Queen City Nerve - February 23, 2022

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 7; FEBRUARY 23 - MARCH 8, 2022; WWW.QCNERVE.COM

End of an

Era

t of Sk at er s an d m ar ke t ve nd or s pu sh ed ou Ea st la nd lo ok fo r a ne w ho m e

By Rya n Pitk in | pg. 4

ARTS: Ruth Ava Lyons and Paul Sires pass the torch at Starlight on 22nd pg. 8

FOOD: New Hoskins Road project aims to be an oasis in a food desert pg. 12

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

NEWS & OPINION 4 End of an Era by Ryan Pitkin

Skaters and vendors pushed out of Eastland begin looking for new homes

7 Lifeline: A dose of reality

ARTS & CULTURE 8 A New Light by Karie Simmons

NoDa pioneers pass the torch with Starlight on 22nd

MUSIC

10 Creature Comforts by Pat Moran

The New Creatures craft relatable rock ‘n’ roll from McAdenville

11 Soundwave

FOOD & DRINK

12 A Western Oasis by Nikolai Mather

Food distribution facility aims to offset effects of food desert in west Charlotte

13 Puzzles 14 The Seeker by Katie Grant 14 Horoscope 15 Savage Love

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LIFESTYLE

NEWS & OPINION FEATURE

END OF AN ERA

Skaters and vendors pushed out of Eastland begin looking for a new home

BY RYAN PITKIN

PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN

Pg. 4 - FEB 23 - MAR 8 2022

THE SPOT WHERE CENTRAL FLEA MARKET ORIGINALLY STOOD HAS BEEN BARRICADED.

When local mother and entrepreneur Maria, whose name has been changed by her request to preserve her family’s privacy, walked into her first Charlotte City Council meeting on Feb. 14, she hoped to get some answers. What she saw was more of the same.

Maria had been outside with some of her colleagues, fellow vendors at a flea market on the former Eastland Mall property that had been shut down by the city on the previous Friday, when they were invited inside to watch the meeting.

While she can read English, Maria does not understand it well when spoken. Her experience in the meeting was one of frustration.

“The city invited us in to show us their projects, and we were in there for like two hours looking at them, and listening to them show us their projects,” she recently told Queen City Nerve through a translator. “So they saw some people outside protesting, they invited us inside to see their projects, but at no point did they show us anything that included us in their projects … They let us come inside so that we could see what projects the city has, but nothing for us, they didn’t listen to us.”

The council was following a set agenda at the meeting, with no reason to address the situation at the former Eastland Mall site, but Maria’s

experience was indicative of a much longerstanding issue that has now come to a head.

The closure of the market and the displacement of around 200 local vendors who set up there every weekend, along with the upcoming demolition of the hugely popular Eastland DIY skatepark, will pave the way for a $26-million multi-use redevelopment of the Eastland property led by Tepper Sports and Entertainment and Crosland Southeast.

While development of the Eastland property has been a many years in the making, and welcomed by many throughout the city, the process has raised questions around whom the city is willing to partner with and whom they’d rather ignore.

Jorge Castaneda is another local vendor who, like Maria, was one of a handful of local entrepreneurs who originally launched the Central Flea Market at the Eastland site in 2015. Known for selling exotic fruits, flea markets are Castaneda’s main source of income.

While he knew the market would eventually close, he and his fellow vendors are frustrated with the lack of communication they’ve received from the city throughout the process. For months vendors have requested meetings with city officials

PHOTO BY RYAN ALLEN

SKATERS HAVE BEEN GETTING IN SESSIONS AT EASTLAND DIY WHILE THEY STILL CAN.

to discuss how they can move forward by selling their wares elsewhere, but to no avail.

In January, they hired Ismaail Qayim of Queen City Community Law Firm to help them organize and better communicate with the city. His own requests for a meeting also went unanswered.

Vendors also say they’re being misrepresented in the media based on the city’s narrative alleging that illicit activity and improper permitting at the site justifies the displacement.

“They wanted to find an excuse, an excuse to say, ‘Oh, that’s their fault. They’re not doing it right,’” Castaneda said. “We tried to do it right, they just don’t want to listen to us. They just keep giving excuse after excuse and nothing is done. We tried to work with the city of Charlotte, we tried to bring more revenue to the city, but we want to do it right.

We want to do it right and we want to be heard.”

‘This is culture’

Around the same time officials were informing vendors at the Central Flea Market they would not be allowed to set up on the property anymore, the city was also finalizing plans to shut down the Eastland DIY skatepark.

Beginning around the same time that the flea market opened, skateboarders slowly built up the

concrete park over seven years, creating an iconic space in a city with limited room for skaters.

On Feb. 15, the city announced they only had two weeks to enjoy the fruits of their labor; the skatepark will be shut down on March 3.

When Queen City Nerve visited the site a few days after the announcement, about 75 people were there. Longtime skater Chris Gulley said he had been coming to the park for years and helped with some of the builds. It became all the more special to him in recent years when his kids became old enough to skate there.

“We brought the funds and the materials and concrete and everything we needed together and did it as a team, which is the cool thing about skateboarding in general; it is a community.

Everybody here doesn’t know each other when they come here but as you kind of get together and build this park together you build a bond with these people and that’s what we’ve had for the past seven years and now it’s going to get torn down for whatever the city has planned,” Gulley said. “It’s a staple in the skateboarding community, so to have it torn down is a big blow for everybody.”

Standing along the edge of the park upon our visit was Stephen Barrett, who helped found the Eastland DIY skatepark on the foundation of

NEWS & OPINION FEATURE

THE LAST DAYS OF EASTLAND DIY. PHOTO BY RYAN ALLEN

A wider conversation

While the rezoning that allowed for Crosland Southeast’s 69-acre redevelopment occurred in 2020, many Central Flea Market vendors remained out of the loop. Most knew that their time was limited in the space, however.

In October 2021, the city refused to renew a lease that had allowed the market to operate on the property for years. Officials placed barricades in the parking lot blocking access to the space. Vendors like Maria and Castaneda simply moved elsewhere in the parking lot and continued to sell their goods.

Things came to a head in February 2022, however, after a man from out-of-state was arrested for selling guns at the market.

Vendors say they did not know the man and had in which the city is investing $38.5 million to go no way of policing their own market without a lease toward affordable housing, community safety, from the city. infrastructure, transportation, workforce and “How can we control that — somebody coming business development, and urban design. in to sell and set up — if we don’t have a lease, “When you look at the investment, not just in we don’t have paper?” asked Castaneda. “We were the Albemarle Corridor of Opportunity but all of the trying to avoid that. We don’t want the situation. Corridors of Opportunity, it’s not local businesses Our families depend on what we do for a living — that are really being able to take advantage our families, our kids.” of it,” Qayim said. “In fact, local businesses are In January, the vendors approached Ismaail disappearing. They’re being displaced along with Qayim, principal attorney with Queen City the communities.”

Community Law Firm, as some of them had built He pointed out that developers have committed a relationship with to including a smallhim during his time business incubator as THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT working as a Berkeley part of the Eastland LIVE HERE, PARTICIPATING Law Foundation Fellow redevelopment, and IN COMMERCE. THEY’RE with the Latin American hopes to help neighbors ECONOMIC ACTORS, WHY Coalition (LAC). organize to ensure that CAN’T YOU PARTNER WITH A Charlotte native, they live up to those THEM ALSO? Qayim began reaching promises. Still, he remains out to staff with the city’s skeptical of the effect the Economic Development department and Real Estate development and the city’s approach to investment Division, sending his first emails on Jan. 25. He did will have on nearby residents and business owners. not hear back until Friday, Feb. 11, when he received “It’s very clear when you look at where the an email that refused to acknowledge the existence dollars are actually going, and who’s receiving of the market, stating there was no entity known as public/private partnership money and funding, then Central Flea Market and his clients had no right to do you look at who’s ignored, we see very clearly that business on the property. there is a preference for these large-scale private Later that day, city staff showed up with police to sector entities that will have consequences for that force the vendors off the property and inform them entire part of the city,” he warned. the market would be closed permanently. Qayim, “So we’re just asking the city — not really whose current office shares a building with LAC just asking more so demanding — ‘Listen, these are down the street from the market, went to the site people that live here, participating in commerce. when he heard what was happening that afternoon. They’re economic actors, why can’t you partner with “I told them this is the situation I wanted to them also?’” avoid,” Qayim said. “We wanted to be able to have The city has said there is no city-owned property a meeting, figure out what the plan was. Everybody available for the Central Flea Market to relocate to, knew that the vendors were going to have to go to and in the meantime, Qayim is helping the vendors a different site, but at the same time, giving a week search for a property to lease or purchase. or two weeks of notice instead of this, I felt like they Castaneda is hopeful that the market can find escalated the situation by doing it this way.” the support and get another chance.

