15 minute read
LIFEWAVE
We’re kind of opening, kind of not, so not all of these are virtual events as we were highlighting at the beginning of the lockdown, but plenty are. COVID is still going strong, so party at your own risk.
What: Don’t touch that dial! If you’re planning on enjoying some innovate art at Mint Museum Uptown’s Sept. 25 opening, you’re in for a bonus exhibit. Tune In, a 12-foot-tall diorama fashioned like a very large television, will sit in the plaza in front of Mint Museum Uptown for the next two weeks and is designed to let people view the art in a responsible and socially distanced manner. Six vintage televisions inside the diorama showcase a multi-media collage that Charlotte artist Rick Lazes and local filmmaker Seth Koch created to examine television shows from the 1960’s. The video content includes clips from I Love Lucy, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood combined with speeches from influential leaders from that era including John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. More: Free; Sept. 25–Oct. 4.; Mint Museum Uptown, 500 S. Tryon St.; qcnerve.com/uptown-art-installation/
BAKALAO STARS
What: Serving up rock-steady Latin reggae since 2002, Charlotte rock en español veterans Bakalao Stars helped launch Charlotte’s 2004-’09 alternative Latin boom. That wave has subsided, but the Stars remain, growing richer, deeper and funkier. The band consistently delivers a message of dignity and respect, but never forgets to set hips snaking. And always at the core of their grooves is a celebration of the transformative power of music. The Queen City Streams Series live-stream performance is powered by Mandolin. More: $10; Sept. 30, 7 p.m.; tinyurl.com/Bakalao
What: Charlotteans have taken the chance to share their tattoos and the stories behind them. Creating Exposure and The Light Factory presents “Behind The Ink,” an interactive, multi-disciplinary visual arts exhibit, which showcases vivid images and a short film documentary about people from various races, cultures, ethnicity and age groups that tell stories behind their tattoos. The exhibit explores similarities among various identities and shares dialogue across their differences. The series of photo workshops, digital images and video has captured Charlotte residents — professional athletes, stay-at-home moms and corporate professionals — who all have one thing in common, the ink that links them. More: Price TBA; Sept. 25-Oct. 9; The Light Factory; 1817 Central Ave.; creatingexposure.com
LUA FLORA
What: Cultivated in the mountains of North Carolina, Asheville’s Lua Flora is a floral mixture of reggae and world folk. In a variety of formats, the trio has played together for more than six years, and members have opened for bands such as Satsang and Dangermuffin. Lua Flora is comprised of Evan Button (vocals, guitar), Sean Gorham (bass, charango), and Hinton Edgerton (mandolin, bass, harmony vocals). On Aug. 14, Lua Flora released their debut single. Attendees of this all-ages show are required to follow strict CDC guidelines. More: Free, Sept. 25, 6 p.m.; Camp North End, Keswick Stage, 1701 N Graham St.; biglink.to/luaflora
NO MORE STOLEN LIVES RALLY AND MARCH
What: Seeking Justice CLT is sending out the call for the Charlotte community to come together, stand tall and find solutions to stop the killing and violence in the city’s communities. Organizers are asking those who have lost a family member or loved one to violence to come out and bring pictures and signs with their loved ones’ names so they will not be forgotten and that their sacrifice will be honored. #TogetherWeCanCreateChange More: Sept. 26, 6 p.m.; Black Lives Matter Mural, South Tryon St.; rallylist.com/no-more-stolen-livesrally-march/
MECKTOBERFEST
What: If we can open the museums, why not make room for beer? Olde Mecklenburg Brewery’s 12th annual Mecktoberfest is spread over three days and claims the largest biergarten in the South. The celebration of brats and suds will take place on OMB’s 10.5-acre wooded grounds, which offers plenty of well-spaced seating outdoors and on a covered patio. Expect pretzels, lederhosen, sausages, dirndls and bier-filled steins. The Holzhackern Tyrolean Band will be playing high-energy arrangements of traditional Bavarian songs that include audience participation, dancing and sing-alongs. Other bands on the bill will be playing a mix of bluegrass, rock, covers and country. More: Free; Sept. 25-27, Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, 4150 Yancey Rd.; oldemeckbrew.com
CHARLOTTE FILM SOCIETY’S VIRTUAL SCREENING ROOM
