy Greene and lead singer of Big Daddy Weave, Mike Weaver. Tickets: $22+. 300 NC 68, Greensboro. Info: joytime.org. 17 NATIONAL DANCE DAY. 1–9 p.m. Professional dancers representing a variety of cultural styles and genres invite the community to join them with food trucks and vendors on-site. Free. LeBauer Park, 208 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: greensborodowntownODENFEST.parks.org/calendar.Noon. Dust off those lederhosen and head to Oden Brewing for OdenFest. Free. Oden Brewing Company, Garden Master Building 08.10, 08.17 & 08.24.2022 Alan09.10.2022Jackson
DONTRELL. Blending poetry, humor, wordplay and ritual, Dontrell, Who Kissed the
SHERLOCK 5K. 6–8 p.m. Bring your furry friends to Jamestown for a 5K or 1-mile fun run/dog walk. All proceeds benefit critical breast cancer research. $15+. Wren Miller Park, 101 Guildford Road, Jamestown. Info: earlier.org/events
15 IN-PERSON POETRY WORKSHOP. 7–8:30 p.m. Benjamin Bards leads a workshop for poets of all ages and skill levels every third Thursday of the month. Free; registration required. Benjamin Branch Library, 1530 Benjamin Parkway, Greensboro. Info: greensboro-nc.gov (click on “events”). 15–18 & 22–25
118 O.Henry The Art & Soul of Greensboro Calendar 09 – 11 NC FOLK FESTIVAL. Visit downtown Greensboro to hear music from over 300 folk artists across multiple stages. Info and schedule: ncfolkfestival.com. BALLOON FESTIVAL. Friday 9 a.m.–6 p.m., Saturday & Sunday 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Alcovets hosts the Alamance County Balloon Festival, including live entertainment, a 5K and car show. $25+. Cedarock Park, 4242 R Dean Coleman Road, Burlington. alcovets.org/balloon-festivalInfo: 10 GRILLING SCHOOL. 8 a.m–noon. Learn how to grill all types of seafood at Fleet-Plummer Grilling School. Tickets: $40+. Fleet-Plummer, 2437 Battleground Ave., Greensboro. ALANfleetplummer.com/events.Info:JACKSON.7p.m. The country music star performs his Last Call: One More for the Road Tour. Tickets: $30.50+. Greensboro Coliseum Complex, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Info: greensborocoliseum.com/events. 10, 17 & 24
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GARDEN MASTER BUILDER. 10 a.m.–Noon. High school juniors and seniors learn basic carpentry skills, hand and power tool safety, plus garden management through this 10-hour certification program. Free; registration required. Xperience @ Caldcleugh, 1700 Orchard St., Greensboro. Info: greensboronc.gov (click on “events”). 11 OPEN STUDIO. 1–5 p.m. Tour the studio and garden, plus shop original art from hundreds of students. Free. CP Logan, 1206 W. Cornwallis Drive, Greensboro. Info: cplogan.com. 13–18 MEAN GIRLS. The hilarious hit Broadway musical arrives in the ‘Boro. Tickets: $29+. Steven Tanger Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: tangercenter.com/events.
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Sea is a present-day hero’s quest exploring the lengths we must go to redeem history’s wrongs. Tickets:$5+. Pam and David Sprinkle Theatre, 402 Tate St., Greensboro. Info: vpa.uncg/edu.
Collage, a series of student and faculty performances. Tickets: $7+. UNCG Auditorium, 408 Tate St., Greensboro. Info: LIGHTvpa.uncg/edu.OFLED. 7:30 p.m. Enjoy Zeppelin classics to the symphonic orchestrations of Page & Plant. Tickets: $30+. High Point Theatre, 220 E. Commerce Ave., High Point. Info: Hip-HopMARYSalem.Park,glowor(1-mile)MOONLIGHThighpointtheatre.com/events.MADNESS.7:30p.m.&8p.m.(5K).Enjoyaflat5K1-Mileracewhiledressedinyourbestoutfit.Registration:$15+.Bailey575N.PattersonAve.,Winston-Info:theraceseries.com.J.BLIGE.8p.m.TheQueenofSoulperformsher Good Morning Gorgeous Tour with special guests Ella Mai and Queen Naija. Tickets: $59.50+. Greensboro Coliseum Complex, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Info: greensborocoliseum.com/events. 18 GREENSBORO PRIDE FESTIVAL. 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Pride-filled fun rings along downtown streets. Free. South Elm Street between West Washington and Lewis streets. Info: greensboropride.org.