For Qayim, who also serves as political education “I think it’s important to let our government in and policy co-chair with the Housing Justice Charlotte know that we are a part of the community, Coalition, the situation at the Central Flea Market is too,” he said. “We are citizens, we are part of the indicative of a broader issue around gentrification community. They left us on our own for a long time. and what types of people the city finds it more I think it’s important to include us — as spenders appropriate to partner with. and a part of the economy of Charlotte — to help “There is the wider conversation around what us, to listen to us and help us find a solution. We kind of economic actors the city wants to partner don’t want anything for free. We are willing to pay with and what kind of economic partners the city for a lease, for land, whatever, something, and do doesn’t want to partner with, and who is seen as it right.”

RPITKIN @QCNERVE.COM desirable and who is not,” he said.

The Eastland site is part of the Albemarle Road Corridor of Opportunity, one of six such corridors

Pg. 5 - FEB 23 - MAR 8 2022 2022

a razed Hollywood Video store in August 2015. He and a handful of fellow skaters began with the centerpiece, a concrete box, and continued to build around it as time went on.

Barrett has taken the announcement of the shutdown in stride. He’s known this day was coming since 2020 when a rezoning cleared the way for Tepper Sports & Entertainment to begin implementing their plans for the site.

Still, he’s frustrated by his experience with the city — one that mirrors those of his neighbors at Central Flea Market.

When it became clear in spring 2020 that Eastland DIY would most likely not be included in plans for redevelopment at the site, he and others at the park began reaching out to officials to ask about what could be done. The city-built skateparks — one at Grayson Park in southeast Charlotte and a recently built one at Renaissance Park in southwest Charlotte — are not conveniently located or built to the liking of skaters at Eastland, be it for reasons of style (Grayson) or size (Renaissance).

All Barrett wants from the city, he said, is a plot of land where skaters can create their own park. If that’s not feasible, he wants the skate community to have more say in what the city builds.

He pointed to Mooresville as an example. On Feb. 7, town commissioners there approved a $2.8-million renovation of the current skatepark that will implement feedback from local skaters.

“Let’s bring the community in and talk with them like Mooresville did,” Barrett said. “Even during COVID, [Mooresville hosted] live video chats with

everybody, people filled out surveys of what style park they wanted, things like that. Mooresville, Lexington, all these smaller towns can get good skateparks, why can Charlotte not do that with all this money here?”

Standing with Barrett was Eastland DIY veteran Brian Mitchell, who said he’s been skating in Charlotte for 20 years. He and Barrett have seen more than a dozen DIY skate spots come and go — Red Ledge, Alby, Indy, 10th Street, NoDa, the list goes on — but none have lasted as long as Eastland.

After having spent countless hours and tens of thousands of dollars at the spot, which has drawn the likes of Nike, Adidas, Toy Machine, DC and a slew of other large companies that have hosted or sponsored events there, Barrett and Mitchell are getting frustrated with the cycle.

They said they wish the city would just provide a lot similar to Eastland with a guarantee that no developer will come and “take it from under our feet,” as Mitchell put it, and then they would get right back to putting their own time, money and love into it.

“This has been an ongoing problem for 20 years … we’re never heard,” Mitchell said, looking out at the park. “They struggle so hard to create culture and that’s not how culture is created, it’s organic.

This is culture.

“What they don’t realize is there’s going to be 300 displaced skaters that don’t have a home to go to because they come here, and they’re going to be in the streets, and [city leaders] are going to be like, ‘Wow, why is everything getting fuckin’ skated?’

Well you haven’t listened for 20 years. We build something because you guys don’t listen, and here we are. If you’re not going to build a public park, you’re not going to stop us; we’re going to keep building. If you have a problem with that, you can do something about it.”

LONG LIVE EASTLAND!

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Local skaters take to social media to pay homage to an iconic DIY spot.

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L backgrounds every for the people and community <3 RIP is full of users from AL ity, popularity, and Let ’s build another! single day. The longev e th to t en m ta a tes @antoni0gilmore success of the space is uction str de e Th . ed ne ity It ’s sad to see the end undeniable commun of this spot but it was loss l ra ltu cu ge hu a fun ride a is y an d hopefully new, bette of @eastlanddi @ r d th in an gs ov wi ltg ll @c be s. el on lev the horizon for the local Charlotte for the city on many skate scene . DIY or di rtunity po op ge hu a ve e ha . ty @aoygioxenfree mecklenburgcoun cal lo e th th wi er rtn pa to (and public obligation) to harness this energy ity skateboard commun as Thank you guys fr. This park got me through so much . I can’t another space equally and spirit and create imagine how y’all feeling, but community is gonna grow back remain eager to We . l fu ess cc su d an impactful stronger from this and if there’s another build support for it ble . ssi po y wa y an in lp he will be tenfold . Y ’all really made something special . hop tes @blacksheepska @mileswenthome

‘JULIUS CHAMBERS: A LIFE OF SER- WEDNESDAY NIGHT LIVE: THE QC VICE, COURAGE & CONVICTION’ GARMINT DISTRICT

‘THE PRINCESS BRIDE’ Still from film

2/23

FOOD & FLIX: ‘THE PRINCESS BRIDE’

The 1970s show The Kopycats did a skit where impressionists such as Rich Little and Frank Gorshin stripped down Casablanca to a string of famous quotes. This approach would work even better with The Princess Bride, a goldmine of unforgettable nuggets: “Inconceivable!”“You keep using that word.

I do not think it means what you think it means.”“My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” The Independent Picture House teams with Alchemy @ C3 Lab for a dinner-and-a-movie combo that includes this timeless, clever and quotable romcom classic.

More: $5; Feb. 23, 6 p.m.; Alchemy @ C3 Lab, 2517 Distribution St.; c3-lab.com

‘JUMP’

The Mint executes a confident runway strut when designers Megan Ilene, Gordon Holliday, Tara Davis, Gege Gilzene, and Brehon Williams present their couture creations in a live fashion show. The show highlights the Mint’s recognition of fashion designers’ work as art, while serving as a prelude to the December 2022 exhibition and catalog Fashion Reimagined, which celebrates 50 years of the Mint’s fashion collection. The event includes sounds by Dammit Wesley, a performance by B&C Ballroom and a pop-up market with 50 local designers and artists.

More: Free; March 2, 5 p.m.; Mint Museum Uptown, 500 S. Tryon St.; mintmuseum.org

‘CRYPTOZOO’

Sammy Ray & the Friends’ ebullient blast of musical cheer is addictive. Fronted by Samantha Bowers, the octet crafts an irresistible mélange of funk, pop and jazz that celebrates connection, community and catharsis. With confident, punchy horn-driven arrangements, the band skirts the high-energy retro-soul corner while steering clear of overt slickness, opting instead for sincerity and a sense of play. It can be heard in the band’s slinky cover of Tears for Fears’“Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” or in effervescent originals like “Follow Me Like the Moon.”

More: $20 and up; Feb. 25, 8 p.m.; Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E 36th St.; neighborhoodtheatre.com

Cryptids, or animals whose existence is unsubstantiated, are at the core of writer-director Dash Shaw’s delightfully trippy animated fantasy Cryptozoo. The plot revolves around a group of monster lovers who round up cyptids, rare beasts like griffins, gorgons and krakens, in order to protect them in a sanctuary for imaginary creatures. Unfortunately they’re competing with slimy opportunists who want to capture the creatures for military purposes. The psychedelic visuals are coupled with a moral message about protecting endangered species plus butt-loads of nudity, which hearkens back to another imaginary — and imaginative — creature, Ralph Bakshi’s Fritz the Cat .

More: $10; March 2, 8 p.m.; VisArt Video, 3104 Eastway Dr.; visartvideo.org

BARTI GRAS

CURTIS ELLER

SAMMY RAY AND THE FRIENDS

Imagine our surprise when we discovered that Columbia, South Carolina, has had a Mardi Gras festival and parade, while Charlotte has nothing.

