FP240522

COLORBEARER OF ATHENS CROWNING MAN’S BEST FRIEND

LOCALLY OWNED SINCE 1987

MAY 22, 2024 · VOL. 38 · NO. 20 · FREE

The PET Issue!

Community Shares Four-Legged Companions pp. 12-13

One of the highlights of Flagpole’s Pet Edition is the opportunity to see so many of the healthy and happy pets that call Athens home.

At the UGA Pet Health Center, we are dedicated to going the

beyond

expected to maintain the

well-being

of

these

beloved

companions. Our team of veterinary services, including annual checkups, vaccinations, treatment for

Pet Health Center College of Veterinary Medicine

minor injuries and illnesses, minor surgeries, and more for all the dogs and cats of Athens.

Located on UGA’s South Campus, we

VISIT vet.uga.edu/flagpole

are easily accessible and happy to assist you in any way we can. Please give us a call today to schedule an appointment for your pet!

125 Veterinary Loop, Athens, GA. • 706.542.1984 2

F L A GP OL E .C OM · M AY 22, 2024

this week’s issue

contents

MILES LANCASTER

Trub

HOMEMADE DOG TREATS

Barkday Cakes • Pawty Packs • Ice Cream for Pets We donate a portion of our profits to Athens Canine Rescue

www.oscarbites.net

We enjoyed looking through everyone’s submitted photos for this year’s annual pet issue! There were more cute and funny photos than we could fit in Flagpole’s pages, but you can view the full gallery at flagpole.com.

This Modern World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 DA Lawsuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

WE’LL COME TO YOU! HOUSECALLS FOR CATS AND DOGS BY APPOINTMENT

Mark Katzman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Great for multi-pet households, pets who don’t travel well, housebound pet owners & hectic lifestyles.

We also offer Hospice/End of Life Care and Home Euthanasia.

PETS: Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Pet Photo Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

SERVING ATHENS & SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES

Equine-Assisted Therapy

Live Music Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

NEWS: City Dope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Street Scribe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

ACC Budget Adds

Threats & Promises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

PETS: Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Good Growing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Entangled Cat Cafe

Calendar Picks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Dr. Paula Loniak

7 0 6 - 8 7 0 - 7 1 1 1 • vettopet@yahoo.com

Event Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

MUSIC: Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Dog Person

Art Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Hey, Bonita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Adopt Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Local Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Sudoku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Curb Your Appetite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 GREGORY FREDERICK

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR & PUBLISHER Alicia Nickles PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Larry Tenner ADVERTISING SALES Jessica Pritchard Mangum, Dave Martin CITY EDITOR Blake Aued ARTS & MUSIC EDITOR Jessica Smith EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Sam Lipkin OFFICE MANAGER & DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Jennifer Keene CLASSIFIEDS Jennifer Keene AD DESIGNERS Chris McNeal, Cody Robinson CONTRIBUTORS Bonita Applebum, Patrick Barry, Stanley Dunlap, Erin France, Gordon Lamb, Lee Shearer, Ed Tant CARTOONISTS Missy Kulik, David Mack, Klon Waldrip, Joey Weiser CIRCULATION Jennifer Bray, Charles Greenleaf, Joe Rowe EDITORIAL INTERNS Mary Beth Bryan, Xinge Lei PHOTOGRAPHERS Mason Pearson, Jake Zerkel SPECIAL AGENT Pete McCommons

Big Yellow

COVER PHOTOGRAPH of Prince Edward by Anne Yarbrough (see more pet photos on pp. 12–13) STREET ADDRESS: 220 Prince Ave., Athens, GA 30601 MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603 EDITORIAL: 706-549-9523 · ADVERTISING: 706-549-0301 CLASSIFIED ADS: class@flagpole.com ADVERTISING: ads@flagpole.com CALENDAR: calendar@flagpole.com EDITORIAL: editorial@flagpole.com

LETTERS: letters@flagpole.com MUSIC: music@flagpole.com NEWS: news@flagpole.com ADVICE: advice@flagpole.com

Flagpole, Inc. publishes Flagpole Magazine weekly and distributes 8,500 copies free at over 275 locations around Athens, Georgia. Subscriptions cost $110 a year, $55 for six months. © 2024 Flagpole, Inc. All rights reserved.

VOLUME 38 ISSUE NUMBER 20

PLEASE VAX UP SO WE DON’T NEED TO

Association of Alternative Newsmedia

MASK UP AGAIN

online exclusive With Gregory Frederick behind the camera, Athens GA Live Music documents artists gracing stages across the Classic City. Don’t miss footage from the recent performances

by Cannon Rogers, T. Hardy Morris, Big Yellow, Scrlett and more.

See “Athens GA Live Music Recap” at flagpole.com.

M AY 22, 2024· F L A GP OL E .C OM

3

hawthornepet.com

EXPERIENCE MUSIC AT UGA

THANK YOU, ATHENS! Yes, we love our fur-kids all the way to the moon!

Give your favorite pup something they will love AND is good for them. FARM HOUNDS treats are single sourced from humane, regenerative farms and made purely from raw, additive free animal ingredients.

