Not everyone who resides in Wilmington has had the distinct pleasure to visit every tourist hotspot about town. Sure, we may have given directions to said places umpteen times, even suggested them to many flocks of people who ask for the “best places to see in Wilmington.” Then comes along the Cape Fear Visitor’s Unless of course that one time of year rolls around beckoning our attendance for free, nonetheless. Thanks to the Cape Fear Coast’s Convention and Visitors Bureau (CFCCVB ), “Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown” offers a great chance for Wilmingtonians to get off their hides and check out the numerous places that make our region significantly adored. Taking place March 1st, 2009, below destinations will be offering their services/tours for free to all New Hanover County residents, with I.D. (All photos and descriptions provided by CFCCVB; www.capefearcoast.com/hometown)

Airlie Gardens
300 Airlie Road • 798-7700
Hours: 9am-5pm
Guided tours available at 1pm and 3pm. Stroll through the winding paths of this century-old garden by the sea.

Arboreteum at New Hanover County Co-Op Extension
6206 Oleander Drive • 798-7660
Hours: 8am-6pm
Explore six-plus acres of demonstration and trail gardens to discover the newest and best plants for area landscapes and gardens.

Battleship NORTH CAROLINA
Hwys.17/74/76/421 (on the Cape Fear River across from downtown) • 251-5797
Hours: 8am-5pm
Come aboard the NC, and imagine yourself at sea during WWII, searching the sky for enemy aircraft, anticipating what may happen next. History comes alive. Last boarding 4pm; closes 5pm.

Bellamy Mansion Museum
503 Market Street • 251-3700
Hours: 1-4pm
Visit the formal areas and kitchen in the basement of the mansion, hear historical information about the original slave quarters and its restoration in the rear garden, and peruse the gift shop.

Blue Moon Gift Shops
203 Racine Drive • 799-5793
Hours: 12-5pm
Over 100 eclectic shops feature works by artists and craftspeople. Tastings and craft/vendor demonstrations.

Burchetta Glassblowing
Studio and Gallery
201 Red Cross St. • 399-7614
Hours: 10am-5pm
See live glassblowing demonstrations and tour the gallery.

Burgwin-Wright Museum
224 Market St. • 762-0570
Hours: 12-5pm
The house will not be open; however, visitors may tour the historic gardens and visit the Colonial kitchen and the former jail. A self-guided garden tour is available, with layout, historical facts, plant identification, etc.

Cameron Art Museum
3201 S. 17th St. (corner of Independence Blvd. and 17th Street) • 395-5999
Hours: 11am–5pm
View four exhibitions: Quiet Spirit, Skillful Hand: The Graphic Work of Clare Leighton, Bob DeYoung: Installation {phantasm}, Bearden to Ruscha: Contemporary Art from the North Carolina Museum of Art and Toy Crazy. At 2pm, experience our exhibitions through the eyes of an artist. Enjoy our monthly series Artists in the Galleries with an informal tour and discussion with local metal sculptor Breta Carnes.

Cape Fear Museum of History and Science
814 Market St. • 798-4350
Hours: 1-5pm
Discover history, science and cultures of the Lower Cape Fear in the museum’s newest exhibit, Cape Fear Volunteers: highlighting a century of service from the Cape Fear Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Capt’n Bill’s Backyard Grill
4240 Market St. (behind “17” North Shopping Ctr.)
762-0173.
Hours: noon-9pm,
Free volleyball. Grill will be open with food & drink specials.

Carolina Beach Lake Park
Atlanta & Lake Park Blvd, Carolina Beach
617-9793
Hours: 10am-2pm
Wheel Fun Rentals will offer free paddle boat rentals. Free to NHC residents only.

Carolina Beach State Park
State Park Road, Carolina Beach • 458-8206
Hours: 8am-8pm
Bring picnic, fishing supplies. Explore nature trails, pier, visitor center and more. (Boat ramp access/campsite rentals not included.)

Federal Point History Center
1121-A N. Lake Park Blvd. • 458-0502
Hours: 1-4pm
Enjoy exhibits and audio-visual presentations portraying periods in the Federal Point community, including pre-historic, colonial, Civil War and development of Carolina-Kure Beaches and Seabreeze as tourist attractions. Refreshments.

Ft. Fisher State Historic Site—Civil War Fort
Hwy. 421, Kure Beach • 458-5538
Hours: 1-5pm
Hear the cannons boom for County residents. Special firings of the fort’s 12-pound bronze Napoleon cannon throughout the afternoon. Enjoy scene views as you visit our tour trails, historic earthen fortifications and visitor center.

Fort Fisher State Recreation Area
1000 Loggerhead Rd. (off US 421), Kure Beach
458-5798
Hours: 8am-5pm.
Visitor center, free access to the 4WD beach and 4-mile stretch of undeveloped beach for shell seekers, bird watchers. Must display valid NHC drivers license. Four wheel-drive access free to NHC residents only.

Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington
Meets at Cape Fear Riverwalk at Market & Water streets, Wilmington • 794-1866
Guided tours start at 6:30pm only. Reservations required and on a first-come, first-serve basis. Guide will take larger than normal groups and tour will be somewhat abbreviated. Space is limited. NHC residents only.

Greenfield Grind Skate Park
Burnett Blvd. (behind Parks & Recreation offices)
362-8222
Hours: 1-8pm
Participants get free admission between 1-8pm. Note: All participants required to wear helmet and pads.

Halyburton Park
4099 17th St. • 341-0075
Hours: 8am-5pm
Take a hike or ride your bike through the 58-acre tract of land comprising gently rolling sandhills, wet pine flatwoods and limesink depressions ponds and discover the many plants and animal species living here.

Haunted Pub Crawl
Fat Tony’s Italian Pub, 131 N. Front St. • 343-8881
Get a “taste” of the Haunted Pub Crawl and hear eerie tales that will both shiver ye timbers and make ye laugh out loud; starting at noon and occurring on the hour every hour with the last one at 6pm.
Meets at Cape Fear Riverwalk
131 N. Front St. • 794-7177
Market and Water streets
Guided tours start at 1pm only. Reservation required on a first-come, first-served basis. Guide will take larger than normal groups and tour will be somewhat abbreviated. Space is limited.

Hugh MacRae Park and Nature Trail
Oleander and S. College Rd. • 798-7181
Hours: 8am-11pm
Playgrounds (playground for 5-12-year-olds is lighted), lighted tennis courts, athletic fields, picnic areas, nature trails, etc. Free every day (except for shelter, horse ring, baseball fields and garden rentals). Baseball fields must be reserved in advance. Walk the 1.55-mile trail right in the park or visit the Hugh MacRae Nature Trail located across the street behind the NHC Senior Center.

Jungle Rapids Family Fun Park
5320 Oleander Dr. • 798-0666
Hours: 8am-11pm
Offering a choice of one of the following activities to each participant: one free round of Jungle Golf, or one free go-kart ride, or one free wall climb.

Moore’s National Battlefield
Hwy 210, Currie (20 miles from Wilmington) • 283-5591
Hours: 9am-5pm
Park rangers will offer guided tours at 1, 2, 3 and 4pm. Musket demonstrations all day. Park features a newly renovated museum, film and bookstore. Experience the pivotal 1776 battle that ended British hopes for an early victory in the South and was a major step towards declaring independence in July.

NC Military History Museum
116 Air Force Way, Kure Beach • 477-0499
noon-4pm
Exhibits include artifacts, memorabilia and displays from WWI through Desert Storm, with photos, documents, letters, uniforms, fieldgear, hats, helmets and more. Gift shop open.

Old Books on Front St. Storytelling
22 N. Front St. • 763-4754
Hours: 1-4pm.
Author David Norris, will be signing his book “Potter’s Raid: The Union Cavalry’s Boldest Expedition in Eastern NC” and will read excerpts at 2pm.

Open House, Visitor Information Center
24 N. 3rd St. (corner of 3rd and Princess, at Historic County Courthouse) • 341-4030
Hours: 1-3pm
Special guests will greet residents, provide photo opportunities, and sign autographs from 1-3pm, including: “Salty Dawg” (mascot for Wilmington Sea Dawgs professional basketball team); Azalea Belles (courtesy of the Cape Fear Garden Club); “Sledge” (mascot for Wilmington Hammerheads professional soccer team); “Sharky” (mascot for Wilmington Sharks baseball team). You can also tour the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher’s new outreach vehicle/mobile classroom in the adjacent parking lot at the corner of 3rd and Princess streets. Stop by to meet the special guests and to learn more about the aquarium’s outreach programs, tour the vehicle, and see and touch a variety of marine invertebrates commonly found along the NC coast. Then, come inside the Visitor Center to receive a complimentary balloon, enjoy some refreshments, and get a list of attractions participating in the hometown tourist event.

UNCW Arboreteum Campus
601 S. College Rd. • 962-3107
Explore this institutional arboretum campus with plant identification signs. Three areas are of particular interest: “The Heritage Garden” at the front quadrangle; “The Campus Commons” in the center of campus; and “The Bluethenthal Nature Preserve,” located off Price Drive behind the University Union.

Wheel Fun Rentals
107 Carolina Beach Ave. • 617-9792
Free bicycle and specialty product rentals.
Victorian Gardens at Latimer House Museum
126 South 3rd St. • 762-0492.
Hours: 1-4pm
Self-guided tour of garden (brochure available at site, weather permitting); house will be closed.

Wilmington Sharks Baseball Ballpark
Legion Stadium, 2149 Carolina Beach Rd.
343-5621 or 398-4248
Tours: 1-5pm
Bring the kids for a full tour of the ballpark as well as a bounce house, speed pitch, and prize wheel.

Wilmington Trolley
downtown Wilmington • 763-4483
Hours: 1-4pm
The trolley will offer free shuttle service between the participating attractions in the downtown area. This is shuttle service only, not tours.

Wrightsville Beach Museum of History
303 W. Salisbury St., Wrightsville Beach
256-2569
Hours: 1-5pm
Explore permanent exhibitions and revolving exhibitions on history and nature.

Wrightsville Beach Scenic Tours/Taxi
Banks Channel (across from Blockade Runner Resort) Wrightsville Beach • 200-4002
9am, 10am and 11am,
One-hour free ecological tours—topics include salt marsh function, native birds and barrier island ecology. Advanced reservations are required. Space is limited.

by: Rosa Bianca

Last weekend I attended a panel hosted by the North Carolina Writers’ Network called “Talking at the Table: Food Writing in the New South.” It sounds, I know, like one of those academic lectures where scholarly people get together to theorize about stuff one has always taken for granted—such as supper. But what it was instead was a group of people brought together by a very simple common ground: a love of food and a love of tradition. Specifically, a love of Southern tradition—and as anyone knows, there is hardly a tradition in the South that doesn’t come with its own signature dish.

I was there because I also love food and tradition, and because I had promised to bring pie, which I did: homemade “tada” (sweet potato) pie and lemon chess pie. My mother told me afterward that I was a braver person than she, to be bringing homemade pie to such a gathering. But I figured if there was ever a group of people who would have a tolerance for the eccentricities of a woman’s homemade pie, it was this group.

The “panel” was a group of six writers, all crammed together on a sofa at the historic Horace Williams House in Chapel Hill: Marcie Cohen Ferris, author of Matzoh Ball Gumbo, a book about Jewish tradition in the South; Bill Smith, head chef at Crook’s Corner restaurant and author of Seasoned in the South; Debbie Moose, food columnist for the Raleigh News & Observer, who likes to write books on iconic culinary moments (she has one called Tailgating, one on Wings, and one on Deviled Eggs); Sherri Castle, editor of some of the Cornbread Nation anthologies; and, finally, John Reed and Dale Voleberg Reed, who wrote the book to end all books on North Carolina barbecue.

What all these people have in common, aside from their very healthy appetites, is that they all belong to the Southern Foodways Alliance (www.southernfoodways.com), an organization dedicated to celebrating “the diverse food cultures of the American South.” “ We set a common table,” they proclaim, “where black and white, rich and poor—all who gather—may consider our history and our future in a spirit of reconciliation.”

The premise behind the Southern Foodways Alliance is that our cultural identity has its most significant, immediate expression in the way we eat. That if we lose this, then in some sense we lose ourselves—we forget who we are. And the collective feeling that evening among the folks gathered on the couch, trading recipes and stories, is that even here in the South, we are skirting perilously close to this sad fate.

“I think Southern food,” Sherri Castle said, “is food that you talk about.” It was the kind of statement that had a ring of truth, but I found myself thinking that, as a rule, we don’t eat the kind of food worth talking about anymore. Is it possible that we have forgotten how to eat?

As a culture we eat on the go at subway shops and via drive-thru windows. We pop packages into microwaves and reheat frozen dinners. We know the phrases ”home-cooked” and “made from scratch” more as advertising catch phrases than as real experiences. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that the closest most folks in this area get to a regular “home-cooked” meal is their Sunday brunch at Cracker Barrel. And I’d also bet that only one in 20 of those people eating their Cracker-Barrel Sunday brunch would have even the slightest idea of how to make the pot of the pinto beans at home that they’d just ordered in the restaurant.

If we’ve forgotten how to eat, then we’ve certainly forgotten how to cook. Bill Smith noted at one point during the evening that his most popular cooking class these days is “How to Roast A Chicken.” He looked somewhat bewildered as he said this, as if he found the notion that people might not know this basic procedure unfathomable. “You stick it in the oven,” he said a bit plaintively. (If anyone reading is among those who don’t know but would like to learn how to roast a chicken, see the recipe at the end of this column which I’ve been using for more than 20 years and that has never failed me yet.) It is hard not to conclude that a culture desperate to learn how to roast a chicken is one that doesn’t know how to use an oven.

But although the general tenor of the evening was one of melancholy and wistful regret for disappearing culinary traditions, lost recipes and abandoned barbecue houses, there were signs of hope. Debbie Moose noted that in the aftermath of Katrina, one of the first things people tried to replace was not their lost homes or lost belongings, but their lost recipes and family cookbooks. Bookstores in New Orleans will tell you that the old-time community cookbooks were their most requested items. The Times-Picayune received literally thousands of queries for recipes that had been printed in some ancient edition of the paper, clipped and added to the family recipe box. In the days following the storm, the paper became a kind of community bulletin board for people looking to replace or recreate their family recipes. And, in fact, a new book has grown out of this endeavor: Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans, edited by Marcelle Bienvenu and Judy Walker (Chronicle Books, 2008).

Even Bill Smith’s shocked discovery that people had forgotten how to roast chicken contains a bit of good news. After all, the how-to-roast-a-chicken class was popular—which means people want to learn how to roast a chicken. If there is a silver lining to the current economic crisis—well, let’s face it, this is a Depression we are in—it is that people are discovering it is cheaper to cook than it is to microwave, cheaper to cook than it is to eat out, even at a fast-food restaurant. Not two days after that panel (and me still feeling smug because people liked the pie), I happened to be talking to a friend who told me she and her husband no longer went out to eat. “We used to eat out twice a week,” she said as we were comparing the sorry state of our savings accounts. “Casual Fridays and fancy Saturdays. But not anymore. We can’t afford it, so we’re eating at home.” She paused for a moment and added, “John really is a great cook.”

This is true. I’ve eaten at their table often enough to know that her husband is an excellent cook. But I’m glad that they have been reminded because nobody does ribs the way he does. They aren’t missing out by giving up their “fancy” nights and staying at home with their own oven. I suspect that with a little bit of effort we all collectively might discover there is as much joy and satisfaction in setting our own tables as there is in eating at others’. If some traditions are in danger of being lost, it’s entirely possible that others are being created even as I type.

Marcella Hazan’s Roast Chicken with Lemons (from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan)

3 - 4 lb chicken

2 small lemons

Salt and fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Wash the chicken thoroughly in cold water, inside and out. Remove the neck and all the bits inside, then trim any loose hanging fat. Drain all the water from the inside and pat dry.
Rub generous amounts of salt and pepper on the chicken; sprinkle some inside the cavity as well.

Wash the lemons, then soften them by rolling them with the palm of your hand on the counter. This helps release the juices on the inside. Then, with a skewer or toothpick poke at least 20 holes (through to the pulp) into each lemon.

Stuff the lemons into the cavity, then close up the opening either with toothpicks or trussing needles and string. Don’t close it up air tight or the chicken may burst during cooking.

Put the chicken breast down in a roasting pan. The chicken is self-basting, so it won’t stick to the pan. Place it in the upper third of the oven and roast for 30-35 minutes. After 30 minutes, carefully turn the chicken over (breast up). Try not to break the skin. If the skin remains intact then it will swell up like a balloon, making for a fun presentation!

Cook for another 30-35 minutes, then turn the oven up to 400 degrees and continue roasting for another 20 minutes.

Note: Save the bones, for this makes the best soup stock, too!

Welcome to week two of the 2009 Best-Of winners! (Last week’s announcements are recapped on the previous page.) As many readers are aware, our polls closed on January 9th, and between then and now, we managed to tally the votes, build all 140-plus awards by hand and throw one massive party at City Stage/Level 5 to praise the winners. Boy, what a showdown it was, thanks to our hosts The Superkiiids! and Changing Channels—the area’s funniest people without a doubt—along with DJ Human Being, who so graciously spun records for us throughout the night, and encore girl Janna Murray. For all who couldn’t join us in the festivities on February 7th, well, just sit back and let us introduce you to the many people, places and services of greatness in our fair city. Here they are: the 2009 Class of encore’s annual Best-Of!

Best Laser Hair Removal
Picture it: Steve Carell in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. “Kelly Clarkson!!!” he screams in agony as a thick blanket of hair is torturously ripped from his chest by way of hot wax. If this is one end of the spectrum, laser hair removal is quite the opposite, safely and painlessly removing unwanted hair in a much more pleasant fashion and allowing people the luxury of smooth skin without a scary process. Laser Hair Removal and Skin Clinic, winner of this year’s Best Laser Hair Removal category, and located at 5725 Oleander Drive in Oleander Oaks, specializes in electrolysis and laser hair removal, which results in permanent hair removal. Completely bypassing the pain and hassle of waxing, shaving or tweezing, Laser Hair Removal is an answered prayer for all body areas and all skin types.

Living in a beach town in a warm climate, we Wilmingtonians are simply more apt to think about unwanted body hair than folks in other parts of the country. Thanks to the services offered at Laser Hair, we aren’t in a position to have to worry about it for long. Laser Hair is able to safely remove hair from the legs upper lip, eyebrow, chest, back—anywhere practically—by selectively targeting the pigment inside the hair follicles. Unlike traditional hair-removal techniques, which only provide temporary relief, laser removal creates permanent hair reduction and, in most cases, permanent removal.

First visits require skin and hair-removal needs evaluated through a professional consultation, upon which an individual treatment is recommended. The number of sessions will vary according to skin color, hair color, hair texture and hair location, among other factors. As the Laser Hair motto goes, “Stop Shaving... Start Living!”

Other laser-hair removal favorites were Bloom Med Spa and Atlantic Dermatologist.

Best Salads
Living in Wilmington, as opposed to simply visiting from time to time, almost makes one less susceptible to experiencing the many wonderful nooks, crannies and charming environments it houses. We get comfortable in our little corners of town, often visiting the same ol’ nearby spots again and again, remiss to remember how nice it is to have lunch at a waterside restaurant at the beach or to explore an indie gift along a side street of downtown. We take for granted the many unique dining atmospheres, shopping havens and quaint boutiques that are not within our immediate circumference, leaving them to be seen only when family is in town, wanting to visit their favorite Wilmington destinations while they can. And as we work and live here all year long, somehow we forget to take advantage of all the cool locales that are right at our fingertips.

Luckily, I never forget about one of my favorite lunch destinations, NOFO Café and Market—even though it is all the way across town from me and always where my mom wants to eat when she’s visiting. A top recommendation to friends who ask where to meet up for a quick bite, NOFO is also a unique gift shop, selling one-of-a-kinds for all special occasions. The eclectic mix of household items and accessories, bath-and-body products, books and much more offer such a welcome and open invitation to browse among them.

As enjoyable as it is to sift through their treasures, the real treats await in the café. Painted and decorated as though one is dining under the sea, both the delectable food and the charming atmosphere makes any NOFO meal a special one. Offering such delicacies as grilled pimento cheese, chicken Thai wraps, bleu cheese and bacon burgers, black bean quesadillas, fish tacos, quiches, shrimps and grits, and even wild mushroom pie, this gourmet-food café has been recognized this year by Best-Of voters for its salads. From its Salmon Cake Caesar, to its Spinach and Avocado Salad, to the Seared Tuna Salad, each choice is assiduously prepared with fresh ingredients and distinctive combinations that have regulars and newbies alike coming back for more.

Named for its first home on North Fourth Street in downtown Wilmington, NOFO now has three locations: The Forum Shopping Center in Wilmington, Five Points in Raleigh and on Elizabeth Avenue in Charlotte.

Other salads hailed locally were from Rucker John’s and Brasserie du Soleil.

Best Web Site
We hate to toot our own horn, but... Well, actually, the Wilmington general public has tooted it for us! In appreciation of our official encore Web site, readers voted and collectively named www.encorepub.com the best!

Going beyond what we have always offered in years past, this year in particular the ol’ encore site has undergone many changes—a virtual facelift of sorts (although, we did not win Best Cosmetic Service—maybe next year). Added to the list of new features, we now have a new design to mirror the layout of our print product, opportunities for readers and businesses to sponsor a web page with their advertising, an online edition of the magazine—which can also be used for electronic tear sheets—that is carbon neutral, as well as opportunities to win tickets to area events.

In the near future, the encore Web site will also include blogs from our writers, audio streaming (where folks can listen to a music clip of the bands featured in the paper), more benefits for signing up to be a member, more contests and give-aways, and online polls for readers to voice their opinion on current topics. As always we have continued to feature all articles from our print magazine, as well as archives of old issues. We are all ears when it comes to suggestions and feedback, so let us know what else should be included!

Other top Web sites in the eyes of encore readers were CreativeWilmington.com and GoingGreenPublications.com.

Best Indian Food
With a little research, I have found that the cuisine of India is not one that can be easily categorized or epitomized. It is widely characterized by the sophisticated, even at times subtle, use of the many vegetables and spices that are native to India, and is known for the popular practice of vegetarianism as well. Indian food is considered to be one of the most diverse cuisines in the world—each of its branches are distinguished by an array of dishes and cooking techniques, varying from region to region. But if one were to ponder the top source for authentic Indian food in the Port City alone, as many encore readers did during our Best-Of contest, the place to go would be India Mahal without a doubt.

India Mahal has become a Wilmington mainstay, now voted Best Indian Food for several years in a row. It specializes in authentic Northern Indian cuisine, offering a few delicacies from Bombay and South India as well. From the restaurant’s Web site, www.indiamahalrestaurant.com, “The real art lies in the delicate blending of these fresh and natural ingredients of the highest quality, cooked with skill and finesse. The cuisine at the India Mahal is brought to you with the best efforts of professional chefs.” An ingredient of note would be the eatery’s use of all-natural spices, varying in degree of spiciness by mild, medium, hot and super hot.

India Mahal is open seven days a week, serving a lunch buffet and dinner, and also providing take-out with free delivery, as well as catering. Savory menu items include coconut soup; a bread basket featuring spinach paratha, onion garlic nan and poori; vegetable pakora appetizer; chicken or lamb curry; shrimp malai; and for dessert, Kulfi Badam Pista, an indigenous iced preparation of milk, almonds and pistachios. They also offer an extensive beer and wine menu.

Runners up for Best Indian Food were Indochine and the Turkish Corner.

Best Bagels
In my personal opinion, bagels have got to be one of the best inventions ever. There are so many ways to prepare them. They are easy, and there is a type for just about anyone. At Ken’s Bagels, winner of this year’s Best Bagels, the possibilities are endless. Serving both breakfast and lunch, Ken’s offers 15 different types of bagels from Pumpernickel to Blueberry, Maple French Toast to Jalapeno Cheddar, Cinnamon Raisin to Tomato Basil. The cream-cheese flavors and toppings are just as various, from Spinach Artichoke to Pineapple Vanilla, Honey Almond to Crunch Peanut Butter.

But Ken’s goes beyond just being a bagel shop. They also serve a selection of hot and cold sandwiches, burritos, salads, platters and bakery items. They sell in bulk quantities and even do catering. And just this past year, the Ken’s franchise has expanded from its singular location at 5906 Oleander Drive to a second shop in Hanover Center! Even beyond all the conveniences and delicious menu selections, Ken’s is first and foremost a family-owned business that treats customers like family, too.

Owned by Ken and Michelle Fourie (and daughter Madelyne) of South Africa, and in business for over 15 years, Ken’s has been able to keep its name and its operations exactly the same. Known for its famous New York-style bagels, its baker, Manny, is from New York himself, and brings the knowledge and experience of making homemade bagels that are baked fresh every morning. Forgoing the widely used “cooking method” of making bagels, which can actually drastically change its flavor and texture, Ken’s uses the “boil-and-bake” method—which is obviously working quite well. So well, in fact, they’re making up to 7,000 or 8,000 bagels per week!

Other bagel havens in the running were Empire Bagels and Manhattan Bagels

Best Morning Radio Show
In their cars, waking them up in bed, or from the other side of the shower curtain, listeners know what familiar voices will get them up and laughing in the mornings: 107.5’s Foz and Tina. The duo provides Wilmington airwaves with Hollywood news, the hottest hits in Top 40 music and nonstop hilarity every weekday morning from 5:30-10am. One-half of the DJ power team Tina Persin says that after going to school for it, she got her career started in radio in 2001 with an inaugural gig at the World Famous KISS FM. “I had no clue what I was doing!” she says with a smile. “I got lucky and was at the right place at the right time!”

These days Tina is a pro behind the mic, holding her own alongside her male counterpart, Foz. Describing herself as “one of those annoying people who get up in the morning with a smile and a lot of energy,” she puts her all into the morning show while on air—and admits that her favorite perks of the job are meeting the artists and going to shows.

Refreshingly honest, Tina admits that not all air time is smooth sailing, however. “Every time I open my mouth I insert my foot!” she laughs. “I did accidently say a ‘bad’ word once! And then there was the Hairiest Ass Contest . . . and the time I lived in my car for a couple of days to prove I wasn’t high-maintenence. I could go on and on and on!”

Totally over any songs that require some form of line dancing, Tina says if she could have her own theme song play every time she walked into a room, she says it would have to be “’The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round’—The instrumental version, of course!”

The other morning radio shows rounding out second and third place respectively were Bryan & Jim’s Morning Disaster and NPR Morning Edition.

Best Outside Dining
On any given sunny day, be it mid-July or a mild February afternoon, throngs of Port City diners can be seen on the back deck of Dockside Restaurant and Marina, enjoying the sunshine and the seafood. It’s become almost like clockwork for this Wilmington landmark (in business for over 25 years) to be voted best of the best in the Outside Dining category, and it’s easy to see why.

Dockside makes its home along the charming Airlie Road, adjacent to the sparkling Intracoastal Waterway and just around the corner from the scenic Airlie Gardens. Its longstanding, hurricane-braving space boats two floors and a spacious outdoor patio, all complete with a major business indoors selling the infamously popular Dockside T-shirts. It’s a place that says, “Welcome, relax and chow down,” as patrons are most often in kick-back mode with a bucket of oysters on the table and a brewski in hand. The atmosphere offers a feeling of getting away, as the sea breeze blows in from the nearby beaches, and the “island lifestyle” is evident in everything from the fresh-catch entrées to the friendly faces of servers. Yachts are in clear view on the waterway, and boats pull right up to the dock to allow its crew a savory meal.

Whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner, serving a crew of beach-bound college kids or even hometown-hero Michael Jordan and his posse, Dockside focuses on making its dining experience a special one, offering only the freshest in casual American cuisine and fresh seafood. They have even stepped up to become a leader in the community, according to www.thedockside.com, as they use biodegradable cleaning supplies, participate in oyster-shell recycling, work with local North Carolina commercial fishermen to enhance local marine life, and source seafood seasonally to limit over-harvesting. The “food philosophy” at Dockside is remniscent of the old days of seafood harvesting by the legendary watermen of the Cape Fear. “The kitchen is based on shortening the road seafood travels from harvest to your table,” the Web site elaborates. “And along the way we support the preservationist cause, taking an active role with sustainable seafood programs. [We] feel we have an obligation to set the standards in our community—because our ultimate mission is to highlight the pleasure of eating, enjoying the value of the good health of our oceans and waterways. Because you will see the waterways and taste the essence from them in your food.”

Other fabulous outside-dining experiences to be had, according to encore readers, are at Bluewater and Indochine.

Best Fast Food
Ask any true-blood Southerner what tops their list of best fast food, and there is no doubt the mega-chain Chick-fil-A will appear in anyone’s top three. So sweet is its tea, scrumptious is its chicken salad, and waffly are its fries that encore readers have, in fact, dubbed it number one!

“We provide a fast, friendly service and great food!” marketing director of the Mayfaire location, Valerie Watkins, says simply. “Our people are friendly, helpful and courteous. Our secret to success is just to provide the same consistent customer service and food quality.”

Even taking the seventh day to rest, as all Chick-fil-A’s are closed on Sundays, this eatery rules the roost—no pun intended—among the fast-food competition with its emphasis on chicken rather than burgers. “Finding out what customers like and putting those requests into action” is what Watkins says of maintaining a high level of customer service. And customers certainly have their pick of where to dine with six different locations all across Wilmington: on the campus of UNCW, Market Street, Oleander Drive, in Independence Mall, at Mayfaire Town Center and in Monkey Junction. With catering available, the infamous and delicious chicken sandwich, and plenty of fun opportunities for kids and families, Chick-fil-A is positioned to be a fast-food powerhouse for years to come.

Taco Bell and McDonald’s came in second and third, respectively.

Best Dog Groomer
Readers are sure to have seen and become accustomed with the sign for Olga’s Dog Spa—its two doggie models lying back in luscious robes, cucumbers over their eyes and cream on their faces. It epitomizes the essence of Olga’s: luxury living for one’s furry friends! Having moved from its previous location at 7110 Wrightsville Avenue to 118 Old Dairy Road—in fact, just a stone’s throw away from the encore offices—Olga’s is now able to offer a larger facility to clients, complete with a fenced-in backyard, while continuing to provide its signature grooming service and a cage-free environment.

Open Monday through Friday, 7am to 7pm, and Saturday from 8am to 5pm, Olga’s, a premier supplier of pet groomers in the state, not only offers all-breed grooming but full baths (including a massage, conditioner, toenail clipping, ear cleaning, gland expression, a brush out, teeth-brushing and cologne), starting at $25, depending on the breed. It also offers the necessary flea baths and anti-shed treatments. As the business motto says, “There is no such thing as natural beauty.” Day-care boarding is also available for clients at no additional cost.

“What I like is the dogs are allowed to run around and play with each other instead of being locked up in kennels all day,” one satisfied customer, Mrs. Mary Lynn Dean, reports. “They are just all about the dogs. They give good cuts and make my Juliet smell good!”