In the meantime, several Queen City bars and breweries are hosting their own variations on a “Laissez les bons temps rouler.” We recommend Bart’s Mart’s Barti Gras, which features a king cake eating contest and a barkus dog costume contest.

Bart’s Mart can boast some cool costumes at their events; last December’s Krampus celebration drew a stranger in full and convincing Krampus get-up, and to this day no one knows his real identity.

More: Free; Feb. 26, 8 p.m.; Bart’s Mart, 3042 Eastway Drive; facebook.com/Bartsmart.clt

Rock critic Griel Marcus used to wax poetic about “Old Weird America,” a forgotten nation where jug band stompers shook free of the Dust Bowl, apocalyptic blues evoked Jehovah’s wrath and antique field hollers echoed across the decades. I suspect Curtis Eller is inspired by this forgotten land. Eller’s website claims the banjoist and singer-songwriter’s tunes “describe a dreamlike vision of American history where all points in time have collapsed into one.” Eller started his career at the age of 7 as a juggler and acrobat, a suitably sideshow carnivalesque beginning for this mystical and ragged rock ‘n’ roller.

More: $5; March 3, 8 p.m.; Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave.; petrasbar.com

GOODIE MOB AT THE HEIGHT OF THEIR SUCCESS Publicity photo

3/6

I AM QUEEN CHARLOTTE

I am Queen Charlotte is the flagship event that kicks off Queen Charlotte Week, a city-wide celebration of Black female power and creativity. The live production features the stories, experiences and lives of Black women in Charlotte. The one-night-only performance boasts a casts of all Black women, plus music from The Charlotte Symphony and Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra. The performance is bolstered by virtual events such as the Aftershocks of A Queen community building initiative on March 7 and the Queen’s Cafe Conversation on March 8.

Women of Words Poetry Slam takes place at Booth Playhouse on March 8.

More: $20 and up; March 6, 7 p.m.; Belk Theater, 130 N Tryon St.; blumenthalarts.org

GOODIE MOB

When Goodie Mob dropped their debut album Soul Food in 1995, there wasn’t anything like it on the hip-hop scene. Over hard-hitting funk beats, slashing Stax-Volt guitar and mournful howls of blues harmonica, the group drew upon gospel fervor to rail against systemic racism. Within five years, the group had splintered and member CeeLo’s solo career skyrocketed with the 2006 Gnarls Barkley hit “Crazy.” A subsequent reunion didn’t stick for long.

Today, catching Goodie Mob’s show seems akin to seeing The Rolling Stones. Both groups may be past their glory days, but there’s a reason they’re legends.

More: $40-$50; March 6, 8 p.m.; Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E 36th St.; neighborhoodtheatre.com

Pg. 7 - FEB 22 - MAR 8 2022

UNC Charlotte Department of Theatre alumna Tina Kelly directs this lyrical production of playwright Charly Evon Simpson’s Jump. The poetic, non-linear drama focuses on a young woman named Fay whose life and family are in transition. The story touches on memory and mortality as Fay and her sister Judy sift through their mother’s belongings, yet all is not what it seems as the boundary between the living and the dead blur. Simpson’s play, inspired by stories from survivors who attempted suicide by jumping from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, illustrates that still waters hide deeper currents.

More: $8-$18; Feb. 24-27; Black Box Theater, Robinson Hall, 9201 University City Blvd.; coaa.charlotte.edu

This documentary by award-winning Black journalist and longtime WBTV reporter Steve Crump outlines the accomplishments and character of civil rights leader Julius Chambers. After graduating first in his class at the UNC Charlotte School of Law, Chambers opened the first integrated law practice in North Carolina in June 1964. After litigating landmark cases like Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, Chambers’ house and law offices were bombed and his car was dynamited. He did not stand down, and his efforts curtailed racism and strengthened laws against segregation and discrimination.

More: Free, RSVP required; Feb. 24, 6:30 p.m.; Gantt Center, 551 S. Tryon St.; ganttcenter.org

ARTS FEATURE A NEW LIGHT

NoDa pioneers pass the torch at Starlight on 22nd

BY KARIE SIMMONS

PHOTOS BY KARIE SIMMONS

Pg. 8 - FEB 23 - MAR 8 2022

THE FUNKY INTERIOR OF STARLIGHT ON 22ND IS A FUSION OF IDEAS FROM RUTH AVA LYONS, PAUL SIRES, AND THEIR SON, ORION SIRES (TOP RIGHT).

“Can we change the music? It’s just not very chill.”

I looked up from my phone — killing time while my interviewee, Orion Sires, tended to a customer behind the bar — and squinted across the sea of mismatched tables and chairs inside Starlight on 22nd in search of the source of the complaint.

My eyes, scanning the room for the disgruntled patron who wasn’t feeling the vibes of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” at that moment, landed on Ruth Ava Lyons. Oh, I thought, it’s just a mother who isn’t into her son’s music. Then I smiled at the irony.

Before stepping away to make a drink, Orion had just finished telling me about the pressure he feels to fill the imposing shoes of his parents, NoDa pioneers Paul Sires and Ruth Ava Lyons. The artist couple is known for turning the neighborhood into an arts district back in the 1980s and continuing to support the local arts community through property they own.

The family’s latest venture is Starlight on 22nd, a bar and cultural center in Optimist Park on the edge of

NoDa that they own with 27-year-old Orion. But instead of stepping back into the spotlight as the faces of the new bar, the couple has handed their son the reins to steer Starlight in the direction he sees fit.

“We’re just passing the torch, which is not just for our business but for a lot of our cultural activities,” Ruth Ava Lyons said. “We feel that it’s time for some other people to step up and be active — be activists.”

Still, their hand is evident in Starlight’s eclectic blend of artsy and retro, and like most parents, they have their opinions on the music.

Lighting the way

When painter Ruth Ava Lyons and sculptor Paul Sires arrived in Charlotte in the mid-’80s, the creative hub we call NoDa today was a dilapidated and neglected mill village of North Charlotte. Captivated by the area’s character, the couple restored the 1927 Lowder Building and created the first artist establishment, the Center of

the Earth Gallery, which they ran for 22 years.

They continued to renovate nearby buildings and millhouses as part of a revitalization effort, offered studio spaces for artists and lobbied to attract arts-related businesses such as The Evening Muse, which still stands today thanks in no small part to them.

Now they aim to do the same on East 22nd Street with Starlight and their other properties on the same road — X Foundation artist and design studios along with Rock on 22nd, which houses Pachyderm Music Lab and Girls Rock Charlotte.

There’s also an open lot where they plan to host concerts, festivals and markets.

“I say all the time, ‘Oh damn. It’s just like what we did 30 years ago,’” Ruth Ava Lyons said. “We’re not off the beaten path, we’re on the edge of all that activity, but in the old days people were scared to come to NoDa and we had to do all kinds of things to try to get them there and now we’re doing the same thing because we’re in between all that construction. No one can see us.”

Growing up, Orion remembers serving as his dad’s right-hand man in the studio. Over the years, Paul Sires has created large-scale sculptural work outside of the Spectrum Center, among many other locations around Charlotte.

“My dad brought me to his studio and we made stuff,” Orion said. “We made swords, we made crossbows, we made catapults, we built forts. We built, I mean, just making stuff out of wood. My dad taught me how to sculpt, taught me how to cut stone. I was doing stuff that kids just weren’t doing.”

Yet Orion insists he never felt pressured by his parents to become an artist. He attended Elon and Queens universities, earning a business administration degree in finance before going on to work at a financial advising firm.

“I went into that world and I did it for two years and I hated it. And I didn’t want to be in the office anymore,” he said. “And my dad was like, ‘Come work for me. You can work with your hands again.’”

ARTS

A bright future

FEATURE

Orion eventually transitioned into a bookkeeping and administration role at his parents’ property management firm, Eden Orion Realty. He communicated with tenants and collected rent, but the daily grind caught up to him.

An opportunity presented itself when the Starlight property, which at the time was used as artist studios, underwent a city zoning change.

“My dad was like, ‘Well, what would you do with this place?’ And I said, ‘Bar.’”

‘NoDa nostalgic’

“I say all the time, ‘Oh damn. It’s just like what we did 30 years ago.’” -Ruth Ava Lyons

KSIMMONS@QCNERVE.COM

Pg. 9 - FEB 23 - MAR 8 2022

At first, Orion’s vision for Starlight on 22nd differed from his parents. He wanted to create an upscale lounge with new furniture and a modern feel, but Ruth and Paul insisted on making it funky with a heavy emphasis on thrifted and repurposed decor.

