The other night, I was hanging around the kitchen island with a group of girlfriends before heading to a show at the Coastal Credit Union Music Park (which we still all just call “Walnut Creek”). As one friend slathered Duke’s Mayonnaise onto white bread for tomato sandwiches, another opined that experiencing live music is one of the most human things we can do.
I’d never thought of it that way, but I totally agree. Gathering to hear someone’s ideas put into lyrics and melodies, singing along when you know the words or listening quietly when you don’t — it’s pretty incredible that we’ve found this way to create so many emotions and connections.
And my favorite way to experience music is outdoors, in the summer. (Proof that I’m not alone: a press release just landed in my inbox saying that Red Hat Amphitheater booked a record-breaking number of shows this year.) I’m not sure exactly why. It’s hot as heck; it always seems like my shorts are sticking to the back of my legs and my makeup is sliding off before the opener even starts.
But as soon as the sun dips below the treeline and the shade creeps in, it’s perfect. I love spreading out on a picnic blanket, shoes off, toes in the grass. I’ve finally learned to pack a koozie every
time, so my beer or water doesn’t slip through my fingers. When we take the kids, they spend most of the time saying they’re bored or asking to buy merch — but as soon as a song they know comes on, they’re on their feet, belting out lyrics. I even love the hours after the show ends, talking through our favorite songs on the way home, and having the music fill my brain the days after.
It’s always a challenge to decide what shows to go to. Should we prioritize the reunion tours, or the emerging folks? Classic or pop? The bands we love, or the ones our friends are obsessed with? (Fortunately, next month brings opportunities to do both on the same nights, with Hopscotch and the World of Bluegrass.) Somehow, we always overcommit ourselves, but I’ve very rarely regretted making the effort, even when we’re out on back-to-back weeknights.
That might be because of one of my other favorite things about these shows: They end promptly by 10:30 p.m., so I can get a decent night’s sleep.
Ayn-Monique Klahre Editor
A couple photos from recent shows at Red Hat Amphitheater.
AUGUST 2024
EDITORIAL
Editor
AYN-MONIQUE KLAHRE ayn-monique@waltermagazine.com
Creative Director LAURA PETRIDES WALL laura@waltermagazine.com
A.J. Carr, Catherine Currin, Jim Dodson, Mike Dunn, Chika Gujartahi, Terry Kennedy, Jordan Lee, Colony Little, David Menconi, Liza Roberts, Lori D.R. Wiggins
Contributing Poetry Editor Jaki Shelton Green
Contributing Copy Editor Finn Cohen
Contributing Photographers
Alex Boerner, Justin Kase Conder, Mehmet Demirci, Juli Leonard, Tim Lytvinenko, Forrest Mason, Catherine Nguyen, Tyler Northrup, Joshua Steadman
Inquiries WALTER OFFICE 984-286-0928 info@waltermagazine.com
Address all correspondence to: WALTER magazine, 421 Fayetteville Street, Suite 104 Raleigh, N.C. 27601
Interns
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CONTRIBUTORS
CHIKA GUJARATHI / WRITER
Chika Gujarathi is a Raleighbased writer, compulsive furniture rearranger and lifelong Francophile. Two things she remembers most about growing up in Ahmedabad, India, are her grandma Persen’s hot parathas and her parents’ impromptu decisions to skip school for road trips. Gujarathi has continued that tradition of adventure with her husband, Dev, and their four children, both overseas and nearby. “Capturing the wonder of Sylvan Heights Bird Park in Scotland Neck for this issue was an absolute joy. As a passionate explorer, I loved how the wondrously diverse range of birds made me feel worlds away.”
JULI LEONARD / PHOTOGRAPHER
Juli Leonard has worked as a photojournalist for over 20 years. She resides in Raleigh with her family and a house full of creatures. When she’s not taking photos, she’s usually out in a patch of woods. “I explored trails and walk-through aviaries at Sylvan Heights Bird Park with a sense of wonder. Over 2,000 birds, including several rare waterfowl, inhabit the park. The conservation work of the park is so impressive with a survival breeding program and global research projects.”
MEHMET DEMIRCI / PHOTOGRAPHER
After a distinguished 25year career as a traveling photojournalist specializing in conflict in the Middle East, natural disasters and political events, Demirci and his family have settled into their new home in North Carolina. “Every corner of this state offers a fresh adventure. One of the highlights of my exploration has been photographing Sand Dollar Island. Capturing its serene beauty and unique landscape, I felt the same thrill of discovery that has driven my career. And photographing Andy Andrews? What a remarkable sportsman and human being. I look forward to uncovering more captivating people and places right here.”
LIZA ROBERTS / WRITER
Liza Roberts is an art and culture journalist in Raleigh. She was the founding editor of WALTER and is the author of Art of the State: Celebrating the Visual Art of North Carolina, as well as a bimonthly newsletter of the same name (follow along @theartofthestate). “I was thrilled to have the opportunity to interview Valerie Bauerlein about her extraordinary new book, Devil at his Elbow. It is a remarkable work of journalism, reflecting Valerie’s commitment to deep research and hard reporting, her compassion and tenacity, as well as her deep understanding of the rural South and the ways in which power works and corrupts.”
FEEDBACK
“The June 2024 issue was my favorite to date. Thank you for highlighting a diverse group of local talent who are making our community vibrant and soulful as well as showcasing all the fun events and road trips that make NC magic in the summer. The whole issue felt like home!”
— Elissa Pyon
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— Chuck Wanninger
“Your article in WALTER is just wonderful. I forwarded it to some Haywood cousins and cousins I have met through DNA. Everyone thinks it is perfect, and contains so much information the family never knew before. I was particularly thankful that you included kudos to Mac Newsome, without whose leadership and talent the garden update would not have been possible. Also the cousins I spoke with were grateful that you included Craig Friend’s information about some of the enslaved folks who ran Haywood Hall. For the first time I can recall, someone has written a lively, honest and measured story about the Haywoods of Haywood Hall.”
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OUR TOWN
Enjoy the last month of summer with unique Raleigh traditions, leisurely meals and live music for everyone in the family.
MAKE A SPLASH! The perfect way to cap off a steamy weeknight: a dip in the pool. Raleigh has four outdoor public pools open during the summer. “We have some great water features for kids and tons of space to lounge, so families love to enjoy our pools,” says seasonal aquatics director LeeAnne Quattropani. Just off Wade Avenue, Ridge Road Pool has a wade pool for the littles along with a larger pool (1709 Ridge Road). Lake Johnson Pool has a splash pad — with dump buckets! — along with a regular pool (5863 Jaguar Park Drive). Biltmore Pool offers both lap and free-swim areas in its pool (701 Crown Crossing Lane) and Longview Pool has a large pool with lap lanes and a wade pool (321 Bertie Drive). Each pool has tables, lounge chairs and umbrellas to claim, and you can bring your own drinks and food (no glass or alcohol). Open until Labor Day, Monday - Saturday 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.; Sunday 1- 6 p.m. Visit raleighnc.gov/aquatics lap swim hours and pricing. — Addie Ladner
Tim Lytvinenko
DATEBOOK
WALTER’s list of things to see, do and experience this month.
by ADDIE LADNER
BEER, BOURBON & BBQ
Aug. 2 & 3 | Various times
Head to Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre for the traveling Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival, a two-day celebration of some of our favorite things here in the Southeast. General admission gets you a tasting glass for all the sips you want — choose from more than 20 kinds of beer and 30 kinds of bourbon — and access to all live entertainment, including performances by country artist Mark Taylor on Friday night and bluegrass musician Caroline Owens on Saturday. A VIP ticket gets you all that, plus a BBQ dinner plate to pile high with ribs, pulled pork, brisket and more. Also explore the tasting theater, a slew of on-theme vendors and the “Swine Shrine,” a whole-hog cooking demo by top pitmasters. From $45; 8003 Regency Parkway, Cary; boothamphitheatre.com
SIR WALTER MILER
Aug. 2 | 6 p.m.
“It’s the most fun you’ll have at a track meet anywhere in America!” says Pat Price, who’s in charge of the Sir Walter Miler, a Raleigh race that has garnered international attention. Last year, upwards of 3,000 people showed up at Meredith College’s track to cheer for top runners from around the world as they tried to run their fastest mile for a cash prize. Six men ran the mile in
under 4 minutes, and six women did it in under 4:30. Keep an eye out for last year’s defending champions — pro runners Abbie Nichols of Flagstaff, Arizona, and Amon Kemboi of Chapel Hill — among the top collegiate and professional athletes. Price says this year they are adding more amenities to the spectator experience to make it even more fun. “The carnival atmosphere will be expanded this year with food
trucks and additional seating near the finish line,” Price says. “We’re so thrilled to still be doing this and growing the accessibility every year.” The day also includes coaches’ races, a group relay, pre- and post-parties at Raleigh Brewing and community runs. Free; 3800 Hillsborough Street; sirwaltermiler.com
BINGO NIGHT
Mondays | 7 - 9 p.m.
Kick off the week with a retrostyle game on the patio at The Longleaf Hotel & Lounge. Hosted
All information is accurate as of press time, but please check waltermagazine.com and the event websites for the latest updates.
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DATEBOOK
HOLY ROLLER WITH JACK THE RADIO
Aug. 9 | 9 p.m.
Hear two styles of Southern rock when Raleigh group Jack the Radio opens for Holy Roller at The Pour House. Holy Roller, based in Richmond, Virginia, is a new-ish band from members of the former Big Mama Shakes, a band that toured with Passion Pit, Nathaniel Rateliff, Incubus and others. Made up of Brady Heck on vocals/guitar, drummer Ryan Davis, bassist Peter Cason and keyboardist Bryce Doyle, expect roots rock with influences of outlaw country. Before the show, pop in the venue’s record shop to peruse its new and used vinyl collection for treasures. From $12; 224 S. Blount Street; pourhouseraleigh.com
by local performer John Riccitelli, aka Bingo Starr, play a round (or two) as you compete for Longleafthemed merchandise including its coveted shibori-dyed bathrobes, custom totes and koozies. Check in a few days before to see what craft cocktail specials will be on the menu. Free to play; 300 N. Dawson Street; thelongleafhotel.com
TEA WITH SEAGROVE POTTERS
Aug. 10 | 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
An hour and a half from Raleigh is Seagrove, a town known for its vibrant community of clay artisans. August in the village brings Tea with Seagrove Potters, an opportunity to mosey in
and out of shops and studios, gallerycrawl-style, while sampling various teas and local pastries. Participating potters include Blue Hen, which is known for its ceramic pumpkins, pears, mugs and, of course, hens, as well as Eck McCanless, a second-generation potter known for his colorful “agateware” vessels. Carriage House Tea will be providing the beverages and The Table and Seagrove Cafe will be providing the pastries, all served in handmade items. Stop in the North Carolina Pottery Center first to grab a map and plan your route. Free; 233 East Avenue, Seagrove; discoverseagrove.com
BLOOMING DELIGHTS
Aug. 11 | 12 - 1:30 p.m.
Sweet Peas Urban Gardens in Garner is hosting a cupcake-decorating workshop on its property led by Tara Coley from BE Bakery, who specializes in vegan pastries. Each guest will receive four vanilla cupcakes to decorate along with white, pink and blue buttercream icing in addition to edible glitter. Then they’ll get to top them
courtesy
discoverseagrove.com
(TEA);
Gus Samarco (GEORGE HAGE)
Top: Holy Roller. Bottom: George Hage of Jack the Radio.
with edible flowers, including yellow yarrow and Johnny Jump Ups, a petite yellow and purple violet, all grown right on the property. $40; 107 St. Marys Street, Garner; sweetpeasurbangardens.com
BACK TO SCHOOL JAMBOREE
Aug. 17 | 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Is the school year really starting soon?
John Chavis Memorial Park, bring the kids to enjoy live music, craft and food vendors, carousel rides, inflatables, haircuts (sponsored by the Raleigh Police Department) and more schoolprep-themed fun. Lunchboxes and water bottles will also be provided (while supplies last), and the park’s beloved splash pad will be on to cool off. Free; 505 Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard; raleighnc.gov/parks-andrecreation
KIRBY DERBY
Aug. 17 | 3 - 9 p.m.
A lively and quirky City of Oaks tradition of more than 20 years, the Kirby Derby is a day for family fun, creativity and racing. It kicks off with a pine-car race for kids, who can bring their own homemade wooden cars to see how fast they glide (to
Derby Parade kicks off at 4:30 p.m., where participants dress up and walk the route or pull homemade, non-motorized floats in gear inspired by this year’s theme, Games People Play. Last comes the main event, the Soapbox Derby, where homemade non-motorized “cars” of all shapes, sizes and materials will race down Dorothea Dix Park’s Harvey Hill. Free
DATEBOOK
HOT TO GO!