GROWLER GALLOP. 5:30 p.m. Run either a 5K or 10K race, then enjoy local brews at the finish line. Registration: $30+/5K; $40+/10K; $30/Virtual. SouthEnd Brewing, 117b W. Lewis St., Greensboro. Info: triviumracing.com/ events. 21 WEDNESDAY IN THE CROWN. 8 p.m. Wednesday, a five-piece band out Calendar 910.693.2516 • info@ticketmeTriad.comtriad For Tickets & More September Events Visit TicketMeTriad.com Sept 6-11 An O.Henry Celebration - Stories & Songs The Virginia Somerville Sutton Theatre at Well•Spring Sept 7 Vegan Cooking Class Reto’s Kitchen Sept 15 Fall Sipping Series: The Vision is Crystal Clear - Cristalino Tequilas 19 & Timber Bar at Grandover 1725 NC Highway 66 South, Kernersville, NC 27284 (336) 564-1010 | www.bmhs.us
Rolling Stone magazine hails as “The Best Beatles Tribute on Earth.” Tickets: $44+. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. Info: SchoolCOLLAGE.carolinatheatre.com/events.7:30p.m.TheUNCGofMusicpresents
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 119 802 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Info: 1964.Asheboro.NorthonlyhorticultureoutdoorFALLgreensboro-nc.gov3110tea.areSIPodenbrewing.com/taproom-events.&SEW.1:30–4:30p.m.BeginnersinvitedtocreateasewingprojectoverTickets:$25.LewisRecreationCenter,ForestLawnDrive,Greensboro.Info:(clickon“events”).PLANTSALE.8a.m.–3p.m.DiscoverplantscultivatedbytheNCZoo’sexperts.Free.Cashorcheckforplantpurchases.AfricaParkingLot,CarolinaZoo,4401ZooParkway,Info:nczoo.org/events.7:30p.m.Catchtheband
The Art & Soul of Greensboro Calendar of Asheville, performs with special guest Truth Club; standing room only. Tickets: $10/advance; $12. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. carolinatheatre.com/events.Info: 23 FRIDAY FLICKS. 5–11 p.m. Enjoy a movie in the park. Space Jam: A New Legacy. Seating begins at 5 p.m., screening starts at sunset. Free. LeBauer Park, 208 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info:
120 O.Henry
FOOTGOLF DAYS. 9 a.m.–noon. Both new and experienced footgolf players are invited to come out and enjoy a round. Free; registration required. Gillespie Golf Course, 306 E. Florida St., Greensboro. Info: greensboro-nc. gov (click on “events”). TACO & MARGARITA FEST. Noon. Sample from a variety of taco food trucks while sipping margaritas. Tickets: $15; $49/earlyentrance VIP. Greensboro Coliseum Complex, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Info: ENgreensborocoliseum.com/events.PLEINAIR.1–3p.m.McKenna’s Art invites families and individuals to create outdoors. Free. LeBauer Park, 208 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: greensborodowntown CREATURESparks.org/calendar.OF THE NIGHT. 7–8 p.m. Discover the source of evening woodland Friday09.23.2022Flicks tate Street S
draisingRestorationNIGHTborodowntownparks.org/calendar.greensOFRESTORATION.6–8p.m.PlaceCounseling’s2022fun-galahostsGrammy-winnerand American Idol Season 5 finalist, Mandisa. Tickets: $35. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. Info: carolina DECADEStheatre.com/events.BAND. 8 p.m. Enjoy covers of multi-genre hit songs from the ’60s through today. Free. One Thirteen Brewhouse + Rooftop Bar, 113 North Greene St., Greensboro. facebook.com/DecadesDuo.Info:
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3–5 p.m. Be Kind Kids hosts Rainbow Runway, an inclusive fashion show for children. Free. LeBauer Park, 208 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: bekindkidsgso.com. 29-30 WE LEAD. 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Women in Educational Leadership conference empowers its attendees in everyday life and career. $200. Grandover Resort & Spa, 1000 Club Road, Greensboro. Info: womenedleaders.com. 30 DRIVE ELECTRIC. 9 a.m.–Noon. The NC Zoo celebrates National Drive Electric Week by showcasing the cleanair and cost-saving benefits of all-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid automobiles. Free. North Carolina Zoo, North America Parking Lot, 4401 Zoo Parkway, Asheboro. Info: nczoo.org/events. 904-DTDG
MARIACHI COBRE. 8 p.m. Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with Mariachi Cobre, a 12-piece mariachi band, and the Greensboro Symphony. Tickets: $35+. Steven Tanger Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: tangercenter.com/events.
