4 TUCKER DAY IS BACK!
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9 Common Sen$e: Qualifying for a Mortgage with Student Loans 10 Food for Thought: Small Town Farmers Still Exist 14 Tucker’s Movie Tavern Welcomes You Back to the Movies
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To become an Our Town DeKalb advertising partner, email info@OurTownDeKalb.com or call 770.621.9041
Our Town DeKalb
OurTown NE DeKalb Community and Family Magazine
A Shiny Inc Publication Editor Lizbeth A. Dison Shinycomm.com ldison@shinycomm.com Our Town DeKalb is published and direct mailed to
select homes in the Tucker / Northeast DeKalb area. Opinions expressed by the writers and staff are their Creative Director own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Jay Adcock the publisher. Our Town DeKalb reserves the right jay@adcockcreativegroup.com to edit or reject any editorial or advertising content. Our Town DeKalb is not responsible for errors in advertising beyond the cost of the space or for the Writers validity of claims made by advertisers.
Cindy E. Farrar Doug Reynics Lois Ricci Sanah Sayani Karl Schwartz Art Wood
Entire contents copyright 2021 by Our Town DeKalb and Shiny Inc LLC. Reproduction in whole or part is forbidden in any media without written permission from the publisher.
Distribution Coordinator Emma Dison Brantley
Stay Connected! OurTownDeKalb.com
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4426 Hugh Howell Road, Suite 307B Tucker, Georgia 30084 770.621.9041 | info@ourtowndekalb.com
IN THIS ISSUE 4 Tucker Day is Back! 6 The Bits in Between: Love and Kitty Kibbles 7 Wellness In-Sight: Power in Yielding 8 Age Friendly Tucker: Accessibility Means Inclusivity 9 Common Sen$e: Qualifying for a Mortgage with Student Loans 10 Food for Thought: Small Town Farmers Still Exist 11 Back Talk: Movement, Muscles and Maintenance 12 Beauty Byline with Sanah: Ice Ice Baby 14 Tucker’s Movie Tavern Welcomes You Back to the Movies 17 Smoke Rise Academy of the Arts Returns to in-Person Classes with Expanded Programs and Updated Facilities 18 Tucker Community Singers Begins In-Person Rehearsals for Holiday Concert ON THE COVER: The Seed & Feed Marching Abominable helps kick off Tucker Day 2019 in the opening parade. (photo: Dean Hesse)
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On The Cover:
!
TUCKER DAY
IS BACK
The iconic event celebrates its 64th year.
After the pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 celebration (and almost the 2021 event), Tucker Day returns to Main Street on Saturday, September 4. COVID-19 and concern for public safety necessitated organizers to cancel the 2020 event for the first time in its 64-year history. A huge crowd is expected in downtown Tucker for Tucker Day 2021: Fall Fantasy, which will include a parade, live music, arts and crafts, kids’ games and activities, and plenty of food. The annual event has been held on the Saturday before Mother’s Day since 1999 but this year was moved to the Saturday before Labor Day due to continuing COVID concerns in the spring. “We couldn’t see cancelling it for the second year in a row, and disappointing the community again,” said organizer Honey Van De Kreke. “We felt that people needed to get back to fun after the pandemic, to reconnect with their friends and family and the community. We wanted to hold the event in 2021 as soon as safely possible, even if it meant delaying it until later in the year.” While Tucker Day is September 4 this year, in 2022, it will move back to its regular Saturday before Mother’s Day (Saturday, May 7). Tucker Days was originally a three-day event held in late summer to celebrate the town’s history and promote its growing potential. Then an unincorporated town in DeKalb County, its population was expanding steadily, new businesses were moving in, and its first subdivisions were springing up on former family farmlands. Community leaders began discussing a town-wide celebration, and soon everyone was onboard – the Tucker Business Association, the Tucker
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Civic Association, the Women’s Club, the Garden Club, the Lions and Kiwanis, the Lodges, and all the schools and churches. The first Tucker Days was held August 22–24, 1957, and the money raised was earmarked for the new library and recreation center. Each day of the event, from early morning until late afternoon, Main Street was crowded with constant activity for everyone, including cake walks, a horse show, antique cars, craft exhibits, a beauty contest, and speeches by local business owners, educators and County politicians about the exciting direction the town of Tucker was headed. After dark, there were street dances and barbecues. Everyone was required to wear old-timey clothes, and men had to wear beards or mustaches. A person who failed to appear “in the spirit” was thrown into a rustic “jail” made of pine wood slats erected in front of the Bank of Tucker, where the sheriff stood guard. Bail was set at $25 but there were a few jailbreaks while the people laughed and cheered. Tucker Days was held again in 1963 as a three-day event, then scheduled in following years as a two-day event. In 1999, Tucker Days became a Photo: Dean Hesse one-day annual event and moved to spring. By that time, attendance had grown to two to three thousand, and continued to grow until in 2019 it had topped four thousand. The event day kicked off with a parade down Main Street which included members of various Tucker civic organizations, youth groups, schools, marching bands, and dance troupes. There was a dedicated area for children’s activities, and numerous and varied music acts performed throughout the day on two stages. Booths lined the street representing Tucker businesses, organizations and restaurants, along with a special area for food trucks. Then came COVID – and the 2020 event was cancelled just weeks before its scheduled date. “We waited until late March to make that difficult decision,” said Photo: Rocky Ball/Tucker Day Committee Van De Kreke. “We first tried to move the
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List of booths confirmed as of July 30, 2021. For a current list of booths, visit tuckerday.com.