Aug. 18 | 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Hightide Salon + Suites is hosting a complimentary day of services for the Raleigh-area LGBTQ2S+ community with Hot to Go! The event is in partnership with Dress Code Project, a global initiative where salons pledge to provide their patrons a safe, inclusive space for gender-affirming aesthetic services. The day includes haircuts and styling, manicures, pedicures, massages, makeup tutorials and a sound bath. Also enjoy seminars like nurse Courtney Eason’s talk on pre-op education for gender-affirming surgeries and a live consultation with Jessie Cooling of permanent makeup and tattoo clinic Woke Up Like This. Snacks and beverages will be served, and while attendance is free, registration is encouraged. Free; 309 W. Martin Street; thehightidesalon.com
BAND OF HORSES
Aug. 23 | 8 p.m.
Charleston, South Carolina indie group Band of Horses will grace the stage at Memorial Auditorium with their alternative rock songs for one night. Now in its 20th year together, the Grammy-nominated band is helmed by writer, singer and guitarist Ben Bridwell and known for its raw, inspiring songs. Expect to hear tracks from its latest album, Acoustic at the
Ryman Vol. 2, as well as favorites like “No One’s Gonna Love You” and “Slow Cruel Hands of Time.” From $32; 2 E. South Street; martinmariettacenter.com
Aug. 24 | 11 a.m.
Adults aren’t the only ones who enjoy the soul-satisfying experience of live music. Bring the littles to hear
PIERCE FREELON
Grammy-nominated musician and author Pierce Freelon as part of the Museum Park Concerts for Kids at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Freelon’s music blends pop, jazz, soul and techno to offer songs with fun, relatable advice on navigating childhood — like “Cootie Shot,” an addictive, up-tempo tune about doctor visits, and “No Is a Love Word,” which teaches the power of one’s voice. Freelon has also published two childrens books and co-created the PBS Kids podcast “Jamming on the Job.” This is the inaugural performance of the museum’s new outdoor family-focused music series. From $12; 2110 Blue Ridge Road; ncartmuseum.org
LIVE AFTER 5!
Aug. 28 | 5 - 8 p.m.
Catch the grand finale of Downtown Raleigh Alliance’s community music series Live After 5! in One City Plaza. Musician Brooke Hatala will open the show with covers from two legendary female music icons, Stevie Nicks and Sheryl Crow. The main act is Sixpence None the Richer, a band known for pop hits from the late 1990s and early 2000s like “Kiss Me” (cue visions of Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook in She’s All THat). BYO chairs, blankets, kids and friends; food trucks and drink vendors will be on-site. Free; One City Plaza, Fayetteville Street; downtownraleigh.org
Find Joy in the Dog Days of Summer
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FÊTE BLEUE DE FIN D’ÉTÉ
Aug. 24 | 7 - 10 p.m.
To celebrate one year in operation, Ella West Gallery is hosting a blue-and-whitethemed summer soiree. “In a throughline to our current exhibition, Holding Space: Dreams and Memories, the past year has been underscored by an incredible swell of community support,” says Linda Shropshire of the gallery she founded. “As we celebrate an inspiring first year, we continue our work to shift narratives around what is beautiful and deserving of recognition in the canon of art history.” Enjoy music by The Aaron Van Nynatten Trio and other special performances, as well as culinary art by Queen Precious-Jewel and Jay White. The feast starts with a signature French 75 and will include oysters on the half shell, French fusion delights and petit fours. There will also be a silent auction for new pieces from the gallery’s Legacy Collection, which includes works by previously exhibited artists like Kennedi Carter and Clarence Heyward. $200; 104 W. Parrish Street, Durham; ellawestgallery.com
A WRINKLE IN TIME
Aug. 31 | 2 - 4 p.m.
Need an idea for some air-conditioned entertainment? Bring the troops to Family Movie Day at the Southgate Community Library to see the fantastical film A Wrinkle In Time. Naturally, the book has a literary connection — it’s based on the Newbery Medal-winning and Hans Christian Andersen Award-nominated novel by Madeleine L’Engle, which was published in 1962. The book and movie touch on themes of good versus evil and self-discovery as the story follows brother-and-sister duo Meg and Charles on a voyage through time and space to find their missing father. The library is also planning story-inspired activities to be announced closer to the date. Free; 1601-14 Cross Link Road; wake.gov/events
When the Foundation purchased Teddy, an Emotional Support Dog, I wasn’t too sure how my fellow officers or the community might receive him. But Teddy has been genuinely welcomed in every room and by every department. I believe I can speak for us all when I say, “Thank You Raleigh Police Department Foundation!”
The Foundation is an organization that understands our need to police our communities safely. It doesn’t take much to show your appreciation for what we do and to give what you can. Every little bit helps if we all chip in for the greater good.
– Sergeant Briget Stranahan
courtesy
Ella
West Gallery
Endless Summer of Shag
Almost 60 years in, The Embers’ signature beach jams remain timeless
by DAVID MENCONI photography by TYLER NORTHRUP
You seldom expect bands to last more than a decade or so, but there are groups that somehow manage to stay together seemingly forever. Consider The Embers from Raleigh, one of the signature beach music bands, who remain active roughly two-thirds of a century after they formed way back in 1958.
Of course, by now there are no original members left, since co-founder/drummer Bobby Tomlinson retired in 2018 at age 79. But the current group is hardly Embers-come-lately.
Their current billing is The Embers Featuring Craig Woolard, starring the lead vocalist, frontman and saxophonist
for 38 of the past 48 years (he took a 10year break in there). Woolard and bassist Gerald Davis, who has been on board for 39, are the longest-tenured Embers nowadays. And they’re busier than ever, especially during the summer — which is when every beach band makes hay while the sun shines.
“We got five gigs this week and about that many next,” Woolard said on a recent weekday morning. “We have 160 shows on the books for this year so far and that should be up to around 200 by the end of the year. Right now I’m looking for another horn player and I hope to find a young guy who wants to do what
Top row: Jeff Grimes, Craig Woolard, Gerald Davis. Bottom row: Wayne Free, Ben Shaw, Kevin White.
MUSIC
I want to do: Play as often as we can.”
A venerable regional phenomenon, beach music goes back to the late 1940s, when it began coming together in resort towns along the North and South Carolina coast. Mostly white teenagers on family beach vacations would sneak off for excursions to nightclubs, listening to rhythm & blues songs on jukeboxes. Hank Ballard and Midnighters, the Clovers, Lavern Baker and other Black acts’ records dominated these jukeboxes for years, creating a canon of beach music songs — R&B at danceable tempos, heavy on horns and suggestive lyrics.
A popular style of dancing arose to go with the music: shagging, the official state dance of both Carolinas. When teenage fans got old enough to go off to college, they took beach music and shag dancing with them. Older R&B acts toured the Southern collegiate circuit for years, creating fraternity-party scenes like the fictional Otis Day and the Knights playing the Isley Brothers classic “Shout” in the 1978 movie Animal House.
In the late 1950s into the ’60s, another young generation of mostly white beach-music bands began to form, including Swingin’ Medallions, Catalinas and Band of Oz in addition to The Embers. Tomlinson and original lead singer Jackie Gore formed The Embers in 1958 and they soon became one of the biggest acts in beach music. They even opened Embers nightclubs in Raleigh and Atlantic Beach. Long before Woolard joined The Embers, he listened to them.
“I grew up in Little Washington, North Carolina, and they were big-time to me,” Woolard says. “The radio down there played The Embers followed by Sinatra and then ‘Hey Jude.’ So they were the biggest thing around here that any of us knew about.”
The Embers have released numerous recordings over the years, including genre classics like “I Love Beach Music” and “Faraway Places.” But they’ve never made the national charts, and their main legacy is as a performing act. Live, they’ll play everything from the R&B
standards like “Sixty Minute Man” to the 1972 AM radio hit “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl).”
Decades of personnel changes have not dimmed The Embers’ legend. “It’s true for a lot of beach bands, the lineup just turns over quite a bit,” said beach-music historian Chris Beachley, who produces the aptly named radio show “On The Beach With Charlie Brown.” “The Embers are absolutely still top-tier after all this time. You can’t imagine the music without them.”
At this point, it’s equally hard to imagine The Embers without Woolard. A self-described “high-school band geek,” he made a half-hearted attempt at college in the early 1970s before deciding
to follow his passion. He turned professional with a series of bands, joining The Embers for the first time in 1976.
Woolard left the fold for a solo career in 2004, returning to The Embers a decade later. He’s been leading the band ever since, with his wife Debbie handling the booking.
“We had a huge crowd last night in Roanoke and I was talking to the guy who booked the event, and he said, Who could have predicted it would last this long?” Woolard says. “I don’t know anywhere else in the country that has all these bands that are 40, 50 and 60 years old still playing. I’m just grateful. I was just gonna do it for as long as I could — and 50 years later, I still can.”
Clockwise from top: The Embers Featuring Craig Woolard play at North Hills; bassist Gerald Davis; Craig Woolard with a fan.
BOOK A GREAT MARRIAGE
“Ariver runs through the book,” says Frances Mayes of her forthcoming novel, A Great Marriage. “I loved writing about what that river meant to Dara and her father. They’d swim and lay on the rocks. She and Austin first make love on that river. It’s a symbolic thread.”
You may know Mayes for her best-selling novel Under the Tuscan Sun. But this book — “for the first time in a long time” — has nothing to do with Italy. In fact, it’s rooted here in North Carolina.
The main character’s family is from a town called Hillston, which is modeled after Hillsborough, where Mayes and her husband lived for more than 10 years. The fictional family estate, Redbud, is inspired by Mayes’ former Chatwood Farm. And that river? It’s the Eno, reimagined. Filled with warmth and deep characterization, the novel follows Dara and Austin, who are madly in love and engaged — until a tragic secret prompts Dara to call off the wedding.
Along the way, Dara has strong, supportive women to offer their sage advice. “I wanted Dara to have a background of a great marriage,” says Mayes. “A great marriage is when you place your partner in a position more than equal to yours. You want more for them than for yourself. But the other person has to feel the same.”
Such is the main theme of the novel, one for which Mayes has plenty of fodder. She says she weaved together experiences from her own life, as well as details about her friends and family, to develop the characters and their experiences. “Little bits of biography become important parts of the story,” says Mayes. Will Dara and Austin find their way back to one another? Pick up this poetic, intergenerational novel of family bonds, loss and love on Aug. 13 to find out.
— Addie Ladner
NATURE the INCREDIBLE journey
Monarch butterflies travel thousands of miles each year — and now is when they’re moving through North Carolina
With their distinctive orangeand-black wings, monarch butterflies are probably the most recognized butterfly in North America. These intrepid insects are master voyagers, too, often traveling over 100 miles per day to complete their annual migration!
My interest in monarchs began when I started working at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in 1989. My job included working with schools across the state to train teachers on how to effectively use their grounds as an educational resource. We helped teachers and students create mini-habitats for wildlife such as birds and butterflies
using native plants. Monarchs are great ambassadors for pollinators and other wildlife that benefit from such gardens.
One fall, a teacher in Western North Carolina mentioned that I needed to meet a person they called “The Monarch Lady,” who provided programs to the community about the unique butterflies. On my next workshop at that school, The Monarch Lady stopped in to talk. At first, I was taken aback by what she was wearing: a necklace with a monarch chrysalis as a pendant. I was relieved to find out it wasn’t real, but a carefully sculpted piece of jade with gold as the spots — quite realistic and beautiful. Monarch butterflies are, in fact, quite
words and photography by MIKE DUNN
Female monarch butterfly
Each butterfly travels north or southward over its lifetime, depending on the season, with some butterflies living much longer — up to eight months — to complete the trip to Mexico.
beautiful in all their forms. The blackand-orange wings of adult males and females are similar, except that male monarchs have a black spot on a vein in each hind wing, but females do not. (These spots are scent glands used to attract the females.) Each female can lay well over 300 eggs, each one an exquisite miniature sculpture, somewhat conical in shape and lined with tiny ridges. In three to five days, the caterpillars hatch and begin feeding. Monarch caterpillars have black and yellow stripes and a pair of black tentacles on either end. After 10 to 14 days of almost constant feeding, they will increase their body mass almost 2,000-fold. Along the way they shed their skin, or molt, five times. (Some gardeners confuse monarch caterpillars with the more common larvae of black swallowtails, which also are black and yellow, but lack the tentacles. The easiest way to be sure is to see which type of plant they are feeding on. Monarch larvae are found exclusively on milkweed plants, while black swallowtail caterpillars feed on plants in the parsley family.)
As they feed, the larvae incorporate the plant’s toxins into their bodies, making them unpalatable to birds. But there are plenty of other predators out there that can ingest the toxins (including wasps, spiders and ants), and it’s estimated that fewer than 10% of these caterpillars will make it through their larval stage. When those that do survive are ready, they will start crawling to find a suitable place to form a chrysalis, which is jade green with gold dots. About 24 hours before the adult butterfly emerges, the chrysalis
changes color so you can see the wings inside. After the butterfly splits the chrysalis open and pulls itself out, it will pump fluid from its abdomen through the veins in its wings to expand and harden them for flight, the whole process taking an hour or more. Most butterflies live four to six weeks, during which time they will find nectar and mate.
