CityView December 2024

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TA B L E OF CO N T E N T S

COVER PHOTO BY TONY WOOTEN Ornaments in downtown Fayetteville on Nov. 14 signify the beginning of the holidays for the community.

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A Yuletide Feaste for the ages

A beloved Renaissance-themed dinner theater experience returns, featuring Cumberland Choral Arts.

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‘Peace, love, and celebration’ on Hay Street The Rotary Christmas Parade, a Fayetteville tradition that delights children and adults alike, is celebrating 25 years this December.

COLUMNS Editor‘s Take: Valeria Cloës . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Someday You’ll Thank Me: Mary Zahran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Family Matters: Claire Mullen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 HomeFront: Jaylin Kremer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Good Reads: Diane Parfitt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 The To-Do List: Your go-to spot for local events . . . . . . . 42 Seen @ the Scene: A look at who was out and about . . . 44 2 | DECEMBER 2024

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Bringing comfort and peace

28

Finding ‘sweet spot’ in new job

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‘Get in and get involved’

FTCC’s Funeral Service Education program paves the way for people to fulfill their calling to serve others in times of grief.

Fayetteville native Shannon Bell returns and will leverage UNC-Chapel Hill experience to help build and grow Cape Fear Botanical Garden.

The new head of the United Way of Cumberland County Scott Embry comes back to Fayetteville.

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EDITOR'S TAKE

Finding warmth in the holiday season through restoration, tradition, and care

BY VALERIA CLOËS

With this December CityView magazine, the year is almost to a close. I can’t help but pause and think, “Where has the time gone?” But before I start nostalgically reminiscing on the past year any further, the winter season’s holiday cheer has come knocking on our door.

Our “Home for the Holidays” issue is here! And so are many holiday celebrations observed in different ways in our community.

Bodhi Day, a Buddhist holiday that celebrates the enlightenment of Siddhartha Gautama and his becoming of the Buddha, kicks the month off on Dec. 8. Nearing the end of December, Yule, the Wiccan and Pagan celebration of the winter solstice, takes place Dec. 21, followed by Hanukkah, which begins Dec. 25 — the same day as Christmas — and then Kwanzaa, which starts the following day on Dec. 26.

Here in Fayetteville and Cumberland County, we have events and parades that mark the time to come together at home, however that may look like for you, for the holidays.

The beloved Fayetteville tradition of the Yuletide Feaste is back! Huzzah! The Renaissance-style theater performance enjoyed over a delicious dinner makes its return on Dec. 14 at Haymount United Methodist Church presented for the first time by the Cumberland Choral Arts.

Dec. 14 is a big day for our lovely city — that morning, downtown Fayetteville will also be celebrating the silver jubilee of the annual Rotary Christmas Parade. A key celebration in our community for 25 years, this year will bring new floats as well as beloved staples to the procession.

The holidays may bring comfort and peace for some, but for others they can spark longing. People also may be grieving loved ones lost during holidays past, as the winter holidays, according to the American Heart Association, is a time of increased heart attack deaths. During these emotionally activating times, Fayetteville Technical Community College’s Funeral Service Education program trains individuals to help bring comfort and peace during some of the most challenging moments in life, no matter the time of year.

Two individuals with deep ties to the area have come home this past year. Shannon Bell became the new director of philanthropy at Cape Fear Botanical Garden in August. And Scott Embry is United Way of Cumberland County’s new executive director, kicking off his position earlier this year in April. Meet the directors on pages 28 and 32, respectively.

Our columnists this month bring you into their homes during the holidays: one shares how the best gifts she’s received aren’t always wrapped; another thinks through whether DIY or outsourcing help for holiday decoration is best; the next shares how military families don’t always get to come home for the season and learns about Hanukkah; and the last offers her choice of the top six books to give as gifts.

In addition to the Yuletide Feaste and the Rotary Christmas Parade, December is full of other events, holidaythemed and not. Find our monthly To-Do List on page 42.

Finally, were you at Cumberland County Schools’ Exhibition Powwow at the Crown Complex or the 28th Annual Veterans Day Parade in downtown Fayetteville?

Skip to page 44 and 46 to see if we spotted you.

As 2024’s final magazine shows you, the holiday season and being home for the holidays looks and feels different for everyone.

We hope this issue can help spark some holiday warmth amid the cold of December.

Thank you for reading!

Editor’s note: The CityView November "Giving Issue" magazine incorrectly stated Jeremy Fiebig’s title as Associate Professor of Performing and Fine Arts at Fayetteville State University.

Jeremy’s official title is Professor of Theatre. The digital version of the article and magazine issue have been updated with the correct information. CityView apologizes for this error.

Valeria Cloës Magazine Editor For comments, questions, feedback, or to submit story ideas, email vcloes@cityviewnc.com.

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CITYVIEWNC.COM | 5

SOMEDAY YOU’LL THANK ME

The best Christmas gifts are not always wrapped

BY MARY ZAHRAN

PHOTO BY BELINDA FEWINGS ON UNSPL ASH

When you think about all the Christmas gifts you have received in your lifetime, which ones mean the most to you? Do you have a piece of jewelry, a set of golf clubs, a family portrait, or a book that you cherish? Or do you cherish a different kind of gift?

I was 6 years old when I received my first unwrapped Christmas gift. I woke up early that Christmas morning and went into the living room, expecting to catch Santa placing gifts under the tree. Instead, I saw my father putting together the toy kitchen I had put on my wish list.

Fearing that I would be in trouble for getting up so early, I went back to bed and woke up a few hours later to see my toy kitchen perfectly assembled and waiting for me.

I didn’t know it at the time, but my father’s decision to stay up late, possibly losing a night of sleep so that his children would awaken to fully assembled toys, was a precious gift to us. My father worked long and exhausting hours six days a week at his dry cleaning plant, so for him to forgo much-needed sleep was quite a sacrifice. More than 60 years have passed since that Christmas morning, and I can still see my dad on the floor with a screwdriver in his hand.

My mother gave me two unwrapped gifts on my first Christmas as a married woman. The first was a pair of porcelain bells she had been putting on our tree for as long as I could remember. When I was little, I would gently shake the tree’s branches so I could listen to the bells jingle as they rocked slowly back and forth. Even now, I shake my tree to listen to them. These bells may look fragile, but they have survived decades of ornament abuse.

The second gift was a recipe for date nut cake, something my mother made only at Christmas. She got this recipe from neighbors who enjoyed sharing their own recipes. I fell in love with this delicious cake, and it has become a holiday treat I look forward to each December.

My mother-in-law Lucy also gave me two priceless gifts.

The first was a fudge recipe from an old issue of Good Housekeeping. It took me a while to learn how to mix all 6 | DECEMBER 2024

the ingredients and quickly pour them into a buttered pan, but I finally did. From that day on, this fudge became a holiday staple.

Lucy also gave me an appreciation for Frank Sinatra’s music, particularly his Christmas music. One December, not long after Lucy died, I was making fudge and was in the crucial stirring and pouring stage when a Sinatra carol came on the radio. I will never know how I managed to finish making the fudge while wiping away tears, but I did. Perhaps it was a Christmas miracle.

The two greatest gifts I ever received are memories of my children at Christmas. I will never forget my older daughter Anne’s first Christmas when she spent the entire day ignoring her new presents and playing with the boxes they came in instead. I kept trying to hand her a toy to distract her, but she would put it down and pick up another box. I vowed that the next Christmas I would find a store that sold only empty boxes and do my shopping there.

I will also never forget the look on my younger daughter Kathleen’s face as she played with her new dollhouse one Christmas morning. As Kathleen gently put the dolls and the furniture in place, she sang “Up on the Housetop,” her favorite carol. Despite having a raspy voice because of a mild cold, she managed to summon her usual enthusiasm and belt out the song. Fortunately, we had the foresight to record our daughter on her fourth Christmas so we could revisit her performance not only in our memories but also on video.

I have yet to unwrap a gift that has given me better memories or greater pleasure than gifts that had no wrapping. I can carry these unwrapped treasures with me wherever I go, and I am certain they will only get better with age.

Mary Zahran, who can still whip up a batch of fudge, can be reached at maryzahran@gmail.com.

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CITYVIEWNC.COM | 7

FAMILY MATTERS

DIY or outsourced: What’s your holiday prep approach?