Photo: Dean Hesse
event to the fall that year, but realized by that summer that health and safety was still a major concern. Local, county and state restrictions limited or prohibited public gatherings during the height of the pandemic, and we felt that it was best to cancel the 2020 celebration and move our focus to 2021.” When Tucker Day was scheduled in May 2021, COVID cases were still rising and public safety was still a concern. Rather than cancel the event for a second year, event organizers carefully Photo: Tucker Historical Society monitored the public health situation and waited to see if they could safely hold the event later in the year. With the full availability of vaccinations, the rollback of restrictions on public gatherings and the better summer weather, organizers felt they could safely reschedule Tucker Day to Saturday, September 4. Van De Kreke predicts that this year’s Tucker Day will see at least 5,000 attendees on Main Street. “People are ready to get out of the house and celebrate. This year, Tucker Day is even more important as it reunites the community and celebrates our city’s perseverance and hope for the future.” Tucker Day 2021 is scheduled for September 4, kicking off with the Photo: Tucker Historical Society Opening Ceremony at 9:00 a.m., followed by the Human-Powered Parade down Main Street at 10:00 a.m. For a full event schedule, visit tuckerday.com.
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Alexandra Fair Artworks by Karen Fincannon Audra’s Aromas BHGRE Metro Brokers CDC Federal Credit Union Complete Spine Solutions Creative Creations Daytime Soaps LLC DeKalb Animal Services DeKalb County RepublicaN Party Derry and Tex Diamond Dental Group Dr. Mike’s Shaving Emporium Edward Jones Folenator Forever Bows Boutique Forte Couture Foster & Witmer Frey’s Handcraft Friends of Virginia Rece GA Motorcycle Safety Program Gwinnett Macaroni Kid LLC Heart Art J + K Mosaics Katheline Lansiquot Knit Antics Kreateavations Lamar Law Office Legacy Chiropratic LOL Survivor Committee Main Street School of the Arts Mom and Me Hand Stamped Mountain West Church Nailed It DIY Tucker
North American Insurance Services Omega Support Center Pineapple & Popcorn Rehoboth Baptist Church Ronnie Evans Rotary Club of Tucker Route 78 Coffee Co. Royal Thanaka Schroeder Resources Sharon Sullivan Silver Butterflies LLC Smokehouse Foods LLC Stone Mountain Camp 1432 scv Stones to Wear Swept Away Cleaning Tamara R Miner Tandem Quilting Co. The Little Nest The Tin Man and Friends Travelmation Tucker Craft Works Volo Press Books Well Care Health Plans
Tucker Day 2020 thanks all those who sponsored this year’s event. List of sponsors confirmed as of July 30, 2021. For a current list of sponsors, visit tuckerday.com. Bartlett Tree Experts Tucker Brewing Co. Blue Ribbon Grill Tucker Meat Market Chick-fil-A Northlake Festival and Tucker Station Tucker-Northlake CID Cornerstone Team Atlanta Emory Healthcare Friends of Main Frank Auman, Mayor for Tucker G2 Surfaces Grecian Gyro Tucker Georgia Eye Hot Betty’s Breakfast Bar Nailed It DIY Tucker Longleaf Hospice and Palliative Care Palumbo Law LLC Manry and Heston The Corner Cup Relief Dental The Math Depot Swept Away Cleaning Tandem Bank Photo: Rocky Ball/Tucker Day Committee
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The Bits in Between: Love and Kitty Kibbles Last month, we opened our home to a foster kitten through DeKalb Animal Services, whose no-kill shelter is managed by Lifeline Animal Project. Calida (or Cali as we call her) was a six-week-old kitten found alone in a Decatur parking lot in early July. Cali was in poor shape when surrendered to the shelter – malnourished, dehydrated, covered in fleas and suffering from a bad case of ringworm. After a week at the shelter, she was diagnosed with “fading kitten syndrome,” an umbrella term for kittens whose health starts to decline in the first several weeks of life – basically for often unknown reasons, a kitten just fails to thrive. Symptoms include loss of appetite, dull hair coat, a lack of meowing or other sounds, and weakness and fatigue. In addition to all these symptoms, Cali at six weeks was skeletal, weighing only 520 grams (about 25% underweight). If diagnosed early, with attentive care a fading kitten can be saved. But in an overcrowded shelter, kittens like Cali just aren’t able to get individual, specialized care, and often don’t survive their infancy. We were given lots of instruction sheets on how to treat a fading kitten, and we did a lot of Google searches, reading up on kitten and cat care sites and watching a lot of videos. We began feeding her human baby food supplemented with moist kitten food, kitten formula mixed in goat milk, and tiny kitten-sized kibble as a treat. We dosed her with anti-fungal and antibiotics to treat her ringworm. But the most important part of her treatment? Love. Good nutrition and effective healthcare might keep her