YES! Weekly - December 18, 2019

JEWISH CHRISTMAS

www.yesweekly.com

P. 6

KNIVES OUT

P. 10

JUMP, LITTLE CHILDREN

P. 21

December 18-24, 2019 YES! WEEKLY

1

2

GET

inside

w w w.y e s w e e k l y. c o m

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019 VOLUME 15, NUMBER 51

14 5500 Adams Farm Lane Suite 204 Greensboro, NC 27407 Office 336-316-1231 Fax 336-316-1930

KELLI YAM VS. BREAST CANCER

Publisher CHARLES A. WOMACK III publisher@yesweekly.com EDITORIAL

Yam was recently diagnosed with Stage 1-B triple-positive BREAST CANCER. She said that her family history of breast cancer made her extra cautious. She said she has constantly checked herself for lumps since she turned 18. If it weren’t for her self-examination and her boss’s generosity, she might not have caught it in time.

Editor KATIE MURAWSKI katie@yesweekly.com Contributors IAN MCDOWELL JOHN ADAMIAN MARK BURGER

6

10

KATEI CRANFORD

21

TERRY RADER JIM LONGWORTH PRODUCTION Graphic Designers ALEX FARMER designer@yesweekly.com AUSTIN KINDLEY artdirector@yesweekly.com

6

“I really miss JEWISH CHRISTMAS,” said contestant Charlie Cohen on the Dec. 22, 2017, episode of NPR’s Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, rebroadcast on WFDD while I was trying to come up with a lede for this article. Cohen explained to host Ophira Eisenberg that he meant the custom of eating Chinese food and going to a movie on Christmas Day...

8 It’s not too late to discover one-of-akind soft sculptures and plush toys made

by Ian Dennis of DENIZENS PLUSH in the ongoing “Island of Misfit Toys” show at Dye Pretty Salon and Art Gallery located at 621 N. Trade St. 9 Editor PAUL HIRSCH, who won an Academy Award for Star Wars (1977) and a subsequent nomination for Ray (2005) – among other accolades – paid his first-ever visit to the film school 10 Producer/director James Mangold’s FORD V. FERRARI is a high-octane, if long-winded, epic dramatizing the efforts of the Ford Motor Company to win the 1966 Le Mans race...

11 This weekend’s edition of Triad Today focuses on the economic impact that YES! WEEKLY

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

Piedmont Triad International AIRPORT has on our region.

17 The Greensboro Police Department has refused multiple public information requests for purchase records of the restraint device eight of its officers used to fatally hogtie MARCUS DEON SMITH during the 2018 North Carolina Folk Festival.

18 “If you say you believe blacks lives matter, you’re a hypocrite!” yelled a white man at one black woman helping another out of her car on a cold, wet morning the last Saturday in November. His vantage spot behind Midori Express overlooked parking spaces for A Woman’s Choice, Greensboro’s only remaining ABORTION provider.

20 Triad musical “Renaissance Man,” DOUG BAKER is part of the Songfarmers of Greensboro, which will team with the folks from Triad Ukulele to host the Holiday Hootenanny on Dec. 18 at Scuppernong Books in downtown Greensboro.

21 JUMP, LITTLE CHILDREN have spent some time contemplating the meaning of home and community. One of the band’s most well-known songs, “Cathedrals,” contains the lines...

ADVERTISING Marketing TRAVIS WAGEMAN travis@yesweekly.com LAUREN BRADY lauren@yesweekly.com MAXI BENBASSAT maxi@yesweekly.com Promotion NATALIE GARCIA

DISTRIBUTION JANICE GANTT KARRIGAN MUNRO We at YES! Weekly realize that the interest of our readers goes well beyond the boundaries of the Piedmont Triad. Therefore we are dedicated to informing and entertaining with thought-provoking, debate-spurring, in-depth investigative news stories and features of local, national and international scope, and opinion grounded in reason, as well as providing the most comprehensive entertainment and arts coverage in the Triad. YES! Weekly welcomes submissions of all kinds. Efforts will be made to return those with a self-addressed stamped envelope; however YES! Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited submissions. YES! Weekly is published every Wednesday by Womack Newspapers, Inc. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. First copy is free, all additional copies are $1.00. Copyright 2019 Womack Newspapers, Inc.

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COMW

www.yesweekly.com

December 18-24, 2019

YES! WEEKLY

3

4

EVENTS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS | BY AUSTIN KINDLEY

be there

SATURDAY

THE NUTCRACKER WEDNESDAY - SUNDAY WED 18-22

THUR 19

THE NUTCRACKER WHAT: Experience the lush score, vivid staging and extraordinary performances that have made UNCSA’s “The Nutcracker” a holiday tradition. The Winston-Salem Journal describes the production as “an immersion in innocence and fantasy, and Classical Voice of North Carolina hails it as “nothing short of perfection.” Featuring the largest “Nutcracker” orchestra in the Triad!

WHEN: 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: UNC School of the Arts Stevens Center. 405 West 4th Street, Winston-Salem.

MORE: $20-80 tickets.

FRI 20

SAT 21

SAT 21

DRAG ME TO CHRISTMAS AT BURKE STREET PUB

HOLIDAY MOVIE AT THE PARK: THE GRINCH

HOLIDAY MARKET: GIVE THE GIFT OF LOCAL

OLD DOMINION/FOX 8 HOLIDAY GREENSBORO CONCERT

WHAT: Drag me to Christmas Drag Show! Pride Night Burke St Pub, Thursday December 19th. Join us as we count the days down to Christmas with Miss Pride WS Love Lee Jackson, Mr Pride, WS Troy, Gray My’kel Knight Addams-Iman and Flex Jonez.

WHEN: 9 p.m. - 1 a.m.

WHERE: Burke St Pub. 1110 Burke St, Winston-Salem.

MORE: Ages 21+. No Cover charge.

WHAT: Bundle up in your coziest gear and come out for some family fun time with our Holiday Movie in the Park. Snuggle with your loved ones as we watch the latest Grinch movie (2018, PG). Enjoy coffee and treats from foodtrucks, a bit of shopping with local vendors, and more! The event will kick off at 4:30pm for folks to come in and get settled on the lawn to enjoy a pre-show before the film screening at 6:30pm.

WHEN: 4:30-8:30 p.m.

WHERE: LeBauer Park.

208 N Davie St, Greensboro.

MORE: Free event.

WHAT: Give the gift of local this holiday season and support local artisans and producers in the TRIAD. Shop from over 80 local small businesses with shelf-stable and artisan goods! Special meal preparations? We’ve got what you need with local farm-fresh products! Come be a part of the festive Holiday cheer and support local this holiday season and enjoy live music from Julien McCarthy.

WHEN: 7 a.m. - 12 p.m.

WHERE: Greensboro Farmers Curb Market.

501 Yanceyville St., Greensboro.

MORE: Free entry.

WHAT: The Old Dominion/Fox 8 Triad Holiday Concert returns this December to the Greensboro Coliseum for the 30th year on Saturday, December 21st. Doors are scheduled to open at 6:00 p.m. The show is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. Free admission with three or more canned food items per person. Jeremy Abbott, four-time U.S. Champion and U.S. Olympic Team Bronze Medalist, has been confirmed for the event.

WHEN: 7:30-10 p.m.

WHERE: Greensboro Coliseum Complex.

1921 W Gate City Blvd, Greensboro.

MORE: Admission is 3 or more cans of food.

Give the gift of music!

3 Concerts C t $99!

TANGER OUTLETS MASTERWORKS

TANGER OUTLETS POPS

FAREWELL SYMPHONY Artyom Dervoed, guitar

BROADWAY & BEYOND WITH BEN CRAWFORD

MAR ��, ����

Broadway star, Ben Crawford, returns to Greensboro for a celebration of classical musical theatre and modern hits on New Year’s Eve!

FEB �����, ����

ODE TO JOY

DEC ��, ����

Lyubov Petrova, soprano Nancy Maultsby, mezzo Rodrick Dixon, tenor Federico De Michelis, bass Greensboro Symphony Master Chorale

Explore the unique artistry and music of the legendary Paul Simon on Valentine’s Day!

MAY �, ����

APR ��, ����

MAESTROS AND MENDELSSOHN Dmitry Sitkovetsky, violin Gerard Schwarz, guest conductor

FEB ��, ���� Artyom Dervoed, guitar; Dmitry Sitkovetsky, violin GSO String Quartet

FEB ��, ����

THE PAUL SIMON SONGBOOK

AN EVENING WITH MATTHEW MORRISSON Star of stage and screen, Matthew Morrison, will perform LIVE with the Greensboro Symphony in ann evening of sophisticated enjoyment.

ORDER NOW! GreensboroSymphony.org or 336-335-54556 x224 YES! WEEKLY

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

RICE TOYOTA CHAMBER

MAY ��, ���� Marjorie Bagley, violin

TRIAD STAGE PRESENTS

It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play

Adapted by Joe Landry from the screenplay by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra, and Jo Swerling

December 1 - 22, 2019 Help an angel earn his wings. A 1940’s live radio broadcast re-imagines the classic story of George Bailey, a man ready to throw it all away before a stranger comes to show him how important he is. Be reminded that we all have a place and celebrate how wonderful life is for the holidays.

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE WWW.TRIADSTAGE.ORG FOR MORE INFO 232 S ELM STREET | DOWNTOWN GREENSBORO | 336.272.0160

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COMW

Alexander Carpenter named first recipient of Patrick Womack Musical Scholarship Fund After Charles Womack, the publisher of YES! Weekly and Jamestown News, lost his brother, Patrick, to cancer this August, he wanted to immortalize Patrick’s memory and his Katie Murawski passion for music.

So, Charles and his family set up a Editor musician scholarship fund in Patrick’s name and raised $3,235 through GoFundMe. Outside of the GoFundMe, Charles said the fund had received an additional $25,000, with more donations continuing to roll in.

According to the GoFundMe page, “The Patrick Womack Music Scholarship Fund has been established to help young musicians in the Triad of North Carolina with funding for quality musical training and instructional classes focusing on, but not limited to, classical and jazz music.

Patrick loved all types of music, but later in life fell in love with classical music. And though he was an accomplished player, he began taking piano lessons, and his knowledge and passion were reborn.

Through this rebirth of musical awareness, Patrick felt strongly that all musicians could benefit from quality instruc-

tion and music education, and wanted to help others benefit as he did. ‘The money can’t go to bands. Bands break up,’ said Patrick. ‘It has to be for music education and instruction. But if there’s a student who’s really deserving and is having to borrow or rent an instrument, we can buy them one.’ With those words, he stuck up his thumb in a very positive gesture of approval.”

Every December, the scholarship fund will announce a recipient. Last Thursday, Dec. 12, Alexander Carpenter, 14, an eighth-grade cellist from Kernodle Middle School in Greensboro, was chosen to receive $4,000 of the scholarship fund.

Alexander is originally from Patrick and Charles’s hometown of Danville, Virginia, and he said his parents chose the cello as an instrument for him to play.

“I really like how the cello sounds and the actual parts you are playing of the cello,” Alexander said. “A lot of the parts are just keeping the beat for other instruments, but when the cello gets a solo part, it sounds really good.”

Alexander said he enjoys playing classical music on his cello, but he also enjoys the pop songs he learns with his class as well.

“I am excited because we can use this money to get a new cello and a case because the case that I have for my cello is fabric,” he said. Alexander explained

Alexander Carpenter (on left) and his family receiving the $4,000 scholarship from Charles Womack, publisher of YES! Weekly and Jamestown News WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

Patrick Womack, guitarist of The Cryptics that he would also have to get different sized cellos as he grows. The cello he will get now through the use of the scholarship funds will last him until he goes to college.

“We are very appreciative,” said Stacey Carpenter, Alexander’s mom. “It is great that it has come full circle because of the connection from Danville to Greensboro, and some of the family members knowing Patrick.”

Stacey described her son as always making good grades in school and always having an artistic side. She said he would memorize songs when he was little and sing them. His father, Joe Carpenter, was in bands when he was younger and played the viola and guitar. Joe said one of his older sisters dated the bass player in the band that Patrick played in when he was younger, and that he saw Patrick perform a number of times as well.

In November 2017, Stacey shared that she was diagnosed with Stage 1 triplepositive breast cancer and had undergone treatment for a year and a half.

The family’s connection to Patrick was apparent to Charles. Charles noted that Patrick was extremely specific on how to do the scholarship, and he expressed his worry about finding the perfect fit for the scholarship.

“The moment I met Alexander and his family, and all the local connections kept popping up, it was obvious Patrick had connected us,” Charles said. “From Alexander being our father’s and my middle

name, to his mom and dad growing up in Danville, Virginia, attending the same high school, having similar friends and his sister dating the bass player in Pat’s band. His father commented that he’d even been over to hear Pat’s band play at our house several times. Alexander is an amazing young man, and I know 100% my brother Patrick is giving us a big ol’ grin and shaking his head in approval from above.”

“I am excited to get a new cello also because we went to try some cellos out at Moore Music, and they sounded really good,” Alexander said. “I am going to keep on playing for as long as I can, and maybe make a living out of it.”

Alexander said he had been the first-chair all three years in his school’s orchestra. During his first time attending the All-County concert, he actually got to play fourth-chair, making him the only cellist from Kernodle that made it to All-County. Alexander has also played with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s summer camp orchestra this past summer.

“This [scholarship] will also enable him to go to more camps and hone his craft,” Stacey said. “We are so appreciative. So far, he just got a hard case, and he is waiting for the new cello to come so that he can try it out.”

To help other aspiring musicians like Alexander, make a donation to the scholarship fund through GoFundMe. (Note: Donations are not tax-deductible.) !

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

YES! WEEKLY

5

6

chow

EAT IT!

Fish in Black Bean Sauce at Sampan

“

Celebrating ‘Jewish Christmas’ with Chinese food and a movie

I really miss Jewish Christmas,” said contestant Charlie Cohen on the Dec. 22, 2017, episode of NPR’s Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, rebroadcast on WFDD Ian McDowell while I was trying to come up with a lede for this article.

Contributor Cohen explained to host Ophira Eisenberg that he meant the custom of eating Chinese food and going to a movie on Christmas Day, adding with mock (or maybe real) wistfulness that, due to having married a Catholic, “I haven’t gotten to do it for the last five years, and probably never will again.” But more and more people are, regardless of whether or not they’re Jewish.

What was once a joke name (albeit for a real custom) has become its official one.

In 2017, I celebrated Jewish Christmas with Anne Abrams, whose famous military family (the M1 tank is named after her grandfather) has been Catholic for generations. We went to Gourmet China at Brassfield Shopping Center in GreensYES! WEEKLY

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

Peking Duck at Sampan

boro, which was so busy they were out of the duck. Fortunately, the Sichuan Lamb, Dry Pot Chicken, and Pickled Cabbage were delicious. Neither Anne nor I are vegetarians, but a woman I recognized at the biggest table let me try several excellent meatless dishes, including the Homestyle Bean Curd and Sautéed Tofu with String Beans. She and two others in her party said they identified as Jewish, and that they’d invited some Christian or irreligious friends who, like me, had no local relatives, to prove that “Jewish Christmas isn’t just for Jews.” Families at the other tables and booths included a man in a yarmulke but also several women in hijabs, reinforcing the point that the custom has spread beyond its community of origin.