What: Once again the Charlotte Film Society culls and rejuvenates their collection of foreign and indie art films that you can’t see anywhere else. “It’s a look behind that T-shirt you just bought on sale for $9.99 at The Gap, and the human labor, sweat and suffering that went into it,” said the Hollywood Reporter about the drama Made in Bangladesh. In this urgent cry for human rights, a young woman working in a garment factory starts a union despite threats from her boss and her family’s disapproval. In the taut Japanese thriller A Girl is Missing, a private nurse’s life unravels when her nephew becomes involved in a kidnapping. In the Colombian drama Days of the Whale, two young graffiti artists defy a street gang. It’s a battle between art and power that the artists aren’t ready for, but it’s one they have to undertake. More: $10-12 for 72 hours; charlottefilmsociety.com
LIVE CONVERSATION WITH JULIE GRAHAM
What: The Light Factory’s 12th Juried Annuale is a photography competition that showcases challenging and inventive new work from photographers throughout the international photographic community. From traditional to digital, still and moving, all photographic techniques and approaches were welcome, and juror Julie Graham chose five compelling artists from a wide range of talented applicants who submitted work. Graham has licensed thousands of images, reviewed hundreds of portfolios, sold untold prints, judged dozens of competitions and published a handful of websites, including her pride and joy, full screen magazine aCurator. Registration is required for the online exhibition and live conversation. More: Free; Sept. 24, 7 p.m.; lightfactory.org
EXPLORE MORE FUTURE LAB
What: Welcome back to the wonder! Explore and test the future through hands-on learning at the reopened Discovery Place Science in Uptown Charlotte. The newly reimagined lab invites adults and children to play, investigate and discover chemistry, physics and all things S.T.E.M. Museum visitors get a chance to experiment with forces that are controlled only by the laws of physics and chemistry. Patrons can access their inner scientist, put on their thinking caps and immerse themselves in the world of physical sciences — even exploring the fascinating technology behind 3D printers. The lab is constantly evolving but it always includes dynamic activities that provide opportunities to explore big ideas through inquiry. Reservations are required and tickets must be purchased online. More: Free-$19; Saturday and Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Discovery Place Science, 301 N Tryon St.; science.discoveryplace.org/explore/labs/exploremore-future
ENCORE DRIVE-IN NIGHTS FEATURING KANE BROWN
What: Initially attracted to R&B, multi-racial, genrebending singer Kane Brown later embraced country, and his first single, “Don’t Go City on Me,” went viral upon release in 2014. His self-titled debut album dropped in 2016, and in 2018, Experiment cemented his hold on post millennial country. Despite its title, Brown’s most recent LP is less iconoclastic than its predecessor. Brown drops some of his R&B affectations for a more traditional “country” voice, and he steps away from vulnerable confessionals to embrace smooth Southern grooves. Brown is slick without being calculated, and his eclectic country is a damn-sight closer to real life and honest-to-God people than the holy trinity of beer, tan lines and tailgating that dominates the late-but-unlamented bro country of craven performers like Billy Currington and Luke Bryan. Encore Drive-In Nights features a never-before-seen Brown show that was recorded live, exclusively for this one-night-only event. The pre-show features Granger Smith. More: $76 per car; September 26, 8 p.m.; Hounds Drive-In, 114 Raven Circle, Kings Mountain; houndsdrivein.com/
SUDOKU
BY LINDA THISTLE
PLACE A NUMBER IN THE EMPTY BOXES IN SUCH A WAY THAT EACH ROW ACROSS, EACH COLUMN DOWN AND EACH SMALL 9-BOX SQUARE CONTAINS ALL OF THE NUMBERS ONE TO NINE.
©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved. TRIVIA TEST BY FIFI RODRIGUEZ 1. GEOGRAPHY: Which modern city was originally named Byzantium? 2. AD SLOGANS: Which national company’s slogan is “We’ll leave a light on for you”? 3. ANATOMY: Which bone are babies born without? 4. HISTORY: Which European monarch was known as the “Sun King”? 5. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What is Samhain? 6. MEDICAL TERMS: What is the condition formally known as diastema? 7. ART: Which famous painting is also known as “La Gioconda”? 8. LITERATURE: Where does Winnie-the-Pooh live with his friends? 9. MUSIC: Which country is the rock group AC/DC from? 10. FOOD & DRINK: What is the primary ingredient in traditional hummus?