Purple Groomery and PetSmart came in second and third, respectively.

Best Golf Course
In a down economy, there are just some things that we citizens simply have to give up—or, rather, refrain from buying or doing until times turn around. For some that means eating out less, going to the movies less, or an end to a daily coffee addiction. For others it means trading in for a smaller car to save on gas money for the commute to work, cutting grocery coupons like crazy or carefully monitoring shopping habits, whether for holidays or personal gain. But there are certain activities that never fall completely to the wayside no matter what the state of the world’s affairs. One of them, I think, happens to be drinking. Another is that great sport known as golf.

Wilmington golfers—like avid golfers most anywhere—take the game seriously. In bad weather, bad health or a bad economy, they know that to get the most bang for their buck, it is the Municipal Golf Course that will provide the best rounds week in and week out. Located in the heart of the Port City between downtown and the beach, and just south of the UNCW campus, our city course has made a name for itself by consistently adhering to its original mission: to provide the public with a quality, championship 18-hole golf course at affordable prices. Designed by Donald Ross in 1926, the Municipal Golf Course, also known simply as “Muni,” was named one of the top 10 public-access golf courses in North Carolina by Golf Week Magazine in 2002. The course hosts both men’s and women’s city championships, and is managed by David Donovan.

encore-reading golfers also hit the courses of Beau Rivage and Landfall.

Best Sweet Tea
If we were to play word association, with the subject being the South, it’s not hard to assume that the majority of answers might be sweet tea. It is as much a Southern staple as anything, wherein natives know that “tea” means “sweet tea” and anything un-sweet must be clarified. That sweet tea will always be option at any Southern friend’s dinner party. That an ice-cold sweet tea on a hot summer is like nothing else one could hope to enjoy. So when encore readers need a sweet-tea fix, they head on over to Bojangles. Another Southern staple in its own right, Bojangles got its start in 1977 and has since spread as far north as New York and as far away as Honduras—and the secret could very well be in the sweet tea.

Listed under “The Bojangles Recipe” on www.bojangles.com—among other such truths as “No biscuit should ever be older than 20 minutes” and “Breakfast should never end”—is the statement in the largest font of all: “Making sweet tea is an art form.” The sweet tea at Bojangles is in fact legendary, and, like most of the company’s recipes, it hasn’t changed in over 25 years. Good thing they believe sweet tea should never end as well. Get a cup at one of Wilmington’s three Bojangles locations: 4015 Market Street, 520 S College Road or 5513 Carolina Beach Road.

Smithfield’s and Chick-fil-A were numbers two and three in the running for Best Sweet Tea.

Best Place to Buy CDs
Ahhh—enjoy it! The fabulous dopamine ecstasy of music. It’s all in the sounds and tempos that keeps us high on our days and nights with a little more pep in our step and a lot more love for our world upon hearing a favorite intro, bridge or chorus. Who in town makes sure music lovers are groovin’ best? Applaud Gravity Records and its team of spinsters, including owner Matt Keen, his brother Eric and the rest of the gang.

“We listen to what our customers want,” Keen e-mailed encore last week. “We don’t sell the same ol’ cookie cutter Top-40 garbage. We try to know what each and every one of our regulars listens to and likes, and make recommendations based on that.”

Need the latest Felice Brothers? Badly Drawn Boy? TV on the Radio? Well, not only will Gravity have it, they’ll most likely be selling it on the lost art form of . . . vinyl! “We are one of the few places here that have a large selection of vinyl,” Keen proudly hails. “Anything not in stock can typically be in within 24 hours for no additional charge. Nobody else offers that.”

By nobody, he especially means the chain stores, like WalMart or Best Buy. “I consider Gravity more in the service industry than the retail industry,” Keen pontificates. “If we didn’t offer such customer service and an extensive musical knowledge base, as well as our unique selection of CDs and records, we couldn’t compete with illegal downloading our big box retail such as Best Buy.”

More importantly, he urges locals to avoid such spending and go local; it helps our local economy ever-more! “To spend locally with small locally owned and operated business [means we can offer] the best selection and the best service as compared to our competitors,”he ensures.

In fact, Keen and company have dedicated customers perhaps unlike any other. Keen revealed that “a few employees/ex-employees have gr(A)vity in type face [tattooed] on the inside of their right wrists.” It’s become much sought-after ink-art in fact, wherein Keen has “had at least two customers ask if it was OK if they got one, too. I told them that when they are ready, I will pay for it.”

Other record stores to praise on the 2009 poll were CD Alley and Yellow Dog Discs.

Best Print Shop
We at encore are very aware of the importance of having a good image in the print world. Content keeps us relevant, and image keeps customers and advertisers really happy. Dock Street Printing also understands the value of maintaining image—it’s what they’ve been doing for over 25 years now, and doing it exceptionally well.

“The secret of our success is Charlie and Nelda Illick, who started the company [in 1973],” owner and operator Cindy Meyers told encore last week. “They instilled a good work ethic, created a work environment with benefits that made the employees work together as a team.”

Today, the team works efficiently and with a customer base who remain loyal to their printing services—from business cards to post cards, rate sheets to calendars. “We have a long list of customers who continue to support us, as well as refer new customers,” Meyers said.

Aside from their top-notch work on the press, the folks of Dock Street keep their clientele happy with personal touches, as well: free candy and dog treats. “Seriously, our customers know we care,” Meyers noted. “If we make them look good, we look good. If we see a problem, we go the extra mile to work with the customer to correct it. We get to know our customers and treat them like a friend.”

Their customer service “is not just a sign that hangs on the wall.” Meyers and her crew work hard toward building trust and quality, especially since undergoing a change to digital color. “People want color faster and more affordable,” she said. “We do a lot of fast turn-around ... for a lot of friendly faces.”
Other print shops to note in the 2009 Best-Of are Always Graphics and Kinko’s.

Best Florist
“We just finished our ‘Christmas,’” Dana Cook, owner of Julia’s Florist, said last week over the phone, swirling through the Valentine’s Day aftermath from which so many local businesses benefited. “It was vey busy—but I am not complaining,” she assured.

Cook’s go-getter attitude and appreciative sense for the customer helps create the moxie behind Wilmington’s favorite flower shop, where beautiful buds add cheer to any given day. Bringing smiles and warmth to folks all over town, Julia’s has won Best Florist for a good 10 years. They just can’t go wrong with serving Wilmingtonians the freshest cuts in the area and promptly delivering them, whether to Carolina and Kure beaches, Wrightsville or even Castle Hayne.

Their blooms are appropriate for any time of year: weddings, anniversaries, baby arrivals and, yes, holiday traditions. But to make the arrival of a bouquet really special, try sending one on a random Tuesday—just because. That unexpected plethora of aroma, color and beauty will soften the toughest of hearts. It’s a job not to discredit, as making people happy never gets old.

Ikebana and Sophie West came in second and third in 2009.

Best Kids Clothing Store
It’s so thrilling to encore staff when new folks make an appearance on our Best-Of poll. We love praising them with congratulations and seeing that fresh look of surprise and appreciation on their faces. New to the Kids Clothing category in ‘09 is Wilmington’s veteran shop, Once Upon A Child.

Having been owned and operated by Sharon Talbott for quite a while—also the hands behind Plato’s Closet—there is one simple reason she says customers voted Once Upon A Child the best: “Because they’re smart shoppers.”

The consignment store, located in the Target Shopping Center, has brought local families quality goods at quality prices for many, many years. Better yet, they’ve helped families benefit monetarily by putting extra funds and other goods in their hands once their child grows out of his or her wares. “We pay you for the things you don’t need anymore, and save you money on the things you do need,” Talbott sums up.

Often hearing praises from customers who say “they wouldn’t know what to do without [Once Upon a Child],” Talbott and her dedicated staff never relinquish the fact that said customers come first. By staying abreast on current trends and styles, they’re able to better serve the families in town who lean on their sell-and-trade philosophy of bargain finding.

Other stores that families like shopping at for kids clothing are Froggy Pond and PB & J.

Best Seafood
I can write this paragraph with my eyes closed, simply imagining the steamed bucketfuls of shellfish and the flakiness of freshly caught tilapia hitting my tastebuds. It’s sheer seafood heaven. Locally, folks bow down to the Greek gods at Hieronymus Seafood for being so particular in bringing in the best of local goods.

It’s my favorite local spot during the winter for their oysters and during the summer for cold beer and peel-‘n’-eat-‘em shrimp. Any time my seafood-loving family comes to town, they’re all biting at the bit to dine at Hieronymus, too. They have yummy made-from-scratch garlic-cheese biscuits , decadent fried scallops, homemade vegetable sides, and a make-you-slap-your-mama strawberry shortcake.

“The heart of our restaurant is 76-year-old Evelena Leslie,” Dawn Hames, owner and operator, along with husband Skip, said. “She has been at Hieronymus since the doors opened on Market Street in 1980. She makes the desserts, soups, vegetables, potatoes, crab dip-stuffed flounders and other signature items. In the 10 years that she has worked for us, I do not ever remember her calling in sick. . . . How can you beat that kind of dedication? She knows that the 30 people that work at Hieronymus depend on her.”

Obviously, it’s not just the diners who adore Hieronymus. According to the Hames’, their staff cannot be beat in loyalty, nor in excellence. “We have a lot of talented people that work for us,” Dawn told encore last week. “Most of our employees are part time but they have been with us for years. They are very driven in their respective fields, and they bring a character to Hieronymus that you don’t always get in other businesses.”

From many students to local Weedeater band members (kitchen manager and shucker), to a server who is a magazine editor and another who’s a portrait artist and children’s book illustrator, Dawn said her “people have very different interests, but they are all very focused on people.” In essence, they’re work outside of Hieronymus brings even greater work inside the restaurant.

Other seafood eateries to note in the 2009 polls are Something Fishy and Oceanic.

Best Shameless Promotion and Thespian
Anyone privvy to the 2009 campaign trail of encore’s Best-Of surely came across a few posters, maybe a video or even a handshake and smile at Old Books, the campaign headquarters, from the 2009 Best Shameless Promotion winner, Anthony Lawson. Lawson is first and foremost known in town for his long, long résumé of theater productions in Wilmington, which also landed him Best Thespian on the poll. Yet, his dogged determination to spread the word about his wonderful attributes to our society is what many will continue to remember him for—well, that is until his mayoral campaign starts.

Lawson, a member of Changing Channels and Port City Players comedy troupes, who also helped host encore’s 2009 Best-Of Awards Party, said posting the YouTube video encouraging encore readers to vote for him, while holding his many manmade posters that solicited votes, was more than likely the most shameless of all promotions. And it worked! “It got over a 1,000 views,” Lawson told us last week.

In the end, we all wanted to know one thing—what it means to be the most shameless self-promoter within the encore-reading radius. “It means not being afraid to tell people how highly I think of myself,” Lawson noted. “I know how highly I think of myself and how hard I have worked to think so highly of myself. It’s rewarding.”

Next on the agenda: setting up shop once again at Old Books for his mayoral campaign, wherein Lawson is sure the most shameless act he’ll perform will involve campaigning while breaking the Guinness Book of World Records for longest karaoke performance. “I have to beat 55 hours in June,” he says, “It should be fun.”

Others to garner votes in shameless self-promotion include fellow politicians Julia Boseman and Bill Saffo, while other noted thespians are Troy Rudeseal and Zack Simcoe.

Best Place to Board a Pet
Passion: It’s one word that keeps many folks happily serving the community to their very best abilities. “Having passion is no secret to success,” Dyana Scholz, owner of Dog Club of Wilmington, says. “When you truly have passion for what you do, people feel it.”

Scholz’s popular pooch hotspot is making a first-time appearance on encore’s polls, taking Best Place to Board a Pet, hands down. Of the numerous services the Dog Club offers, Scholz says their most popular is the day-care program. “We are an All-Inclusive Resort. One price gets your dogs everything [he or she] wants. Everyone is treated to a day of fun while completely supervised; just as a child would be at an exclusive summer camp.”

Knowing how serious animal lovers are about their furry kids, Scholz works toward keeping customers infinitely happy with the service that Dog Club provides. “It is equally important to us that every dog is happy to come back and looks forward to being here,” Scholz ensures. “We make sure one of our staff pays special attention [so that the animal’s] particular needs are met.”

Scholz has had a lot of experience in running a business, seeing as she’s partnered with others in different ventures. Still, this is her first fully-owned facility. “From those experiences,” she notes, “I incorporated what worked well, and eliminated or improved on what did not seem to work well. One of the most important things I learned that is very important in a doggie day care and boarding facility is size does matter—the more space a dog has to play the safer that dog is.”

Scholz praises her staff for truly loving the animals who come through the Dog Club’s 30,000 square feet—12,000 of which is indoors and climate controlled. “The dogs are ‘our clients,’ and we work hard to make sure we provide a safe, clean and fun environment,” all of which also includes cozy private bedrooms.
While the plush perks are appealing, the real results don’t stop there. Scholz also uses the Dog Club as a rescue operation on some level. She says “giving back to the community and the less fortunate dogs contribute to [her] success.” In fact, the Dog Club has “fostered and placed nearly 20 dogs in the past year to new homes.”

Her dedication manifests from the Dog Club’s real boss, Chloe—“my 6-year-old Weimaraner always puts treats and belly rubs first,” Scholz, also a regular advocate of Tarheel Weimaraner Rescue, notes. “We have our priorities straight!”

Other places hailed for pet boarding include Meadow Sweet and Pups Play and Stay.

Best Lunch
Whenever I have a lunch meeting near Wrightsville Beach, I nearly jump at the chance to suggest Sweet and Savory. It has always been my favorite lunch spot in Wilmington, thanks to what once was its downtown sister location, River Dogs, eons ago. When encore offices were above Soapbox, I pined for Sweet’s Funky Chicken Sandwich, just not the drive across town to get it. Needless to say, when River Dogs came along (now Wormwoods), it was sweet surrender.

Then, sadly, River Dogs closed. But Sweet and Savory, located on Pavilion Drive, across from what’s now Fibber’s Public House, charged on and even tried to make a go of opening a café in the Cameron Art Museum (which I thought was genius). However, it was short lived, too. But still churning out the best sandwiches, homemade chips, housemade breads, and pastries and pies is its original incarnation: Sweet and Savory.

In asking owner Robert Shapiro why he felt they continuously are praised best, he answered, “Because we have the best quality, service and selection for lunch of anyone in town.”

Truly, I can’t agree more.

“Everything is made from scratch,” Shapiro emphasized. “Bread, sauces, dressings, roasting our own meats—and every order is made to order by professional chefs.”

Shapiro has an ongoing slaught of regulars, and we’re talking about folks who come in and dine a good 200 to 400 times a year. Their “quality of food, quality of service, personalized service and good perceived value for what people are getting” is the draw. Although, that they also remain “authentic and real” keeps the employees and guests appreciative of their services to Wilmington.

Having remained a staple, Shapiro never defaults on keeping Sweet and Savory fresh and reinvented. “We’ve expanded and refurbished the entire restaurant,” he says. “We’ve added a full bar and a beautiful outside patio and dramatically expanded our dinner business. We tweak all of our menus at least twice per year to keep the items that people like and constantly offer new and exciting menu items.” Such attention to detail keeps them afloat not only on the beach scene but all over Wilmington.

Coming in second and third respectively are Panera and Temptations.

Best Ribs
Nothing says bone-sucking good like a rack of ribs. And in Wilmington folks flock over to Sticky Fingers where operating partner Julie Cooper claims encore’s Best-Of win “because we are maniacs about making sure our hickory-smoked ribs are the best you’ve ever tasted!”

All of the meat is slow-cooked on the premises to reach top-quality temperature and tenderness for all customers. Some of them even go the distance for finger-licking goodness. “We have a family that drives over 200 miles just to eat our ribs,” Cooper says. “If that’s not a compliment, I don’t know what is.”

Providing customers “the best value for their money” is always top-of-mind at Sticky Fingers, so they’re constantly redeveloping strategies to do just that. The restaurateurs decided a few years ago that to move forward in an ever-changing business-scope was to include the technological advancements that come along with it.

“We developed our StickEClub e-mail club a few years ago when we realized that e-mail was becoming one of fastest and easiest ways of communicating with our customers,” Cooper says. “We send them updates, information and specials—all delivered instantly right to their inbox[es].”

While Sticky Fingers sticks mostly to ribs—although their wings are also just as scrumptious——they provide their services outside of the rib joint, too. “We have many facets to our company,” Cooper reveals, including a catering company that brings great ribs, wings and barbecue to an off-site venue. They also have mail order service that ships anywhere in the U.S., and for folks who want to cook the Sticky Fingers way at home, they offer their sauce at grocery stores around town. But their legendary customer service and quality food combined drives them to bestness every year.

Other ribs that encore readers love to gnaw on include those from Texas Roadhouse and Chili’s.

Best Pizza and Late-Night Eatery
It’s truly one of the most delightful culinary inventions ever: pizza. Cheese, bread, red sauce and toppings—how can it ever be bad? Wilmington has many places to enjoy the classic pie, but encore readers love it most when it comes from the ovens at Slice of Life.

Slice is a part of the new history of Wilmington, where folks, young and old, go to find comfort in a midday snack, dinner with friends or the inevitable late-night drunken stupor. Because Slice stays open ‘til the wee hours of the morning (3am, to be exact), it tends to bring in the crowds from the many emptying bars of downtown Wilmington. And because the crowd tends to be collectively tipsy and relatively large, we applaud all of the Slice employees for handling all late-night orders with charm and efficiency.

Now adding to Slice’s already downtown adoration is love from Wrightsville Beach patrons who also enjoy the official pie of Wilmington at its second location off Military Cutoff Road, near the Eastwood Road intersection. Like its downtown sister, the new brick building houses many two-to-six-tops and showcases a plethora of TVs so folks can enjoy their favorite games while sipping beer, eating their fave slice and enjoying wings.

Also on the pizzeria’s menu are a host of sandwiches, not to mention one of the area’s best Greek salads. Be sure to show owner Ray Worrell and his crew a whole lotta love in this little ‘slice of Wilmington life.’ Walking away unsatisfied is never an option here.

Pizzas also taking in praise come from Elizabeth’s and Mellow Mushroom.

Best Coffee Shop
Port City Java and Wilmington go together like America and apple pie in my mind. From day one of moving to town, I took on a personal love for Port City Java, when their only location was downtown. I even convinced myself that I could be a super barista. So, as a college student, I got a job at PCJ in ‘95 and succumbed to many early mornings of serving java. While I loved drinking coffee, I realized fairly quickly that serving it was an entirely different story—mainly serving it at 5am. And so I left my coffee-pouring days behind, but never did I abandon the cup of Joe from my morning routine.

Port City Java has served Wilmington ever since I have been living here—and when I helped them serve it, I found it infinitely intriguing to get to know the wonderful people who would stroll in and out of the shop every morning. PCJ helped me fall in love with the people in this town, and the people in this town have continued their love affair with the coffee, too.

Steve Schnitzler, part owner of the company, would most likely agree with such sentiments. “Our focus is to make a real difference in our guest’s day,” he told us last week, “by providing a superior level of hospitality at the café level. . . .We hope they keep coming back because of the coffee and the relationships we’ve built with them.”

As a first-hand witness, I can assure Schnitzler that such hopes have been confounded. The extreme effort at improving PCJ’s product, along with the betterment of the franchise in its daily function, makes the outcome successful. Schnitzler seems to agree: “The harder you work, the luckier you get.”

With locations all over the area, from Wrightsville Beach to downtown, and a few midtown stops in between, their cafés, especially the drive-through ones, offer convenience and efficiency, along with many smiles and helping hands. “We’ve also added hand-held breakfast sandwiches and wraps with our guests-on-the move in mind,” Schnitzler says. His attention to improve always helps PCJ take top nods in our Best-Of poll annually.

Starbucks and Java Dog round out the coffee shop category.

Best Museum
Strolling through the endless displays of art at Cameron Art Museum truly makes the art lover come alive in us all. The exhibits of traditional and modern works, as well as phenomenal clay sculptures by master artist Hiroshi Sueyoshi, makes it apropos that they took Best Museum in the ‘09 encore polls.
“The Cameron Art Museum offers six to eight changing exhibitions per year,” Georgia Mastroieni, curator of education at the museum, told encore last week. “Exhibitions vary from fine arts, architecture and design. Members have a different and unique experience each visit.”

While many simply see the museum as a means to enjoy artistic stimulation, CAM, as it’s known locally, works toward helping people understand the arts has a larger purpose in life. “Wilmington has a large entrepreneurial community,” Mastroieni said. “To be an entrepreneur, one must not only must be a risk taker, but also very creative, industrious and positive. Art, and exposure to quality art, fuels creativity in individuals and as a community. Thus, to have a growing and thriving community means that art is integrated into all the aspects of the community.”

In making sure this continually happens in our Port City, CAM makes sure that their education and public program departments are ever-evolving and improving to connect its visitors and members to every facet of art. “Because we are a cultural destination,” Mastroieni said, “visitors and members are exposed to visual, literary, theatrical and musical arts.”

The 42,000-square-foot art museum continuously rotates the artists and works to be shown annually. Upcoming, folks can expect a slew of new and exciting exhibits, including April’s The Winning IDEA: Selected Designs 2008 and May’s Collection: Kaleidoscope. “And, finally, CAM will open the first exhibition of our building’s architect: Gwathmey Siegel: Inspiration and Transformation,” Mastroieni informed.
Stay tuned for more from this groundbreaking haven of creative pursuit in 2009.

Other museums to praise are Cape Fear Museum, as well as Children’s Museum of Wilmington.—Shea Carver

Just in case readers missed last week’s first installment of announcements of our 2009 Best-Of poll, below we have listed the winners of the categories we wrote about it in our February 21st edition. To read the full paragraphs on each, check out our Web site. The recaps are posted during the entire year. Enjoy week two and a few photographs from our annual party, held February 7th at City Stage/Level 5, with our hosts The Superkiiids! and Changing Channels. Cheers to the best!

Best Comedy Troupe: The Superkiiids!

Best Local Independent Film: Lightning Salad Moving Picture

Best Soul Food and Buffet: Casey’s Buffet, Barbecue and Home Cookin’

Best Burger: P.T.’s Olde Fashioned Grille

Best Shoe Store: Shoe Shak

Best Women’s and Men’s Clothing: Edge of Urge

Best Bar and Neighborhood Bar: Bluepost

Best Bookstore and Business 25 Years Old or More: Old Books on Front Street

Best Jeweler: Perry’s Emporium

Best Tanning Salon: Tropical Tans

Best Radio Station: Penguin 106.7

Best Antique Shop and Consignment for Home Decor: The Ivy Cottage

Best Asian, Restaurant Overall and Atmosphere: Indochine

Best Gift Shop: Blue Moon Gift Shops

Best Place to Buy a New Car: Stevenson Automotive

Best Best Chiropractor: Friedman’s

Best Burrito and New Restaurant: Flaming Amy’s Burrito Barn and Flaming Amy’s Bowl

Best Humanitarian: Jock Brandis

Best Nonprofit and International Nonprofit: Full Belly Project

Best Family Restaurant: Boodles

Best Health Food Store: Tidal Creek Co-operative

Best Shopping Plaza: Mayfaire Town Center

Best Personal Trainer: LaMaine Williams of Lumina Fitness

Best Italian: Eddie Romanelli’s

Best Marina: Bradley Creek

Best Wings: Wild Wing Café

Best Newscast and Newcaster: WECT and Frances Weller

Best Car Wash: Cruiser’s

Best Surf Shop: Bert’s Surf Shop

Best Real Estate Agency: Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty

Best Gym: Gold’s

Best Sports Bar: Buffalo Wild Wings

by: Kayla Faulk

The Mad Tea Party
The Soapbox, February 28th, 10pm; $5 www.myspace.com.themadteaparty or
www.themadteaparty.com

Readers may recall a little roundtable gathering in the seventh chapter of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland entitled “A Mad Tea-Party.” Originating out of Asheville, NC, there is another rowdy tea party taking place—only, in this case, Alice is a ukulele-playing blonde by the name of Ami Worthen, and the Hatter happens to be a guitarist, fiddler and foot-drummer named Jason Krekel. This powerful duo make up the band The Mad Tea Party.

“The idea of becoming a musician is like leaping out of rabbit hole, and I think I relate to Alice’s character because of the symbolism of her journey,” Worthen said in a phone interview with encore last week. “Also, we are a fun band, and we are all about having fun.”

The Mad Tea Party began with Worthen and Krekel releasing their first album in 2004. After picking up a couple bassists along the journey, and with three albums now under their belts, they reverted back to the original double act in late 2007. One may think that with fewer members, there would be less sound coming from the band—but it is just the opposite. “We are danceable with higher energy,” Worthen observes.

With both members singing and playing their respective instruments all at the same time, including the commanding rhythms from an amped ukulele, The Mad Tea Party will have everyone in the audience moving.

Just last summer, the band released their latest album, Found a Reason, under Nine Mile Records. The 13-track CD demonstrates the rockabilly style the band has been called, which is a mix of rock ‘n’ roll and hillbilly music, according to Worthen, but the two have put a spin on the name by calling it “Uke-abilly.” “Since we have created a sound that is different, we came up with our own name by throwing ukulele in there,” Worthen says.

With a sound often compared to the B-52’s, Buddy Holly, and Southern Culture on the Skids, the music coming from Worthen’s custom black-with-red-flames ukulele and the thumping from Krekel’s percussion, toe-tapping is simply inevitable.

By emulating ‘50s and ‘60s rock at times, The Mad Tea Party writes lyrics about such topics as life, dancing and love. One track in particular on Found a Reason titled “Every Way” is a love song with the chorus repeating, “I wanna hold you/ all night and day/ I wanna know you/ in every way.”

Worthen explained the writing process for their songs is typically separate, wherein they write on their own accord and then come together to arrange how it might sound as a whole. The album has been quite successful thus far, being played on many radio stations and distributed nationally. In the coming months, the band will be traveling to perform in various venues around the country including locations in South Carolina, Georgia and even as far as Washington.

Worthen says, “The goal [of the band] is for everyone to at least tap their foot, if not shake their whole body.” Come out and experience the effect as The Mad Tea Party makes their debut performance in the Port City at Soapbox Landro-lounge.

by: Adrian Varnam

Greg Humphreys and Onward, Soldiers
The Whiskey, February 28th, 9pm
$5

On the surface it seems like an odd fit: two performers who have very different backgrounds, experiences and repertoires sharing the stage together in one night at Wilmington’s The Whiskey. One’s been tearing up America’s backroads and highways with an impressive musical career that has lasted more than 20 years. The other has barely been on the planet that long. One’s a North Carolina native and longtime resident of the Port City. The other is new to town. One’s spent most of his career playing in bands and is now touring solo with his new stripped-down record. The other has spent his career solo and trying out his—guess what—brand-new band. This spring he’ll be recording his first effort with the new band, while the first guy, well, he’s done it all many times before.

For Pittsburgh-native Sean Thomas Gerard, his relatively new arrival to Wilmington has turned into a fortuitous and exciting revisit after a brief stint at UNCW during his freshman year in 2005. After moving home and transfering to another school for a year and a half, Sean returned last summer to try replacing a college career with a musical one. In eight short months, Sean has put together a new band, Onward, Soldiers, and has created a lot of buzz and excitement in a music scene struggling with stagnation and freshness. Sean attributes the size of the community as having actually helped his career grow, a fact that many musicians might find as being a hindrance.

“Wilmington seems like a small town, at least compared to Pittsburgh, and thus a good town to get a buzz going very quickly,” he says. “The music my band is making, in my opinion, appeals to the older, classic-rock crowd as well as the younger, indie crowd. Hopefully Onward, Soldiers will be able to add a new dimension to this town’s music scene.”

With a few performances already under their belts, Sean and company have impressed lots of discerning and jaded ears in this town. It helps when he’s teamed up with a plethora of great players, including the endorsement of established and respected local musician Kevin Rhodes.

“I’m very fortunate to have started this new project with some of the most talented musicians I’ve ever played with,” Sean reveals. “Surprisingly, all of our styles mesh really well. I am very confident in everyone’s abilities, which is a refreshing feeling to say the least. Kevin has helped me a lot with song structure, and Blake [Hart], Evan [Timpy] and Jim [Palumbo] have incorporated a lot of melodies that I wouldn’t have thought of without them. I think our collaboration is adding another dimension to our music that, without them, would have remained absent in the original stages of my songs.”

And in his relatively short career as a musician, Sean has already made his mark with his songs, and is hopeful for the future, both in terms of Onward, Soldier’s potential and in his place as a songwriter and artist.

“[P]laying with Onward, Soldiers [has] enabled me to change the sound of a lot of the songs into something that I’m very proud of,” he says. “Right now, as an artist, I want to speak the truth about myself and the world I’m living in. I want to make music that is real, music that means something—not just hooks and melodies. I want people to listen to the lyrics and understand them. . . .. I hope that our fans will help us out with [our] goal [of success], and I hope that people will give us a chance and realize that we’re not your average band, and we don’t make your average music. We will continue to reinvent our music as long as people will continue to listen.”

The need and desire to be understood is not something reserved for young, ambitious writers at the beginning of their careers. Even those who have done it long enough to be considered “old hat” continue along for that very reason: They have something to say, and they want others to listen.

For North Carolina native and music-industry veteran Greg Humphreys, it keeps him moving forward as well. He, too, “writes [songs] to be understood,” he says on his Web site. “I usually avoid esoteric songwriting, the kind that limits access to the music or lyric unless you’re in on the joke.The songs are meant to be heard and enjoyed by almost anyone. When someone connects to a song of mine in a deep way, I feel like I’ve done my job.”

For a career that has spanned over two decades, Greg has connected to thousands and thousands of music fans, both as a member of the college-rock critical darlings Dillon Fence, to the funk and soul-inspired Hobex. Most recently Greg has stripped things down and is touring to support his latest effort, Trunk Songs, a collection of acoustically based originals and covers that he’s had in the proverbial “trunk” in some form or another for years. While it’s written and recorded under his name and not a band, it still is a collaborative effort with friends that he’s met and acquired over his years in the North Carolina music scene.

“The recording of Trunk Songs was very spontaneous; the three recording sessions that make up this record were not really planned in advance,” he says. “There was a lot of collaboration, though. I was lucky to have the great guitarist Gibb Droll play on one of the sessions. His playing is amazing. The extended family of Chapel-Hill bluegrass band Big Fat Gap are on another session—that ended up being more of a party than anything else. My good friend Jim Brantley recorded me on the third session and is a strong engineer. Ultimately, what made it a solo album was my initial idea to record some unused songs and pull the sessions together to create an album. . . . [And the] acoustic performances have been about creating a listening environment where performer and audience can really dig into the songs.”