I went to a neighbor’s house last Dec. 25, but several friends and I have discussed going to China Gourmet this Christmas. We may probably need to arrive early or call ahead if we want the House Special Duck or the Crispy Duck, although if they’re out, I may be tempted to try the Dry Pot Frog Legs. (My greatuncle Olan Barnes taught me to love what he called “hoppers,” which he’d catch in the “crick” behind his farm at the corner of Friendly and Holden in Greensboro.)

Last week, my friend Tim Blankenship and I ate another of Greensboro’s best authentic Chinese restaurants, Hometown Delicious on Market Street, just west of the Fanta-City Shopping Center.

“Oh, yes, we do big business on holidays,” the friendly waiter said. “Thanksgiving, too, but especially Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.” Tim ordered Doublecooked Pork Belly (probably not the most popular item on Jewish Christmas), while I had Braised Lamb in chili oil. Both lived up to the restaurant’s name.

That wasn’t the only time this month Tim and I ate dinner to research this article. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Jackson Library digital projects coordinator David Gwyn recommended Sampan on Peters Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem. As David is an old friend, whose research was vital to YES! Weekly’s popular 2017 article “A Brothel on Elm Street,” we decided a road trip was in order.

It proved to be the rare establishment that serves Peking Duck without one having to order it in advance. My entrée’s crispy skin and juicy breast, served with pancakes, spring onions and Tianmian sauce, was quite good. Not as transcendent as at the award-winning Duck Chang’s in Annadale, Virginia, but better

than any I’ve had in North Carolina. Tim’s Fish Fillet in Black Bean Sauce was also quite good. Our waiter told me that they would be open on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Another friend, UNCG’s Dr. Janet Boseovski (the subject of a 2018 YES! Weekly profile), recommended Tasty 100 Asian Restaurant on Samet Drive in High Point. I’ve not made it there yet, but when I called, the cheerful man who answered the phone assured me they would be open on Christmas and were expecting to be busy.

“If so, we may stay open past 9 p.m.”

A glance at the restaurant’s website suggests its cuisine may be more Americanized than China Gourmet or Hometown Delicious (both of which do have small “American Chinese” sections on their menus), but its Yelp, TripAdvisor and DoorDash reviews are extremely favorable.

I generally avoid fusion restaurants but took a break from writing this article when Trey Bell, founder of LaRue (and the subject of the Nov. 6 cover story “From frog legs to frog eggs”) asked me to accompany him and his wife, Cheryl, to Greensboro’s Phoenix Asian Cuisine on New Garden Road. Trey was craving bao—the steamed dumplings that, at

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COMW

Roast Cantonese Duck at Phoenix Asian Cuisine Phoenix, accompany Beijing Duck in lieu of pancakes. Trey ordered that, while I had the Roast Cantonese Duck. The latter was as good (if not as cheap) as the glorious Roast Duck at Van Loi II, the Hoa (ethnic Chinese from Vietnam) restaurant in Greensboro that, sadly, will be closed on both Christmas Day and Christmas Eve (the latter because they’re always closed on Tuesdays).

Trey’s Beijing duck was equally delicious, as were Cheryl’s noodles. Our waitress said Phoenix will be closed on Christmas Day but is expecting to be very busy on Christmas Eve. Of course, Jewish people celebrating the tradition sometimes eat at other Asian restaurants if they’re open on Christmas. Ivan Saul Cutler, whose “Keeping the Mitzvah in Christmas” column has appeared in every Dec. 25 issue of the News and Record since 1996, told me that, on Christmas Eve, he and his wife Wendy will go to Rabbi Andy Koren’s house for what he described as “graze-in Asian vegetarian food.”

Cutler said he would be spending much of Christmas Day at Moses Cone and Wesley Long Hospitals.

“Like many in the Greensboro Jewish community, I volunteer there so that our Christian brothers can have the day off.

When we get off in the evening, I hope our favorite Thai restaurant, Pho Hien Vuong, will be open.”

When I told him it would be closed on Christmas, he took the news cheerfully. “Chinese, then. And yes, that’s a real and long-standing tradition in my community, folklore that’s become true.

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

As Chinese restaurants are traditionally Buddhist, Christmas is just another day to them, so Jewish people who wish to dine out on December 25th find them very accommodating.”

Sara Elena Archer said that when she was employed by a Greensboro hospital, she always signed up to work on Christmas to allow others to take the holiday off with their families.

“It’s the day you meet the most local Jews! I haven’t been to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas day in a while, but it is definitely something my family used to do.”

I asked some friends in other parts of the country about the ubiquity of this tradition. The Minneapolis artist and animator Emily Kaplan said it’s a tradition in her family.

“We’re not all Jewish, but my father’s side is, and Shuang Ching restaurant is what’s for dinner. We have to reserve a big table, and it’s packed.”

“It’s a ritual tying together a bond between Chinese restauranteurs and Jewish folks,” said Seattle writer, performer, professor and human rights activist Quintan Ana Wikswo. “A friend has owned a family Chinese restaurant in the South since 1985. That’s how she and I met one Christmas, and we are best friends to this day. In the South, I think it’s a bit more thrilling because we were both such demographic minorities, and we got to bring the communities together.”

Gary Farber, a veteran of both the New York publishing scene and science-fiction fandom, told me that Chinese restau-

Beijing Roast Duck with Bao at Phoenix Asian Cuisine rants were fairly scarce in his Brooklyn childhood.

“In the early 1960s, even ChineseAmerican food that bore little resemblance to anything actually eaten in China was rare and expensive. It was such a special treat that we’d go out to the local ‘Chinese’ restaurant, a mere couple of short blocks away up Avenue J, only twice a year or so. This was a large part of what made it special.” He said that it wasn’t just the lack of non-Asian gentiles sharing the restaurant, “although that, too, was a bit exotic, even in our heavily Jewish neighborhood.”

Lo mein, sweet-and-sour chicken “and even chow mein and chop suey seemed very special treats, along with inevitable wonton soup at the start and fortune cookies with ice cream to finish.”

Farber explained that Cantonese and Mandarin-based Chinese-American food was largely invented during and after the China-to-America diaspora of the mid19th-century, but then cut short by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

“Restrictions on Chinese immigration weren’t loosened until 1943, when there wasn’t a great deal of opportunity for Chinese civilians to hop on an international ship, in any case.”

That changed with the Immigration Act of 1965, which loosened restrictions based on national origin and created a lottery/preference-based system that made it easier for families of immigrants to be rejoined.

“Suddenly, New York City was flooded with Szechuan and Hunan restaurants, with spicy food and the most delicious

dumplings. ‘Chinese food’ in New York and eventually, all America, was never the same again.”

But what about the other custom’s other component, popcorn and a movie?

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will probably be the film with the biggest grosses on Christmas Day. While I plan to see it, I’m not sure I want to brave the crowds on Dec. 25 unless it’s a late showing. The wonderfully entertaining Knives Out should still be around, and I’ve meant to see it for a second time. Greta Gerwig’s Little Women has been getting rave reviews, and I loved her Lady Bird. As my idea of a “family movie” is idiosyncratic if not perverse, I recommend Bong Joon-Ho’s darkly funny, sad, furious and deeply shocking Parasite, if it’s still playing at Winston’s a/perture. If I was forced to see something with the holiday in its title, I’d pick Black Christmas, Sophia Takal’s #MeToo re-imagining of the 1974 horror classic that set the template for Halloween, over Last Christmas, which has received dire reviews and is doing so poorly at the box office it may be gone before Christmas. Then there’s Cats, which judging from the Island of Doctor Moreau style feline-humanoid hybrids in its trailer, maybe the most horrifying film of the season.

Mazel tov, Merry Christmas and pass the potstickers. !

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.

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

YES! WEEKLY

7

visions

8

SEE IT!

The wonderfully weird toys of Denizens Plush

I

t’s not too late to discover one-of-a-kind soft sculptures and plush toys made by Ian Dennis of Denizens Plush in the ongoing “Island of Misfit Toys” show at Dye Pretty Salon and Art Gallery located at 621 N. Trade St. in Winston-Salem. Dennis will be showcased along with other regional designer toy artists (such Deputy Terry Rader Dairy, the subject of a recent YES! Weekly article) through Jan. 1, 2020.

He also has larger works in “Foggy Contributor Notion,” a show curated by Maxx Feist at PUSH Gallery in Asheville through early January.

Dennis started out making monster art in clay and other mediums in classes and camps at SECCA, where his mother was the curator of education. He later worked summer internships in the ceramics studio at the Sawtooth School for Visual Arts through the Artiva Arts Apprenticeship and Job Training Program. In his downtime, he got to make his own stuff. Later, he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in ceramics from the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

Dennis got started in plush due to a serendipitous experience while working on an undergraduate research project on designer toys at his favorite Asheville coffee shop, Izzy’s Coffee Den. When he asked about a weird scifi sock monkey on the shelf, he was given a book release flyer for John Murphy, the stuffed toy designer who created it. Murphy is best known for his series of “Stupid Sock Creatures” how-to books. Dennis interviewed Murphy and learned that they both liked Star Trek, Transformers and X-men. In 2006 after Dennis graduated college, Murphy asked him to be his apprentice. Once Murphy saw where Dennis’s instincts were going, he let Dennis pursue them and included Dennis’s designs in two of his books.

When Dennis moved back to Winston-Salem in 2009, he was trying to figure out what his next move was going to be when he started doing more sewing. According to his website, Dennis has gone “increasingly off the rails since.”

While Murphy’s work is “more inviting with big smiles,” Dennis said his creatures might have “odd-numbered limbs or multiple eyes.” He admitted that it had taken a lot of years for him to relax and give his monsters intelligible facial features.

Since the summer of 2014, Dennis has been working out of his studio, The Electric Pyramid, on Patterson in Winston-Salem. He also roasts the coffee at Krankies Coffee just a couple of blocks away.

Dennis said his work is always evolving, and he takes in whatever is going on around him. The music he listens to can push him in an abstract or narrative direction, and sometimes it’s the material that inspires him. Some forms are biomorphic, and some look more robotic. He said he likes making art that people can physically interact with.

“What’s special about a toy is that it diverts your attention and allows you to interact with it in a way another piece of art might not,” Dennis said. “It invites that kind of relationship.”

YES! WEEKLY

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

PHOTO BY IAN DENNIS

PHOTO BY ANNA WILLIS

Denizens Plush studio PHOTO BY IAN DENNIS

Ian Dennis and his toys

Denizens Plush toys His favorite thing about his art is the textural contrast between the fabric he constructs his monsters with and the shiny, plastic eyes he often uses as focal points.

“Like studs on a leather jacket, it pops!”

He said he never knows how the toys are going to turn out but prefers not to have too many preconceptions, or else he may end up frustrated. He starts with some kind of idea by cutting out shapes or selecting colors.

Most toys range in a “single-serving size” of 8- inches by 12-inches, although he has created some that are 5-feet tall, but said he doesn’t always put those online, as he would be hard-pressed to ship them.

One idea he hasn’t had any takers on yet is his “mystery monster offering,” where people don’t know what they are going to get. The pricing is based on the size and number of colors in his online store. He said he would occasionally do commissions, but it’s hard for him

to deliver specifics due to the nature of his process.

Dennis said he likes to name his toys because they have such apparent personalities, but there is no real significance to the names, just something suggested “in the moment.” He packages his designer toys in plastic Mylar bags for safekeeping with new hangtags and ships them out via Priority Mail.

This October, when he and his wife attended the “Pierre Cardin: Future Fashion” retrospective at The Brooklyn Museum in New York City, he connected fashion design with toy making. Dennis said Cardin’s futuristic materials and asymmetrical designs inspired him, and that he is resolved to start thinking in those terms a little more.

“I wonder if they even would with so much of play being digital today,” Dennis said when asked what advice he’d give to aspiring toy designers. “If they do, I would beg them to do it, and it would be cool to meet them! I’m always looking for a community.” !

TERRY RADER is a freelance writer/editorial/content/copy, creative consultant/branding strategist, communications outreach messenger, poet, and emerging singer/songwriter.

WANNA

go?

Nov. 3, 2019 - Jan. 1, 2020, “Island of Misfit Toys: Designer Toy Show” at Dye Pretty Salon and Art Gallery, 621 N. Trade St., Winston-Salem, Dec. 13 from 6-9 p.m. and Dec. 14 from 12-5 p.m. at Southbound Craft Fair at Winston Junction Market, 901 Trade St., NW, WinstonSalem, plus work on consignment at EMBER Audio Design, 151 W. 9th St., Winston-Salem, www.denizensplush.com, https://www. facebook.com/denizensplush/.

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COMW

Oscar-winner Paul Hirsch brings glad tidings to UNCSA Last week, the faculty and students at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts’ School of Filmmaking received a special holiday visitor.

No, it wasn’t Santa Claus, although he does sport a beard and has a reputation for working magic of his own.

Editor Paul Hirsch, who won Mark Burger an Academy Award for Star Wars (1977) and a subsequent nomination for Ray (2005) – among other Contributor accolades – paid his first-ever visit to the film school, where he attended classroom sessions, talked one-on-one with editing students, participated in Q&A sessions after on-campus screenings of Carrie (1976) and Mission: Impossible (1996), and signed copies of his memoir A Long Time Ago, in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away …, which was recently published to great acclaim

by Chicago Review Press.

“Paul Hirsch is a true icon in the world of film editing and beyond,” praised Henry Grillo, Interim Dean of the School of Filmmaking. “His oeuvre is unparalleled, from his Awardwinning Academy work for the original Star Wars to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) and so many more. Paul is a legend in his field. It’s a wonderful opportunity for our students to have him here to share his knowledge and stories about his career. Part of what makes UNCSA so special is access to industry leaders like Paul, who are at the top of their field.”

The book covers Hirsch’s 50-year career, from his early beginnings in New York working with Brian De Palma, with whom he’s collaborated 11 times including Phantom of the Paradise (1974), The Fury (1978), Blow Out (1981), and Mission to Mars (2000). As well as notable films such as The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Creepshow (1982), Footloose (1984), The Secret of My Success (1987), and Steel Magnolias (1989); Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987); Love Ranch (2010), Source Code (2011), and Warcraft (2016).

“I take pride in having been asked back by directors,” Hirsch said. “I like having good relationships with filmmakers.”

Of course, the longest relationship was with De Palma. “We had a great thing going, but I didn’t want to be identified with just one filmmaker,” Hirsch said. “Brian is brilliant at what he does, but I wanted to work with different people and a wider variety of sensibilities.”

Naturally, some films worked better than others. The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002), Righteous Kill (2008), and The Mummy (2015) weren’t successful, although the latter saw Hirsch working alongside his daughter, WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

Gina, who’s followed in his footsteps and become a successful editor in her own right.

“I’m very proud of her,” he said. “It was great working with her, but (The Mummy) was not a happy experience. We had a start date, and a star (Tom Cruise) with a window of availability, but the script wasn’t great, and they thought they could work it out.”

Regardless of the outcome, Hirsch said he “hardly ever” revisits his earlier films, good or bad.

“You’d rather put your eyes out than watch it again,” he said with good humor. “You’re in on the creation, but you can’t stand watching it again. I suppose it’s like Moses; you can lead the people to Israel, but you can’t set foot in the promised land.”

Still, there are exceptions.

“In 2014 there was a 40th-anniversary screening of Phantom of the Paradise, and it was a packed house.