BY CLAIRE MULLEN

8 | DECEMBER 2024

PHOTO BY JULIANA MALTA ON UNSPLASH

For the past few holiday seasons as I’ve driven all over town from here to there, I’ve noticed more and more immaculately illuminated houses that stand out from the rest. These homes are adorned with tasteful Christmas lights, hung perfectly along the entire perimeter of rooftops and even on the steepest of ridges. Strings of lights that do not sag, with bulbs that are spaced with exact symmetry.

I can pick these professionally lit homes out from a block away. Sure enough, as I slow down to admire the next-level precision, I’ll spot a sign in the front yard tactfully left behind by the company that says something like, “Santa’s Elves Professional Holiday Light Installation: 1-800-GIVE-US-ALL-YOUR-MONEY.” All joking aside, I do recognize the benefits of outsourcing the annual hanging of the outdoor holiday lights. Although my husband does take great pride in flipping the switch and seeing the result of an afternoon’s worth of work, risking life and limb while teetering on our tallest ladder in frigid weather to hang our decade-old, buy-one-get-one-free icicle lights that adorn the facade of our home may not be worth it.

I imagine that if their services came cheap, he certainly wouldn’t mind a few professionals doing the work while he watches through the window from the comfort of our warm couch. He definitely wouldn’t miss the annual weekendafter-Thanksgiving trudge to our dusty attic to pull the plastic tub full of hopelessly tangled strands of lights from the top shelf, the ensuing hour-long untangling session, or the inevitable unplanned trip to Lowe’s when he finds that, at some point in the last 365 days since he last endured this ordeal, the final strand became an electrical dud. This is why, for my non-electrical engineer husband, every lighthanging session usually includes a stiff Yuletide cocktail.

Our marriage would benefit from being spared another yearly session of me shouting rapid-fire commands to “BE CAREFUL” from my front-porch rocking chair to my top-rung-of-the-ladder balancing husband. Followed by, “You’re going to fall and break your neck and never work another day in your life! But could you actually move that one icicle two centimeters to the left?”

Yes, the idea of sacrificing a large chunk of the holiday budget to set into motion a couple of young bucks pulling up in a box truck, unpacking a load of brand spanking new, on-trend lights, effortlessly distributing them across our rooftop and around our dormers, and hauling them all away on Dec. 26 is rather tempting. For the right price, our house could legitimately be transformed into a lit-up winter wonderland.

And we wouldn’t have to stop there. It’s become pretty easy to outsource most of the preparations that come with the holiday season. If you have the right contacts and the extra funds, everything from holiday grocery shopping, meal prep, gift buying and wrapping, interior decorating, and more can now be done by way of online shopping carts and hired professionals. As long as you provide your photo, online holiday card design companies can handle stuffing,

labeling, stamping, and mailing off your family’s holiday greeting.

If you have $89.95 plus shipping and handling to spare, you can have a fully cooked, ready-to-eat five-pound gourmet baked half-ham delivered to your doorstep all the way from Mukwonago, Wisconsin. With a plethora of options for store-bought cookie kits, prefabricated gingerbread houses, and dangerously convenient delivery services like DoorDash and Uber Eats, you can spend as little time in the kitchen as you’d like during the holiday season. It can be a complete Christmas of convenience, if you will.

Maybe it’s because of the social media era that so many of us feel pressure to pull off over-thetop, professional-grade holiday preparations when it comes to our home decorations, meals, gifts, and everything else that comes with this time of year. Outsourcing can be a great thing if it allows for more quality time with our families and less seasonal stress.

But a lot can also be said for simplifying your holiday preparations enough that they remain manageable and joyful — baking an easy recipe for sugar cookies as a family on a cozy Sunday afternoon, decorating the single tree in your home yourselves with a hodgepodge of ornaments passed down through generations or made out of dried macaroni by preschoolers, gathering in the kitchen with your adult siblings on Christmas Eve to put the finishing touches on traditional homemade family recipes, and yes, even working as a husbandand-wife team to hang old icicle lights across the front porch.

We still haven’t quite found the sheer joyfulness in that last one yet, but we intend to try again next year.

A Christmas Tour of Homes Presented by Heritage Square Historical Society of Fayetteville, NC

Sunday, December 8, 2024 ~ 1:00 - 5:00 pm $25 Donation — For more information, call 910-818-3723 All proceeds go to the preservation of Heritage Square Historical Society

Holiday Vibes Light up Downtown Fayetteville

Claire Mullen can be reached at clairejlmullen@gmail.com.

CITYVIEWNC.COM | 9

ARTS

a Yuletide Feaste for the ages A beloved Renaissance-themed dinner theater experience returns for the first time since 2022 in celebration of the holiday season, featuring Cumberland Choral Arts

A

BY ALLISON UNDERWOOD | PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY WOOTEN

As the holiday season nears in our community, downtown springs to life with festive wreaths and twinkly lights lining the streets. People begin their gift shopping, and the holiday spirit sparks in us all. Old traditions join with new ones, and some traditions rise from the ashes to start again.

One of those traditions is the beloved Yuletide Feaste.

This year, a new group of performers and singers will present the long-awaited fundraising event with a fresh perspective. Once an inevitable celebration presented by the Methodist University Chorale, the participants of Yuletide Feaste, some old and new, find themselves once again dusting off their period costumes, rehearsing their lines, and preparing for one of the most anticipated nights of the season.

Old traditions become anew Cumberland Choral Arts is gearing up for its first year presenting the Yuletide Feaste, a Renaissance-style banquet, where they’ll perform Christmas carols while the Cross Creek Chorale plays the royal court of Queen Elizabeth in a theater-style dinner.

The event involves a lavishly catered meal, fanciful attire, and an extravagant theatrical experience to entertain guests as they dine. Attendees will witness the court of Queen Elizabeth as special guests to her holiday feast through entertaining dialogue, quips, and caroling.

In the hands of the CCA and CCC, Yuletide Feaste returns as it was originally presented for over 10 years by the Methodist University Chorale.

After Michael Martin, artistic director of Cumberland Choral Arts, spent his first four years as the director of choral activities at Methodist University assisting in the growth of the music department, he decided that he wanted to do something special for the students of the

10 | DECEMBER 2024

Methodist University Chorale as the 2011 holiday season approached.

“I floated the idea by the students, ‘How would you guys like to do a madrigal feast?’” Michael explained.

A madrigal feast, seen often in high school and college settings, according to Michael, is a Renaissance-themed dinner theater event. The event often occurs around the Christmas season and involves a multi-course meal, singing, and entertainment.

Michael said the students were thrilled with the idea, hitting the ground running with plans for the event. It helped that Michael was no stranger to the planning of collegiate madrigal feasts.

While a graduate student at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, in 2004, Michael participated in Yuletide Feaste when C.M. Shearer, director of choral activities, brought the tradition to the university. Michael said C.M. was very supportive of the idea when Michael asked his permission to use his original script.

“Oh, he was thrilled,” Michael expressed with pride.

Pulling inspiration from C.M.’s original script with the help of the Cumberland Oratorio Singers, now the Cumberland Choral Arts, with costume and prop design, the Methodist University Chorale brought the tradition of Yuletide Feaste to Cumberland County in 2011.

Longtime Feaste participant, Elizabeth Wise, a graduate of Methodist University and former member of Methodist University Chorale, said Yuletide Feaste was what marked the beginning of her Christmas season each year. And she was more than just involved — she was the queen herself.

“It is different for each person who decides to be Queen Elizabeth. I think we all pretty much always decide we’re going to do a fake British accent,” Elizabeth said, laughing at the memory.

Maj. Curtis Kinzey, Cross Creek Chorale's director, conducts the combined Cumberland Choral Arts and Cross Creek Chorale as they rehearse for the upcoming Yuletide Feaste at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.

CITYVIEWNC.COM | 11

Elizabeth Wise, longtime Yuletide Feaste participant, shows various props to Maj. Kinzey.

Michael Martin, artistic director of Cumberland Choral Arts, conducts the choir in a Yuletide Feaste rehearsal Nov. 18.

Elizabeth, now a member of CCA since graduating from Methodist University in 2017, said being involved with Yuletide Feaste again is a joy.

“It’s really a beautiful thing that we’re going to be able to bring this back to the community for Christmas,” Elizabeth said.