It’s the freshness of new ideas and the opportunity to play with all the contacts he’s collected over the years that keeps Greg doing what he does each and every day. “I do it because I love it,” he says. “Just playing, writing and performing keeps me going. Playing with other writers and musicians has always been a big inspiration for me. I’m lucky to have been in bands with some great people, and I’ve met some amazing people along the way. Inspiration does wax and wane, but there’s usually something new on the horizon to get excited about.”

While the experience and miles logged might be unequal in these two songwriters in terms of numbers, the enthusiasm and desire to be heard and appreciated as an artist is homogeneous with both. Whether a relative newcomer like Sean Thomas Gerard or a career songwriter like Greg Humphreys, the need to perform and be understood is something that’s in the blood. And, lucky for music-lovers in Wilmington, their shows will be on the same stage in one night. Don’t miss Greg Humphreys performing with Gibb Droll, Saturday, February 28th, at the Whiskey with Sean Thomas Gerard and Onward, Soldiers. Door is only $5, and the show begins at 9pm.

by: Lauren Hodges

Erica Morgan’s
Down the Line
Artist reception at Wabi-Sabi Warehouse
19 North 9th Street
February 27th, 7-10pm

Some mistakes in life can be reversed. Sometimes, we get lucky and an apology, quick clean-up or savvy PR representative can make things all better. Other faults, however, aren’t be quite as easy to undo. As of now the human race is observing its destruction of Mother Earth and wondering if there is any way to rectify its wrongdoings. Recycling, conserving and reducing our footprints are all necessary but, unfortunately, change is in the making, and it isn’t going to be pretty. Local artist Erica Morgan’s piece entitled “What Once Was Will Never Be” is a perfect visual of the present and immediate future.

“I press a motor-oil drawing onto a piece of fabric, making a print of the image,” Morgan explains. “As time passes, the oil will saturate the fabric and spread, losing the image. Eventually, the image will become just a big blot of oil.”

Morgan loves to mix natural with the unnatural in order to show how much one affects the other. Recently, she has found inspiration in car-related objects and the contrast presented when they are combined with nature. Vines are intertwined with used engine gaskets into a basket, and recycled homemade paper are saturated with motor oil. She also utilizes things like organic fabric, transmission fluid and thread.

Morgan’s art is mostly representative of her strong feelings toward the environment. A graduate of UNC-Greensboro’s Fine Arts program, Morgan has immersed herself into the local art community here in Wilmington. As a volunteer at both Cameron Art Museum and DREAMS Center for Art Education, she has a deep commitment to making a local impact with her creative passions.

“There is a growing wave of passionate artists invested in their community and environment, who consider form and aesthetics while paying close attention to the environmental impact of the art they create,” she says. “And I think it’s safe to say that all the artists involved in this art movement, myself included, have one ultimate goal: to have as big of an impact on society’s perception of the environment and environmental issues as possible; thinking about, making and presenting art that has as little of an impact on the environment as possible.”

Morgan and her fellow artists follow that goal by reusing the resources available, whether they are natural or man-made. Either way, the name of the game is awareness. “We are using the art as a medium, by which our messages for environmental awareness and sustainability are transmitted to the viewer, in hopes of being influential enough to actually affect the way each viewer goes about their everyday lives,” she says.

Still, a prominent fear among environmentalists like Morgan is how ADD the public really is when it comes to such alarming causes. “I think it’s awesome that society and businesses are becoming increasingly aware of the need to reduce our impact on the environment,” she says. “However, the growing ‘green’ trend is becoming just that: a trend, a stylish statement rather than an actual concern for the environment. Companies have also caught on to the popularity with ‘green’ products and are capitalizing on this by marketing products accordingly: ‘green,’ ‘eco-friendly,’ ‘environmentally safe,’ ‘organic’ and the like.”

Morgan advises concerned citizens to look closer. “Just because the label says ‘organic’ doesn’t mean it’s organic. It’s unfortunate but true. Do your research, people!”

She hopes, along with the rest of us, that the trend doesn’t die. “Anything and anyone can call attention to being environmentally aware or the need for becoming environmentally aware: a billboard, a commercial, a radio advertisement, a song, a poem, a business, the president, a teacher—anyone!”

For her part, Morgan will be showcasing her environmentally aware art at the Wabi-Sabi Warehouse this month. “Down the Line” will open on Friday, February 27th, from 7-10pm, with an artist reception. Visit www.wabisabiwarehouse.blogspot.com for more information about the show.

by: Lauren Hodges

The Artbox Opening
Featuring Ryan Bates, Heather McLelland, Holly Nettles, Michal Wisniowski, Andrew Etheridge, Clay Misenheiner, Dixon Stetler, Jennifer McGroarty and Andrew Jones
February 27th, 7-10pm
255 N. Front Street (Soapbox second floor)

When Soapbox owner Valerie Watkins took a few months off to spend with her new baby Delilah, she knew she was going to miss the art room the most. “I have always been into art,” she says. “We wanted to use that space for art shows for the longest time. We had some people come in and try to get it started. A lot happened up there, but I knew I was going to come back, full force, and really get it going.”

The Soapbox Laundro-Lounge is a well-known haunt for the creative community, mostly because of its open atmosphere and red-hot music scene. Now, Watkins hopes it will be known for its art shows, too.

“We have so much planned for the entire second floor,” she says, which has recently had a complete overhaul in hopes of attracting Wilmington’s most talented artists. “The walls are now painted black with white trim and the floors are gray. It’s going to look amazing with all of the color and light that’s about to walk through here.”

What was once referred to as the “green room” has been transformed into “The Artbox.” Now, the second floor of the Soapbox (which used to house encore’s offices up until four years ago) has been set aside for upcoming monthly art exhibits. Watkins and her assistant, Heather McLelland, have been busy building a collection of art contacts throughout town.

“I’ve been a bartender here for a while and that’s how I got to start working on the art room,” McLelland says. “I’m an artist myself, and when Val came back, I knew she was ready to get to work up there. I offered to help, and I’ve been her partner since.”

Both women admit the room is still in progress. “We just patched up all of those holes in the walls,” McLelland notes. “But we also put in some track lighting, which is really going to look great on the paintings and the other artwork.”

McLelland, incidentally, is going to be one of the featured artists this month. “I’m a clay artist, and I’ve got a few pieces to show off,” she says. “There is a series of closed forms, jar-like things with lids, and then some bowls.” McLelland admits to concentrating on the medium “on and off for the past six years,” but she just finished a clay program at The Penland School of Craft outside of Asheville and feels more committed nowadays. “I love clay because it’s such a hands-on medium,” she says. “You can really get your fingers dirty turning nothing into something. I also love that it comes from the Earth. I was so attracted to it because it really brought out a passion in me.”

Currently, Watkins’ and McLelland’s partnership has resulted in a collection of some of the Port City’s brightest artistic talent, ready to hang for the Artbox’s first official show. The exhibit will feature the acrylic work of Ryan Bates, Holly Nettles and Michal Wisniowski, Andrew Etheridge’s mixed-media, Clay Misenheiner’s self-portraits, Dixon Stetler’s woven baskets, Jennifer McGroarty’s jewelry and Andrew Jones’ recycled materials. Some work will be exhibited on the first floor in the Laundro Lounge, as well as in the new space upstairs. Live music will be featured; call 910-470-8678 for more information.

by: Anghus Houvouras

Filmies spend a lot of time looking for cinematic alternatives to the major blockbusters. I personally visit the theater enough to have it qualify as a second residence. So when independent films screen in our area, I relish the opportunity to see a movie that hasn’t been streamed through the Hollywood filter.

Two new independent films will be screened in our area in the coming week. I highly recommend viewers to seize the opportunity and support local cinematic art!

No Teacher Left Behind
Tues., March 3rd
Lumina Theater
UNCW Campus, 7pm

Educational reform is a subject often discussed but rarely beyond generalities and platitudes. The system is quite obviously in a state of deterioration. Dropout rates continue to rise, and the quality of public education is constantly scrutinized with our world rank plummeting behind other nations. We all know the problem, but where is the solution?

Professor Maurice Martinez, Ph. D., of UNCW, makes a pointed, direct correlation between the quality of education and the valuation of those tasked with the job of educating future generations in his documentary No Teacher Left Behind. The documentary examines the differences in how teachers are compensated in different states. It’s a frills-free argument, made simply and directly by Martinez, who presents a number of statistics to support his theory and interviews a number of teachers to discuss the subject. After watching the movie, I was a little surprised with just how stark the argument is. In theory, it seems like such a simple proposition: Teachers who are properly compensated provide a better quality of education.

The argument is one I’ve heard for a long time. Both my parents are educators, and three of my four brothers work in education. Part of me cringed while watching teachers complain about their rate of pay and support they get from the state, but another part of me finds it infinitely fascinating. Do we expect quality teachers to suffer because of their chosen field? Does choosing education automatically relegate some to a life of meager earnings? And while we’ve all heard those tired complaints about how little money teachers make, hearing it from the mouths of teachers does bring a grim reality to the discussion.

Martinez presents us with a very simple breakdown of a system in dire need of reform. I doubt many people will disagree with his proposal; however, part of me wonders just how we can fix the system when in such poor a state, as a whole.

I wish we lived in a world where people were compensated fairly for their contributions. While No Teacher Left Behind isn’t going to solve any of these issues, it will at least keep the conversation going.

Remarkable Power
Carmike Cinemas
March 2nd-7th

I love a good, dark comedy, and Remarkable Power has all the ingredients for some truly heinous laughs. The story follows an eclectic collection of characters in and around Los Angeles whose lives are intertwined after a late-night talk-show host, played by Kevin Nealon (Saturday Night Live, Weeds), concocts an elaborate stunt to save his canceled show, with comedy, mystery, murder and mayhem ensuing.

The scheme entangles an eclectic collection of colorful locals navigating their way through unpredictable twists and turns. A plump private eye (Tom Arnold) teams with a macabre Web-mistress (Nora Zehetner) to investigate the strange disappearance of a dead body. A glassy-eyed cheddar head (Evan Peters) falls prey to a phony get-rich-quick guru (Christopher Titus). Imperiled actors (Kip Pardue and Dulé Hill) embark on a quest for a fresh corpse. 

Cops in costume, a peculiar special-effects make-up team, porn stars with dreams of stardom, a Jewish drug lord with very large brothers, Russian mobsters and others converge in this unique roller-coaster ride of folly through the underbelly of modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah. With an impressive list of festival credentials, Remarkable Power looks like a no-holds-barred comedic donkey punch.

Remarkable Power is the latest in Carmike Cinemas Independent Film Series, which showcases independent films for one-week runs, giving local audiences the chance to see something different. Thankfully with avenues like Cinematique, Jengo’s Playhouse and Carmike’s Independent Film Series, there’s hope that Wilmington has the potential to have more choices than the dreck Hollywood is spoon feeding us. Check these films out, and help keep independent content screening locally.

by: Susan Z. Miller

"Tick, Tick... Boom!"
City Stage, address
Feb. 27-28 and March 1
Tickets: $14-$20
4 stars

I have a confession to make: I am a hard-core “Rent”-head. I am just one of millions of fanatics worldwide who have experienced the catharsis of this wildly successful musical. We have huddled in sleeping bags outside the Nederlander Theatre to score $20 front-row tickets, and packed houses in England, Japan, Australia, Germany and numerous other countries.

When I first got my hands on a cassette tape of the original cast recording in 1997, it immediately gained a permanent place of residence in my bedroom stereo. By the time I attended a tour of the show less than one year later in Columbus, Ohio, I knew every word to every single song, and even the dialogue in between. It was, and still to this day remains, my favorite musical of all time.

With this admission, it should come as no great surprise that I was very excited for the City Stage production of “Tick, Tick… Boom!” As a sort-of prequel to “Rent,” the musical tells the autobiographical story of author Jonathan Larson, who died tragically of an aortic aneurism at age 35. It was just one month before the world premiere of “Rent” at New York Theatre Workshop and before his show became the biggest theater story in two decades.

The story of “Tick, Tick… Boom!” is one with which most artists can empathize, as it is an expression of the economic and emotional hardships and sacrifices one must endure in pursuit of the craft. Larson’s goal is to reinvent the American musical and create “the ‘Hair’ of the ‘90s,” the musical that speaks to his generation. In knowing the calamitous end to Larson‘s life, the musical tells a truly bittersweet story of the artist’s struggle before reaching success. However, this is one of the factors that makes Larson’s life compelling: His story is both so tragic and triumphant that it takes on almost mythic proportions. Although the book and lyrics accurately convey the humiliation and angst of living as a not-just-starving-but-ravenous artist within New York City, the story is extremely humorous and has a satisfyingly sweet ending. The City Stage cast, under the direction of Catherine Vernon, delivers a winning performance.

Zack Turner is phenomenal as Jonathan, capturing the innate sense of creativity, curiosity, and joie de vivre for which Larson was very well known. At the play’s onset, he is lamenting the approach of his 30th birthday, terrified by the combination of lack of achievement and aging. Turner’s performance is filled with a marvelous energy, which effectively draws the audience into his story in a wholly relatable way. The score’s varied styling—from rock, to pop, to jazz—seem no challenge for his dynamic voice.

Also shining throughout the show are Courtney Bowden as Susan and Terrill Williams as Michael. The two portray the roles of Jonathan’s girlfriend and best friend, respectively, but they morph their voices and posture to portray a variety of other characters. Turner, Bowden and Williams also combine voices in wonderful three-part harmonies, always complementing each other and blending rather than competing. One of my personal favorites is “Sunday,” in which Jonathan loathingly memorializes his years as a server at the Moondance Diner. Bowden showcases her lovely soprano voice in “Come To Your Senses” (from Larson’s “Superbia”), while Williams and Turner deliver the comedic highlight of the night with the hysterical “No More.”

For those out there who, like me, are die-hard “Rent” fans, “Tick, Tick… Boom!” does offer some obvious similarities. Both feature humorously doting phone calls from the parents and recorded answering-machine messages. The character of Jonathan often bears a resemblance to that of Mark, the starving artist, and both feature Larson’s gorgeous, well-written harmonies. “Johnny Can’t Decide” sounds rather similar to Rent’s “Will I?” even featuring the same overlapping of voices.

City Stage’s team of Don Baker as set designer and Emmy Weldon as scenic artist created an apartment building completely covered with colorful graffiti to portray the gritty setting in which both musicals take place, New York City.

Perhaps the only musical flaw of “Tick, Tick… Boom!” is that it is absent of the 11:00 number: the rollicking power ballad that audiences go away humming, only to purchase the soundtrack shortly after. However, this is in no way a discredit to the City Stage cast. The performers are consistently strong and backed by a band that totally rocks. Headed by the wonderfully energetic Chiaki Ito, the five band members even make a very memorable onstage cameo.

Many are sure to love the contemporary flair and modern rock styling of “Tick, Tick… Boom!” Make sure to reserve tickets for the last weekend of its performances.

by: Isaac MacMillen,
Contributing editor of Americans for Limited Government News Bureau

There’s an old saying, “If you give a mouse a cookie, it’ll ask for a glass of milk.” Well, it appears that the salt marsh harvest mouse may receive more than just a cookie. Thanks to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.), up to $30 million has been allocated in the so-called economic “stimulus” bill, for wetlands restoration—surprise, surprise!—in Ms. Pelosi’s home district in order to accommodate the creature comforts of the harvest mouse.

While the stated purpose of the $789 billion spending bill—$1.1 trillion after interest—is to promote job growth and thereby stimulate the economy, the bill has turned into special-interest funding heaven, with billions of non-existent taxpayer dollars going to fund legislators’ pet projects. And yet the politicians have no qualms about promoting it as the best-laid plans of mice and men.

As the bill, almost universally opposed by Republicans—as well as 69 percent of Americans who lack confidence that Congress knows what it is doing when it comes to addressing the country’s current economic problems—entered the final stages of negotiation between House and Senate, Democratic leaders engaged in a game of cat and mouse with the American people, claiming that the bill has no earmarks. And they based that transparent obfuscation on the fact that the billions in pork was added via a different method than the usual way earmarks are traditionally handled.

Yet, spending $30 million on wetlands in the district of the Speaker of the House can hardly be called anything but an earmark—especially given the fact that Ms. Pelosi has pushed for funding of the mouse’s wetlands in past sessions. This cheesy earmark is, and represents, a tipping point in this trillion-dollar total spending extravaganza that compels the American people to demand that the bill be recalled and redrawn.

The fact that the full amount will have to be paid by future taxpayers—with interest—means that future generations will be left as poor as, well, a church mouse. As Senator Tom Coburn (R-Ok.) pointed out, the average American family will be saddled with an additional $10,800 as a result of this bill.

But Democrats have been as careful as possible to avoid any discussion of the full cost of this measure. Despite the many times they loudly objected to “passing the bill to future generations” when the Republicans were in power, they have been strangely silent as to the costs of their own measures. And with good cause. This pork-laden “stimulus” bill is only the first item on their agenda. Once it—and Mr. Geithner’s $2.5 trillion-dollar bailout plan—are passed, Democrats will finally be able to sit down and figure out how to fund their pet projects—nationalized health care, environmentalist power projects, coerced unionization—and the hundreds of other costly programs for which their supporters will lobby. And taxpayers will pay. But don’t expect to hear that from them. When it comes to the ultimate high cost of their policies, Democrats tend to be quiet as a mouse.

Equally as disconcerting as their silence has been the speed at which they have worked to craft a bill that, to put it in perspective, is nearly 33 percent greater than the total spent in Iraq since 2003. Certainly, one would think, such an enormous sum should be examined with extreme care. But it would seem that Democrats would rather say that they “did something quick” than that they “did it right.”

As demonstrated by the Pelosi rat-hole earmark, the American people need to keep a sharp eye on this bill—as well as all others produced by this Congress—to ensure that their hard-earned tax dollars are not quietly funneled away to special-interest groups. Democrats are relying on recklessly spreading the “fear of fear itself” in order to rush through their money-guzzling measures.

After all, “when the cat’s away, the mice will play.”

by: Ashley Cunningham,
Winner of encore’s 3rd annual
Creative Writing contest

Too many years of being trained to sit down and shut up have made it difficult for me now to sit up while shutting down. Doc Hall asks me if I think my stay here is helping at all. I tell him I don’t really know what to think. What the hell am I supposed to think about myself? My opinions are gone with the wind so all I have to go on is the facts, and the facts are as follows: I am stuck in a cement box. I can’t remember shit except the accident. I don’t want to talk to anyone but Delaney Jenkins, and I’d rather not listen to anyone else either.

I tell doc these things, and it doesn’t upset him. He says my feelings are normal. “If I were normal I wouldn’t be living with half a dozen people who swear to God they hang out with dead movie stars after dinner,” I tell him. Apparently Clark Gable and the whole gang have a fondness for playing Scrabble in used cotton robes. The cotton breathes better than the competition. The game floats in and out of better hands.

Our conversation is lit with bouts of almost-argument, and I can tell that good ol’ doctor Hall is worried about me as much as my mother. I should be comforted by his efforts but in all honesty, I find it annoying. I fight with my mouth to let words slip out. The battle between what I know and what I feel is more intense than I remember it being in the beginning.

“Why is it so hard for you to accept what’s going on here?” Doc asks me. I’m sick of his questions and tired of his half-ass approaches. I tell him I can’t accept what’s happening because he expects me to dive through 20 years of choppy water for a treasure that is long gone. I want him to give me some pearls of wisdom, and instead he just prods and probes for answers too far under the surface for me to find. While he talks I picture him out in the real world. I wonder if he has ever felt so lost. I wonder why he chose to talk with people like me for a living. I wonder what his face looks like when he has sex with his wife. Questioning anything else besides myself is a favorite past time of mine. It’s fun to create whole worlds out of barely-there implications, and even more fun to use those implications as a basis for a story line. I realize in this moment that I haven’t written anything worthwhile in years, and I wonder if it’s because my character lacks the interest to continue.

* * *
Leaving the interrogation cell, I plod along with boiling frustrations, the bulk of which are a result of days without sleep. I just want to rest my eyes. Maybe then I’ll be able to rest my head. I forget what dreaming feels like, what waking up in the sunshine feels like. Jesus, I forget what feeling anything feels like. New Years Eve is coming up, and I consider making my resolution to not close myself off to everyone anymore. I consider it, but opening up is pretty impossible with all my secrets locked in a vault. Without vodka I can’t recall the combination to get inside.

The day rides out the hours until it is bedtime. This seems like a joke to me, but I’m too worn out to laugh. Too worn out to laugh and not desperate enough to cry, I sit in the cold with my cigarette until my body is as numb as my mind has become. The embers flicker into the dark where I’m sure they will blow off to somewhere far away from where I’m standing. I start to think about following them to warmer shelter, but I can see the guards eyeing me within the confines of the space they’ve allotted for me to breathe. I could run, but I’ve got sea legs that make even walking feel like a troubling feat. I would skip out but the air is about as jolly as I am. The stillness of my circumstances makes me a prisoner to the night.

Me and my shackles return back to the inside. I haven’t seen D-lay all day, but I assume she is probably busy with her own demons to come shoot the shit with me in the dark. After a couple hours, when the soundtrack of the building ceases to fill out the quiet of my room, I decide to sneak to our hideaway. Maybe the black walls of our escape will tuck me in and sing me to sleep better than these white blocks and barred windows.

I count my steps for no fancy reason other than it seems kind of like a stealthy game against the hallways. They’ve got no team spirit, so I reach the secret padded door in silent victory. The click-clack of the turn lock cheers me on, and into the only space I can halfway recognize myself. The silence is deafening here, so loud it’s like a lullaby commanding that I drift off into a dream world.

I curl up in a corner because it feels safer than anywhere else. I pull the covers of complete darkness over my cold body and pray for an easy out. Fifty reasons to believe in something bigger now: I drift, on and the drift becomes a float. I float on until I start sinking into a sleep, I don’t really wish to wake from. A sleep so deep that all that shallow frustration thaws out, and becomes the relief I’ve been waiting for on too long. I hear my favorite author say, “There is more than one good way to drown,” and I feel like I might be smiling with my eyes shut tighter than the gates to heaven.

And here we are yet again. A new year—a new host of Best-Of winners to hoist on our shoulders and praise in honor of what’s superior to our area. As many readers are aware, our polls closed on January 9th, and between then and now, we managed to tally the votes, build all 140-plus awards by hand and throw one massive party at City Stage/Level 5 to praise the winners. Boy, what a showdown it was, thanks to our hosts the Superkiiids! and Changing Channels—the area’s funniest people without a doubt—along with DJ Human Being, who so graciously spun records for us throughout the night. For all who couldn’t join us in the festivities on February 7th, well, welcome to the first week of announcements, when we’ll begin writing about our many people, places and services of greatness, revealing their secrets and what makes them the creme dé la creme of the Port City. Grab a cocktail, and enjoy the 2009 Class of encore’s annual Best-Of!

Best Comedy Troupe and Local Independent Film
Yep, they make us laugh. They bring sheer joy to our hearts, Joker smiles across our faces and sensational euphoria to our souls. They are comedians. They are acrobats. They are pyros. They are our odd comic-book heroes of Wilmington. They are The Superkiiids!

By helping encore’s Best-Of veteran comedians Changing Channels host the annual encore Awards Party, The Superkiiids! literally dominated the stage with a big bang—they jumped and rolled across it, stripped and ran through the rafters, lit sparklers and threw stuff to the audience. They were being, well . . . super. In winning the category for the first time in seven years over Changing Channels, we asked Jonathan Guggenheim and Cory Howard exactly why they are the best. In typical Superkiiids! fashion, their humility shone through: “An obvious question deserves an obvious answer. We are the best because we can travel through time, eat rainbows, we own a real Jurassic Park Velociraptor, double freeze pops, whittle, collect energy and count with letters!”

They’re right; it’s clear their superpowers send them head-and-shoulders above normal beings. Yet they still insist that “it’s not that we’re the best; we just seem like the best because of our mystery.”

Mysteriously agile, definitely they are. Anyone who has seen their 2008 smash film, Lightning Salad Moving Picture, another Best-Of winner in the local film category, will note their impressive ability to fervently jump out of and onto things as if it were their last act of defiance. But don’t attempt to pigeonhole the duo because, really, they’re incomparable. “Don’t try to compare us to another bad little fad,” Guggenheim e-mailed me last week, taking a cue from early ‘90s hip-hop. “I’m the Mac, and I’m bad, give you something that you never had/I’ll make ya jump, jump wiggle and shake your rump/Cause I’ll be kicking the flavor that makes you wanna jump!”

Other notable funny folks were Changing Channels and Port City Players. Best local film nominees were Vampire Bitches from Hell and Murder Monologues.

Best Soul Food and Best Buffet
“Ya know what I love about the Best-Of?” my dear, loving friend Matthew Shepard asked me last week at City Stage, during our raucous awards party.

“What?” I asked, sipping from my bourbon, awaiting something undeniably funny to come out of this Southern gent’s mouth.

“That you can get sushi and fatback on the same plate at Best-Of!” He then ate a piece of the crunchy, Southern delicacy and licked his lips, announcing, “As good as grandma’s!”

Per de rigeur of encore’s annual showdown is that many of the winners often provide eats for the attendees the night of the party. It’s a marketing-tool dream, seeing as over 100 or more folks will be able to actually sample what was voted some of the best food in town, according to encore readers. Included in the 2009 spread was Casey’s Buffet, Barbecue and Home Cookin’s very own fatback, fried chicken and hushpuppies.

“Really, what’s a soul-food win without a heaping helping of fatback?” Shepard asked.

Casey’s knows Southern food as well as any grandma below the Mason Dixon line (sorry, Grams). Perhaps their over-25-year experience in the biz has helped mold the restaurant’s success, but owner Larry Casey attributes it to “cooking country food with Mama Gail and Grandmama Kitty, and barbecuing pigs with Dad.”

Folks may recognize the familiar flavors from Larry’s previous hit, Taste of Country, once located downtown on Front Street. It’s reincarnation is Casey’s Buffet at 5559 Oleander Drive, where “the unbreaded pan-fried okra is unique and just like Grandma Kitty did it!” Larry promises.

In fact, there is only one way to sum up Casey’s best—a motto that Larry and his lovely wife Gena have become quite proud to hail: “If you miss your mama’s cookin’, come home to Casey’s.” They have it all on their buffet, from chitterlings to fried catfish, turkey to ham, all the fixin’s and homemade biscuits, too. Just leave room for the banana pudding.

Other contenders for soul food were Two Fat Ladies Over a Simmering Pot and Saltworks, while buffet runners-up consisted of Golden Corral and Carolina BBQ.

Best Burger
Only once during my 10-year reign at encore has Best Burger been won by a restaurant other than P.T.’s Old Fashioned Grille. It’s a sore subject to broach (for them and for us at encore, too, ‘cause quite frankly we are partial to the P.T. burger). But I am happy to report that good ol’ P.T.’s has grilled up the perfect patty again for 2009, tossing other burger joints to the wayside without a flinch.

If anyone has to ask, “What’s so great about the P.T. burger?” then I would obviously assume they’ve yet to eat one. Aside from being char-grilled to near perfection and topped with a slew of sides to one’s liking (slaw, chili, onions, lettuce, tomato, cheese, mayo, ketchup, mustard), it comes patted in 8 or 6 ounces and served with a very large side of hand-sliced French fries that are sinfully doused in lemon pepper.

Hungry yet?

Well, for burger foes (huh?), note that the P.T.’s fellas do more than just burgers. They have a P.T. dog (sliced in half, grilled and served on a hoagie bun), grilled turkey sandwich, veggie burger or (my second favorite behind the burger) roast beef. And don’t even consider using the excuse of not knowing where P.T.’s is located. This local hotspot has become a franchise, with restaurants all over Wilmington: Fountain Drive, 17th Street, Military Cutoff, Leland and Porter’s Neck.

“We have a great atmosphere, as well as great food,” manager Kent Williams assures. “We are friendly to customers and try to make their dining experience as pleasurable as possible.”

They have obviously succeeded.

Other burger joints joining the ranks were Five Guys Grill and Two Guys Grille.

Best Shoe Store
Wanna know the secret to a woman’s confidence? Well, it’s all in the shoe. Just ask Kim Harts at Shoe Shak, Wilmington’s Best Shoe Store, located in Hanover Center.

Locally owned and operated, Harts notes that Show Shak keeps servicing the area with the “best styles, best quality, largest selection, most sizes and widths, [along with] great accessories.” More so, the store also has a lot of heart in Wilmington. “We are in touch with Wilmington’s style,” Harts explains. “[And] we always enjoy hearing, ‘I wouldn’t shop anywhere else.’”

They carry brand names to adore, from UGGS to Sperry’s, and they make sure to captivate the buyer by offering anything from dressy to casual wear. “We are continually bringing in new lines,” she notes. “The past few seasons we have increased our comfort-shoe selection to meet the demands of our customers.”
Even during a time when folks are questioning their spending habits, the shoe will rarely take a back seat when shopping Shoe Shak. Why? Well, Harts says it’s because “at Shoe Shak we believe customer service is not a thing of the past.”

She and her crew continue to closely “listen to customers, the footwear industry and the fashion industry . . . This is an evolving business, and we have to be willing to evolve with it,” she explains. “There is a real need to improve upon customer service [everywhere]. It is becoming harder and harder for customers to receive the assistance they need when shopping.” Yet this local footwear gem promises hefty knowledge on product, not to mention supreme availability in most styles, making their attention to customers truly the best.

Others kicking it in the shoe category were Monkee’s and Rack Room.

Best Women’s and Men’s Clothes
The Best-Of Party hosts, Superkiiids! and Changing Channels, weren’t only dishing out hilarity by the bucketsful onstage, they were donning premium duds from our very own winner of Best Women’s and Men’s Clothing—the one, the only Edge of Urge.

“Wait until you see my bright and beautiful ensemble,” Sandy Summers, one-fifth of Changing Channels, texted me excitedly a few days before the show (I could practically feel her energy vibrating through the phone). “They picked quite a number!”

And Sandy wasn’t the only one fluttering over the buzz. “You know what I love about Edge of Urge,” Brandi Laney, another one-fifth of Changing Channels, told me later: “You don’t have to be a size 2 to enjoy their clothes.” Brandi was over the moon about the dress that local designer Jessie Williams made for her specifically.

“[I wanted] to change the world of design and to help up-and-coming designers as well as local talent,” Williams, who is also the brains, hands and effort behind Wilmington’s Best Women’s and Men’s Clothing Store, says about starting her boutique back in 2002. “But [I] also [wanted] to offer new choices to customers in a world that seemed to be presenting choices to very few body types.”

From humble beginnings at “a teeny location in the Old Wilmington City Market,” to the now expansive space at the foot of Market, downtown Wilmington, Edge of Urge (EOU) is our region’s answer to a metropolis’ Anthropologie—only better and with more care taken to understand and properly dress its customers. Ask any fashionista in town about her duds, and nine times out of 10, EOU is mentioned.