That was fun. In 2007, there was a 30th-anniversary screening of Planes, Trains & Automobiles in Chicago, and again it was a packed house and a lot of fun.”

Although he’d never visited UNCSA’s School of Filmmaking before, “I knew the reputation,” he said. “I know

it’s considered one of the best in the country.”

In addition, he grew up in New York City and remained good friends with former editing faculty member Ronald Roose, and was the mentor and still close friend of current editing faculty member Michael R. Miller.

Unlike other editors-turned-directors (Robert Wise, Hal Ashby), Hirsch was content to remain an editor, having only briefly considered making that leap.

“I did, but the fever broke,” he said.

Writing A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away … was a project some 20 years in the making.

“It was the right level of difficulty,” he observed. “It wasn’t too hard, and it wasn’t too easy. I’d started an outline in 1999, and as my periods of employment grew shorter and my periods of unemployment grew longer, I could devote more time to work on it. I’m very pleased how it turned out and how it’s been received.”

As for embarking on another screen project, “We’ll see,” he mused. “I may be retired by popular demand!”

For more information about Paul Hirsch’s memoir, visit, www.chicagoreviewpress.com/long-timeago-in-a-cutting-room-far—far-away--a-products-9781641602556.php. The official UNCSA website is www.uncsa.edu/. !

See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies on Burgervideo.com. © 2019, Mark Burger.

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

YES! WEEKLY

9

flicks

10

SCREEN IT!

Double feature: Mark Burger reviews ‘Ford v. Ferrari,’ ‘Knives Out’

P

roducer/ director James Mangold’s Ford v. Ferrari ( ) is a highoctane, if long-winded, epic dramatizing the efforts of the Ford Motor Company Mark Burger to win the 1966 Le Mans race (“24 Hours at Le Mans”), Contributor thus becoming the first overall American team to achieve the feat, which would give a big boost to the Ford image.

Matt Damon plays Carroll Shelby, the racing legend who’d been the only American driver to previously win at Le Mans.

His health prevents him from driving, but Ford – in the person of Henry Ford II (an icily imperious Tracy Letts) – knows his expertise is key to victory.

As the Ferrari racing team has long been victorious at Le Mans, Ford initially attempts to purchase the company, only to have Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone, quite icily imperious himself) undercut Ford by selling to Fiat. This only serves to redouble Ford and Shelby’s efforts. In simple terms, “now it’s personal.”

Shelby enlists Ken Miles (Christian Bale), a World War II veteran whose automotive expertise – both as a mechanic

YES! WEEKLY

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

and driver – is undisputed. So, however, is his lack of tact. Miles is fearless, but he’s also fiercely independent and opinionated. This proves both enticing and infuriating for Shelby, as the narrative focuses on their sometimes-bumpy partnership, which is compromised by the efforts of Ford executive Leo Beebe (a smarmy Josh Lucas), who is no fan of Miles and who repeatedly tries to wrest control of the team from Shelby.

Damon and Bale each bring a charismatic swagger to the proceedings, as each character attempts to prove – to each other and to himself – their worth where it really matters, on the racecourse.

The efforts of Shelby and Miles to perfect the Ford GT-40 is a lengthy process of trial and error that Mangold details in a step-by-step fashion. Ford v. Ferrari is undoubtedly entertaining, and the racing scenes are rendered in spectacular fashion – both from the perspective of the spectator and the driver – but Mangold has a tendency toward overkill.

Several of his previous films – Walk the Line (2005), The Wolverine (2013), Logan (2017), and 3:10 to Yuma (2010), which also starred Bale – shared this tendency.

Those weren’t bad films, nor is Ford v.

Ferrari, but they easily could have been shortened without damaging the overall impact.

Taking advantage of a break between Star Wars sequels, with The Rise of Skywalker poised to blast the box-office away this holiday season, writer/producer/director Rian Johnson indulges his fondness for Agatha Christie with Knives Out ( ), a witty and well-acted murder/mystery that boasts enough twists and turns that would have delighted Dame Agatha.

When it comes to playing powerful patriarchs, few are better suited than Christopher Plummer, in prime form (when is he not?) as Harlan Thrombey, a best-selling novelist whose 85th birthday party takes a distinctly dire turn when he turns up dead the next morning, apparently a suicide.

Or so it would seem…

The local police carry out their usual investigation, joined by Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), a steely-eyed, Southernfried sleuth recently profiled in The New Yorker, who’s been hired – anonymously – to look into the case. In interviewing members of Thrombey’s family, he soon deduces that each had a conceivable mo-

tive to murder the old man, and it usually involved being cut out of his will.

In addition to Christie, Johnson gleefully pays homage to Anthony Shaffer (Sleuth), Ira Levin (Deathtrap), and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (need you ask?), as he piles incident upon incident, red herring upon red herring, and flashback upon flashback, with countless in-jokes thrown in for good measure. Knives Out is great fun, even if it becomes a bit self-indulgent and more than a little exhausting.

One twist too many? Keep counting.

The top-notch ensemble cast includes such expert scene-stealers as Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Chris Evans, Lakeith Stanfield, and even the ever-delightful M. Emmet Walsh. Everyone has their moment to shine, and they clearly relish their juicy roles and supple dialogue, which they delivered with sly gusto. They’re in on the joke, and they’re having fun.

Ana de Armas plays Marta, who was Harlan’s nurse and who suffers from a physiological condition that prevents her from telling a lie. This is one of many conceits that Johnson exercises to maximum effect. Knives Out is as much a black comedy as a mystery, a razor-sharp riff on a dysfunctional family whose greed and avarice may well prove its ultimate undoing. !

See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies on Burgervideo.com. © 2019, Mark Burger.

[MOVIE TIMES] RED CINEMAS Dec 20-26

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (PG-13) LUXURY SEATING Fri - Mon: 12:35, 3:50, 7:05, 10:20 Tue: 12:35, 3:50, 7:05 Wed: 3:50, 7:05, 10:20 Thu: 12:35, 3:50, 7:05, 10:20 BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD (PG) LUXURY SEATING Fri - Mon: 11:35 AM, 2:05, 4:35, 7:05, 9:35, 11:55 Tue: 11:35 AM, 2:05, 4:35, 7:05 Wed: 2:05, 4:35, 7:05, 9:35 Thu: 11:35 AM, 2:05, 4:35, 7:05 KNIVES OUT (PG-13) LUXURY SEATING Fri - Mon: 11:30 AM, 2:20, 5:10, 8:00, 11:00 Tue: 11:30 AM, 2:20, 5:10, 8:00 Wed: 2:20, 5:10, 8:00 Thu: 11:30 AM, 2:20, 5:10, 8:00 STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (PG-13) Fri & Sat: 10:20 AM, 11:00 AM, 1:25, 2:15, 3:00, 4:40, 5:30, 8:00, 8:45, 9:30, 11:15, 12:00 AM, 12:30 AM Sun & Mon: 10:20 AM, 11:00 AM, 1:25, 2:15, 3:00, 4:40, 5:30, 8:00, 8:45, 9:30 Tue: 10:20 AM, 11:00 AM, 1:25, 2:15, 3:00, 4:40, 5:30, 8:00 Wed: 2:15, 3:00, 4:40, 5:30, 8:00, 8:45, 9:30 Thu: 10:20 AM, 11:00 AM, 1:25 2:15, 3:00, 4:40, 5:30, 8:00, 8:45, 9:30 STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER 3D (PG-13) Fri - Tue: 11:45 AM, 6:15 Wed & Thu: 6:15 PM CATS (PG) Fri - Mon: 11:20 AM, 1:55, 4:25, 7:10, 9:40 Tue: 11:20 AM, 1:55, 4:25, 7:10 Wed: 2:00, 4:25, 7:10, 9:40 Thu: 11:20 AM, 1:55, 4:25, 7:10, 9:40 BLACK CHRISTMAS (PG-13) Fri & Sat: 11:45 AM, 2:05, 4:35, 7:00, 9:15, 11:30 Sun & Mon: 11:45

AM, 2:05, 4:35, 7:00, 9:15 Tue: 11:45 AM, 2:05, 4:35, 7:00 JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL (PG-13) Fri: 11:00 AM, 12:20, 1:45, 3:05, 4:30, 7:15, 8:35, 10:00, 11:20 Sat - Mon: 11:00 AM, 12:20, 1:45, 3:05, 4:30, 7:15, 8:35, 10:00 Tue: 11:00 AM, 12:00, 1:45, 2:45, 4:30, 7:15 Wed: 2:00, 4:30, 7:15, 10:00 Thu: 11:00 AM, 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, 10:00 RICHARD JEWELL (R) Fri - Mon: 11:00 AM, 1:50, 4:40, 7:30, 10:20 Tue: 11:00 AM, 1:50, 4:40, 7:30 Wed: 2:00, 4:40, 7:30, 10:20, Thu: 11:00 AM, 1:50, 4:40, 7:30, 10:20 DARK WATERS (PG-13) Fri - Mon: 5:50 PM Tue: 5:30 PM QUEEN & SLIM (R) Fri & Sat: 12:00, 2:55, 5:50, 8:45, 11:40 Sun & Mon: 12:00, 2:55, 5:50, 8:45 Tue: 12:00, 2:55, 5:50, 8:00 Wed: 2:55, 5:50, 8:45 Thu: 12:00, 2:55, 5:50, 8:00 FORD V FERRARI (PG-13) Fri - Mon: 12:30, 3:45, 7:00, 10:15 Tue: 12:30, 3:45, 7:00 THE LIGHTHOUSE (R) Fri & Sat: 12:20, 2:45, 5:05, 7:25, 9:40, 11:55 Sun & Mon: 12:20, 2:45, 5:05, 7:25, 9:40 Tue: 12:20, 2:45, 5:05, 7:25 THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (R) Sat: 11:55 PM LITTLE WOMEN (PG) Wed: 2:25, 5:20, 8:15 Thu: 11:25, 2:25, 5:20, 8:15 UNCUT GEMS (R) Wed: 4:05, 7:00, 9:55 Thu: 1:10, 4:05, 7:00, 9:55

A/PERTURE CINEMAS Dec 20-26

LITTLE WOMEN (PG) Wed & Thu: 2:30, 5:15, 8:00 UNCUT GEMS (R) Tue: 4:00, 6:45 Wed & Thu: 3:00, 5:45, 8:30 DARK WATERS (PG-13) Fri: 2:45, 5:30 Sat & Sun: 9:30 AM, 2:45, 5:30 Mon: 6:00 PM, Tue: 1:15 PM KNIVES OUT (PG-13) Fri: 3:15, 6:00, 8:45 Sat & Sun: 9:45 AM, 12:30, 3:15, 6:00, 8:45, Mon: 5:30, 8:15 Tue: 1:45, 4:30, 7:15 MICKEY AND THE BEAR (R) Fri: 4:00, 9:30 Sat & Sun: 11:00 AM, 4:00, 9:30 Mon: 9:30 PM Tue: 7:45 PM Wed & Thu: 9:00 PM

HONEY BOY (R) Fri: 8:15 PM Sat & Sun: 12:00, 8:15 Mon: 8:30 PM Tue: 8:00 PM Wed & Thu: 8:45 PM SYNONYMS (SYNONYMES) (NR) Fri: 6:45 PM Sat & Sun: 1:15, 6:45 Mon: 6:45 PM Tue: 5:00 PM Wed & Thu: 3:30, 6:15 PARASITE (R) Fri: 3:45, 6:30, 9:15 Sat & Sun: 10:15 AM, 1:00, 3:45, 6:30, 9:15 Mon: 6:30, 9:15 Tue: 2:30, 5:15 Wed & Thu: 3:15, 6:00

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COMW

voices

T

his weekend’s edition of Triad Today focuses on the economic impact that Piedmont Triad International Airport has on our region. Special guests Jim Longworth will include Kevin Baker, executive director of PTI; Stan Longworth Kelly, president and at Large CEO of Piedmont Triad Partnership; Thomas Maxwell, Southeast managing director of FedEx; and Nick Yale, director of aviation programs at Guilford Technical Community College.

Jim: Why is PTI different from other airports?

Kevin: Most airports you think of as a place of transportation, and we certainly have that component. We’re the thirdlargest airport in the state in terms of passengers. But we have a second mission, which is to be a center of employment as well as a center of transportation. There are 6,000 people employed at the airport, and that’s not including service providers and others. Estimates are that there are 12,000 people who are indirectly employed as a result of the airport. The beauty of these jobs is that the average household income within 40 miles of the airport is $45,000, and that could be two earners. The average income for an employee at the airport is between $60,000 and $65,000. So, then you have one earner making almost 150% of the average household income in the area. The message is that these are very good jobs.

Jim: Stan, I’ve been hearing about the “Carolina Core” initiative. What is it?

How does PTI figure into it?

Stan: Carolina Core is a vision, it’s a brand, and it’s a strategy. Over the next 20 years, our aspiration is to grow at least 50,000 net new jobs across this region. Relative to the brand, the name “Carolina Core” more readily identifies us as to our geographic location. As to strategy, there’s a million additional residents who will move to North Carolina in the next 20 years, and we want to take advantage of that.

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

Jim: How much land is available around PTI for development?

Stan: There’s a thousand acres, so we can entertain opportunities of 20 acres, 200 acres, 800 acres, or someone can take it all.

Jim: Tom, you employ about a thousand people in this community. Why did FedEx select PTI for its Mid Atlantic hub, to begin with?

Tom: There were a number of factors that influenced our decision. For one thing, the infrastructure makes it very friendly for surface transportation. We have good access to the highways and the road system. It’s also close to a major aircraft maintenance facility, and we have ideal runways. There’s also additional land available as an option for expansion, and there’s a ready workforce here along with a variety of educational opportunities.

Jim: Nick, speaking of a trained labor pool, how do you work with PTI to help grow the workforce?

Nick: When Kevin is out trying to recruit companies to come here, he can bring them over to GTCC, and we can show them how we generate custom programs to fit their needs. If we don’t have what they need, we’ll go to their work environment and figure out what their key learning outcomes are for employees coming in the door. Then, we develop a program around that and have it ready before they get here.

Kevin: I describe GTCC as the crown jewel whenever we’re out meeting with tenants. The folks being trained at GTCC are feeding right into these businesses who need those employees so badly.

Without that workforce development, the companies can’t survive.

This special episode of Triad Today”will air Saturday at 7:30 a.m. on abc45, and Sunday at 11 a.m. on MY48. !

JIM LONGWORTH is the host of Triad Today, airing on Saturdays at 7:30 a.m. on ABC45 (cable channel 7) and Sundays at 11 a.m. on WMYV (cable channel 15).

..............................................................................................

PTI the focus of Triad Today special

Something for everyone, in celebration of everything Purchase

$100 OF GIFT CARDS IN STORE and RECEIVE A $25 BONUS CARD line purchases. ly. Not valid with on In store purchases on eive bonus card. rec to December 24, 2018 e for be ase rch . pu Must January 31st, 2019 Bonus card expires

Happy Holidays 914 Mall Loop Road / High Point, NC 27262 336-882-4677 / Liber tybrewer yandgrill.com

Loyalty Points not available with gift card purchases.

The $25 bonus card is a promotional card.

Card cannot be used for gift card purchases.

Bonus card expires January 31st, 2019. Card must be present for redemption.

Not valid with any other discount offer. No cash value.

Lost or stolen cards will not be replaced.

