Lady Julia Boyd is the author of “The Story of Furniture,” “Hanna Riddell,” “An Englishwoman in Japan,” “The excellent Dr. Blackwell” and “A Dance with the Dragon.”
She will be presenting a program titled “A Dance with the Dragon — The Vanishing World of Peking’s Foreign Colony” at the next gathering of the English Speaking Union Salisbury Branch, on Thursday, April 17, at 6:30 p.m. at the Country Club of Salisbury.
Lady Boyd is a former governor of The English Speaking Union of the Commonwealth and a former Chairperson of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Council. She is married to Sir John Boyd, a diplomat who has served as British Ambassador to Japan, Chairman of the British Museum and Master of Churchill College, Cambridge University. Sir John and and Lady Boyd have travelled extensively in Asia. They currently live in London and on a sheep farm in England’s Lake District.
Dinner reservations for the April 17 program are $32 each. You do not have to be a member of the Country Club to attend.
This is the seventh and final program of this season’s English Speaking Union Salisbury Branch schedule. The next season of speakers begins in September.
For reservations and information, call Gerry Wood at 704-216-2660.

GRANITE QUARRY — The Granite Quarry Elementary PTA is sponsoring “Granite’s Got Talent,” an all-kid talent show on Friday, April 11 at 6 p.m. It will be held in the school auditorium. There are about 20 acts scheduled, along with a guest performance by To The Pointe Dance Studio.
Tickets for the event are $5 for adults and $3 for kids, and a raffle ticket is included in the ticket price. Proceeds will benefit the kids of GQES. With questions, call the school at 704-279-2154.

Rowan Public Library will present the premiere presentation of “Courage and Conflict,” a short film that describes the events and effects of the American Civil War on the people of Rowan County. From the formation of antebellum militia units to the final raid by General Stoneman, the film looks at the combatants on the battlefield as well as the folks at home. This episode is part of the “Ramble through Rowan” DVD series, which is available for free checkout.
The film will be shown on Thursday, April 10 at 7 pm in the Stanback Auditorium, 201 W. Inne St., and is free and open to public. A discussion session and reception will follow the film. Visit www.rowanpubliclibrary.org or call 704-216-8232 for more information.

Celebrate Founder’s Month in Downtown Salisbury at the April 4 First Friday event from 5 until 8 p.m.
Visitors may experience weaving on a loom, learn calligraphy and hoop rolling, see the historical characters walking trail, join the scavenger hunt for Lord Salisbury at participating merchants, and find promotional offers from restaurants and merchants, which will be staying open late. Pick up a walking map and scavenger hunt information at the tent on the square.
In addition, there will be a free “Night at the Museum” movie showing at 7:30 p.m. inside the Rowan Museum. Free popcorn and lemonade will be served.

KANNAPOLIS — Kannapolis History Associates will show at their annual meeting on Monday a documentary film by Charlotte film maker John Austin. Mr. Austin will be present for Q & A about the film, which features K-Town’s historic Gem Theater. The film premiered at the Gem and has been shown at various film festivals.
The meeting is Monday, April 7, beginning at 7 p.m., in the A. L. Brown High School social room. Refreshments will be served. Park and enter east of Trinity Methodist Church. KHA History Room: 704-932-6125 ext 412,

In celebration of National Library Week and National Poetry Month, Rowan Public Library will be hosting a Poetry Slam for middle and high school teens.
A poetry slam is a performance poetry contest, an opportunity for people to share their original poetry with a wider audience. Poems can be from a diverse range of styles including love poetry, poetry on social commentary, comic routines, and personal confessional pieces. Because the SLAM is a teen event, topics and language must be appropriate for all ages; other than that limitation, any type of poem is welcome.
Judges will be looking at two components—the poem itself and the delivery. Regarding the poem, they will look at: content (keeping attention of the audience), length (staying within 3 minutes), good word usage, keeping material organized, and eliciting an audience response (laughing, clapping, etc.). Regarding the performance, judges will be looking at eye contact, voice projection, enthusiastic delivery, and overall execution. Cash prizes of $75 for first place, $50 for second, and $25 for third will be awarded.
The Poetry Slam is scheduled for Tuesday, April 15th at 5:30 pm in the Stanback Auditorium at Rowan Public Library Headquarters (Salisbury). For a complete list of rules or to register for the event, please visit www.rowanpubliclibrary.org. Call 704-216-8234 for more information.