alive. Love would help her thrive. Cali is a reminder of the connection between love and good health. While kittens need to be fed every three to four hours, they need to feel love constantly. At six weeks, Cali should still be with her mother and her littermates. As an orphan kitten, no matter how much food and medicine you give her, without that constant feeling of love and security, she won’t thrive. Feeling loved, cared for and secure tends to boost the immune system and reduce the chance of illness; frequent cuddling as a “purrito” (tightly swaddling her in a soft blanket) made it easier to dose Cali her medicines while simultaneously wrapping her in love. Those who have a loving support system also tend to recover more quickly from an illness, which is evident from Cali’s quick recovery from her ringworm and skin infections. Feeling love reduces the feelings of isolation and depression while increasing the sense of belonging and happiness. Once Cali began to feel affection and security, she quit hiding under the furniture and her appetite quickly increased. Cali is now eleven weeks old, no longer a fading kitten but a happy and healthy one. We hope all the love we gave her as a kitten will travel with her to her forever home, helping her bond with her new human and bringing them both joy, love and good health. Kittens like Cali depend on foster homes to survive. If you are interested in fostering a kitten or puppy, contact Lifeline Animal Project at DeKalb Animal Service, foster@dekalbanimalservices.com or foster@lifelineanimal.org. Check out all the pets available for adoption at dekalbanimalservices.com – Adopt Don’t Shop! Lizbeth A. Dison Publisher and Editor
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Wellness In-Sight: Power in Yielding Wellness In-Sight: Stretch Yourself Cindy E. Farrar Cindy E. Farrar What has become of the driving laws, rules and courtesies of the road? It has always appeared that some of them were taken to be suggestions only. Since the return of traffic following the shutdowns and sheltering in, even the ‘suggested’ road rules seem to have been thrown out the window. Last week, I came upon an intersection that I travel daily. It is clearly marked that the traffic coming from our direction has the right-of-way. It doesn’t appear to matter. There are still accidents or close calls regularly. As I witnessed yet another disregard of the posted yield sign and the potential harm, I wondered why, of all the traffic rules, is yielding the most difficult to which to adhere? At least in my observation, it is one of the most ignored. That is along with speed limits and that yellow traffic light, of course. It is reasonable that being the driver who must yield sometimes may feel counterintuitive. After all, if I’m cruising along and a car comes from the opposite direction and has the right-of-way, why do I have to slow down, maybe even stop, to allow them to turn or pass in front of me? It may also feel like an inconvenience. Yet not only is it the law, it is also considered driving or road courtesy. This is another illustration of the law of physics we considered last month; what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? When dealing with more than one motor vehicle or pedestrian, if at least one does not stop or move there could be serious irreparable damage and injury. Yielding can be positively life changing in the physical world. It can also have significant positive impact when our journey is overwhelming - should we choose to take advantage of it. As humans, our propensity is to keep going at all costs. It is as though we think if we slow down or stop, we won’t be able to start up again or regain our momentum, and delay us from getting wherever we are going. Or we might risk whatever we are moving away from catching up to us. The issues with both these perspectives are that they suppose that we have control over the outside forces present on our journey and that yielding is a negative action. Choosing to yield, to cease resisting, is one of most powerful positions in which we can place ourselves. When we are in the defensive state of resisting, we are using a great deal of our energy. We are also in a vulnerable posture. The only thing we have control over is how we choose to respond to the outside forces. The very thing we are avoiding, relinquishing the need to control and making the choice to ‘be’ where we are, as inconvenient or uncomfortable as it may feel, is that which empowers. Dedicated to Edythe E. Farrar 1934-2021. Cindy E. Farrar, LMT, BCTMB, CLC is a licensed massage therapist, certified life coach and the owner of Massage Associates of Atlanta, LLC (Lavista Road in Tucker). In addition, she is a certified Qi Gong instructor and a nationally approved continuing education provider for massage therapy and bodywork. Cindy enjoys sharing insights on wellness and personal and community development as a speaker and writer.