Arts from the ashes Yuletide Feaste returns this year for the first time since 2022, after a period of uncertainty surrounding the beloved event.

In December 2023, students and faculty at Methodist University were at a loss for words when the school cut its fine arts and music programs, ending not only the traditional Yuletide Feaste but the Methodist University Chorale — replaced by the CCA and CCC in this year’s Feaste — itself. This came as a shock for Michael, as the music department and the 12-year-long tradition of Yuletide Feaste were everything he knew and loved.

The challenge of sustaining the arts in schools is not a new concept for many educational institutions across the country. In 2021, in the wake of Covid-19, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences developed a report titled “Art for Life’s Sake: The Case for Arts Education,” as a “call to action” for support of the arts in schools.

12 | DECEMBER 2024

The report explains that, while 83% of Americans favor funding for arts education, there has been a significant decrease in bachelor’s degrees earned in art education from 1,800 in 2000 to just over 800 in 2019.

Michael expressed that as a casualty of the under-appreciation of arts in society, he finds the support of events like Yuletide Feaste even more vital at this time.

“The truth of the matter is that it’s the arts that make us human,” Michael expressed. “They help us understand beauty. They help us understand ourselves.”

Michael said his hope is that by bringing more arts into the community through events like Yuletide Feaste, the interest will trickle down to schools and universities, emphasizing the importance of the arts for generations to come.

Bringing Christmas cheer to the community Despite the adversity it has faced, Yuletide Feaste has been a tradition that has brought Christmas cheer to the community for many years.

Michael said one of his favorite traditions of Yuletide Feastes past was rounding out dress rehearsals by performing for local assisted living facilities. One such facility once housed the former Methodist University president, Elton Hendricks.

“I was so thrilled that he was there to see the piece because he was no longer the president when we started doing Feaste,” Michael explained.

He said performing for the residents was always an emotional and eyeopening experience for his students as many of the residents missed out on Christmas traditions while living in the facility.

Michael said this has always been the goal of Yuletide Feaste for him and his fellow participants: to bring joy and Christmas cheer to all who yearn for it.

“It’s really one of the joys that I have to present something that makes people laugh and smile,” Michael said.

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Elizabeth presents a costume to Seth Elijah Pennix.

Elizabeth inspects tapestries.

Jae Won Kim, concert pianist, accompanies the combined chorale during rehearsal.

Members of the combined Cumberland Choral Arts and Cross Creek Chorale rehearse for the upcoming Yuletide Feaste.

14 | DECEMBER 2024

Yuletide Feaste is open to any and all, and Michael said attendees can expect humorous jokes, delicious food, and wonderful holiday moments. Carols will be sung by the queen’s court as food is served, the queen will arrive in style surrounded by celebratory horns, and guests will be able to observe the introduction of lords and ladies as they dine.

Michael said the carols sung are a great array of songs from the Renaissance era as well as some more modern titles. Before the court bids their guests adieu, Silent Night will round out the evening with the lights turned down low and both guests and performers caroling together.

Michael said it’s this moment that means the most to him.

“The arrangement for Silent Night is from my mother’s old carol book from when I was growing up,” Michael explained, “and it always makes me think of her.”

From a tradition made anew by a hopeful choral activities director in 2011 to meaningful moments of beloved carols sung from a cherished book, traditions remain the foundation of the Yuletide Feaste. And when a tradition dating back as far as the 1400s still grasps the wonder and curiosity of those today, that’s when you know its magic can never be contained.

The details Cumberland Choral Arts’ Yuletide Feaste will be held at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 14 at Haymount United Methodist Church with doors opening at 7 p.m. Meal options will include a chicken and vegetarian option plated individually for each guest and served in coordination with the script of the Yuletide Feaste performance.

Ticket sales information yet to be announced. Tickets will be $50 until Dec. 2. Proceeds from the event will support Cumberland Choral Arts, Cross Creek Chorale, and the Campbellton Youth Chorus.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Allison Underwood is a Fayetteville native who graduated from East Carolina University in 2022 with a degree in journalism. During her time at ECU, Allison was a writer and an editor for two university magazines and was featured in Countenance magazine.

CITYVIEWNC.COM | 15

‘Peace, love, and celebration’ on Hay Street COMMUNITY

The Rotary Christmas Parade, a Fayetteville tradition that delights children and adults alike, is celebrating 25 years this December.

F

BY JAMI MCLAUGHLIN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHARILYN WELLS

For 25 years, the Rotary Christmas Parade has dazzled thousands of residents and visitors downtown with Christmas-themed floats, decorated cars, dance troops, scouts, bands, and even the big man himself — Santa!

The Rotary Christmas Parade will take place at 10 a.m. on Dec. 14, hosted by the Rotary Club of Fayetteville.

The Rotary Club of Fayetteville is a part of Rotary International, a global network of people who work together to improve their communities and the world with a mission to provide service to others, according to the Rotary Club website. The Rotary Club serves the community through the annual coordination of the Fayetteville Christmas Parade and helps fund local projects and programs that improve the quality of life in our community.

Rotarian Brandon Price, who also serves as the CEO of the Fayetteville Area Habitat for Humanity, has organized the parade for four years.

“When the City of Fayetteville stopped organizing it in 1999, the Rotary Club decided to take it on, and this will be our 25th year of the Rotary Christmas Parade,” Brandon said.

With a history of large red and green commercial floats, classic cars, and homemade floats with gingerbread houses complete with smoking chimneys and rotating, lit Christmas trees, the Rotary Christmas Parade is going to add several new floats this year, according to Brandon.

16 | DECEMBER 2024

“I’ll let them be a surprise,” Brandon said.

The Fayetteville Rotary Club was formed in Fayetteville in 1920 and has weekly meetings to discuss serving the community and determine projects at Highland Country Club.

According to current Rotary Club President and Public Works Commission Chief Customer Officer Carolyn JusticeHinson, three area clubs, including Fayetteville Rotary, West Fayetteville Rotary, and LaFayette Rotary, all merged in 2019 to form one club.

“The parade is our club’s annual gift to our community,” Carolyn said. “The mission of Rotary is to promote peace, goodwill, and understanding through service to others.

Each year, we are so proud and excited to put on the parade.

I can’t think of a better way to fulfill our mission than continuing this beloved Fayetteville tradition that brings our community together to celebrate Christmas.”

With the joy of the season, Brandon said that organizing the parade is one of the club’s services to the community each year.

“We do all of this for free as our service to the community,” Brandon said. “Participants have to pay to be in the parade but the crowd gets to come and simply enjoy the show. This is one of the ways we serve. Leaders in the community coming together for a greater purpose — to serve.”

It is our goal to put on a parade that people, and especially children, will enjoy and bring people into the downtown area.

Cape Fear High School's Colorguard marched through the 2022 Rotary Christmas Parade.

— Matthew Smith CITYVIEWNC.COM | 17

Founding organizer Matthew M. Smith Jr. at the 2009 parade.

Brandon Price of the Rotary Club of Fayetteville

He said the parade is the one time where “the entire city, all demographics, come together to celebrate the holidays with peace, love, and celebration,” experiencing growth from 50 floats in the first parade they put together in 1999 to over 120 entries in the last several years.

“People from all walks of life — the haves, the havenots, blue collar, white collar, no collar,” Brandon said.

“Everyone just comes together singing and dancing and enjoying the true spirit of Christmas.”

One of his favorite memories included a heartwarming moment captured in a photo where a little boy received a fist bump from one of the Jeep drivers driving the parade route.

“That photo by photographer Kres Thomas is up in my office as a reminder of the beautiful world we live in,” Brandon said. “It was just pure joy and love between two people.”

Founding organizer Matthew M. Smith Jr. said he was listening to the radio 25 years ago when the DJ was talking about the City of Fayetteville giving up the Christmas parade and they were looking for someone to take over the responsibility.

18 | DECEMBER 2024

“After hearing on the radio that the city would no longer sponsor the parade I went and talked to the city to find out more about what was involved and/or needed,” Matthew said.

He had a meeting with the city and prayed about it before asking the Fayetteville Rotary Club if they would be willing to take on the parade as a civic project.

“The Rotary Club agreed and the wheels began to turn,” Matthew said.

He had fond memories of the Christmas parade growing up, Matthew said, and wanted to keep the tradition alive for the community.

