Plein Air paint-out in Rowan County

Submitted

This weekend, Aug. 12, 13 and 14, artists from the eastern US will descend on Rowan County to do paintings of many local sites. At least 30 painters are registered and can be seen with their easels and canvases at such places at Downtown Salisbury, the Transportation Museum, Historic Gold Hill, Dunn’s Mountain, beautiful farms in Mt. Ulla, Dan Nicholas Park, Hurley Park and Morgan Ridge Vineyards, to name a few.

The public is invited to view the results of the three day paint-out at the F&M Trolley Barn on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 14, from 2-4 p.m. Awards will be presented at that time. Chad Smith, an accomplished plein air painter from Durham will judge the paintings before the show. Most paintings will be for sale.

The Sarah Kellogg Award of $1,000 will be presented as first place. Second place is the Fisher Award, of $500 and third place is the Fine Frame Gallery Award, $250. Several honorable mentions will be given.

The event is hosted by the Waterworks Visual Arts Center and Plein Air Carolina.

The artists reception starts at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 18. 

The Carolina Artists Guild present its annual judged show of original works by local artists. The exhibit is free and open to the public Wednesday through Friday, Aug. 17-19.

Show hours are Wednesday from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. • Thursday from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. • Friday from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.

Categories: oil, acrylic, watercolor, photography, pencil, pastel, pen & ink, charcoal, collage, mixed media. All works are for sale.

The exhibit is at the Salisbury Civic Center, 315 Martin Luther King Jr Ave. S.

The Carolina Artists Guild was formed in 1990 by working artists for the express purpose of providing
more opportunities for local artists to be recognized within the central Carolina community.

All artists at any level of expertise, art students and other individuals interested in promoting arts in the community are welcome to join. The guild meets on third Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. at Rufty Holmes Senior Center, 1120 South Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. For information, call 704-633-2852.

 

Upcoming events at the NC Transportation Museum

All GM Show — Aug. 13: After the Fords, GM vehicles get their turn. Featuring Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac. To register your car, call 704-636-2889 ext. 268. www.nctrans.org

Third annual Historic Spencer Shops Train Show — 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 20 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Aug. 21 : Model train layouts, vendors, kids’ activities, modeling clinics, celebrities of the rail fan domain, more. Info: 704-636-2889 ext. 239 or www.nctrans.org

Civil War weekend —  Aug. 26-28: At the close of the Civil War, three days after Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House, Gen. George Stoneman marched into Salisbury. Unaware of Lee’s surrender, Stoneman burned buildings, destroyed Confederate supplies, destroyed the former Confederate Prison, and tried to stop fleeing trains carrying Confederate supplies from the city under siege.

The N.C. Transportation Museum’s Civil War Weekend: Stoneman’s Raid Through Salisbury, will feature train ride reenactments of these events, historians, Civil War era music, living history, Friday night lantern tours, a Saturday night dinner and Civil War dance, and trolley tours to the Salisbury National Cemetery and Confederate Prison site and to the Fort York area where Confederate and Union forces clashed. Lantern tours are Friday; all other events are Saturday-Sunday.

Tickets are available now at www.nctrans.org

 

Tickets available for ‘Bless Me, Father’ 

7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Aug. 26-27: Center for Faith & the Arts and the Phoenix Readers present an original play by local playwright Andy Rassler. Suspicions and innuendo reign as a new parishioner joins the parish quilting group. Who is the new woman? What is her agenda? And what is going on between her and the parish priest? $10 admission. See www.faithart.org or www.leestreet.org

 

Tickets are still available for the Night At The Museums event

The second annual popular “Night at the Museums” event, hosted by Rowan Museum and Spencer Doll and Toy Museum, begins at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13.

The evening includes a trolley ride, a tour of both museums, interaction with historical characters and a buffet dinner. Find out more at www.SpencerDollAndToyMuseum.com or call 704-762-9359.

 

Big Muddy Challenge is back at Patterson Farm 

MT. ULLA — Big Muddy Challenge, a back-to-school event for families, is Saturday, Aug. 20, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at Patterson Farm Market & Tours, 10390 Caldwell Road., Mt. Ulla.

An obstacle race that is team-based, participants must by six years old to participate. Register at bigmuddychallenge.com. Teams will be assigned a start time prior to the event.

More than 1,300 participated in last year’s Muddy Challenge.

The emphasis is on fun, not competition, according to Michelle Patterson, Director of Fun for Patterson Farm Market & Tours.

“You will get wet and muddy,” says Adam Spisak of Raleigh, the founder of the Big Muddy Challenge. “If you have brand new kicks or sweat gear, it’s probably best to not wear them. Jewelry of all kinds is encouraged to be removed and left at home. Costumes, however, are highly encouraged!”

Patterson Farm Market & Tours will have picnic areas, playgrounds, the new Treasure Mine, the petting zoo, the barn and market open for visitors.