Keep them clean with DOG brand shampoos and conditioners plant based, 100% biodegradable, vegan friendly, not tested on animals, just lovingly used by them.

100 Prince Ave Suite 103 • athenscooks.com • IG: athens_cooks

4

YOU MADE THIS SEASON OF MUSIC ONE OF OUR BEST You joined us for a season of over 60 large ensemble performances, from the African American Choral Ensemble to the Wind Symphony, as well as over 200 student recitals, small ensembles, internationally acclaimed guest artists, speakers, and more. Please join us again this fall and continue experiencing great music at UGA.

LOOK FOR OUR 2024-25 SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT THIS JULY music.uga.edu | 706-542-3737 | School of Music Building, 250 River Road FLAGPOLE AD_1-17.indd 1

F L A GP OL E .C OM · M AY 22, 2024

5/16/24 2:52 PM

Gaines Shoal Animal Clinic is excited to meet you and your beloved pets! We have proudly served the cats and dogs of Athens, GA, and the surrounding areas for over 30 years.

FREE First Exam*

*New clients only

BOOK NOW!

100 Prince Avenue Athens, GA 30601 Princemarketathens.com @princemarketathens Instagram and Facebook 706-850-0711 • Locally owned grocery store • Free Parking – Parking deck located directly behind the building • Full grocery selection with local vendors and organic produce • Beer and Wine • Prince Coffee: Serving the full Starbucks menu • Prince Deli: Offering fresh pizzas, sandwiches and soups • Prince Ice Cream: Serving 12 flavors of Hershey’s ice cream

M AY 22, 2024· F L A GP OL E .C OM

5

EXCEPTIONAL CARE FOR EXCEPTIONAL PETS

1150 Mitchell Bridge Rd. 706-546-7879 · www.hopeamc.com Office Hours: Monday-Friday 7:30am-6pm

PAIN & WONDER

TATTOO

VOTED AN ATHENS’ FAVORITE TATTOO STUDIO 2011–2020

285 W. Washington St.

Athens, GA 30601

(706) 208-9588 www.painandwonder.com

www www www • • • f f f l l l aaa ggg ppp ooo l l l eee • • • ccc ooo mmm

athfest.com

@athfestmusic

Compassionate and affordable Care for Your four-legged friends

• Monthly Specials & Discount Packages • Laser Therapy & Pain Management • Surgical & Dental Care • Boarding & Grooming • Spay & Neuter • Equine, Pig, & Goat Services

(706) 353-2696 6

F L A GP OL E .C OM · M AY 22, 2024

news

city dope

The cost of pickup worked out to $29.25 per household per month. Options for funding permanent compost pickup include property taxes or landfill tipping fees. Most survey respondents said they were open to either, but more preferred the former.

The Solid Waste Department requested funding for a compost education specialBy Blake Aued and Lee Shearer news@flagpole.com ist in the county’s fiscal 2025, but Mayor Kelly Girtz did not include it. Dunlop said Athens-Clarke County commissioners the goal is to create a permanent program A grant intended for the police departaren’t interested in raising taxes this year— ment could be used to boost salaries for starting in July 2026. That program would nor are most interested in cutting them— likely include city pickup within the Urban sheriff’s deputies instead, Manager Blaine but they have a laundry list of items they Services District, and drop-off sites and priWilliams told commissioners last week. want to add to Mayor Kelly Girtz’s proposed About $3.2 million in interest earned on vate services outside the city center. budget. Luckily, there may be other sources In the meantime, Solid Waste and UGA federal ARPA dollars is also sitting in ACC’s of funding for those additions. have six dropoff sites—at the Cooperative bank account waiting to be allocated, he “Each department is telling us they’re Extension (275 Cleveland Road), UGA said. struggling to meet the needs of the commuFacilities (Bowstrom Road), the UGArden Williams also has his own wants that nity,” Commissioner Patrick Davenport said did not make it into Girtz’s budget, such as (2500 S. Milledge Ave.), Center for Hardat a May 16 budget hearing. Commissioner to-Recycle Materials adding a third assistant Jesse Houle cited years of deferred mainCollege Ave.), manager. That would The people I respected (1005 tenance as the commission sought to cut the Solid Waste office allow Williams to spend the tax rate in recent years, some of it even (725 Hancock Way) and more time interacting most were putting dating back to Great Recession budget cuts the ACC Landfill (5700 with elected officials and policy over politics. that were never fully restored.

