100 Things to Do in Winston-Salem Before You Die, according to local author

Tina Firesheets’ new book is titled “100 Things to Do in Winston-Salem Before You Die,” but could easily have included a 100 more, as her love for the Camel City is apparent on every page.

The formula is a familiar one for the Missouri-based Reedy Press, whose other recent publications include “100 Things to Do in Minneapolis Before You Die” and “Perfect Day Chicago,” but Firesheets’ infectious enthusiasm never feels fake or formulaic. It’s a really handy guidebook for those visiting from outside the region, but even if you live in Winston, Firesheets is apt to make you want to visit several parts of it you never gave a second glance before.

Firesheets still works in Greensboro, but Winston-Salem was her favorite local weekend getaway long before she knew she was going to write this book.

“I was at the News & Record for almost 15 years as a reporter and then I took some time o and freelanced and tried to be more available to my family and then I came back and started and ran a magazine published by the News & Record for a few years. That ride ended and I went into public school communications for about a year and now I’m in content marketing at Pace Communications.”

“100 Things to Do in Winston-Salem Before You Die” “kind of fell into my lap” after an editor Firesheets had worked with in Winston told her that Reedy Publications was looking for an author to write about that city.

“I had to submit a pretty extensive media and marketing plan before I even signed the contract, as they wanted to know whether their authors are going to be invested in promoting their own book. So many times, creators are so busy creating and that’s where they put all their energy, and don’t always think about how other people are going to see what they create. And so, I felt like that was an opportunity for me”

Nobody who knows the author will be surprised that the first 32 of her 144 pages are about food and drink. What does this say about Tina Firesheets as a person?

“Well, I think it’s pretty clear,” she said with a hearty laugh. “I had a year to write the book, and in planning it, I purposely saved that part for the last leg, because I knew it would be the most fun because nothing is more fun than food and beverages. I knew that coming down the home stretch, I would be tired and ready to be done, so I purposefully saved that for last as a reward for myself.”

As the city’s oldest component was a Moravian settlement, the Food and Drink section begins with Moravian Sugar Cookies.

“I think they are very delicious, and my husband loves them. The ginger spice ones are his favorite. But what I loved about Moravian cookies is they’re so thin. Maybe this is something I hate and love, they’re so thin, it’s so easy to eat an entire box, and you’re like, what did I just do?”

The book also mentions a Moravian chicken pie.

“If you love chicken pot pie for that flaky crust and the vegetables and all of that, Moravian chicken pies can seem a bit di erent. But they still have the crust, and if you love chicken, you’re not going to be disappointed. You know how sometimes you order a chicken pot pie and you don’t get enough chicken? That’s definitely not going to be the case with a Moravian chicken pie. It is all chicken. A lot of local Moravian churches will sell them as a fundraiser. I’m not a churchgoer, but in my opinion, there’s nothing better than church food.”

Where would Firesheets take a visitor for a drink or two on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and would it be the same place she’d take them to for a Friday or Saturday nightcap?

“One spot that would be fun both on a Sunday afternoon and on a late Friday or Saturday evening is Trade Street. You’ve got dinner, whether it’s going to be Mission Pizza, Sweet Potatoes, or 6th and Vine, you can start with dinner, stroll the street, look at art in galleries, go to the Art Park and look around, and come back and get a nightcap at Single Brothers or Wiseman Brewing. There’s just a lot available in a fairly short amount of space.”

Many of our readers will be familiar with the transcendent glazed glory of a donut hot from the fryer at Krispy Kreme’s flagship location on Stratford Road, where the neon “HOT NOW” sign promises the same sugary goodness that made the company a local sensation in 1937, and which now beckons donut addicts across the nation. But perhaps equally famous within the city’s limits is a local delicacy that is savory rather than sweet, and baked rather than fried. Not for nothing did the Winston-Sa- lem Journal once describe the tomato pie at Mozelle’s on W. Fourth Street as “the south in a pie shell.”