“We are about the individual and meeting their unique style needs,” Williams assures. “I have strived to really build a more diverse inventory. We not only have a strong indie and handmade element to EOU (Prairie Underground, Heavy Rotation, Feral Childe), but we also have more established brands (William Rast, Original Penguin, Orla Kiely) who draw another audience.”

Williams’ secret to success, aside from being masterful with the needle and thread, is remaining positive and always looking for opportunity. “Chin up! Chin up! Chin up!” she says. “Work smarter, listen, eyes peeled, patience, follow my gut and have faith in my dreams”—they’re all a part of the larger formula to succeed regardless of any given circumstance. Although, on her wish list of improving local business: “I, 100 percent, without a doubt, believe if more businesses worked closer together and showed more support, everyone would be amazed at the wealth of benefit. There is no need or room for negativity—power in numbers.”

Because of her keen sense to attention, her willingness to re-evaluate, learn from mistakes and take risks, she has felt the support, love and encouragement from a plethora of happy shoppers everywhere. “I get asked on a regular basis to open an Edge of Urge in other cities across the country,” Williams notes. “People tell us there is nothing like it. That feels amazing, especially when they are from N.Y., L.A. or larger cities where one would think they could find anything!”

Other Men’s Clothing contenders were Oliver and the now-defunct 008 (RIP), and other Women’s Clothing nominees were Island Passage and Lula Balou.

Best Bar and Neighborhood Bar
Let’s play word association:

Raf = Bluepost

The Ballerinas = Bluepost

A mechanic = Bluepost

Fred Champion = Bluepost

Julie Dirt = Bluepost

Your Dentist = Bluepost

Li’l Nips = Bluepost

Seeing a pattern? Basically, anyone who is anyone in Wilmington is at the Bluepost pretty much any given night of the week. It’s the way it is when the night owls come-a-calling and the cheap beer comes-a-chugging (or in Dirt’s case, the whiskey). Bluepost is—and will always be—the Best Bar and Neighborhood Bar in town.

Since some may be hard-up to persuade such a case, allow me to pontificate:

First, they have a jukebox. More so, it plays a hodgepodge of sing-a-long tunes, like Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah),” Neil Young’s “From Hank to Hendrix,” The Guess Who’s “These Eyes” and even Etta James’ “At Last.”

Second, they have games: pool, darts, Mrs. Pac Man, Donkey Kong, even skeeball and air hockey.

Third, they have booze and bartenders who serve it rather wonderfully. Just give a nod to Sonya, Jeff, Josh, Christy and the gang when in need of a “champagne of beers” or a greyhound, and they’ll deliver it cold and maybe even with a smile—OK, more like a sarcastic remark, but, honestly, we’d have it no other way. We’re all neighbors at the Post, and that means we act the way neighbors should—sometimes more like cantankerous family when all’s said and done, but oftentimes with a large (black) heart full of love for one another and our favorite watering hole.

Best Book Store and Business Open for 25 Years or More
We all have favorite people in Wilmington. Mine consist of 1) Jonathan Guggenheim (half of the Superkiiids!) and 2) Gwnyfar Rohler, owner and operator of Old Books on Front Street. Now, Guggy is easy to understand as a favorite because he’s ... well ... crazy-funny. Gwnyfar is also an easy favorite because of her sheer excellent-ness and vast knowledge on the beloved book—any book, for that matter.

After a Monday-night visit to Old Books for their weekly Scrabble night (my favorite game, as well), Gwnyfar dropped a book about the decades-old board game in the mail to me—a nice li’l present to receive on a hectic Thursday afternoon. I smiled after reading the author’s first paragraph into the journey as a Scrabble tourney player, and I marveled at how in tune Gwnyfar was with her customers and her service to Wilmington readers. Such attention to detail—along with her wish for all customers to “think happy thoughts!”—has landed her a lot of praise in town.

“We are more than a book store!,” Gwnyfar explains. “We are a meeting place (a convergence if you will)—a family-owned business where everyone is family.”

With almost two miles of books on display (that’s over 150,000 reads), the Rohler family, including Ma Diane and Pop Lloyd, believes in doing “business the old-fashioned way—and we spend our money in our community,” Gwnyfar assures, referring to her family’s patronage to local print shops, hardware stores, etcetera. “If we do not support each other financially, who will?” Gwnyfar questions.

Old Books has the largest section of Foreign Language books—”we have days with more foreign language sales than books in English”—and they stock the largest selection of film and theatre books, as well as scripts. Their varied supply keeps customers often asking, “Can I set up a cot and sleep here?” several times a week. But Gwnyfar remains steadfast in being a book store, not a shelter. That she and her family keep in mind the infrequent purchase of luxury items in today’s market, including a $28 new hardbound book, they entice shoppers with thousands upon thousands of books for $5 or less.

Gratitude is most notable on the face Gwnyfar and her family—not to mention pride for keeping what was once Daughtry’s Old Books, which opened originally in the early ‘80s, a staple to downtown’s Front Street.
Other book stores to note were Pomegranate Books and Barnes and Noble, while businesses more than 25 years old were Whitey’s and Finkelsteins.

Best Tanning Salon
Living in a beach town, where the weather is always more on the nice side, means tanned bodies can be seen strutting about year-round. However, how they get those bronzed legs may not always be from the natural sunlight (after all, even Wilmington sees cold weather in January—at least occasionally). Thanks to Tropical Tans, the sunbathers of the world can get their Vitamin D even during the off-season.

Face it: Tanning is something that simply enlightens the spirit—it’s a proven fact, just ask Dr. Oz. And Wilmingtonians who patronize Tropical Tans—at either their Wrightsville Avenue or Carl Street store—more than likely continue to find it worthwhile because of the “service, price, consistency, experience and convenience,” according to owner Fred Knopp. Knopp boils his business down to one notable factor: customer perception. “If the customer sees your business as successful, it will be successful,” he told encore last week, “especially if customer service is the number-one concern.”

As one of the longest operating tanning salons in town, Tropical Tans keeps on top of their service, meaning lots of bulb changes, which helps everyone “get more for their money,” Knopp said. “It shows results quicker!” Customers hail the establishment as “one of the best they’ve ever used,” even those who have tanned across the country. By constantly improving on costs and passing on the savings to the customer, more acclaim is sure to come Tropical Tans’ way—bronze-kissed and copper-toned nonetheless.

Other hailed tanning salons were Soleil Tanning and Sun Rayz.

Best Jeweler
Another first on our annual Best-Of 2009 is the man who promises to bring folks a free engagement ring should it rain on their wedding day. Welcome Alan Perry and his fine crew to the polls, as Perry’s Emporium has been the first to beat out Reed’s in eight years.

Located in Barclay Commons off Independence and Shipyard boulevards, Perry’s hails unique jewelry and friendly service, “offering everything from dazzling loose diamonds to gorgeous pendants and fine watches” (www.perrysemporium.com). Specializing in bridal, antique and estate jewelry, they always go the extra mile to bring Wilmington jewelry lovers pieces from large estates—rare and constructed from some of the most famous designers in the world.

Since 1991, Alan has instituted the no-pressure policy of customer service, only offering a relaxed atmosphere, answering all queries with vast knowledge and, most importantly, a friendly smile. Their showroom is packed with jewels that sparkle in the eyes of so many happy customers, especially since they sell Hearts on Fire, “the world’s most perfectly cut diamond.” From traditional to modern, couture to design-your-own-engagement ring, Perry’s has something brilliantly crafted to suit anyone’s wants or needs.

encore readers also noted Reed’s Jeweler and Kingoff’s among top picks.

Best Radio Station
It’s all about the music—the sounds that capture memories in our lives. My musical photo album looks something like this:

The Doors at 13, in love with some sensitive poet boy in middle school. Pearl Jam and Dinosaur Jr. at 16, in love with the skater boy two years my senior and especially loving life in his canary-yellow Honda hatchback. Blind Melon and the Grateful Dead in college, hanging with the hippie kids in the next dorm over and being “free” for the first time. The Velvet Underground and Bob Dylan at 25 and learning to deal with being 25. Today, at 32, I listen to all of the above and a host of other sounds, old and new, from R.E.M. to the White Stripes, Gillian Welch to Neil Young, David Bowie to Buena Vista Social Club, for reminders that my life has manifested its own personal soundtrack of happiness and reflection.

Because music is the catalyst of memories for so many, it’s so important to have a station in town that can suit our listening needs. encore readers agree that the Penguin 106.7 is that station. Offering a format that isn’t centered on one genre of music, The Penguin attracts so many listeners because they play like anyone’s individual iPod: Johnny Cash followed by The Clash, followed by Grateful Dead, followed by The Police, followed by Cat Power, followed by The Felice Brothers.

Yet, The Penguin is also a community powerhouse of promotion, offering artist interviews onair and hosting concerts all over town—including the up-and-coming J.J. Grey and Mofro show on March 27th at Greenfield Lake. Their ticket-giveaways and live remotes keep the listeners happily engaged, but really it’s the music that DJs Beau Gunn (Monday-Friday 3-7pm), Niki (Monday-Friday, 7pm-midnight; 10am-4pm, weekends), Kim C. (Monday-Friday, 10am-3pm) and Jason Westbrook (Sunday, noon-5pm) keep churning out that keeps Best-Of voters loyal to 106.7.

Other stations taking top votes include Z 107.5 and WHQR 91.3.

Best Antique Shop and Consignment for Home Decor
There’s nothing like the first fabulous gem found at the Ivy Cottage, located in three different adjacent buildings on Market Street. The search through thousands of household items is all part of the fun, and to find that perfect diamond-in-the-rough is an experience I would recommend to anyone. Why? “We have really good furniture at really good prices. We’re also really big, and we’ve been here a really long time,” owner Sam Dunn says simply. Eleven long years to be exact, enough time to establish a well-deserved reputation in town—and accumulate a number of strange experiences.

“We’ve had two cars run through the front of our building about a year apart,” Dunn recalls, laughing. “We’ve also had a police raid. A criminal ran into our store for cover, and the police followed him right on in!”

As for their appeal to folks in Wilmington, a lot of it has to do with the constant influx of new inventory. “We get in about 300 to 400 new items every day. There is always new stuff,” Dunne assures.
First- and second-runners up for Best Antique Shop went to Michael Moore Antiques and Cape Fear Antiques; Best Consignment for Home Decor also went to Napping Cat and Goodwill.

Best Asian, Restaurant Overall and Atmosphere
Indochine has been holding steady to these categories for a few years now. Drive by any given Friday or Saturday night to understand why. Cars are jam packed in the parking lot—the waiting list is often filled, which is why reservations are most likely always a smart move. Once inside or outside in their backyard, it looks like an entirely different country in itself. Asian art and artifacts hang on its brightly colored walls, and outside is lush with foliage and beautiful handcrafted cabanas to enjoy dinner among the stars and beside a tranquil fountain.

As if the setting alone isn’t enough to feast the eyes, the food certainly will, as well as fill the stomach and tempt the tastebuds rather delightfully. I am an admitted lover of Thai cuisine and an admitted lover of Indochine. Their staff is always above and beyond helpful, treating customers just like family. Their food is always cooked to near authentic perfection, and their cocktails, including a host of delicious sake, always completes an evening with friends, family or romantic partners.

Of my personal favorite combination: Panang and Zipang! Go for their pork panang curry. Its spice is fiery according to the diner’s taste, chock full of sweet potatoes, green beans and other vegetables. Its heat pairs perfectly with the chilled sparkling goodness that is Zipang—champagne-like sake with which not to be reckoned. Try it out and become an addict for life.

Other Best Restaurant Overall votes went to Circa 1922 and Flaming Amy’s; Best Atmosphere votes were allotted to Yo Sake and the Little Dipper; and Nikki’s Fresh Gourmet and Sushi and Hiro Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar also scored Best Asian nods.

Best Gift Shop
I hear every year: “So encore staff gives the Best-Of winners to whomever they want.” For the records: This is not true. We at encore don’t vote—it’s all reader-based. But I am happy to say I couldn’t have hand-picked many of this year’s winners any better myself. Included among the ranks is Blue Moon Gift Shops, which makes its debut appearance in our Best-Of poll, taking Best Gift Shop for 2009.

During every Christmas, birthday and special occasion, I often head to Blue Moon to check out the goods. Why? Well, it supports local artists, first and foremost, not to mention shopping locally means keeping more funds within our local economy. And the offerings at Blue Moon are endless, from Mitzi Jonkheer’s jewelry to eco-friendly totes, which often support causes in other countries, to handmade ornaments, clothes, art work, clutches, food—practically everything! Every time I have purchased a gift there, I always get praised for having such a knack for “finding fun, one-of-a-kind presents.” Well, I can’t take the credit. It’s at the hands of Blue Moon’s attention to detail and finding great vendors to set up shop in the large space, where individual artist cubbies are set up like a market through which to browse and buy.

Owner Mary-Ann Masucci never waivers on her promise to please a customer. Her secret is rather simple: “If you focus your energy, you make your own magic!” That energy is harnessed as a team, where they constantly treat customers as one of their own. “We are attentive without being overbearing,” Masucci said. Just last week she heard from a visitor, “I wish there was a Blue Moon where I live—this place is wonderful!”

By offering unique and hand-crafted items not to be replicated in big-box stores, Masucci has a formula that continues to satisfy. So much so she even wishes for growth in Wilmington in a big way. “By bringing in the large corporations, [Wilmington would] create jobs and prosperity,” the business owner offered. It could be a reality that would surely keep her business even more afloat and popular with the masses.

Other gift shops to garner votes were Dragonflies and NOFO.

Best Place to Buy a New Car
We all know the phrase: “If it has our name on it, you have our word on it!” General Manager Patrick Koballa coined the catchphrase that has kept Stevenson Automotive on the Best-Of charts for nine years running. While car sales may be down nationwide, it doesn’t break Koballa’s spirit in the least. His weapon: “Know what your customers expect, and give it to them.” Thus, Stevenson has always been ahead of the game in taking care of customers by offering impeccable products and service.

“We pride ourselves on doing things a little differently than the guys down the street,” Koballa stated last week. “We know if we exceed the expectations of our clients, they will come back and refer others to us.” This refined word-of-mouth strategy is working, especially considering Stevenson’s high numbers of repeat customers and referals. Koballa has no doubt that “Wilmington will continue to thrive” in our current businessscape. “We just need to be ready,”he concluded. Without a doubt, Stevenson will be. Stop by the lot to test drive a new ride today, and see what the praise is all about!

Other car dealerships to be noted were Bob King and Toyota of Wilmington.

Best Chiropractor
Car wrecks. Stress management. Misaligned spines. Chiropractors see us through many ailments throughout our lifetimes, from spinal adjustment to other manual therapies in the joints and soft tissues, rehabilitative exercises to health promotion, electrical modalities to complementary procedures and even lifestyle counseling. In Wilmington, patients rush to the door of Dr. Friedman, located on Kerr Avenue, to be properly treated in the alternative medicine industry.

Friedman and his staff work tirelessly to make sure their patients get the most dependable attention to their conditions to complement other medicinal treatments or to alleviate symptoms all on their own. While serving the chiropractic field to its utmost standards, Friedman also embarks on other health advancements, such as his innovation of whole foods/antioxdants formulations, also known as the Nutritional iPod. His lengthy accolades truly make him stand out in the health world. Visit today to learn how he has brought “great health to millions of people in America.” (http://thenutritionalipod.homebusinesspros.com).

Other chiropractors worthy of the encore polls were Sito and Spinal Care of Wilmington.

Best Burrito and New Restaurant
“Two words: Lighten up!” It pretty much reads like the Flaming Amy’s mantra at their Burrito Barn on Oleander Drive, where a full set of rules are enforced while dining at the hip-spot. The rules are rather simple, like “Don’t be a salsa hog!” from their salsa bar, and “We sell all unsupervised children into servitude, so don’t let your kids run wild!”

Fast, cheap and easy is the promise as Flaming Amy’s Burrito Barn has been making diners happy with their fresh-to-order burritos for quite a while now in Wilmington. They’re not new to the annual Best-Of Polls—although, we’re still waiting for them to score the Best Place to Buy Gas category. In fact, their impressive burritos, from the Thai Me Up to the The Double Bypass (including double everything, like beef, cheese and all other ingredients that clog the arteries), as well as their tacos and many a vegetarian options keep all palates happily satiated.

Adding to their win this year are Jay and Amy Muxworthy’s second location, Flaming Amy’s Bowl, which took encore’s Best New Restaurant category by storm. Offering a Mongolian-Grill approach to eating—“without the Mongolians”—diners line up and grab a bowl to fill with fresh ingredients, from rice to noodles, tofu to pork, fresh veggies to numerous sauces, and the cooks cook up the ingredients and serve. It’s a do-it-yourself approach to dining, with endless refills. Try it today and be an addict for life.
Other burrito favorites were K-38 and Moe’s Southwest Grill, while kudos went to Panera Bread and The Basics for new restaurants in town.—Shea Carver

Best Humanitarian, Nonprofit and International Nonprofit
Every once in a while, sincere compassion, servanthood and altruism will merge, and true greatness is released, sending a ripple effect ‘round the world. Visionary Jock Brandis is one such catalyst of this type of change-inducing movement, and his efforts have landed him the top spot as recipient for this year’s Best Humanitarian award. If readers have yet to hear about his work, namely the relief program called Full Belly Project (FBP)—also known as this year’s Best Nonprofit and International Nonprofit—it’s about time they take heed and become aware.

Brandis is FBP’s director of research and development (or “mad scientist” as he has dubbed himself), and truly the brains behind the operation. Full Belly works to produce agricultural systems (“not just gadgets”) in poverty-stricken countries in order to help train villagers to provide for themselves and, quite simply, to keep their bellies full. Its success lies in the self-sufficiency of its primary product, the universal peanut sheller, which can be made from simple materials just about anywhere.

As Brandis puts it, “Worldwide, we get the biggest bang for the buck. Within 24 hours of arriving in a village, we are processing crops and feeding children.”

Furthering the success of the Full Belly Project is the fact that it is “a community mission,” as Brandis observes, in which people from all over Wilmington and beyond have been willing to lend a hand. It’s a concept Brandis believes would enhance Wilmington’s business-scape as well: that is, to “support local business!”

More information on the Full Belly Project can be found at www.fullbellyproject.org.
Second and third place for Best Humanitarian were Sheila Lewis and Sister Mary Isaac (of Tileston Outreach), respectively; runners-up for Best Nonprofit were the Lower Cape Fear Hospice and DREAMS Center for Art Education, and the Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity for International Nonprofit.

Best Family Restaurant
As hard as it is at times to decide the big question on everyone’s mind—Where do you want to eat?—having kids in the family makes the list of options considerably more narrow, as smoking sections, adults-only menus, the unpredictable antics of live entertainment more often dictate an unseen “do-not-enter” policy for parents with small children. Thank goodness for the concept known as the family restaurant, and for one in particular: Boodles on Oleander Drive.

“We have a great service staff, our breakfast is the best in town, and we have a clean restaurant,” owner John Bolda offers. “Treating every customer special and serving the best quality food possible [makes us stand out].”

Boodles, in true form of its name (slang for “a large quantity of something”), offers over 175 items on its menu, including American, Mexican, Italian and Greek entrées. They’ve got delicious soups, salads and sandwiches, as well as a healthful and low-carb menu, an extensive dessert menu and, of course, a children’s menu. “[But] you and your business [are] only as good as the staff that you have,” Bolda insists, “working to treat every customer as if it’s their first visit.” Such customer-focused attitudes as these keeps Boodles top of mind among families looking for somewhere to eat.

Also in the running for were Casey’s Buffet and Red Robin.

Best Health-Food Store
Vegan, natural, organic—oh, my! The health-food trend is steadily on the rise, as folks all over the Port City are hoppin’ on the bandwagon with the greatest of gluten-free ease. There’s eco-friendly everything these days, from reusable shopping bags to chemical-free cleaning products. But one trait to be acclaimed for Tidal Creek Co-op is that they’ve always been hip to the all-natural way of life—and it’s not because everyone else is doing it!

Tidal Creek is Wilmington’s independently owned food market with one simple mission (www.tidalcreek.coop): to remain “dedicated to serving and connecting our community through a thriving natural-foods cooperative business.” The Creek offers a variety of high-quality natural and organic foods, as well as other environmentally sound products. The café serves up wraps, sandwiches, sweets and salads daily, and the market is stocked with foods from locally grown farms. They also offer regular events and workshops to keep members active and aware.

As a co-op, Tidal Creek is owned and controlled by its membership—each member is an equal co-owner. It is in this way that it differs from privately owned businesses where there is unequal ownership and control based upon investment. At Tidal Creek the primary benefit comes from members’ use of services instead. With plentiful heath foods lining the shelves, a customer-focused attitude and an eco-friendly vibe, Tidal Creek rules the roost yet again.

Other health-food stores that readers enjoy are Lovey’s and Paula’s Health Hut.

Best Shopping Plaza
It’s hard to believe that Mayfaire Town Center has only been a hotspot development in the Port City for five short years. Such is its shopping prowess that one can hardly imagine the 400-acre spread between Eastwood Road and Military Cutoff without it. It’s become the kind of place one never really has to leave—shop, dine, live or be entertained, Mayfaire provides visitors and residents a fun and diverse atmosphere to meet needs of all kinds.

This outdoor, “old-fashioned downtown” environment integrates a fabulous mix of specialty shops, restaurants and cafés, fine residences, entertainment venues and hotel and office space, all in a tight-knit community in close proximity to the coast. From beauty mega-store Ulta, to the newly opened Panera Bread, to the happenin’ Cinema 16, Mayfaire is all about convenience and provision. Those who walk its sidewalks will enter into the relaxed coastal charm of a beach town with all the amenities of big-city living—and new businesses are continuing to open up all the time! With its one-stop-shop service and charming ambiance, expect to see this one in the running for Best Shopping Plaza for a long, long time.

Shopaholics also get their thrills at Lumina Station and Hanover Center.

Best Personal Trainer
They are perhaps the most simultaneously loved and hated professionals among any industry—OK, aside from IRS auditors: personal trainers. Yep, they are the “jerks” who make clients get up way too early in order to hit the weights before work, who push them to their limits after a set of squats feels like sitting in a pool of fire, and who won’t accept less than the very best when it comes to achieving personal fitness goals—after which, of course, is when they become a guy or gal’s best friend. Personal trainers are widely considered to be necessary evils—that is, unless one has a friend like Best Personal Trainer LaMaine Williams of Lumina Fitness, who also happens to get his clients’ bodies in the most tip-top shape possible.

“My style of training makes me popular,” Williams supposes. “There’s never a planned workout, and my clients like not knowing what they are going to do that day. It keeps it exciting.”

And age is never a factor in keeping fit. Williams’ oldest client, 68 years young, says he is the best trainer she’s ever worked with, even after years of living and working out in other areas such as L.A. and New York.

Perhaps something different to Williams’ business plan is the fact that he trains females only. He started at the ladies gym Fitness Forum, and kept his clients when it closed.

“I like to train women because they are much more complex, [and] I try to give my ladies quality every time they come in to train,” he discloses. “With men I can just give them weights, [and] they build muscle, so they burn more calories because of the increase in muscle. That works great for men. I don’t have that advantage with women because they don’t want to look like body builders.

“So I came up with a system that’s called ‘cross-train with LaMaine.’ This includes a fast-paced workout, mixing everything you can think of. I have to carefully monitor how much weight my ladies can lift so they won’t bulk up. With men it’s easier because they don’t mind bulking up. Women go through more changes, too, like pregnancy and menopause. These changes keep me in the books.”

Williams’ hard work has certainly paid off, as 2009 is the year he has claimed his first Best-Of title. Of his rise to fame in the Port City, and the business motto he believes every professional should adopt, he says, “Take care of your existing customer. That is the best form of marketing.”

Staking their claims on second and third place respectively were Casey George of Physique Designs and Ted Farrell of Fitness Together.

Best Italian
Italian food is a delicacy meant to be enjoyed, savored . . . experienced. The experience, in fact, should lead mouths to believe the bodies they inhabit have just stepped off the beautiful streets of bustling Rome or charming Tuscany for the repose of a flavorful, authentic Italian meal. This year Wilmingtonians have collectively agreed it is Eddie Romanelli’s restaurant that offers such a reprieve—so much so that they have voted it Best Italian Restaurant.

“Consistent quality and value” is what the establishment’s Deborah Goodman says brought about this year’s win, citing customer service as one of the eatery’s strongest attributes. “Customer service is everyone’s job,” she says. “Our faithful repeat customers are the best compliment we get.”

From Mama Romanelli’s Lasagna, to Rigatoni Ala Vodka, to spaghetti and meatballs, each dish is assiduously prepared and uniquely flavored to make the Romanelli’s experience distinct and memorable—even in a down economy! “Value, value, value,” Goodman iterates of dining here on a budget. “[For example, we have] $5 pizza all day on Mondays!”

Runners-up and delightful Port City Italian-food mainstays were Giorgio’s and Osteria Cichetti.

Best Marina
Ask Jake Mattocks, personal-service manager at Bradley Creek Marina, how his business has had to evolve to accommodate a changing climate of patron wants and needs, and he will say, “I’m not sure the needs and wants have changed. People always appreciate quality service, in good times and especially in bad times.” He knows that it’s really as simple as that. Bradley Creek hasn’t waited around to get desperate within a bad economy to start delivering the utmost in customer service—it’s how they’ve always operated. “Every day has its own challenges,” he advises. “Deal with only what you can do today. Tomorrow will come soon enough.”

Perhaps it’s that low-key, yet confident realism that continues to place Bradley Creek among the best of the best marinas in town. Among other daily business practices, he notes maintaining a level of service, going the extra mile and treating customers with grace. Of his popularity among folks in town, he humbly recognizes an attribute he and the other staff members don’t even have to work for. “Our location gives us a huge advantage,” he says.

Bradley Creek is privately owned and located about a mile up Bradley Creek from the Intracoastal Waterway in the northern part of the Port City. Its wet storage contains slips from 22 to 65 feet long, with a 45-foot dock covered by a roof system attached to the docks in order to float up and down with the tide and boats. Its dry storage contains multi-level covered dry storage buildings that can hold boats anywhere from 17 to 24 feet long, and the uncovered free-standing dry storage racks will accommodate boats up to 27 feet in length.

Cruising in as second- and third-place winners were the Masonboro Yacht Club and Seapath Marina.

Best Wings
Wings: the great American food staple. Whether at a bar, in front of the tube or in the parking lot before the big game, wings are always a welcome addition to any casual get-together with friends. Folks know just how to fix ‘em up right and just how they like their restaurants to serve them, whether boneless, covered in barbecue sauce, dry-rubbed or just plain. That’s why Wilmington’s reader-voted Best Wings is such an esteemed honor—and Wild Wing Café has taken the cake (er, flap).

Making its first appearance in our Best-Of Poll, the most tender and tantalizing wings in town can be found at this chain eatery and in 33 different flavors, nonetheless. There’s the Honey Mustard Wing and the Haberno Hots; the Island Wing and the Italian Wing; the Red, Hot and Bleu Wing and the Ranchilada Wing; and everything in between, all served with celery and Wild Wing’s homemade bleu cheese or ranch dip.

Wings can be ordered in eight, 12, 16, 20 or 50 pieces, and if decisions are too hard to come by, diners can always try the Wild Wing Sampler Platter, complete with five different flavors of wings in groups of five, 25 wings in all. In a highly trafficked and rapidly growing section of town, off Military Cutoff Road near Mayfaire Town Center, Wild Wing is the go-to destination for Wilmington wing-seekers.

More awesome wings can be found at Buffalo Wild Wings and Hooters, rounding out second and third place.

Best Newscast and Newscaster
The lovely Ms. Frances Weller is all over town these days it seems. From her usual spot on everyone’s tube, to the cover of Wilma! in a smokin’ red dress, to jivin’ onstage at encore’s Best-Of awards ceremony on Saturday night, February 7th, it’s no wonder this popular lady has won Best Newscaster—she’s won the hearts of viewers all over town! Beating out the fellas—Jon Evans and George Elliott in second and third—Weller continues to captivate her audience with her wit, charm and talent for telling news.

A Wilmington native, she graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill, majoring in speech communication, in 1981, and she began her television career with WECT in 1982. So high is her esteem that it’s no wonder this station from which she still reports, WECT, also won Best Local Newscast!

Broadcasting the latest in local news, sports, weather and more, WECT “Where News Comes First” is a Raycom Media station NBC affiliate and the top choice among encore readers for TV media. With exciting and informative news and weather teams, news anchors, and the highly acclaimed Carolina in the Morning news show, WECT is a long-standing go-to source for the greater Wilmington area to settle down and tune into.
Other recognized newscasts were WWAY and FOX News.

Best Car Wash
The automobile industries may be having a hard time these days, but that’s no reason to let our rides start looking a little down and out! For a quality clean (and folks who can make a clunker look sparkling new again), Cruiser’s Car Wash continues to provide Wilmingtpn autos the best care in town. They have racked up the award for Best Car Wash year after year, and with several different wash and detail levels, a dedicated staff, clean facilities, and always-friendly faces, it should come as no surprise. Located at 325 S. College Road and 3835 Oleander Drive, Cruisers makes it their business to maintain quality customer service first and foremost.

“We are extremely focused on our customers,” owner Clayton Gsell says. “We really try to make sure they are happy before they leave. The number-one motto any business owner should keep in mind is: ‘It’s the customer, stupid!’”

A recent example of the kind of people the folks at Cruisers are is an incident that took place with a patron back in the fall. Gsell says cleaners found a diamond ring under the client’s driver’s seat and promptly returned it to her. “She immediately started crying,” Gsell recalls. “It was a family ring that had been missing for literally over a year. We are caring, honest people here, and it was so great to be able to help her out.”

Coastal Carolina Car Wash and Mr. Sudzy were other washes readers recognized as favorites, sliding into second and third respectively.

Best Surf Shop
We live in a beach town; there’s no doubt about it. Just look at the sand buried deep in the car trunk. Besides being located on the coast—and being required to wash our vehicles at least twice a month during the summer— there is an obvious beach-town feel to nearly every corner of Wilmington’s cityscape, from the year-round sandal-clad feet, to surfboard racks atop every other vehicle, to the laid-back atmosphere and casual dress code of so many eateries and establishments.

On any given day when the waves are high and the sun is blazing—or, who am I kidding, even when it’s drizzling or there’s frost atop the ocean reeds—surfers rule the beach. For true riders of the waves, surfing is a mentality, a culture, a lifestyle. They surround their world with the art of surf, as did Bert Pearson of Bert’s Surf Shop, Wilmington’s Best Surf Shop again in 2009. Pearson is an avid surfer well into his senior years and has had decades of experience selling boards. His simple philosophy to provide for a need within the surf subculture led to his shops lining up all along the Carolina coast, including locations in Emerald Isle, Atlantic Beach, Carolina Beach, Wilmington, Myrtle Beach, Surf City and Kinston. Beyond boards, the beloved Bert’s Surf Shops also sell clothing, accessories, wet suits, skateboards, swimsuits, bikes, footwear and even luggage. Variety, authenticity and a passion for the surf culture has catapulted Bert’s into Best-Of territory yet again. Surf’s up!