Not valid on two for one dinner specials. hghosp.com

..............................................................................................

..................................

..................................

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019 YES! WEEKLY

11

leisure

12

[NEWS OF THE WEIRD] WAIT, WHAT?

Joe Rwamirama, 48, of Kampala, Uganda, has an unusually practical superpower: “He is known all over the city as the man who can kill mosquitoes with his farts,” Chuck Shepherd local barber James Yoweri told The Sun on Dec. 10. Rwamirama said no one in his home village has ever contracted malaria because his gaseous ejections knock out insects over a 6-mile radius. “He is respectful of people around him and will only fart when there are mosquitoes around,” Yoweri continued. Rwamirama hopes to market his gas and claims that insect repellant companies have been looking into its chemical secrets, but The Sun couldn’t verify those claims.

UNDIGNIFIED DEATH

When a Shelby, Ohio, police officer responded to a call on Nov. 13 about a sick or rabid raccoon on a residential street, he had a tough decision to make. The raccoon did seem either injured or ill, and according to WJW, the officer decided it needed to be destroyed. However, there is no area animal control department, and police officers don’t have the “training or equipment to capture a potentially rabid animal,” officials said. And the officer was hesitant to use his firearm because of the time of day and because some residents were outside their homes. So he decided to use his vehicle to eliminate the raccoon, running over it several times to finish the job. Unfortunately, a bystander was re-

cording the incident, and people on social media are calling for the officer’s removal.

The Shelby police chief responded: “The video is disturbing to watch. ... We are having an independent group, with a prosecutor, to determine if any criminal charges are appropriate (but) ... this incident doesn’t violate any wildlife laws.”

JUST WEIRD

— It’s very cold and very dark, in an existential sort of way, in Minneapolis at this time of year. To wit: Cianna Violet, 24, passes by a certain spot, near a Broadway Pizza location, as she commutes to work.

In November, she noticed a yellow traffic pylon with an extra something clinging to the top and pulled over to check it out. It was a rat — dead, frozen, sad. Until Dec. 3, when Violet noticed something about the rat had changed. Sure enough, someone had dressed the chilly little rodent and even remembered accessories, like a tiny silver backpack and fur-trimmed boots.

The outfit is “100 percent seasonably appropriate,” Violet told CityPages. “I’m sorry it had to die, but in death it has brought a reason to smile to hundreds.”

— Meanwhile, it’s warm and sunny in Las Vegas, and the pigeons are wearing cowboy hats. What? On Dec. 9, KVVU reported that pigeons have been spotted with tiny red cowboy hats on their heads.

Mariah Hillman, who runs an animal rescue, at first thought the little headwear was cute, but then began to worry about how the hats had been affixed to the birds’ heads. “Did they glue them? ... Is it something that’s going to impede their flight or attract predators?” she wondered. Hillman and her agency have been handing out business cards and asking

people who see the little urban cowbirds to “just feed them until I get here. I’m only 3 miles away and I’ll come trap them.”

BRIGHT IDEA

The Raleigh (North Carolina) News & Observer reported on Dec. 9 that a 14-year-old runaway made a logical choice when deciding where to hide. Around 8:30 that morning, as workers at Bed Bath & Beyond opened the store in Greenville, they discovered someone hidden in the store and called police. Officers responded for a “breaking and entering in progress,” but found only a teenage boy who had “camped out” in the store overnight. He was returned to his home.

GREAT ART!

In Miami Beach, Florida, you don’t even have to leave the oceanfront to get caught in a traffic nightmare. For Miami’s Art Basel, Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich unveiled on Dec. 3 a masterpiece three months in the making: sand sculptures of 66 actual-size cars and trucks locked in a traffic jam, which he calls “Order of Importance.” His artwork is meant to bring attention to the climate crisis, Dezeen reported. The work includes several lanes of traffic split by a traffic divider. Most of the vehicles are partially submerged in a nod to rising sea levels created by global warming. “As an artist, I am in a constant struggle to make people aware of this reality,” Erlich said. It is his largest project to date.

BAH, HUMBUG!

— Marie Bennett, 40, and Joseph Betancourt, 24, of Woodland, California, would have made the Grinch proud, but police in Red Bluff weren’t having it. On Dec. 5, the two allegedly broke into the Children First Foster Family Agency, where they stole “(a) large amount of toys that were being held there for children for Christmas presents,” police told Fox News. Surveillance video showed the burglars coming and going from the home next door; officers arrested Bennett and Betancourt for burglary, theft and breaking and entering, and they recovered the stolen toys, declaring, “These ‘Grinches’ will not be stealing Christmas from kids on our watch.”

FETCH! YES! WEEKLY

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

— The Bosch’s Country View Nursery in Allendale, Michigan, is a longtime favorite destination for Christmas tree shoppers.

But sometime in early December, the Grinch visited, lopping the top halves off more than a dozen trees, according to WZZM13. It takes a fir tree between six and 10 years to grow to Christmas tree height, explained owner Brian Bosch.

“Somebody had a bad day, I’m assuming,” he said. “I don’t know why somebody would do that.” Bosch did say that the trees might recover, although it would take a few years.

POLICE REPORT

— In Turlock, California, mothers became alarmed when a man turned up at their doors, asking for “five strands” of hair and fingerprints from their children in order to collect their DNA. “He said he was with Amber Alert,” Lauren Hassett told KTXL on Dec. 4, and “that he needed to finish a DNA file” on her daughter. She also said the man asked for her daughter using a name the 13-year-old girl only uses online. Hassett ordered the man off her property and called police, who were later able to catch up with him. Officers said the man’s business was legitimate, but “the manner in which the information was relayed led to some misunderstanding. ...

The involved adult male was passing out child DNA kits, which would be retained by the family, in the event it was ever needed for future investigations.”

— Operation Santa’s Naughty List took place Dec. 3 to 8 in Polk County, Florida, seeking to target human trafficking and prostitution, and it was beyond successful. The sting stung 124 people, including 46 customers and numerous others for different crimes, but the standout was Rodney Davis, a 56-year-old husband and security guard at Disney World, the Tampa Bay Times reported. When Davis showed up to purchase sex from an undercover detective, he was wearing ... nothing. Not even socks. Prostitutes who were identified as victims of human trafficking were taken to shelters and offered support services. !

© 2019 Chuck Shepherd. Universal Press Syndicate.

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

THE LATEST NEWS, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT IN THE TRIAD EVERY WEDNESDAY

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COMW

[KING Crossword]

[weeKly sudoKu]

Mix of fish

ACROSS 1 5 10 14 19 20 21 22 23 25 27 28 29 30 31

34 37 38 39 40 41 44 47 50 51 53 54 55 59 64 65 66 68 69 71 74 75

Creole cooking pod Early Andeans Concert stage items Disgrace Cover thickly Declines Wrongful act, legally Of the ear Grabs hold of a fish?

Give a fish medication?

Choose (to) Baseball stat Like spoiled cooking oil Clamor Fish smeared with black gunk?

Cheeky Have bills Mineo of “Giant” Suffix for an enzyme Not as cruel Turn liquid Old horse Fish drifting about aimlessly?

Actor Stiller Baseball stat Hoppy quaff Wash. bigwig Fish covered with more grit?

Modifies Conceal Fake ID 1,051, in old Rome Larch, e.g.

Makes a fish more softhearted?

Honey-colored fish?

Score — with (impress) It’s south of Can.

www.yesweekly.com

76 77 78

80

85 87 88

89 90

96 97 98 99

100 102 104 106

112 113 115

116 117 120 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129

Eye parts with irises Splits Triplets of adjacent nucleotides Cures a fish by salting and drying?

Western treaty inits.

Hide — hair Actress Davis of “The Matrix Reloaded” Ending for Bronx Fish that’s a sainted guardian?

O’er there For fear that Runner Bolt “Botch- —” (Rosemary Clooney hit) It precedes Sept.

Barely obtain, with “out” Gratify, as a base instinct Accept a Facebook request from a fish?

Boat in Genesis Twilled fabrics Old’s opposite, in German Yellow tropical fruit Teach a fish privately?

Catches a fish in a net?

Flee to get hitched Lance cpl.’s org.

Free-for-all Fair shelter Philly’s train system Light meal French river to the Rhone Singer Anita or Aubrey

DOWN 1 2

Eightsome Aussie critter

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 24 26 29 32 33 35 36 39 41 42 43 45

46

48 49 51 52 56 57 58 60

61

Leaf-gathering tool user Had to admit an error Theoretical things Unclothed Bow of “It” Holy tables Atlanta-to-Miami dir.

Perfumery oil Bards’ A.M. On-the-nose Furniture finishers Went unused Palette part Erte’s style Seafarer Hyundai compact Crock-Pot meal Grid stats Puts more ammo in Al — (pasta preference) Seafarer Long side up Max. or min.

“I’ll second that” Samantha Bee’s station Expulsion Earthworm, e.g.

2009 “Star Trek” director J.J. Seepage of methane, e.g.

Heavyweight great Put on TV again Suffers Dog part “I’ll second that” Informer Envoy’s building Just clear of the bottom, as an anchor Boarding school

student, informally

62 63 67 69 70 71 72 73 76 79 81 82 83

84 86

90 91 92 93 94 95 97 101 103 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 114 118 119 120

121

Some china ensembles Divinity sch.

Not as much Bud Actress Sarandon Rd.’s cousin No more than Cheese type Hubbubs Not a soul As to Old man Baseball Hall of Famer Ralph On Soc. Sec., often Operated on smaller than a national level Transforms, as larvae In general Sleeveless casual shirt Free (of) Lovingly, in music Rapa — Ushered in Music styles 53-Across containers Q-U queue Sell for Writer Zora — Hurston Super- — Got along A Trump ex Spruced up They support teeth roots Choose (to) Stephen of “Utopia” Texter’s “Didn’t need to hear that!”

Notice

December 18-24, 2019

YES! WEEKLY

13

feature

14

A 21-year-old is making the ‘breast’ of a bad situation “You are looking at an anomaly,” joked Kelli Yam, 21, as she flipped her hair back with her hand.

“You are looking at a rarity.”

Yam was recently diagnosed with Stage 1-B tripleKatie Murawski positive breast cancer. She said that her family history of Editor breast cancer made her extra cautious.

She said she has constantly checked herself for lumps since she turned 18. If it weren’t for her self-examination and her boss’s generosity, she might not have caught it in time.

Yam was born and raised in Lexington and said she went to college at Virginia Tech for engineering but did not finish because it wasn’t for her.

“I basically support myself, my family is 40 minutes away,” she said. “My grandmother and my aunt—my grandmother on my mother’s side and aunt from my dad’s side—they both had breast cancer, and they both beat it.”

“When I was 19, I actually had my first lumps appear,” she continued. “So, I went to the doctor, but they told me I didn’t have anything to worry about since dense breast tissue is common.”

Then, about three months ago, Yam said she felt a lump in her left breast that had been getting bigger and bigger.

“Again, I didn’t have health care, so I couldn’t go to the doctor. I just recently got it in October,” she said. “Finally, I talked with my boss; she is super amazing and supportive. She is all about women’s empowerment. I told her, and she said she was friends with this OB-GYN and that, ‘You have an appointment Monday, and you are going. It doesn’t matter what is happening at work, just go.’”

So Yam went, and for a moment, she was feeling hopeful. She was only 21 years old, after all. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “The main factors that influence your risk [for breast cancer] include being a woman and getting older. Most breast cancers are found in women who are 50 years old or older.”

“I am 21, I feel fine—I feel healthy, and I am just living my best life, or trying to at least,” Yam said of what was going

YES! WEEKLY

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

through her mind during her visit to the doctor. The next day, she said the doctor called with bad news.

“It didn’t feel real,” Yam said. “It didn’t really register, honestly. Following up to that point, I was really anxious about it.

I was thinking the worst. But the day I went there, and the night before, I was like, ‘Yeah, there is no way.’ So in my head, I thought it wouldn’t happen, but it did.”

She said she cried all day and went back to Lexington to tell her parents.

“It was emotional,” she said. “I told my dad first, and he just broke down in tears, because, of course, his sister went through it and his mother-in-law.

My mom was upset, too, but she was at the point where she was like, ‘Kelli, we need to get this handled. You need to do everything the doctors tell you to do if you want to get better.’ And I did want to get better.”

Yam explained that she had to have several biopsies in her left breast.

“They numbed the area,” she explained. “They take like a hollow needle—or a suction tube needle—and they get the cells around [the lump] to test. Those aren’t fun and MRIs are awful. I hated it.”

For three weeks after her diagnosis, Yam said she just went to one appointment after another.

“Initially, it was 1-A when they did the stages test, so it was 1-A triple-positive, and then they did an MRI. They put contrast in my body to really see what lumps there were and how big they were.

My lump was 2.6 centimeters, so that changed and was classified to Stage 1-B. In the MRI, they also found more lumps.”

The National Cancer Institute defines triple-positive breast cancer as “breast cancer cells that have estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and larger than the normal number of HER2 receptors on their surface. Knowing if breast cancer is triple-positive may help plan the best treatment, which may include hormone therapy and drugs that target the HER2 receptor.”

She said initially, her treatment was supposed to be two months of Taxol (which is a type of chemotherapy) and Herceptin (a type of hormone therapy).

“The cancer feeds on estrogen, progestogen and HER2 [Human Epidermal Growth factor Receptor 2],” she explained. “HER2 means that it is a more

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COMW

aggressive cancer. Aggressive sounds scary; it sounds bad, but aggressive is actually good in this case because the doctors can see clearly what is going on.”

She said she spoke with her oncologist, who said he was worried about her breasts because “there were so many abnormalities.” They changed her treatment to something more intense. The chemotherapy regiment they put her on is called, TCHP (Taxotere plus Carboplatin plus Herceptin plus Perjeta).

“The first treatment was pretty lax; I wouldn’t lose hair or feel nausea,” she said. “But with this one being more intensive, and since I have gone to my first treatment, I knew what to expect. It is definitely a lot worse.”

She said she receives treatment through a port-a-cath, which the National Cancer Institute describes as “A device used to draw blood and give treatments, including intravenous fluids, drugs, or blood transfusions. The port is placed under the skin, usually in the chest. It is attached to a catheter (a thin, flexible tube) that is guided (threaded) into a large vein above the right side of the heart called the superior vena cava.

A port-a-cath may stay in place for many weeks or months. A needle is inserted through the skin into the port to draw blood or give fluids.”

Yam showed me her port while we sat at a Greensboro Starbucks for our interview. I could see it protruding from the upper right part of her chest, and she let me feel it. It did not feel like it would be comfortable in any way.

“Chemo destroys your veins,” she said. www.yesweekly.com

“They do it through here instead, so I don’t have an I.V. in my arm.”

She said she is doing her treatment at Cone Health Wesley Long Hospital, and she said it isn’t like what you see on T.V. She said the treatment area is more private with secluded booths in a large common area. The treatment regiment is composed of the four medications (TCHP) via an I.V. drip, with doctors monitoring her reaction to the medicines throughout the session.

“So, they will do one medicine, wait a long time, do another, wait a long time,” she explained. “They put all the medicine in slowly. My first session was nine and a half hours long.”

She said she has six treatments taking place every three weeks, and she just recently finished her first round. She only has five more to go until she gets to ring the bell. Her next one takes place on Friday, Dec. 20.