Lexington Road)—with the general public, he One thing all commissioners seem to plans to open one in said. agree on is the need for more frequent roadWinterville as well. Solid Waste is also Girtz rejected about 80% of budget side mowing. Manager Blaine Williams said requests from county officials, opting to add helping to promote Awesome Possum and the county could hire private services to Compostia, two small local companies that just 19 new positions to a government that supplement government landscaping crews employs almost 1,800 people. The $194 mil- pick up composting. [BA] for less than $100,000. lion budget is 3.7% higher than the current Another is the staffing shortage in the year’s, but most of that additional money Clarke County Sheriff’s Office. For sevis going toward employee raises and covereral years Sheriff John Q. Williams has ing health care and pension costs as ACC demanded pay parity with police, but depuseeks to fill “huge vacancies that have really Geoff Duncan didn’t mention Donald ties still make about $5,000 less than police pushed people to their limit,” as Williams Trump nor the splintering Republican Party officers, and their signing bonuses are put it. as he spoke to some University of Georgia smaller. Closing the gap would cost about “These requests are not frivolous,” he graduates a week ago. But the former pres$900,000. Williams pointed to the discrepsaid. “They’re things we need to do to move ident and the party of Lincoln’s far-right ancy as the reason why his department is the community forward.” [BA] lurch seemed an unspoken presence as down 45 employees, while police are fully the former Georgia lieutenant governor staffed. addressed graduates of UGA’s School of “There’s going to be more arrests” A recent composting pilot program was Public and International Affairs May 10, now that the police department is at full less than a week after he appealed to fellow strength, Williams said at a May 14 meeting successful, Athens-Clarke County and UGA Republicans to vote for Democrat Joe Biden between the commission and constitutional officials told county commissioners last week, and they want to continue it commuin an Atlanta Journal-Constitution op-ed. officers. “There’s going to be more people nity-wide next year.

UGA’s schools and colleges conduct in jail. We don’t have staff to open more The ACC Solid Waste Department and separate graduation ceremonies called conpods. We’re going to have people sleeping UGA New Materials Institute recently vocations, where graduate’s names can be on floors.” partnered on testing a composting pickup individually called out, in advance of the Williams also complained about the program in the Normaltown, Boulevard and official university-wide commencement quality of the food prepared at the nearby Cobbham neighborhoods. About 400 of state correctional facility, which delivers 2,200 households in the area participated in meals to the jail, and asked for funding to build out the jail’s kitchen and hire a vendor the free program, which started in February and ended in early May. to prepare meals at the jail.

“We continued to get inquiries after the A $150,000 request from District Attorregistration deadline, so there’s a lot of ney Deborah Gonzalez to continue paying interest out there,” ACC Waste Reduction American Rescue Plan Act-funded paraleAdministrator Joe Dunlop said at a May gals and administrative staff is likely to be 14 work session. “The reactions were overapproved as well. The cost would be somewhelmingly positive.” what offset because Gonzalez withdrew About a third of the materials that enter a $43,000 request for contract attorneys. the landfill could be composted, significantly They’re no longer needed because Gonzalez extending the life of the county landfill and said she recently hired six new assistant reducing the greenhouse gas emissions it DAs for the chronically short-staffed office. produces. The program collected 19 tons of Less clear is how much money the comcompostable material—mostly food scraps mission will devote to affordable housing.

Girtz included $1 million for a “strike fund” and some paper products—and diverted it away from the landfill, preventing the to buy and renovate distressed properties. equivalent of 17 tons of carbon dioxide from But a 2023 study recommended that ACC entering the atmosphere. Composting is spend $5 million a year. basically “controlled rotting,” Dunlop said, The state legislature passed a tax and the resulting soil was sold to gardeners. reform package that, if voters approve it in The main complaint was the steel cans November, will cap increases in property used. They were a condition of funding by values and allow local governments to raise the Walmart Foundation, which is exploring sales taxes to offset property taxes. Girtz sustainable materials and domestic supply has floated a plan for a 1% sales tax hike, chains, according to UGA assistant research with $12 million a year going to affordable scientist Evan Smith. The cans would be housing and $6 million a year for youth redesigned if the program is expanded and programs. The other half would allow for a made permanent, he said.

2.5-mill property tax cut.

ACC Budget Takes Shape PLUS, POTENTIAL COMPOSTING PICKUP AND MORE LOCAL NEWS

“

Put Policy Over Politics, Duncan Tells Grads

Call to Continue Composting

exercises. Duncan was the speaker at this year’s SPIA convocations, now divided into two sessions. As the school has grown to become one of the most prestigious of its type in the nation, its enrollment has grown to nearly 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

“This November, I am voting for a decent person I disagree with on policy over a criminal defendant without a moral compass,” Duncan wrote in his op-ed, though he also said Republicans should work to elect majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to block Biden’s second-term legislative agenda.

Duncan looked beyond this year’s presidential election in his remarks to the SPIA graduates, many of whom are destined to be part of government in one way or another.

“SPIA graduates run the state of Georgia,” he said, and “Georgia is going to be in the spotlight for decades.

“First, take the opportunity to make a genuine difference every day instead of pursuing power,” he said. “In other words, put the policy over the politics.”

Duncan returned repeatedly to that theme—putting good policy over politics— and told them how to do it. “I had to learn the hard way,” he said, recalling his first days in elected office. Duncan was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2013, then stepped down in 2017 to run for lieutenant governor in the 2018 statewide election. He chose not to seek a second four-year term in 2022.

In the legislature, he found himself voting for bills along party lines, not because they were good law. “I even supported people for elected office I knew were not decent people,” he said. “The people I respected most were putting policy over politics.”

He told graduates, “Take the time to understand the facts,” which means getting information from multiple, diverse sources.

“Do your homework. Don’t rely on social media.”