Riding in as runners-up were Sweetwater and Hot Wax surf shops, respectively.

Best Real Estate Agency
So the housing market isn’t exactly on top of its game at the moment. But despite all the scary statistics and elephants in the room, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty has remained honest and true to the homeowners and potential homeowners of coastal Carolina, sharpening their expertise and offering the same level of professionalism and diligence they always have—which is why our readers and their clients have honored them as Best Real Estate Agency.

Sea Coast is factually the number-one real estate company in all of southeastern North Carolina, having sold more properties than any area firm for the past eight years. More than 300 agents are working tirelessly to serve customers, all the way from Jacksonville to Southport, all around and in between. Two out of seven offices are located in Wilmington, one on Military Cutoff Road and one at Porters Neck. “Whatever your needs, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty is here to serve you,” its Web site, www.seacoastrealty.com, states. “We can handle your relocation needs from start to finish, and we offer a 100 percent Satisfaction Guarantee. Ask about it!”

In second and third were the respectable Intracoastal Realty and Laney Realty.

Best Gym
The perk of living in a year-round mild climate is that it doesn’t get below freezing very often or for very long, and for most of the year the sunshine practically begs residents to get outside or go relax on the beach. That being said, the downfalls to living in a year-round mild climate is the constant need to be beach-ready—which includes maintaining a beach-worthy body.

It’s that time of year when fitness is already top of mind for many, as New Year’s resolutions are at the make-it-or-break-it point, and spring break is accelerating just around the corner. Here to help keep Port City bods their “sveltest” is Gold’s Gym, winner of this year’s Best Gym. Gold’s has a long tradition of providing fitness facilities for gym rats, meat heads, health nuts and/or all-around fitness fiends since its early days in Venice Beach, California, in the mid ‘60s, when and where it all began. Its passion, commitment and dedication to its clientele has since led to 600 locations all around the world.

Today, Gold’s Gyms can be found in three locations in Wilmington: 4310 Shipyard Boulevard at Longleaf Mall, 200 Racine Drive and 7979 Market Street in Porter’s Neck. They offer kid’s care, 24-hour access Monday through Fridays, nutrition counseling, a sauna, personal training, tanning, a juice bar, massage and the gamut of the popular Les Mills group classes, from BodyPump to BodyFlow. Any individual fitness need can be identified and met at Gold’s, thanks to its resources and professional, knowledgeable staff. Time to break down and see just what all the fuss is about—and even leave the cover-ups behind this summer!
Busting through at second and third were Planet Fitness and 02 Fitness.

Best Sports Bar
If there’s one thing to be said for watching a big game live, it’s that a sports bar absolutely makes the experience what it should be: exciting and loud and with enough people around to induce some major smack-talking. For the most rousing and spirited sports-bar experience, Port City sports fans have cheered on Buffalo Wild Wings as their venue of choice. With 37 HD flat-screen TVs and seven HD big screens, patrons have the incredible opportunity to watch their game of choice without a bad seat in the house.

“We have a great value for what you get,” manager Chuck Fisher elaborates. “You can watch every single game all at the same game. For example, during NFL season we show every 1pm game simultaneously. And we show every single sport, from auto-racing to soccer.”

Not to mention the fabulous food and beer to be had during the games. Buffalo Wild Wings also offers a plethora of yummy options, such as juicy burgers, saucy ribs and even cocktails like the Red Sangria, alongside with standard ales and wings.

For more sports-bar action on game night, readers also love to watch from runners-up Wild Wing Cafe and Fox and the Hound.—Emily Rea

by: Kayla Faulk

Gray Young
Soapbox Laundro lounge, February 19th, 9:30pm; $5
www.myspace.com/grayyoung

Each time Raleigh trio Gray Young has traveled back to the Port City, they have experienced a better response to their music. This week they will arrive in Wilmington yet again for another go-round at the Soapbox. As many bands do, Gray Young has had to deal with the challenge of saying goodbye to bandmates. After a little time, they have perfected their sound, and the band now consists of vocalist Chas McKeown (who also plays guitar), Dan Grinder on bass, and Jeff Dopko on the drums.

As the story goes, Chas started out playing in a band called Effects of Light, who later changed their name to Gray Young. Chas began writing music and lyrics with the drummer of the band at the time, and they placed an ad for a bass player—which is where Dan comes in. Devastation soon followed when the drummer left the band behind.

However, after recording a demo, Gray Young put ads in the newspaper directing interested drummers to their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/grayyoung), and Dopko, as they call him, was the second response. He has been the drummer ever since. The trio released their first CD last month entitled Firmament, by definition meaning “vault or arch of the sky.”

“There’s another part of the word’s origins that means the opposite of that as well,” McKeown reveals. “The first part of the word is ‘firm,’ which is strange for a word that now refers to the expanse of the heavens or anything to do with the sky. But I don’t really want to explain too much about what the record is about to me or us as a band. I’d rather have someone listen to the record and decide for themselves how they relate to it.”

Readers should obtain their own opinions upon purchasing the album at Gravity Records or CD Alley, who will be seeing it within a few days. In the meantime Chas took some time to answer some of encore’s questions about the band, their music and what’s in store for the future.

encore: What is the meaning behind the name Gray Young?
Chas McKeown: Well, we like to leave that up to peoples’ imaginations. We even like to leave it up to our own imaginations.

e: What are the band’s future goals?
CM: I know this is probably a cliché answer, but we are just enjoying taking it one day at a time, so to speak. I mean, we’re thinking about the best way to maybe start doing some little tours and start branching out of state more, and we’d love to have a label in our corner. We would all love to be able to live off making music together. But really, we’re all just enjoying our company and the time we have writing music together. Things have been really cool recently with the new album. This is our first album, and we’re just kind of living in the moment with it right now. We’ll see what happens.

e: What are some of your hobbies besides music?
CM: For me, the band is my life. When I’m not doing something involving the band, I’m working, or I’m with family and friends. I’d say the same goes for the others.

e: If you had to label your music, what would it be?
CM: I have no idea. We just let other people call us what they want. I’d say rock, but that’s a pretty big term these days. We’ve had people say we’re in post-rock territory, and we’ve also had people say we’re in shoe-gaze territory, but none of us know what that means. I don’t think our music is “beyond description” or anything like that—I just think we’re bad at describing it.

e: What advice do you have for people who want to start a band?
CM: Just try and start one. Don’t sit around wishing. I did that for the longest time because I didn’t realize there were all these other people around me who were looking to start something or were in a band. I just started placing ads in the local paper, and then I started meeting people who loved music, too. Some of my best friends now are people I met in search of a band.

e: What has been your greatest challenge so far as a band?
CM: I think finding our voice. And I think that challenge will always kind of exist. But now we just feel a lot more confident in knowing what we don’t like when we’re just playing in the practice space. We had to get over the idea that every note that comes out of our instruments at the practice space is not necessarily something that we should share with everyone else. I still don’t think we know what we’re doing, and that’s what’s exciting, but I think we’ve just gotten better at being more discerning and knowing what doesn’t make us feel anything.

e: Do all three of you write the music?
MC: Yes. We go to the practice space and just play. One day we might change things up or something. But that will always be the thing that I love the most about this band. I never know what is going to happen when the three of us start playing music in the same room.

e: Anything else you want encore readers to know?
CM: We like you.

by: Lauren Hodges

Fashion, Fur and Philanthropy
A fund-raiser for Morris Animal Foundation and Ruffian Foundation
Bottega Art and Wine Gallery
February 20th and March 20th
www.bottegagallery.com

It is hard for an animal-lover to ignore the exploitation of animals in the world of high fashion. Furs draped over shoulders; skins stretched across pricey bags, belts and shoes; and even shimmering feathers cross the runway every year. Some choose to protest by foregoing the trends altogether in favor of animal-friendly materials, while others resort to dumping buckets of red paint on unsuspecting coats. When the choice is left up to Laura Johnston, a local animal enthusiast and fashion photographer, she expresses her protesting through her photographs.

“Fashion isn’t all about fur and gator,” Johnston says. “I think animals add to the quality in peoples’ lives in other ways, but those ways aren’t as appreciated.”

Johnston specializes in high-fashion photography and is known for capturing the most unusual—and the most beautiful—elements in current trends. She finds a great deal of originality and splendor in people’s pets, and at times she even likes to use animals for models. Her portfolio is filled with pages of the slobbering smiles of dogs and the penetrating stares of some very elegant cats. “I call it pet portraiture,” she describes. “I love animals. They’re so unpredictable.”

Johnston’s love of the unexpected spills over into her human models, as well. A sense of play radiates from her fashion photography, as Johnston has the ability to excite her subjects into dramatic poses. One photo shoot in particular gave her the chance to combine her two favorite subjects: fashion and fur.

“My favorite piece from that day is the photograph of my model, Lee, lacing her skates,” Johnston, referring to a photograph entitled “Retro Roller,” says. The glowing subject is a girl adorned with a giant red afro wig, hoop earrings, minimal clothing and authentic retro roller skates. The colors are so fresh and bouncy that the scene feels like a ‘70s-era “Alice in Wonderland.”

“I love it because it’s a funky, fun fashion with an edgy twist, and the coloring is in-your-face,” Johnston remarks. “Lee showed up with her make-up artist and a dog they rescued off the side of the road. I thought, ‘How fitting for the show!’ We had a great time with both of them.”

What every subject in Johnston’s portfolio has in common is an obvious desire to come out and play. “I think these photographs show how alike humans and animals are,” she says, bringing about that humanitarian spirit. “I love animals. They’re always there for us, so I feel like it’s our responsibility to be there for them.”

Johnston’s photographs will have a chance to make a difference in the local animal population this month when she enters them in an upcoming benefit at Bottega Art Gallery. The show will be supporting two causes: The Morris Animal Foundation (MAF), which will be raising money to fund research on canine cancer, and The Ruffian Foundation (Friends of Felines), which provides a sanctuary to local feral cats.

“Although this impressive exhibit combines an unlikely amalgamation of fashion and animals,” Bottega owner Steven Gibbs says, “its intent is to instill in the viewer a discriminating yet unabashed reverence for nature, and to balance that reverence with a profound belief in human possibilities.”

The first fund-raiser, will be held Friday, February 20th, and will feature Netop the painting dog (www.netopthedog.com), with a portion of his sold paintings going to local animal shelters. One painting, entitled “The Day of the White Feather,” will be raffled with all proceeds going to support MAF.

The second fund-raiser, will be held Friday, March 20th. Jessie Williams of Edge of Urge will host and design an animal-inspired fashion show with the help of Nsalo Hair Salon’s designer, Roby Powers.

“Fashion, Fur and Philanthropy” will feature the fashion-and-animal-inspired work of Laura Johnston, Netop the painting dog, Cammeron Batanides, Michael Baxter, David Hervey, Chris Jackson, Loraine Scalamoni and Kirah Van Sickle. Visit www.bottegagallery.com for more information.

by: Anghus Houvouras

Coraline
Starring Dakota Fanning
3 stars (out of 5)

I’ve grown tired of animated films over the years. There was a time when I found great inspiration from the medium. Animation has very few rules limited only by the imagination of the creators. However, it’s the lack of imagination that has left me indifferent about the genre.

Animated films have become such predictable tripe. Most of them are akin to cotton candy: pure sugar that disintegrates quickly and has very little nutritional value. I realize the amount of work that goes into creating these films, but the scope and scale has become expected, and the content is morbidly predictable. The only time I’ve stepped into a theater to see animated films are when I’m taking my friends’ kids to the movies. Sure, it’s a bit more fun to watch kids watching the movie and enjoying themselves, but, still, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to drive plastic forks into my eyes and ears rather than be forced to watch another painfully cute animated film.

Coraline is fortunately not the average animated film. It has a far better pedigree, as it was directed by Henry Sellick, who helmed the animated classic The Nightmare Before Christmas, and based on a book by writer Neil Gaiman. Coraline feels more like a contemporary fairy tale—not the sweet and generic versions they’ve become, but the original scary tales. People often forget that at the end of “Hansel and Gretel,” they end up cooking the old woman, and in “Little Red Riding Hood,” the Wolf eats Grandma, and she has to be cut out of his stomach. Coraline isn’t that dark, but it’s cut from the same coarse cloth.

Coraline is an atypical kid who recently moved to Oregon with her botanist parents to live in a creaky old house. The skies are constantly overcast, a foggy haze covers the ground, and the house is populated with a number of strange characters. Her parents are hard at work on an important project, leaving Coraline with time to explore her new surroundings. In the living room, she finds a small door. The failing of previous animated outings has been the lack effort paid to story and characters. Coraline trumps that trend, spending far more time on both. Coraline is a wonderfully imagined character, from her trademark blue hair to a cynical grin. Voiced by Dakota Fanning and animated with a sort of new-age Rankin/Bass feel, she is a more fully realized character than many real-life portrayals. Through her adventures audiences will leave the film feeling as if they’ve gotten to know and like Coraline.

Her adventure revolves around crossing through that small door and into a mirror-image world where the cloudy skies are replaced by starry nights and the gloom of her surroundings are instead more pleasant day-glo representations. Even her parents are “better” in this world: Her “other mother” is attentive and caring, and her once-drowsy father is replaced by a singing and dancing bundle of joy. Everything in this world seems better, just slightly askew. Coraline becomes fascinated by this new world, but receives some cryptic warnings about the dangers of crossing over into it. Eventually, the more nefarious nature of her “other mother” and the fates of those who crossed over into this world shines through, and Coraline must use her wits to try and win her freedom.

The 3-D element feels like a natural implementation. Unlike most movies that seem to incorporate it as a gimmick, there’s a level of integration with 3-D throughout the entire film, giving Coraline’s world depth. Yes, I realize the redundancy of that statement. Most films implementing the third dimension, like the awful My Bloody Valentine, do so as an excuse to send body parts flying at our faces. The creators of Coraline have used the technology to make her world rich in detail, blending it seamlessly with the stop-motion animation technique.

Coraline is the first animated film in ages that feels fresh and original. The story is more complex than the average animated film. Everything in the movie has a wonderful storybook quality, a perfectly realized tale with lovely imaginative visuals and characters worthy of creating a world around. Maybe there’s hope for the animated film. With recent animated outings like Perseopolis, Waltz With Bashir and now Coraline, I have hope that the medium still has room to grow and stories worth telling.

by: Bambi Weavil

Queer on their Feet
St. Jude’s MCC • 19N. 26th Street
February 22nd, 6pm • Tickets: $15
(877) 278-4842
www.brownpapertickets.com
www.myspace.comqueerontheirfeet

Queer on their Feet (QOTF), a comedy showcase featuring out-comics Jennie McNulty, Jason Dudey and Diana Yanez, who have all been featured nationally on LOGO.com, is coming to the Port City on February 22nd. Their refreshing and hilarious stand-up is interactive, bringing with it a slew of improv games and audience suggestions. Yet, the show is more than fun and games; it’s also a fund-raiser for the Frank Harr Memorial Fund at St. Jude’s MCC.

encore recently had a chance to join a frisky round-table chat with the three fabulous comedians behind QOTF about their upcoming visit.

encore: What does it mean for you to be a part of this tour, Queer on their Feet?
Jennie McNulty: As someone who’s been touring for years doing comedy by myself, it’s really fun to be part of an ensemble, and I love doing the improv, as well as the stand-up, so the tour is really, really, fun.

Jason Dudey: It’s awesome. Jennie came up with this idea a couple of years ago, and it incorporates all that I love about comedy. We each get to do some stand-up in the beginning, and then we do the improv. The improv is fantastic; it brings the whole audience together. Everyone participates, and no one knows what’s going to happen.

Diana Yanez: It’s a big deal to me to be with this group and on this tour. This is my art, and to be in such good company is a bonus triumph. Taking it to the people—I treasure meeting our queer brothers and sisters across the U.S., but I also enjoy meeting our brothers and sisters that are not queer.

e: What would your fans be surprised to know about you?
JM: I worked in a research lab that studied growth hormone regulation.

JD: I can’t stand it when my food touches. I know it’s weird, and, no, I will not grow out of it.

e: What nonprofits do you support or that are especially close to your heart?
DY: When the notorious Prop 8 passed in California, who was there to take it to the courts and say, “No way, Jose! You can’t take away peoples’ rights by majority vote!”—I tell ya who: the ACLU and HRC!

e: What are you looking forward most about visiting North Carolina?
JD: I love North Carolina. Bring on the hush puppies and sweet tea!

DY: I’m looking forward to visiting with my two very good friends, Norbert and John, who live in Asheville. I know them from my college days in Miami. They have seen every incarnation of me—from straight girl, to producer, to agent, to producer again, to actor, to lesbian, to comedian. Progress, I believe! I don’t get to see them very often, but whenever I come to visit I am amazed by the natural beauty of NC. I credit Norbert with some of the best writing advice I ever received. He said, ‘When you make a sandwich, do you think of every possible thing you can make a sandwich out of? No! You go look in your refrigerator and see what you have.’ I never forget that, and if you come see the show you’ll experience what I found in those mystery Tupperware containers.

e: Just for fun: Who killed Jenny on “The L Word”?
JM: The fan base.

JD: The only lesbian activity that I have not participated in is watching “The L Word.” Is that bad? I know who killed J.R.

DY: The fans. No kidding. I actually met the actress, Mia Kirschner, a couple years ago, and she was a doll. Intelligent, articulate, interesting and down to earth; she was nothing like that character. One of the first things she said to me once we got into a real conversation was—and I am paraphrasing, of course—she basically said, “even I hate Jenny.” That says it all, amigos.

by: Susan Z. Miller

Gepetto’s House
3 1/2 stars (out of 5)
Brown Coat Pub and Theatre
111 Grace St.
February 18th-21st, 20th-28th
Thurs.-Sat., 8pm; Sun., 3 & 8pm
Tickets: $5/students • $10/GA

“Gepetto’s House” is a piece that comes straight from the heart of the Guerilla Theatre and local filmmaker Lou Buttino (The Heroes Come Home, Broken Brotherhood). It speaks of a topic to which all Americans can currently relate: the widely reaching repercussions of our involvement in war.

Over two years ago, upon collaborating with director Richard Davis, the duo began a series of edits and revisions. “I didn’t want to direct an anti-war piece,” Davis, whose grandfather was a 36-year Marine, serving in both WWII and Vietnam, said. The result is a play that is effectually objective, as it neither defames war nor particularly praises it. Instead, it showcases all of its consequences, from pride and patriotism, to horror and shame. Within the story is the focus on the tornado-like effect of war, as it breaks apart the tight bonds of family and friends, centering on the splintered relationship of longtime friends Gary (Marquand “Vic” Ragland) and Louie (Chance Lewis). Representing the lasting effects of battle on American soldiers are Gary, Brian (Hank Toler) and Patton (Chase Harrison). Each soldier, although he has returned from the battlefield, is now fighting his own battle with post-traumatic stress disorder and finds a different coping mechanism. The three actors clearly take a sense of pride in their work, and act with humility.

The story takes place in 1969, drawing from Buttino’s own experience as a conscientious objector during Vietnam—although, there is little that dates the play. Louie is the only character with convincing late ‘60s hairdo, and the set is devoid of the gaudy colors that are trademark of the era. It is also Louie, the character who has been modeled in the author’s own likeness, who states, “Texans lie big. You don’t want to forget that.” Whether deliberate or not on the author’s behalf, how could our brains not fast-forward 30 years to the tenure of George W.? Even if we’re not an expert in the history of the Vietnam War, as Buttino clearly is, the story is quite relatable.

Taking place almost in real time, the plot unfolds at a costume party, (again based on Buttino’s memoirs) where all of the attendees must be in character, both acting and speaking as the costumes they are donning. The idea is to allow the attendees to step outside of themselves for a night and explore their archetypes. The costumes actually appear somewhat superfluous to the advancement of the story, as there is more discussion of the attendees’ willingness to ignore the rules of the party than to take the opportunity to speak to one another in character.

Allowing the audience to become engulfed in the plot, the design elements are well devised. Lighting consists only of cross-fades, never black-outs, alternately illuminating the kitchen and the basement, the two rooms in which all of the action takes place. Also appealing is the music, which runs the entire length of the play, a soft undercurrent to the actors’ dialogue. At first I thought it would be distracting but soon found it quite the contrary, as it added to the party atmosphere. The selection of tunes is nostalgic and thematically appropriate, consisting of ballads such as Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” and John Fogerty’s “Fortunate Son.”

Lasting two hours and 20 minutes (with one 15-minute intermission), the show does run long for my taste. The dialogue can stand to be whittled down a bit more (no Gepetto pun intended) in order to focus less on back-story and more on forward movement. Still, it tells a tale of friendship and hope. It is a play with a truly valuable message.

by: MJ Pendleton

"Driving Miss Daisy"
4 stars (out of 5)
Red Barn Studio Theatre, 1122 S. 3rd St.
Feb. 12-April 3; Thurs.-Sat., 8pm; Sun., 3pm Tickets: $22-$25; 762-0955

The Red Barn Studio Theatre can do no wrong. They choose the best plays and the best actors, and pay close attention to detail so they never disappoint. The play “Driving Miss Daisy” is better than the movie—at least the Red Barn version is. The movie drags, while the play has a snappy repartee that invites anticipation. The audience Friday night was entranced by every word and nuance, and rewarded the performance with a standing ovation.

Linda Lavin absolutely claimed the role of Daisy. The consummate actor was made for the part. Lines were delivered with impeccable timing, and any emotion that was not revealed in dialogue was reflected in her face. The play spans almost 30 years, and Lavin aged her walk, her breathing, and her speech subtly and realistically. She humanized the cranky curmudgeon character just enough to be lovable, while still retaining the oh-so cantankerous personality.

Maxwell Paige, as her chauffeur Hoke, is the perfect foil. His comic timing, gestures and facial reactions were marvelously coordinated to the script and totally reactive to Lavin and Jason Hatfield, who played Daisy’s son Boolie. The two actors were obsequious to Daisy without relinquishing character, dominated without sacrificing dominion. Both roles demand a loving tolerance, which is difficult to convey. With these actors, the love shines through the exasperation to make it a love story devoid of sentimentality but enriched by true emotion.

Steve Bakunas has designed a set that is movable and uninterruptive. This is very important when there are multiple scenes, particularly on a small stage. The clever scene changes are smooth and effortless and, most importantly, do not distract from the unfolding story. A wall turns, and the audience is transported to an office, Boolie’s house, a cemetery, a retirement home.

When it comes to detail, Red Barn is the best because of Shane Fernando. He is a magician who delivers two different calendars from Atlanta, Georgia, with different dates to hang on the wall of Boolie’s office. The detail is totally lost on an audience that can’t even see closely enough to appreciate the veracity of the detail, but his attention to authenticity enhances the performance, because the actors are transported into the time and place with his embellishments.

“Driving Miss Daisy” won the Pulitzer Prize because it is fun and funny, and it explores real life without filters. Director Dorothy Rankin put this remarkable production together with a sweet send-off from the playwright, Alfred Uhry: “I am happy to know that the Red Barn Theatre is performing my play ‘Driving Miss Daisy.’ I especially like it when the play is done in the South because I think Southerners inherently ‘get it.’ I never meant the play to explain anything or preach anything. I only meant to show how it was then, warts and all. I hope you enjoy the show.”

by: Linda Grattafiori

Hula Hoop Play Shop
February 22nd, 3pm
Boys and Girls Club
901 Nixon Street • $2 donation

Nicole Hitchcock enrolled her daughter in the Community Boys and Girls Club of Wilmington’s after-school care and immediately became aware of the club’s influence on the children who benefit from its many programs. Grateful for the guidance of director Wayne Lofton and staff, Hitchcock asked herself how she could give back. Her daily hula-hoop exercise routine gave her the answer.

“My daughter Lyra and I play with hula hoops all the time,” she said. “Hula hooping is a really friendly sport that gives children the opportunity to be outside and experience new forms of body movement. Teaching this fun form of exercise is my personal attempt to change kids’ lives—giving them more confidence and allowing them to express themselves in a safe place.”

Hitchcock likes the hugs that are exchanged and finds the children’s excitement and enthusiasm contagious and warm. “When they first see me, the children jump around and call my name, ‘Ms. Nicole, Ms. Nicole!’ But once we start hula hooping they settle down to an awareness of their own space,” Hitchcock said. “Sounds simple but it’s not. Using the hoop, the children begin cultivating an awareness of who they are in their own individual bodies. Once that is established, awareness and respect for other people’s bodies and space can be extended.”

In a broad sense, the goals of hula hooping affirm the club’s character and leadership development programs, which seek to help youth make socially responsible decisions. Most of the children who join the bi-weekly hula-hoop sessions are between the ages of 5 and 10 and are hungry for attention. Hitchcock’s ultimate goal is to help them develop an awareness of self, where they are and how they affect other people.

“We do a lot of mirroring and they will say, ‘Look at me, look at me!’ And I say, ‘OK, but look at her and who’s behind you.’ I want these children to know they are worthy of respect and that I see each one of them as a beautiful light in this world.”

Hitchcock adds creativity to her classes by teaching the children how to wrap their own hoops with colorful tape. It takes about a half hour to wrap a hoop and gives a feeling of ownership and responsibility toward the hoop.

A college student at Mars Hill in the late ‘90s, Hitchcock picked up a hula hoop at LEAF—Lake Eden’s Arts Festival—and has been hula hooping ever since. Originally an exercise practiced by the ancient Greeks, hooping didn’t pair up with the word “hula” until the 19th century, after British soldiers witnessed hula dancing in Hawaii.

Hula hooping is an enjoyable way to tone and energize the whole body, especially the back, legs and abdominal muscles. The constant motion and the “pushing-pulling” effect stretch and define muscle tissue and build strength.

“I have some super-duper hoopers who couple can do tricks that are worthy of circus performance,” Hitchcock said. “We will present a Hula Hoop Play Shop at the Community Boys and Girls Club.

The event is open to family, friends and the community on February 22nd. A minimum donation of $2 is requested, with all proceeds going to support future Hoop Troop endeavors. Pre-registration is required, and February 19th is the last day to sign up. Registration may be done through e-mail, niawithnicole@gmail.com. Please include name, age and contact information for participants. Registration will also be taken in volunteer coordinator Tina Fobes’s office Monday through Friday 3-6pm. For more information call the club at 910-762-1252. Audience participation is encouraged and does not require registration.

by: Emily Rea

16th annual Big Buddy Shoot Out
February 22nd
Shoot Out: 1pm; Sea Dawgs game: 5pm
CFCC Schwartz Center, downtown
$8 ticket for both games; 392-8180

There are few events more exhilarating to watch than the adrenaline-laced charge of a fast-break get-a-way on the basketball court. The crowd goes wild, time freezes into a still frame, and all eyes watch in suspense to see how the action will unfold at the opposite end of the court. Add to that the excitement of an old Wild-West shoot-’em-up, and throw in the abundance of compassion necessary to help others in need, and the result is the annual Big Buddy Shoot-Out, back for a 16th consecutive year.

In the annual local “Shoot Out,” the Wilmington police department goes head to head with the New Hanover County sheriff’s department in a charity basketball tournament, battling it out on the court to benefit one hard-working cause: the Big Buddy Program. This year the Shoot Out is partnering with Wilmington’s premier basketball league team, the Sea Dawgs, to bring the public two exciting games out of one ticket sell.

“It’s a chance for the public to contribute to a great cause here in town, and it gives them the opportunity to not only support the local police department but also watch a pro basketball team play,” Billy Whittington, general manager of the Wilmington Seadawgs, says. “I’m most looking forward to watching the two law enforcement teams face off. I’m excited to see the level of talent they put on the court.”

“[The Shoot Out] is a long tradition and the key way we fund [our] case manager’s position,” Annie Anthony, executive director for the Cape Fear Volunteer, adds. After taking the Big Buddy Program under the Center’s wing just last year, she has wisely partnered with the Sea Dawgs to make one of the year’s major fund-raising events even more successful. “Big Buddy certainly is positioning itself for growth, and anything we can do to get those kids mentors, I am all for it.”

The Big Buddy program recruits, trains, screens and manages new volunteers to work with little buddies, as well as executes programming for those little buddies enrolled in the program. Little buddies are children who come from single-family homes and are in need of a mentor in their lives, someone to show them new opportunities and be a positive role model for them so that they will thrive and prosper. Big buddies are these volunteer mentors who are matched up individually with a little buddy, committing to a specified amount of time per week, in which to provide their quality time and love.

“All of the money raised [at the Shoot Out] is used for program funding.This is very important to me,” the sherriff’s department’s Officer Sean Jones, who has been involved in the Shoot Out since its inaugural tournament, said. “The youth in the Big Buddy Program are our future teachers, lawyers, doctors, and congressmen and women, to name only a few careers they can pursue. We must preserve our future by providing positive role models for our youth who display the type of character they will need to possess, which will help them lead our community and country in the future.”

As if the little buddies who benefit from this event weren’t reason enough to attend, those who purchase a ticket to the Shoot Out can use this same ticket to receive free admission to the Wilmington Sea Dawgs game, set to begin at 5pm on the same night, when our local team will be pitted against the top-ranked Battle Creek Knights.

“The Sea Dawgs are proud to help cosponsor the Shoot Out, and we look forward to working together more in the future,” Whittington says.

For the very first time, the Shoot Out, which starts at 1pm on February 22nd, will be held at the Schwartz Center on the campus of Cape Fear Community College downtown. “The gym is awesome at the Schwartz Center,” Officer Jones comments. “I can’t wait to play in there.”

Tickets to the Shoot Out are $8 and can be purchased from any Cape Fear Volunteer Center board member or at the Cape Fear Volunteer Center office, located at 925 South Kerr Avenue, Suite K, Room 2. For more information call 392-8180 or visit www.capefearvolunteercenter.org.

“It is an honor and privilege for me to support Big Buddy,” Officer Jones says. “I do not mind giving my time, money or any other resource I have to the Big Buddy Program. Regardless of the outcome of the game, the Big Buddy Program and its staff, the community and volunteers are the true winners. I would like to thank each member and volunteer for all their hard work and commitment to this great program.”

by: Anghus Houvouras

I have to admit, I was intimidated when editor-in-chief Shea Carver first asked me about this assignment. I told her that encore film critic and Wilmington creative mainstay Anghus Houvouras was releasing his first novel, The Fence Mender, on February 14th, 2009, at Old Books on Front Street.

The notoriously quiet and introverted Houvouras has amassed quite a reputation since arriving in Wilmington back in 1999. Like many of those who flock to Wilmington in search of work in the film business, he spent his first few years dwelling in the background, hanging out on a variety of film and television sets trying to get an insider’s perspective. Then, without warning, he started writing and directing low-budget independent films, most of them featuring music artists from the hip-hop community.