“I am pretty much immobilized for a week after chemo, then two weeks I work,” she said. “The day after, I felt fine, and that was expected because they give you pills to stop nausea and whatnot.

The second day, I started to feel it. I had neuropathy [pain from nerve damage]. I felt it in my feet as I was standing in the kitchen; it was just like pins and needles in my feet with cramping as well. The third day was the worst day for me; they give you a shot to increase your white blood cells because chemo destroys the good cells, too.”

Since chemotherapy is radiation, Yam said there are so many health risks involved. One of the things she said she

has done to lower those risks is staying completely hydrated. She said she has to literally flush the radiation out of her system. She said the radiation gives her “chemo brain,” which results in thinking problems, memory loss and other cognitive dysfunction. Radiation, she said, also impairs the immune system.

“The white blood cell shot gives you flu-like symptoms as well, so that doesn’t help,” she said. “I didn’t really experience nausea because they gave me medication, so I am staying really consistent with that.”

Among a dozen others associated with chemo and cancer treatment in general, one in particular risk factor she is concerned about is her fertility.

“You know, I’m 21 I don’t know if I want kids, I am not ready to make that decision,” Yam said. “[Freezing] eggs is expensive, and insurance doesn’t cover that at all. It is like $300 just for a consultation, just to talk about it. As I said, I support myself fully, and $300 may not be much to a lot of people. But this is going to be me having treatment for the whole year, and obviously, that is scary, and the actual surgery and procedure is $5,000—but that doesn’t take into account storage [of the eggs], and medications after.”

She said the other option to protect her fertility is by taking a shot of Zoladex, which she describes as a shot to the abdomen that essentially shuts down the reproductive system temporarily. But the scary part, she said, is not even getting a needle in the abdomen.

“It is 86 perfect effective,” she said. “So

like, with breast cancer, cases under 40 is only like 5%. If I am already a part of that 5%, I could also be part of the 14% that are infertile. But I can’t do anything about it because I can’t afford to [freeze] my eggs.”

But what is the absolute worst thing about chemo for Yam? She said it’s not being able to taste.

“I am big foodie, I love food,” Yam said.

“But chemo changes your taste buds.

Everything just loses its taste. Food is in your mouth, but it feels like it shouldn’t be there. After my first treatment, I lost 10 pounds. The first meal that I had in days was yesterday morning [Dec. 11].”

Yam said she would have to get a lumpectomy, which according to the Susan G. Komen Foundation website, is “a surgery to remove cancer from the breast. Unlike a mastectomy, a lumpectomy removes only the tumor and a small rim of normal tissue around it. It leaves most of the breast skin and tissue in place.” She said they would do a lumpectomy because despite her grandmother and aunt having breast cancer, she did genetic testing, and it came back negative. She said that means she is not at-risk genetically for breast cancer. Her diagnosis was “purely bad luck.”

“Throughout your life, you see these bad things happening to people—these unfortunate things—and you are always like ‘that will never happen to me,’” she said. “You never know, and it just hits you out of the blue. Luckily, and not in a conceited way, I am a very resilient CONTINUED ON PAGE 16] December 18-24, 2019 YES! WEEKLY

15

16

FROM PAGE 15

person. When something happens to me, I accept it for what it is. I haven’t really been sad about cancer. I just need to do what I need to do. Being depressed about it makes the situation worse.

When you have a positive mindset, your body reacts positively as well.”

Remaining resilient and looking on the bright side, Yam said she is lucky she caught it early and was able to get a headstart on treatment.

“Younger people who are diagnosed with cancers are normally, not to sound morbid, their results are a little bit grim,” she said. “When you are younger, your cells are multiplying faster, and so the cancer spreads faster.”

Yam said she does not attend support groups because she has social anxiety, but she acknowledges she wants to attend and that it would be good for her to attend. She said she is a bit antisocial, but ever since her diagnosis, she has been actively reaching out for support more.

“It has helped me a lot, and I understand that human interaction is good,” Yam said.

Yam said her biggest concern with her diagnosis isn’t necessarily the risks involved with treatment, the inevitable hair loss (“because fuck gender norms!

I can rock it bald. You can be feminine without hair”), or surgical scars. It is the financial burden of treatment that is, understandably, stressing her out. Recently, Yam created a GoFundMe account to help raise money for her medical expenses.

The GoFundMe fundraiser is called “The ‘breast’ of a bad situation.” “*Scratch disc* *freeze frame* I bet you’re all wondering how I got here,” states Yam’s GoFundMe page, which was created on Nov. 11. “It all started about 2 months ago when I found a lump in my right breast. Hi! My name is Kelli Yam. I grew up in a pretty quiet town, Lexington, NC, but I currently stay in Greensboro, NC. I’ve lived a pretty normal life honestly, as normal as a 21-year-old can get, but I knew I wanted to be different. With that in mind, being a rare statistic wasn’t really what I was thinking. On November 1st, I got a phone call, and they told me something I didn’t even think was a possibility. The lady (wonderful Nurse Lin) on the phone told me I had breast cancer.

The word ‘shocked’ doesn’t even come close to how I felt. We cried on the phone together for a bit because words wouldn’t come out, but there were so many thoughts running through my head. ‘How can I ever afford treatment?’ ‘How do I tell my friends and family?’ ‘What did I do to deserve this?’ ‘What will my future YES! WEEKLY

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

be like?’ ‘Is this just a really bad prank?’

It wasn’t a prank. It was the terrifying truth. It’s still hard for me to fathom that this is really happening to me. I know life is full of hardships, but I wasn’t prepared for this one. I like to think I’m pretty tough, but honestly, I’m a little scared.

Before I even thought about my health, my main concern was entirely fiscal, but I knew if I wanted to live, I would have to make it work. After further testing, it was established that I was at Stage 1-B triplepositive. Even though it sucked being diagnosed in general, I was lucky enough to have caught it during a highly treatable stage. Traditionally, we hear about the numbered stages; the letters help to categorize it a bit more specifically. With Stage 1-B cancer, it hasn’t yet metastasized to my lymph nodes, but it has grown to be about/at least 2 centimeters. What triple-positive means is that during my biopsy, estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and HER2 were all found in my tumor. This being said, my options for treatment are a little more viable. The chances for a 21-year-old to get breast cancer are ‘astronomically rare,’ as my doctor told me, and she’s right. I did some research on my own. Apparently, cases of breast cancer for women under 40 only run about 5% of all cases. What I’d really to emphasize is the urgency that any woman at any age monitors their health and wellness, especially when it comes to our breasts. I first had lumps appear three years ago when I was 19. My doctor told me, ‘They’re just caffeine deposits,’ and I’ve come to find out that it doesn’t even exist. I am a firm believer that one of the reasons about 30% of women under the age of 40 loses their battle to breast cancer is due to unawareness. A lot of young people are looked past due to their age because it isn’t ‘likely.’ Mammograms

aren’t recommended until at least the age of 35 due to the physical state of our breast tissue, and it’s also one of the reasons breast cancer is caught at later stages for younger women. Technology is being worked on to target them as well now that breast cancer is a growing concern. ‘That would never happen to me.’ It can. It happened to me. Please, everyone, love your bodies and treat it kindly!!! I honestly don’t know what to do because, due to chemo, I won’t be able to work, which will take a toll on me mentally, physically, and financially. At this point in time, I fully support myself. With that being said, I don’t make enough to pay for my living expenses and treatment at the same time. I recently got health insurance through my job, but haven’t reached my high deductible. I’ve been advised to apply for grants and seek any monetary assistance. I don’t want this to be a sad story. As I’ve been saying, ‘It is what it is,’ and the best thing to do is keep looking forward. I look forward to smiling with everyone once I beat it! Please help me to afford my treatment as well as my living expenses. Any dollar, share, or comment of positivity will help! Thank you guys for any love and support!

She said her current treatment plan (which she needs to update on her GoFundMe page) would last a year. First, it is six rounds of chemo for four and a half months, followed by a month of rest.

Then, the lumpectomy with a month of rest. After the surgery, she will still need four to six weeks of radiation. For the rest of the year, she will have to go every three weeks for an infusion of Herceptin and Perjeta.

She said it took a lot of courage to set up her GoFundMe account.

“I am deathly afraid of asking for help,” she admitted. “I have always depended

a lot on myself, and I have been selfconscious of my performance and how I do and how I appear to other people. I don’t want people to feel bad for me; I don’t want them to feel like I am using them. I’m gonna be honest before I even thought about my health and life when I first got the call that I had cancer, I thought, ‘It doesn’t matter, I can’t afford it,’” she continued. “Everyone says, ‘People are here to help, you are going to find the finances to get through it.’ And I have had a lot of people tell me, ‘You are going to have a lot of bills, you just can’t help it.’ But why is that? I didn’t choose this. Obviously, it is not something I could have stopped or prevented, per se. And yet, I have to be stuck with all these bills.

And I am only 21, and it is like, that is going to be on me for a long time.”

Yam said she wants to be open about her experience, and she remains positive that she will beat cancer.

“I think the scariest thought is that it is going to come back,” she said.

Yam said she is very treatable, and luckily, the cancer hasn’t metastasized to her lymph nodes yet. She’s had to think about the worst-case scenario, and she has made peace with it because “It is what it is.” But Yam said she’s a fighter and she isn’t going to lose hope.

“If I can get through this, I can get through anything,” Yam said. “That is the way I wanted to look at it. I’ve had a lot of mental issues—like depression, extreme anxiety— and I have had to control that and learn not to let that stop me.

Because of overcoming and being able to control that, it has helped me come to terms with my diagnosis.”

“Feel yourself, you know your body best,” said Yam of the advice she would give others, especially young women. “If I hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t have caught it.

If things go unchecked, things can progress to worse stages. I understand that it is scary, but sometimes you have to put yourself first before your fear. You can’t just let fear control you, if I let it control me, I would be in a far worse situation than I am in now. Of course, I also want to stress how difficult it is for everyone, but health care is not really on your side when you are young. You are never prepared for a situation because you are still a kid trying to build yourself.”

As of Dec. 17, Yam has raised $5,315 of her $25,000 goal. To learn more and to make a donation, visit her GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/f/kelli-vsbreast-cancer. !

KATIE MURAWSKI is the editor of YES! Weekly. She is from Mooresville, North Carolina and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in film studies from Appalachian State University in 2017.

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COMW

GPD refuses to identify the manufacturer of fatal restraint The Greensboro Police Department has refused multiple public information requests for purchase records of the restraint device eight of its officers used to fatally hogtie Marcus Deon Smith during Ian McDowell the 2018 North Carolina Folk Festival. An attorney and a law Contributor professor consulted

by YES! Weekly have stated that this purchase record is a public document and the GPD has no right to withhold it.

On Dec. 11, responding to the re-opened public information request #9865, City of Greensboro public records requests administrator Kurt Brenneman relayed the following statement from the GPD: The hobble devices which have been utilized by Greensboro Police officers were purchased from various manufacturers based on the time the devices were purchased, availability of the product, and price of product at time of procurement.

Each device is nearly identical regardless of the manufacturer and each device works in exactly the same way. The products are shipped in packaging that does not contain manufacturer instructions.

Any further information is not a public record pursuant to N. C. Gen. 132-1.4(a).

As previously reported, that paragraph is identical to the GPD’s first response to request #9865, which was opened on June 14 and closed by the GPD on July 3.

Shortly after receiving that negative response, YES! Weekly reached out to North Carolina press association attorney Amanda Martin, who stated, “I think you are entitled to the documents you have requested; I do NOT think purchase records are records of a criminal investigation.”

Having been advised by Martin, YES! Weekly emailed the following to public records administrator Brenneman on July 8.

“My initial response is that records documenting the purchase of equipment are not records of a criminal investigation.

Even if they were, it is long established that purchase records do not become confidential just because they may have been used in a criminal investigation.

Before I proceed with a formal appeal or other recourse, I request clarification on another possible interpretation of this response. Is the Police Department stating that they cannot identify the records WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

pertaining to the purchase of that specific device?”

Two hours later, Brenneman replied: “Thank you for your email. I have re-opened your public records request #9865 and will find the answer to your question.”

There was no further communication until Oct. 15, when Brenneman wrote that the city “is still compiling the responsive records” and apologized for the delay.

Then, on Dec. 11, 180 days after the request was first filed and 156 after it was reopened, Brenneman sent the GPD’s response, the first paragraph of which was identical to the italicized one above that ends with “Any further information is not a public record pursuant to N. C. Gen. 132-1.4(a).”

There was also a second paragraph, addressing, or rather, refusing to address, the requested clarification: In response to your follow-up question. “Is the Police Department stating that they cannot identify the records pertaining to the purchase of that specific device?” the City of Greensboro Public Records (PIRT) Policy (attached) does not require the City to do research, analyze data, or answer written questions.

YES! Weekly was not the only party to request this information. On July 15, activist Hester Petty filed request #10039, stating “I would like to know the name of the manufacturer of the hobble device used by Officer R.R. Duncan on September 8, 2018.”

As previously reported, Robert R. Duncan is one of the eight officers named in the federal civil rights lawsuit against them, the City of Greensboro and Guilford County EMS for Marcus Smith’s death.

The report produced when PIRT#10039 is entered in the City’s public records request portal indicates that a GPD records search was “CLOSED WHILE IN PROGRESS” a day later, on July 16. However, the request was listed as open until Dec. 12, when Brenneman sent Petty the following response: In response to your public records request #10039 concerning the name of the manufacturer of the hobble device used by Officer R.R. Duncan on September 8, 2018, the City of Greensboro denies access to the name of the manufacturer of the hobble device used by Officer R.R. Duncan on September 8, 2018, pursuant to NCGS 132-1.9, which says, “Except as otherwise provided in this section, a custodian may deny access to a public record that is also trial preparation material.”

When forwarded these statements yes-

terday, Brooks Fuller, director of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition and Assistant Professor of Journalism at Elon School of Law, sharply criticized the city and GPD’s refusal to release the requested information.

“I concur strongly with Amanda Martin’s assessment of your records request,” Fuller wrote. “The law enforcement records exemption only applies to records created ‘for the purpose of attempting to prevent or solve violations of the law.’

Purchase information does not qualify as a law enforcement record. It is possible that the records were destroyed, which could be either negligent or more seriously wrongful under North Carolina law if the records were destroyed prematurely.”

YES! Weekly also asked Fuller about the City’s response to Petty, specifically the statement that the request was denied “pursuant to NCGS 132-1.9, which says, ‘Except as otherwise provided in this section, a custodian may deny access to a public record that is also trial preparation material.’”

“I do not believe they can deny access

to this information under this provision,” Fuller responded. “Trial preparation material includes records that are created for the purposes of preparing for trial, not records that may wind up being used as evidence in a trial. This is a misinterpretation of that provision of the public records law, in my opinion. Also, if they argue that the record is trial preparation material, the statute requires that they provide a written justification for that assertion.

Merely classifying the record as trial preparation material is not enough.”

Indeed, § 132-1.9 (b) states: If the denial is based on an assertion that the public record is trial preparation material that was prepared in anticipation of a legal proceeding that has not commenced, the custodian shall, upon request, provide a written justification for the assertion that the public record was prepared in anticipation of a legal proceeding. !