Orion had to let go and trust the process — notions all too familiar for the son of artists.

“Me and my dad were doing all this manual labor, tacking all these things up, cutting all the wood, thrifting all this furniture and all the reclaimed wood and these shingles and hanging up Ruth’s old artwork from the ’90s,” Orion said.

“They kind of taught me that you can throw together anything, and it’s about the vibe and the energy you create.

And slowly everything came together, and it just looks really great the way that it is.”

His parents like to make use use of everything, even if it seems useless to him, Orion said.

To that end, everything in Starlight on 22nd is either thrifted, repurposed or created; the ceiling in the entryway is made completely out of streetlights, above the bar hang the old doors of The Evening Muse, and on top of each table sits a trophy or vintage trinket .

“NoDa, when my parents came in, was funky,” Orion said. “And so the way that the bar is now, it appeals to the way NoDa was back in the ’80s and ’90s and this retro vibe with the disco and the starlight and Ruth’s old paintings and all the old repurposed furniture and the wood … it reminds me of how NoDa used to be — how wherever you went, it was funky.”

“It’s NoDa nostalgic.”

And Orion has seen how those who come to Starlight on 22nd appreciate the nostalgia. Looking around the bar, he said it sometimes feels like cellphones don’t exist, the way people come to Starlight to have an intimate time, to talk one-on-one and to play an old board game together.

“This whole place, it’s a time capsule,” he said.

“You don’t age. Time doesn’t move forward. It’s another universe in here.”

The week before Starlight on 22nd opened in late 2021, Orion and his wife, Dyanna, welcomed a baby girl, Aspen. Her birth sparked an energy in the 27-year-old to revisit some of his childhood interests and reminisce on a time when life seemed simpler.

Orion used the retirement savings he had begun to collect during his time in finance to start an online Mercari shop selling vintage Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, then launched a YouTube channel where he opens packs of cards and other products and vlogs about his life.

“Everything I do now won’t be for me anymore.

Everything will end up being hers one day, and everything that they’ve done for me, now I get it,” he said, referring to his parents. “Being a parent, now I get it.”

Orion’s new-wave approach to investing and branding differs from what made his parents successful over the years. He’s put money into the electric vehicle industry, mainly Tesla and QuantumScape — an American company that conducts research about solidstate lithium metal batteries for electric cars.

He idolizes YouTuber and social media personality Logan Paul, inspired by the way he built his personal brand and hopes to do the same through investing, self marketing and entrepreneurship.

“Everything I do, I try to see as an investment.

This is part of the reason why I don’t travel the world,” Orion said. “As much as memories are really important in traveling and seeing things is important, I can do that later in life.

“Early on, I just want to have things because one day I’ll be too old to drive the sports cars and get in a low car and I’ll be too old to try and do things that are entrepreneurial. I’ll be burned out by then. Everything I have to do and start while I’m young.”

With most of his money tied to investments, Orion said he needs Starlight on 22nd to work out double time, and he has plenty of ideas for making that happen.

The space hosts drag shows, open mic nights, live music and stand-up comedy, and he plans to add health and wellness events, theatre productions and spokenword poetry slams. But that’s just the beginning; Orion wants to turn the property’s outdoor area into a tiki bar with a “Pantheon, Colosseum-like stage” to host outdoor comedy shows and live music.

A self-proclaimed “huge nerd,” he excitedly told me he’s been working with the Charlotte Gaymers Network (CGN) to hold game nights at Starlight. The group, founded in 2020 as a way for Charlotte’s LGBTQ+ community to stay connected, gathers to play board, tabletop and video games.

As the son of local pioneers, Orion said the pressure to be great fuels his drive to be successful. In a way, each avenue he takes — investing, his card business, his YouTube channel, and now Starlight on 22nd — is like another layer to the safety net.

“I’m definitely afraid that I could not live up to [my parents’] expectations, but they don’t care if I have all this stuff and that’s the funny thing,” Orion said. “My parents don’t care if I have cars or gold or a house. None of that matters to them. They want to see me thriving and doing my best. And the bar is great for that, because the bar allows me to interact with people, and they’re seeing me on some nights run the whole place by myself.

So that makes them really happy.

“The great thing about them is they don’t set crazy expectations or expect anything. All they’ve ever done is be open-minded and love me,” he continued.

Orion named the bar, and the more we talked about it, the more we realized its endless connotations.

“It was catchy. It was cosmic. It was the universe,” Orion said. “We’re all stars and dust, right? And that may be an oversimplification, but that’s what Starlight is all about. It’s about all-togetherness.”

It can also be thought of as a beacon, Orion said, like the North Star, shining above the neighborhood with the message, “Come here to be treated like you’re special and you matter and we care about you.”

The word “starlight” is defined as literally as it sounds: the light emitted by stars. That might be the most accurate meaning of all behind the bar’s moniker, I thought, because that’s what Orion is: the light emitted by his parents, the stars of NoDa. Looking at the definition, I smiled at the irony.

MUSIC FEATURE CREATURE COMFORTS

The New Creatures craft relatable rock ‘n’ roll from McAdenville

Pg. 10 - FEB 23 - MAR 8 2022

BY PAT MORAN

From Ziggy Stardust to Rob Zombie, rock music has unleashed a menagerie of exotic creatures, largerthan-life figures spanning subgenres as diverse as U2’s bombastic arena rock, The Clash’s punk manifestos, Led Zeppelin’s mystic psychedelic blues and whatever the fuck it is that Kid Rock does.

As satisfying as it is for rock fans to stride in the shadow of these giants, it’s often more satisfying to walk alongside some normal people.

Sure, it’s fun to drunkenly karaoke along with Bon Jovi’s self-parody — “I’m a cowboy/ On a steel horse I ride/ I’m wanted dead or alive...” — but I’ll wager that far more people can relate to the story that unfolds in The New Creatures’ single “Telephone Wire,” where a couple struggles to find time alone together: “She said where you wanna go/ Oh well I don’t know/ How ‘bout back to your place/ Oh well mine’s not clean/ She said well okay but my roommate Jeanie’s home/ She’s into Jesus man I really hope you stay...”

“Telephone Wire” consists of multiple snippers depicting life at The Creature Farm, a modest house where The New Creatures’ guitarist John Carstarphen leased out in McAdenville, a small town 17 miles west of Charlotte known mostly for its yearly Christmas lights exhibition, in 2019.

The band, then comprised of Carstarphen, bassist Bjarne Nielsen and guitarists Conrad Sloand and Ben Carroll, moved in and promptly gave the house its name.

Drummer Jacob Palladino, or Dino for short, joined the fold down on the Farm later that year.

In conversation, Carstarphen, Carroll and Palladino come across as nice, regular guys, the last people to acknowledge that they’re also insanely talented musicians and songwriters. The band has slimmed down to this threesome after the departure of Nielsen and Sloand. Nielsen left The New Creatures a month after the band released its second full-length album Seed in August 2021 to move back to his hometown of Rochester, New York. Sloand announced he was leaving the band in November 2021.

The New Creatures play a fresh yet familiar brand of melodic music that draws from surf, country, indie and classic rock. Those elements are present in “Telephone Wire,” where chiming, frenetic rhythm guitars that suggest nerdy ’80s indie band The Feelies give way to an amiable country rock canter, punctuated by chiming entwining lead guitars that would fit in on Quicksilver Messenger Service’s 1969 album Happy Trails.

Carstarphen simply describes his band’s songs as “good driving music.”

The trio, augmented with Charlotte bassist Cameron Godwin (Swim in the Wild, David Taylor and the Tallboys), bring their diverse sound to The Evening Muse on Feb. 25.

Carroll and Carstarphen met in 2015 while both were attending college at Montana State University.

They started playing together and immediately clicked,

forming a band called Mellow Knights.

“That’s when I started thinking I could make a career at [music],” Carroll says.

Carstarphen left school after a year, but Carroll stayed out in Montana until 2019, when Carstarphen got back in touch, urging Carroll to move to McAdenville and start a band.

“I loved playing with him so much in Montana, I knew that was the thing I wanted to do,” Carroll says.

In the meantime, Sloand and Nielsen met up at St. Lawrence PHOTOS BY BRANDON ROMEO University in Canton, New York, where they started playing together as well.