“When I was a child, my dad had a furniture store at 325 Hay St. that had large windows on the front of the building,” Matthew said. “Every year at Christmas time, my family would go up to the second floor, raise the windows, and watch and listen to the Christmas parade. At that time the parade was put on by local merchants/Chamber of Commerce and later the City [of Fayetteville]. It was a joyful time for all.”

He said as it moved forward, Johnson Chestnutt, a member of the West Fayetteville Rotary Club and a friend, asked if he could help. And the 25-year project began.

“In the second year of the project, Johnson’s daughter Pam joined us,” Matthew said.

Pamela Chan, or “Pam,” organized the parade for 13 years starting in 2005, following in her long-time Rotarian stepfather Johnson’s footsteps, along with Matthew.

“Since the beginning, it was always Matt Smith and my stepdad Johnson Chestnutt that organized it every year for the Rotary, and the Rotarians from the three clubs volunteered at different areas on the day of the parade,” Pamela said. “It was always the second Saturday after Thanksgiving.”

The date now fluctuates on Saturdays in December, but the premise remains the same: to provide joy to the community, especially for children.

“The Christmas Parade was founded with Fayetteville’s children in mind, whether there were 9 or 99,” Matthew said. “With all the talk about spaceships and trips to the moon, we were privileged to have a homegrown

astronaut, Curtis Brown, from Elizabethtown as our first Grand Marshal for the 2000 Parade. To stay in line for the younger children, in 2001, Mr. McFeely of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was Grand Marshal, followed by Astronaut Bill McArthur of Red Springs.”

He said in other years they had Bugs Bunny, Sylvester the Cat, Daffy Duck, SpongeBob SquarePants, the Rugrats, Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo, Fred Flintstone, and Yogi Bear.

“One of the most popular, which appeared in three Christmas parades over the years was the Carolina Garrison of the Fighting 501st Legion of Stormtroopers, a fan-based Star Wars costuming club,” Matthew said.

Pamela said that the parade had once been sponsored by a local television station and they would help pay for the person honored as grand marshal and leading off the parade. The grand marshal was typically a character who made appearances in television, movies, or other entertainment. The 2024 Grand Marshals are Stanley T. Wearden, MU's president, and CFVHS's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sam Fleishman, representing the Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine. But parade organizers decided to have Santa be the star at the end.

In 2022's Rotary Christmas Parade, the Cape Fear High School's Marching Colts were one of roughly 70 parade entries that included bands, dance groups, motorcycles, and horses.

“Every high school was required to be in the parade,” Pamela said. “We would always have a couple of Rotary groups that did their fundraising by performing in parades including a pirate group with a boat, hillbillies that rode in a Beverly Hillbillies truck, a group in a limo that would do skits, and a group in the little go-karts.”

Matthew said all of the high school bands are still invited to participate in the parade and they do so.

They have also had beauty pageant winners, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, dance troops, organizations such as the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, the City of Fayetteville police and fire departments, area radio stations, horses, homemade floats that competed for best float, and a lot of nonprofit participants, according to Pamela.

“We ordered the commercial floats for some of our sponsors, and the children selected from the Cumberland County Schools would ride on those,” Pamela said. “Matt organized that part every year.”

And, of course, Santa is the premier attraction at the end of the parade. Per parade rules, no other float or entry can have anyone dressed as Santa to help preserve Christmas

CITYVIEWNC.COM | 19

Miss North Carolina's 2022 Outstanding Teen Kerrigan Brown participated in the 2022 Rotary Christmas Parade procession.

In addition to adults and children watching the parade, many bring their pets, too.

Star Wars character Kit Fisto interacts with parade watchers in the 2022 parade.

20 | DECEMBER 2024

Santa and Mrs. Claus are the premier attraction at the end of the Rotary Christmas Parade.

magic for the end — although there are plenty of Frozen characters, elves, Grinches, reindeer, snowmen, and more along the way.

“We want to build up for the anticipation of seeing him and Mrs. Claus on the last float,” Brandon said. “We’ve also had amazing crowd favorites like the Shriners Go Karts, the E.E. Smith Band, Douglas Byrd Band, and several others that draw a big crowd reaction.”

Matthew said having Santa and Mrs. Claus at the end of the parade helps signal the parade is over and for children to know that Christmas is around the corner.

“It is our goal to put on a parade that people, and especially children, will enjoy and bring people into the downtown area,” Matthew said.

Brandon hopes the parade continues for years to come, bringing Christmas delight to Fayetteville.

“I have been honored to serve alongside Matthew Smith, as this parade has been coordinated and organized by him and his family throughout the 25 years,” Brandon said.

“The work he has done for our Rotary Club and this city should not be unsung. He looks forward to it every year and as long as he will allow me to, I’ll continue to pull on him for his wisdom and direction.”

He hopes that the Rotary Club will also continue to add to the parade and events downtown to help the city continue to be a place where people want to live and grow their families.

“Our Rotary Club is blessed to partner with the City of Fayetteville in getting this done,” Brandon said. “It’s fun to see everyone downtown for a few hours enjoying themselves.”

For those interested in attending, bring your lawn chairs and blankets and come early to grab some hot cocoa from one of the many coffee shops downtown.

The parade route goes from the Cumberland County Courthouse on Person Street to the Fayetteville Railroad Station on Hay Street. For more information, visit rotarychristmasparade.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jami McLaughlin writes features for CityView magazine. Jami can be contacted at jmclaughlin@ cityviewnc.com.

CITYVIEWNC.COM | 21

Student Alexis Bab, Instructor David Brooks, student Asya Ellis, Instructor Trey Herring, and FTCC's Funeral Service Education Department Chair James Bullard stand in the corridor of the department.

EDUCATION

BRINGING COMFORT AND PEACE

FTCC’s Funeral Service Education program paves the way for people to fulfill their calling to serve others in times of grief

BY TERI SAYLOR | PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY WOOTEN

22 | DECEMBER 2024

T

‘Tis the season for gathering with friends and family to share a meal and exchange gifts.

But the holiday season also brings bittersweet memories for those who are reflecting on loved ones no longer collected around the table or opening presents under the Christmas tree.

Everyone will be touched at one point by the death of parents, siblings, and friends, and often the pain and sorrow can be softened with a loving funeral service delivered by kind funeral directors who ease death’s burdens and foster warm memories.

Fayetteville Technical Community College is the gold standard for funeral service education in North Carolina, offering the only American Board of Funeral Service Education accredited program in the state. The program, launched in 1974, is celebrating its golden anniversary this year. Over the years, about 1,400 students have graduated through the program, according to department chair James Bullard.

Nicole Henderson, 37, of Hope Mills had always wanted to be a nurse, but life got in the way and she didn’t complete her education. When her mother developed cancer, she fell into the role of caregiver and realized nursing wasn’t the job for her after all. Instead, she pursued a different calling and set her sights on becoming a funeral director.

to gather their loved one, and I wanted to be the last interaction they have when the funeral is over.”

She enrolled in FTCC’s program and received both a diploma and an associate degree in applied science in funeral service. She was licensed on June 14, 2023, through the North Carolina Board of Funeral Service.

FTCC has partnered with other community colleges across the state to expand the opportunities for students pursuing a funeral service education degree. One of its most recent partnerships is with Brunswick Community College, having signed an agreement in September.

Students will begin taking classes in 2025.

Brunswick Community College is the sixth college to partner with FTCC’s Funeral Service Education program.

Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Vance-Granville, and Wayne community colleges also offer coursework through FTCC, according to Catherine Pritchard, executive director of marketing and communications.

Most coursework is offered online, and the three lab courses requiring in-person training provide students with the flexibility to meet those requirements without excessive travel.

“Students can do their work-based learning at local funeral homes in their community or travel to our campus to complete lab hours for those courses,” said Sharon Gallagher, the dean of FTCC’s Funeral Service Education program.

I’ve seen the emotional aspects of what the families go through at that time, and I like to work with them to make it as easy for them as possible, from the disposition of their loved one’s remains to the kind of funeral service they want.

— James Bullard, FTCC Funeral Service Education Department “I knew I wanted to be in a servant’s position in some form or fashion, and I was interested in the death industry,” she said. “The more I thought about it and prayed about it, the more it became clear to me that this is what I was meant to be doing.”