A few years after I started helping schools with butterfly gardens, I learned about a monarch monitoring program called Monarch Watch Tagging Program. This program has origins in work done by Professor Fred Urquhart of the University of Toronto. In 1976, after almost 40 years of leading hundreds of butterfly enthusiasts in a novel tagging program, Professor Urquhart was the first to scientifically document the fact
that eastern monarch butterflies — which spend summer months in the northern United States and Canada — overwintered in high mountain forests in Central Mexico.
To continue and broaden this research, the Monarch Watch program was initiated in 1992 at the University of Kansas. It enlists thousands of citizen scientists across the U.S. and Canada to tag monarchs by placing stickers with unique numbers on their wings to track their migration. Monarch Watch has allowed scientists to further study the dynamics of their spectacular fall migration and explore subjects like the geographic origins of monarchs that reach Mexico, the timing and pace of the migration, and mortality during the migration. Through this research, we’ve
Clockwise from top left: Monarch caterpillar feeding on milkweed; monarch chrysalis; a tagged monarch ready to release; a monarch egg on the underside of a common milkweed leaf.
learned that it can take three to four generations of monarch butterflies to complete the full migration. Each butterfly travels north or southward over its lifetime, depending on the season, with some butterflies living much longer — up to eight months — to complete the trip to Mexico.
I ordered my first tagging kit a few years after starting my work at the museum. Each kit comes with tags, instructions, a data sheet and helpful background information. The tags themselves are small self-adhesive dots, each with a unique number. When properly done, adhering the tags does no harm to the butterfly and does not impair its flying. Tagging monarchs was a huge hit with teachers and a great starting project for a new school year, since monarchs migrate through North Carolina from August to October.
That butterfly had flown a distance of 1,622 miles from where it was tagged!
One fall, on a visit to my parents’ home in the mountains of southwest Virginia, I brought my tagging gear, since my father had told me about the many monarchs that migrated through his farm each year (migrating monarchs are more abundant in our mountains and along the coastline than they are in the Piedmont). At first, I think my father — an old-school country man at heart — was a little embarrassed that the neighbors might see his “boy” running around the property with a butterfly net. But when I showed him how to tag a butterfly, he began to get interested. I gave him the net, and he swept it at a monarch, and missed! I knew then that I had him — he never wanted me to beat him in anything.
Dad soon started tagging monarchs on his own. Every year, I bought an extra kit or two for him. One day, I got a call from Monarch Watch, congratulating me on one of my tags being recovered in Mexico. When we compared tag numbers, it wasn’t mine, but one of my dad’s. He was delighted when he received a Monarch Watch Certificate of Appreciation stating one of the monarchs he had tagged on September 20, 2003, was recovered in the monarch preserve site in El Rosario, Mexico, on March 1, 2004.
After Dad’s passing in 2019, I hired a man to do some tree removal at my parent’s place. When he arrived, he surprised me by telling me that he knew my father as “the monarch man.” Apparently, Dad had gone to his child’s school to talk about monarch migration and tagging. That made me smile and feel proud of my gruff ol’ dad for learning to love monarchs and share their amazing story.
Another highlight in my journey with monarch butterflies happened over 20 years ago, when I visited some of the monarch preserves in Mexico. They are all in high-elevation forests (above 9,000 feet) in the mountains not far from Mexico City. I will never forget hiking into a grove of tall trees to see their branches and trunks colored orange from thousands of clustered monarch butterflies. Some of these small creatures have traveled up to 3,000 miles to spend a few months here, where conditions are just right for them to survive the winter. On warm days, clouds of monarchs take short flights to get water in forest streams. You can actually hear them flying, the wingbeats of thousands of butterflies sounding like a gentle rain. Our guide estimated there were over 50 million monarchs in the 10 acres of forest at that site. The monarchs stay at these sites from late October through midMarch, when they start to move north, mating and laying eggs as they go.
It is mind-boggling that those millions of butterflies came from locations all over eastern North America (those west of the Rockies migrate to sites along the
California coast for the winter). These small insects travel thousands of miles to a place they have never been, since they are three or four generations removed from the monarchs that were there last winter. No one knows exactly how they find these same mountain tops, though scientists believe monarchs may use a built-in sun compass and visual cues like mountain ranges and coastline as guides. Keep an eye out for these black-andorange beauties in spring and fall. Here in the Piedmont, we typically see our first monarchs of spring in early April. They are usually the children or grandchildren of those that overwintered in Mexico. We see monarchs again beginning in August, when another generation moves southward as days shorten. Some of these butterflies will migrate all the way to Mexico, while others will lay eggs on any remaining milkweed plants, and it will be their offspring that complete the journey. Sadly, monarch populations have plummeted in recent decades for a variety of reasons. Now, many organizations are partnering to find ways to protect these butterfly populations and their incredible migration. We can help by planting native milkweeds (their only host plants), creating diverse habitats of nectar plants for them and other pollinators, and reducing use of pesticides. This international migration miracle is something worth preserving.
Left: A monarch butterfly. Right: Monarch Watch certificate.
GARDEN AN IN-BETWEEN MONTH
“August is an in-between month,” says horticulturist and foodscape pioneer Brie Arthur. “It’s the hottest part of summer — so you have to keep up the watering! — but there are some important things to do in preparation for fall.” Read on for her tips to navigate this extreme heat while setting yourself up for a fruitful autumn.
SOW SEEDS
If you want hearty fall vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower come Thanksgiving, plant seeds in early August. “It feels counterintuitive to sow cool-weather seeds outside now, but it’s time,” Arthur says. “Find a shady place that’s easy to water. So many people love having things to share around the holidays that they grew themselves.”
ASSESS CONTAINERS
August is the season to reevaluate your containers as the growing season continues through fall. “We still have September, October and some of November where we will have warm temperatures,” says Arthur, noting that annuals like marigolds, basil and zinnias, and perennial herbs like oregano and lemon balm, grow like crazy this time of year. Ask yourself: Is it hard to keep the containers watered? Do these plants need to be cut back or divided? Is it time to repot in a larger container?
PROCESS YOUR PRODUCE
Have you reached your fill of tomato sandwiches? If so, now is a great time to batch-prepare and freeze sauces that make use of summer produce like peppers, tomatoes and basil. Make pesto or tomato sauce and freeze it for later in the year. Or try Arthur’s current favorite, ratatouille, for now or later: “It’s so easy and has all those good summer flavors like herbs, tomatoes, pepper, zucchini and eggplant.” Bonus: this work can be done indoors, where it’s cool! —Addie Ladner
An Underground HIT
At Sous Terre, Jordan Joseph creates an intimate experience centered around a slow-craft, classic cocktail
by CATHERINE CURRIN
photography by FORREST MASON
On a humid summer evening, escape to Sous Terre. Head down the discretely marked stairs, turn your key in an unassuming black door and you’re transported to a subterranean haven that feels worlds away from balmy Raleigh. The bar is one part grotto, two parts urban chic: here, two-tops tuck toward a long banquette for intimate conversation. Lighting under the bar highlights its wood-paneled walls; around it, buttery-leather stools invite guests to linger.
Behind the bar, manager Alexander Sieck is mixing classics like the Sazerac and Gin Fizz — measuring, shaking and pouring into glasses as well-considered as the space itself. Here, the drinks shine.
Managing partner Jordan Joseph says that the vibe was loosely inspired by the classic whiskey bars of Japan, where the cocktail-making process is slower and quality is the name of the game. “These bars are typically narrow, dimly lit and full of oak,” he says. “And every stage of the craft is high-quality — from handcut ice to premium ingredients to the presentation.” (The menu pays homage to these bars with its simple, classic Highball, which features Toki Japanese whiskey topped with “the finest soda,” Topo Chico.)
Sous Terre is the brainchild of Joseph, the beverage director for Crawford Hospitality Group. Joseph started his time in the Triangle as the beverage manager
Jordan Joseph
at Top of the Hill, with stints at The Crunkleton and Gallo Pelón Mezcaleria.
Joseph, along with Scott Crawford and his wife Jessica, designed and launched Sous Terre in the former Atlantic Lounge space. “We want guests to open up this door to a different environment,” says Joseph.
Sous Terre, which translates to “underground” in French, rounds out a Crawford Hospitality trio at Person and Pace Streets alongside Jolie and Crawford & Son. The cozy bar is a treat for happy hour, a nightcap or while you wait for dinner upstairs. The membership concept — with the key to open the bar’s door — carried over from Atlantic Lounge, a concept meant to keep the experience feeling intimate and special. But new keys can be purchased for $50 at one of the restaurants, and if you’re dining at Crawford & Son or Jolie, no key is required.
As the group’s beverage director for the past four years, Joseph has been creating beverages to fit with the offerings
at Crawford’s restaurants. Sous Terre is the first bar from the team. “Up until now, the cocktails I’ve been making have been food-driven. Here, it’s all about the drinks,” Joseph says. Sieck, who crossed paths with Joseph bartending at Gallo Pelón and The Crunkleton, says it gives them endless flexibility. “When you don’t have a culinary concept to target, you don’t have to fit any theme except trying to be a very good bar,” he says.
To that end, their offerings tend to be simple — but done well. “I wanted to open with a menu that focused on classic cocktails,” says Joseph. “We’ll continue to rely on classics as we update the menu, but bring our own fresh take.” In addition to cocktails, the menu features spirit-free options like the Little Tokyo, a non-alcoholic sparkling wine with pickled ginger and miso honey. There’s also a curated list of wines by the glass and a selection of local beers.
“We’re trying to highlight the ingredi-
Louisville Slugger
This drink combines wood notes, heat and a hint of fruit sweetness for a complex, enticing flavor.
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 ounces bourbon (Elijah Craig Small Batch)
3/4 ounce fresh lemon
3/4 ounce fresh pineapple
1/2 ounce Ancho Reyes
1/4 ounce Passion Fruit Puree
(Combine equal parts Boiron passion fruit puree and simple syrup)
1/4 ounce Zucca
1/4 ounce Oat Milk Orgeat (recipe below)
OAT MILK ORGEAT
1 cup oat milk
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Orange Blossom Water
1 tablespoon Jamaican rum
DIRECTIONS
Build this cocktail in a shaking tin: fill with ice, shake and fine-strain over a large ice cube into a rocks glass. Garnish with grated nutmeg and a dusting of dried ancho chile.
ents and the spirits, we don’t want to do too much for the sake of trying to dazzle our guests,” Sieck says. He says that a really great cocktail is usually better when someone else makes it, and all the details are handled for you. “One of the best things about going out is to relax and you don't have to worry about anything. Sometimes the experience is enhanced in the details that you don’t notice.”
The space is not meant for a quick drink and dash. It’s meant to be a place to settle in, stay a while and savor a delicious beverage with friends. “Anyone can make a good drink,” says Joseph. “But when it all comes together — you have a special experience.”
Below the Surface
Raleigh’s surprisingly robust scuba community
by JORDAN LEE
photography by JOSHUA STEADMAN
The manta ray glides so close, it nearly touches my scuba mask. The bubbles from my regulator bump into its tuxedo underbelly and dance between its curved wings before escaping to the blue depths. The ray’s arched wingspan, easily 10 feet wide, blocks the sun’s glow like a canopy. Here in Raja Ampat, Indonesia — halfway around the globe from Raleigh — I experience an otherworldly sense of solitude and astonishment.
Just a few months prior, I swore diving was something I’d never attempt — it seemed terrifying. But proper training and practice changed everything for me.
It may come as a surprise, but North Carolina is a premier center for scuba diving. You can dive shipwrecks almost the entire coast from Nags Head to Southport: highlights include the wreck
of German submarine U-352 from WWII, Blackbeard’s ship Queen Anne’s Revenge and the USCG Cutter Spar. If you’re more into sharks than shipwrecks, our coast is known for being a great spot to find fossilized shark teeth — particularly at the Meg Ledge, an area about 30 miles offshore from Wrightsville Beach that’s famous for unearthing the 3-million-yearold teeth of the Carcharocles megalodon, the mega-toothed shark that had teeth up to 7 inches long. The depths of our coastal waters boast dive-worthy aquatic life including Atlantic spadefish, amberjack, giant southern stingrays and sharks. Here in Raleigh, two dive shops reign supreme: Gypsy Divers and Carolina Dive Center. They have a rare and special relationship as “competitors” because, in reality, they support each other to grow
the local diving community.
Gypsy Divers was founded by Margie Rhodes and Dave Ferrar in 1984 and is now owned and managed by lifelong diver Billy Harloff, who joined Gypsy in 2011 as part-time summer help. “I love diving because you get the chance to see some amazing animals and every dive is completely unique,” he says. Harloff leads a team of five full-time employees, 10 dive instructors and 10 divemasters, in addition to housing a scuba service center and swim program. They offer Scuba Schools International (SSI) scuba certification.