After reconnecting with Carstarphen, THE NEW CREATURES (FROM LEFT): BEN CARROLL, JACOB ‘DINO’ PALLADINO, AND JOHN CARSTARPHEN. Sloand moved to North Carolina to make music with Carroll and Carstarphen. Nielsen also our house, and we could make it sound good, but when albums is that the band had a lot more time to get more it comes to tracking a full band and trying new things, familiar with each other as musicians, rather than just as eventually came down to join the nascent rock band. buddies, Carstarphen says.

Once the guys were ensconced at The Creature Brian opened a lot of doors for us,” he says.

For their next project, the four-song EP Out of the “It got to the point where we were communicating Farm, they began to hone their sound. Carstarphen and Sloand’s folk backgrounds shaped the lyrics, making Blue, the band packed their van with every piece of through our instruments a lot better,” he offers. Carroll recording equipment they could scrounge up from The believes the album highlights The New Creatures’ facility each song tell a story.

“Instrumentally [too] we try to tell a story with Creature Farm and went to a rented house in North at crafting songs that work well with three interweaving the notes we’re playing, and make every song like a Myrtle Beach. They used the house as an experimental guitars parts. studio. Once again, all the instruments were recorded With the departures of Sloand and Nielsen, journey,” Carroll says.

In 2019, Palladino answered an ad on Craigslist live, but the band went crazy with overdubs for the integrating three guitar lines is no longer an issue. While calling for a drummer. He auditioned in front of all four vocals, recording voices in the shower, in the bathroom, Carroll, Carstarphen and Palladino miss their former bandmates, The New Creatures have adopted a more members and got the gig. “I knew these guys would be and under the bed.

“That was the most fun [project] that I’ve been a streamlined approach to making music. my best friends,” Palladino says. “It was just a feeling in part of,” Carroll says.

“Now there’s a rhythm [guitar] part and a catchy my nuggets.”

“It was really nice getting away from everything and lead,” Carroll says. “It’s simpler but it doesn’t sound Released in June 2020, The New Creature’s Home making some music,” Carstarphen says, “It was like being simpler.”

Cooking EP was the first band project Palladino played “It’s a whole lot easier to communicate with drums on. To record, the band rented an Airbnb near on vacation.”

The vacation had a sudden return-to-adulting coda, three minds working on something rather than five to Sugar Mountain overlooking Linville Gorge.

The vocals for the EP’s six songs were tracked live however. As the band headed home they learned that a complete the music,” Carstarphen says.

Along with the band’s new music direction, they’ve along with the rest of the instruments to replicate the massive oak tree had fallen on The Creature Farm, taking out one of the bedrooms and a car port. also started recording with a new producer at a new energy of a live show.

“We came back and there’s this 100-foot tree that facility, Tom Harling at Record Press Play in Charlotte.

Most of the songs for The New Creatures’ self-titled crushed all that,” Carroll says. “It shifted how many The facility benefits from having a surfeit of analog debut album, recorded in February 2020, were written people could live [in the house].” equipment, Carstarphen says. at The Creature Farm while the five band members Palladino and Carstarphen moved into a house down He offers that two songs recorded at Record Press hunkered down in quarantine during the first month of the COVID pandemic. The lockdown produced a massive the street, while Carroll, Nielsen and Sloand stayed at the Play may be the finest music The New Creatures has diminished Creature Farm with their rescue dog, Layla. produced to date. amount of material.

Seed, the band’s sophomore album, would prove Carroll says he feels prouder of the two songs, “It was kind of awesome but at the same time it to be Sloand and Nielsen’s last with the band. Stellar tentatively titled “These Changes,” and “Kitchen,” than sucked,” Carstarphen says.

The record represents a sonic step forward for the songs on the release display an increasing maturity from any other tunes he’s tracked. For now, the future looks band. The New Creatures had met producer Brian Gluf a band whose members are still in their twenties. On promising for The New Creatures, and their ultimate at a Snug Harbor gig, and Gluf offered the band use “Floorman,” Carroll’s yearning vocals soar over sluicing goals appear to be unchanged.

“All I ever wanted was to write a song that anybody of his Salisbury facility Maldek Studios at no charge. surf guitar and waves of hissing cymbals and clattering can relate to and listen to, and it will brighten up their The band moved into a house in Salisbury, about a drums.

The Big Star-styled rocker “Now We’re Dancin’,” nods day a little bit,” Carstarphen says.

45-minute drive from Charlotte (going the opposite to Sticky Fingers-era Rolling Stones with percussive direction on I-85 from McAdenville), and worked tiring PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM electric piano, spiraling country-rock guitar riffs and but exhilarating 12-hour days.

Carstarphen’s joyous gritty vocals: Carstarphen calls the experience an eye-opener.

The big difference between the first and second “We knew that you could make a scratch track at

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23

ROCK/PUNK/METAL The Menders w/ Drunken Prayers, David Childers (Snug Harbor) Neal Francis (Visulite Theatre) BLUES/FUNK/JAM BANDS Caitlin Krisko & The Broadcast w/ Abbey Bryant & the Echoes (Neighborhood Theatre) SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC Sam Tayloe & Friends (Evening Muse) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Dawn Anthony w Sean Higgins Trio (Middle C Jazz)

SATURDAY, MARCH 5 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28

TUESDAY, MARCH 1

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Council Ring w/ Pierce Alexander, Jackson Fig (The Milestone) Donna the Buffalo (Neighborhood Theatre) Dipstick w/ Wild Trees, Rugg (Snug Harbor) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Daniel Donato (Evening Muse) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Middle C Jazz All Stars (Middle C Jazz)

THURSDAY, MARCH 3

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Body Farm w/ Tossed Aside, Sleep Torture, San Haim (The Milestone) Chaz Cardigan (Neighborhood Theatre) Horse Jumper of Love w/ Hayden Pedigo, Whistler (Snug Harbor) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL The Black & Blue Experience (Middle C Jazz) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Tracy Lawrence & Clay Walker w/ Alexandra Kay (Ovens Auditorium) Curtis Eller (Petra’s) Chain Station (Thomas Street Tavern) BLUES/FUNK/JAM BANDS Goose (The Fillmore) OPEN MIC DOAP Hip-Hop Open Mic (Crown Station)

FRIDAY, MARCH 4

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Stormwatchers w/ Flame Tides, Something Went Wrong, Dark Sun Kult (The Milestone) Toward Space w/ Heavy Liquid (Snug Harbor) HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Bri Feel w/ Mishijah (Evening Muse) Lil Skritt w/ MINKA, Nige Hood & the Folk Rap Band (Skylark Social Club) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL Morehouse College Glee Club (Belk Theater) Al Strong (Evening Muse) Colby Dobbs performs Marvin Gaye (Middle C Jazz) BLUES/FUNK/JAM BANDS Of Good Nature w/ Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers, The 502s (Amos’ Southend) Cosmic Charlie (Grateful Dead tribute) (Visulite Theatre) POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ Codd Dubz, Dj Usaybflow, Pandemic, and Detaux (SERJ) LATIN/WORLD Pierre Bensusan (Stage Door Theater)

SUNDAY, MARCH 6

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Adelita’s Way w/ Gemini Syndrome, Scars Remain, To Begin Anew (Amos’ Southend) Korine w/ Canyon, Physical Digital (The Milestone) HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Goodie Mob (Neighborhood Theatre) BLUES/FUNK/JAM BANDS Mojo Stomp w/ Chad Butler (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar) LATIN/WORLD Marcel Portilla Band (Middle C Jazz)

MONDAY, MARCH 7 ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Ours w/ Black BirdWhite Sky and Chris Shinn (Amos’Southend)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

MAVI w/ Ahmir, MESSIAH!, Sco, Jah-Monte Ogbon (Snug Harbor)

JAZZ/CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL

The Conn/Davis Jazz Duo (Crown Station)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Lyle Lovett (Knight Theater)

OPEN MIC

Find Your Muse Open Mic (Evening Muse)

TUESDAY, MARCH 8 ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Last Waking Moment w/ Condado, Cloutchaser, Dovecage (Amos’ Southend) Call Me Karizma (Neighborhood Theatre)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

Chimurenga Renaissance w/ La Brava, Sweat Transfer (Snug Harbor)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ Cosmic Jam (Crown Station)

VISIT QCNERVE.COM FOR THE FULL SOUNDWAVE LISTING.