“If you asked me to explain why their tomato pie is so good, I’d have to say they just do it right. Sometimes when you have food experiences, it’s more than just the dishes, it’s the service, it’s the setting, and it’s the other things that accompany that dish. And you know how sometimes, when people really hype a dish at a particular restaurant, and you try it wonder what the fuss is about? Believe me, you won’t feel that when you have the tomato pie at Moselle’s. It really is that good.”

Moving from weekly to yearly pleasures, Firesheets loves Winston’s many festivals, but her clear favorite is the Hispanic League’s FIESTA, held every September downtown.

“If you love Latin food, music, and culture like I do, this is absolutely the event for you. It smells so good when you go there, and then you hear the music and just feel so happy. And the weather is usually so great that time of year, and there are a lot of families. I love going to these little tents where old women are making pupusas right in front of you and you get some street corn so hot and fresh o the grill you have to give it a couple of minutes before biting into it. I feel that so much of the way we enjoy food is about the experiences we have while eating it. What makes this kind of food so enjoyable is that you really do feel that you’re absorbing more of the culture as well, and for me, I enjoy the food even more.”

No account of a city is complete without some description of its architecture.

“I love the Reynolds smokestacks. I just think they are just so iconic for Winston. Just the smokestacks and that whole area would be one favorite, and then the Kimpton Hotel was the inspiration for the Empire State Building. It’s been there for a really long time, of course, but when they renovated the building for the Kimpton, just the preservation and the existence of much of the original architecture, is so impressive to me. I think that Winston-Salem had a lot of good examples of how you can preserve historic buildings and repurpose them for modern-day uses, and I just love that. When you go to other countries and you go to cities like New York and you see buildings and architecture that’s been there for over a century, I am drawn to that.”

One of the things Firesheets loves about Winston-Salem is the city’s reverence for its own traditions.

“I don’t like this thing so many cities do, where they just knock down buildings and erect new ones that feel so sterile. Don’t get me wrong, I love new modern architecture if it’s done well, but so much of what’s replaced historic buildings elsewhere is not. So, I really appreciate these e orts to preserve these historic structures in Winston and have them serve new purposes. It reflects so well on that city and is part of its identity. You see those traditions continue today with the sunrise service at God’s Acre and the Salem Band performances on the square. Many of these traditions have continued throughout the life of the city, and that’s really special.”

Of course, when any book names 100 points of interest in a city, no article of this length can mention most of them.

Firesheets’ bucket list for those visiting or living in Winston-Salem includes the National Black Theatre Festival and International Riverrun Film Festival, Tanglewood’s Festival of Lights and the Festival of Books and Authors, the Art Park and the Art-o-Mat, ice-cream tasting at the Big Chill Fundraiser and Indigenous food at Native Root, as well as 92 others things to see and do before shu ing o one’s mortal coil.

Tina Firesheets will be speaking and signing her book at Bookmarks, located at 634 W. 4th Street, Sunday, April 23, from 3 to 5 p.m. She invites our readers to check out her Facebook page, also titled 100 Things to Do in Winston-Salem Before You Die.

“I’m posting author events and tours and experiences there. After Bookmarks, the next one I’m really excited about is a dining event that I’m partnering with Native Root chef Jordan Rainbolt that’s 2-5 p.m. on May 20th at Apple and Green. There’s going to be music, the first 40 people who reserve a ticket will get a swag bag, and that’s going to include a meal, a copy of my book, a cocktail mixer from Ginger Fox Beverage Company, and a piece of Art-o-mat art, so you get all of that for $50. And on June 3, I’m o ering a Day Out in Winston-Salem, starting with a tour of the West Salem art hotel, then we’ll head to Wieners and Losers 80s arcade to get to know the owner and for some playtime. Then finish at Wise Man, where there’s an art-o-mat and you can learn about local artists and how the art-o-mat movement came about. Those are the two things scheduled immediately, but there will be more to come throughout the year.” !

IAN MCDOWELL is the author of two published novels, numerous anthologized short stories, and a whole lot of nonfiction and journalism, some of which he’s proud of and none of which he’s ashamed of.

Win- ston-Salem’s Wolves & Wolves & Wolves & Wolves (or Wolvesx4, for brevity) roll with punk rock punches on their third LP, “CurseCurseCurse,” out now.

Sticking to a cer-