Register at bigmuddychallenge.com

Auditions for ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’

Auditions for “Tuesdays with Morrie” at Lee Street theatre will be held Aug. 14-15 at 7 p.m. The production is directed by Brian Daye and show dates are Oct. 13-15 and 20-22. Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Experience is not necessary.

“Tuesdays with Morrie” is based on the best-selling book by the same name by Mitch Albom. It’s the autobiographical story of Mitch, an accomplished journalist driven solely by his career, and Morrie Schwartz, his former college professor. Mitch is reunited with Morrie after 16 years, and what starts as a simple visit turns into a weekly pilgrimage and a last class in the meaning of life.

Auditions will be held at 405 N. Lee St. Additional information can be found at www.leestreet.org

 

Bernheim to speak on Raoul Wallenberg at Trinity Oaks

Rachel Bernheim will speak Aug. 31 at Trinity Oaks about one of the most important and heroic figures of World War II: Raoul Wallenberg.

Bernheim, a native of Salisbury, is the chairman and CEO of the Raoul Wallenberg Committee of the United States. The author of the monograph “Raoul Wallenberg: A Hero for Our Time,” Bernheim is an expert on the life of Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat whose extraordinary and selfless actions saved tens of thousands of Jewish people near the end of World War II. Bernheim has served as a consultant on books, films, and documentaries about the life of Wallenberg and has spoken about Wallenberg before hundreds of groups, including the U.S. Congress.

Bernheim’s presentation will begin at 3:30 p.m. in the special events room at Trinity Oaks Wed., Aug. 31.

Tickets on sale for the ‘Really Big Shew’

The Salisbury-Rowan Symphony is hosting the “Ed Sullivan Show” Tribute, featuring Kent Bernhardt as Ed Sullivan on Saturday, Aug. 27 at 7:30 p.m.

Be part of the live studio audience in the Norvell Theatre Enjoy light refreshments and a grand show. Tickets are $20, and seating is limited. You will get to experience stars such as, “Bette Midler” (Mary Ann McCubbin), “Elvis Presley” (Michael Thomas), and “The Beatles” (Catawba College All-star Vernaculars). To keep a variety show-like atmosphere, other possible featured performers include a stand-up comedian, a dance team, a magician, and an opera singer. David Whisenant will be the announcer for accompanying vintageand new commercials, and clips of past performances will add to the nostalgia.

Tickets are on sale at www.salisburysymphony.org or 704-637-4314.

Old Courthouse Theatre presents ‘The Dixie Swim Club’ 

CONCORD — (PG) Five southern women who were college swim teammates meet one long weekend every August in the same beach cottage at the Outer Banks to catch up, laugh and meddle in each other’s lives.

The show focuses on four of those weekends, and spans a period of 33 years. The cast of “The Dixie Swim Club” includes Frances Quinn (Lexi), Becky Porter (Vernadette), Melissa Bowden (Jeri Neal), Linda Smith (Sheree), and Nancy Cottingham (Dinah).

Performances dates: Aug. 12, 13, 19, 20 at 8 p.m. • Aug. 14, 21 at 2:30 p.m. Sunday matinee.

Tickets at www.showtix4u.com or box office 704-788-2405. Old Courthouse Theater, 49 Spring St. NW, www.oldcourt housetheatre.org

 

Comic legend James Gregory returns to the Meroney

7:30 p.m, Saturday, Aug. 13 

James Gregory grew up watching stand-up comedy on programs like Jack Benny, Milton Berle and the Ed Sullivan Show. After some nudging from his friends, he started doing open mic stand-up in Atlanta and things just took off. Today he performs his down-home stories of
food, funerals and funny relatives

to sold-out theatres, working 48 weeks of the year. He’s also a regularly invited guest onnational radio shows, like The Bob & Tom Show and The Big Show with John Boy and Billy.

Early in his career he earned the moniker, “Funniest Man in America,” but, he’s quick to tell you, “At that time there were only 13 states.” His jokes are squeaky clean as, he says, “My mother wouldn’t let me tell them if they weren’t.” It’s the kind of show you could feel comfortable bringing your date or your grandmother.

Says Gregory, “To me, Southern comedians are guys who get onstage and talk about pickup trucks, rifle racks and cow-tipping. I don’t talk about the South; I just deliver my material with a Southern accent. My comedy is based on the real life-the people I grew up with. My notions about food came from them. They all eat fried foods and many of them are in their eighties. Meanwhile you read in the news how some health nut kicked the bucket jogging on the way home from the health food store.”

He says, “People come to a comedy club to laugh. It seems like the new thing in comedy today is ‘stream of consciousness’ or ‘cerebral’ material. I doubt if a husband and wife ever looked at each other on their way to a comedy club and said, ‘Gee, I hope this guy is going to be real cerebral tonight.’ I think they say, ‘He sure better be funny.’”

For tickets, call 704-633-5471 or visit www.PiedmontPlayers.com