Pg. 11 - - FEB 23 - MAR 8 202

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Cursive w/ Nate Bergman, Appleseed Cast (Amos’Southend) Dead Senate w/ Ink Swell, Allamutto (Crown Station) Detest the Throne w/ Mafia, Until They Bleed, And I Become Death (The Milestone) Pet Bug w/ Boy AC, Wild Trees (Petra’s) The Donner Deads w/ Snake Mountain Revival, ROCK/PUNK/METAL Bleeth, Doomsday Profit (Skylark Social Lounge) Trapt (Amos’ Southend) HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Dead Senate w/ Kenmujo, No Parking (The Milestone) Aminé (The Fillmore) Distemper w/ Physical\\Digital, Troubleshoot (Snug Harbor) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL BLUES/FUNK/JAM BANDS Kabalevsky’s Cello Concerto No. 1 (Belk Theater) Ana Popovic (Neighborhood Theatre) Sy Smith w/ Rhythym 4 U Band (Middle C Jazz) Dogs in a Pile w/ Wag the Band, Africa Unplugged COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA (Visulite Theatre) Eric Church (Spectrum Center) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA BLUES/FUNK/JAM BANDS Anaïs Mitchell & Bonny Light Horseman (Booth Playhouse) Queen City Blues Festival (Ovens Auditorium) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Memphis Lightning (Evening Muse) Sy Smith w/ Rhythym 4 U Band (Middle C Jazz) Blue Dog Junction (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar) POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ Akita Funk w/ Sons of Paradise (Snug Harbor) Hippie Sabotage (The Fillmore) Florencia & The Feeling (Tommy’s Pub) Conrank (SERJ) POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ LATIN/WORLD Who’s Bad (Michael Jackson tribute) (Knight Theater) Pre Carnaval do Brasil (PEtra’s) Planet of the Drums (SERJ) OPEN MIC SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC DOAP Hip-Hop Open Mic (Crown Station) Jeff Gates w/ Barcerado (Primal Brewery) Open Mic Night w/ Chase & Aleeia “Sug” Bolton Brown (Tommy’s Pub) ROCK/PUNK/METAL FRND CRCL w/ Jet Jag, Two Eyes Open, Lunchbox ROCK/PUNK/METAL Hero, The Word Around Town (The Milestone) Laniidae w/ The Sick and the Well, Fractured Frames, JAZZ/CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL No Rope (Amos’ Southend) Gregory Porter (Belk Theater) The New Creatures w David Taylor and the Hellboys Tom Braxton (Middle C Jazz) (Evening Muse) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Pleasure House w/Toward Space, Dreamboat (The Milestone) Jim Garrett Trio (Comet Grill) The Glen Watkins Band (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar) SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC Run Engine w/ The Turnstiles (Tommy’s Pub) Peter & Brendan Meyer (Evening Muse) HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B BLUES/FUNK/JAM BANDS Dru Billions w/ jay-bird, $oMadd, Semaj Sinclair, Southern Avenue w/ Bill Miller Band (NeighborhoodTheatre) BenjiBlueBill, and GY Boogie (Skylark Social Club) LATIN/WORLD JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Celtic Session w/ Alan Davis (Tommy’s Pub) Hiroshima (Stage Door Theater) Charlotte Symphony Orchestra Presents Kabalevsky’s POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ Cello Concerto No. 1 (Belk Theater) Eric Nam (The Fillmore) Sy Smith w/ Rhythym 4 U Band (Middle C Jazz) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA The Conn/Davis Jazz Duo (Crown Station) Corey Smith w/ Simerson Hill (Coyote Joe’s) The Bill Hanna Legacy Jazz Session (Petra’s) The Kernal w/ Mike Strauss Band (Snug Harbor) OPEN MIC POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ Find Your Muse Open Mic (Evening Muse) Sammy Rae & the Friends w/ Miki Ratsula (Neighborhood Theatre) Shadow Play: ’80s/’90s Underground Dance Party (Petra’s) POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ Um w/ Vibe Emissions, Makak, Noway (SERJ) Cosmic Jam (Crown Station)

Adam Cope w/ Treatment, Ronnie Stone & the Lonely Riders, Joshua Cotterino (The Milestone) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL Braxton Bateman (Evening Muse) Soda City Brass Band (Middle C Jazz)

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Abyssal Frost w/ Tyger, Holy Roller, Bog Loaf (The Milestone) Porcelain Mary (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar) The Gloomies w/ Secret Shame, Buried in Roses (Snug Harbor) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Niko Moon w/ Kylie Morgan (Coyote Joe’s) Clem Snide (Evening Muse) Cruz Contreras w/ Justin Fedor (Coyote Joe’s) SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC Mike Massé (Stage Door Theater) Patrick Lilly (Lenny Boy Brewing) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL Lindsey Webster (Middle C Jazz) POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ Kevin Goodwin w/ Latepost, Todd Johnson (Skylark Social Club) LATIN/WORLD Oscar De Leon (World Nightclub)

FOOD & DRINK FEATURE A WESTERN OASIS

New facility will aim to offset effects of food desert in west Charlotte

BY NIKOLAI MATHER

Carolina Farm Trust CEO Zack Wyatt kicks our interview off with a simple phrase: “Every major geopolitical issue we have is coming from the dirt, in one fashion or another.”

In some ways, one could argue that his nonprofit’s latest project, a local food production and distribution center in west Charlotte’s Thomasboro-Hoskins neighborhood, worked in reverse.

After all, it was due to COVID (a geopolitical issue) that city leaders were able to see the need for this project, allowing Carolina Farm Trust to secure the funding needed for the warehouse, located on what is currently just an abandoned lot (the dirt).

Wyatt says a global pandemic is, for many, what it took to recognize how important local foodways are.

“Once you start realizing that the average grocery store has about two and a half days of regular buying patterns before it’s empty … no one could ignore how fragile our [food] systems are.”

On Feb. 14, Charlotte City Council voted to allocate $1.5 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to the Local Foods Production and Distribution Center (LFPDC), the straightforward working title for the project. The location is the site of an old food production and distribution facility on South Hoskins Road, with 25,000 square feet of existing building space and 60,000 square feet of open space around it.

Upon completion, the facility will include an event space, a butchery, a grocery store, a teaching kitchen and more. CFT will buy and sell local food out of the space, including produce, livestock and dairy, while also providing patio space to gather and eat onsite.

Wyatt and the team at Carolina Farm Trust plan to make the facility an oasis in west Charlotte’s food desert, and though the organization’s reach spans throughout the Carolinas, they want to keep this effort as close to home as possible.

Pg. 12 - FEB 23 - MAR 8 2022

From the dirt

Founded in 2015, Carolina Farm Trust (CFT) supports a network of local farms through grants, equipment and land leasing, as well as product distribution throughout the Carolinas. Its own urban farms comprise part of that network, including several in the Charlotte area.

CFT’s two largest urban farms, Free Spirit Farm and Mill Grove Farm Co-op, are located just outside Charlotte — in Huntersville and Indian Trail, respectively — whereas the oldest property, Urban Farm at Aldersgate, is located in and serves east Charlotte.

While COVID-19 may have opened some people’s

eyes to the need for this new project, that’s just a small silver lining on a pandemic that has otherwise been “devestating” to Carolina Farm Trust, Wyatt says.

Upon COVID-19’s arrival in North Carolina in spring 2020, many of the plans CFT had made would need to be scrapped or postponed, and the longtime vision for a food distribution facility on the west side, a work in progress since 2019, would COMMUNITY MEMBERS TOUR WHAT WILL SOON BE A NEW FOOD PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION FACILITY ON SOUTH HOSKINS ROAD. PHOTO COURTESY OF CAROLINA FARM TRUST be placed on the back burner.

Then about a year into the role of general manager for the new distribution center.

Creative interventions pandemic, a series of serendipitous meetings changed Peake initially wasn’t going to pursue the position, but a Wyatt feels fortunate to have received federal that. In April 2021, Wyatt’s colleague mentioned the idea phone call with Wyatt changed his mind. funding, but still, he emphasizes that emergency relief to a friend of hers. As luck would have it, that friend’s “Zack is so passionate,” Peake says. “He’s just got funding isn’t enough to resolve the crisis in the Carolinas’ family owned an unused warehouse on Hoskins Road working knowledge of the food desert problem.” foodways. that perfectly fit their acreage and location preferences.