25 BLUES CLUES. 2 p.m. Blues Clues & You Live is a magical theater show based on the hit children’s TV series. Tickets: $25+. Steven Tanger Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: LIVINGtangercenter.com/events.WITHRUTHIEMAE. 4 p.m. See the spin-off of Mama’s Girls, the longest tour ing urban stage plays in America. Tickets: $25/advance; $30. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. FASHIONcarolinatheatre.com/events.Info:FOREVERYBODY.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 121 Calendar sounds on a listening tour. Tickets: $2; registration required. Gibson Park, Twin Ponds Trail, 5207 W. Wendover Ave., Jamestown. Info: greensboro-nc.gov (click on “events”).
LIL DURK & FRIENDS. 7:30 p.m. Rapper Lil Durk performs on tour. Tickets: $60+. Greensboro Coliseum Complex, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. highpointtheatre.com/events.CommerceTickets:SmokeySMOKEYgreensborocoliseum.com/events.Info:&ME.7:30p.m.CelebrateRobinson’slife,musicandcareer.$30+.HighPointTheatre,220E.Ave.,HighPoint.Info:
LOVEFEST 2022. 7 p.m. Sweet Pea Productions NC hosts LoveFest 2022, featuring Dr. O. DeShea Cuthrell, Coré S. Cotton, Brian O’Neal and Miles Jaye. Tickets: $60; $80/VIP. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. Info: carolinatheatre.com/events.
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J o i n t h e e f f o r t . V i s i t w w w . t r i a d l o c a l f i r s t . c o m . “I couldn’t be happier with my renters, or my rentalTomincome”Arevian Burkely Rental Homes client Triad Local First’s Annual COMMUNITY TABLE 2022 at Summerfield Farms Sunday, October 9th, 2022 Eat | Drink | Laugh | Local To purchase tickets, visit www.TriadLocalFirst.org
Steel09.30.2022City 121-A WEST MCGEE ST. GREENSBORO, NC WWW.JACOBRAYMONDJEWELRY.COM27401 | 336.763.9569 Handmade In House interior design • furniture • lighting • art • accessories 513 s elm www.vivid-interiors.com336.265.8628st Downtown Greensboro
LOS TIGRES. 8 p.m. Los Tigres del Notre performs its La Reunion Tour. Tickets: $50+. Greensboro Coliseum Complex, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. greensborocoliseum.com/events.Info: Sept. 30–Oct. 02
The STEEL CITY. 6–7 p.m. Discuss Steel City, the story of Pittsburgh’s 1890s golden age, written by William J. Miller Jr. Free. Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St., Greensboro. SHEscuppernongbooks.com/event.Info:ROCKS.6p.m.SheROCKS, an organization devoted to bringing awareness to ovarian cancer through outreach, hosts its Annual Dinner Event and silent auction, catered by 1618 ON Location. Summerfield Farms, 3203 Pleasant Ridge Road, Summerfield. Tickets: $150+. Info: KRS-ONE.she-rocks.org/event.7:30p.m. United Way’s 100 Years of Good Vibes Concert presents KRS-One, the “conscience of hip hop.” Tickets: $20+. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. carolinatheatre.com/events.Info:
Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 123 Calendar
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. 7:30 p.m. High Point Community Theatre presents Little Shop of Horrors, the Broadway and Hollywood sci-fi smash musical. Tickets: $22+. High Point Theatre, 220 E. Commerce Ave., High Point. Info: highpointtheatre.com/event. OH To submit an event for consideration, emaill us at ohenrymagcalendar@gmail.com by the first of the month ONE MONTH PRIOR TO THE EVENT.