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Age Friendly Tucker: Accessibility Means Inclusivity Dr. Lois Ricci The City of Tucker has been recognized by both the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) Lifelong Communities Partnership and the World Health Organization (WHO) Age-Friendly City program. Both agendas share a common goal of transforming communities into places that work for every age and stage of life. Each of these programs includes accessibility as a key component that influences a community’s overall health and quality of life. By following guidelines set by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the City of Tucker ensures accessibility to all residents, regardless of age or physical capabilities, and thus enables complete inclusivity. The ADA was passed thirty years ago, when there were little or no accommodations in public spaces for those with disabilities. The strength of the ADA is that it established what “equal opportunity” and “reasonable accommodation” mean for people with disabilities. Accessibility standards issued under the ADA apply to places of public accommodation, commercial facilities, and state and local government facilities in new construction, alterations, and additions. Adherence to these regulations is enforced through fines and penalties but generally businesses and governments realize that accommodating those with disabilities enhances economic growth. These accommodations also guarantee a level of life equality for all; one in five residents has some level of disability, and as our population ages, that percentage will continue to grow. Ken Hildebrandt, Tucker’s city engineer, manages the city’s use of specialpurpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST) funds, working with other engineers and developers to ensure that projects are constructed to meet city and state guidelines. Earlier this year, Tucker completed its first-ever Transportation Master Plan, a six-month process to study the immediate needs and long-range goals of how people get around in Tucker, and Hildebrandt plans to get the community involved in the process. Residents have already seen some of the SPLOST funds used to construct more sidewalks to enable more and safer pedestrian traffic in the city. Most of the city’s sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, and curb cuts downtown are ADA accessible, and non-compliant conditions have been identified and will be rectified in the near future. Shawn Stone, president of Friends of Tucker Parks, and Rip Robertson, director of Tucker Parks and Recreation, noted that access to all of Tucker’s parks is available for those with mobility challenges, with parking near facilities
and trails. In addition, some parks do offer trails designed in accordance with ADA guidelines. • Henderson Park (4000 Henderson Park Road) offers some access to park trails on the lake side of the park as well as an ADA accessible paved walkway through the park’s Native Plant and Wildlife Walk (NPWW). • William McKinley Peters Park (1832 Clark Drive) has a paved walking track. • Once the new boardwalk is completed in August at Probst Park (5623 Hugh Howell Road), access will be available from the new parking lot. • Tucker Nature Preserve (4408 Lawrenceville Highway) is also ADA accessible. • Kelly Cofer Park (259 N Park Drive) is ADA accessible, including the pollinator garden. All of Tucker’s playgrounds meet ADA requirements for accessibility as well as the restrooms at Henderson Park Tennis Courts, Henderson Community Garden, and the tennis courts at Rosenfeld Park (2088 Glacier Drive). Tucker’s Recreation Center (4898 Lavista Road) is also fully ADA compliant. The Lifelong Community Committee continues to work with city government on additional ideas to improve inclusivity and accessibility, such as upgrading cross walk signals to add vocalization for the vision impaired, or to extend timing to assist people who have mobility challenges. Bus stops should be adapted to accommodate wheelchairs, by adding ramps and spaces for chairs or scooters. Businesses should also be encouraged to accommodate wheelchairs or scooters, such as wider entries and aisles and lower counters. Residential builders have also been encouraged to build homes that accommodate those with current or potential mobility challenges, that can be accessed without stairs, instead using gentle slopes and minimal thresholds (zero-entry) and with wider doorways and hallways. The Lifelong Community and Age-Friendly City standards overlap and interact with each other, both within and between the designations but accessibility is a common thread throughout. Addressing the needs of those with disabilities helps create a community meeting the needs of all residents. Dr. Lois Ricci is a longtime resident of Tucker, where she chairs the Tucker Civic Association Lifelong Community Committee. She serves as an adjunct faculty member at Kennesaw State University, where she teaches gerontology courses and the Professional Development in Gerontology Certificate Class. Ricci also serves as an official representative for American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), co-facilitator for the Rosalyn Carter CareNet, and on the board of the Atlanta Regional Commission Advisory Committee on Aging.