Wyatt knew right away that Peake was a good fit for “Corporations, foundations and the private sector From there, it was a mad dash to piece together the team, too. will hopefully understand that we need to have a plans, secure funding and purchase the property. In time, “We’re working internally to hire any local people refocus on system change and system change funding,” both the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners that we possibly can,” Wyatt says. “[Peake] is born and and the Charlotte City Council caught wind of CFT’s raised in Charlotte … and he’s hit the ground running.” he insists.

But when system change comes at a glacial pace, project and inquired about how they could support it.

Preserving local autonomy has always been a major Carolina Farm Trust has had to get creative with its Wyatt met with representatives to discuss Charlotte’s part of Carolina Farm Trust’s work. And as Wyatt, who foodways and took them on tours through the new moved to Charlotte in 2003, came to understand this crisis response. As Peake walked me through the facility property. Carolina Farm Trust secured a total of $4.5 city’s rapid rate of gentrification, keeping the integrity blueprint, he told me about some of those ideas, starting million in federal COVID-19 relief funding from both of underserved communities became more important to with the facility’s test kitchen.

“Let’s say that people come in and purchase [food] governing bodies. him. with EBT or SNAP. A lot of people don’t have time to cook, There’s still a long road ahead, the anticipated cost of “Whatever we do, we make sure that the community and with EBT and SNAP, you can’t buy cooked food. But renovations and the first three years of operation totals living there now can stay there as long as they want. $14 million, the rest of which CFT still has to fundraise for, Our first fear with a project in a neighborhood like see, we’re going to turn that upside down. You can buy your food, and then you can get it prepared [in the test but Wyatt remains optimistic that the facility will open Thomasboro-Hoskins is gentrification,” says Wyatt. kitchen].”

by May 2023.

With that in mind, Peake and Wyatt made it a There’s a dozen other little innovations in their plans: “Everyone has just been so positive,” he says. “It just priority to connect with their neighbors. They began by rooftop gardens, dining facilities in remodeled boxcars, fell into our lap.” attending meetings for the Historic Hoskins Coalition a video system for test kitchen chefs to broadcast what Group (HHCG), a board charged with taking care of the they’re cooking. What lies at the heart of it is connecting For the west side, by the west side Hoskins neighborhood. Together, they had conversations local farmers with local consumers.

For LFPDC general manager Chris Peake, the about food desertification in west Charlotte and how a “If it’s grown here, we’re going to source from here,” devastation of his neighborhood’s foodways began long distribution center could help.

Wyatt said. before COVID-19.

Currently, CFT is planning a brunch and tour of the Though CFT is undertaking a massive project, Wyatt Peake grew up just a few blocks from the site, and as facility for the HHCG board. sees it as just one small step towards ending what he a child he remembered seeing grocery stores gradually “We want them to be involved from the start to the calls “the caste system of food distribution” in the disappear from his neighborhood. Fresh produce became finish,” Peake says.

Carolinas. difficult to come by.

To Peake and the rest of Carolina Farm Trust, the job “We could be a leader in food sustainability and “You’d look up, and it’d be like, ‘Oh, all I got is Oodles isn’t worth doing without the blessing of Thomasboro- creating food systems that are decentralized and of Noodles and canned products,’” he remembers.

Hoskins residents. equitable for chrissakes,” he says. “It’s going to take every Yet Peake had never worked in the nonprofit sector When I ask Peake what drove him to switch to one of us to buy in for it to work.” until 2021. While working as a used car salesman, an old nonprofit work, his answer was simple: “Why did I choose NMATHER@QCNERVE.COM friend named Beverly Knox-Davis told him to apply for the this position? Because of my community. I work for them.”

LIFESTYLE PUZZLES

PUZZLE ANSWERS ON PG. 15

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU BY LINDA THISTLE

JPg. 13 - FEB 23 - MAR 8 2022

LIFESTYLE COLUMN

THE SEEKER

MAKE I T OK

No one else can care for you like you can

Pg. 14 - FEB 23 - MAR 8 2022

BY KATIE GRANT

If you follow along with my monthly Charlotte adventures in this column, you know that I aspired to carry out my first Dry January. I regrettably fell off the wagon halfway through the month thanks to Snowmageddon and I highly doubt I was the only one.

We were snowed in, my neighbors offered a build-yourown Bloody Mary bar, and we played Cards Against Humanity — innocent enough, right? And with the social hour doing good for my soul, I mounted the wagon again the next day without regret.

During my month of semi-sobriety, I experienced many clear-headed revelations — one of which is this: Being sober doesn’t have to be boring. There are so many fulfilling things to do around our city that don’t involve alcohol!

My husband and I ventured out for a “date day” on a rainy Sunday afternoon. He manages a restaurant, which means he works most weekends. Our downtime together is limited and therefore precious, so we sought out local activities to spend our quality time on sansalcohol.

First stop, a caffeinated pick-me-up from Coco and the Director in Uptown. As I write this, I can’t help but feel ashamed that I have never visited this industrial-chic coffee shop before, despite working Uptown for years within a mile of its vicinity. I unjustly speculated that it would be dull, corporate, and cookie-cutter due to the nature of the Uptown location alone, but I was surprised to find the opposite.

Not only do they support local artisans and locally sourced products, but they also offer a casual meeting space for one-on-one meetings or larger groups, locally roasted coffee, freshly baked bread and pastries, lunch items to-go. And yes, free Wi-Fi. Our next agenda item was the new special exhibition Mental Health: MIND MATTERS at Discovery Place, presented by Atrium Health. The exhibit explores the stigma of mental illness, illustrating that it is actually quite common — it can happen to anyone, and it is treatable. The exhibit explores the science behind our feelings and how we experience the world around us.

It also features hands-on activities and multimedia experiences.

Some of the experiences are labeled as “empathybuilding” with the intention of demonstrating what some people who live with mental illnesses may experience, including but not limited to depression, PTSD, and schizophrenia. One empathy-building component, for example, asked patrons to answer simple questions

while speakers simulated the experience of hearing voices detached voices in their head (Spoiler alert: It’s frustrating).

The exhibit’s #MakeItOK feature also seeks to normalize discussions around mental health, with wall art and journals that allow folks to interact and engage with the exhibit, sharing their own stories.

Make It OK is a campaign to remove the stigma that shrouds mental health. You may have seen some campaign posters in public places. They typically feature two people facing each other with a blank dialogue bubble creating a barrier, the message being that people’s unwillingness to talk about mental health furthers stigma.

Curious to learn more, I visited the campaign’s website, where I found it’s possible to become a Make It OK ambassador, someone who has a passion for reducing mental illness stigma in their community. I felt this opportunity was speaking to me directly, given that I am intentionally working to get a hold of my previously unbridled anxiety. So, I’m excited to announce I will be taking ambassador training this month!

A key takeaway from the exhibit was learning how mental health can often be precarious, but it doesn’t have to be.

One thing I discovered during Dry January was that alcohol, no matter the minimal pour, was affecting my sleep and would almost always exasperate my anxiety the following day — sometimes referred to as hangxiety. Does anyone else relate? For me, hangxiety manifests as irritability, inability to concentrate, quickened heart rate, and intrusive thoughts, to name a few. It has also materialized as disordered eating not once, but two separate times in my life.

Anxiety disorders are a type of mental health condition that can make it incredibly difficult to get through the day, and it’s not “just in your head” as some people claim. On this journey I’ve learned that anxiety can’t be cured because a person’s tendency toward anxiety is part of their genetic makeup (thanks, mom!).

Still, I am learning certain management techniques like yoga, breathwork, and limiting alcohol intake are immediately accessible, and in doing so I am becoming a stronger self-advocate in a stigmatizing world.

Caring for my mind and body is my number one job, because no one else will do it for me.

So, does Dry January lead to Sober February? For me it does. If you are sober-curious like me, February is an ideal time to try it on because, after all, it’s the shortest month. While the month is almost over now, your journey into sobriety doesn’t have to be tied to a calendar. I invite you to see how many non-boring ways you can maintain your social life, because challenges may be difficult, but they should never be boring!

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

HOROSCOPE 2022 KING FEATURES SYND., INC.

FEB 23 - MAR 1

MAR 2 - MAR 8

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Your ideas are finally ARIES (March 21 to April 19) The adventurous Aries

reaching those who can appreciate them. But don’t expect any immediate reactions. That will come later.