Anghus is now entering his fifth year as film critic for encore, has a short film playing a number of respected festivals, and is set to publish a comic series, Gods and Guns, later this year. But first up is the release of his novel. I sat down with the reclusive writer in his bohemian downtown apartment. Though reluctant to talk about his work, he was willing to grant us an exclusive interview.

Anghus Houvouras: Anghus, thank you for talking to us.
Anghus Houvouras: Sure.

AH: What can readers expect from The Fence Mender?
AH: It’s a real simple story about an isolated man and the depths into which he’s willing to sink in order to save a woman he loves—though has never met.

AH: Intriguing. So, it’s a love story?
AH: I don’t care for labels. Labels are these “things” that “people” use to “simplify” “other things.”

AH: How would you describe it, then?
AH: It’s dark, challenging, it delves into the safety of institutions and the freedom abandoning order—that only through suffering do we realize what truly makes life worth living. It poses questions about sacrifice, and devotion versus obsession.

AH: And there are supernatural elements?
AH: No, not supernatural. There’s some basic foundations of horror and science fiction.

AH: Could you elaborate?
AH: The story is set in the aftermath of the extinction of the human species, replaced by an intelligent virus that uses human bodies to incubate. The remaining human survivors have sealed themselves into cities surrounded by massive fences that keep them protected from these heinous things. Some people would call them “zombies,” but it’s not about them: They are just one of the many obstacles he has to overcome in order to achieve his goal.

AH: Why the move into the printed press after so many years of film criticism and writing screenplays?
AH: I like to mix it up. I’d written for television and film, I’d directed a few movies, I’ve been writing reviews for encore for a while. It felt like time to try some new things.

AH: Let’s talk about your career in film criticism. You once said that you didn’t consider yourself a film critic.
AH: I’m not. A film critic is someone who watches films in a historical context, who looks for influence and relevance. I’m a guy who watches movies and throws a few hundred words together off the top of my head, sentences connected by bad metaphors and a handful of obscenities. My job is to entertain people reading the magazine while in line waiting to order the sushi special or sipping on a Port City Java. Film critics do research; they try to see films of a variety of levels. I base my reviews on whether or not I feel gypped for spending nine bucks to see it.

AH: How do you prepare for a review?
AH: Two words: Jim Beam.

AH: What inspires you about Wilmington?
AH: The people, the downtown scene. Blue Post at midnight. The after-hours parties at Raf’s place. Cucalorus. The local film scene.

AH: What don’t you like about Wilmington?
AH: How the city is laid out. You land at the airport, and the first thing you see on the way out is the prison. Then you make a left turn, and you drive through the rank smell of processed raw sewage. I’m still trying to wrap my head around that logic. It’s like “Welcome to Wilmington: We keep our prisoners incarcerated and process our feces regularly.”

AH: I like to end all my interviews with the questionnaire developed by the great Bernard Pivot. What is your favorite word?
AH: Kruller. Because it sounds like a donut that could eat you.

AH: Ha. What is your least favorite word(s)?
AH: Genital warts.

AH: What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
AH: I don’t think I can answer this question without incriminating myself.

AH: What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
AH: People who try to come up with clever names for their kids. Naming your child “Apple” or “Pilot Inspektor” isn’t clever. It’s cruel. Using your children to try and show how clever you are is a one-way ticket to the deepest corridors of hell.

AH: What sound or noise do you love?
AH: The cries of conservatives on Election Night.

AH: What sound or noise do you hate?
AH: People crying because a commercial made them emotional. If you are emotionally impacted by a commercial, you might as well get 10 cats and start screaming at your neighbors because you are never going to find anyone capable of filling the emotional void inside of you.

AH: What profession, other than your own, would you like to attempt?
AH: Bikini inspector.

AH: What profession would you not like to do?
AH: Russian journalist.

AH: And finally, if heaven does exist, what would you like God to say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
AH: Welcome. Go on in, we’ve got every season of “One Tree Hill” running all day, every day, and there are never any commercials.

AH: Mr. Houvouras, thank you for your time; it’s been a unique pleasure.

by: Rosa Bianco

Jerusalem Café
1040 S. College Road
(910) 799-9694
3 stars (out of 5)

If someone were to ask where to find the most ethnically diverse places to eat in town, what would be the answer? Downtown? Immediately, thoughts may arise of the Thai restaurant at one end of Front Street; the German place at the other; and the sushi, tapas and French spots in between. Downtown is certainly the place to go for variety when making a special night out of it. But what about more ordinary days, when cravings for simple, good and cheap food arise—and getting it through a drive-through window isn’t sufficient?

Standing in the parking lot of Katy’s restaurant—looking out over the heavy College-Road traffic, the strip malls filled with nail salons, tattoo parlors, pawn shops and one Electrolux vacuum repair shop—I realized suddenly that this area could easily give downtown a run for its money. Within four blocks of where Fay and I stood, we could see India Maha; the Port City’s best (and only) Indian restaurant—Taqueria Los Portales, my favorite place for cheap good Mexican; and Double Happiness, offering an odd mix of Malaysian and Chinese fare. A little further along Kerr is a new Dominican diner, Jacksons Big Oak Barbecue and one of the better Hispanic grocers sitting quietly behind the massive Harris Teeter (It’s worth noting that their parking lot is usually full). And right across the street from us was the Taste of Italy Deli, which recently expanded to take over a KFC that went bust. And if that isn’t a metaphor for a changing era, I don’t know what is. There is something heartening in the notion that a small, locally owned business can find success where a nationally recognized chain failed.

“Do you realize,” I said to Fay as we made our way past Katy’s, “that pretty much anything we are in the mood to eat can be found within walking distance? If I lived here, I almost wouldn’t need a car.” It was startlingly true; and it could all be had for under $20. Well, now, Middle Eastern can also be added to the diverse list of eateries along College, thanks to the recently opened Jerusalem Café and Hookah Market.

The café and market are located in two buildings that used to house my computer repair shop and an old Sub shop. The first building is the market, a fascinating collection of Middle-Eastern imports and brands, and tall, ornate and elaborate glass things for smoking rituals. I am not one for smoking rituals (of any kind!), but I find myself both fascinated and mystified by these constructions of colored, filigreed glass, brass and copper. What’s with the pineapples and fruit sitting in the top bowl? To be honest, my only experiences with hookahs are literary ones—I was always suspicious of whatever that caterpillar was smoking in Alice in Wonderland. But the real items are much prettier than the pictures, even if they are probably most safely enjoyed as artwork, rather than used to smoke anything, even pineapple.

The second building is the actual café, and while folks can order a hookah here, the place is actually quite smoke free, so my impression is that hookah-smoking doesn’t happen very frequently. The small café won’t win any awards for décor—the walls are haphazardly covered in a strange collection of posters, plaques and Arabic miscellanea, including one large sword that didn’t look very sharp, and one old, green sea turtle shell with an alarming large hole in the middle. (And isn’t it illegal to have sea turtle anything kicking around?) The trim is buckling away from the wall, and the “booths” are rough benches hidden under white fur car-seat covers. But the wide-screen television is brand new, and the WiFi reception is excellent—and, by the way, so is the food.

Jerusalem Café does as much business catering as it does in-house, and its deli case is filled with freshly made tabouleh, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, fava and chickpea salad, baba ghanoush, labana, pitas and pastries. The menu is evenly divided between salads and wraps, and the most expensive thing on it is $8.99. Although the Jerusalem Café specializes, obviously, in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine, the menu itself has that weird fusion to it that most small diners adopt to appeal to the not-so-adventurous. So for folks who are unsure about the tahini and the falafel, you can always order the corned beef or pastrami wrap.

It would be silly, though, because the falafel is probably the best in town, which is what I ordered, along with a shawarma wrap. Shawarma is actually a kind of preparation that involves shaving off thin slices of roasted meat as it turns on a spit. It can be done with lamb, beef or chicken, and the seasonings used depend on the meat. I asked for the beef because Middle-Eastern cuisine tends to season beef with unusual spices, not garlic or pepper but spices like cinnamon, cumin, coriander, allspice and mace—all spices we in the west tend to associate more with cookies than with steak. But the unusual taste of cinnamon-flavored beef is always a surprise and a delight; hot on the tongue but tempered by the diced cucumbers and light tahini dressing that seems to accompany every meal. I never make beef this way at home, but whenever I have it, I find myself wondering why I don’t. Although a little on the dry side, beef shawarma is light and clean tasting, filling and satisfying, and completely, utterly without grease.

The falafel salad was also excellent, mostly because I think they prepared the falafel right then, so it was very fresh, very hot and not in the least burnt. The salad consisted of several pieces quartered, over a bed of bland iceberg lettuce and chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion and black olives. The tahini dressing that came with it was heavier than the stuff in the wrap, and stronger tasting, so I think the wrap’s dressing had been diluted as not to mask any of the other seasonings.

All in all, it was a great lunch; healthy, flavorful, quick and cheap. Although it isn’t the kind of place that lends itself to hanging out for long periods of time (WiFi notwithstanding), they do offer free delivery within the neighborhood. Between the falafel here, the wings next door, tacos down the street and the barbecue a block away, it’s almost worth moving.

by: Kayla Faulk

Julia Rose
Bottega Art and Wine Gallery, February 11th, 9:30pm; • The Juggling Gypsy,
February 14th, 8pm; 910-763-2223

Some people are shy individuals; some simply are not. Anyone who possesses the shy trait may prefer staying home to hitting up the party scene. One would assume that someone who is shy would be scared to perform in front of a large audience. But perhaps it is just the opposite for those who call themselves “timid.”

In the real world, Baltimore songstress Julia Rose considers herself quite shy and fearful—but onstage she transforms. “Performing catapults me out of my shy world,” she commented in an e-mail interview with encore last week. “I become the pretty woman others see whom I don’t, the confident young woman who otherwise stutters when she speaks sometimes, the empowered woman who can approach a cute guy and say ‘hi.’ I am none of these things offstage.”

However shy she may be in reality, this singer will come out of her shell when she performs for the first time in the Port City this weekend. She considers herself an acoustic singer/songwriter of the classical, jazz and rock genres. Priding herself on singing her originals, she writes about a variety of topics, such as a father-figure and mentor of hers in the song “Unconditionally” or the awareness of homelessness in her song “Angel of Baltimore.” When listening to others’ music, she considers songs that contain a message to be the most influential.

This shy girl accidentally made national news in 2003. As a model for a nationally distributed fitness video, Rose made a comment during a performance at Borders Books and Music about President George W. Bush’s “chicken legs” and a suggestion on how to tone his quadriceps. In response to the joke, Borders Books banned her for making a “political statement” against the American administration. “In fact, a couple days after the story broke, he was on camera bragging [that] his doctor had found he had gained, I believe, around three pounds of muscle over the last year. I knew right then it was a shout-out to me,” Rose said.

In addition to singing and performing, Rose also enjoys working out, “vegging out” and volunteering. As for her singing career, her future goals are to find a management company, and continue to pursue her passion of music and to make an impact through it.

She has already accomplished such within several performances. For example, she sang her song “Senseless” on The Drudge Report in 2002. “I looked straight into the eyes of Chief Charles Moose, the head of the investigation during the D.C. Sniper shootings, and sang to him as my fingers trembled on my fretboard,” Rose recalled. “All these experiences touched me greatly, and I am blessed to know others were touched, too.” Another memorable, albeit unfortunate, performance was singing at Tim Russert’s wake last year.

However, not every day of the music business can be full of touching experiences like these, and Julia Rose knows how difficult challenging days can be. Naturally, not everyone is going to love her or her music, so rejection is one element she, like any other singer, has to accept. Rose reveals that one challenge is when someone asks, “So, what’s your real job?” She has learned to brush off these comments and keep her ultimate goal in mind. “Rejection, to me, is a log on the fire—it only makes me burn brighter,” she says.

Listen to Julia Rose as she makes her debut performance in Wilmington on February 11th at Bottega Art and Wine Gallery at 9:30pm. On February 14th, Rose will venture over to The Juggling Gypsy at 8pm. She will also play on February 13th at 8pm at the Open Eye Café in Carrboro, NC. For more information about the singer, visit www.juliarose.com, and listen to her sound at www.myspace.com/juliarosemusic.

by: Shea Carver

Some cringe at the word. Others yell it at the top of their lungs only to make themselves face the fact that it’s an inevitable reality. “Recession”—the act of withdrawing. From an economical standpoint, it is rather scary in 2009 that we’re in its throes. Yet, like the eternal optimist that the human spirit often proves to be, there are other ways we can view this relative hardship: a la price cuts and rate drops that work in favor of us, the consumer.

While Washington is hashing through numbers and debates on job losses, weakened currency and the effects it has on the world-at-large, our local business owners and community members are keeping their heads afloat by offering super savings, perks to their services and staying true to customer relations to entice us back to their establishments.

“Providing sincere customer service and individual service is still the best way to make it through the tough times,” Joan Loch, owner of Crescent Moon art gallery, downtown Wilmington, noted last week.

Sandy Powell, proprietor of North Chase Spalon, concurred. “We have been most successful because of our excellent customer service, staying on top of our game and making sure every person that comes into North Chase Spalon is treated like a friend, like they are home: comfortable, drinks, snacks, whatever we can do. We totally pamper our clients because we know without them we are nothing.”

Now more than ever folks should be paying attention to how they’re treated upon frequenting local businesses. The personal touches and great prices make it all the more rewarding to shop and utilize Wilmington’s superior services, but a smile and an acknowledgment of gratitude will always mean more in the end.

This Valentine’s Day, even if we can’t spend fortunes upon fortunes on diamonds and pearls, we can take advantage of the shops and restaurants that are offering specials, and doing so with top-notch assistance. And if I haven’t said it enough already, make sure and shop locally this V-Day! Keeping monies designated to local businesses helps our local economy tenfold.

encore sends lotsa love this February 14th—money, after all, isn’t a requirement for the heart. But to save wisely, check out the following deals:

Dining:
Pine Valley Market: Gourmet Dinner for Two, featuring a four-course meal, including appetizer, salad, main course and dessert. Costs $30-$40 per person. Place order by February 12th, and pick it up on the 13th or 14th between 5pm and 8pm. Enjoy a fine dining experience in the comfort of home—with no preparation and no fuss! (See ad, page 3, for all details.)

The Balcony on Dock: When dinner can be had over entertainment, why not bring a loved one out for a night of enjoyment? Love, Lyrics and Libations will take place on Valentine’s evening, featuring two shows. The first seating is from 5:30-7pm, and the second is 8-9:30pm. The Balcony will feature a wine tasting, dinner and cabaret show for $150 per couple or $85 per single. (See ad, page 35, for all details.)

Entertainment:
Yo Saké: Yes, they’ll probably have a slew of yummy V-Day specials to enjoy before a raucous evening of karaoke, so get their early to grub on their Asian-inspired cuisine and sushi. After, enjoy a night of singing with Justin “Treetop Lover” Smith. Go ahead, give the audience a knockout version of “Love is a Battlefield,” and be sure to throw back a few $4 wells or $2.25 domestics, too. (More “Recession Busters” can be found on page 17 from Yo Saké.)

Soapbox Laundro Lounge: Their Sweetheart Showcase features some of the best in live music in Wilmington. For a mere $7 admission, the sounds of Barnraisers, Pale Face and Jesse Stockton are sure to be lovely to the ears and foot-tapping to the soul. Bluegrass, acoustic Americana, banjo playing and soul singing will bring out the best lover in us all. Be at this show!

Vagina Monologues: Eve Ensler has been helping ladies get comfortable with enunciating words for their nether parts for years. And as the tradition has continued in Wilmington, the “Vagina Monologues” will continue its run this week, from the 12th through the 15th, at Lumina Theater on UNCW’s campus. Get close to the woman’s experience of life this day of love; tickets are $6-$12 and can be purchased at (910) 962-3500.

Relaxation:
North Chase Spalon: What’s a day of love without a little pampering? North Chase Spalon is offering a package that can’t be passed up this February 14th. Their “You Are So Special” spa retreat is only $99, featuring the works—from a massage and facial to mani and pedi and more. (See their ad on page 4 for full details.)

Massage Envy: It’s all in the rub—the tension getting worked out of the shoulders, the lower back loosening, the toxins breaking up and making us feel more alive! Massage Envy provides gift cards for a one-hour massage at only $49 for first-time guests. (See ad on page 13.)

by: Lauren Hodges

Elizabeth Darrow at the Tanyard Parish
February 11th-28th, 10am-3pm
Opening on February 11th, 5-8pm
212 South Front Street
(910) 228-9222

While a plan is in progress, it may be awhile before it begins to take shape. Whether it has a slow start or requires a few steps back, a project of any kind must have patience, diligence and most of all creativity. When it comes to art, local collage master Elizabeth Darrow makes the most progress when she works without a plan at all. Darrow explains: “I have a process, but I don’t have a view or a vision.”

Darrow, a Connecticut native living in Wilmington since 1977, is known for her pieced-together paintings filled with playful yet powerful images. The artist admits that each piece is a work-in-progress until she signs her name to the canvas. “It’s exploratory,” she says, examining her piece entitled “Ceremonial.” “That [painting] was so many different things before it was this. That’s what makes what I do so exciting. I don’t know where I’m going until I’m there.”

Having graduated from Oberlin College in 1967, Darrow has since developed a unique creative style that mixes sophisticated oil painting with elementary cut-and-paste technique. “I’ve been doing collage since the 1980s,” she says. “As of now I make color copies of my collages and they become the new scraps. My studio is just filled with scraps of paper. I can barely work in there.”

Copying hasn’t always been available, however. Magazine and newspaper clippings once adorned the paintings in Darrow’s studio, but the glossy pictures quickly revealed a flaw. “Magazine scraps fade over time,” she says. “What I found out was color copies last longer.” She also discovered another benefit to the copy shop: replicas. “I can also make many copies of one image and re-use it over and over. I can do repetition.”

Repeating an image is now a signature for Darrow’s pieces, which have been displayed at numerous museums around the country, including Cameron Art Museum. Works such as “Fire Sign” and “Celebration” create patterns with duplicated pictures that not only please the eye, but punctuate the message. “In ‘Fire Sign,’ the little green birds are used a lot,” she says, referencing a mostly red-and-orange painting that features burning flames. “I love finding a shape that works because then I can create a rhythm. They give the canvas continuity.”

Even though Darrow claims to not have a final destination in mind when presented with a blank canvas, she admits that something subliminal might be driving her creations. “I can only come up with these things on a visual level, yet it seems to go beyond that. There are psychological elements that I can’t put my finger on. By the end, they seem to be narrative. It’s open to the viewer to come up with the meaning.”

Darrow’s latest collection of story-telling masterpieces has coincidentally finished construction at the same time as a new downtown project. The Tanyard Parish, recently erected at 212 South Front Street, was built to resemble an old-fashioned brownstone and contains a handful of private residences within its elegant walls. “They overlook Chandler’s Wharf and they’re just beautiful,” Darrow says. “Deborah Butler, with Port City Properties, wanted to have an event at the vacant brownstone and asked if I would mind showing my paintings.” The event is aiming to raise money for Hospitality House, the residence across the street from the New Hanover Regional Medical Center where relatives of patients can stay for extended visits. “Debra stayed there when her mother was ill,” Darrow says. “So they are her pet charity.”

Those organizing the event think it will be a big attraction for local art lovers and philanthropists alike. “Even people who are just dying to get a look inside these places can have the opportunity to walk around now,” Darrow says. “I’ll have about 50 pieces on the walls, so it will be a chance for local people to walk around and see everything: my art, the townhouse, and hopefully, their friends.”

“Elizabeth Darrow at the Tanyard Parish” will open on Wednesday, February 11th, 5-8pm, 212 South Front Street. Wine and appetizers will be served. A portion of the art sales will go toward the Hospitality House of the New Hanover Regional Medical Center. Ms. Darrow’s paintings will stay on display at the Tanyard Parish until February 28th everyday from 10am-3pm. Call Deborah Butler at 910-228-9222 for more information.

by: Anghus Houvouras

Let the Right One In
Playing at WHQR’s Cinematique, Feb. 11th
3 stars (out of 5)

For me to even talk in detail about my personal taste on the horror film feels almost redundant. There is no genre of film with which I’m more familiar. I can vividly remember watching them on late-night television in the days before cable (yes, I’m that old). I am able to recall the spine-tingling sensations that washed over me the first time I watched Night of the Living Dead. They have been the steadiest staple of my cinematic diet. I’ve even written and produced a few of these films with mixed results.

What irritates me the most is the perception of the genre: Many people mislabel it, acting as if there is no nuance to the horror film. Truth be told, there is for those filmmakers willing to break from the standard devices of the medium. I can’t really blame people for being indifferent about horror films since Hollywood has done everything in its power to beat fans of the macabre senseless with endless remakes. Sure, every studio puts out its fair share of remakes. But Hollywood at some point decided to remake every horror movie—popular horror movies, cult horror movies, remakes of Asian horror films. Buy the rights, give it a slick layer of polish, cast a couple of television actors from the CW, keep the budget low, avoid screening it for critics, and hope that no one notices how awful it is before it opens to 20 million.

That has been the release strategy for almost every horror film within the last 10 years. Lionsgate, Rogue and Screen Gems Pictures have made a nice chunk of pocket change this way. Thanks to all the inferior products flooding the marketplace, my anticipation for a new horror film can be measured with a shot glass, hopefully filled with bourbon. Vampires have always been an intriguing topic—at least they were until Anne Rice turned them into puffy-shirt-wearing fops constantly pining over their feelings. (And, please, before any readers start their hate mail, I realize Bram Stoker’s Dracula was a story of undying love. Yet, that one aspect seems to encompass at least half the vampire films released. The other half is films using the basic concept of bloodsucking vampirism and wrapping the characters in black leather as if they just walked out of the dressing room at a Hot Topic.)

Recently we’ve seen two fine examples of this argument. There’s the touchy-feely Twilight, which carries on the tradition of pale, good-looking vampire guys with an undead hard-on for a comely young lass. And there’s Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, an unexplainable third movie about vampires fighting werewolves. Three movies. And all of them have made money. Every so often there has to be a film that reclaims the genre, and proves that a film can be more than cheap effects and stale plot lines. While I don’t know if Let the Right One In is that movie, it’s certainly a step in the right direction.

Based on a Swedish novel, the film is a testament to what really makes a film scary, not reliant simply upon violence and blood-spattered scenes of gore—though it has that. The film works much harder to establish that uncomfortable, creepy vibe that doesn’t just make viewers jump out of their seats but leaves them unsettled. The story centers on Oskar, a young boy dealing with bullies in the cold emptiness of Stockholm. In the same neighborhood, a man violently attacks another and attempts to drain his blood for rather nefarious reasons. Oskar dreams of taking out his anger on those who torment them, fantasizing about stabbing them, exhibiting the kind of childhood anger with whom many can identify. I often dreamed of bludgeoning the resident school bully with a whiffle ball bat, though I was never driven to the lengths that poor Oskar is.

Everything changes when he meets Eli, a 12-year-old girl who walks around in the dead of winter unaffected by the freezing cold. There is an uneasy connection between the two. Bolstered with the confidence of his newfound friend, Oskar builds up the nerve to fight back. Eli’s arrival has been a benefit to Oskar but few others, as attacks around the area have left one girl transformed into a vampire herself. People begin to piece together clues that lead Eli to the revelation that she might be something other than human.

This film is eerie in a way most modern horror films wish to be. It is atmospheric, it is raw emotion, and it is violent and often unsettling. But high holy hell this is what horror films should be. I found myself wincing more than once. There’s a strong bond between Oskar and Eli, and we’re not talking the Edward and Bella melodramatic crap in Twilight. This is a creepier, more deviant bond—a sort of psychological synergy that makes their choices in the film understandable in the most sinister of ways.

The ending is easily the best I’ve seen in any film this year, and the lengths the filmmakers are willing to go to is impressive. Be sure to catch this at Cinematique—just don’t see it alone.

by: Susan Z. Miller

The Rights (and Wrongs) of Mary Wollstonecraft
Thalian Hall Studio Theatre
February 12th-14th, 8pm; February 15, 3pm
Tickets: $15-20; 343-3664
4 stars (out of 5)

“Write what you know” is a maxim with which all writers are familiar. However, it is also one that is often misunderstood. Most perceive this old refrain as a reminder to write only about those people and situations with which you are personally familiar and have experience. I beg to differ.

When “write what you know” is most effectively utilized, the result is a piece of writing that comes from a deep place, not just the surface. It is not a simple reflection of media, but instead a genuine observation of the real thoughts, feelings and experiences of life—it means to write with authenticity. This is what playwright Doug Pendergrass has accomplished with his new work, “The Rights (and Wrongs) of Mary Wollstonecraft.” He has definitely written what he knows.

While penning his first full-length play, Pendergrass felt what he described as “a sense of duty and responsibility” to the subject of his piece. He notes in his program that “Mary has not been remembered and appreciated as well as she should have been.”

An unarguably important yet somehow little-known historical figure, the British philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft is known as the world’s first feminist writer. She published her best known work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792, in which she argued that women are not the inferior sex and are simply made to appear so due to lack of education. She imagined a social order founded on reason, rather than the gender roles that had been cut out by her society. Fearlessness and determination are the two qualities that Pendergrass feels his muse most wholly exemplified, and the two most outstanding characteristics with which he created her character.

Historical fiction has its own set of interesting challenges. In order to be believable, one must adhere to the conventions of the time period, including costume, dialect, posturing, mannerisms and body language. The cast and crew of “The Rights (and Wrongs)…” effectively immerses the audience into England 1797, while taking all of these factors into consideration. The world premiere on Thursday night was absent of the forgivable kinks that usually accompany a first-time performance.

Lighting, sound and scenic transitions combined seamlessly. As one has little idea of what to expect from a brand-new play, I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the obvious amount of fine-tuning that has already gone into the piece. It appears historically accurate, while taking just the right amount of decisive artistic liberties, so as to create an engrossing story. The attention to detail and amount of care devoted by Pendergrass and director Steve Vernon is evident. Like many of the shows that are presented in Thalian’s Studio Theatre space, the story is centered on the characters and dialogue, not spectacle. An overall extremely strong cast brings the historic figures to life, placing the focus on the artfully crafted dialogue.

Most gratifying in the play’s representation of Wollstonecraft is that she is not painted as a man-eater. In fact the exact opposite is true, and the play beholds a touching love story. Melissa Stanley does a spot-on job of embodying Wollstonecraft, bringing to life the strength and intelligence of the philosopher, while also showing the vulnerability of a modern woman struggling in a feudal society, surrounded by both support and opposition.

Greg Oldeen also delivers a superb performance as William Godwin, Wollstonecraft’s love interest, portraying the slight awkwardness of an inexperienced bachelor. He nails both subtly humorous moments and those of tearful sorrow. As a pair, Stanley and Oldeen have great chemistry, showing their deep affection for one another, while still portraying the constrictive formalities of the time period. Their conversations show their willingness to challenge one another intellectually and emotionally, as well as what it means to have an “open relationship,” and whether this can truly be accomplished by a man and a woman.

“The Rights (and Wrongs) of Mary Wollstonecraft” is truly one of the strongest new plays that I have yet seen in Wilmington. It is humorous, romantic and educational (without seeming dry or preachy.) Don’t miss the chance to see this enjoyable new play.

by: MJ Pendleton

Tick, Tick...Boom
City Stage
Feb. 12-15, 20-22, 27-28, Mar. 1; 8pm • Tickets: 342-0272

In 2008 City Stage was all about wacky, oh-so silly musicals—wildly entertaining in a way that was, on reflection, puzzling. “Tick, Tick...Boom” is a very different kind of theater, which, in fact, seems to defy definition.

Jonathan Larson, who is famous for his musical “Rent,” wrote “Tick, Tick...Boom” as a rock monologue. Living the bohemian life of a starving artist in New York, he wanted to make musical theater more relevant. “That isn’t our music uptown on Broadway; those aren’t our characters, these aren’t our stories,” he once said.

He wanted to write the real story of friends struggling to succeed in theater and infuse contemporary pop-rock music into the telling of the tale. “Tick, Tick…Boom” is the precursor to “Rent” and was generally unsuccessful as monologue. In 1996, after Larson’s death, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Auburn revised the monologue into a three-actor musical.

The story is autobiographical, and the protagonist is a theatrical wannabe named Jon. The other two characters, Michael and Susan, play multiple roles. On the cusp of his 30th birthday, Jon (Zack Turner) is having an identity crisis, which he deals with “in a deranged, egotistical and childish way,” Turner said. “It’s a variation of real life on crack.”

Director Katherine Vernon believes that “everyone has had this moment of recognition, when you have to grow up and make decisions about your life.”

“Jon takes himself so seriously, and he is so self-involved,” Turner said. “The humor catches you off guard.”

“There is a retrospective self-awareness and moments when he mocks himself,” Vernon added.

“And it’s very honest,” Terrill Williams (Michael) said.

“Real-life humor,” Courtney Bowden (Susan) added.

“The humor is quirky, not funny—funny is boring,” Turner explained.

There is humor in self-centered angst, and a cringing recognition of our own rites of passage. Jonathan Larson’s real life was truly tragic. After 10 years as a waiter, with only minor and temporary theatrical and musical success, he died on the eve of the premiere of “Rent.” Before he left dress rehearsal that night, he said to a friend, “It’s not how many years you live, but how you fulfill the time you spend here.” Then he went home and died of an aneurysm at age 35. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama posthumously. “‘Tick, Tick...Boom’ is a small-cast ‘Rent,’” Bowden observed, “with a similar concept and situations.”

“It is a look into the brain as it started to create ‘Rent,’” Vernon added.

Director and cast are having a love affair with the play and each other. Their enthusiasm and energy sizzles. The music is difficult, but, with the help of music director Chiaki Ito, “their voices go from the basement to the attic,” Vernon bragged. “I have three amazing voices attached to three amazingly smart actors. I love my cast, and I want to have their babies.”

“I just love how we’re all so retarded together,” Williams said.

City Stage rarely disappoints, and once again they’ve chosen an appealing vehicle for a very talented cast and crew.

by: MJ Pendleton

Driving Miss Daisy
Red Barn Studio Theatre
Feb. 12th-April 3rd; Thurs.-Sat., 8pm; Sun., 3pm. Tickets: 762-0955

Though Alfred Uhry received a degree in English and drama from Brown University, and taught English as well, his first attempts at playwriting were unsuccessful because he forgot the Golden Rule: Write what you know. “Driving Miss Daisy” is a story he knows.

Uhry was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1936, and experienced firsthand the racism and prejudice of the time and place. His family was Jewish, a distinct minority in a primarily Protestant region of the country. Using his childhood experiences, Uhry finally found his voice. “If you’re a Southerner, you’re a Southerner for the rest of your life, whether or not you’re living in the South anymore. In fact, Southern Jews define themselves as Southern first, American second and Jewish third.”