Nicole was living in Alabama at the time and took a job as a receptionist at White Chapel-Greenwood Funeral Home in Montgomery. It was rewarding but something was missing — she wanted to have contact with grieving families and participate in caring for the decedents and helping with their funerals.

Her family moved to Hope Mills in 2017, and she began working as a funeral attendant at Reeves Funeral Home. It was a step in the right direction.

“Working as an attendant meant I got to help with funerals and with visitations and facilitate the removal of bodies from hospitals or in families’ homes and have real interactions with the clients we serve,” Nicole said. “I wanted to be the first face the family sees when I arrive

James Bullard, 56, was an emergency medical technician for 36 years, but providing mortuary services had always been his long-term career goal. He completed FTCC’s funeral director program, became licensed in 2007, and has worked part time at Butler Funeral Home of Roseboro and Stedman for nearly 20 years. He views his work as a calling.

“I’ve seen people come into this world as babies, and I’ve seen them pass away in front of my eyes,” James said. “I’ve seen the emotional aspects of what the families go through at that time, and I like to work with them to make it as easy for them as possible, from the disposition of their loved one’s remains to the kind of funeral service they want.”

Teaching is his way of giving back.

The Funeral Service Education curriculum teaches students basic funeral service skills. In addition to general education courses, the program offers technical courses such as human anatomy, embalming theory and practice, embalming chemistry, restorative arts, funeral law, and funeral home operations.

CITYVIEWNC.COM | 23

A diagram of the venous system serves as a reference for students during class.

Trey discusses the embalming process.

24 | DECEMBER 2024

When James introduces visitors and students to the program, he ushers them into a simulated funeral home stocked with a variety of caskets and mannequins for practicing reconstructive modeling of decedents, necessary for staging viewings. A small lab filled with embalming equipment and chemicals is where students learn real-life embalming skills, with donated human remains as part of their clinical instruction.

Important to FTCC’s funeral service education curriculum is the Anatomical Gifts Program, which accepts whole-body donations from families or the deceased who wish to contribute to educating future funeral directors.

“When people call about the donation program, we explain the full purpose of the donation, we make certain they understand that once they come here, we will treat their loved ones just like the funeral home when we take them into our care,” James said.

According to the North Carolina Funeral Directors Association, funeral service providers make up a $20 billion industry across the United States. It’s also a growing profession. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 4% growth rate between now and 2033.

Asya listens as David, FTCC's Funeral Service Education Program Instructor, shares how restorative art training prepared him for the burial process of a former classmate.

The N.C. Board of Funeral Service, established in 1901, oversees 758 funeral establishments, 903 funeral directors, 1,819 funeral service licensees, and 136 crematoriums.

Amanda Fogle, 37, of Fayetteville is a former law enforcement officer who hails from the Chicago area. Her grandmother’s death from a brain tumor marked a career turning point.

“When grandma died in 1994, my family didn’t want me to see her in the hospital,” she said. “But when I attended her funeral service, I did see her, and she looked like grandma, and that’s when I decided I wanted to do what the funeral directors did to make her look like we remembered her.”

Amanda admits her family feels uncomfortable with her choice and would prefer her to continue her career as a first responder. She believes they will shift their perspective over time.

“I just tell them that I have been a first responder in the past, and now I am going to be a last responder,” she said.

The State Board of Funeral Service of North Carolina requires that an individual serve a 12-month apprenticeship or resident traineeship at a licensed North Carolina funeral establishment (funeral home) before being eligible for licensure.

CITYVIEWNC.COM | 25

26 | DECEMBER 2024

Students Asya and Alexis listen as James Bullard discusses casket material options.

Opposite, urns and vaults are on display in the FTCC Funeral Service Education classroom.

Ian Wall of Lexington is an embalming apprentice with Burroughs Chapel Funeral Home in Lexington, North Carolina, fulfilling a calling he felt at the age of 7 when his great-grandmother died.

“I remember being very curious about how the funeral home operated,” he said. “In 2016 I lost my sister, and that’s when my desire to get involved in funeral services took hold.”

In 2022, Ian enrolled in FTCC’s funeral service education diploma program and started working at Davidson Funeral Home as an apprentice. He began another apprenticeship at Burroughs in 2023. It holds special meaning for him because it is the same funeral home that handled his sister’s arrangements. He is also a certified crematory operator and is working toward getting his funeral service education associate degree.

Ian, 38, works part time at the funeral home, balancing his duties there with his family and his full-time job as an engineer at Collins Aerospace. He’d like to own a funeral home someday.

“I’m very busy as you can imagine,” he said. “But I love

knowing I made a tragic experience a little easier for a family if I was able to comfort them in a small way or remove some of their burdens.”

During the holidays, those burdens can seem a little heavier.

Nicole, who has lost both her parents and several friends, sees her role as a way of paying it forward and sharing her clients’ grief. She understands that planning a funeral during the holiday season can be especially poignant.

“They are experiencing a time when they think they are supposed to be joyful, but they are also dealing with loss and that makes it hard to be happy,” she said. “There have been times that I have sat at the table with those families and cried right along with them.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Teri Saylor is a freelance writer based in Raleigh.

CITYVIEWNC.COM | 27

MEET THE DIRECTORS

Finding ‘sweet spot’ in new job Fayetteville native Shannon Bell returns and will leverage UNC-Chapel Hill experience to help build and grow Cape Fear Botanical Garden

W

BY BILL HORNER III | PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHARILYN WELLS

When she steps outside her office and onto the grounds environs. Shannon’s role focuses on possibilities of of the Cape Fear Botanical Garden, Shannon Bell all kinds: initiatives related to transformational gifts, instinctively sees beyond the beauty surrounding her. naming opportunities at the CFBG, and other vehicles She sees possibility. philanthropists and large donors might use to support the Of course, she notices the garden’s abundant flora. She work there. revels when a school bus pulls up to deliver students for a “Our education and horticulture teams create field trip, or when first-time visitors marvel at the property meaningful connections between science, technology, when attending an event. But in her new role as CFBG’s engineering, art, math, and overall wellness,” she said. director of philanthropy, and as someone who’s spent the “We’re excited to share more of that so our donors last decade in development and understand how meaningful fundraising, Shannon can’t help their investment is to our but point out what may not be members and visitors and, ALL IN FOR FAYETTEVILLE: evident to the casual observer. ultimately, our community in “Only 27 of the 80 acres here Fayetteville.”

Both of Shannon Bell’s parents, are developed,” she said. “The When Shannon, 43, began along with a grandfather opportunities are truly endless.” her new position in August, she (Edward E. Hood) and a greatCFBG, founded in 1989, sits wasn’t a stranger to CFBG. She grandmother (Edna Parker), within a wooded, triangularwas born in Fayetteville and, have been business owners in shaped parcel of land two miles after a family move to Bladen Fayetteville. Among those were from downtown Fayetteville. It’s County during high school, the Parker’s Cleaners locations a breathtaking space, bordered came back to get a transfer in Hope Mills and Fayetteville. in part by the Cape Fear River degree at Fayetteville Technical Shannon’s father, Ed E. Hood and Cross Creek, and is a home Community College.

Jr., is retired, and her mother, for environmental education But her professional road Wendy Carroll, is a real estate opportunities, classroom mostly centered around Chapel agent for Coldwell Banker. programs, and field trips. The Hill and the campus of the garden also hosts special University of North Carolina, projects that include standalone where she’d graduated with a events, a variety of camps, and therapeutic horticulture bachelor’s degree in public policy. Before coming to CFBG, workshops. more than seven of Shannon’s 10 years in fundraising The nonprofit’s mission, according to its website, “is to work (she previously worked in the legal field) were with transform people’s relationship with plants” and nature UNC-Chapel Hill. She came, then left, the university’s — easy to envision, given the inspiring and peaceful development team three times altogether, taking

28 | DECEMBER 2024

Shannon Bell is the new director of philanthropy at Cape Fear Botanical Garden.

CITYVIEWNC.COM | 29

Shannon with Meg Suraci, CFBG's development and membership manager 30 | DECEMBER 2024

Shannon strolls the garden with Meg.

increasingly higher positions in university development or financial support.