Carolina Dive Center (CDC), which offers PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) certification, is owned and operated by Jim Sedore, who’s known as “Captain Jim.” Sedore, a former corporate executive, quit his job to open CDC 20 years ago. “I cannot believe this is my life,” he says. “I teach scuba and travel the world.” During my visit to the dive shop, CDC course director Zachary Matthew handed me a megalodon shark tooth approximately the size of a coffee saucer. He’d found the relic that weekend off the coast of North Carolina — and it wasn’t his first. “Searching for fossils underwater always gives me an adrenaline rush. When you discover that perfect tooth, it makes any previous disappointment fade away,” says Matthew.
For Matthew, a combat veteran who has dealt with PTSD, scuba has been a saving grace. “Diving has transformed my life for the better,” he says. “Reconnecting with nature and spending time alone with my thoughts underwater has been incredibly healing. One of my main motivations for becoming a scuba instructor is to help others experience these therapeutic benefits.”
Both SSI and PADI certifications entail academic and classroom courses, followed by hands-on, gear-laden skills training. The majority of skills training takes place in silence at the bottom of a swimming pool. “Confined water training helps a beginner learn and demonstrate skills necessary to dive deeper to 60 feet,” says Sedore. Geared
Scuba divers at Fantasy Lake, where they can drift through the waters up to 80 feet deep to find a submerged rock crusher or play basketball underwater with bowling balls.
up from tank to fins, students work with instructors to practice skills like clearing a flooded mask, adjusting a lost regulator or making an emergency ascent. After a discussion at the surface of what is to be practiced underwater, student and instructor descend and switch to communicating via scuba sign language.
A particular challenge underwater is maintaining buoyancy, which is your underwater altitude. A big inhale and you float to the top; too much exhale and you drift downward. Arturo Marchand of Gypsy Divers was my fearless and talented scuba instructor. “Helping students gain mastery of a skill that causes anxiety is very rewarding,” says Marchand.
Following completion of pool-based skills, certifications require check out dives in non-pool settings. Around here,
they’re usually at Fantasy Lake Adventure Park, a 65-acre lake in Rolesville that formed when a quarry sprung a leak in 1950. Open year-round, Fantasy Lake provides space for divers to practice or just enjoy the sport. “It’s probably the nicest scuba park on the east coast,” says Sedore.
For Marchand, who’s logged more than 2,000 dives in his lifetime, diving is “first and foremost, fun.” He’s even passed his love for the sport on to his son, who, at age 12, has already logged almost 50 dives.
What they and I have discovered is that diving offers a unique opportunity to experience both adventure and tranquility — often at the same time. “It’s quiet down there with nothing to do but watch the world go by,” says Harloff. “You can explore in 3D so easily, and everyone can use a little bit of peace.”
A Fine SWING
by A.J. CARR
photography by MEHMET DEMIRCI
Alexander Boyd Andrews IV got his first tennis racquet, a wooden Davis Classic, when he was 9 years old. It was more than a gift. It was a “key,” he says, that unlocked his athletic talent and started him on the path from the Carolina Country Club to a rewarding tennis career. It was also a sign of strong backing from his parents, who adopted him at birth, in all of his athletic endeavors. “They were not sports nuts, but they kept supporting me,” said Andrews, who was an All-Conference high school soccer player, but a better tennis player.
With lessons from teaching pro J.W. Isenhour, plus an abundance of practice, “Andy” Andrews won an age group state title as a 12-year-old and earned a top 15 national Junior ranking.
“I fell in love with it,” Andrews says — and the sport loved him back. He went on to win at Ravenscroft School, Woodberry Forest, North Carolina State University and on the pro tour.
Today Andrews, founder and executive chairman of Dominion Realty Partners, is well known as a major developer of multiple projects. But he’s still remembered by tennis old-timers.
From 1978 through 1981, Andrews helped the Wolfpack win two Atlantic Coast Conference team tennis championships. Individually, he claimed five league titles (two singles, three doubles) and earned All-America honors two of those years. While admittedly “slow afoot,” he vexed opponents with a
At NC State and on the pro circuit, Andy Andrews built a rewarding tennis career
strong serve, formidable forehand, sharp volleying skills and a flaming competitive spirit. For those achievements, Andrews was voted one of the top 50 players during the first five decades of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
That almost didn’t happen at State. Growing up an avid fan of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he committed to play for the Tar Heels, believing he would be starting at No. 5 singles as a freshman. But when ready to officially sign, he discovered that the No. 5 slot had been filled.
“I was heartbroken,’’ says Andrews, who decided to instead play for Isenhour, who was a coach at NC State.
Over the course of his college career, Andrews earned a 26-0 record against UNC in singles, doubles and team matches, combined across four seasons. One “shining moment” came in a championship title match between the two rivals, when he stroked the winning shot.
have remained tight over the decades, staying in touch with each other and their beloved coach, whom they called “J.W.,” and who Andrews has known for 54 years.
“Andy was a team player and took responsibility when it was time,” Isenhour says. “Whatever situation he was in, he made those around him better.”
After finishing up his business studies at State, Andrews played four years on the pro circuit and won 19 professional titles worldwide, including three doubles championships with Sadri. As a doubles team, they earned a top 10 ranking and reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open and finals of an Australian Open. In individual competition, Andrews climbed to 37th in the doubles and 78th in singles.
While competing in all the Grand Slams was glamorous, tour life also was grueling. Andrews traveled around the world 20 times, made stops on every continent and spent 42 weeks a year on the road. Andrews competed hard until suffering a broken hand, a factor that influenced his premature retirement from the tour. “I would do it all over again. It was incredibly rewarding,” he says emphatically.
Andrews has been inducted into the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame, Southern Tennis Hall of Fame and George Whitfield Hall of Fame at ECU.
Andrews says tennis taught him lessons that help him today in his business. After working his way up with real estate company Daniel Corporation, he started Dominion Realty Partners in 2005. Since then, his Raleigh company has built 80 developments in four states and 12 cities, including 37 in the Triangle.
“Andy was a team player and took responsibility when it was time. Whatever situation he was in, he made those around him better.”
— J.W. ISENHOUR
Afterwards, Andrews remembers UNC coach Don Skakle offering him congratulations and admitting he “made a mistake.” Andrews’ response: “Yes, you did!”
Success came from countless hours of sweat as well as skill. Isenhour scheduled 5:30 a.m. preseason conditioning workouts and team practices in the afternoon. In one year, Andrews grew from a 158-pound lightweight to a solid 178-pound swinger.
Andrews’ doubles partner, John Sadri — a player that would gain a No. 14 world singles ranking — also helped him develop.
“John taught me the definition of hard work,” says Andrews. “He made me hit 100 serves every day before we ate supper.”
It was a close-knit group, those Wolfpack players, and they
Along the way, Andrews and Carol, his wife of 36 years, raised two children. Daughter Rhyne worked with Dominion until her death at age 31, following a nine-year battle with cancer. Their son Bo became an all-conference golfer and now is assistant golf coach at the University of Tennessee.
After a hip replacement and two knee procedures, these days Andrews spends more time golfing than playing tennis — but his loyalty to the sport remains. Over the years, he has contributed to the sport in a variety of ways, including fundraising for the renovation of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, an indoor tennis facility at NC State (which has been named in his honor) and the N.C. Tennis Foundation Hall of Fame Museum in Greensboro.
Andrews’ philanthropic spirit aligns with Luke 12:48 Bible verse “to whom much is given, much is expected.” “My life would have been very different if I hadn’t been adopted by loving, giving and driving parents,” he says. “I have a lot to be thankful for. Take advantage of your advantage.”
Andy Andrews signs a racket at the indoor tennis courts at NC State, which have been named after him in 2004.
Back at Nanas
Chef Matt Kelly puts his own spin on a beloved Durham restaurant
For Matt Kelly, the decision to open Nanas wasn’t just about business — it was personal.
The original Nana’s was opened by Scott Howell as a “new Southern restaurant” in 1992, featuring seasonal dishes inspired by French and Italian fare. “It had that old-school, fancy-restaurant vibe we reserved for special occasions,” says Kelly, who remembered it as the place where his parents celebrated many anniversaries. But when the restaurant closed as a result of the pandemic, Kelly felt called to bring it back: “To me, losing this restaurant meant losing a part of our community’s fabric.”
by CATHERINE CURRIN
photography by FORREST MASON
Kelly is a food-industry veteran known for popular restaurants Mateo Bar de Tapas and Mothers & Sons Trattoria in downtown Durham. Before opening those restaurants, Kelly worked in fine-dining favorites like The Fearrington House, Fins and Vin Rouge. He was the head chef and then co-owner of Vin
Rouge before he opened Mateo in 2012. Reopening Nanas in its original space in the Rockwood neighborhood would allow Kelly and his team, including chef and business partner Nate Garyantes, to tap into a burgeoning neighborhood in Durham. Rockwood is just a few minutes from Kelly’s downtown joints, sandwiched between Duke University and the Hope Valley neighborhood, and the location offers an eclectic, neighborhood feel. The new restaurant also would allow the team to flex even more creative muscles, developing a menu driven by seasonal, high-quality ingredients. “We put dishes on the menu that we’re excited about,” Kelly says.
Kelly enlisted designer Shaun Sundholm of Sundholm Studios, with whom he worked on the designs of Mateo and Mothers & Sons, to refresh the space.
“Matt said he wanted to evoke a walk in the woods. I took that and ran with it,” says Sundholm, who evoked the tranquil-
Left to right: Chef Nate Garyantes, chef Matt Kelly and pastry chef Kimberly Holmes.
“The space is luxurious, but not out of touch, and approachable. I wanted Nanas to feel like a modern grandmother’s house.”
— SHAUN SUNDHOLM
ity of nature without being too literal. “I wanted to incorporate as much wood as possible to lend a sophisticated touch.”
Now, an orange velvet bench welcomes you — a tribute to the color scattered throughout the original restaurant. Black walnut trim and glossy green tiles accent the navy walls. “We wanted a space where diners could engage without distraction,” Kelly says. Sundholm’s design also incorporates nods to grandmothers (those original nanas) through subtle nods like a vintage travel spoon collection and a carpet in a retro plaid. “The space is luxurious, but not out of touch, and approachable,” says Sundholm. “I
wanted Nanas to feel like a modern grandmother’s house.”
The new menu is loosely based on home cooking, but way elevated. There are buttermilk dinner rolls (made inhouse) and a grits soufflé, fancied up with chanterelle mushrooms and foie gras. The pasta course pulls in a duck ragout tagliatelle and an oxtail mezzaluna for fresh takes on a Sunday gravy. For entrees, the roasted chicken is done with chicories and a roasted garlic jus; the lamb shoulder is topped with creamed spinach and a giant mushroom ravioli. Even the sides have roots in everyday meals, like a broccoli topped with a
Meyer lemon hollandaise.
At the bar, guests will find a simplified version of the original space’s layout. For drinks, there are Nanas version of grandparent favorites — like Nanas Take Manhattan, Grandad’s Old Fashioned, a Pisco Sour — plus inventive seasonal cocktails, like the Jessica Rabbit, a sweet and boozy concoction of mezcal, carrot and honey. There’s also an extensive, curated wine list and beer options, most from North Carolina breweries.
Pulled together, Kelly’s revamp of Nanas is a tribute to that specialoccasion spot he grew up with, for the next generation. “Good cooking is good cooking,” Kelly says, “but being part of a neighborhood means building relationships and evolving together.”
Left to right: Garyantes in the kitchen; grits soufflé; mushroom risotto;
lamb shoulder with mushroom raviolo.
braised
The Quiet of Nature
In an increasingly loud world, maybe we should be still and listen
by JIM DODSON illustration by GERRY O’NEILL
It’s two hours before sunrise and, per my daily morning ritual, I’m sitting with my old cat, Boo Radley, in a wooden chair beneath the stars and a shining quarter-moon.
Today’s forecast calls for another summer scorcher.
For the moment, however, the world around me is cool and amazingly quiet.
It’s the perfect moment to think, pray or simply listen to nature waking up.
In an hour or so, the world will begin to stir as folks rise and go about their
daily lives. Nature will be drowned out by the white noise of commuter traffic, tooting horns and sirens.
But, for now, all I hear is the peaceful hoot of an owl somewhere off in the neighborhood trees, the fading chirr of crickets and the lonely bark of a dog a mile or two away. Amazing how sound carries in such a peaceful, quiet world.
Ah, there it is, right on cue! The first birdsong of the new day. I recognize the tune from a certain gray catbird that seems to enjoy starting the morning
chorus. Soon, the trees around us will be alive with the morning melodies of Carolina warblers, eastern bluebirds and the northern cardinals. What a perfect way to lift a summer night’s curtain and herald the dawn!
Unfortunately, it’s a sound that Earth scientists fear may be vanishing before our very ears.
On a planet where many are concerned about the impacts of global warming, declining natural resources and vanishing species, it seems to me that noise pollu-
tion and the disappearing sounds of the natural world might be among the most worrying impacts of all.
A recent article in THe Guardian by Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield alarmingly warns of a “deathly silence” they claim will result from the accelerating loss of natural habitats around the globe.