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Common Sen$e: Qualifying for a Mortgage with Student Loans Art Wood Most folks who have talked to a mortgage professional know that the two biggest stumbling blocks to getting a mortgage are being selfemployed and student loans. Things have changed a lot over the last ten years. When I first got into the business, if your student loan was in forbearance for at least twelve months from the closing of the loan, you didn’t have to count any payment against the borrower. That was great for the borrower but not necessarily a smart lending practice for the mortgage companies. The borrower was eventually going to have to pay back the student loan, and might not be able to afford the student loans and the mortgage. Things have changed for both conventional (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and FHA loans. Basically, the overarching guideline was that you had to use 1% of your student loan balance as a payment to count against your debt to income. So, if you owed $50,000 in student loans, then you had to count $500 per month against you. That is like having an extra car payment. I have had clients with excess of $150,000 in student loans that make $60,000. Having to count $1,500 against their debt to income was a killer. Here is where things get interesting: conventional loans made a clarification. If you were in an income-based repayment plan, then they would use that payment towards your debt to income. That guideline has made homeownership a reality for a lot of my clients. They may owe $100,000 in student loans, but they have gone through the process with their student loan company of reviewing income and determining what they can afford. Their payment could be as low as $0, but realistically let’s say $100. It is a lot easier to qualify for a mortgage with a $100/month debt vs. a $1,000/month debt. I like this guideline because, in theory, their student loan payment won’t go up unless they make more money, so it keeps everything balanced. FHA just changed their guidelines to more closely align with conventional loan programs and it has been a game changer. Now, if you are applying for an FHA loan, they will use the income-based repayment payment or ½% of the total balance, so if you owe $50,000 in student loans, then the maximum that would be counted against you would be $250/month. This is very basic information on how student loans can affect mortgage
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applications. As I say with most of my articles, if you have any questions or want a deeper discussion on your particular situation, call me or your favorite mortgage professional and have a conversation about how the new FHA guidelines may help you. Things are always changing in the mortgage world, and this change will be monumental for mortgage clients! Art Wood (NMLS #118234) is the branch manager of the Art Wood Mortgage Team of Goldwater Bank, located at 2341 Main Street in downtown Tucker. “Tucker’s Mortgage Guy” for fifteen years, he is a former Tucker Tiger (Class of ’92), and co-founder and organizer of Taste of Tucker. Family guy, community guy, and definitely not your typical mortgage guy - it’s all that he does that makes Art Wood who he is. Contact him at 678.534.5834 or art.wood@goldwaterbank.com.
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Food for Thought: Small Town Farmers Still Exist Doug Reynics Sixteen-year-old Michael Meschi isn’t cut from the same cloth as many kids his age. I met Michael and his mother, Amie, on a recent airport ride to the airport. On the way, I had a chance to chat with them, especially about Michael’s love of farming. When I started following him on Facebook, I realized the depth of Michael’s passion for farming, and wanted to sit down with him for a deeper discussion. While driving to Ellijay a few years ago, Michael became fascinated by the many farms he passed in North Georgia, and decided that he wanted to be a farmer. He began reading everything he could find on the subject, hundreds of books and several thousand articles, as well as talking to hundreds of farmers, covering all the different types and methods of farming. In December of 2020, Michael decided to try his hand at farming, and found a former horse pasture in Decatur to plant. When Michael began planting the land, only a small garden was being grown there, and several people had previously tried to farm it without much success. Now almost every foot of usable space is under cultivation. A walk through the produce section of the grocery store inspired his choice of crops. Michael grows “traditional southern crops” during the summer: corn, okra, squash, field peas, green beans, tomatoes and cucumbers. During the winter, he grows collards, turnips and mustard greens. Michael believes the key to a successful home garden is fertilizer. “Fertilizer is something that I do not skimp on,” he says. “Lime, potassium, gypsum and nitrogen are a farmer’s best friend. Putting the correct rates per acre can take you from an average crop to a record breaker.” He also advises taking care of your soil; this winter he plans to spread about sixty trailers of horse manure and ten trailers of chicken litter around the farm. Michael recommends having a well-developed plan for soil and crop preparation before you start planting. “I already have probably fifty different things I’m going to do next season that would have benefited my operation this year - from plant population per acre, to the trellising and weed control ideas for my tomato patch.” But most importantly, Michael tries to keep his hard work fun. “I sometimes get so caught up in what’s going on at the farm that I am unable to think about anything else and just truly relax. A good friend of mine told me to work hard but take the time to relax, too - go fish for an afternoon sometimes and don’t burn yourself out.” Michael sells his produce from a stand at his garden farm in Decatur, not far from Tucker. You can follow Michael’s adventures in farming and when his farm stand is open on Facebook (MWMProduceFarm).