It also means listening to opposing points of view, he said. “Find somebody across the aisle you can talk to,” and try to understand their positions, he said. “I guarantee it will make you a better decision-maker.” [LS] f

M AY 22, 2024· F L A GP OL E .C OM

7

news

feature

Open and Shut Case

DA SEEKS EXEMPTION FROM GEORGIA OPEN RECORDS LAW

By Stanley Dunlap news@flagpole.com

G

eorgia’s Supreme Court will rule in the coming months on Western Circuit District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez’s claim that prosecutors are exempt from the state’s open records laws.

Supreme Court justices heard arguments last week that the trial court failed last year to address a constitutional provision in denying her motion to dismiss an open records complaint filed by Athens resident Jarrod Miller. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has made similar immunity arguments regarding an open records complaint related to the 2020 presidential election interference case against Donald Trump and his Republican allies.

In Gonzalez’s appeal, she claims that despite the understaffed district attorney’s office, lawyer Kevin Epps has consistently requested public records on Miller’s behalf since she took office in January 2021. Epps’ requests, including more than 50 over a three-month period in 2023, seek two years’ worth of communication on everything from her office’s cases to staff training for University of Georgia football games and Zoom meetings.

Miller argues that the Athens-Clarke DA’s office failed to process a number of records in a timely manner and alleges that Gonzalez ordered a staff member to delete text messages related to an open records request. Miller claims that the Supreme Court of Georgia has never held that the open records act does not apply to judicial branch members or offices.

Gonzalez’s attorney Derek Bauer argued that even the General Assembly can’t regulate public access to the DA’s records, and that only the state Supreme Court has that authority. Miller does not have the right to sue the district attorney because he did not submit the open records act requests listed in the complaint, and thus cannot demonstrate what type of injury he suffered as a result of the DA failing to comply, according to Gonzalez.

Bauer also said that district attorneys’ constitutional immunity shields them from civil penalties if a private citizen sues to enforce the open records act.

8

F L A GP OL E .C OM · M AY 22, 2024

Bauer said in court May 14 that even if the Supreme Court justices disagree with those first two theories, there still are enough legal grounds to prevent someone like Miller from enforcing public records requests that were submitted by an attorney on his behalf. “We say no based on settled principles of constitutional standing, and Georgia’s rule that every action must be brought by the real party in interest and not a proxy plaintiff,” Bauer said.

Justices peppered Gonzalez’s attorney with questions about the logical reasoning he used to argue that district attorneys aren’t subject to public records laws. Presiding Justice Nels S.D. Peterson said that Georgians have had legal standing for nearly two centuries to petition a court to force a government official to fulfill a duty. Peterson asked Bauer why he felt a Georgia resident does not Deborah Gonzalez have legal standing to force a public official, such as a district attorney, to provide requested documents to them.

“It seems to me that a lawsuit to compel the production of documents that the open records act requires to be produced is akin to a claim for mandamus,” Peterson said, referring to a petition to force a public official to take action.

Bauer emphasized the importance of a real party in interest making an open records request. A legally binding open records request must be filed by someone directly affected by the outcome, he argued.

“Before any legal duty can attach in the open records act, there has to be a request,” Bauer said. “And that requires that the request be made by the real party in interest. Not any citizen can enforce that.”

Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren also

questioned Bauer’s claim that a lawyer can make an open records request on their own volition, but that they are also legally required to disclose to a state official if they are doing so on behalf of a client. “The lawyer could just file the exact same thing the very next day asking for the exact same documents because he’s permitted to do so under the open records act,” Warren said.

“Why does that destroy the ability to do it through this vehicle?”

Bauer said that it makes a huge difference if a public official is not entitled to ask a lawyer who they’re representing in an open records filing. If anyone were able to enforce someone else’s request, this would lead to a “race to the courthouse” to gain access to government records, he said: “I typically represent newsrooms, news media who use the open record act as a news gathering tool all the time. This court will be saying hey, if Channel 2 issues an open records act requests for news gathering information. If Channel 11 learns about it, then Channel 11 can go race to the courthouse to enforce somebody else’s request first.”

Justice Andrew A. Pinson said this case is about enforcing a public right, which is different from a private rights case in which someone makes a trespassing complaint and “then somebody else says, ‘Hey, there was trespassing over there. I want you to enforce whatever judgment.’”

According to Bauer, a DA’s office cannot be sued for violating public records rights due to the separation of powers between state government branches. While most state public agencies and offices must comply with open records laws, DAs are protected as constitutionally elected officials. “DA’s have always been constitutional officers of this branch, not the executive branch, even though they don’t do judgy things like decide cases, but they do plenty of judgy things like advise grand juries,” Bauer said.

Chief Justice Michael P. Boggs said the court has held that the judicial power belongs exclusively to the court and not with a local prosecutor. “How do we extrap-

olate from that that a DA, under any circumstances, is exercising judicial powers?”

Boggs said.

Over the past couple of years, Gonzalez and Willis have become targets of GOP lawmakers.

Republican legislators have created a new district attorney oversight commission that will have the power to remove prosecutors who refuse to tackle certain crimes, are negligent, or fail to fulfill their duties.