The authors note that sound has become an important measurement in understanding the health and biodiversity of our planet’s ecosystems. “Our forests, soils and oceans all produce their own acoustic signatures,” they write, noting that the quiet falling across thousands of habitats can be measured using ecoacoustics. They cite “extraordinary losses in the density and variety of species. Disappearing or losing volume along with them are many familiar sounds: the morning calls of birds, rustle of mammals through undergrowth and summer hum of insects.”
“Quiet, I think, holds space for things that we can’t verbalize as humans,” the group’s executive director Matthew Mikkelsen recently told CBS News. “We use silence as a way to honor things.”
Quiet, he notes, is becoming harder and harder to find these days, even in the most remote wilderness or within the depths of the national parks. “Every year we see more and more data to reaffirm what we’ve known for a long time — that quiet is becoming extinct.”
For the moment, however, the world around me is cool and amazingly quiet. It’s the perfect moment to think, pray or simply listen to nature waking up.
A veteran soundscape recordist named Bernie Krause, who has devoted more than 5,000 hours to recording nature from seven continents over the past 55 years, estimates that “70 percent of his archive is from habitats that no longer exist.”
As quiet natural places are drowned out by the sounds of freeways, cellphones and the daily grind of modern life, a nonprofit group called Quiet Parks International is working to identify and preserve sacred quiet places in cities, wilderness areas and national parks, where all one hears — for the moment at least — is the beat of nature, the pulse of life in the wild.
Perhaps because I grew up in a series of sleepy small towns across the lower South, places where I spent most of my days wandering at will in nature, I’ve been groomed to be a seeker of natural silence and quiet places in my life. The first decade of my journalism career was spent in major cities, which explains why I bolted for the forests and rivers of northern New England the moment I had the chance to escape the cacophony of honking horns, blasting radios, screaming sirens and even background music in restaurants (a personal annoyance I’ve never quite fathomed). Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by traveling in France and Italy and other ancient places. There, cafes and bistros are generally meant to foster a relaxed, slower pace of life through the auspices of good food, lingering conversations and woolgathering as one watches the harried world pass by.
It is no accident that I built my first house on a hilltop near the coast of Maine, surrounded by 200 pristine wooded acres of beech and hemlock trees.
On summer evenings, my young children and I could hear the forest coming
alive with sounds.
We often saw and heard wildlife — whitetail deer, pheasants and hawks, a large female porcupine and even (once) a young male moose — gathering at the edges of our lawn, where I had created feeding areas of edible native plants for our wild neighbors. The eerie latenight sound of coyotes calling deep in the forest reminded us that we were the newcomers to their quiet keep.
One reason I love the game of golf is because it is a two- or three-hour adventure in nature where the simple elements of wind, rain, sand and water provide an existential challenge to mind and body. As a kid, I learned to play golf alone, walking my father’s golf course in the late afternoon, when most of the older golfers had gone home. I came to love “solo golf” at a time of day when the shadows lengthened and the sounds of nature began to reawaken with creatures great and small.
Golf courses, like libraries, are meant to be quiet places — which makes the recent trend of golf carts equipped with digital music systems particularly bothersome to a lover of nature’s quiet sounds.
Pause for a moment and just think what one can do in the quiet:
Read a good book.
Admire a sunset.
Rest and recover.
Take an afternoon nap.
Watch birds feed.
Write a letter
Talk to the universe.
Say a prayer.
Grieve — or feel gratitude.
Think through a problem.
“In quietness,” says the book A Course in Miracles, “are all things answered.”
My heart aches when I hear that the world’s natural places may be going silent.
A world without nature’s quiet sounds would be a very lonely place.
Hopefully, we’ll learn to listen before it’s too late.
FRANCIE
LETTER TO C. FROM ASHE COUNTY
by TERRY KENNEDY
illustration by LIDIA CHURAKOVA
What is there to say? I’m sitting on the porch watching how the shades of green in the mimosa trees seem to shift with each slight breeze on this otherwise still afternoon. The bluejay and the cardinal are having an argument I can’t understand — and I’m not sure I want to. Just as I’m not sure why I ever wavered. We were supposed to have a different life. Why do I keep returning to this? The hummingbirds race to the feeder and then up the ridge. There’s one last orange bloom among the daylilies that litter the bank, the lacy hydrangeas are beginning to purple, and those little white bugs that look like faeries are floating here and there on the breeze. They know exactly what to do, where they are going.
Terry L. Kennedy is the author of two poetry collections, most recently What the Light Leaves Hidden. He currently serves as the Director of the MFA Writing Program at UNC Greensboro, where he edits The Greensboro Review.
With her new book, reporter Valerie Bauerlein explains the deep roots of Alex Murdaugh’s murders
DYNASTY DECODING A
by LIZA ROBERTS photography by ALEX BOERNER
In March 2023, powerful South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his 22-year-old son, Paul, and his wife, Maggie. The journalist regularly breaking news on the story was Raleigh resident and Wall Street Journal national reporter Valerie Bauerlein. Some of her front-page features on the Murdaugh murders were among the paper’s most widely read of the year; she also became an on-camera authority for NBC’s Dateline and for a Netflix documentary.
Now, Bauerlein’s new book on the case, The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty, is out. It’s equal parts crime story, character study, cultural history and family saga. Through meticulous research, she tells the story of four generations of Murdaughs, connecting the dots to show how Alex inherited his role as partner in the family law firm as well as his sense of infallibility, lawlessness and entitlement.
Bauerlein has been covering the South for almost 30 years, including 19 at the Journal, four at Columbia, South Carolina’s The State, and a year at The News & Observer. She is a graduate of Duke University and lives in Raleigh with her husband and two children.
AT WHAT POINT DID YOU REALIZE THAT THIS WAS THE BIGGEST STORY OF YOUR CAREER, AT LEAST SO FAR?
I remember my old editor at the other WSJ, the Winston-Salem Journal, saying to me: The next big crime story that happens in the South, just jump on it. See what’s there. It could be Bitter Blood or Fatal Vision. I sort of laughed it off.
And then I was following this case, because I follow South Carolina pretty closely [as part of her job covering the South], and my editor at the Wall Street Journal just happened to say: Are you following this? And I said, yeah, of course I am. I asked him: What’s the Wall Street Journal version of the story? What larger thing does it tell us? And he said, It’s just a good story. And he was right. But it was also a story about money and power.
Then the more I got into it, I realized pretty quickly it was a story that I’ve been observing for 20 years in the South — about the way that power works and the way relationships work, particularly
in the small towns where I came from or where I used to work. I studied South Carolina politics for years [as a reporter] so I could try to understand how rural barons operate, how the system works. So pretty early on, I knew it was a big story, that it illuminates something about us. But I had no idea just how big. My first trip down [to Hampton, the crime scene] was in July of 2021. The homicides had been on June 7. Murdaugh wasn’t charged for a year after the homicides.
I EXPECTED THE BOOK TO BE A CRIME STORY, BUT IT’S BIGGER THAN THAT. YOU MAKE A WELL-RESEARCHED CASE THAT HE DID NOT SQUANDER THE FAMILY LEGACY — HE ACTUALLY FULFILLED ITS DESTINY.
Alex Murdaugh was the perfect distillation of what the family had been building for generations. Dynasties inevitably break down on the fourth and fifth generation. Alex is the fourth, [his children] Paul and Buster are the fifth. It
was inevitable. All of the rot was coming from inside the house.
It started with Alex’s great grandfather, an extraordinary human being who made a critical turn at a moment when he was dying and he had lost everything by driving to his death in front of an oncoming train to enable his children to sue the railroad. He’d done things the right way and then he made a moral turn. And then you get into his grandfather. He’s coming out of the Depression, when there’s nothing in the rural South, there’s no economy to speak of. He rebuilds an empire based on racketeering, taking advantage of others and subverting the law he’s supposed to take care of. And then his son, Alex’s father, kind of perpetuates that. Alex is the perfect distillation of it. But I do think the difference with Alex and his forebears is that he had little inclination to use his power for good.
WHEN DID YOU REALIZE THE NEED TO GO SO DEEP, TO LEARN SO MUCH
Bauerlein thumbs through some of her research.
ABOUT THE FAMILY, ITS HERITAGE, ITS INHERITANCE?
Necessity is the mother of invention. I sold the book before he was even charged, so the pitch was: There’s a story in this family. Even if he’s never charged with anything, there is something in the water in Hampton County that is creating this dynasty.
I spent nine months studying this family. There’s a library in Columbia that has all of the Hampton County Guardian archives; I went through them and tried to understand the history there. I interviewed a lot of historians.
The Deep South is different from North Carolina. It’s not that the Civil War skipped us here, but it took us a long time to get into it. That’s not the case in South Carolina. They’re the state that fired on the federal government. They’re the state that started the Civil War, that welcomed it.
When you are in a place of 20,000 people like Hampton County in S.C., where Sherman marched through in two flanks and burned everything — brought through 60,000 troops — it’s like being in Normandy. It’s like being in Dresden. It is a city, a place, that’s still haunted by this fundamental narrative of what happened there. Everybody lost everything. Everybody started from nothing again.
And they’re still mad about it.
YOU MAKE IT CLEAR THAT NOT ONLY THE HISTORY BUT THE TOPOGRAPHY OF HAMPTON COUNTY, THE SOIL AND THE SETTING, IS INSEPARABLE FROM THE STORY. YOU MAKE A REALLY INTERESTING POINT ABOUT THE ECONOMICS OF THE INFERTILE LAND AND HOW IT PROHIBITS BASICALLY EVERYTHING.
Ever ything! I spent months understanding the importance of the railroads there. I grew up understanding that kind of thing as a kid in Wilmington. When I grew up, Wilmington had something like 30,000 people. It was a tiny town. I bought my prom dress in Myrtle Beach, which was the closest big town. When
Top to bottom: Bauerlein’s bookshelf; a model of the Hampton County Courthouse; historical research; some of Bauerlein’s sources for her book.
“I felt a sense of real obligation, but also real heaviness there. It was a challenge to me to accept that real evil exists in the world.”
— Valerie Bauerlein
I was at Duke, for the first two years it would take you better than three hours to get from Wilmington to Durham. Once I-40 got finished, everything changed. Wilmington became a different place. You just see the importance of transportation and how it changes systems. And so it was very clear to me that when the railroad came through Hampton County and they put down a station, well, it changed everything.
Of course a town builds up around every little station. And then the Murdaugh family and the Varn family that they married into had the most land. They donated land for the town, and that’s where the courthouse goes. And so once there’s a courthouse, then that’s where everybody from a hundred miles goes to court.
YOU DID A REALLY DEEP DIVE NOT ONLY INTO THE HISTORY BUT INTO THE PRESENT DAY. YOU WENT AND LIVED DOWN THERE, YOU LIVED AND BREATHED IT FOR WEEKS ON END. YOU ENTERED THIS THICK, UGLY MORASS THAT HAD TRAPPED AND KILLED PEOPLE. WERE YOU SCARED FOR YOUR SAFETY? WERE YOU SCARED FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH, FOR YOUR EMOTIONAL WELLBEING?
Oh, for sure. Yeah. I was scared. I mean, I’ve been doing this a really long time. I’ve been a reporter 29 years, always out in the field. And I was a night cops reporter. The only other time in my life that I’ve been followed was 25 years ago, when I was writing a big exposé about a sheriff’s office that was deeply corrupt.
But I was followed a couple times on this story. So I ended up changing my approach. I would go places with someone else, somebody that was from there who could vouch for me, that understood what I was trying to do, that had gotten to
know me and had some degree of trust.
The first time I went to Hampton County, I had not ever in my career been to a place that was so insular. Hampton is a town of 2,000 people and suddenly there were six reporters doing stand-ups outside the one cafe. They felt very much under siege.
Before I went down, I called every member of the county council. And so then I knew, oh, that’s Alex’s childhood friend, that’s [his wife] Maggie’s best friend from aerobics, that’s the son of the police chief. Every single person had multiple points of contact with the Murdaugh family. There were many, many reasons that it was hard for people to want to even engage with journalists.
AMONG THE JOURNALISTS THERE, YOU WERE WIDELY CONSIDERED TO
BE THE AUTHORITY. YOU WERE THE KEY ON-CAMERA SOURCE FOR THE NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY. YOU WERE CHOSEN BY THE PRESS POOL TO BE THEIR REPRESENTATIVE TO VISIT THE SCENE OF THE CRIME, THE MOSELLE PROPERTY, A 1,770-ACRE FAMILY TRACT WITH HUNTING AND FISHING FACILITIES. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?
My editor in New York said, with great power comes great responsibility. Don’t screw this up.
Moselle is so enormous. It’s two times as big as Central Park. But then the area where the murders took place is so small when you get there. The first thing I did was make a beeline for where Maggie stood, because the evidence specialist had told us how many steps she was from where Paul died. Where she was standing was 12 steps from where he died. I stood where she stood, and I burst into tears. I think that’s partly because we were close in age, and I have a son, and she has a son, and partly because she watched, she knew who killed him, and she watched who killed her.
There are thin places in this world, where the line between the living and the dead is very thin. And I think Moselle is one of them, very much a haunted place. There is much unfinished business out there.