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Back Talk: Movement, Muscles and Maintenance Dr. Karl Schwartz How quickly the summer comes to an end! Last month, we discussed the importance of movement, or “Use it or lose it.” To maintain healthy movement, we must first get our spines aligned and keep the pressure off the nerves. This also allows for ligaments to maintain normal posture. Our muscles are very pliable and supple and can be stretched and strengthened at any age. The more conditioned your muscular system, the better chance you have of obtaining and maintaining movement and thus quality of life. All activities require healthy muscles. A few weeks ago, I was in an awkward position while adjusting a patient and strained a muscle in my back. I felt the pull and, although it was not painful immediately, I knew that movement did not feel right. That evening I could not even lie on my back in bed, and the next day I had severe muscle spasms in my back. Any slight movement created cramps and spasms in my spinal muscles which caused some of the most severe pain I had ever experienced. It is like having a broken rib, with each breath extremely painful and making it impossible to work or do anything. Fortunately, some home treatment with heat and ice, and stretching, and rehab for one full week without exercise restored me to normal. This was a huge reminder to me how important our spines and our muscles are to our health, and certainly to our quality of life. I also wanted to discuss the importance of maintenance, which in our office we call “wellness care.” Maintaining our spines means we are maximizing our health and wellness. My patients who enjoy maximal health are also very keen on wellness. I believe that God gives us health when we are born but it is our responsibility to maintain it. Youth can hide our many sins. When we are young, we can get away with a lot of unhealthy habits but as we age, we must adhere to the principles of health. A large majority of our patients who do well with our acute care treatment, move into our wellness program to maintain their health. In our practice, that means getting your spine checked for misalignments before they develop into symptoms, usually on average once or twice per month. If you want to maximize your quality of life, get your spine checked regularly, keep moving and stretching, and remember that wellness care gives us the best chance to be and stay fully healthy and active! Dr. Karl Schwartz is a graduate of Life University in Marietta, Georgia; he has been practicing chiropractic in Tucker for twenty-one years and a resident here for fifteen years. His office specializes in preventing sports injuries and maximizing performance by analyzing posture, weight bearing, and gait. If you have a question you would like addressed in a future column, please email karlschwartzdc@gmail. com. Note “Back Talk” in the subject line.
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Beauty Byline with Sanah: Ice Ice Baby Sanah Sayani If you’ve ever wondered how new beauty trends make their way into the market, it’s because your estheticians and cosmetologists attend beauty trade shows. These shows, held around the nation, are where every year thousands of people are introduced to new services, techniques and products. This summer, my team and I took a trip to Las Vegas for The International Esthetics, Cosmetics and Spa Conference. We saw a lot and learned a lot but one technique really caught my attention - ice sculpting. PureSculpt® uses ice and sculpting tools to burn fat and tone skin on your face and body. When the ice touches your skin, your body is going to try to warm you up. This activates a natural process in your body called thermogenesis, or production of heat. According to experts, brown fat breaks down blood sugar and fat molecules to create heat to maintain body temperature. Cold temperatures activate brown fat which leads to metabolic change in the body. We also have white fat which stores extra energy. The white fat cells release energy giving the brown fat cells the source to burn calories. The ice also causes detoxification, reduction of inflammation and activation of the lymphatic system. Once all the toxins are released, they need to exit the body. This happens through the lymphatic drainage process which, like a garbage disposal disposing waste, cleans our bodies of toxins, viruses and bacteria. Since the lymphatic system has to move against gravity (going up) and we stand upright, it can get congested making you feel sluggish and carry extra weight. So how do you get it flowing properly again? This is where the sculpting tools come in. PureSculpt uses six tools to contour and drain the face and body. You might have seen jade rollers and gua sha tools for the face. Their purpose is to stimulate the lymphatic system, relieve muscle tension and decrease fine lines and wrinkles. There are similar tools for the body serving the same purpose. Gravity will always try to pull your face and body down but ice and sculpting can fight that force and lift it back up. I was fascinated to see the combo of sculpting tools and ice slim and tighten up the body and face. I volunteered to be a model at the beauty show to see if it really worked and how cold it was. It worked and the ice felt divine on my skin. The effects last up to a week or more depending on the current state of your face or body. It does need constant stimulation because of gravity, weight
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fluctuations and aging. I highly recommend getting a jade roller and gua sha tool and incorporating the lifting process in your daily regimen. There are a lot of tutorials on YouTube to help you properly use the tools. You should also check with your neighborhood spa or esthetician to see if they have sculpting facials or body treatments. Remember Dr. Evil in the first Austin Powers movie? He cryogenically froze himself in 1967 and reawakened in 1997. I’ll see y’all in 2051. Sanah Sayani is a master cosmetologist and owner of Thread Beauty Spa (4426 Hugh Howell Road in the Tucker Publix shopping center). Her monthly column seeks to answer readers’ beauty concerns; write to her at threadbeautyspa@gmail.com or drop by the shop to ask her in person!