Meanwhile, a personal matter needs your attention.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Your energy levels are rising, and you’re feeling restless and eager to get into some activity, whether it’s for profit or just for fun. In either case, the aspects are highly favorable, so go for it.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) A relationship seems to be winding down from passionate to passive. It’s up to you to decide what the next step will be. But don’t wait too long to take the initiative. Delay could create more problems.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) A decision looms. But be very sure that this is what you really want before you sign or say anything. Once you act, there’ll be little or no wiggle room for any adjustments.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Money matters improve, but you still need to be cautious with your spending. Also, set aside that Leonine pride for a bit and apologize for contributing to that misunderstanding.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) A tempting financial situation could make the usually unflappable Virgo rush in before checking things out. Be alert to possible hidden problems. Get the facts before you act.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) It’s nice to know that you’re finally getting due credit for your efforts. You also should know that new opportunities will follow. A family member brings important news.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Any uncertainty that begins to cloud an impending decision could signal a need to re-examine your reasons for wanting to take on this commitment.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) You benefit from taking time out of your currently hectic schedule to do more contemplation or meditation. This will help re-energize you, both in body and soul.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Nursing hurt feelings can zap the energies of even the usually self-confident Sea Goat. Best advice: Move forward.

Success is the best balm for a painful ego.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A display of temperament surprises you, as well as those around you.

It could be all that pressure you’re under. Consider letting someone help you see it through.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Some things don’t seem to be working out as you’d hoped.

Don’t fret. Instead, take some time out to reassess your plans and see where changes could be made.

won’t be disappointed with taking on a new challenge, despite some initial misgivings. Look for this move to open other opportunities down the line.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Let that beautiful Bovine smile not only put you at ease, but also show that you’re ready, willing and more than able to confound the naysayers around you. A new admirer has important news.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Be careful how you handle a relationship that you’re hoping to save. You already have the facts on your side. Avoid weakening your position by embellishing it with unnecessary dramatics.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Taking definitive stands isn’t easy for the often-wavering Moon Child. But you not only need to stay with your decision, but also to reassure others it was the right thing to do.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) As a proud Lion, you’re right to be upset about those who might be lying about you to others. But the best revenge is proving them wrong by succeeding at what you set out to do.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22). Caution is still advised before making a financial commitment to a “promising” project. Look for the facts behind the fluff.

Devote the weekend to loved ones.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) A Taurus offers comfort and advice as you deal with an upsetting event.

Use this as a learning experience that will help you avoid similar problems in the future.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) A romantic situation creates some chaos for single Scorpions. But it’s well worth the effort to work things out. A trusted friend can offer some helpful advice.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Expect to make new friends as your social circle expands.

Also, remember to tell that family member how proud you are of his or her achievements.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19). New ventures continue to be favored. And with your selfconfidence rising all the time, you’ll want to see how well you can do with a new challenge. So, go to it.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) This is a good time for the usually serious-minded Aquarian to let loose and enjoy some fun times. Expect to get good news about a workplace issue.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Changed plans might upset some people, but your needs should be respected. Offer explanations when necessary. But don’t let yourself be talked into changing your decisions.

BORN THIS WEEK: You enjoy traveling and BORN THIS WEEK: You have a gift for bringing meeting people. You are especially good with people together. You would make a fine judge or counselor. children and would make an excellent teacher.

SAVAGE LOVE SUB OP TIMAL

Getting things right earlier than later

PUZZLE ANSWERS FROM PG. 13

BY DAN SAVAGE

I’m a submissive gay man with a 15-year-old nephew. Through his actions and words, both his parents and I have gathered he might be gay, which is absolutely no issue. However, we’ve also recently discovered that he seems to be interested in D/s themes with him as the sub. Besides the occasional veiled comments and sketchy online searches, he’s also described situations where he’s convinced other boys to subtly Dom him, both in vanilla ways and some decidedly more borderline.

We’re being careful to teach him about healthy boundaries and appropriate behaviors, but I have an additional struggle with all this. As a gay sub, I’ve been a bit of a failure. I’ve had no lasting relationships. I’ve never found a man who wanted me as both a partner and his slave. I know that there are success stories out there — sub guys with partners and families — but I’m not one of them.

I want to be a good gay uncle, but honestly, I’m an objectively poor role model. If this is the path he ultimately takes, I want him to be safe, happy and loved. But I don’t know how to do this if I’m advising from my own collection of saddo experiences. Any suggestions?

UNCLE GOOD HEART

Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage; questions@ savagelove.net; find columns, podcasts, books, merch and more at www.savage.love!

JPg. 15 - FEB 23 - MAR 8 2022

“By emphasizing the importance of consent, UGH is already getting the most important thing right,” said Hadrian Temple, a dominant gay leatherman, blogger, and erotica author. “UGH’s nephew needs to know he has a right to say no to any form of play he feels uncomfortable with. He should also know that until he has agreed to some sort of power exchange with a potential Dom, they are interacting as equals.

He doesn’t have to start obeying the Dom until he’s agreed to start obeying, and he can withdraw his consent at any time and stop the play.”

Your nephew also needs to be told that “convincing” other boys to “subtly dominate him” isn’t ethical. If these boys don’t realize what your nephew is doing — and what they’re doing for your nephew — then they haven’t consented to playing D/s games with him. And just as your nephew wants to avoid bad Doms lurking on the other end of sketchy online searches — and any adult Dom willing to play with a 15-year-old boy is by definition bad and untrustworthy — your nephew needs to avoid being a bad/creepy/manipulative sub.

“And besides, pushing vanilla guys to dominate him is not a great long-term strategy for finding a Dom,” said Temple.

“One of the hardest things for novice subs to understand is that vanilla guys don’t like to be dominant — if they did, they wouldn’t be vanilla.

Sure, there are some guys who don’t realize they’re kinky until a sub comes along, but he shouldn’t assume every hot guy he likes is a potential Dom. In most cases, attempting to ‘convert’ vanilla guys is a waste of time.”

And while exploring his sexuality with an age-appropriate partner who shares your nephew’s kinks would be safer, more appropriate, and legal, finding someone his own age who’s not just gay but also attracted to him and into dominating

someone — and someone your nephew is attracted to in turn — is a tall order. Instead of searching for someone to play with right now, reading about, thinking about, fantasizing about, and masturbating about his kinks would be a far better and less frustrating use of his time.

As for whether your nephew needs to know about your saddo experiences…

“In one sense, it doesn’t matter if UGH is a ‘poor role model’ where long-term relationships are concerned,” said Temple. “He can still offer his nephew good advice without going into sad or sordid details. He can answer questions and promise to be non-judgmental. And UGH shouldn’t assume he’s a bad sub — or a bad role model — because he hasn’t found a long-term kinky partner.

There are lots of reasons why a sub might not have met the right Dom, and only a few of those reasons really come down to being a bad sub. Most kinksters feel there are more subs out there than there are Doms, so there are good subs who haven’t been able to get the partner they deserve because the Dom-tosub ratio is skewed.”

And while kinks can complicate a person’s search for a partner, being vanilla — or pretending to be vanilla — does not guarantee someone a partner. Just as there are lots of happily partnered kinky people out there (some partnered with people who aren’t kinky), there are lots of 100% vanilla people out there who are unhappily single.

To get a young sub’s perspective, UGH, I shared your question with Gimpboy95, a 26-year-old gay sub in Chicago.

(Gimpboy95 is his handle on Instagram, and it’s how he wanted to be identified in the column.) Not too long ago Gimpboy95 was in your nephew’s shoes: another gay, kinky, inexperienced teenager scouring the internet for information, porn, and connection.

“There are some shady/sketchy people out there, of course, but there’s a lot of good out there too,” said Gimpboy95, who had his first sexual experiences at age 18. “UGH’s nephew can do his research, figure out what he likes, and ultimately find his community, just like I did. And finding community is, in my opinion, absolutely crucial.”

Finding community means making kinky friends, not just matching with kinky sex partners.

“Having a shoulder or boot to lean on has helped me tremendously,” said Gimpboy95. “So once UGH’s nephew is old enough, he shouldn’t be afraid to put himself out there — and not just on the internet. Meeting other people in the kink community at local events who were open and accepting — whether their identities were centered around kink or kink was more of a hobby — really has been the most fulfilling part of my journey.”

Follow Hadrian Temple on Twitter @HadrianTemple and check out his blog and his erotica at gaybdsmfiction.blog. Follow Gimpboy95 on Instagram @Gimpboy95.