In professional fundraising, Shannon explains that career advancement often means “moving up and out”; for her, that cycle put her on a circuitous route. UNC-CH was its fulcrum. Her second stint returning her to the large development team at UNC-CH coincided with the start of the university’s ambitious “Campaign for Carolina,” a $4.25-billion project that kicked off in October 2017. Five years later, the campaign surpassed $5 billion, its 215,000 donors helping to make UNC-CH one of just six public universities to hit that milestone. Shannon was there for most of that success before leaving to work as a consultant and at a fundraising consulting firm, and then at the University of Virginia.

Finding a ‘sweet spot’ In the spring of 2023, she was recruited back to Chapel Hill, this time in a director of development position, leading strategic fundraising efforts for four Academic and Community Engagement Centers at UNC-CH. The lure of UNC-CH, she admits, was the power of the school’s community and tradition — and her unyielding belief in quality education.

As a frontline fundraiser, education is a big part of the arc that brought Shannon back home and to CFBG this past summer. And while the recipient of funds she raises and the location may have changed, one aspect hasn’t: The fruit of her work builds educational and artistic programming.

“In terms of trajectory and the nonprofit work, it really all comes back to that every time,” she said. “When I really think about it, what I value most as a professional, and the impact I want to make, is through grassroots efforts in small communities — and bringing people together for a

meaningful cause. That’s my sweet spot. It’s where I prefer to be.”

Shannon is particularly honored to be a part of the CFBG in this post-Covid-19 world “where there’s extra emphasis,” she said, “on spending time outdoors, and overall wellness.”

Her move was perfectly timed. Shannon and her family were splitting time anyway between Fayetteville and their primary home in Chapel Hill; a year and a half ago, Shannon’s husband, Omar, accepted a position as vice chancellor for advancement at Fayetteville State University. (The couple has three children — a 21-year-old daughter, 14-year-old son, and 10-year-old daughter.)

Theirs is a fundraising family, she points out. Omar’s father, Ulysses Bell, has worked in development at a number of colleges and now is a part of Elizabeth State University’s planned giving staff.

“My heart truly wants to make a difference in the community and that comes from my family values and roots in Fayetteville,” she said. “We believe in taking care of family and community, and my husband’s family does too.”

UNC-CH gave Shannon a rigorous education and a place to learn and practice philanthropic work. In her hometown’s botanical garden, she’s poised to bloom.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Former CityView Executive Editor Bill Horner III, who served as publisher and editor of newspapers in Sanford and Chatham County, is working on his first book. His column on rural North Carolina debuts in Business NC magazine in January.

CITYVIEWNC.COM | 31

MEET THE DIRECTORS

‘Get in and get involved’ The new head of the United Way of Cumberland County Scott Embry comes back to Fayetteville — and to relationships he established during an earlier career here

S

BY BILL HORNER III | PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHARILYN WELLS

Seven years after he moved away from Fayetteville, Scott Embry returned, in part, simply because he loves the city.

“People tell me, ‘You know, I don’t hear a lot of people say that,’” he said. “‘Well, you just haven’t tried it. You haven’t tried to get in and get involved — because if that’s important to you, this is a great market to do that.’”

Scott’s new role as executive director of the United Way of Cumberland County represents more than just a chance to make a difference in his former (and now new again) hometown. It’s also a significant career shift.

The Bowling Green, Kentucky, native has worked in newspaper advertising sales since 2001; he led sales staffs at newspapers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, and Tennessee. A notable stop — nearly four years, from early 2013 until late 2016 — was as director of advertising at The Fayetteville Observer.

He loved the work. In a lifetime of newspapering, though, he’d watched with dismay as the print newspaper industry’s business model changed and teetered, likening the challenge to “changing the tires on a car while driving 60 miles an hour down the highway.”

“I love journalism, and I believe in journalism, and I love that I funded journalism,” Scott, 48, said. He even describes the work as his “heartbeat.” But earlier this year, after seeing so many local newspapers “gobbled up” and the organizations he worked for “losing sight of community,” he pondered a change.

Community minded Scott, then working as regional ad director for Tennessee-based Adams Publishing Group — which has more than 130 daily and non-daily newspapers, including 19 in North Carolina — considered his options. The top executive position at the United Way here was open, and he inquired.

The look into the job was “part curiosity” — he remembered people in Fayetteville as genuine, and he’d remained in touch with some work, church, and community friends — and “part interest.” After an initial search committee interview, Scott looked back at old tax returns to confirm his recollection that he’d consistently supported the United Way, which works in communities by mobilizing a single fundraising campaign to raise money for local nonprofits.

But there was something else, a niggling worry: Despite a connection to Cumberland County and that familiarity with the United Way, he’d never worked in a nonprofit — and he’d certainly never led one.

So during a second interview, Scott got frank.

“Listen,” he told his potential employers, “if you’re looking for an experienced executive director, I don’t even know what that might look like.” If the job was about answering calls and filling out applications, he reasoned, then he probably wasn’t the best fit.

“But I told them if you need someone who is willing

I think people are really interested in connecting to the work we’re doing.

— Scott Embry 32 | DECEMBER 2024

Scott Embry is United Way of Cumberland County's new executive director.

CITYVIEWNC.COM | 33

Scott meets with United Way teammates Crystal Moore-Williams, community impact director, and Ashlee Pearson, director of development.

to be the face of this organization, someone who values An ‘excellent brand’ relationships more than anything else, and wants to The United Way’s mission is to strategically raise and connect to the community,” he said, “then I’d like to invest resources to improve the human service and continue this conversation. This health needs in Cumberland is what I see. I know what I am County. As part of the worldwide and am not, but if this is what organization, Cumberland’s ALL IN FOR FAYETTEVILLE: you’re looking for …”

United Way, through ongoing It was. fundraising outreach to local Scott Embry and his wife, The fit feels natural. The businesses and organizations and Misty — also a Kentucky native Fayetteville Observer had a individuals, provided funding — have even more reason now partnership with the United Way to 27 local programs last year, to love the city. The couple’s when Scott worked there, and focusing on health, education, daughter, Savannah, and her he recalled several meetings creating financial stability, and husband Jared Keene live he’d had with former executive basic needs. in Fayetteville, too, serving director Robert Hines, who All told, it allocated $937,241 as student pastors at First retired in 2020 after 16 years throughout the community, Church. Scott and Misty’s leading the organization. reaching and impacting more son, Luke, is a senior at the That’s part of what drew Scott than 171,000 people — half of University of Tennessee in back.

Cumberland’s population. Scott Chattanooga.

“I just had a lot of respect for began working in April to build the way Robert approached the on those numbers, to expand the business of the United Way,” he organization’s capacity; the 2025 said. “He was so community-minded.” campaign will kick off with requests for proposals from So if it wasn’t a role he initially envisioned, Scott quickly United Way-funded agencies sometime in mid-January. recognized something about himself: “You know, I like “It probably didn’t take me 48 hours before I realized to know what’s going on,” he said. “I like to have some what the United Way of Cumberland County needed more influence. I want to be able to help where I can help.” than anything else was strong sales and marketing,” he 34 | DECEMBER 2024

said. “I just kind of came in and went right back and put my sales hat back on, and started setting appointments to get out and share — to share what I learned about the United Way, what I know to be true about it.”

It wasn’t difficult.

“We’re lucky,” he said. “We’ve been here for 85 years. We’ve got an excellent brand and reputation. I think people are really interested in connecting to the work we’re doing.”

So he’s back in Fayetteville — and back in Cumberland building relationships, which he believes is the foundation of the United Way. And as with advertising sales, Scott says the dollars will follow the relationship.

Those dollars will help people all over Cumberland County.

“I think, for people who are struggling and living through some of the toughest situations they may have ever been in … to have someone willing to be on the ground, working on their behalf … that provides a degree of hope,” he said. “We’re selling hope … We’re working on problems. And I believe what we do best is that we live united. We bring together people, resources, and talent to accomplish things … And we bring real resources all the way down to people willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Former CityView Executive Editor Bill Horner III, who served as publisher and editor of newspapers in Sanford and Chatham County, is working on his first book.

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CITYVIEWNC.COM | 37

HOMEFRONT

What ‘Home for the Holidays’ means to me

BY JAYLIN KREMER

The holidays are a wonderful and magical time of the year for most, but they can be a trying and difficult time for others, especially in the military community. Prior to my husband joining the U.S. Army, Christmas was a joyful yet chaotic time full of shopping, planning, and running all over the place, trying to fit in time with all of our friends and families.