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Tucker’s Movie Tavern Welcomes You Back to the Movies When COVID-19 forced movie theatres to close for the past year, many of us relied on streaming services for our entertainment while sheltering at home. But viewing a blockbuster on the small screen is no substitute for that big-screen experience, and avid movie watchers are once again settling into theatre seats with popcorn in hand to enjoy the latest in Hollywood productions. This is clearly evident at Tucker’s Movie Tavern by Marcus, which re-opened to the public in March. “Watching a movie in a theatre is more than just about the movie,” said Marcus Theatre’s president, chairman and CEO Rolando Rodriguez, in an interview with Our Town DeKalb in July. “It’s about the total social experience. People missed the emotional connection they experience as part of an audience watching a movie. We all remember the emotional thrill we shared watching ‘Avengers: Endgame’ in 2019 surrounded by other Marvel fans. After eighteen months of social isolation, we are all anxious to reconnect with other movie fans like that.” As the pandemic forced many into their homes and shuttered entertainment venues like movie theatres, streaming services saw their business surge. The Wall Street Journal reported that the combined number of U.S. subscribers for the major streaming services increased more than 50% since this time last year. Streaming services and their homebound audiences seemed like the ideal solution for studios with plenty of product on the shelf but no theatres for release. Warner Brothers most notably announced it would begin releasing all of its movies simultaneously in theatres and on its HBO Max platform, starting in December 2020 with “Wonder Woman 1984,” originally slated for a June 2020 theatrical release but delayed multiple times. With more and more movies moving to a day and date release on streaming services, industry analysts began predicting that with the re-opening of the theatres, audiences would prefer watching even the big blockbusters in the comfort of their homes. Rodriguez disagrees – and early box office returns show he may be right. “’Fast and Furious 9’ had a pandemic-best opening at the domestic box office, with $70 million earned in its opening weekend as a theatre-only release,” reported Rodriguez, “and ‘Black Widow’ made over $60 million in video-on-demand sales on Disney+, in addition to the $80 million the film made at the domestic box office. Both of those films are proof that while the pandemic did boost streaming services, people are excited about a return to the theatres.” While Warner Brothers has stuck to its hybrid distribution plan, many stakeholders in the industry have pushed back against it. Actor and filmmaker John Krasinski has been most vocal about delaying films for theatre-only release; his sequel “A Quiet Place II” was delayed a year until it could see a theatrical release, and a video from him explaining his reasoning prefaced the film. “John spoke person-to-person to theatre owners about his decision to delay,” recounted Rodriguez. “He emphasized his faith in the theatre industry and how he believed strongly in its ability to come back from the pandemic.” While studios may continue to play with various distribution models over the coming months, Rodriguez believes that support will continue to grow for theatre-first release, especially for big projects, such as Disney’s “Jungle Cruise,” starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, the 25th James Bond outing “No Time to Die,” and Marvel Studios “Eternals,” starring Angelina Jolie. “No matter how expensive or advanced your home theatre is, nothing compares to the giant screen and the thundering sound of the movie theatre for experiencing these effects-laden films.” What can Movie Tavern audiences expect in the post-pandemic theatre
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experience? “Safety is the top concern,” said Rodriguez. “We worked with health and government officials, both on the local and national level, to make sure we could keep our customers safe in our theatres.” While cleanliness had always been a top priority for Marcus, sanitation protocol has been raised to even higher levels, with stringent and thorough sanitation of seats, floors, trays and even handrails between viewings. Limited touch systems are available for both ticket purchases and food orders, with both available through online ordering. Menu items can be ordered for at-seat delivery or picked up at the counter at time of purchase. Marcus also implemented the “Marcus Private Cinema” program during the pandemic, allowing moviegoers to book their own personal auditorium for a safe, fun and stress-free social gathering. This service will continue postpandemic; moviegoers