Gonzalez has come under scrutiny for her publicly stated policy of not prosecuting minor marijuana possession or abortion cases. Willis has publicly condemned a GOP-led “witch hunt” against her while defending her decision to investigate Trump and several co-defendants for conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia and other states.

The Fulton DA’s office has become embroiled in an open records battle with the far-right America First Legal, which filed a complaint against Willis for denying records related to communications with the Biden White House and U.S. Justice Department regarding the sweeping investigation that led to felony racketeering charges against Trump and 18 co-defendants in Georgia in August.

Willis has sought to dismiss the complaint from America First Legal, arguing that the Fulton DA’s office cannot be sued.

The open records lawsuit filed on behalf of Bentley Media Group against Willis is pending Fulton County Superior Court.

The America First Legal Foundation has filed an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief with the Georgia Supreme Court in support of Miller’s case against the AthensClarke district attorney.

Miller’s court filing argues that the Georgia Supreme Court has never explicitly ruled that all public officials and offices in the judicial branch are exempt from the open records act, and district attorneys are only immune from litigation involving private rights related to their prosecutorial duties. Miller also said that as a community stakeholder, he has the right to enforce the public records law in Athens-Clarke.

“When [Gonzalez] eventually gets around to this central question, she first deflects by noting that the district attorney herself is not an ‘agency,’” the legal foundation brief states. “Of course not—her office is. The district attorney is the alleged custodian of her office’s public records.” f This article was originally published at georgiarecorder.com.

news

street scribe

Dawg Dissidents REVISITING UGA PROTESTS PAST

... just listen

By Ed Tant news@flagpole.com “Georgia Joins the Movement” said the front page headline on the May 2 edition of The Red & Black, the campus newspaper at the University of Georgia here in Athens.

On Apr. 29 police arrested 16 people who were part of a pro-Palestine protest on the university’s campus. A larger crowd of about 300 protesters later marched peacefully in solidarity with those who were arrested earlier.

HARGRETT RARE BOOK & MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY

brought millions of Americans into the streets.

The violence of war would come to an American campus in Orangeburg, SC in 1968. Police killed three African American students at South Carolina State College during a civil rights protest at the school. It was the first time that authorities had shot protesting students on an American campus. It would not be the last. In May 1970 students were again gunned down by National Guardsmen and police on the campuses of Kent State University in Ohio and Jackson State College in Mississippi. The two campus massacres within days of each other ignited a firestorm of revulsion and revolution across the nation at the time, and the University of Georgia joined that movement.

In the spring of 1970, some 3,000 University of Georgia students took part in a peace rally to protest the ever-widening Vietnam War and to memorialize the dead at Kent and Jackson. The size of the local rally showed the concern and commitment on campus in 1970. At the time, the university had an enrollment of just over 18,000—less than half its current enrollment of 40,000.

The peaceful protest at UGA in 1970 was far larger than dissident actions at UGA today.

An iconic photo from the time A Pandora yearbook photo shows UGA students protesting the shows the university’s legendary Vietnam War in 1968 near what’s now the Hamilton-Holmes Dean of Men William Tate in Building. the crowd at the Athens protest, wearing “hippie love beads” Protests and rallies have exploded across along with the tie around his neck.

America in the wake of war between Israel 1968 was a tempestuous time in the and Hamas that was sparked by the Oct. United States and here in Athens. Angry 7 Hamas terror attacks that killed 1,200 protests erupted across America and locally Israelis. The war rages in the Gaza area that in the aftermath of the assassination of civil is devastated by Israel’s military response, rights champion Martin Luther King Jr. on with 34,000 Palestinians dead. The current Apr. 4, 1968. Two months later Robert F. wave of protests has been compared to the Kennedy was assassinated during his antiturbulent times of the late 1960s and early war campaign for the presidency. At the 1970s in America, and today’s protests— 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, like those of the past—inspire some while police and protesters clashed in the streets angering or frightening others. of the Windy City while crowds chanted, Dissident movements are nothing new “The whole world is watching.” In November in America or on the usually calm campus 1968, Republican Richard Nixon was elected of the University of Georgia. In April 1968, president, and the war dragged on while hundreds of UGA students occupied the peace activists were brought to trial. school’s Academic Building demanding One of those indicted activists was Dave sweeping changes in the university’s antiDellinger, a longtime peace and civil rights quated policies regulating the dress and crusader who spoke here in Athens during behavior of female students. The three-day the Vietnam War and at later local events UGA occupation preceded the Apr. 23, 1968 in the ’80s and ’90s. Dellinger was “a rebel takeover of college buildings by protestwithout a pause” until his death in 2004 ers at Columbia University in New York, at age 88. “I learn more from young people which again has become a focal point of than they learn from me,” said the old activprotests over the current war in the Middle ist after one Athens appearance.