GRAYSON HIGHLANDS STATE PARK — Registration is open in April for guitarists who want to compete at the 20th annual Wayne C. Henderson Music Festival and Guitar Competition at Grayson Highlands State Park. The winner will walk away with a handmade Henderson guitar.
Applications must be received between April 1 and May 1. The registration form can be obtained from www.waynehenderson.org
A maximum of 20 contestant applications and 10 alternate contestant applications will be selected. The first 20 applications will be drawn at random and approved as contestants by the contestant selection committee. The next 10 applications will be drawn at random and approved as alternates. Other prizes are second place, $200; third, $150, fourth, $100; and fifth, $50.
The family-friendly festival will be Saturday, June 21, rain or shine, at Grayson Highlands State Park in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. Performing will be Vince Gill, Bill Kirchen, Dale Jett and Hello Stranger, the Snyder Family Band, Kazuhiro Inaba, and Wayne Henderson and Friends. Children’s events and music are on the schedule, too. Admission is $20, and children 12 and younger get in free. Parking is $3.
Find event details at www.waynehenderson.org. Park information is at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/grayson-highlands.shtml

STATESVILLE – Fort Dobbs State Historic Site will offer a glimpse life from 250 years ago on April 12-13. North Carolina found itself engaged in a global struggle for empire between England and France which included dozens of American Indian tribes, including the Cherokee, who had been allies of the British when the war started, but who found themselves fighting their former friends as a cycle of violence and retaliation spiraled into war. Fort Dobbs Hosts Largest French and Indian War Re-enactment in the Carolinas.
The April “War for Empire” event will allow visitors to meet soldiers, American Indians and civilians from the 18th Century as we look at the French and Indian War history of North Carolina through encampments, trades demonstrations and battle reenactments. Vendors of reproduction period items will also be on hand.
The programs will run 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sunday with highlighted activities each day, including a battle re-enactment at 1:30. Admission is $2 per person. Children under 5 years old are free.
For information call 704- 873-5882 or visit www.fortdobbs.org. Fort Dobbs is the only state historic site dedicated to the period of the French and Indian War (1754-1763), also known as the Seven Years War.

MIDLAND — Get ready to “strike it rich” and take home a treasure from Reed Gold Mine as the gold panning season begins April 5. This time honored tradition allows visitors to relive the days of gold miners prospecting along Little Meadow Creek and the surrounding areas, using metal pans to find gold. A few special gold nuggets will be given away throughout the day. Panning tickets are $3 per pan, and visitors must be eight years or older to participate. Other activities are free.
The traveling exhibit, Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge: 1718, will be in its final days at Reed Gold Mine.This exhibit showcases cannon balls, gold nuggets and other artifacts recovered from Blackbeard’s shipwreck. It highlights information on Blackbeard, the recovery effort and pirates off the coast of North Carolina.
Reed Gold Mine will also begin operation of the stamp mill for the season during this celebration. The 1890s era California type 10 stamp mill was used to extract gold from quartz. The quartz was crushed, washed over mercury treated copper plates and ended up on the concentrating table. Mercury and gold form an amalgam which could then heated, boiling the mercury away to collect the gold.

Deejay Caibel and emcee JB Real have teamed up with The Inn to bring a teen dance party to Rowan County. The duo have done plenty of college and EDM parties in the Charlotte metro area and wanted to bring that experience to Rowan County, where they went to college together and Caibel grew up. The event is April 4 at The Inn, located at 1012 Mooresville Road. The event will start at 8 p.m. and go until midnight. Security, including Salisbury Police, will be on hand. Call 704-213-1476 for details.