I felt a sense of real obligation, but also real heaviness there. It was a challenge to me to accept that real evil exists in the world. And I think it found a home in Alex. And that was hard. That was hard to accept.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE ARC OF ALEX’S CHARACTER IN YOUR STORY?
I wanted to think about Alex in the same way I thought about Paul, which is with some sympathy. But then one of his law partners said — I’ll never forget
it — he said: I think Alex was stealing milk money in the lunch line from the time he was a little boy. And I think that’s probably true. There’s something in his wiring. So there’s the combination of something in his wiring being deeply off, and then never, ever being held accountable to anything. Ever. I mean, there are so many stories, lying about the fraternity fundraiser money when he was a KA at USC, or always cutting corners. He never got held accountable for one thing.
I talk to people who say: I loved him like a brother. I loved him. But I never really knew him.
I had held out hope I would get to interview him. That was my hope. And I had a line to the family, a close line to the lawyers. And then he gave us two days on the stand of who he was. And then again, in his sentencing, he poured his heart out, and it became clear to me that interviewing him would be a fool’s errand. He doesn’t know himself at all. So I don’t know. We all have known
people that are like a mirage. I think he is like a mirage.
TELL ME ABOUT THE EPIGRAPH, THE CORMAC MCCARTHY QUOTE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK THAT IS THE SOURCE OF THE TITLE. IT SEEMS TO SET UP THE IDEA THAT ALEX WAS BAD FROM THE BEGINNING, THAT HE WAS MADE THAT WAY.
I wanted a title that telegraphed to readers that I was trying to tell a real story. That this is a saga. And so I went back to every book I loved for inspiration. Fatal Vision, The Sound and the Fury. Shakespeare. I re-read Macbeth. I read King Lear. I read the Old Testament. Anything that had to do with a father and a son.
And there’s just not an antecedent for what he did. There is not an antecedent for a parent killing an adult child. Abraham and Isaac don’t go through with it. Zeus and Kronos don’t go through with it. It’s so taboo. So I wasn’t finding what I needed.
Cormac McCarthy had recently died, and I love him. Blood Meridian was something I read in college. And so I was looking through it and I saw “When God made man the devil was at his elbow. A creature that can do anything.”
A church friend of mine said that it’s fascinating that inherent in the word devil is the word evil. And this is a story of deep evil, just deep evil.
Interior designer Lilian
with her family in their pool. Gomide grew up in southeastern Brazil and says that “even though I didn’t grow up on the coast, I need the sun!”
Gomide
Lilian Gomide creates a luxe and livable space for her family in North Raleigh
BALANCE FINDING
by AYN-MONIQUE
KLAHRE photography by CATHERINE NGUYEN
When you walk into Lilian Gomide’s Bella Vista home in North Raleigh, you’re greeted by an urn on the foyer table filled with towering branches, a staircase rising to the left and a pristine dining room to the right. That space, the dining room, is a vision unto itself: around a Carrara marble-topped table, Parsons chairs are covered in brilliant white slipcovers. Concentric rectangles of glossy white trim over glossy white paint add a nuanced geometry to the walls and bounce light from a Mid-century-inspired globe chandelier. Two abstract paintings casually lean against the wall, just a touch of undone-ness that hints that this is not, in fact, a showhouse, but a family home.
This space inspired Gomide to switch to a career in interior design. She’d always had an eye; she fondly remembers helping her mother make selections for their homes in her native Brazil. But after pulling this room together three years ago, she heard a sermon that brought the idea home. “The pastor emphasized that God gives each one of us a unique purpose in life, and that whatever brings us joy is directly connected to that purpose. I realized that interior design brought me immense fulfillment,” she says. Gomide got her certification through the New York Institute of Art & Design and founded her company with a name that reflects that passion: InnJoy Design.
Gomide established a European-contemporary vibe into the home she shares with her husband, Cristiano, children Lucas and Isabella, and dog Benjamin. “I want our home to be beautiful, but comfortable and livable for our kids and friends,” she says. Beyond the grand entrance is the openplan living, dining and kitchen area. Here, two brown velvet couches look luxurious, but are done in a color that hides spills and pet fur. The breakfast table is made of reclaimed wood, so any wear just adds to the patina. A sunny nook next to the kitchen invites family to chat while she prepares dinner. “Everyone loves to sit there,” she says. From bedrooms done in sophisticated hues to the chic wood-ceilinged exercise room, every part of the home is both luxe and livable. Even the backyard is a confluence of form and function: because the yard was steeply sloped, they had to truck in 60 loads of dirt to bring the pool up to the same level as the ground floor. “It looks nicer — but I also knew we would use the pool more often if we didn’t have to go down three flights of stairs to get to it,” Gomide says. “Now, it’s a place we love to use with family and friends.”
Opposite page: Gomide rotates the branches in the entryway to reflect the seasons — magnolia stems one month, cherry tree branches another — underneath a geometric brass-and-black chandelier. She used natural materials and high-contrast black and white throughout to create a European contemporary feeling. “I like to use neutral tones and clean lines so you can really see the architecture of the house,” she says. This page: The dining room is “mostly for looks,” she laughs. “We probably only use it twice a year, but I love how dramatic it is. It’s all white but still feels cozy.” The black cabinets, black honed granite countertop and graphite-gray tiles in the bar area between the dining room and kitchen offer a “dark and dramatic contrast” to the adjoining rooms, says Gomide.
Dark, large-format porcelain tiles on the fireplace surround offer a contrast to the white bookcases on either side. “I wanted a modern fireplace that was minimal but still had impact; I wanted that wow factor,” she says. The velvet carpet gives the room a “luxury touch,” as do the couches. “I kept the fabric dark because the dog is always on there — I wanted something that looked luscious but was still practical,” she says. Brass-base boucle swivel chairs offer another “cozy and comfortable” texture. Opposite page: Across the space, in the kitchen, a black stove hood contrasts with the white cabinets and white quartz countertops, offering a sense of symmetry opposite the fireplace. In the dining area, a reclaimed table and linen-covered chairs add a rustic feel for some warmth.
The primary bedroom is done in shades of blue and gray, with a bubble chandelier and metallic-finish wallpaper for sparkle. “I wanted it to feel like a luxury hotel — it’s a very quiet, serene room,” Gomide says. In their bathroom, she had the builders build a column to store linens and mounted sconces on top of the mirrors for a cleaner look. “I wanted it to be functional and practical,” she says. Opposite page: For her daughter Isabella, 11, she decorated the room in shades of blush pulled from the roman shade fabric. “I wanted it to last as she grows into being a teenager,” Gomide says.
Lucas, 13, loves the color blue, so Gomide designed his room around that, plus black and white. On the opposite side of the room (not shown), built-in shelving makes space for his gaming gear and collections. The kids’ bathroom and the stairs continue the scheme of high-contrast black and white, plus wood tones.
The deck off the living room is a casual space to enjoy the outdoors or watch sports — especially soccer. “I’m Brazilian, of course we watch soccer!” says Gomide. The metal loveseat has a curved back, so it’s easy to get in and out without worrying about corners. The exercise room on the second floor was carved out of an unfinished storage space. “When you have a beautiful place to work out, you’re more likely to do it,” she says.
An American Flamingo builds a mud nest.
The Sylvan Heights Bird Park inspires wonder and supports conservation
FRIENDS feathered
by CHIKA GUJARATHI photography by JULI LEONARD
Alush islet sits in the middle of a pond, where murky water offers a deep contrast with the bright pinks and corals of a flock of American Flamingos. Nearby, the blinding-white bodies of Black-Necked Swans catch the eye. Follow them and they may lead to the redbeaked Brazilian Teal Ducks, or perhaps toward a blue-faced North American Ruddy Duck trying to catch some rest under a shrub.
It’s hard to believe this is a scene in North Carolina and not some exotic locale — and that it’s just the entrance to the Sylvan Heights Bird Park in Scotland Neck. Here, the 6,300-square-foot International Aviary greets visitors with a preview of what they’ll see in the rest of this 20-acre sanctuary.
From her office, Katie Gipple Lubbock has a perfect view of the excitement the aviary ignites in children and adults alike. “I love to hear the squeals of surprise and delight when they see the flamingos for the first time,” says Lubbock, who is the park’s media and communications coordinator. “You know that they are instantly engaged.”
Sylvan Heights Bird Park has origins deeply rooted in conservation. In 1981, British aviculturist Mike Lubbock and his wife, Ali, who had worked with rare and endangered birds around the world, moved to Sylva, North Carolina, to start their
own avian breeding center. They established it on land owned by a friend-turned-business-partner, making use of the area’s mild climate to raise birds from all over the globe, especially waterfowl like ducks, geese and swans. Many of the birds they raised found new homes at educational institutions like zoos, aquariums and nature centers. Others, like the Whitefaced Whistling Duck, which is native to sub-Saharan Africa, and the Bahama Pintail, which is native to Trinidad, were bred for wild reintroduction projects.
After their friend passed, the Lubbocks found a new property 400 miles east, in Scotland Neck. By 1989, they had moved their full collection of birds to the current location. In 2006, the breeding center expanded its
grounds to include a publicly accessible bird park in partnership with the North Carolina Zoological Society. The Sylvan Heights Bird Park would offer visitors an enjoyable and interactive way to learn about birds and their conservation without disturbing the work being done inside the breeding center. The initial park was around 10 acres, with six aviaries representing six of the seven continents (Antarctic birds do not do well in North Carolina weather).
Over the last two decades, the park has doubled in size. It now includes approximately 3,000 birds of 104 species on exhibit to the public. The adjacent breeding center, which is not open to the public, houses an additional 1,400 birds of 140 species. The total number spikes each breeding
season with hundreds of young hatchlings. Together, the breeding center and the park add up to about 28 acres, making them the largest such institution in North America.
A slew of full-time and part-time employees, along with many volunteers and interns, help run both aspects of the park by helping with tasks like feeding, gardening, event planning, outreach programs and visitor services. “In the past year, volunteers have contributed over 4,800 hours of their time,” says Lubbock, noting that student organizations and scout groups often contribute volunteer hours during their visits. “Without the volunteers, the park could not fulfill its mission as effectively and efficiently.”
Ju lie Connolly started out as a
This page: Several paths lead past Toad Hall Pavilion. Opposite page clockwise from top left: The Green Turaco is housed in the Wings of the Tropics aviary; Harlequin Ducks; the Toco Toucan also lives in the Wings of the Tropics aviary; the restrooms at Sylvan Heights Bird Park share space with an extensive egg exhibit.
Together, the avian breeding center and the Sylvan Heights Bird Park add up to about 28 acres, making them the largest such institution in North America.
volunteer bird feeder in 2018 but after a year found herself on staff as an education assistant. “I had successfully avoided public speaking of any kind for 40-plus years, so when I was asked to assist in education, I almost said no!” laughs Connolly. “But it turned out that I really like doing this; I can honestly say the most rewarding things are the friendships I’ve made here both in feathered and human form.” Connolly is now the education coordinator, which means that she and her team run all of the programs for pre-k to college-aged students. She also designs summer reading programs and leads visits for daycares, senior centers and schools: “It’s an absolute privilege to get to work every day in this place with these amazing birds and share the park’s mission.”
Beyond the International Aviary, guests can explore six other equally grand aviaries dedicated to birds found in Africa, Australia, Europe, Asia, North America and South America. Over a dozen smaller aviaries, such as the Wings of the Tropics, Birds of Paradise and Endangered, group birds that share a common trait or region. Wi nding trails lined with shady trees connect each enclosure. Benches and picnic tables allow for plenty of opportunities to relax, observe and ponder. Visitors can walk inside many of the aviaries, which feature water ponds, trees, shrubs and other foliage preferred by the birds. (Barely visible netting keeps out aerial predators like hawks and owls.) It is not unusual to come in very close proximity to the birds, who at once feel completely
occupied in their natural habitat but also curious about their visiting humans.
In side the North American Aviary, for example, a Nene — a goose with a black-and-white-striped neck — comfortably hangs out within the reach of visitors, unbothered by a noisy Trumpeter Swan nearby. “The Nene were almost extinct in the early part of the last century with only a few dozen remaining,” says Lubbock. “Endemic to the Hawaiian islands, their near-demise was due to the eradication of habitat as well as non-native predators.” A captive breeding program was introduced to collect wild Nene eggs to incubate and raise the geese to reintroduce them to their habitat. In collaboration with other programs to prevent habitat loss and non-native predator
Opposite page: The Whooper swans are protective of their brood. This page: A Black-necked Stilt walks among the koi.
management, Mike Lubbock and other aviculturists’ efforts over the last 50 years finally paid off, and in 2019 the Nene were downgraded from “endangered” to “threatened.” “This is a really good example of people working together with captive breeding and conservation of wild habitats to bring back a species that almost disappeared,” says Lubbock.
On a wa lk through the aviaries, visitors observe the birds busy in various tasks like eating, building nests, playing, swimming and napping. The tour ends at the Landing Zone, a crowd-favorite area where they can purchase bird seed to feed parakeets, flamingos and other birds. Flamingo beaks tickle children’s outstretched palms, and colorful and noisy parakeets blithely perch on guests’ heads,
shoulders and hands. (Though they can get overfed, laughs Lubbock, “on some days they want nothing more to do with food by 2 p.m.!”)