PG.18 PUZZLE ANSWERS CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1 Renounces the throne 10 Hexa- plus two 14 Best results possible 20 Right Guard, e.g. 21 Oom- -- (polka sounds) 22 Drink of beer after a shot 23 2014 Oscar show host 25 In a position facing 26 Standing in good -- 27 “Put it -- tab” 28 Tiny charge carrier 29 In times past 30 Grazing site 32 Sociologist who coined “survival of the fittest” 36 La-la lead-in 39 Mushroom variety 41 Tavern 42 Author and activist on
Alabama’s state quarter 45 Little -- (tots) 46 Appends 50 Egg shapes 51 Get defeated 52 “Kapow!” 54 Bar garnish 55 Kosovo citizen 56 LXX / X 57 He wrote “He’s Just Not That
Into You” with Liz Tuccillo 61 Ticklish red Muppet 62 Dawn direction 64 A, in Argentina 65 Part of many German names 66 Suffix with lion or seer 67 Player of Colonel Klink on
“Hogan’s Heroes” 72 -- -pitch 75 “The Catch” network 76 Wedded 77 Verve 78 Verge 82 “The Pink Panther” co-star 86 “-- you with me?” 87 End a flight 88 Bird-related 89 Tahiti, par exemple 90 Posterior 92 Egyptian peninsula 93 Vapor 94 Guitar’s kin, for short 96 Longtime “What’s My Line?” panelist 98 Amer. body with 100 members 102 “Aladdin” figure 103 Cagey 104 1965-66 poet laureate 108 Chichi retreat 110 Coop cackler 111 PC key 112 Mani- -- 113 “There Is Nothin’ Like --” 117 Not tardy 119 “Nurse Betty” star 124 Vexes 125 A hat hides it 126 Deviations 127 Drive home 128 Finds to be refined 129 Small-stakes poker
DOWN
1 Fruit drinks 2 Boxing prize 3 Portion (out) 4 Utopian 5 Denounces 6 Ending for dull or drunk 7 -- kwon do 8 Mem. of the U.K. 9 Canonized Fr. woman 10 Where drinks are on the host 11 Monterey County city 12 “-- playing our song” 13 Balking beast 14 Ink-squirting sea creature 15 Gives a ring 16 “I taut I -- a puddy tat!” 17 Newton who was knighted 18 Come together 19 Enthusiasm 24 --’easter (storm type) 28 Currently has the stage 31 Just fine 32 Hint-offering columnist 33 Architectural add-ons 34 Twiddled digit 35 Zora -- Hurston 36 The ones there 37 Make merry 38 Make fearful 40 Trust 43 Bodily joint 44 Brain wave test, for short 47 Sup stylishly 48 Blockbuster rented them 49 Places 52 Nota -- 53 Top competitive effort, informally 54 Novelist Sarah -- Jewett 56 “Live” and “learn,” e.g. 58 Shah or czar 59 She played Miss Brooks 60 Lena of song 63 Gremlin’s kin 68 Be worthy of 69 Bodily joint 70 Appointment calendar 71 Vestige 72 Inbox junk 73 Jeans-maker Strauss 74 Big elevator name 79 Copenhagen citizens 80 Make twisty 81 Uplift morally 83 Devour 84 Claims on property 85 That miss 91 “Bus Stop” playwright William 92 Move aside 94 Of no help 95 Smallville’s Clark 96 Drinking sprees 97 “-- the season to be jolly” 99 Dishonors 100 Emerge 101 -- -weenie 104 Bazaar units 105 Creed part 106 PC key 107 Fritz out 109 Writer -- Rogers St. Johns 114 Not “fer” 115 Come together 116 Irish Gaelic tongue 118 “-- done it!” 119 Frat letter 120 Electric jolt 121 Ending for ethyl 122 Chaney of old chillers 123 Run after K
LIFESTYLE COLUMN bage (slow-roasted cabbage, pepper honey, smoked sausage, and pork neck bisque), and Mud Island (blackened cat sh, smoked cat sh stew, rice grits, pickled eld pea,
AERIN IT OUT and candies pepper)! And make sure you wash it down with a Tomboy, a signature cocktail created by “Liquid Alchemist” Justin Hazelton. SOUTHERN CUISINE FIT FOR THE QUEEN A Camp North End juke joint with soul BY AERIN SPRUILL I sold my soul to food during COVID-19. The absence of real nightlife experiences for six months forced me to equate my nightlife experiences with the tastes of Charlotte. I won’t venture to say I’m a foodie or even a quali ed critic, nor do I speak in the same vein as those hoity-toity types, but dammit, I know great food when I see it and taste it! heritage of Memphis, Tennessee; Jackson, Mississippi; and New Orleans. Salivating at this point, our extensive order tumbled out of my mouth. It was love at rst bite. “You KNOW Black people are cooking THIS food!” I said, brimming with excitement to my boyfriend. We were six feet of safe from eavesdroppers, so I felt completely comfortable chatting with him about the explosion of seasoning and avor I was experiencing in my very rst bite of Dirty Grits! Might I mention, I don’t even like usually grits? But these aren’t just any grits. I waited in anticipation as each dish came out (we got ve more), almost expecting that at least one would disappoint. But the disappointment never came. With each bite, I fell deeper in lust with these culinary creations. When a chef can transform Southern classics such as grits, cat sh, okra, and dumplings into food destinations that you actually enjoy traveling to while maintaining the comfort of home-cooked food that’s familiar, it But Leah & Louise is more than just cuisine. It’s a community. It’s a family. And while COVID-19 regulations are currently keeping us from being close to one another, you can tell that at this local staple, a pandemic won’t stop us from coming together. I felt in the air a sense of a community in which everyone was welcome, from the thoughtful presentation of food and decor to each sta member. I guess I should say I sold my soul to soul food? The rst restaurant to open at the ever-growing Camp North End, Leah & Louise certainly reinvigorated my excitement for food and nightlife in the Queen City. While I was reluctant to see how the landscape would change at the beginning of quarantine, I am now looking forward to returning to some sense of normalcy as the city begins to reopen slowly. (Update: We loved it so much we decided to go back with my parents the following weekend. Now THAT’S what I call making an impression!) At the start of the pandemic, I was honing my culinary skills at home. Takeout wasn’t lackluster, and other will leave you speechless. My top three favorites that led to a chef’s kiss? The INFO@QCNERVE.COM restaurant favorites were closed. But Phase 2 presented Dirty Grits (think dirty rice, but with grits), Leah’s Cablight at the end of the tunnel as some of my go-to’s started opening back up alongside a few new faces that have been pleasantly surprising.
When I asked my boyfriend where he wanted to eat for his birthday a couple of weeks ago, he namedropped Leah & Louise. I immediately went to the website to peruse the menu, and he says, “I know you don’t like Southern food.” But who was I to refuse a birthday request? I booked the reservation.
Friends will tell you I’m not a fan of eating at Southern or soul food restaurants. I’ve always felt if I was itching for some real home cooking, I’d drive the 90 minutes to my family to get it. And other than an occasional visit to Dish or Mert’s Heart & Soul, I’ve practiced what I’ve preached. But then Leah & Louise happened.
Opened by renowned Charlotte chef Greg Collier and his wife Subrina, Leah & Louise entered the food scene offering take-out and delivery only when other restaurants started to close their doors during the rst weekend of Phase 1.
Nestled in a nook of Camp North End that I hadn’t explored, surrounded by murals exploding with color sat our date-night destination, a self-described “Memphis-style juke joint.” From the moment we entered, it felt like home from the velvet couches and rustic decor to the long community dining table that served as a centerpiece of the room. And the aroma! Well-seasoned, as if the good Lord was serving up food himself. We’d already combed through the menu, so we knew exactly what we wanted. Our server walked us through crowd favorites — cuisine inspired by the avors and Enjoy a moment of peace on us. www.xcoobee.com
By Lucie Winborne
• In early 2016, a 155-year-old mousetrap caught a mouse in a British museum. The trap was part of the exposition and hadn’t even been considered operational for a long time. • Bill Nye the Science Guy holds a patent for ballet pointe shoes. • Some odd things have been sold online, but an entire country? Yep, a fellow from Brisbane, Australia, tried to sell New Zealand on eBay in 2006! The site closed the auction at a top bid of $3,000. • A mental phenomenon called the Troxler effect, discovered in 1804, causes people to see monsters in mirrors — whether they say “bloody Mary” three times or not. • In order to prevent Boggle players from using a certain swear word, the letters F and K appear only once on the same cube, making it impossible for them to both be played at the same time. • In 1987, Steve Rothstein paid $250,000 for a lifetime unlimited firstclass American Airlines ticket, even hopping on planes to get a sandwich or go to a baseball game in other cities. It cost American Airlines around $21 million, and they unsurprisingly ended his contract in 2008. • A full 12% of sighted people dream exclusively in black and white. • Levi’s once made an all-denim tuxedo for singer Bing Crosby after he was refused admittance to a hotel simply for wearing jeans. • Japan has the highest density of vending machines worldwide, with approximately 5 million machines, or one for every 23 people. You can buy everything from live lobsters and bread in a can to underwear and Buddhist amulets from a vending machine. • Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader meets six of the nine diagnostic criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder. Five are sufficient for a diagnosis. ***
Thought for the Day: “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” — Andy McIntyre
© 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.