East. Students for a Democratic Society, a Protest movements have shaped leading anti-war organization in the ’60s, American history. Writer Oscar Wilde spoke helped organize the 1968 protests at the truth when he said, “It is through disobediUniversity of Georgia, Columbia and other ence that progress has been made, through campuses as outrage over the Vietnam War disobedience and through rebellion.” f

TUESDAY, MAY 21ST

NO PHONE PARTY WITH

c Find more adorable reader-submitted pet photos at flagpole.com

CHEF FILLIPO PASTA POP–UP KENOSHA KID WEDNESDAY, MAY 22ND

COCKTAILS AND SILENT FILMS THURSDAY, MAY 23RD

SHANE PARISH W/ JOHN KIRAN FERNANDES FRIDAY, MAY 24TH

ATHENS SHOWGIRL CABARET FABULOUS FRIDAYS

SATURDAY, MAY 25TH

HEART OF PINE PICKLED HOLLER

CHECK OUT OUR BRAND NEW WEBSITE

HENDERSHOTSATHENS.COM AND ORDER UP SOME FRESHLY IN HOUSE ROASTED COFFEE! ATHENS’ INTIMATE LIVE MUSIC VENUE

237 prince ave. • 706.353.3050

Bon Voyage!

Flagpole would like to wish Jessica Mangum only the best on her next journey in life.

A million thanks aren't enough to cover all the things that Jessica has done for Flagpole over the last 20 years.

Don't forget to visit!

♡ flagpole M AY 22, 2024· F L A GP OL E .C OM

9

feature

pets

feature

Healing with Horses

Entangled Cat Cafe

By Jessica Smith arts@flagpole.com

By Sam Lipkin editorial@flagpole.com

LOCAL NONPROFITS OFFER EQUINE-ASSISTED THERAPY

H

orses have been the faithful companions of humans for centuries, helping to cultivate food, participate in sport and even enter battle. This treasured human-horse connection has even extended into equine-assisted therapy, an experiential treatment and healing approach that has steadily grown in popularity over recent years.

Because riding a horse moves the rider’s body in a manner similar to a human gait, it’s thought that this rhythmic,

CM BRYSON

three-dimensional movement can activate core muscles and enhance motor skills.

Cognitively speaking, riding can improve concentration, attention span, memory, problem solving and decision-making skills.

And of course, the special bond created between humans and horses often fosters greater empathy, trust, self-awareness and emotional regulation.

Equine-assisted activities and therapy (EAAT) is an umbrella term that encompasses several different approaches for using interactions with horses to assist individuals in improving physical, cognitive or emotional health. Many of the therapists offering these services are certified by the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) International.

Therapeutic horseback riding is a form of recreational therapy in which an instructor teaches an individual to actively control a horse while riding. This exercise can actively improve sensory and motor skills for better coordination, balance, flexibility, posture and muscle strength, leading to improved confidence and an overall sense of wellbeing.

Hippotherapy differs from therapeutic horseback riding in that it specifically refers to treatment tools used by licensed physical therapists, occupational therapists, or speech and language pathologists to engage a patient’s sensorimotor and neuromotor systems. For example, a speech therapist may encourage a child with a speech deficit to practice giving vocal commands to the horse while riding.

10

F L A GP OL E .C OM · M AY 22, 2024

Equine-assisted learning (EAL) is an experiential learning approach that promotes the development of life skills for educational, professional or personal goals.

In these sessions, lesson plans typically incorporate activities that focus on problem solving, relationship building or critical thinking.

Most focused on mental wellbeing, equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) is an emerging treatment whereby mental health professionals work with clients to address emotional, cognitive, behavioral or other psychological concerns. This form of therapy often includes grooming, feeding and ground exercises with horses in combination with counseling to process complex feelings. EAP may be beneficial in addressing behavioral issues, substance abuse, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, trauma and communication issues. Due to limited quantitative data around the efficacy of using EAAT for mental health purposes, it’s widely advised that it should not replace traditional health care, though it can be a beneficial supplementary tool.

Multiple nonprofits dedicated to equine-assisted therapy are located just outside of Athens.

Established in 2005 on a nine-acre farm in Watkinsville, Butterfly Dreams Farm Equine Therapy’s mission is to bring “joy, wonder and healing to families with a wide spectrum of challenges, regardless of income level.” Speech pathologist, foster mother and lifelong equestrian Cat Thompson was inspired to found Butterfly Dreams Farm, along with co-founder Tracy Mosher, after witnessing how her daughter gained the strength to walk and the ability to communicate through riding. In memory of her daughter, the farm offers both hippotherapy and therapeutic riding sessions that are tailored for an individual’s needs.

Oconee Therapeutic Riding, also located in Watkinsville, holds a similar mission to “enrich the lives of riders of all ages and abilities by providing transformative equine-assisted therapy.” In addition to therapeutic riding, OTR offers Horse Guided Empowerment, a modality that “combines the wisdom and intuition of horses with personal growth and self-discovery.” Using ground-based activities with horses, participants are encouraged to reflect on their own behavior and emotions.