Thanks to the mostly mild weather here, the park is open year-round. “There is something different to see every season,” says Lubbock. In spring, birds are nesting and laying eggs. Summers may be hot and humid, but the African Grey Parrots and macaws don’t mind the influx of school-age visitors over break. In the fall, the cooling weather and the change in foliage make the park an appealing destination, and many waterfowl species molt out of the previous year’s plumage and grow new feathers. Winter is the quietest time of the year, which makes it a favorite for photographers.
The park also includes a small cafe
and a playground as well as daily chats with staffers to learn about birds’ diets, care and habitats. A Wetland Safari Trail follows the edge of the park campus, where guests might spot some of North Carolina’s wild animals, like turtles, beavers and lizards. The park is also working to reclaim some of the agricultural land surrounding the bird park to plant native pollinator plants, remove invasive plant species and restore the local habitat. “This benefits not only native species, but also wild birds that migrate to our wetlands,” says Lubbock. “Because while our Blue Jays and Chickadees may not seem remarkable to us, they’re just as important to our environment as these exotic birds are to theirs.”
Opposite page, clockwise from top left: A Rhinoceros Hornbill; the front porch of the Visitor Center; a Crowned Crane; the Landing Zone allows visitors to interact with hundreds of parakeets. This page: A Scarlet Ibis stretches its wings.
Alia El-Bermani crafts an inspiring and safe place for artistic exploration
cabinet of
CURIOSITIES
by
COLONY LITTLE photography by JOSHUA STEADMAN
For years, Alia El-Bermani had a forbidden word within the home she shared with her husband and two children: bored. “You’re not allowed to say that word in our house,” she says. “If you do, you have to clean all the potties.”
El-Bermani has an established practice in Raleigh specializing in figurative painting, open studio work and instruction. Her children are grown, but their primary weapon against boredom — an “activities closet” filled with puzzles and art materials — continues to be useful in the battle against creative stagnation.
In 2016, for example, El-Bermani found her daughter’s origami kit in the closet. “I was supposed to be painting, but I just opened the closet door, found the origami paper and started folding,” she says. “I loved the geometry.” She began exploring those planes through folding paper masks and other objects, which she would then paint or sketch as subjects. It also sparked an idea: she requested
paper snowflakes from artists around the world and then incorporated thousands of them into a 2017 painting titled I’m a Special Snowflake, a self-portrait about visibility in the art world, which won a second-place award in Artspace’s juried Fresh show in 2018.
El-Bermani, who is of Iraqi and Swedish descent, grew up in Marshfield, Massachusetts. She had an aptitude for science but was also a talented ballet dancer and artist. “I was most drawn to the Boston School painters and 19thcentury realism,” she says. “I remember loving a self-portrait of Ellen Day Hale — she looks badass, she’s a boss.”
She initially attended Roger Williams University in Rhode Island planning to double major in art and dance, but soon transferred to Laguna College of Art and Design in Southern California to focus on figurative painting, drawn to both the curriculum and bohemian vibe there. “It looked like a little unique village,” says El-Bermani. “Coming from this big
liberal arts college, it just felt like home: welcoming and weird.”
After graduating in 2000, El-Bermani remained in Laguna for seven years, teaching painting and figure drawing, including as an instructor at her alma mater from 2003 to 2005. She continued to build her portfolio of work through paintings that celebrate the female form in intimate moments of relaxed repose and self-reflection. In California, this work was widely embraced, and her paintings were featured in five solo exhibitions and dozens of group shows throughout the state.
When her husband was offered a job relocation, El-Bermani and their family moved to the Triangle in 2008, eventually settling in Apex. Here, she noticed a reluctance to show realism and nudity in local galleries. “When I tried to submit my work to shows, everybody was like, oh, she paints nudes,” she says. So she focused her gallery efforts on the national market, and locally, she’s
Opposite page: A space within El-Bermani’s Anchorlight studio.
This page: Writer Colony Little sits for a portrait.
turned her focus to teaching. She recreated the vibe she was so attracted to in Laguna Beach within her studio at Anchorlight. Entering the space feels like visiting the eclectic home of a world traveler, and much like the closet in her house, it’s filled with resources for artists looking to ignite their imaginations. In addition to the tools of the trade — easels, paint supplies and artwork line the walls — there’s a cozy seating area surrounded by plants and a small library of books (reading and journaling are an important part of her artist process).
El-Bermani has assembled a menagerie of ceramic busts on one wall next to a cabinet filled with bric-a-brac and animal skulls; a stuffed peacock perches in one corner and a full-size skeleton rests in another. It is a space that inspires creativity, invites curiosity and embraces diversity. “I want whoever is in my space to feel safe and welcome,” she says. “When we have that, that’s the best learning environment.”
El-Bermani’s studio space is frequently
filled with artists and art lovers. “I don't have community if I don’t make it,” she says. Here, El-Bermani holds open figurepainting sessions and painting workshops and hosts artists from around the world to teach classes. Artist Jalen Jackson started taking classes with El-Bermani in 2019 and went on to share studio space with her for a year. “Alia has the phenomenal ability to show someone how to look at things from different perspectives,” Jackson says. “She brilliantly explains why imperfections shouldn’t be ignored but embraced. Her professionalism is something to be admired.”
El-Bermani is currently exploring a new body of work that will combine figurative elements with sculpture, sound and a choreographed performance. The jumping-off point for this career-spanning installation, tentatively titled THe Futures We Behold, comes from a Shakespeare quote in which Lady Macbeth tells her husband to look like an innocent flower — but be the serpent hiding underneath.
Building off her folding experiments, she’s been creating a large-scale serpentine skeleton out of paper. It will be displayed alongside portraits of women encased in skeletal forms, a theme that she first explored in a 2019 solo show at Anchorlight titled Like Sound THrough Water
Recently, El-Bermani brought her portrait subjects together to photograph the images she’ll use to paint the portraits. As a conversation prompt, El-Bermani asked the women, who had never met before, to reflect on the futures they envision for themselves. The dialog inspired an immediate bond. “It was so beautiful,” she says. “They each connected and learned a little bit about each other.”
The session and the work that will come from it embody the alchemy El-Bermani has consciously crafted throughout her life: being open to surprising sources of inspiration, building her own community and creating a safe space for others to do the same. “I’m trying to be my whole self in this,” she says.
An installation from the 2019 solo show Like Sound Through Water.
Clockwise from top left: El-Bermani’s paintings I’m A Special Snowflake, Adrift, Unseen Connections, Shelter II and Immigrant.
This unique spot is filled with sand dollars — but only surfaces during low tide
TREASURE ISLAND
by AYN-MONIQUE KLAHRE photography by MEHMET DEMIRCI
“Ialways take my camera. It’s my job and also my hobby,” says Mehmet Demirci. And on a sunny day in July, he had his Sony A7 III on a ferry trip to Sand Dollar Island with his wife and kids. “They are so energetic, we thought it’d be a good idea to put them on an island to keep them busy so my wife and I could relax!”
Sand Dollar Island is not really an island; it’s a sandbar between the Rachel Carson Reserve and Shackleford Banks that’s only visible during low tide. Claren Englebreth has been taking her sons there on their boat for almost two decades. “It’s such a favorite of ours, this magical place in the middle of the sound,” Englebreth says. “You just walk and find sand dollar after sand dollar after sand dollar.”
Captain Monty Poling of ecotouring company
Seavisions Charters has been operating boats in the area for more than 20 years. He says that up until a few years ago, this sandbar — one of many in the area — was known to locals as The Knob, and that ferries only started running visitors over there from Morehead City in the last few years. “The ferries do a great job of getting people out there, so now anyone can access it,” says Englebreth.
Since they have a boat, Englebreth’s family’s favorite time to visit is just as the tide is starting to come down. “Nobody is there yet, and you feel like you have your own little island,” she says. The sandbar forms a sheltered area with shallow, placid water to kayak, paddle board or jump off the boat without worrying about strong currents.
But for most visitors, the abundance of sand dollars is the real draw. “There are just millions of these tiny creatures,” Mehmet says. What most folks know as a sand dollar is actually the test (skeleton) of a unique species of sea urchin. When they’re alive, these creatures range in color from brown to purple, with tiny tubes on the undersides and soft spines along the tops. Once they die, their tests bleach in
Several companies run ferries to Sand Dollar Island from Morehead City.
the sun, leaving behind the signature white disc with a star shape on top.
Sand dollars range in size — Englebreth has found ones as small as a quarter and as large as the palm of her hand — and are easy to find here. “You just pull them up with your feet — put your toes in the sand, wiggle them around a little bit, and feel for a flat surface,” she says. While there’s technically no limit to the number of sand dollars you can take home, the reserve nearby limits visitors to five tests per person. “And obviously we don’t want to remove live critters from anywhere,” says Poling.
For Demirci and his wife, who are originally from Turkey, the water around this unique sandbar has one final appeal: it reminds them of the Mediterranean. “It’s like a pool — warm and clean,” he says. “It feels like home.”
The sandbar forms a sheltered area with shallow, placid water to kayak, paddle board or jump off the boat without worrying about strong currents.
We proudly invest in women
Bank of America supports the economic empowerment of women at our company, in our communities and around the world. We partner with organizations to provide 1.3 million hours of training to more than 135,000 women entrepreneurs, along with access to capital to help them build their businesses..
Within our company, women make up over 50% of our global workforce — and we continue to recruit, develop and help them succeed within our organization.
What would you like the power to do?®
Kari Stoltz President, Bank of America of the Triangle bankofamerica.com/thetriangle
Inspired. Energized. Empowered.
That’s how we feel when we’re surrounded by driven, successful women. And that’s how we feel each year at WINnovation, our annual leadership summit. On Friday, September 13, we will gather at The Umstead Hotel & Spa for an evening to discuss topics related to women in the workplace — from fueling ambition to finding balance, from overcoming failure to mentoring fresh talent.
Each year, we invite influential women in our community from diverse backgrounds to share their stories at WINnovation. While their paths may be different, each has her own innovative spirit — and points of inspiration to take home to your own career. If you haven’t met our 2024 panelists, you can get to know them on the following pages.
In addition to the speaker program, WINnovation includes professional development workshops, a networking hour and a three-course meal from The Umstead’s acclaimed kitchen. The evening is an opportunity to flex your strategic thinking, expand your skills, look anew at your path and appreciate the journey, too. We hope to see you at WINnovation 2024.
Schedule of Events
4:00 PM I Startup Workshops
Guests participate in one of three workshops led by area career coaches and entrepreneurs.
5:30 PM I Networking
Over wine and hors d’oeuvres, guests connect with each other and share their insights.
6:30 PM I Program
While the speakers share their stories, guests enjoy a threecourse dinner. Over dessert, guests can participate in a Q&A.
Meet Our 2024 Speakers
FRANCIE GOTTSEGEN | President, NC Football Club
Francie Gottsegen is the president of the North Carolina Football Club, which includes the NC Courage of the NWSL and North Carolina FC of the USL Championship. Before joining the club, Gottsegen served as chief executive officer of Sports Systems, a sports technology company, and senior vice president of sports and entertainment marketing at JP Morgan Chase. Gottsegen has also worked at the PGA of America, the National Basketball Association and Major League Soccer. An alumna of Duke University, Gottsegen serves on the board of NCFC Youth, USL Championship and the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.
YVETTE HOLMES | CEO, Southeast Raleigh Promise
Yvette Holmes is the CEO for Southeast Raleigh Promise, the first nonprofit Purpose Built Communities organization in Raleigh/Wake County. As a thoughtful leader and long-term resident of southeast Raleigh, Holmes has more than 30 years of experience as a nonprofit leader, fundraiser and public and civic engagement professional. At Southeast Raleigh promise, Holmes shapes and advances strategies, attracts and leverages investment, builds community-level relationships and cultivates cross-sector partnerships to create opportunities for southeast Raleigh residents and small businesses.
PRECIOUS D. LOVELL | Visual Artist
Precious D. Lovell is an artist, designer, maker and curator based in Raleigh. Her mixed media socio-political creative practice explores the narrative potential of cloth and clothing and how they can be signifiers of resistance. Traditional textiles and clothing of the African Diaspora greatly influence her work. She was given a residency fellowship at the Instituto Sacatar in Bahia, Brazil in 2017 and the 2022 Brightwork Fellowship in Raleigh. Her work has been exhibited in the US and internationally. Prior to working full-time as a visual artist, Lovell spent 20 years in the fashion industry, then another two decades teaching design.
ESTELLA D. PATTERSON | Chief of Police, Raleigh
Estella D. Patterson is chief of the Raleigh Police Department. Before joining the RPD, Chief Patterson served with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Chief Patterson served her country as a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, with service including combat tours to Kosovo in support of Operation Joint Guardian and to Iraq as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Chief Patterson is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. As a dedicated public servant, Chief Patterson’s passions lie in building collaborative partnerships in the community and engaging the youth through positive mentoring initiatives.