“Driving Miss Daisy” spans 25 years from 1948 to 1973, and the character of Miss Daisy, a Jewish widow, was inspired by Uhry’s grandmother. The plot revolves around her relationship with her African-American chauffer, Hoke Colburn. The play was an enormous success and won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize. When Uhry adapted it for film, he won an Academy Award for best screenplay, and the film won Best Picture. His next two plays also explore the Jewish culture in the South, and “The Last Night of Ballyhoo” and “Parade” both won Tony Awards. The three plays are referred to as the Atlanta Trilogy.

The Red Barn Studio Theatre and Pulitzer Prize-winning plays are a flourishing combination, and Linda Lavin and Steve Bakunas have established a definitive niche in the Wilmington theater community. For the first time, Red Barn held open auditions, though Lavin claimed the part of Miss Daisy.

“We want to make parts available and not simply cast without opening the possibility to other actors,” Lavin said. In a town overflowing with phenomenal talent, how did Jason Hatfield get the part of Daisy’s son Boolie? “He slept with me,” Lavin quipped. The two have known each other since 2002 when she directed “The Man Who Came to Dinner” at Thalian Hall. “Jason is risky and brave and willing to go over the cliff. He nailed his part,” Lavin said.

Is Hatfield intimidated about working with Lavin? “Oh, heck yeah!”

“We all are,” director Dorothy Rankin added, “but it’s because we are bringing something to it; it is never anything Linda does. She treats us like colleagues.”

“I grew up watching “Alice,” so there’s a certain star-struck quality,” Hatfield said.

Maxwell Paige, who plays Hoke Colburn, is also daunted. “This is a seasoned actress who makes money at what I like to do. The way Linda works her craft is really amazing, and I’m in awe of the skill she has. It’s like working with a craftsman—she’s the master, I’m the apprentice.”

“I’m very honored by that,” Lavin smiled. She was impressed with Paige’s performance in “The Full Monty” and, when he auditioned for “Driving Miss Daisy,” “he got the part because he just was Hoke, with the spirit and understanding of this character.”

In-depth character study is part of Rankin’s direction, which is both analytical and psychological. “She does a lot of things other directors don’t,” Hatfield said. “She takes the time to sit down with you and feel the piece out.”

“The actors are more likely to stay interested and involved if they have the depth,” Rankin added.

“We sat around this table and discussed the emotional connection between mother and son,” Lavin said, “and Daisy’s relationship with a black man—a dynamic that rarely gets expressed in life or in the theater.”

“The actors view [‘Driving Miss Daisy’] as a love story, although obviously not like ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ These were two people [Daisy and Hoke] who came to love each other and had no means at all of telling each other,” Alfred Uhry once remarked.

by: Shea Carver

Gepetto’s House
Brown Coat Pub and Theater
111 Grace Street
February 12th-14th, 18th-21st and 26th-28th 8pm; 3pm Sunday matinees
Tickets: $5-$10

Can we ever really understand what it means to “be at war” if we’re not guarding the battle lines ourselves? It’s a question to ponder. One person who has a lot of stake in the subject is Lou Buttino, chair of UNCW’s Film Department, as well as filmmaker, writer and all-around insightful human being.

Buttino has been working tirelessly on the play “Gepetto’s House,” a story based on his own life experiences, including those of his friends who were affected by Vietnam, and the decisions made by them to join the fight or protest against it. Yet, there’s a twist to it all: It’s enacted at the helm of a costume party, where its players essentially take on the roles of fairy-tale characters.

“I was at a [professor’s] costume party years ago, dressed as Gepetto,” Buttino explained to encore last week, “and one of my best friends was dressed as a fairy princess. We bantered the night away, in character, and the incident kept evolving in my mind.” What it led to was exploring “archetypes and childhood fairy tales in a world gone mad,” Buttino said. He wanted nothing more than to showcase these “perspectives within the context of a painful reality,” which so happened to be Vietnam, 1969.

Buttino’s professor always threw the costume galas, noting how the parties challenged people “to break free from the familiar [and] see the world anew—only then can we create the world anew.” In the midst of a great national upheaval, such as the ‘60s, Buttino noted how “it knocks us off our taken-for-granted individual and national biographies.” The parallels of then and now are uncanny—something Buttino has considered in bringing his words to life, today, thanks to the help of Guerilla Theatre. “He didn’t read about it in a book or see it in a movie—he lived it,” Richard Davis, director of the play, noted.

“History only repeats itself in analogous ways,” Buttino extended. “We were at war in ‘69 and we’re at war today. Yesterday’s Newsweek had on its cover, ‘Obama’s Vietnam.’ We treated the Vietnam veteran miserably, and I’m afraid we’re doing the same to returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. We are being miserly in helping them, and with the economic crisis, I fear their needs and challenges will be put on the back burner for a long time, if not forever.”

Obviously, the content of the play isn’t puppy dogs, unicorns and rainbows—it’s a stark look at reality, including everything from the re-emergence of the women’s movement, the tension and battles within the African-American community and the intrepid dominance of television—themes still rampant in today’s society. “I think when you look at the beginnings of things, the present becomes more clear,” Buttino offered. “The story is about healing, and we need to continually work at healing our wounds as a people.”

The sentiment is a familiar resonance to voters of the 2008 election who have grasped Obama’s pleas for change and hope, rebuilding and restructuring our lives and nation. It’s not a new concept; only one that seems to be finally catching on throughout the masses.

Still, Davis wasn’t sold on breathing life into the script initially. “It was too heavy-handed and very much an anti-war piece. I felt that it glamorized the decisions of [characters who did] not go to war and ignored the noble reasons why [another character] did choose to fight.”

Through rewrites and Buttino’s open mind at making changes that enhanced the play rather than deterring from it, the two were able to reach a piece that, as paraphrased from Davis, is mature material offering both sides of the spectrum. “[Doc’s] different from other playwrights we’ve worked with,” Davis explained. “He has a wealth of life experience that is completely different from anyone else. That is obvious in his writing style. . . . [Yet,] he was genuinely receptive to my thoughts about this . . . He and I sat down and talked about the script and what I meant by the nobility of the soldier. . . . When we were done, I felt that we had a solidly neutral script that showed the honor in both the warrior and the protestor. The play needed both. America needs both; they’re Yin and Yang.”

Polar opposites reach a balance here because Buttino molded the play according to the varying people he’s encountered over so many years: his childhood sweetheart (known as “human being” in the play); his college roommate (a Vietnam vet); and his best friend from childhood (a black Vietnam vet and sculptor, who plays the namesake, Gepetto—befitting to him since the sculptor tried to bring dead wood to life. “His own work, as a result of the Vietnam War, is lifeless, without eyes even,” Buttino revealed.). To prepare the cast, Buttino brought in photographs of the real people, sharing their stories.

While the actors were not lacking inspiration, Davis credits Buttino’s sincerity, all on its own, as a major contender in finessing the cast. “He brings a certain genuine nostalgia to the 1960s that younger writers could only imagine. . . . Characters don’t come alive until you have the right actors carrying their voices. Doc and I both were amazed after the first read-through because we saw things we hadn’t noticed before.” Even though the play has been “percolating for 30 years now,” according to Buttino, his love for the material and the work itself has made it a labor of love for everyone involved.

Because Buttino lived through the turmoil and progression of the ‘60s and now today, it makes one wonder the pressures Davis must face in directing “Gepetto’s House.” Aside from the fact that Buttino is primarily a screenwriter—although, he noted that his “first love was playwriting, as [he] studied and had workshops in New York”—there is the gravity of remaining honest to the people who lived this life. “It’s very difficult to balance being true to [Buttino and his group of friends] and what the play needs to be,” Davis iterated. “But plays need drama, so sometimes you have to amp it up a bit.”

The next step after doing the stage run of “Gepetto’s House” is taking it to film. “We’re hoping that by adapting this play into a film, using the same actors, we will show the film world what Wilmington theatre has to offer,” Davis continued. “We have a thriving community of highly trained and extremely motivated actors who receive constant on-the-job training, working 7-10 months out of the year in various productions. . . . Wilmington has everything to offer the independent filmmaker. With ‘Gepetto’s House,’ we hope to showcase that fact.”

“Richard and I hope to inspire this wonderful film city to the possibilities that surround it in developing more of a tight-knit community: Screen Gems, Cucalorus, UNCW’s Film Studies Department, Duke Fire and his Cape Fear students,” Buttino projected. “We’re all in this together and we need to work together to create a critical mass where home-grown filmmaking needs use of our talent, facilities and the joy of creating film.”

In the end it all boils down to one word: hope. It will certainly aim to “change paradigms,” according to Davis. “If certain people would just sit down and talk to one another, they could heal wounds and make the world a better place. No harm can come from talking, but there is so much more potential for the greater good.”

Be a part of its message every weekend through February 28th. Dedicated to Pat Hingle, with whom Buttino was dear friends and author of his biography, the show begins at 8pm Thursday through Saturday, and 3pm on Sundays.

by: Emily Rea

Mulagofest Benefit Concert
February 14th, Valentine’s Day
16 Taps, 127 Princess Street, downtown
Tickets: $10/single, $17/couple; 18 and up
www.myspace.com/firstfriendsunite

“In life your eyes and existence will change after experiencing moments that humble your heart and release your soul. After volunteering in the village of Mulago in Uganda, and spending time with children who have nothing yet consistently smile as if they have just won the lottery, I experienced just that.”

So began the heartfelt note sent to the encore offices by Erin Oelkers, a Wilmington resident who has decided to take action and make a change in the African village she loves—even now that she’s back home in NC.

“I spent five weeks in Uganda, Africa, visiting a friend [in late summer/early fall 2008],” Erin explains. “While I was there, I volunteered on my own, not with an organization, at a small school in a poverty-stricken village. . . . The day I had to say goodbye, I felt an overwhelming amount of sorrow that I would probably never see this place or these kids again and knew it couldn’t be the end.”

That very night Erin and her friend, Colette, got together and formed a plan to raise enough money to build Mulago Village 2 a new school. “We had seen the drawings for a hopeful school but knew they had no money to start or finish this project,” she recalls. “It would simply always be a piece of paper unless someone stepped up!”

The first and largest barrier to cross was the amount of money neccessary to make the school a reality: about $50,000. “We immediately started our fund-raising, and we’re well on our way,” Erin says. “The school has been knocked down, and the building [has begun]. Colette lives 10 minutes from the village, and acts as our project and financial manager. I’m stateside, therefore planning events here and there to raise money.”

One such fund-raising event is the upcoming Mulagofest at 16 Taps downtown, a night of charity, live music and lots of love to spread—around the globe and back.

“I’m excited to host this on Valentine’s Day because I feel it gives singles or couples a great opportunity to step outside the box and do something fun, while paying it forward to a great cause!” Erin shares. “I feel you learn from hearing out other people’s causes, and, if I’m really lucky, I’m getting the wheels turning in other peoples’ head to find something they’re passionate about and do some good in the lives of others. . . . Even in a time of war and a horrible economy, we are a free and blessed country.”

Erin encountered just how fortunate Americans are—concerning our education system, among other things—on her very first day at the school in Mulago. Collette had directed her to the head mistress there, Christine, to provide some volunteer work for her to experience during her stay. What Erin was expecting was to simply play with the kids and observe. What she found was an enormous need for educational assistance.

“Due to a huge lack of structure in this country, about 80 kids [out of 200] had shown up that day and only two teachers [out of six to eight],” she reveals. “I asked Christine where she wanted me, and she said with a huge smile, ‘You will teach level 3.’ I had no idea that I would actually be teaching students, and I had no idea what to teach them. I was very nervous.”

As it turned out, Erin continued as the third-level teacher during her entire five weeks in Africa, working with the village kids on math, science, English and reading. “They don’t have text books; the teachers just write each lesson on the chalkboard and review it with the kids,” Erin explains. “There were some language barriers, so I made it my main objective to just show the kids encouragement and admiration as they were working. The lack of structure causes lack of personal attention to their learning, so I made it a personal goal to give as much individual praise as possible in a short time.”

What she quickly learned was that the children in Mulago come to school as they can afford it. In this part of Africa, there is no such thing as public education, and so the children pay per term, of which there are three per year. The cost is approximately $12 for three terms of school—an amount many are simply unable to afford.

Yet another obstacle to the children of Mulago receiving a quality education is the school building itself, one that Erin and Collette are hoping to replace through their fund-raising efforts. “The new school is different in every way,” Erin explains. “The old school was a ramshackle building constructed of blue-and-white painted boards nailed together atop a mound of dirt with wood [for a roof]. But it didn’t shield the children through a true African rainstorm.”

The new school will be made out of brick, complete with a concrete ground; a sturdy, fully covered roof; doors that lock; closets for storage; and six separate class rooms, two of which will be separated by a sliding wall to allow for one large room for group gatherings.

“While we have hired a professional contracting and building company, we are also employing locals from the village to work on the actual building of the school,” Erin reveals. “This is a huge opportunity for them to make money that would not otherwise be available to them. They take huge pride in building this ‘masterpiece’ in their village.”

Folks in the Port City can have a hand in the creation of this new school as well, simply by making a donation online at www.myspace.com/firstfriendsunite or attending the upcoming Mulagofest. The night’s events will include live music by local acts: acoustic artist Lyndsey Bennett, comedian Dane Johnson, and the band Fortune In The Sun, as well as two bands from Raleigh, Strange Faces and Left Outlet. There will also be drink specials, and raffle prizes from local businesses at $1 per ticket.

“It’s important for locals to help where they feel comfortable, but it is beneficial emotionally to pay it forward on any level,” Erin observes. “My heart was humbled as I walked through the villages [in Uganda] and shared smiles with the deprived. My eyes were forever changed as I viewed a world incomparable to my worst day in my own country, and my soul was freed of objection as I respectfully gained a new love for all walks of life in our entire world. The best way I can describe it is ‘Africa heart.’ . . . I am eager to [find] as many ways as possible to pay it forward to those in need, those in pain and those who least expect it, whether you are standing next to me or a world apart. I am one lucky girl—I won the lottery on family, friends, health and happiness. Every little piece of that I can share, I will.”  

by: Caleb Filomena

HL Menken defined democracy as the theory that the people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard. This year, members of the North Carolina General Assembly are wasting no time to implement this theory.

Representative Hugh Holliman, Democrat from Davidson County, is once again pushing a comprehensive smoking ban. The legislation (HB 2), which would prohibit smoking in restaurants and bars, failed to pass in 2007 by only six votes. Of the 120 member NC House of Representatives 21 new members were added in the 2008 election, making success of the ban an open question this year.

Among the representatives from New Hanover County, Republican Carolyn Justice voted in favor of the ban, while Daniel McComas, also a Republican, voted against it. Senator Julia Boseman, as always, failed to respond to my simple yes-or-no question concerning the ban, though her past nanny-state activity in the Senate leads me to believe she would vote yea. Representative Sandra Spaulding Hughes also couldn’t be bothered. If the proposed bill is passed, NC would join 23 other states, D.C. and Puerto Rico in the effort to make the nation less offensively odorous.

Truly, everything is changing.

Mr. Holliman states that “there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke,” as if this seals the argument. Apart from some disagreement concerning the real level of danger posed by fleeting exposure to smoke, the list of activities for which there is “no safe level” of engagement is virtually endless. Over 1,600 died in 2006 from car accidents in NC. Shall we mandate a state speed limit of 35? Nearly 4,000 died of drowning in the U.S. in 2002. Shall we strictly regulate swimming and surfing as a result?

Apparently, Mr. Holliman is particularly interested in regulating this particular aspect of our lives because he is a lung-cancer survivor. Presumably, if he had instead been paralyzed by slipping in the shower, he would now be pushing a comprehensive bath-mat law.

The public-health fascists claim that a ban is actually good for business, as if the General Assembly can better evaluate the costs and benefits to particular businesses than the owners themselves. How conceited are these assholes? I’ll tell you: very, very conceited.

The right to life is the right to a freely chosen death—they are one in the same. The freedom of thought and action includes the freedom to patronize or refrain from patronizing a given establishment. This freedom implies beings capable of rational evaluation of the facts. Well, the facts concerning cigarette smoke have been out there for a long time. Holliman and company apparently think we’re far too stupid to be trusted with weighing these facts and acting as we see fit.

Used to be there were some benefits to living in a “red state.” Sure, one couldn’t get gay-married, but at least we could ravage our lungs in the comfort of our own pub. Let’s support RJR and Phillip Morris this year in the fight for righteousness, freedom, truth, cancer and the American way.

(Correction: My last article, “Eat The Poor,” gave the impression that the City Council was united in their assault on the rights of the homeless. In fact, Councilman Earl Sheridan was the lone dissenting voice on the previous restrictions on pan-handling. He did, however, vote to ban feeding the homeless in the business district.)

by: Ashley Cunningham,
Winner of encore’s 3rd annual Creative Writing contest

I spend a lot of time with myself. I’m a master of pre-occupying time. Sometimes I’m fun to hang out with; sometimes I talk too much and ramble on until I’m sure I should apologize. I’m completely guilty of either apologizing too much or too little.

I don’t feel sorry for some things because it’s near impossible to make yourself feel sorry for crimes you don’t remember committing. I’ve served a 20-year sentence based on an easy conviction, and I can only tell you: I am getting used to it. I can always imagine up some way to pass the time. I can spend hours on end just dreaming up ways to escape.

I read a lot of books. I’m reading out loud to make sure I hear the words and really wrap myself around what they mean. I opened the Bible this morning and within an afternoon, I’ve already found 48 reasons to believe there’s something bigger than me, or you, or any of these kinds of days.

Forty-nine reasons: I watch it snow, and it occurs to me that I haven’t seen the world this white in a long time. Winters here aren’t what you would think. It’s hard to figure it could even be this cold after sweating through the warmest seasons. My hands strain to overcome the chill. Back inside I strain to get the feeling back in my see-through skin. Five minutes in this December have made my body a museum of bones and veins.

Judy Garland sings “Over the Rainbow” from the entertainment room, and I’m off to take a shower, the hottest shower I can stand. There is something so enjoyable about getting clean. It really puts the fun in fundamental. I mouth fundamental over and over under the pitter-patter of the water pressure until it becomes fund a mental. I wonder if my mom is sending more cigarettes this week. She told me last Tuesday that she worries about me constantly, and I tell her I don’t want that at all. I tell her I am my own worry. “Mine alone,” I say. If I only had a home.

I’m done. I turn the water off and step outside the glass. The room is brighter than I remember, and the mirror is laced with near-invisible scribbles that read: “Meet me by the closet in the long hall—yours, D-Lay.” The message creeps up on my vision, and I’m stung with an excitement I haven’t felt in so long I almost forgot how close it is to happiness.

I dress up as fancy as I can in my stylish blue uniform and think, I should wait until I completely dry off, but screw it. She obviously wants me to meet her now. My feet whisper-kiss the hallway floor and follow the white tile road that the dimmed fluorescent lights reflect like a hop-scotch path. I step twice more. Turn. Three more steps, and her figure jumps out at me from where the lights end. Eventually, my pupils make out her features. “I found us a secret hideaway,” she explains in her best barely silent voice. She smiles. I smile.

We play the dark spots of the hallway until we come to a door. Behind the door is something up ahead, something I don’t really know yet because Delaney Jenkins didn’t say anything past hideaway. She presses her weight against the door, and we slide into nothing. Complete black. I want to panic, but Delaney Jenkins sheds a light on things with her matchbook. Wait, my matchbook. We fumble along to where I don’t know because Delaney Jenkins and my flame only show so much. Baby steps take us a little further where we end up at another door marked something confinement, and the flame goes out.

I hear the click-clack of a turn lock, and the light comes back again. “Well, what do you think?” Delaney Jenkins asks. I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to think.

“This is almost as good as walking out unnoticed,” I say.

“Well. after you told me about your escape plan, I figured I would make it happen for you one way or another. There’s not an entirely big difference between being unnoticed and being a secret,” D-lay tells me, and I hang on to her sentence like she’s an author I’m reading at the moment. I’m making notes in the margin of my mute thoughts about this new sanctuary. It is just enough out of the reach of everyone else here I decide that for as long as we can keep it so, this is where I will be found.

Granted there isn’t anything to do here, and it’s so dark I can’t even see my hand out in front of my face—that’s actually, I guess, what makes it perfect. I can’t do anything that involves seeing, and I can’t see anything that I’m doing. It’s like a fun game almost—testing out how much we can get away with.

D-lay wants to play 21 questions, but I tell her I don’t have all the answers this early on. She tries vehemently to figure out what I did to get in here at the center, but I can’t give up the ghost just yet. I tell her all she needs to know so far is that we both ended up in this box, so my circumstances must be floating somewhere around hers. She laughs, which is comforting. “No pun intended,” she says, which I don’t understand.

It’s my turn to put her under the microscope, and I ask her why she ended up in this box anyway. “I tried to drown myself.” she tells me, and I feel her eyes and ears waiting on my reaction. I realize she doesn’t have all the answers either. I realize maybe I love the questions themselves. She breathes out, and I’m glad we’ve crossed this bridge in the dark.

by: Kayla L. Faulk

Wilmington Chocolate Festival
February 6th-8th
Featuring over 30 vendors, a chocolate raffle and auction and kick-off gala.
$23-$30 gala tickets;
$5-$8 Chocolate Show tickets
New Hanover County Senior Center

Something we all yearn for at one time or another can easily lead us to the point of addiction—truffles, bon bons, donuts and brownies... Chocolate dependence. It’s natural. Some palates adore the milk variety, others the dark or white. Some even focus on rare items, like chocolate-covered potato chips or even chocolate bacon. Whatever the choice, it can all be found at the 7th annual Wilmington Chocolate Festival—a perfect sweet-tooth fix just in time for Valentine’s Day.

The Wilmington Chocolate Festival, previously known as the Chocolate Fantasy Adventure, is a fund-raiser event brought to the Port City by Virginia Organization of Consumers Asserting Leadership (V.O.C.A.L.) Inc. and New Hanover County Senior Center. This year the three-day event will include a gala and a two-day showcase of exhibitors that are some way involved with chocolate or other sweets. The businesses in attendance will display, sell and offer samples of their scrumptious goods, such as fudge, chocolate-covered strawberries, ice-cream, cakes and more. As for the rarities: Wilmington’s Just Because Chocolates will offer their Chocolate-covered potato chips, and Musser’s Catering at Captain Bill’s will bring the bacon—chocolate-covered, of course.

Festival coordinator Marianna Stacy says, “This delicacy is popular on the West Coast and has been a hit at fairs there and in the Midwest. Mussers, who specialize in Pig Pickin’s, may offer this as a new addition to their menu. The public’s reaction at the festival will be important.”

Other items to adore include chocolate-filled crepes by South ‘n France and chili-chocolate brownies and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, which will bring their dipping machine there.

For the second year, the event will open with a gala consisting of live music by pianist Grenaldo Frazier and vocalist Dusty Long. Guitarist and comedian Fred Blohm will appear in the lounge, where appetizers and heavy hors d’oeuvre (smoked salmon mousse spoons, chicken dijon bites, sausage-stuffed mushroom caps, even vegetarian quesadillas, among other options) will be available thanks to Lawler Catering.

To top off the delectable food, wineries will offer tastings all weekend, serving wine-by-the-glass, as well as beer. The gala will of course have unlimited chocolates and desserts, plus there will be a chocolate raffle and auction (18-karat gold and chocolate diamond ring, chocolate pearls, vacation packages), with tickets selling for $1 each or six for $5. Love birds wanting to have a memorable Valentine’s Day can capture their memories with a themed photo, thanks to the photographer on site.

Over the next two days, the event will showcase more than 30 exhibitors contributing samples of their savory sweet, where more wine tastings, raffles and games for prizes take place. For those who can’t stop at just a sample of chocolate, there will be the opportunity to purchase larger quantities to enjoy on the spot and take-home portions. At the Chocolate Show, guests can also watch “spotlight” demonstrations by some of the exhibitors and professionals in our area. There will be a children’s area with activities for those little chocolate lovers. In addition, there will be an upscale boutique area with handmade jewelry, handbags, children’s clothes and other accessories.

This weekend-long event is great because of the wealth of sweet treats available, but more importantly all proceeds raised will benefit the Independent Life Services Program at the New Hanover County Senior Center. Some of these programs are for medical transportation, meals on wheel and family caregiver support (providing grants for respite homecare to any 60-plus senior whose family caregiver needs a break from giving daily care).

“The event was conceived and founded in 2003 by social worker [and fellow coordinator] Gayle Ginsberg of the New Hanover County Department of Aging, when it looked as if services for seniors were likely to be cut due to a budget shortfall,” Stacy commented. “Gayle planned the event and her expectations were for 250 to 300 people, but over 2,000 people came that first year, and the numbers have grown each year. Now our community has a major festival in February that is turning into a bonus for the community with people coming from near and far to taste chocolate.”

The Wilmington Chocolate Festival will start February 6th, kicking off with the gala from 6-9pm. On February 7th the show will be from 10am-4pm, and the last day to enjoy all the sweet treats will be February 8th, noon-4pm. Taking place at the New Hanover County Senior Center at 2222 S. College Road (the entrance is a shared driveway with Hoggard High School), gala tickets are $25 in advance at the Senior Center, and only $23 at any area Harris Teeter with a Vic Card, or $30 at the door. Each gala ticket (limited supply) includes one free admission to Saturday or Sunday’s Chocolate Show. The Chocolate Show tickets are $5 in advance for adults and children; $8 at the door for adults, $5 for children 5-12; and children under 5 are free. For more information contact coordinators Gayle Ginsberg at 910-798-6402 or Marianna Stacy at 910-264-9379.

by: Rosa Bianco

In Praise of Pecans: Recipes and Recollections
By: June Jackson
Bright Sky Press
$24.95

When I first moved to the South, the little house I lived in had two distinctive attributes: a small, flat front porch that faced Hewlett’s Creek and a 60-foot-tall gray-barked tree that was late to leaf out in the spring and seemed to shade about an acre in the summer. Nothing grew under it but grass, and its wide, slender, open branches swayed constantly in the wind.

Late into the summer of my first year in that house I discovered exactly what that majestic tree was, as the ground became littered with light green, 2-inch long dirigible-shaped objects. They were pecans still in their wrappers, so to speak. For the next couple weeks, I waged an all-out war with the squirrels over the spoils. The following weeks, after the war was over (in the final tally, I think the squirrels probably won), I spent evenings patiently prying the pecans out of their casings and then the nuts out of their shells.

Being a Yankee, it didn’t take me long to understand that what walnuts are to New England, pecans are to the South. They are what any recipe means when it says “add nuts.” And I discovered quickly that with the possible exception of double-chocolate brownies, I actually preferred the taste of pecans to walnuts in almost everything. They were sweeter, richer, milder, softer. They were better sprinkled across the top of my banana-nut muffins; better sprinkled in my romaine and Romano salads; better toasted and mixed in with my wild rice. I always keep pecans on hand in the pantry. They are a staple because they so easily and quickly dress up almost any dish. I miss quite a lot of the foods that I grew up with from my New England childhood—foods for which there are just no good Southern substitute (ah, rhubarb). But thanks to pecans, I don’t miss walnuts at all.

June Jackson is in the opposite situation. She is a Southerner transplanted to the North (if you can call Maryland “North”) and she misses pecans something awful—so much so that she wrote a book about them, In Praise of Pecans, which ended up as one of the finalists for Cookbook of the Year from the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance. I am not usually too enamored of single-ingredient cookbooks; I don’t tend toward the obsessive in my own kitchen and can’t often be convinced to indulge the obsessive natures of others. I don’t like to have eight different cookbooks out on the counter just to make dinner, so any book I take out had better have enough variety to cover all the bases—er, courses. As intriguing as it may sound, it just seems impossible to put together a decent meal from books like 101 Ways to Use Beer in Food.

But June Jackson does in her 101 different ways to use pecans, a point she makes in the preface of the book when she recounts serving a dinner to friends that used pecans in every single dish. “You must really like pecans,” was one person’s dry comment—although the author notes this person also ate more than anyone else. As is common in cookbooks these days, In Praise of Pecans is part recipe book, part indulgent nostalgia. As is not so common, it has rather more of the former than the latter.

After a brief chapter devoted to reminiscing of childhood days spent picking tiny pieces of nuts out of their shells (in what sounds like a blatant violation of child labor laws), or of her mother’s sure-fire recipe for pecan pralines—clipped out of a newspaper in 1928 and still used unchanged until a few days before she died more than 80 years later—Jackson leaves aside her own fond memories and concentrates on cajoling her readers into making their own. She doesn’t have to cajole very hard; all she really has to do is let the flavor of the pecan speak for itself.

One might expect that the most enticing section of the book would be the dessert section, which opens, appropriately enough, with a recipe for Lula Mae’s Brown Sugar Pecan Pie that will make an eater’s teeth rot just to read it. And it is true that the desserts are pretty enticing. Who needs chocolate when we’ve got praline, caramel and divinity? My teeth hurt just looking at the pictures.

Actually, my favorite part of the book is the middle part—the part with the salads, entreés and side dishes. Mostly, I think, because there are recipes that use pecans in ways I never would have thought to try. Like the Chiles Rellenos en Nogada, which adds toasted pecans and pomegranate seeds to the stuffing in the peppers. Or the pasta with pecans, asparagus and lemon zest, which took about 30 minutes to make and was absolutely delicious. There is also a great sweet potato pie that uses pecans and—of all things—broccoli. I promise it tastes much, much better than it reads.

If the book suffers from anything, it is a certain excess of enthusiasm on the part of the author, whom I’m sure would insist that pecans cured cancer, if she could get away with it. After all, there are only so many ways to cook with any nut: toast them, candy them, grind them up into flour, or chop them into bits and add them to things. It’s just that after reading In Praise of Pecans, I’ve come to realize that adding them to lots more things is more than I thought possible. I’m restocking the pecans in my pantry almost weekly now.

by: Adrian Varnam

NC Jazz Festival
Showcasing over a dozen bands
February 5-7th • Tickets: $15-$50
Wilmington Hilton Riverside
www.ncjazzfestival.com

Since its creation in the South in the early 20th century, jazz has been honored and appreciated throughout the world as a uniquely and primarily American art form. Celebrated in the smallest of smoky clubs and largest of international festivals, jazz draws its power through performance and appreciation, flowing improvisationally from the minds and hearts of all who enjoy its beauty.

Although not its most visible or patronized genre, the Cape Fear region has made a tradition of honoring its history and performance by keeping the spirit alive in festival. Now in its 29th year, the North Carolina Jazz Festival (NCJF) will once again return to the ballroom of the Wilmington Hilton Riverside, bringing international jazz players and local enthusiasts together again. Sandy Evans, president of the North Carolina Jazz Festival, describes her involvement after decades of increasing growth and guidance of founder Dr. Harry VanVelsor.