Last year was our first Christmas away from everyone we knew, and we thought it would be a nice change of pace. It was harder than we anticipated, mainly just a little too quiet. Going home for the holidays is not always doable, but we plan to make it happen this year.

Being home for the holidays means more than just being there in the physical sense. Typically, being surrounded by loved ones is the ultimate goal. But there are ways to continue having a meaningful holiday season even if you can’t go home in the traditional sense, giving a new meaning to “home for the holidays.”

I’ve had the opportunity to learn a bit more about something we’ve always tried to include in our “Happy Holidays” greetings, but that I didn’t know much about: Hanukkah. I remember growing up and hearing the song Dreidel and I recognized the menorah, but before recently that was all I knew.

My wonderful boss, Barbara Rothbeind, and Solomon Wilkoff, an Army medic I was introduced to by my husband, kindly took the time to teach me about Hanukkah, how it’s celebrated, and how it remains a joyful time of celebration, even when it can’t always be spent with their loved ones.

I learned a lot. I’ll summarize what I took away as the three most important pieces.

First, Hanukkah is more of a celebration or festival than a holiday of a miracle from more than 2,200 ago, according to NPR, where, after rededicating Jerusalem’s Temple, its menorah was lit with a small amount of oil and miraculously stayed lit for eight days.

Second, as a result of this, the celebration is eight days long, and, unlike Christmas, does not fall on the same day every year, as it runs on the Jewish calendar.

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Hanukkah display at Barbara Rothbeind's home.

Photo by Barbara Rothbeind

There are ways to continue having a meaningful holiday season even if you can’t go home in the traditional sense, giving a new meaning to ’home for the holidays.’

— Jaylin Kremer Finally, Hanukkah, aka “The Festival of Lights,” mainly celebrates oil and involves fried foods such as latkes, and the lighting of the candles on the menorah, all to commemorate the religious origins of the celebration.

Hanukkah is often a time to be near loved ones, to eat, to pray, and to give gifts. Children create lists — much like a list for Santa — referred to as a Hanukkah list.

I learned that while the celebration and religious aspect of Hanukkah do not differ much between Barbara and Solomon’s accounts, and while both are not located close enough to family to celebrate with them in person, both have found ways to continue to make the holiday meaningful.

Barbara includes her family in her celebrations by utilizing FaceTime when lighting the candles or opening gifts, and still sends gifts to loved ones. She also celebrates with others in her community. Her synagogue will often have a gathering on one of the eight nights in which a game, similar to Secret Santa, is played.

She reflected on a lot of ways her family has celebrated, such as playing with the dreidel, and I’ve been able to learn a lot more about it than just the song. Her favorite part of Hanukkah is the eighth night, when all the candles are lit.

Solomon describes how being in the Army has made celebrating look a little different than before, as he doesn’t typically go home to celebrate Hanukkah. He explained that while he’s sure he could return home if he wanted to, as a medic in the Army, relationships with those in his unit are important, and spending time together makes relationships stronger. He does still celebrate with his community, and noted buddies from his unit would do things in celebration with him like making latkes. His favorite part of Hanukkah is the music.

As much as we loved celebrating the holidays traditionally, this new way of being “home for the holidays” is refreshing, and while different, still enjoyable.

Open yourself up to learning about how others celebrate. Help them feel at home for the holidays and allow them to return the favor.

And of course, continue to engage in celebration with your loved ones in your home away from home, if going back isn’t an option.

The Wonder of the Season Happy Holidays from PWC As you hang those decorations that bring such joy, please remember safety first.

F If you have a live tree, keep it well watered.

F If using incandescent lights, take extra care (they’re hot when handled or placed next to other objects), and limit the number of strands you string together. Better yet … use *LEDs – they’re safer (stay cool to the touch), you can string more together, and they last much longer.

F Make sure all lights/electric decorations have the UL seal and outdoor lights are labeled for outdoor use.

F Never use cords that are frayed or damaged.

F Don’t run extension cords in traffic paths or overload sockets.

F When using a ladder, be sure it’s sturdy, securely placed and away from power lines. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for use.

F Unplug decorations before you leave home or go to bed. *Visit our website for more safety tips, as well as details on earning a bill credit for purchasing holiday LEDs.

Making Spirits Bright

PWC is proud to be part of cherished community traditions and festive events.

For more than 68 years, we’ve been hanging holiday decorations downtown, and we support the Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks and Recreation’s “Christmas in the Park Powered by PWC” and “Holiday Lights in the Garden” at Cape Fear Botanical Garden.

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Jaylin Kremer, is a HomeFront columnist for CityView. She can be reached at jaykremer95@gmail.com.

CITYVIEWNC.COM | 39

GOOD READS

Books: The gifts that keep on giving

BY DIANE PARFITT

Books make great gifts because they have whole worlds inside of them. And it’s much cheaper to buy somebody a book than it is to buy them the whole world!

— Neil Gaiman 1

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Books can make wonderful last-minute gifts. You can find them at all kinds of stores, and your local bookstore is often open late during the holidays for last-minute shoppers. All the books released in the last few months of the year are just waiting to be given as gifts. They also make great first-choice gifts, especially for those who are hard to buy for. And buying a book that also interests you is a great way to create a connection that you and the recipient can share for months to come. I love giving one of my favorite books to a friend so they can join me as part of a two-person book club! If it is a book that is especially meaningful to you, it is certain that they will feel a special connection to you when they read it.

1. Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner Sadie is a 34-year-old secret agent, working freelance for the U.S. government who’s assigned to infiltrate a group of environmental radicals in France. Utilizing her seductive skills, she hooks up with Lucian, an old friend of the group’s leader. As she becomes more involved in the group, she grows to admire their guru Bruno. Alas, Sadie the Seductress may have met her match.

2. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney We are introduced to two brothers, estranged for years, who come together at their father’s funeral. Peter, a successful lawyer in Dublin, is in his 30s. His younger brother Ivan is a 22-year-old competitive chess player. Both have issues with the women in their lives and as they manage their grief, their lives start to intertwine again. They find that these changing dynamics may bring them healing — or crush them — in new ways.

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3. Lazarus Man by Richard Price In Richard Price’s novel, a five-story tenement in East Harlem collapses in 2008 and the surrounding area descends into chaos. At least six people are killed with many others missing. Richard tells the story of several of the survivors who are permanently touched by the tragedy — how the neighbors get through their days after the collapse is truly moving.

4. To Die For (6:20 Man) by David Baldacci The 6:20 Man comes back in his third book in David Baldacci’s series.

Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine works on clandestine operations for the government, where he has become highly successful at his assigned missions. He is asked to accompany a 12-year-old orphan, Besty Odom, to meet with her uncle who is under federal investigation. As Travis gets to know Betsy, questions about the death of her parents arise, and he finds himself confronting a conspiracy even bigger than he could imagine.

40 | DECEMBER 2024

5. The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri In 1939, with Adolf Hitler in power, Alina Strauss lives a peaceful life working in her uncle’s bookshop.

She spends time with her friends and her fiancé, and all seems well.

But once she learns that her birth mother was Jewish, she’s in jeopardy as the Germans invade her village.

She is forced to work in a state-run baby factory, and “she becomes both witness and participant to the horrors of Heinrich Himmler’s ruthless eugenics program,” according to the book’s blurb.

Struggling to keep her “secret,” Alina strives to save herself and the children in her care.

6. The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Author), John Burgoyne (Illustrator) What can a shrub teach us about gratitude, reciprocity, and community? The serviceberry, also known as shadblow, shadbush, juneberry, or saskatoon in different areas of the United States, is grown as an ornamental in the spring and admired for its colorful fall foliage.

Their berries are loved by many species of birds and can also be eaten fresh by humans or baked in pies, canned, or prepared into preserves, jams, or wine. Robin Wall Kimmerer is an Indigenous scientist who harvests serviceberries alongside the birds who eat them. While doing this, she explores the idea of reciprocity in the natural world, where we are all interconnected with our needs and abilities to provide for each other.

SEE YOURSELF IN CITYVIEW! Make your 2025 advertising plans now.

coming soon!

CityView will be offering these valuable extras in the upcoming months: The 2025 Medical Directory will be distributed in January.

The 2025-2026 Public, Private and Charter School Directory will be inserted in the February issue of CityView.

Don’t miss your chance to lock in next year’s ads at this year’s rates!