DENISE YOUNG | Director, NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Dr. Denise Young joined the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences as director in June 2023. In this role she oversees the Museum’s mission to illuminate the natural world and inspire its conservation. This July, Young was named executive director and chief executive officer of the Friends of the Museum, the nonprofit organization that supports the museum. Young served as executive director of the Bell Museum in Minnesota from 2016 to 2023, and director of education and planning at Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in Chapel Hill prior to that, where she cofounded the North Carolina Science Festival.
betterwithage
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE IN AESTHETICS
The medical aesthetics industry is everevolving. To stay in the game, businesses need to be savvy, dedicated and above all, put their patients first. Enter Anna Churchill, founder and CEO of Synergy Face + Body, who has been leading by example since she first joined the aesthetics scene over thirty years ago.
Prior to opening her first med spa in Raleigh in 2004, Churchill spent numerous years working in the US and internationally with the industry’s top dermatologists, plastic surgeons and skincare manufacturers. Synergy’s original Inside the Beltline location opened with 10 employees and a limited array of spa service offerings. Since then, Churchill has served on numerous boards, been an avid supporter of the arts, and led the organization through multiple expansions and into a partnership with capital investors to expand the Synergy brand across North Carolina and Virginia. To date, there are seven Synergy locations with nearly one hundred employees, and it is a part of the larger Aesthetic Partners portfolio that manages med spa brands across the country.
This year marks two huge milestones for Synergy: Not only did the company reopen its original Inside the Beltline location at a brand new address on Barrett Drive, minutes away from North Hills, but it also is celebrating its 20th Anniversary in business.
It’sincredible whatcanhappen intwentyyears.
With a strong commitment to remaining industry leaders, Anna and the Synergy team are always keeping an eye towards the latest advances in aesthetics. Since 2004, Synergy has expanded its offerings to injectables, laser skin therapy, non-surgical body contouring and plastic surgery. This year, the business is expanding into wellness treatments as well.
Synergy Face + Body has won numerous awards and accolades, including reaching Diamond Status with Allergan and recognition as a Top 3 provider of Botox and filler nationwide. Staying up to date on the latest in the industry is a huge focus for the Synergy team.
“It’s important to me that our patients have the absolute best treatment options available to them,” Churchill said. “There’s so many advances in the field of aesthetics now that can help you enhance your natural beauty without changing your appearance. We strive to create an environment where everyone feels included and beautiful.”
Churchill, who recently celebrated her 50th birthday, memorialized the occasion with a fun photoshoot with some of her original clients who she is great friends with to this day (seen on opposite page). “Getting older is awesome,” Churchill exclaimed.
Churchill’s philosophy on aging has fueled Synergy’s success over the years. With an emphasis on patient education and natural results, Synergy patients can expect a thoughtful and custom approach. Synergy doesn’t claim to turn back the clock. It’s role is in helping you gracefully age forward. New client offer Scan QR Code with your camera app to save on your
Anna Churchill Synergy Founder + CEO
October 9
Taste of the Wild
oin us for a farm-to-table dinner honoring the outdoors and North Carolina cookin’! James Beard nominated chef Jamie Davis of The Hackney and pitmaster Sam Jones of Sam Jones BBQ will collaborate on a unique menu. The evening includes cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a three-course dinner with wine pairings.
December 4
Celebrate the Season
WALTER’s popular shopping event returns! Mingle and shop from curated vendors while enjoying refreshments and live music.
For more information, please visit waltermagazine.com/savethedate
Professional Development Workshops
WORKSHOP 1
THE FORMULA OF BECOMING FASHIONABLE
Led by Melissa de Leon, Personal + Fashion Stylist
With eight years of experience styling hundreds of women, de Leon has discovered the formula to attaining one’s most fashionable self. Through her styling process, she teaches how to break out of limiting ideas surrounding image and how to embrace confident self-expression through style.
WORKSHOP 2
TRUSTING YOUR V.O.I.C.E.
Led by Amy Gerhartz, Founder & CEO of A Higher Way Of Living
Gerhartz has designed an empowering experience to help silence self-doubt, crush imposter syndrome and embrace one’s true self with unwavering confidence. Through dynamic activities, insightful discussions and actionable strategies, learn to trust your inner voice and express your authentic self boldly and unapologetically.
WORKSHOP 3
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AGELESS?
Led by Amanda Lamb, Broadcast Journalist, Podcaster, Public Speaker, Author
To be ageless means to be curious, to be open and to live for your purpose — not someone else’s. In this workshop, Lamb will talk about removing the obstacles that keep us from seeing our own strength, inner beauty and potential when we look in the mirror.
Taste Wild OF THE
Join us for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a chef-curated meal celebrating North Carolina
SAM JONES Owner, Sam Jones BBQ
JAMIE DAVIS Executive Chef, The Hackney
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9
6:00 PM | The Merrimon-Wynne House | $95
SCAN HERE FOR TICKETS
PRESENTING SPONSOR SUPPORTING SPONSORS
TITLE SPONSOR
THE WHIRL
WALTER’s roundup of gatherings, celebrations, fundraisers and more around Raleigh.
ARTIST TALK WITH DEWITT GODFREY
On June 20, Dix Park Conservancy hosted an event in honor of the arrival of Attun, a larger-than-life piece of art created by internationally acclaimed sculptor DeWitt Godfrey. The piece is a new installation on the grounds of Dorothea Dix Park. At the event, Godfrey spoke about the creation of Attun and the park announced long-term arts initiatives at Dix Park to feature both local and international artists.
Katie Stewart, Shelley Smith, Annah Lee
Dottie Davidson, Kate Pearce, Suzie Pool
David Meeker, Victor Lytvinenko
Angie Trull, Ann Marie Baum Carolyne Sandoval, Susan Murphy
Michelle Pearson, Steve Raper
DeWitt Godfrey, Marjorie Hodges, Michelle Panek
THE WHIRL
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY BUILDERS BLITZ 2024
On June 20, Habitat Wake hosted a mixer on the site of its Home Builders Blitz event, where they celebrated the completion of four homes built in one week and the rollout of a new strategic plan to meet more of the need for housing in our community. The event brought together the eight builders who donated their time and vendors to build the four homes, as well as local elected officials, board members, volunteers and supporters.
Kim Glenn, Patricia Burch, Anna White Hosea
Dicky Gephart, Paul Kane, Jonathan Barefoot
Rae Leake and son Jayson Moore, Michelle Craig
Rod Mangrum, Tom Gipson, Patricia Burch, Pat Gipson
HOPE RENOVATIONS SUMMER SOIREE
On June 22, Hope Renovations held its annual Summer Soiree at Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill. This year’s event featured inspiring stories, exciting auctions and a festive atmosphere that raised over $100,000 to go towards the organization’s mission of empowering women and nonbinary individuals in the trades and enabling safe aging at home for seniors and individuals with disabilities.
Jenny Hoffman, Karen Sonders, Dave Sonders, Silvana Lawvere, Aaron Nelson, Sonja Nelson, Atlee Nelson
Matt Blaisdell, Christine Blaisdell
Jamil Johnson, Caroline Johnson
Brian Spencer, Nora El-Khouri Spencer
THE WHIRL
DR. WILLIS WU HONORED
On July 12, cardiologist Willis M. Wu, MD, FACC, the head of the Structural and Valvular Heart Care team at UNC Health Rex, was honored with a gift of $500,000 to support clinical and research needs related to heart care. The gift was made by the Winston family in appreciation of Dr. Wu’s care of the late Charlie Winston of Raleigh.
HOLDING SPACE OPENING RECEPTION
On June 24, Ella West Gallery hosted an opening reception for its newest exhibit, “Holding Space: Dreams and Memories,” on view through September 21. Featured artists Isabel Lu and Julia Rivera talked about their process while guests enjoyed wine, a grazing feast, music and community.
Back Row: Charles Winston, Bob Winston, Spencer Winston, Watts Winston. Middle Row: Jenny Winston, Christine Wu, Tracy Winston, Willis Wu, Meghan Winston, Kirsten Riggs. Front row: Ann Collins, Diana Massa, Evelyn Wu, James Wu, Wesley Wu, Nancy Wu, Marion Winston, RuthAnne Winston, Charles Wu, Ben Mathew.
A new installation at the Walnut Creek Wetland Park tells the complex story of its creation
by LORI D. R. WIGGINS
photography by JUSTIN KASE CONDER
Visitors to the Walnut Creek Wetland Park can easily see its virtues: trails navigate wet and dry wildlife habitats and lush corridors under trees, and a welcoming nature center invites guests to explore, learn and relax. Now, visitors can also take in the complex story that led to its creation.
Norman Builds a Park is a life-size storybook that’s been permanently installed on the park grounds. Over 32 oversized, waterproof pages, it explains how the late Dr. Norman Camp III spearheaded the efforts to transform these 58 acres from a dumping ground into a natural sanctuary.
The book was unveiled June 21 with a reading by the author, Stacie Hagwood, a former park manager who wrote the book just before she retired in 2022. It was written in partnership with
Partners for Environmental Justice, an interracial grassroots organization that Camp helped create in 1995 in response to environmental injustices against historically Black communities in Southeast Raleigh. The group’s early partners were churches in Raleigh, Apex and Fuquay-Varina, including Camp’s church, St. Ambrose, whose backyard meets the wetlands. The idea for a park emerged from the group’s cleanup efforts of the polluted areas. The goal is to increase awareness about the importance of the wetlands and the health of this urban greenspace, as well as to restore its economic, educational and beautification benefits for nearby communities and residents.
Carolyn Winters served as the PEJ secretary for 25 years and is still on the board. “We had boots on the ground to right an injustice, and we continue to make a difference,” she says.
The book begins with the stor y of Camp exploring and discovering nature as he grew up nearby in Southeast Raleigh and continues through the park’s construction. The area was annexed by the City of Raleigh in 2003 and the park opened in September 2009. Unfortunately, Camp died in September 2018, before seeing the nature center dedicated in his name. “The park and its story echo the history of a community built by the strength, mental fortitude and resilience it stands on today,” says park superintendent Kyleene Rooks.
“We wanted something we could use for kids on field trips,” says Hagwood, noting that Norman Builds a Park is written on a third-grade level to meet social-studies standards. “Our hope is that this storybook will inspire the next generation to be change makers and stewards of the environment.”
Pickin’ and grinnin’ and livin’ with AFib.
Pickin’ and grinnin’ and livin’ with AFib.
Pickin’ and grinnin’ and livin’ with AFib.
Pickin’ and grinnin’ and livin’ with AFib.
You have rhythm. So does your heart. When your heart’s rhythm is irregular, quivering or rapid, you could have AFib, increasing your chances of having a stroke or developing heart failure. The good news is you have advanced electrophysiology physicians at WakeMed Heart & Vascular who specialize in your heart’s electrical system. They’ll offer multiple treatment options, most of them minimally invasive. And that should come as music to your ears, your heart and your six string.
You have rhythm. So does your heart. When your heart’s rhythm is irregular, quivering or rapid, you could have AFib, increasing your chances of having a stroke or developing heart failure. The good news is you have advanced electrophysiology physicians at WakeMed Heart & Vascular who specialize in your heart’s electrical system. They’ll offer multiple treatment options, most of them minimally invasive. And that should come as music to your ears, your heart and your six string.
You have rhythm. So does your heart. When your heart’s rhythm is irregular, quivering or rapid, you could have AFib, increasing your chances of having a stroke or developing heart failure. The good news is you have advanced electrophysiology physicians at WakeMed Heart & Vascular who specialize in your heart’s electrical system. They’ll offer multiple treatment options, most of them minimally invasive. And that should come as music to your ears, your heart and your six string.
Pickin’ and grinnin’ and livin’ with AFib.
You have rhythm. So does your heart. When your heart’s rhythm is irregular, quivering or rapid, you could have AFib, increasing your chances of having a stroke or developing heart failure. The good news is you have advanced electrophysiology physicians at WakeMed Heart & Vascular who specialize in your heart’s electrical system. They’ll offer multiple treatment options, most of them minimally invasive. And that should come as music to your ears, your heart and your six string.
wakemed.org/afib-center
You have rhythm. So does your heart. When your heart’s rhythm is irregular, quivering or rapid, you could have AFib, increasing your chances of having a stroke or developing heart failure. The good news is you have advanced electrophysiology physicians at WakeMed Heart & Vascular who specialize in your heart’s electrical system. They’ll offer multiple treatment options, most of them minimally invasive. And that
as
to your ears, your heart and your six string.
wakemed.org/afib-center
wakemed.org/afib-center
wakemed.org/afib-center
Same-day appointments available • Most appointments seen within 48 hours • Easy
wakemed.org/afib-center
Same-day appointments available • Most appointments seen within 48 hours • Easy access to specialists in electrophysiology, cardiology, bariatrics, sleep medicine, nutrition and smoking cessation • Expedited care to improve AFib outcomes • Dedicated visits specific to AFib