To learn more about these two nonprofits and the healing nature of horses, visit butter​fly​dreams​farm.org and oconee​therapeutic​riding.org. f

WATKINSVILLE BUSINESS CREATES INTERACTIVE FELINE HAVEN

T

he cat cafe craze has been long estab- ment space for the cats, so we wanted a lot lished in Asia, but the attraction—a of climbing, and that’s why we did the realhangout space, often serving snacks istic looking tree and the pergola that they and beverages, where cats can be watched could climb on. That was the goal: to make and played with for a fee—didn’t make it to it more entertaining for the cats.” the U.S. until a decade ago. These cat-lover The humane society sends cats to the paradises have been popping up more frecafe that are a good match to thrive in a quently, and the Athens area finally has one social environment. Towler says that you to call its own. end up seeing a range of personalities, and Entangled Cat Cafe opened in Watkins­ in this environment the cats feel at ease ville, next door to the Oconee County to be their genuine selves. There’s also a Courthouse, at the end of March. As a rhythm to each day’s activity; the cats are partner of the Athens Area Humane Society more playful and active in the mornings, and the Circle of Friends Animal Society, then get lazy and sleepy mid- to late afterthe business serves as a foster location with noon. Within six weeks of its opening, 14 fully vaccinated and spayed or neutered cats cats were adopted from Entangled. Only available for adoption. two of the original cats remain at the cafe, The “catfe” is open Sunday through and one in particular—a black and white Friday, closed Saturdays, from 9 a.m.–7 cat, Harvey—was adopted as a permanent p.m. Upon entering there’s bar-style seating cafe kitty. facing a giant plexiglass window looking into a colorfully painted, fully decked out playroom. Leading into the cafe area, it provides a comfortable spot to observe the cats with free admission, and the perfect place to enjoy the cafe offerings while working or chatting with a friend. The cafe features a counter of coffee drinks, a variety of hot and cold beverages and catered snacks, like Guests interact with adoptable cats in the Cat Lounge area. cat-shaped cake pops and cupcakes.

The cat lounge is all ages, with an adult While the cafe has treats for sale to bribe required to accompany children under the its cats for attention, its biggest seller is the age of 15, and can be entered for a fee of cat toys and products for sale to take home. $15 per person an hour. The fee supports Entangled has brought its online market the costs of the keeping and care of the into the storefront, and there are a variety cats. Entering through the playroom, where of locally made goods for sale. There are there’s an additional space for kittens, the wooden charcuterie boards, including one full lounge features benches and chairs to that’s cat-shaped, crafted by Looking Up. sit, a cozy fireplace, an Instagram-worthy Towler shops for vintage glass that Little corner and plenty of spaces for the cats to Light Company pours candles into for a climb, interact with guests or take a well-de- unique repurposed product. There’s also served cat nap within view. jewelry and T-shirts, with new products still Owners Amy Haskell and Kristy Towler to come. first began talking about their dream of “That’s kind of where the name opening a cat cafe in 2019, then COVID hit. Entangled came from. We wanted to be Deciding to get the business started online, part of the community. We wanted to be they launched the Entangled Cat Cafe webentangled with local businesses and artists site in July of 2022 operating as an online and craftspeople and things like that,” says retailer and marketplace for cat lovers.

Towler. “Then the other way that we came After finding the Watkinsville location and up with our name is because we wanted to signing the lease in March of 2023, it took a be a place where the community gathers, full year to open its doors. In the meantime, cat lovers and even not cat lovers. Just a Haskell and Towler had been visiting cat space for people to be.” cafes in other states to get a feel for what Entangled has hosted birthday parties seemed to work well and what they could and gatherings for local groups and organiimprove within their own space. zations, and the owners hope to continue “What we noticed when we visited a seeing other types of gatherings and even lot of cat cafes was that they were really host their own events and classes in the beautiful and they had these beautiful beds space. While walk-ins are welcome, there is and things like that, but there was not a lot limited space available. For regular visits, of play area for the cats,” says Towler. “We time can be reserved online at entangled​cat​ wanted to make our space really an enrichcafe.com. f

SAM LIPKIN

pets

arts & culture

feature

The World of Mark Katzman M7 : A PSYCHEDELIC, LITERARY-FORWARD NOVEL

By Sam Lipkin editorial@flagpole.com

C

ELIZABETH CLAY

enturies of legendary, obscure and even mundane books are housed within the fantastical Library, seemingly at your fingertips—if you can find them.

Stacks disappear deep into the earth; landings hover and shift several stories high; the Dewey Decimal System is merely a faint suggestion. This is the cryptic, mind-bending world you enter with the nameless protagonist of the novel M7, who is often no steps further ahead than the reader in understanding his new home and place of employment.

Written by local creative Mark Katzman, M7 is a decadelong project recently published by Spaceboy Books and nominated for the National Book Award, Hugo Award and Nebula Award. Katzman heavily leans toward the experimental and existential in his works, placing a particular emphasis on the psychedelic within this novel. Although the world and resulting society in M7 is outlandish and often comical, a true product of Katzman’s imagination that might not be intuitive to others, there’s an ease in navigating and accepting this new landscape. Katzman’s world-building is extraordinary.

“Slowly and carefully—that’s how it’s built. And not pushing things, just following your muse. I discover it as I’m doing it. And that’s what I hope the reader also experiences,” says Katzman. “It’s exciting because I don’t know where that world is going. I do not outline, but I do research certain things.”