For advertising information call 910-423-6500 or email sales@cityviewnc.com

Diane Parfitt owns City Center Gallery & Books in downtown Fayetteville. She can be reached at citycentergallerybooks@gmail.com.

CITYVIEWNC.COM | 41

Dec. 11 Moore’s Creek Battlefield Trip Lake Rim Park 2214 Tar Kiln Drive fcpr.us

Dec. 12-15 Disney on Ice Crown Coliseum Crown Complex 1960 Coliseum Drive crowncomplexnc.com DECEMBER 2024

THE TO-DO LIST Eventgoers enjoy the September 4th Friday Fiesta Latina decorations in downtown Fayetteville. Photo by Oriana Evans

Here are just some of the things happening in and around Fayetteville this month. Scan the code with your phone for more events, additional information and to post your event on our website. Events are subject to change. Check before attending.

Dec. 7

Handel’s Messiah Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra & Cumberland Choral Arts Fayetteville State University’s Seabrook Auditorium 1200 Murchison Road cumberlandchoralarts.org

Dec. 7 Blackberry Smoke: Be Right Here Tour Crown Theatre Crown Complex 1960 Coliseum Drive crowncomplexnc.com

Dec. 8

Celebrate Christmas Tour with Natalie Grant & Danny Gokey Crown Theatre Crown Complex 1960 Coliseum Drive crowncomplexnc.com

42 | DECEMBER 2024

Dec. 8 Holiday Jubilee at the 1897 Poe House Museum of the Cape Fear 801 Arsenal Ave. museumofthecapefear.ncdcr.gov

Dec. 8-12 & 15-19

Drive-thru Christmas in the Park Arnette Park 2165 Wilmington Hwy. fcpr.us

Dec. 7-22

Dec. 14 Rotary Christmas Parade Fayetteville Rotary Club and Rotary International Downtown Fayetteville rotarychristmasparade.com

Dec. 14 Cookies With Santa Stoney Point Recreation Center 7411 Rockfish Road fcpr.us

Dec. 14 Yuletide Feaste Cumberland Choral Arts Haymount United Methodist Church 1700 Fort Bragg Road facebook.com

Dec. 15 The Snowman — A Family Concert & Movie Event Cape Fear Botanical Garden 536 N. Eastern Blvd. capefearbg.org

Dec. 20

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!

Cape Fear Regional Theater 1707 Owen Drive cfrt.org

All Aboard: The Polar Express Viewing Smith Recreation Center 1520 Slater Ave. fcpr.us

Dec. 9

Dec. 31

Holiday Pops Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra & Cumberland Choral Arts Fayetteville State University’s Seabrook Auditorium 1200 Murchison Road fayettevillesymphony.org

Night Circus: A District New Year’s Eve Spectacular 2024 City of Fayetteville & Cool Spring Downtown District Festival Park 335 Ray Ave. visitdowntownfayetteville.com

A holiday tradition since 2011

Thank you to our sponsors:

Select Evenings - 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Pre-purchased tickets required Tickets are available for purchase at capefearbg.org

Follow us on:

Santa, the Grinch, Lights and MORE! Pre-purchase your tickets early - they will sell out!

Cape Fear Botanical Garden 536 N. Eastern Blvd. Fayetteville, NC - Call or text - CITYVIEWNC.COM 910-486-0221 | 43

Miss NC Indigenous Ambassador Alexis Lowry

Zena Clark

Zena Clark

Zena Clark

SEEN @ THE SCENE Cumberland County Schools’ Exhibition Powwow Cumberland County Schools (CCS) hosted its Exhibition Powwow, sponsored

by CCS’s Office of Indian Education, celebrating Native American heritage from 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 7 at the Crown Complex. This event was put on in honor of Native American Heritage Month in November. According to a press release from CCS, “this event celebrates the vibrant legacy of Native American communities and provides an opportunity to enrich understanding of their contributions.”

Cheyenne Daniel

44 | DECEMBER 2024

Cheyenne Daniel

Zena Clark

Cumberland County Schools Office of Indian Education sponsored CCS's annual Exhibition Powwow event Nov. 7.

Claude Locklear

Rev. Ricky Burnett

Sharee Strickland

Cumberland County Schools Office of Indian Education hosts their annual Powwow event.

CITYVIEWNC.COM | 45

Cadets from AFJROTC NC-074 Pine Forest High School Cadets of Terry Sanford Senior High School's AFJROTC

SEEN @ THE SCENE The 28th Annual Veterans Day Parade The 28th Annual Veterans Day Parade presented by Cumberland County Veterans Council was held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2, in downtown Fayetteville in anticipation of Veterans day on Monday, Nov. 11. This year’s theme was “Native Americans Who Served.”

Photos by Oriana Evans

Members of Jack Britt High School Marching Band

46 | DECEMBER 2024

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers mascot, Bunker

Members of Gray's Creek Marching Band

Members of the 82nd Airborne Division Band

Juan Roman, grand marshal of the Veterans Day Parade

THE 33 ANNUAL PRODUCTION RD

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW! CFRT.org | 910.323.4233

Deep sea divers know pressure... but can they handle a bidding war?

NCRealtorsKnow.com

CITYVIEWNC.COM | 47

The French Hero of American Liberty RETURNS! The 200th Anniversary of

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour March 4-5, 2025 Fayetteville, North Carolina

Experience history – the procession, the ball, the dinner and toasts, and more!

Presented by the Lafayette Society of Fayetteville and CityView and these major sponsors: Cape Fear Valley Health System City Center Gallery & Books Coldwell Banker Will Gillis Gillie Revelle

and these generous sponsors: Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation Fayetteville State University Fayetteville Technical Community College International Minute Press Drs. Gwenesta B and Kenneth Melton Methodist University Mark Hurley – Hurley Insurance Group Olde Fayetteville Insurance and Financial Services Rick Suehr Village Green Properties 48 | DECEMBER 2024

As the la of the A a symbo Equality wanted his Farew estimate American

Now Lafayette is back for the 200th anniversary of th Farewell Tour! Like the orig tour, the celebration will la 13 months, covering more than 6000 miles and 250 cit One of the PREMIER sites f the Celebration is Fayettevi North Carolina, where you invited to Party like it’s 182 Plan to attend the ball on March 4 and the dinner on

March 5 at the elegant Cape Fear Botanical Garden.

Tickets at www.lafayettesociety.org or use the QR code.

Tuesday afternoon, March

horse-drawn carriage accom Independent Light Infantry ago!

Tuesday evening, March 4 Steplively of Virginia and th Syllabub will help you polis authentic Regency Period c experience!

Wednesday, March 5 – Exp history! See Lafayette’s car Resolves (signed a full year Independence), and 200-ye at Methodist University. Ta

COFFEE WITH CONTRACTORS FREE IN-PERSON NETWORKING EVENT January 16, 2025, 9:00-11:30 am REGISTER

Bring your capability statement Learn about subcontracting opportunities Network with GCs and Community Partners Contact us: sbtrc@theinstitutenc.org

Scopes of Work May Include: • Trucking/Hauling • Traffic Control • Landscaping

• Masonry

• Engineering

• Striping (Pavement Markings)

• Janitorial/ Cleaning Services • Shoulder Construction • Seeding & Mulching • Clearing & Grubbing

• Utility Relocation (Sewer/Pipe) • Asphalt • Rebar • Guardrail/Guiderail • And More!

1073 Murchison Road, Fayetteville, NC 28301

Calling all donors: here is your “letter” to come to Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center and save up to three lives! We want all of you, whether you are a muggle or a wizard, to solemnly swear to be up to extreme good!

Each holiday our local blood supply suffers from a decrease in blood donations. Celebrations, travel and seasonal illnesses can keep people from donating, but giving blood is a meaningful way you can spread kindness and holiday cheer!

Donors who give during Urgent Days of Giving, December 17 to 31, will earn a donor long sleeve T-shirt!

Each blood donation saves up to three local patients’ lives, and all donations to Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center stay local.

Volunteers can give at the center or at a mobile blood drive. To find a blood drive or learn more, visit savingliveslocally.org or scan the QR code below.

Center Hours: Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday, December 20, 8 a.m. – Noon.

No appointment needed.

FREE shirt for donors!

While supplies last.

3357 Village Drive, Fayetteville (910) 615-LIFE