124 O.Henry The Art & Soul of Greensboro Business & Services 5725 W. Friendly Ave. Ste 112 • Greensboro, NC 27410 • 30+ years as a major dealer of Gold, Silver, and Coins • Most respected local dealer for appraising and buying Coin Collections, Gold, Silver, Diamond Jewelry and Sterling Flatware • Investment Gold, Silver, & Platinum Bullion Across the street from the entrance to Guilford College RAREASHMORECOINS&METALS Since 1987 Visit us: www.ashmore.com or call 336-617-7537 Practicing Commercial Real Estate by the Golden Rule Bill Strickland, CCIM Commercial Real Estate Broker/REALTOR 336.369.5974 | bstrickland@bipinc.comwww.bipinc.com AFFORDABLE & STYLISH 3821 West Gate City Blvd. , Greensboro, NC 27407 www.chiksly.com 30%OFF SHOP LOCAL FOR BEST PRICES We Service What We Sell & Offer Personal Attention 2201 Patterson Street, Greensboro, NC (2 Blocks from the Coliseum) Mon. - Fri.: 9:30am - 5:30 pm Sat. 10 am - 2 pm • Closed Sunday336-854-9222 • www.HartApplianceCenter.com You won’t find them in ordinary kitchens. Or at ordinary stores. Sub-Zero, the preservation specialist. Wolf, the cooking specialist. You’ll find them only at your local kitchen specialist.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 125 Business & Services Spend your time relaxed PEACEFULLANE.COMADEINNC How you spend your time is how you spend your life. That’s why we created Peaceful Lane, a line of full spectrum farm to counter botanicals to help you relax, be present, and pain free with the time you have. 15% off with code: OHENRY15 Contact us: hello@peacefullane.co Come see our family for all your cook-out needs! Happy Labor Day Proudly family owned & operated since 1929. Doggett Rd, Browns Summit, NC, United States, 27214 336.656.3361 HOPKINS POULTRY 1614-C WEST FRIENDLY AVENUE GREENSBORO, NC 27403 TUESDAYstitchpoint@att.net336-272-2032-SATURDAY:10:30-3:00 CelebratingStitchPointYEARS Wendover Place | 1216 C, Bridford Pkwy Unit C, Greensboro, NC 27407 (336) 299-6511 | www.coconailsbargso.com NAIL BAR & SPA Luxurious 10% OFF ANYMANICURESPEDICURES,&SERVICE$50+ Military, Nurses, Teachers & Students w/ proper ID Not combined with other Monday-Wednesdaypromotionsonly
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry 127 DOVER SQUARE • WESTOVER GALLERY OF SHOPSLAWNDALE SHOPPING CENTER • IRVING PARK 1738 Battleground Ave • Irving Park Plaza Shopping Center • Greensboro, NC • (336) 273-3566 LADIES CLOTHING, GIFTS, BABY, JEWELRY, GIFTS FOR THE HOME, TABLEWARE, DELICIOUS FOOD www.ohenrymag.com @online Visit ➛
The tarot reading — and tattoo — that changed my life
By Corrinne rosquillo
128 O.Henry The Art & Soul of Greensboro O.Henry Ending
In 2018, I visited New Orleans for the first time. It’s a magical city, full of history and an old energy that cannot be described, only felt. It was where I received my first tarot reading — not from some Creole witch (missed opportunity, I know), but from an elderly white man with a calming presence.
I don’t remember his name now. I wish I did. I’m sure it was something like John or Mark. Ordinary, simple — fitting. He did a standard reading with twelve cards. The first eleven of them are a blur, but the final card — the card meant to represent me — still appears in my mind’s eye with crystal clarity: Juno, Queen of the Gods, a force to be reckoned with. That, and the reader’s parting words: “You are your own worst enemy. You can accomplish anything if you get out of your own way.” I cried because I knew it was true. His words resonated, touch ing something deep within me that had been there all along, a continuing theme throughout my life. That’s what tarot does — it doesn’t tell you your future or some hidden secret of the universe. It points out what’s right in front of you that you’ve been too busy, too distracted to notice. At the time, I struggled with anxiety and depression. I still do; I probably always will. But I got the message loud and clear. I paid him via Venmo and left. Fast forward to 2019, when a knee surgery plunged me into the deepest depression of my life, a depression that almost killed me. Key word: almost. I’m still here, winning battles against myself. Those words, spoken to me years ago, still resonate. I knew in 2019 that I wanted to create a permanent reminder for when my depression would inevitably rear its ugly head again. This year, I finished that reminder with the help of Gene Cash at Seven Sagas Tattoo Studio. I took a look at the classic Roman Juno and made her mine. I have a woodblock-style crane on my right shoulder that represents my first triumph over depression, so I thought, why not a Japanese Juno? Some of her classic symbols are still there: the peacock feathers, the spear, the moon, the lotus. The words beside her, written in Japanese, are a constant reminder to me: “watashi no kataki wa jibun.” My enemy is me. But my favorite element of the whole piece? If you look carefully, the top line of the moon isn’t finished. It’s intentional, an aesthetic called “wabi sabi” in Japanese. It’s about appreciating beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent and incomplete” in nature. Fitting. Juno is on my right arm to remind me that I am a goddess, ca pable of overcoming anything. So long as I believe it, I know I will. To that tarot reader, wherever you are, thank you for awaken ing the divine in me. OH
Embracing Juno
A goddess with a gorgeous tattoo of Juno on her arm, Corrinne Rosquillo is a regular contributor to O.Henry
336-852-7107 2222 Patterson St, Suite A, Greensboro, NC 27407 Serving the Triad’s eyewear needs for over 40 years