can book online for one price for a group of up to twenty people, and food and beverage orders are placed online after booking the movie. (Visit ticketing.marcustheatres.com/privatecinema to book a Private Cinema experience.) Rodriguez gives full credit to Movie Tavern associates for keeping the business alive during this difficult time. “Since we own most of our theatres and the real estate, Marcus Theatres was in a good financial position prior to the pandemic, which helped us weather these past very difficult times. But we couldn’t have reopened in the spring without our loyal associates, who stuck with us through the closing and then returned to get us ready to safely welcome back guests.” Movie Tavern by Marcus is located in Northlake Festival Shopping Center (4043 Lavista Road in Tucker). The theatre has eight screens, including a SuperScreen DLX auditorium with an oversized digital screen and Dolby Atmos multidimensional sound, all equipped with DreamLounger recliner seating. Weekly specials include $5 Movie Tuesdays, $6 Student Thursdays, and Young at Heart $6 Senior Matinee Fridays. Visit marcustheatres.com/theatre-locations/movie-tavern-tucker for details.
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Banking for what’s next.
Our goal has always been to help meet yours. Today, we’re here for you in more ways than ever. With more locations, more services, and more expertise to help you wherever life takes you. This is banking at its best. This is Banking Forward.
Brian C. Moon
AVP, Branch Manager NMLS# 1934368 9353 Lavista Road, Tucker, GA Office 404.297.2238
800.277.2175 | SouthStateBank.com Member FDIC
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Smoke Rise Academy of the Arts Returns to In-Person Classes Our Town DeKalb Staff After eighteen months of virtual classes and performances, Smoke Rise Academy of the Arts (SRAA) returns to class and stage. Fall classes resume in person in August for all ages in music, dance, drama and art, with expanded offerings and updated facilities. The School has installed a professionally-equipped practice room, complete with dance barres, mirrors and new flooring for ballet, jazz, tap and liturgical dance classes. Sydney Cash began at SRAA a few years ago with only one preschool tap and ballet class, and now teaches two pre-school classes; jazz, tap and ballet classes for school ages; liturgical dance class; and the popular adult tap dance class. Greyson Chadwick, who co-directs drama classes, teaches two highly energetic Theater Dance Fusion classes for middle and high school students. SRAA summer drama enrollment exceeded former summer enrollments with eighty school-aged actors auditioning for parts in Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man;” the teen class is scheduled to perform August 20-22, and the elementary class is scheduled September 17-19. SRAA Drama has planned for three spring productions and a return trip to The Junior Theater Festival in January. The music department has added two new piano instructors to offer individual piano lessons. Debbie Heimberger is returning to SRAA after some time teaching in South Carolina, and will instruct both children and
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adults. Tsai-Wei (Michelle) Li, a doctorate student at University of Georgia, has degrees in piano performance and pedagogy with studies in teaching the pre-school child. SRAA fall semester will begin August 9. In addition to dance and drama classes, offerings include the popular MUSIKGARTEN family music class for pre-school children and parent, keyboard classes, art for children and adults, and music lessons in voice, violin, piano, drums, guitar and ukulele. Details and registration are available at smokerisebaptist.org/arts.
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Tucker Community Singers Begins In-Person Rehearsals for Holiday Concert Our Town DeKalb Staff After a long hiatus due to COVID, Tucker Community Singers returns to the auditorium for rehearsals starting Tuesday, August 24. The group will meet each Tuesday from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at First Christian Church of Atlanta, 4532 Lavista Road in Tucker. “Tucker Community Singers began in the hopes of showcasing hidden talents, promoting inclusion, and celebrating the diversity of Tucker through singing,” said choir director Ann Edmondson. TCS is currently seeking singers, and no audition is necessary – just a love of singing. Those who are interested in joining should contact ann.edmondson@firstchristianatlanta. org. All singers must be fully vaccinated. The TCS Holiday Concert is scheduled for December 4, and will feature songs from Broadway musicals, holiday favorites, and Christmas sacred songs.
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