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.

the good guys

Playing the Greatest Music of All Time Local News, Weather, Traffic & Sports

stream us at wtob980.com

PROUD SPONSOR OF Your Local Music Checkup with Dr. Jon Epstein | Every Monday @ 7pm Chuck Dale’s Combo Corner | Every Other Wednesday @ 6pm George Hamilton V Piedmont Opry Time | Monthly Show DECEMBER 18-24, 2019 YES! WEEKLY

17

18

Greensboro abortion clinic escorts say they face harassment by protestors “If you say you believe black lives matter, you’re a hypocrite,” yelled a white man at one black woman helping another out of her car on a cold, wet morning the last Saturday in November.

Ian McDowell His vantage spot behind Midori Express overlooked Contributor parking spaces for A Woman’s Choice, Greensboro’s only remaining abortion provider. The beefy man shouting into his microphone was one of the anti-abortion protesters who fill up the Midori parking lot on Saturday mornings and show up more sporadically every other morning the clinic is open.

This was my second Saturday observing the protests. Two weeks before, as

reported in the article “Race, religion, and Greensboro’s abortion divide,” there had been approximately 800 protesters, of whom I’d estimated over 700 were white and over 500 were male. That day, possibly because it was just after Thanksgiving, there were only four women and 10 men, all white.

“They’ll be out in force again,” said Michael Usey, senior pastor of College Park Baptist Church. Pastor Usey is one of the volunteer escorts, who directs patients’ cars to the clinic’s parking lot and then walks them inside. Often, escorts do their best to distract, or with their multicolored umbrellas, literally shield the women from being harangued by protesters.

“I’ve been doing this for about three months,” Usey told me. “But I’ve been involved in reproductive justice and access issues since I was in seminary in the early ‘80s. It really hit home when I was a college minister in Waco, Texas, and no one, absolutely no one, was talking about

sex ed or sexual ethics or reproductive responsibility in that city at that time except Planned Parenthood. So, I worked with them there, and in Atlanta, and here too, when I was on the Planned Parenthood board for years.”

I was out the cold rainy Saturday after Thanksgiving because of what Usey told me had happened one week before. On Nov. 23, he sent me a Facebook message claiming that a protester had shoved a female escort. According to several witnesses, when Usey stepped between the male protestor and the escort, the protester turned and silently walked away.

“That’s not what the protesters, most of whom are white men, do when a woman, or a black man, tell them to stop,” said one woman who has been a volunteer escort for the last year, but asked not to be identified.

Volunteers such as her and Usey are recruited, trained and approved by Greensboro Clinic Escorts. A spokesperson

for that organization emailed me the following description of the process: “Greensboro Clinic Escorts are volunteers who greet patients and offer them a friendly and reassuring escort to the clinic entrance. Because of the location of A Woman’s Choice Greensboro, our escorts mainly help patients navigate to the clinic, find parking, as well as redirect and shield them from the ‘sidewalk counseling’ of several anti-choice groups stationed along the clinic entrance and in the parking lot of the nearby Midori Japanese restaurant. We wear rainbow vests that identify us as clinic escorts on duty in order to distinguish ourselves from the anti-choice groups.”

At the Nov. 30 protest, and in multiple Facebook conversations over the following weeks, several escorts stated that they used to wear pink vests, but changed to rainbow ones after protestors allegedly started wearing pink in an effort to direct patients to a lot outside of the designated

Protestors hold up signs outside of A Woman’s Choice, Greensboro’s only aborition clinic on Saturday mornings YES! WEEKLY

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COMW

parking for A Woman’s Choice, where they could attempt to convince patients to change their minds.

The spokesperson for Greensboro Clinic Escorts described the organization’s vetting process: “Prospective volunteers must fill out an application, are subject to a background check, and, once vetted, are asked to sign up for a training shift wherein they are assigned to an experienced escort whom they shadow for training. New escorts must also agree to and sign nonengagement and confidentiality policies established by A Woman’s Choice, both of which are sent to new escorts ahead of their training shift and reviewed again upon arrival.”

She wrote that escorts are trained in non-engagement and de-escalation tactics, in order “to keep patients, staff, and volunteers safe, and commitment to patient privacy and dignity,” and explained that the escorts are not counter-protestors. “Instead, we work in service of the clinic staff and patients, and have our own protocols in place to honor our volunteers’ capacity and needs if protesters choose to target and / or engage with them.”

While Usey said that the protestors have not, so far, either targeted or attempted to engage with him, the white and black women and one black man I talked to or corresponded with told very different stories.

“If a cisgender heterosexual-appearing male escort is the one who approaches a patient’s car, the protestors usually just try to talk over him,” wrote an escort who asked to be identified only as Lauren.

“When a female escort (or an escort who doesn’t appear to be cisgender or heterosexual) is trying to direct patients, the men from the CPC will directly challenge her.”

CPC or Crisis Pregnancy Center, has become the standard term for “pregnancy clinics” that advocate against abortion. In this case, Lauren was referring to Greensboro Pregnancy Care Center on Fulton Street. That CPC’s staff and volunteers spend a good deal of time protesting in the Midori parking lot, where they regularly station their mobile ultrasound van and attempt to get prospective patients to enter it instead of A Woman’s Choice.

They offer “free ultrasounds,” telling patients that the law requires them. However, those ultrasounds don’t meet North Carolina’s legal requirement for having an ultrasound before an abortion can be scheduled, as the mandated ultrasound must be done by the abortion provider.

Lauren, who serves an abortion doula as well as a clinic escort, said that she became the latter after the Stop the Bans rally in Greensboro last March.

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

Escort directs patient cars to clinic parking “Before that, I was unaware of protesters outside the local clinic. I had an ectopic pregnancy two years earlier and had to have an abortion procedure; it was through that experience that I became admittedly Pro-Choice. Once I heard about what patients were experiencing here in Greensboro, I felt like it was important to do something, because no one deserves to have to deal with that nonsense while seeking health care.”

Lauren said that she’d had the most hardcore protesters, the small group of men who call themselves “Abolitionists,” approach her and “get in my face and yell.” She also said that she’d been approached by “men from the Crisis Pregnancy Centers” while she was either trying to direct a patient to the clinic or when she was walking to her car. She described the following incident.

“One Thursday morning, I was escorting alone, which we don’t usually do, but the other person who had signed up didn’t show, and I was already there.

Protesters from the Yadkinville pregnancy center were there. They had one male approaching cars. Each time a car would stop, I would walk up to let patients know to follow me if they were there for the clinic. He shouted at me about obstructing the free flow of information or some nonsense. Once all the patients arrived, I decided to head out early because I was uncomfortable. As I walked up the driveway and across the Midori parking lot, the man from Yadkinville started walking toward me yelling about wanting to talk

and about how I ‘had a lot of attitude out here,’ whatever that means. I shook my head and kept walking, but he continued to follow me nearly halfway to my car before he finally just stopped and stared.”

Former escort Forrest Hinton described a more violent experience.

“Since 98% of protestors are white, they use their privilege to call the police on me and pretend to be a victim. They know that the police will be sympathetic to them, even though I was the one who was assaulted. As we’ve seen with multiple black men in Greensboro, the police are not inclined to view me as a victim.”

Hinton described an incident where a protester from the Yadkinville CPC allegedly slammed him into a patient’s car.

“To top it off, he called the police on me, claiming I assaulted him.”

Hinton called the police response “nonchalant,” adding that the officer “pretty much assumed that I hit the protester first” and “said that because he didn’t see anything, he couldn’t do anything.”

Hinton also said that the Abolitionist protester Chris Pantalone called him a pedophile. (I have witnessed Pantalone call the clinic’s staff pedophiles in his amplified harangues.) Another clinic escort, who asked that neither her first nor last name be used, described the following interaction with Pantalone.

“Once, when directing a patient out of the Midori parking lot, Chris walked up right behind me and, with his mic on full blast, yelled at me that I was a pedophile.

At that point, I was still pretty new and,

while not shaken, was definitely startled and confused by it (besides my ears ringing for an hour afterward). I just turned around and told him he didn’t know me and to back the fuck up.”

A veteran escort who asked to identified only as Brandi said that when she started three years ago, she was often singled out.

“I’ve experienced harassment by protestors both on and off the clinic property.

Much of the harassment was targeted toward me because, for a while, I was the only woman of color, asking me things like ‘Don’t Black Lives Matter?’ or ‘Did you know the most dangerous place for a black baby is inside its mother womb?’

They would direct those statements at me when patients of color were within earshot. There have been times that they have targeted me on social media as well as in public settings.”

I asked Brandi if protesters also seemed to target patients of color.

“Absolutely, we’ve had protestors use statements like ‘Come on homie, I know you didn’t have a dad growing up, don’t you want to do better by your children?’

Their scripts and narrative switch up when they see people of color.”

Those interested in becoming a clinic escort can email gsoclinicescorts@gmail. com, or message the Greensboro Clinic Defense Facebook page. !

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.

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019 YES! WEEKLY

19

tunes

20

HEAR IT!

Greensboro Songfarmers, Triad Ukulele to host Holiday Hootenanny

T

riad musical “Renaissance Man,” Doug Baker is part of the Songfarmers of Greensboro, which will team with the folks from Triad Ukulele Katei Cranford to host the Holiday Hootenanny on Dec. 18 at Scuppernong Contributor Books in downtown Greensboro.

Primarily a guitarist, Baker considers himself a truly holistic musician who interweaves his role as an instructor, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

“There’s not really a distinction between the teaching and the creative/performing aspects of what I do,” Baker explained.

“It’s all part of being a musician.” A band geek born into a High Point musical family, Baker’s upbringing rings like a storybook tale of a Triad musicianship.

“There was never any question whether I’d play something,” he said. “Outside of piano lessons, baritone ukulele was my first instrument. My uncle showed me three chords when I was about 10, and within an hour I had figured out that

those three chords could be used to play ‘Ode to Billy Joe.’” Baker started forming rock bands in high school, taking a break for “three miserable months” as a freshman at Appalachian State, before returning to Greensboro to study Music Theory at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. After graduating in 1978, he worked at record stores, got into teaching, and raised a family—all the while maintaining a pace of local musical endeavors.

Baker’s son, Zach, teaches the drumline at Grimsley and is set to graduate from UNCG in the spring with a degree in Music Education. “He’s got a bright future ahead of him,” Baker beamed at his boy following a few footsteps.

A fellow educator, Baker’s been providing private instruction for 14 years and has spent the last three years teaching after-school lessons at Greensboro Day School. ”Teachings helps to go back and analyze things that become automatic after 50 years of playing,” he said.

Baker’s private roster is split between guitar and ukulele, with a few bass and piano students. His holistic approach involves the goal of teaching music by any instrument necessary. “It’s seeing those moments where a kid starts to really get it,” Baker noted of his inspiration.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DOUGBAKERMUSIC.COM

YES! WEEKLY

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

”Sometimes it’s subtle; sometimes they come running in, excited that there’s a new Green Day song they want to learn.”

He’s happy to oblige.

Though the average student is around 10-11 years old, Baker makes room for students as young as 4, and works with several seniors that he assumes are around 65-70, “a Southern gentleman knows better than to ask,” he said. A few of his adult ukulele students ended-up forming the Triad Ukulele group, which is teaming with Baker’s Songfarmer cohorts for the upcoming “Holiday Hootenanny” sing-along event.

Basically, it’s a big protest sing-along session, the Songfarmers of Greensboro, is a local chapter of the national organization (headed by Michael Johnathan, who hosts the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour on NPR,) aimed at gathering musicians of all skills in song. The Greensboro group was born from an HB-2 protest organized by UNCG-professor Steve Haines. “We figured that this thing needed some good ol’ protest folk music,” Baker explained, “so we took it and ran with it.” The result is a group of folks who host a sing-along every six weeks or so.

“People bring all kinds of instruments, so there’s a certain unpredictability that keeps it interesting,” Baker said. “One night, we had two dobros, which was fantastic. But it’s all about singing, so as long as there’s plenty of voices, we’re good.” Collaboration is key, as their motto

rings: “It doesn’t have to be good; it just has to be loud.”

Baker credits his openness for collaboration as a move that’s kept him at a steady pace around the Triad, which extends beyond performer relations. “I can’t say enough about what Dan Morgan at Leveneleven Brewing has done to open up his place to the songwriting community,” he noted with a nod toward venues.

Not hung-up on the past, Baker anticipates playing at newcomers Upstage Cabaret and Oden Brewing in early 2020.

“A lot of people my age overly romanticize the early ‘80s-scene around Fridays.

I was involved early on with that, and it was great for a while, but it grew tiresome. It became more about the clothes and the hairdos than the music.”

Choosing instead to look ahead, Baker hopes the Songfarmers will pick-up steam into the new year. “Lord knows,” he said, “the world needs our voices and songs of struggle and resistance.”

But for now, it’s time for Doug Baker to belt some Christmas tunes as the Songfarmers of Greensboro team up with Triad Ukulele to host the Holiday Hootenanny on Dec. 18 at Scuppernong Books.

Information on lessons and upcoming performances can be found at dougbakermusic.com. !

KATEI CRANFORD is a Triad music nerd who hosts the Tuesday Tour Report on WUAG 103.1 FM.

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COMW

A sort of homecoming: Jump, Little Children return to Winston-Salem for a live show

John Adamian @adamianjohn

Contributor

Jump, Little Children have spent some time contemplating the meaning of home and community.

One of the band’s most well-known songs, “Cathedrals,” contains the lines: “In the cathedrals of New York and Rome, there is a feeling that you should just go home, and spend a lifetime finding out

just where that is.”

As it happens, Winston-Salem is a kind of home for the band — one of many. The band formed in 1991 when the members Jay Clifford (vocals/guitar), Ward Williams (cello), and the brothers Evan (drums) and Matt Bivins (harmonica/accordion/mandolin) were students at the North Carolina School of the Arts.

Winston-Salem still has particular resonance for four of the band’s five members, who spent their formative years in the Twin City. I spoke with Williams and Evan Bivins by phone earlier this week while the band had a stop in Ohio. We talked about their early years and about their recent return to touring and recording after a 10-year hiatus. “[Playing in Winston-Salem] does feel like a hometown experience for me, even though most of my family is gone, for the most part,” Evan said. “We have so much extended family.”

Home became, for a time, Ireland, when the band moved there to play.

Then it was Boston, and then finally Charleston, South Carolina, where Jump, Little Children cultivated their fanbase and made enduring connections with the community there. (Bassist Jonathan Gray joined Jump when they settled back in Charleston.)

The band had an eclectic spirit from the start with their shared school background in classical music, their interest in American roots music (the band’s name comes from a song title by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee), and an early connection with traditional Irish music.

“In the beginning, we were pretty passionately acoustic,” Williams said.

But that changed. The musical ethos of the early ‘90s was one that encouraged dynamic contrasts, rough bits WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

PHOTO COURTESY OF JUMP, LITTLE CHILDREN

paired with smooth ones, loud sections into quiet ones, straight-ahead beats that shifted into less predictable sections. JLT had all of that. Their majorlabel debut Magazine, from 1998, had a lot of these touches. Listening to it now, it brings to mind the New Pornographers, Cake, Rufus Wainwright, Squeeze, Nada Surf, the Lumineers, and Beck.

You could say Jump, Little Children were ahead of their time. They were making ambitious, sophisticated, heartfelt pop music, but there was nothing overtly “Southern” about the band.

Much of the time Jump, Little Children sounded like they had more in common with Radiohead than with Hootie and the Blowfish.