“Dr. VanVelsor, then a local dermatologist and Dixieland Band leader, started this festival [in 1980] because of his love for this music, and his desire to share it with family and friends,” she says. “It was then more of a private ‘jazz party.’ As the years went by, and it got larger in attendees and number of musicians, it was moved to the Hilton ballroom, where it happily still resides.”

Evans describes the festival as more than a “party,” not just in shear volume but in the stretch of its influence. “[The] NCJF puts on one event per year, and it is the three-day traditional jazz festival, in which we bring in at least 12 internationally known jazz musicians, and our attendees come from all across the U.S. and Canada,” she says. “We now fill between 1,000 and 1,200 seats.”

While the festival may have a broader, international scope, Evans says emphasis still remains on supporting local artists and helping to create new ones. “Since taking over the reigns of the festival, I have strived to include more local musicians and UNCW,” she says. “This year we will have the UNCW Big Band open the festival with a set of swing music, a la Benny Goodman, with clarinetist and faculty member Mike Waddell joining them as their guest artist. We also take some of our visiting all-stars to local schools to put on a concert and workshop for the students. This year it will be held at Roland-Grise Middle School.”

The mostly nocturnal three-day festival begins on a Thursday evening and continues until Saturday, offering plenty of acts to take listeners late into the night. “This year our Thursday night ‘special event’ will be a tribute to Lionel Hampton, Bunny Berigan and Red Norvo,” Evans says. “This will take place after the UNCW Big Band. [T]hen the evening will close with a set of John Coccuzi on piano and vocals, then joined by the all-stars from the tribute in a rousing jam session. This is a three-hour concert. Friday and Saturday nights are four-hour concerts, and we will add to Thursday night’s group of all-stars another six world-renown jazz musicians.”

While the festival is presented by the North Carolina Jazz Festival, Inc., a nonprofit organization whose main focus is the event, Evans says the weekend is assisted by the Cape Fear Jazz Society (along with corporate sponsors like Morgan Stanley). “The Cape Fear Jazz Society has also grown with this new influx of jazz lovers, and has helped us get more publicity [through] their newsletter and their contacts,” she says. “They [also] help us by having some of their members do ushering and ticket table service at the festival.”

Whether a member of the local jazz society or just an aficionado, if a weekend of traditional jazz from acclaimed musicians from all over the world (including right here at home) sounds like money and time well-spent, don’t miss out on the 29th annual North Carolina Jazz Festival, beginning Thursday, at the Wilmington Hilton Riverside. For ticket information and purchasing, complete lineup and schedule, and additional information, visit their Web site (left) or contact Sandy Evans at 910-793-1111 or ncjazzfest@yahoo.com.

by: Adrian Varnam

Chatham County Line
Fund-raiser for Columbus County Schools
Bowers Performing Arts Center • 413 N. Lee Street, Whiteville, NC
February 7th • Tickets: $5-12.50

The critical state of the national economy is news to no one these days. With reports of federal bailouts and economic stimulus plans saturating our media outlets and daily conversations, the public is constantly aware of the real threats we have to our country and to our standards of living—not to mention to the government’s intent on financial assistance.

For those who have interests in the state of the arts in America, the lack of available monies and funding has been at a similar critical state for even longer. While much of the country was enjoying unparalleled economic prosperity during the ‘90s, the decade saw, paradoxically, substantial budget cuts to the nonprofit arts system. In fact, according to a relatively recent report from American for the Arts, philanthropy dedicated to the nonprofit arts has declined by almost one-third since the early ‘90s.

Now at a period in history when the rest of the economy has slowed to meet the already-suffering nonprofit sector, finding money to support the arts is at the bottom of a long receiving list, well behind more high-profile institutions like Wall Street and the auto and banking industries. And what about funding arts education in our public schools? Something about blood and turnips comes to mind.

In analyzing financial data as Arts Education Coordinator for Columbus County Schools, Kelly Jones recognized the funding issue was affecting his schools in Southeastern North Carolina directly and knew he had a problem.

“Basically, we were several thousand dollars short on budgets for our spring musicals,” Jones says. “These shows involve hundreds of students at each of our four high schools. [A]nd times being what they are, it just doesn’t work to go out and ask for money—everyone has already given what they can.”

So Jones began doing what good leaders should do in times of crisis: He thought creatively and innovatively while recognizing that in today’s economy, nothing is free anymore. “I started thinking about something we could give folks where they would get a tremendous value out of what was being offered,” he says. “I had been a longtime fan of Chatham County Line (CCL). I was driving home one day listening to their latest album, and it occurred to me that bringing [in] a band like CCL, who has a wide range of backgrounds but are rooted in bluegrass, would be a great draw for our area [a]nd the areas around us.”

For roots music fans in North Carolina, Raleigh’s Chatham County Line has become one of her most recent favorite sons. Birthed in the Triangle’s steep alt-country and Americana music scene, CCL’s untraditional bluegrass style and impressive musicianship has attracted music lovers of all genres and has propelled the quartet to almost-certain celebrity status as one of the State’s best bands. It was spending time in his car with their fourth and most recent record, the appropriately titled IV, that Kelly Jones thought bold ideas needed bold action. So, he took it.

“I called their manager and explained the situation,” he recalls. “I made a very modest offer for their performance fee, which they accepted. I have since been in contact with the band and have been impressed with how down-to-earth they are.”

Perhaps it is their down-to-earth nature that gives these four guys proper perspective in these harsh economic times. Regardless of motives, what Kelly Jones and Chatham County Line are offering to the citizens of Southeastern North Carolina, and more specifically to the students of Columbus County, is opportunity—opportunity for arts education to continue for students who desperately need the outlet and entertainment for music fans who want to have their hard-earned money to go to something beyond just a good time.

“I think folks are going to be blown away by the artistry of these four guys,” Jones promises. “Can you imagine a better fund-raiser than bringing one of the premier bluegrass bands in the country to your town?”

I can’t. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see one of North Carolina’s finest bands, Chatham County Line, perform while making a difference in the education and lives of Columbus County school children. Tickets are $12.50 for adults, $5 for children K-12 with ID and may be purchased online or at the door. For more information, visit www.ccl2009.com.

by: Lauren Hodges

The Revenge of Darfur Women
Art by Cheryl McGraw
Opening February 12th, 6-8:30pm
UNCW Cultural Arts Building, Mezzanine Gallery
(910) 962-3440
January 29th • Free

Most Americans have heard of the crisis in Darfur, but not everyone knows the what, why and how. A brief survey of people in downtown Wilmington resulted in these responses:

“Oh, the Africa thing? Yeah, that’s pretty terrible. What is that all about?”

“I know women are getting raped. I don’t remember why, though.”

“Doesn’t it have something to do with a land dispute? Not enough water to go around?”

The American government has classified the crisis as genocide, which is defined as the systematic extermination of a racial or national group. In the case of Darfur, the atrocities are aimed toward the Sudan Liberation Movement, the Justice and Equality Movement and their civilian allies. The Sudanese military and militia, with the silent aid of the Sudanese government, have been performing daily mass murders and rapes upon tribes that support the movements since 2003. After an uprising against the government for allegedly favoring Arabs over non-Arabs in the region, and neglecting the Darfur region of Sudan, a series of air strikes were launched to settle the rebels. Since, hand-to-hand atrocities have been committed on land every day, resulting in a death toll that is about to reach 500,000.

“The personal turmoil that those women must go through is unlike anything we can imagine, I’m sure,” local artist Cheryl McGraw, who has been following the crisis since it began, says. “Using rape as a war device—I don’t think there is anything less humane.”

As a college student in the chaotic ‘60s, McGraw is more than familiar with political unrest. She had a front-row seat to the French student riots of the decade as she studied in Aix-en-Provence, while she watched the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Kennedys stir up fury at home in America. “When I got back to the States that summer, the Civil Rights Movement, the budding women’s movement and the mayhem of the Democratic National Convention contributed to mine and many of my peers’ general sense that, as a generation, our participation mattered.”

After graduating from Clark College in 1969 with a degree in Studio Arts, she started a family with her husband, Tom. She began working as a graphic designer, calligrapher and lettering arts painter. “I studied with Robert Williams of the University of Chicago Press in the ‘70s during the Renaissance of Calligraphy in the States. I took many workshops, belonged to calligraphy guilds and studied at Rochester Institute of Technology with Julian Waters in the Hermann Zapf master calligraphy summer program.” Her background in calligraphy is easy to detect in her art, which she calls “water media.”

“I respect both the rigor of a disciplined, formulaic approach to art and the free, exploring of joyous and spontaneous creative expression,” she says. “Exploring these yin and yang aspects in ink and gouache-on-paper, I am coming to a new expression of both the elements of control and discipline.”

Her latest collection is based upon her interest in “the knife edge between chaos and control,” more specifically for the women in Darfur. Each painted piece has both a red-and-black level, with the red brush strokes simmering on the bottom of the page and the less volatile black strokes on top. “When someone experiences a trauma, something happens to their brain activity,” she says. “I’m not a professional or anything, but I imagine that there is a sudden divide between the reality of their situation [the red] and the reality that they themselves can handle [the black].”

Each piece is different with individual activity, just like human brains. In one work the red and black are completely separate and less lively. Another merges the two levels and is much more dynamic in comparison. “The first woman, if this were her brain, is choosing to suppress her trauma, whereas the second woman is more aware of her situation,” McGraw explains.

She is calling her collection “The Revenge of Darfur Women,” which will be showing at UNCW in February. “This exhibit is a graphic expression of my own horror at hearing of the atrocities in Darfur, and thinking about how a person might find a way to work through such events and go on in life.”

More than anything McGraw hopes the exhibit will inspire the same sense of duty that her generation felt during the social revolution. “People have a responsibility to each other,” she says. “In this case we have a responsibility to protect our women. Those women in Darfur are our women, too.”

by: Anghus Houvouras

The Reader
Starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes
4 stars (out of 5)

Certain movies require an audience to see beyond the world they know or the rules they live by. For the most part, 99.9 percent of the movies released each year tell stories defined within the familiar and require little challenge intellectually or emotionally. I’m sure there are others like me who walk into a lot of films hoping for a movie that will force them to try and see the world from a different perspective. This year The Reader is that movie.

There are a number of films that deal with the Holocaust. Some seven decades later, it is at different levels and with perspectives of varying degrees of success. My favorite film on the subject had been Life is Beautiful, a poetic and solemn look at a father’s attempt to hide the horrors of life from his son even while trapped at a prison camp. There’s something so pure about Life is Beautiful, a film that tries to show the beauty of life in the most intolerable of situations. The Reader feels polar opposite—a kind of cinematic bookend. It is a film about tolerance, hope and one man’s attempt at understanding.

The story takes place in post-World War II Germany where the country is barely a decade out of the Hitler era and still dealing with the separation anxiety of being split in two by the Soviet Union. Michael Berg (David Kross) is a bright young student who falls ill one day and is aided by a ticket-taker named Hannah Schmidt (Kate Winslet). After several months out of school due to illness, he returns to try and pick up where he left off. His first thoughts are of Hannah. He returns to her to show his gratitude and tries to hide his schoolboy crush. Before we can say “statutory,” the two begin a passionate affair. It is lurid, tawdry and features all kinds of full-frontal nudity (hooray).

Hannah is difficult, emotional and makes their blossoming relationship complicated for young Michael, who wears his heart squarely on his sleeve. It’s not just about the sex; there’s some fantastic foreplay as well. Michael reads great works of literature to Hannah, which soon becomes the emotional foundation of their romance. They spend the summer together. Hannah begins to fall for Michael who is slowly becoming estranged from his friends. It’s difficult to maintain interest in childish things when the thoughts of sweaty, literary sex take over the mind. Eventually, Hannah makes a difficult choice to end their affair. At the end of the summer, she leaves without so much as a word, breaking poor Michael’s heart.

Years later Michael has become a law school student, still charming the ladies with a disarming smile and spending his time at law seminars trying to gain perspective. That perspective becomes skewed when he and his classmates attend a trial of former concentration camp guards. As the defendants are called out, he hears a familiar name: Hannah Schmidt. Suddenly, everything becomes complicated. In a country dealing with post-war atrocities, everything had seemed so black and white—right and wrong were so clearly defined. But now Michael has a personal stake in the trial, and everything about his first love now seems clouded with anger and doubt.

There are a number of twists and turns in The Reader, but none in the traditional sense. This isn’t a courtroom drama or a conventional love story. This is a film about trying to understand a person, to see if she is more than just the negligent monster that everyone else claims. The film is about perspective—in this case Michael’s attempt to find it throughout the course of his life. The journey is not an easy one, and his acts of both defiance and compassion evoke warmth and melancholy.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Kate Winslet, who deserves every award she wins for this film. She is stunning in her portrayal of Hannah as an emotionally distant person, and during her trial, she admits to her role in the extermination of Jewish prisoners with a chilling honesty. There is no compassion in her voice or remorse. She was simply a person doing her job, given commands and tasked with maintaining order. In the eyes of the world, she is a monster. But Michael has seen a different side of her and desperately wants to see her redeem herself.

I love this film for a number of reasons, but most of all because it gives the audience such a unique look at the lengths we are willing to go to try and comprehend. There are people who pass through our lives every day with little impact, and there are those whom we barely share moments with that will linger with us until the day we die.

The Reader is a difficult, challenging film, a movie that can easily infuriate if we let it. Like most great films, the questions aren’t answered for us but left for us to answer. It forces us to consider the depth of our own compassion. And, unlike a lot of other films on the subject, it doesn’t push buttons or attempt to manipulate. It’s a stark portrayal of characters torn by their emotions or lack thereof. The Reader is not a film for the timid. Like a good book it draws us in and requires our intellectual and emotional investment.

by: Shea Carver

'Pillow Talk'
Thalian Association • Thalian Hall Main Stage
February 5th-8th, 8pm. Sunday matinee, 3pm
Tickets: $20; (910) 343-3664

Pillow talk. It’s the phrase conjuring images of lovers’ most intimate moments: the soft nuzzle of a nose, the light caress of a hand, the sweet nothings whispered in one another’s ear. Quite apropos for a pre-Valentine’s Day mood lifter, it’s also the latest production headed by Thalian Association, thanks to the help of director Laurene Perry.

Originally a 1959 film, Pillow Talk featured Hollywood’s golden children, Rock Hudson (Brad Allen, aka Rex Stetson) and Doris Day (Jan Morrow), in a tantalizing, comedic escapade of love versus hate. The premise is simple and light: Allen successfully gets under the skin of his neighbor, Morrow, with his constant use of the phone line, which he accesses to womanize his many lovers. Thus, Morrow never is able to dial out, and mutual hate ensues between the two. However, rather than lash out, Allen takes on the Southern gentleman personality of one Rex Stetson and manipulates Morrow to fall in love with him.

Naturally, the play leaves much room for a cat-and-mouse-style game of catch. Director Laurene Perry is taking on the production with the creative philosophy to “start with good material, add good casting and pay attention to the details.” In the end the New School in NYC graduate, along with the help of local actors Maggie Miller and Bradley A. Coxe, will be entertaining Wilmington audiences this weekend only for a tale of love and laughter.

Perry was kind enough to answer a few questions for encore last week about “Pillow Talk.” Here’s how our e-mail unfolded.

e: Adapting the 1959 movie Pillow Talk to the stage has been what kind of experience for you?
LP: I am enjoying taking this light-hearted romp to the stage. I have been blessed with great local talent, in my actors and my technical staff. I am trying to make this a new experience for the audience, rather than a translation of the movie.

e: The Rock Hudson and Doris Day film was seeped in a vat of varying emotions by two of Hollywood’s most beloved actors. As a director how are you finessing this aspect? What kind of guidance have you offered in filling such legendary acting shoes—or is this even an aspect with which you feel needs to be dealt?
LP: All actors who portray a character bring themselves into it. The actors in this production are playing the roles as they are written, not imitating actors who have played the roles before.

e: As we near Valentine’s Day, it’s appropriate that a love story is staged locally. How does this decades-old screenplay translate to modern-day situations? Do you think it’s timeless?
LP: It’s timelessness lies in the age-old story of boy meets girl/boy looses girl/boy gets girl. There is nothing in that to be improved upon.

The setting is the ‘60s, and the situations very much are a product of that time period. In today’s world the situation would be different, but the story would no doubt be the same.

e: Are there any surprises/alterations for audiences to look forward to?
LP: The surprise is to see the story live. It is a very different experience than a movie. There is no deep message here. This play is for entertainment and should be enjoyed for what it is.

e: So there haven’t been any “a-ha” moments that the cast has had in pulling together the play ... how it helped them mature into their roles, perhaps?
LP: We haven’t had any great epiphany during the rehearsals. The process has been gradual and smooth. It’s always interesting to sit and watch it happen—as the actors you cast become the characters written. No matter the material, it’s almost a visual transformation.

e: What has been your favorite scene to direct thus far?
LP: I loved directing the final couple of scenes. I just think they are so funny!

e: What could you most hope for in reaching success with “Pillow Talk”?
LP: It is always my intention to entertain the audience. In this case the material takes care of that on its own. I would like the actors to come away from this experience with a positive feeling.

by: MJ Pendleton

'Dreamgirls'
Hannah Block Historic Community Arts Center
February 5th-8th; 8pm or Sunday matinee, 3pm; benefit performance on February 6th.Tickets: (910) 341-7960
3 stars (out of 5)

Historian James Truslow Adams coined the phrase “American Dream” in his book Epic of America: “The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”

“Dreamgirls” is an American-Dream story. Adapted from the Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger, and book and lyrics by Tom Eyen, its film version found success in 2006. The story is loosely based on the singing group The Supremes and the impact of Motown sound on American musical history. The 1960s American music scene was obviously influenced by the British invasion—most notably The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, but concurrently Motown’s rhythm-and-blues groups profoundly affected cultural barriers. Black groups like The Temptations, The Miracles and The Four Tops were invited to perform in previously segregated clubs and on predominantly white college campuses.

Three high-school girls were part of this revolution. Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard grew up in Detroit’s Brewster-Douglas housing projects, and with determination and talent achieved their dreams. Tragically, Ballard, the original lead singer, was fired by Motown CEO Barry Gordy, and her subsequent struggle to survive ended in her death at age 32.

The film version of the musical has more biographical allusions to The Supremes, but “it also cuts a lot of the original story,” according to director Kevin Lee-y Green, who is also the artistic director of Techmoja Dance and Theater Company. Tempest Peaches (Lorrell Robinson) agreed, “The musical tells a more complete story.” “Dreamgirls” is about achieving the American Dream, but it is also a cautionary tale and a coming-of-age story.

“The way I see this story,” Green said, “is young African-American girls who want to be stars and how they’re manipulated by older men in their rise to fame.”

Techmoja
When Green initiated the project, many people doubted that he would find young, talented African-American performers in this area. “They underestimated the talent around here,” he said. Green underestimates his own influence on the cast.

“Kevin makes everyone a better performer,” Peaches said. Her sister, Tianna West (Deena Jones), is a voice teacher in Durham, and is commuting for the opportunity to be in this production and work with Green and the “Dreamgirls” cast. “The cast is so talented,” she said. “They all have chops: acting chops, singing chops.” The girls’ enthusiasm reflected the energy of youth and something else. “You should see these girls in rehearsal,” Donna Green, producer of Techmoja, said. “They are so proud to be African-American.”

Chiaki Ito, who is concurrently working on the City Stage production of “Tick, Tick . . . Boom!” is the music director, and local jazz saxophonist Benny Hill is a member of the nine-piece orchestra. He also has a cameo appearance in the production. Costume designer Jonathan Cope and his assistant, Mary Smith, have created amazing costumes.

Director Green is dedicating Techmoja’s “inaugural” production to his father who passed away last year. His father created the name of the company to reflect different styles of dance—technique, modern and jazz. Green sees “Dreamgirls” as “a celebration of Black History Month, as well as a tribute to the young generation of Americans achieving their dreams. This dream is for all of us.”

Pay it Forward
The African-American Heritage Foundation of Wilmington, Inc. is sponsoring the production of “Dreamgirls.” In tough economic times, charitable organizations and the arts suffer. Donna Green’s solution is the barter system. For example, Ty Parker of Vibe Photography created the beautiful “Dreamgirls” poster in exchange for an ad in the program. Techmoja and The African-American Heritage Foundation seemed to be ideologically compatible and mutually beneficial. In return for the A.A.H.F. sponsorship, there will be a benefit following the performance Friday night. Hors d’oeuvre, beer and wine will be served in the reception hall of the Hannah Block Historic Community Arts Center. The El Jaye Johnson jazz band will perform, and there will be a silent auction. A.A.H.F. is still accepting donations for the auction. Rhonda Bellamy, author of Moving Forward Together, a history of the 1898 riots, will be signing copies of her book.

The performance on February 6th will benefit the African-American Heritage Museum. The building, located at North 4th and Harnett, is the site of the first bloodshed during the 1898 race riots and is one block from the 1898 Memorial. The Foundation hopes that the museum will be “a living legacy of the African-American community’s sacrifice for economic and social justice. It will not only be a repository for artifacts and memorabilia, and space for traveling exhibitions, but also a center for education and entertainment for every age, retelling the stories that shaped our community’s rich heritage.”

According to Foundation President John Battle, “The major goals (of the organization) are to enhance public awareness of the lives and contributions of African-Americans across the disciplines, to develop and present educational programs, and to create a living and permanent museum in Wilmington to both honor and celebrate the cultural impact African-Americans have had in American society. We will continue to initiate programs to facilitate cooperation and collaboration among institutions and community organizations.”

He explained their plans for an outreach program for mentoring at-risk children to encourage and help them stay in school. They are also hoping for funds to specifically acquire resources that would help high-school students create successful senior projects. “Not everyone has a computer at home,” he said.

The Foundation logo design is a quilt symbol meaning “follow the track of the bear.” Escaped slaves and members of the Underground Railroad used quilts with different designs to identify directions, locations and sympathetic supporters. Quilts that appeared to be innocently drying in the breeze were actually a means of communication for those seeking freedom. The logo is also appropriate because the quilt is often used as a metaphor for America. We are a patchwork of diversity—religious, ethnic, cultural, ideological differences that together create our American identity.

President Barack Obama referred to the metaphor in his inaugural speech: “For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus—and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace … The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”

February is Black History Month in a year when America inaugurated the first African-American President. President Obama has the highest approval rating of any president since those statistics have been recorded. Almost 2 million people braved the freezing temperatures on the Mall to witness the inauguration and pledge their support and faith. Many wished parents and grandparents could have witnessed this historic occasion. In 1963 Martin Luther King stood on that same Mall during the Civil Rights March and said, “When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’” Today we celebrate our pride in what America can be. There is unity in hope and joy in affinity. We have finally joined hands.

by: Emily Rea

Adopt-An-Angel Animal
Rescue Fashion Show and Silent Auction
February 8th, 2pm
Blockade-Runner Beach Resort at
Wrightsville Beach
$25; www.adoptanangelrescue.com

To most people, the term “animal rescue” might conjure images of large, sorrowful eyes behind wired cages, the sight of a snuggly, begging-to-be-loved puppy and perhaps even the soft, distant singing voice of Sarah McLachlan. Unfortunately, the compassion one feels is often deflected as quickly as it is absorbed, with attention turning over to answering e-mails or what’s for dinner.

For Trish Arnold, event director for the upcoming first annual Adopt-An-Angel Animal Rescue Fashion Show and Silent Auction Benefit, the unimaginable need for animal rescue will not be swept under the rug.

“Rather than turning away [every] time I see an ad with homeless and abused dogs and cats, I decided that I want to create a way to help as many as I can,” she says. “I decided that it’s time [I become] a champion of change for the animals because, after all, we are their voice.”

After committing to making monthly donations to several different animal groups, and having supported fund-raising events for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in the past, Arnold changed her direction after a local incident became the last straw.

“When I first learned from WECT-TV that Adopt-An-Angel Rescue’s van was stolen—with all of their supplies in it—I knew it was time for me to do something to raise money and awareness for this group of compassionate volunteers who work selflessly to make sure that each and every animal in our community has a loving home,” Arnold shares.

Adopt-An-Angel is a nonprofit adoption outreach program that works to assist the animal controls of Brunswick and New Hanover counties. Staffers visit these two shelters on a weekly basis, watching to see which animals are running out of time or have special needs beyond what the shelter can provide and then collecting them to find them loving homes. Each time an animal gets adopted, a space opens up to pull another animal into the program. Adopt-An-Angel (AAA) was able to adopt out over 800 animals last year; however, area animal controls in Pender, New Hanover and Brunswick counties collectively house close to 10,000 homeless animals every year.

“As you can see, AAA doesn’t even make a dent in the homeless animal population out there,” Arnold informs. “With so many homeless animals, [and] all the horrors of puppy mills and the animal cruelty by the Michael Vicks of the world, the need to help animals is tremendous. . . . I read a chilling statistic that 5 million animals are put to death every year in animal shelters across the country. [That’s why] it is so important to make pet adoption your first option!”

AAA also runs the Spay-a-Stray Program in which they give away $6,000 per year in vouchers in the form of free cat spays and rabies shots—all of which reduces the amount of unwanted cats and kittens ending up at animal control. The cost of the vouchers plus the adoption fees required to take animals out of shelters—not to mention the cost of vaccinations, and getting the animals fixed and tested for heartworms—makes fund-raising extremely necessary for AAA to stay afloat.

“I decided that I would put together a special fund-raising event to raise money to help protect homeless pets from hunger and suffering—and euthansia,” Arnold explains. “The idea of a fashion show came up when I was modeling for Delia’s Modeling Agency in a fund-raiser, and I mentioned that I was going to put together a fund-raiser for Adopt-An-Angel Animal Rescue. Ally, Delia’s daughter, had recently lost her dog and had just adopted a rescue dog. I told her that I was going to put together a fund-raiser, and she immediately said they would donate the models for a fashion show.”

The wheels began turning, the concept for a show was formulated, and people about town were eager to help.“Wilmington is filled with so many compassionate animal-lovers!” Arnold observes. Among them are the event sponsors as well as those providing the models’ clothing: Edge of Urge, Elizabeth’s Tres Chic, Artichoke and Poodles Island Wear, with hair styled by Joseph Zell and Company, and make-up by MAC cosmetics. Musical entertainment will be provided by Sea Pans Steel Drum Ensemble, and Jon Evans from WECT-TV will be the event emcee.

However, the true heroes are those who strive every day to advocate the homeless animals in our area. “I have the highest admiration for all of the dedicated, compassionate volunteers of Adopt-An-Angel,” Arnold says. “They selfishlessly give their time, talent and loving compassion for the animals. Thank God they do what they do.”

To assist in the honorbale efforts of AAA, their first annual fashion show and silent auction takes place on Sunday, Feburary 8th. Auction items include a day of beauty at Joseph Zell and Company (a $400 value), a round of golf for four at St. James Plantation, Basic Ballroom Dance for Two at Bab’s McDance Studios, a cruise for six with John Lester Charters, three autographed books by Celia Rivenbark, a half-day spa service at Head-to-Toe Day Spa and Salon, a three-month membership to O2 Fitness, a weekend stay at the Harbor Inn, four rounds of golf at Echo Farms, a $50 gift certificate to The Bridge Tender Resturant, clothing store gift certificates, doggy gifts and more!

Tickets are $25 per person and available by cash or check only at Delia Model and Talent Management (4918 Wrightsville Avenue; 794-2215); Joseph Zell and Company (5917 Oleander Drive, Arboretum Center; 791-3800); and Poodle’s Island Wear (South Water Street #3; 763-4523). For credit-card purchases or other ticket questions, call 256-2780. All proceeds benefit Adopt-An-Angel Animal Rescue.

by: Howie Rich,
Chairman of Americans for Limited Government

“Obamaphilia.” That’s the word one New Jersey political observer used earlier this week in describing the mainstream media’s obsession with Barack Obama [www.politickernj.com/mcarroll/26869/not-one-republican-vote]. And while the right to a free press obviously does not protect us from the irresponsibility of a fawning press, we must take the good with the bad when it comes to our First-Amendment freedoms.

After all, a fourth estate hopelessly star-struck by a master motivational speaker may be derelict in performing its public duties, but such an arrangement is infinitely preferable to a government-run (and thus government-censored) media apparatus. Now that Obama has been successfully installed in the White House, however, whispers are circulating throughout Washington that he may be inclined to approve a massive media bailout as part of the nation’s economic “rescue” program.

What better quid pro-quo, right?

No formal request has been made, but a quick look at the rash of layoffs, bankruptcy filings and deteriorating market conditions faced by the traditional media behemoths paints a grim picture indeed. Already shedding jobs at a record clipdue to a fundamental reshaping of American information-gathering preferences, the global financial crisis has only accelerated this decline.

Without putting too fine a point on it, a lot of the outlets that helped deliver public opinion for President Obama are now in danger of going under.

Not surprisingly, we are already seeing the beginning of the “media bailout push,” which is coming in the form of requests for federal newspaper subsidies (ostensibly for educational purposes) and expanded government advertising. This is precisely the approach currently being pursued by the French government, which is dramatically expanding its state advertising contracts and implementing a nearly tenfold increase in government-purchased subscriptions.

Could America be the next nation to adopt such a thinly-veiled media bailout? And worse, still, what other measures will be added on to these outrageous lump sums?

One of the more frightening theories currently circulating is that Congress will use a massive media bailout as an excuse to reinstitute the “Fairness Doctrine,” an oxymoronic government regulation of free speech that was eliminated two decades ago during the Reagan administration. The fear is that Congress will revive the notion of government-mandated “equal time” in news coverage and attach it onto a multi-billion-dollar media bailout plan. This, of course, would be part of an effort to fool the public into thinking that their tax dollars aren’t being used to promote one political agenda over the other.

Nothing could be further from the truth—and nothing could be more dangerous to the future of our democracy. One of the most Orwellian concepts ever imposed upon the Fourth Estate, the “Fairness Doctrine,” mandated that media outlets provide equal representation to different political views. Outlets that didn’t meet their “quotas” were subjected to fines from the Federal Communications Commission. In essence, the federal government tried to assume responsibility for determining what constituted “fair coverage” as opposed to our time-honored tradition of a “marketplace of ideas.”

This notion of the state regulating news content is every bit as anathema to our nation’s founding wisdom as government picking winners and losers in the marketplace. Frankly, nothing other than an individual American and their TV remote control, radio dial or computer mouse should ever determine the “fairness” of the Fourth Estate’s reporting. Government attempting to impose its will in that process is every bit as wrong as bailing out watchdogs that have fundamentally failed in his or her responsibilities to the public.

America’s slippery slope toward a pseudo-socialist state has already been sufficiently greased by trillions of bailout dollars. Extending this flawed philosophy to our media outlets—particularly under an arbitrary, government-imposed definition of “fairness”—would simply push us over the edge.