The cello always has a way of adding a lush, emotional, baroque-pop aspect to a rock band. And the fact that guitarist Clifford has a background in writing arrangements for strings led to many of the band’s songs having an elaborate and interesting interplay between the guitar and cello, or other added string players. Listen to “Yearling,” off the

band’s 2001 album Vertigo, which has a section where the flickering guitar line almost sounds like a part of a string quartet. The string parts don’t even sound like they’re tacked on as afterthoughts; they sound integral.

A number of factors either conspired or led to the band’s not being quite as enormous as they might have been. Their follow-up to Magazine got tangled up in record label complications, and then, when it came out, the band was touring to support it during the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when people’s minds were elsewhere. And so, in 2005, at one of their annual shows in Charleston, the band announced that they were done for the time being, and would be moving on to other projects. But, as with so many bands, a long stretch of time away led to JLC reforming. The band announced some reunion shows in 2015, and then a few more the following year, including a crucial festival gig with their friends from Shovels & Rope, spurred the members to make plans for writing and recording a new album. They released

Sparrow in 2018, 20 years after their major-label debut, and after over 10 years since their last studio release.

During that 10-year period, some of the members had made solo records, some played on Broadway in a musical theater setting, some wrote their own musicals, and some kept busy with other projects, and all of that filtered into the sound, which was correspondingly different from the band’s previous releases. The band had made the decision to keep evolving rather than just being a reunion act that played from their back catalog for established fans. Now, they’re trying to navigate the world of crowdfunding platforms and campaigns. It’s a paradigm that might be perfect for JLC, whose fans are passionate and devoted.

The band members, for their part, seem to find the intense connection with fans, through microblogging sites, meet-andgreets, live-chats and other features, to be central to what they do. (Multiinstrumentalist and vocalist Matt Bivins has written lengthy posts about the band’s thinking behind turning to crowdfunding as a way of sustaining this new phase of the band’s career.)

This time around, for 2019, the band has given themselves the challenge of essentially getting their entire back catalog under their belts, playing a number of shows (though not the Winston-Salem one) consisting of performances of their early albums in their entirety. And, meanwhile, singer and primary songwriter Clifford is working on new material, which could land on a new record in the future. As it’s been since the beginning, the band has no particular plan beyond just staying creatively engaged.

“Because we’re all in different towns, it makes it more complicated,” Evan said. “I think all we really know is we like being together, and we like hanging out, and we like making music together. Jump, Little Children is one of those things that is always gonna be a part of our lives.” !

JOHN ADAMIAN lives in Winston-Salem, and his writing has appeared in Wired, The Believer, Relix, Arthur, Modern Farmer, the Hartford Courant and numerous other publications.

WANNA

go?

Jump, Little Children play the Ramkat, 170 West 9th St., Winston-Salem, on Sunday, Dec. 22, at 7 p.m. $20 and up. 336-754-9714. ramkat.com DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

YES! WEEKLY

21

22

Submissions should be sent to artdirector@yesweekly.com by Friday at 5 p.m., prior to the week’s publication.

Visit yesweekly.com and click on calendar to list your event online. home grown muSic Scene | compiled by Austin Kindley

ASHEBORO

FOUR SAINTS BREWING

218 South Fayetteville St. | 336.610.3722 foursaintsbrewing.com Dec 20: Matt Walsh Dec 21: Cory Leutjen and the Traveling Blues Band Dec 22: Beer & Hymns Dec 28: Tail Light Rebellion

CHARlOttE

BOjANGLES COLISEUM

2700 E Independence Blvd | 704.372.3600 www.boplex.com Feb 22: ABBA Feb 22: Lauren Daigle Mar 21: Winter jam

CMCU AMpHITHEATRE former Uptown Amphitheatre 820 Hamilton St | 704.549.5555 www.livenation.com Aug 13: David Gray

THE FILLMORE

1000 NC Music Factory Blvd | 704.916.8970 www.livenation.com Dec 18: Snoop Dogg Dec 19: Tyler Childers Dec 20: Eli Young Band Dec 28: The purple Madness - Tribute to prince Dec 31: Hippie Sabotage jan 3: Face 2 Face: Elton john & Billy joel Tribute jan 4: Ultimate 80’s party ft. Tiffany jan 16: The Disco Biscuits

OvENS AUDITORIUM

2700 E Independence Blvd | 704.372.3600 www.boplex.com Dec 17: Lindsey Stirling Dec 31: Charlie Wilson Mar 6: The Steeldrivers Mar 7: Celtic Woman

pNC MUSIC pAvILION 707 Pavilion Blvd | 704.549.1292 www.livenation.com May 29: The Lumineers

SpECTRUM CENTER

333 E Trade St | 704.688.9000 www.spectrumcentercharlotte.com jan 21: Celine Dion

THE UNDERGROUND

820 Hamilton St, Charlotte | 704.916.8970 www.livenation.com Dec 18: Morbid Angel jan 4: Angry Chair & Third Eye w/ Glycerine jan 10: Shoot To Thrill jan 11: Sugar jan 17: Case

ClEmmOnS

vILLAGE SQUARE TAp HOUSE

6000 Meadowbrook Mall Ct | 336.448.5330 Dec 20: Red Dirt Revival Dec 21: Down The Mountain Dec 27: Dj Bald-E Dec 28: jill Goodson

dAnBuRy

GREEN HERON ALE HOUSE 1110 Flinchum Rd | 336.593.4733 greenheronclub.com

duRHAm

CAROLINA THEATRE

309 W Morgan St | 919.560.3030 www.carolinatheatre.org jan 17: Travis Tritt jan 18: Motown Throwdown Tribute jan 21: Three Dog Night jan 23: jake Shimabukuro Feb 6: The Fab Four - The Ultimate Tribute

DpAC

123 Vivian St | 919.680.2787 www.dpacnc.com jan 26: Frankie valli & The Four Seasons Feb 6: The Black jacket Symphony presents journey’s Escape plus Greatest Hits

The Sportscenter Athletic Club is a private membership club dedicated to providing the ultimate athletic and recreational facilities for our members of all ages. Conveniently located in High Point, we provide a wide variety of activities for our members. We’re designed to incorporate the total fitness concept for maximum benefits and total enjoyment.

We cordially invite all of you to be a part of our athletic facility, while enjoying the membership savings we offer our established corporate accounts.

3811 Samet Dr • HigH Point, nC 27265 • 336.841.0100 FITNESS ROOM • INDOOR TRACK • INDOOR AQUATICS CENTER • OUTDOOR AQUATICS CENTER • RACQUETBALL BASKETBALL • CYCLING • OUTDOOR SAND VOLLEYBALL • INDOOR VOLLEYBALL • AEROBICS • MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM WHIRLPOOL • MASSAGE THERAPY • PROGRAMS & LEAGUES • SWIM TEAMS • WELLNESS PROGRAMS PERSONAL TRAINING • TENNIS COURTS • SAUNA • STEAM ROOM • YOGA • PILATES • FREE FITNESS ASSESSMENTS FREE E QUIPMENT O RIENTATION • N URSE RY • T E NNIS L E SSONS • W IRE L E SS INT E RNE T L OUNGE YES! WEEKLY

December 18-24, 2019

www.yesweekly.comw

ELKIN

REEvES ThEaTER

129 W Main St | 336.258.8240 reevestheater.com Dec 19: Chatham County Line Dec 20: Darin & Brooke aldridge Dec 21: Time Sawyer’s annual holiday Show Spectacular Dec 31: Reeves house Band - New Year’s Eve Jan 10: Travis Meadows Jan 17: Ward Davis

grEENsboro

aRizoNa pETE’S

2900 Patterson St #A | 336.632.9889 arizonapetes.com Dec 20: 1-2-3 Friday

aRTiSTika NighT CLuB

523 S Elm St | 336.271.2686 artistikanightclub.com Dec 20: DJ Dan the player Dec 21: DJ paco and DJ Dan the player

BaRN DiNNER ThEaTRE 120 Stage Coach Tr. | 336.292.2211 Feb 1: Mahalia Mar 7: 9 to 5 apr 4: Beehive: The 60’s Musical May 1: Motherhood The Musical

BEERThiRTY

505 N. Greene St Dec 20: gerry Stanek Dec 27: high Cotton Dec 28: Charlie hunter and geoff Clapp Jan 3: Craig Baldwin Jan 10: poundcake Jan 17: William Nesmith Jan 24: Dave Moran Jan 31: The hedrick’s Feb 7: Jeff and kathy Brooks

ThE BLiND TigER

1819 Spring Garden St | 336.272.9888 theblindtiger.com Dec 19: Bluegrass Christmas w/ Songs From The Road Band & Turpentine Shine Dec 20: Brother’s pearl Christmas vacation Dec 21: a Christmas Celebration w/ The Dickens Dec 26: Brice St Dec 28: Murder By Death Dec 29: 10 Years Dec 30: David Childers & The Serpents w/ paleface Dec 31: New Years Eve w/ The Breakfast Club - 80’s Tribute Band Jan 3: american hair Band Jan 4: Trial By Fire - a Tribute to Journey www.yesweekly.com

CaRoLiNa ThEaTRE

310 S. Greene Street | 336.333.2605 carolinatheatre.com Dec 21: Robin and Linda Williams Dec 27: Friday Reggae vibes Jan 19: Mipso Jan 19: pearl & The Charlotte holding Company

ThE CoRNER BaR

1700 Spring Garden St | 336.272.5559 corner-bar.com Dec 19: Live Thursdays

CoMEDY zoNE

1126 S Holden Rd | 336.333.1034 thecomedyzone.com Dec 19: Shaw Family presents Carl payne Dec 20: Darren DS Sanders Dec 21: Darren DS Sanders Dec 27: Burpie w/ Travis howze Dec 28: Burpie w/ Travis howze Jan 9: WWE hall of Famer Mick Foley

CoMMoN gRouNDS 11602 S Elm Ave | 336.698.388 Dec 27: Bigdumbhick

CoNE DENiM

117 S Elm St | 336.378.9646 cdecgreensboro.com Dec 21: Eli Young Band Feb 18: British Lion

FLaT iRoN

221 Summit Ave | 336.501.3967 Dec 20: Mark kano & Mike garrigan w. Eddie Walker and andy Ware Dec 21: Ed E. Ruger (album Release) Dec 26: Jive Mother Mary Dec 28: Jake haldenvang (Season 17 – The voice) Dec 31: New Years Eve Celebration w.

WaLRuS Jan 4: The hypnotic Conquest Jan 10: No one Mind w. Jenny Besetzt, humanize Jan 11: The Sun god w. Lofield, Tide Eyes Jan 17: Bob Fleming & The Cambria iron Co. Jan 18: Distant Future w. gSo, Toothsome Jan 24: Totally Slow Jan 25: The Shoaldiggers w. Emily Stewart, Chuck Mountain Feb 1: J. Timber (Full Band) Feb 8: Sam Frazier & The Side Effects Feb: viva La Muerte Feb: Run home Jack w. Janet Flights, Dead Casual, Windley, Condado Feb: Shiloh hill

gREENE STREET CLuB 113 N Greene St | 336.273.4111

OUTDOOR ICE RINK

NOVEMBER 15 thru JANUARY 26 VF Seasonal Plaza at LeBauer Park, 208 N. Davie St VISIT:

WWW.PIEDMONTWINTERFEST.COM FOR RATES AND TIMES

CONTACT:

PIEDMONTWINTERFEST@GMAIL.COM FOR PRIVATE RESERVATIONS December 18-24, 2019 YES! WEEKLY

23

1642 Spring Garden St., GSO (corner of Warren St.)

Phone: 336.274.1000 Hours: Mon-Sat 11 am-2am / Sun noon-2 am

24

Open grill till 2am every night!

Best Daily Drink Specials Greensboro’s home for the Washington Redskins!

MON: $4 Jose Silver & $1 off all draft TUES: $4 Vodka Red Bull & $1 off all craft beer FRI: $3 all craft cans

Great Food Prices! come in and check out our new menu

grEEnSboro coliSEum

THE W biSTro & bAr

lEVEnElEVEn brEWing

WHiTE oAK AmPiTHEATrE

1921 W Gate City Blvd | 336.373.7400 www.greensborocoliseum.com Dec 31: The Avett brothers Feb 13: brantley gilbert Feb 15: Winter Jam Feb 29: lauren Daigle

1111 Coliseum Blvd | 336.265.8600 Dec 20: The cool beans Dec 21: christian mcivor Dec 26: Zac messick and claire Dec 27: Andy brower and matty Sheets Jan 3: chris mcivor Jan 4: Dusty cagle Jan 11: Josh Watson

liTTlE broTHEr brEWing

348 South Elm St | 336.510.9678 Dec 28: craig baldwin Jan 11: Jakobs Ferry Stragglers

PiEDmonT HAll

2411 W Gate City Blvd | 336.373.7400 www.greensborocoliseum.com Feb 12: Fitz & The Tantrums Feb 22: Tesla Feb 29: Young Dolph & Key glock

roDY’S TAVErn

5105 Michaux Road | 336.282.0950 rodystavern.com

THE iDioT box comEDY club

502 N. Greene St | 336.274.2699 www.idiotboxers.com Dec 20: A roast of Santa Dec 27: Kenyon Adamcik

324 Elm St | 336.763.4091 @thewdowntown Dec 20: Karaoke Dec 21: live DJ Dec 22: live DJ

1921 W Gate City Blvd | 336.373.7400 www.greensborocoliseum.com

high point

AFTEr HourS TAVErn 1614 N Main St | 336.883.4113 afterhourstavern.net Dec 21: Hard rock reunion Dec 28: charlie Dog Dec 31: new Year’s bash w/ Soc monkee

gooFY FooT TAProom 2762 NC-68 #109 | 336.307.2567 Dec 21: William nesmith Jan 4: David lin Jan 11: Stewart coley Jan 18: Zac Kellum Jan 25: Tony Andrews Feb 1: Jacob & Forrest Feb 8: Tyler long Feb 22: banjo Earth band

HAm’S PAllADium

5840 Samet Dr | 336.887.2434 hamsrestaurants.com Dec 20: rockit Science Dec 21: cumberland Drive Dec 27: Spare change Dec 28: cory luetjen & Tbb

HigH PoinT THEATrE

220 E Commerce Ave | 336.883.3401 www.highpointtheatre.com Feb 15: barbra lica Quintet Feb 20: nY gilbert & Sullivan Players Feb 21: The brubeck brothers Quartet mar 12: georgia on my mind - celebrating the music of ray charles mar 20: Sons of mystro mar 21: croce Plays croce Apr 4: Jump, Jive, & Wail! ft. the Jive Aces may 3: raleigh ringers

jamestown

THE DEcK

118 E Main St | 336.207.1999 thedeckatrivertwist.com Dec 19: cory luetjen Dec 20: big Daddy mojo Dec 21: The Plaids Dec 27: Vinyl Tap with 52/10 Dec 28: Heads up Penny Dec 31: nYE bash with brothers Pearl Jan 9: craig baldwin Jan 10: Jaxon Jill Jan 11: Soul central Jan 16: cory leutjen Jan 17: rockit Science Jan 18: Whiskey Foxtrot Jan 23: Jacon Vaughn Jan 24: Spare change Jan 25: Jill goodson Jan 30: Kelsey Hartley

kernersville

brEATHE cocKTAil loungE

221 N Main St. | 336.497.4822 facebook.com/BreatheCocktailLounge Dec 20: Whiskey Foxtrot Dec 31: new Years Party w/ DJ mike lawson

J.PEPPErS SouTHErn grillE

841 Old Winston Rd | 336.497.4727 jpeppers.com may 14: James Vincent carroll

lewisville

olD nicK’S Pub

191 Lowes Foods Dr | 336.747.3059 OldNicksPubNC.com Dec 20: Karaoke Dec 21: Disaster recovery band Dec 27: Karaoke Dec 31: The offenders, new Year’s Eve Party Jan 3: Karaoke Jan 4: Dante’s roadhouse Jan 10: Karaoke Jan 11: cumberland Drive YES! WEEKLY

December 18-24, 2019

www.yesweekly.comw

Jan 17: Karaoke Jan 18: Stoned Rangers Jan 24: Karaoke Jan 25: Casino Night for AFSP Feb 7: Karaoke Feb 8: Exit 180 Feb 14: Karaoke Feb 15: Juke Box Revolver Feb 21: Karaoke Feb 22: Lasater Union Feb 28: Karaoke Feb 29: Corey Leutjen & The Traveling Blues Band

lIberty

ThE LiBERTY ShowCASE ThEATER

101 S. Fayetteville St | 336.622.3844 TheLibertyShowcase.com Jan 11: The Legacy Motown Revue Jan 18: Ronnie McDowell Jan 25: Confederate Railroad Feb 8: Little Texas Feb 22: Dailey & Vincent Feb 29: Stephen Freeman

raleIgh

CCU MUSiC PARK AT wALNUT CREEK

3801 Rock Quarry Rd | 919.831.6400 www.livenation.com Jun 2: The Lumineers

RED hAT AMPhiThEATER 500 S McDowell St | 919.996.8800 www.redhatamphitheater.com May 9: AJR Jun 2: Local Natives and Foals w/ Cherry Glazerr Aug 14: David Gray

PNC ARENA

1400 Edwards Mill Rd | 919.861.2300 www.thepncarena.com Feb 11: Celine Dion Mar 4: Zac Brown band w/ Amos Lee & Poo Bear Mar 12: Billie Eilish Mar 13: The Millennium Tour: omarion, Bow wow, Ying Yang Twins, Lloyd, Sammie, Pretty Ricky, Soulja Boy, and Ashanti Mar 20: Michael Bublé Mar 22: winter Jam 2020 May 19: JoJo Siwa Aug 1: harry Styles

wInston-salem

BULL’S TAVERN

408 West 4th St | 336.331.3431 facebook.com/bulls-tavern Dec 19: Little Raine Band Dec 21: Brother’s Pearl Dec 26: Brother Bear & Co. www.yesweekly.com

Dec 27: Stig Dec 28: Jukebox Rehab & whiskey Foxtrot Dec 31: NYE 2020 w/ The wright Avenue Jan 11: Barefoot Modern Jan 17: Easy honey Jan 18: My Brother Skyler Jan 24: Doctor ocular Jan 31: The Lilly Brothers Feb 1: The Dirty Grass Players Feb 8: Underground Springhouse Feb 21: Space Koi Feb 22: Jack Marion and The Pearl Snap Prophets

Dec 19: Carolina Crossing Dec 20: Swift - 20th Anniversary Concert Dec 22: Jump, Little Children, hula hi-Fi Dec 27: A Tribute to Tom Petty’s wildflowers by The Civics Dec 28: Emma Gibbs Band, Life in General Jan 3: Natural wonder - The Ultimate Stevie wonder Experience Jan 4: The Gibson Brothers Jan 9: The Steel wheels Jan 14: Branford Marsalis Quartet

SECoND & GREEN

207 N Green St | 336.631.3143 2ngtavern.com

wiNSToN-SALEM FAiRGRoUND 421 W 27th St | 336.727.2236 www.wsfairgrounds.com

wiSE MAN BREwiNG

826 Angelo Bros Ave | 336.725.0008 Dec 18: Victoria Victoria Dec 20: YARN Dec 28: Gipsy Danger

BURKE STREET PUB 1110 Burke St | 336.750.0097 burkestreetpub.com

CB’S TAVERN

3870 Bethania Station Rd | 336.815.1664 Dec 21: Line Dancing w/ Pat

FiDDLiN’ FiSh BREwiNG CoMPANY 772 Trade St | 336.999.8945 fiddlinfish.com Dec 23: old Time Jam

FooThiLLS BREwiNG 638 W 4th St | 336.777.3348 foothillsbrewing.com Dec 18: Jerry Chapman Dec 21: George Smith Dec 22: Sunday Jazz Dec 28: Marcus horth Band Dec 29: Sunday Jazz

MAC & NELLi’S

4926 Country Club Rd | 336.529.6230 macandnellisws.com Dec 27: whiskey Mic

MiLLENNiUM CENTER 101 West 5th Street | 336.723.3700 MCenterevents.com

MiLNER’S

630 S Stratford Rd | 336.768.2221 milnerfood.com Dec 22: Live Jazz

MUDDY CREEK CAFE & MUSiC hALL

5455 Bethania Rd | 336.923.8623 Dec 19: open Mic w/ Country Dan Collins Dec 21: Rob Price and Jack Breyer Dec 28: Celtic Christmas w/ CandelFirth Jan 14: Albert Lee

ThE RAMKAT

170 W 9th St | 336.754.9714 Dec 18: Anna Stine, Emily Stewart December 18-24, 2019 YES! WEEKLY

25

photos

26

VISIT YESWEEKLY.COM/GALLERIES TO SEE MORE PHOTOS!

[FACES & PLACES]

by Natalie Garcia

AROUND THE TRIAD YES! Weekly’s Photographer

YES! WEEKLY

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

Festive Family Friday @ Kaleideum North 12.13.19 | Winston-Salem

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COMW

www.yesweekly.com

hot pour PRESENTS

[BARTENDERS OF THE WEEK | BY NATALIE GARCIA] Check out videos on our Facebook!

BARTENDER: Jordyn Peterson BAR: Grey’s Tavern & Preyer Brewing Company AGE: 23 WHERE ARE YOU FROM? Kings Mountain, N.C. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN BARTENDING? 2 1/2 years HOW DID YOU BECOME A BARTENDER? I was hired as a server at Grey’s when I was 20 then was trained when I turned 21.

WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND AS AN AFTER-DINNER DRINK? A Negroni or an Old Fashion depending on which kind of bitter you prefer.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT BARTENDING? The unpredictability of it all and the ability to interact with such different people. I also love the community that the service industry creates.

WHAT’S THE CRAZIEST THING YOU’VE SEEN WHILE BARTENDING? One time this guy fell out of his chair early into the night. I guess he took some glass with him when he fell because he had cut the side of his face, and he was bleeding pretty badly. We called the ambulance to get him checked out, and he was so confused as to why he couldn’t stay and keep partying. He wasn’t ready to go home yet, even though he was bleeding profusely from his face.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE DRINK TO MAKE? Margaritas or finding new ways to use spiked seltzers as mixers.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE DRINK TO DRINK? Margaritas, Feb. 22(National Margarita Day) is my second favorite holiday.

WHAT’S THE BEST TIP YOU’VE EVER GOTTEN? $250

WE’RE NOT CHEAP, WE’RE FREE !

LOCAL & FREE SINCE 2005

December 18-24, 2019 YES! WEEKLY

27

28

Camel City Craft Fair @ Foothills Brewing 12.15.19 | Winston-Salem

YES! WEEKLY

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COMW

www.yesweekly.com

December 18-24, 2019

YES! WEEKLY

29

last call YOUR DELICIOUS ALTERNATIVE SOURCE

YES ! WEEKLY HALF HOUR FREE

Real Singles, Real Fun...

1-704-943-0050

construction8.pdf 1 2/24/2019 01:34:58 More Numbers: 1-800-926-6000 Livelinks.com, 18+

30

YES! WEEKLY

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019

[HOROSCOPES]

[LEO (July 23 to August 22) No one reflects the bright holiday more than all you Leos and Leonas who love the shimmer and glimmer of the season.

P.S.: There just might be a very special something from Santa.

[SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) You always bring your own wonderful sparkle and light to the holidays, and don’t be surprised if this year someone special reaches out to respond to your warmth in kind.

[ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Your love of the holidays creates a special bond between you and the people in your life. Use this as a way of building stronger relationships that will carry over well beyond this time.

[VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Celebrate the holidays by being more receptive to new experiences. Overriding the Virgo reluctance to try new things could be the best gift you’ve given yourself in a long while.

[CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Togetherness is the dominant theme for the Goat’s holiday celebrations this year. That means reaching out to bring everyone you care for into your very own special circle of light.

[TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) A new approach could go a long way toward resolving a painful estrangement, especially at this holiday time. And since your aspects favor friendship this week, why not go ahead and try it?

[LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Good news about a loved one makes the holidays even more festive. Expect some unexpected gifts, so be prepared with a few nicely wrapped packages of goodies to offer in return.

[AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A reminder of a very special moment from the past makes the holidays more memorable for the romantic Aquarian.

New friendships hold the promise of a romantic future as well.

[GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Your positives continue to dominate, and any negative factors that squeeze in can be dealt with easily. The secret is to tackle them at once and not allow them to benefit by your neglect.

[SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) The holiday season provides an opportunity to meet new people, some of whom you might even consider “worthy” enough to join the Scorpio’s select group of friends.

[PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Getting into the swim of things for all you party-loving Pisceans is easy enough this holiday season. And, of course, you can expect to impress people wherever you go.

[CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Good news: A colleague’s remarks could help you move toward ultimately resolving that persistent workplace situation.

Meanwhile, enjoy the holidays with loved ones. © 2019 by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COMW

[THE ADVICE GODDESS] love • sex • dating • marriage • questions

BABY GOT BACKUP

I’ve been dating this really great woman for three months. She’s just decided that she needs to be single right now, despite our forming a pretty Amy Alkon strong connection.

She explained that Advice she really, really Goddess likes me, but she’s never been single for very long and thinks it’s best for her at the moment. I can respect that. She also says we can keep sleeping together if I want. I want to do that, but I’m wondering: Could that ruin our chances of having a real relationship again in the future? —Wanna Play It Smart People give you a reason for their behavior. It may not be the real reason.

Like, I’d tell somebody, “So sorry ... got a work thing!” and not, “I’d shave off my eyebrows to get out of your 8-year-old’s oboe recital.”

There’s a good chance you’ve been demoted from boyfriend to emergency penis. Research by evolutionary psychologist Joshua Duntley suggests that we evolved to cultivate backup mates — plan B partners we can quickly pivot to in case a partner ditches us or dies in a freak accident. Many or most of us seem to have a backup mate or two — some-

body we flirt with regularly or otherwise set up as our romantic fallback, though we aren’t always consciously aware of it.

Maybe you’re all, “Hey, fine by me if she wants to keep me as her sexual service department while she’s shopping around.” Maybe you’re hoping she’ll find other dudes lame in comparison. Totally possible. But if what really matters to you is having a relationship with her, all that availability on your part is not a good look. The problem is “the scarcity principle.” Psychologist Robert Cialdini explains that we value what’s scarce or out of reach, fearing that we’ll lose access to it. In fact, the desirability of the very same person or thing often increases or decreases according to shifts in its perceived accessibility. (Picture Denny’s with a velvet rope and a scary bouncer instead of “Open 24 hours! Seat yourself!”)

Once your value is perceived to be low, there might not be much chance of rehabbing it. So it might pay to find other sex partners and give this woman a chance to miss you. It ultimately serves your purpose better than turning yourself into the man version of those freezedried food packs sold for earthquake or apocalypse prep kits: delicious like seasoned particle board but just the thing while you’re waiting for rescue in the remains of your office building with nothing to eat but your arm.

THE TRUTH FAIRY

My boyfriend recently proposed to me.

I’ve gotten to thinking that if I’d never

answers [CROSSWORD] crossword on page 13

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

worn braces, he wouldn’t have been interested in me. I had a terrible underbite. I always felt very unattractive in regard to my teeth, lip, and jaw region until I eventually had this corrected years ago through braces. I constantly have the nagging thought that my boyfriend could do better — that is, find a woman who is more naturally beautiful, more on a par with his level of attractiveness. Basically, I feel that my braces led to a form of unnatural beauty, a kind of cheating, and I don’t deserve him. —Distressed Though some men are put off by fake breasts, it’s unlikely that anybody will find corrective dental work a vile form of deception, like you’re the Bernie Madoff of the perfect smile.

Research in “dental anthropology” (who knew?!) by Peter Ungar, Rachel Sarig, and others suggests the cause of your underbite could be genetic — or it could be environmental (perhaps deficiencies in maternal nutrition during pregnancy). Sorry. I was hoping for something a little more definitive, too.

Might you and your fiance have a kid with a funky bite? Sure. But unlike in

ancestral human societies, we live in a world teeming with orthodontists. Just look for the “STR8TEETH” and “SMILEDOC” plates on cars that cost as much as a small, slightly used private jet.

Allay your fears by being honest: Tell your fiance that you got braces to correct a really bad underbite. A dude who’s attracted to the way you look now is unlikely to dump you upon learning about your supposedly sordid orthodontic history. Looks are vital for attraction, but they’re just part of what matters. A massive cross-cultural survey by evolutionary psychologist David Buss finds that men, like women, prioritize kindness and intelligence in a partner. In fact, these are men’s and women’s top asks. And these are things that can’t be engineered with $7K in oral railroad tracks and years spent covering your mouth when you laugh lest those tiny rubber bands shoot across the room and put out somebody’s eye. !

GOT A problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol. com (www.advicegoddess.com) © 2019 Amy Alkon Distributed by Creators.Com.

FREE LIMO

PICK-UP & DROP OFF!

TR ASURE The

CLUB

ADULT ENTERTAINMENT AND SPORTS BAR & CLUB

[WEEKLY SUDOKU] sudoku on page 13

Come see why we're the best!

Let us wrap your package!

We know how to take care of packages.

Come visit us and one of our sexy ladies will wrap your package F R E E during lunch hours!

VOTED THE TRIAD’S

7806 BOEING DRIVE Greensboro (Behind Arby’s) Exit 210 off I-40 | (336) 664-0965 TREASURECLUBGREENSBORONC | THETREASURECLUBS.COM | TREASURECLUBNC2 11:30AM - 2AM MONDAY THRU FRIDAY / 6:30PM - 2AM SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

BEST

GENTLEMEN’S CLUB

DECEMBER 18-24, 2019 YES! WEEKLY

31

GreensboroColiseum gbocoliseum @gbocoliseum

JANUARY 17

Greensboro Swarm vs.

Westchester

WEDNESDAY

Greensboro Swarm vs.

Fort Wayne

JAN. 30- FEB. 2

www.greensborocoliseum.com

- Universal Spirit Cheerleading > Dec. 14

- WFMY Holiday Blood Drive > Dec.17

- HAECO Basketball Invitational > Dec. 26-28

- North Carolina A&T State University Commencement > Dec. 14

- Miss Daina's Christmas Adventure > Dec. 21

- UNCG Men's Basketball vs. William Peace > Dec. 28

1-800-745-3000

Event Hotline: (336) 373-7474 / Group Sales: (336) 373-2632

Safe. Legitimate. Coliseum-Approved. greensborocoliseum/ticketexchange