The Library in M7 is located in U-City, a location outside of time or place.

Somehow it feels both futuristic and archaic yet also both otherworldly and familiar. Katzman explains he modeled the sense of place after his experiences in Europe traveling to Paris, Amsterdam and Greece.

London also has a strong influence, and Katzman says he unintentionally created what appears to be a very English novel.

One of the initial inspirations behind M7 came from Franz Kafka’s novel The Castle. In this novel the protagonist K arrives in a village overseen by mysterious authorities who govern from a castle, and ultimately K is never able to reach the highest authorities. After a re-reading, Katzman began asking what if K reached the castle and what would that experience be like? This idea combined with Katzman’s time spent inside of libraries, leisurely and professionally, set the framework for M7.

“I’ve gone to life school and reading great writers school, but never to writing school in an institution,” says Katzman. He later remarks, “Beckett and Kafka are truly my big brothers. I’m the little brother. I really do feel that because I absorbed everything from them. I read everything, every biography, that’s who I gravitated to.”

Regardless of how absurd or fictional, everything within the novel is a reflection of real life. Katzman has worked at a multitude of libraries and bookstores, including the Lamont Library at Harvard and the Film Archive Library at the American Museum of Natural History. At the latter, there was a special elevator with a key that went to a restricted floor full of specimens and rare books, and another scientific floor he says “smelled like 150 years ago.”

His work as a serial records assistant largely informed the day-to-day work of M7’s protagonist. In another position he worked under a supervisor who predominantly communicated through memos. Each of these experiences plays a

significant role in the Library’s creation.

Then there are aspects like the living quarters’ psychedelic light clusters that provide solace and a calming effect through their trippy patterns. Or the special drops for sale in town that mentally transport their consumer to other themed locations to role play or relax. Katzman says that he is pro-psychedelic and believes in the therapeutic use of such substances. The cultural shift towards exploring the benefits of psychedelic psychotherapy makes this novel even more timely and relevant.

“All I want is for someone to just have fun. Maybe you’ll think about some things, but you’ll laugh, hopefully a lot,” says Katzman.

Over the years Katzman has published many novels, plays, zines and more, but it all started with two artist books he created in 1990: Along the Way (Pequeno Press) and INoN (Nexus Press). Along the Way is in the format of a very small miniature book with a run of 50 copies, and INoN is a scroll with a run of 350 copies. However both books have made their way to numerous museums and special collections libraries, like MoMA, Brooklyn Museum of Fine Arts, Emory College, Chicago Art Institute, University of Georgia Hargrett Special Collections and more.

Along the Way will be showcased as part of the second annual Athens Art Book Fair during AthFest. Hosted at The Athenaeum on June 22 from 11 a.m.–4 p.m., a variety of paper-based works will be on display. Katzman says he was supposed to participate last year, but he received an opportunity through JOKERJOKERtv to record the AthFest performances. This summer he’ll be doing the same through his own platform, Athens Uncharted.

Athens Uncharted is a website with active social media channels dedicated to sharing unique creative projects and music. It was established in 2016 by Katzman and Bowen Craig, both established writers and journalists, with a community first approach. Initially it was solely Athens-centric, but the success and reach of Athens Uncharted’s Instagram has opened up coverage, selectively, to the world. While Katzman says he has a particular interest in experimental music, he’s also “open to anything good.”

The platform is still very much active and growing, says Katzman, and his new emphasis is on recording performances around Athens to share on Instagram. Being physically present within the community meeting new artists and musicians in addition to virtually expanding his network around the world has brought a renewed inspiration to Katzman. The names of a few local musicians, like Marcel Sletten, even appear within the story of M7, with many more appearing in a long list of acknowledgements.

“These are very talented people that are hard workers and can have great trajectories in their art. My allegiance is just to art with a capital A,” says Katzman.

Locally M7 is available through Neighborhood Books at the Athens Farmers Market held at Bishop Park, or through online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org. Katzman will be a guest on JOKERJOKERtv’s YouTube channel on May 23 at 6:30 p.m. with an interview and reading from M7 hosted by Bryant Perez. f

706.255.2018

@juliealpaugh.co

Pet Portraits, Commissions, And More

@handmadebyjennya jennyalpaugh@gmail.com handmadebyjenna.square.site

Dog Spa

COME SEE WHY WE’RE ONE OF ATHENS’

FAVORITE PET GROOMERS

AKC Safety-Certified · BarkDogSpa.com 1850 Epps Bridge Pkwy · 706-353-1065 M AY 22, 2024· F L A GP OL E .C OM

11

pets

12

photo gallery

Aengus

Diamond Jim

Little

Banjo Blue

Ella

Major

Daffodil

Gabby

Moxin & Walker

Daisy

Leonarda the Great

Nigel

F L A GP OL E .C OM · M AY 22, 2024

Olive

Princess Leia & Chewbacca

Scheba

Ophelia Louise

Reggie

Sir Ratty Rat

Peanut

Rosie & Darwin

Tiger

Poldy

Samson

Tobias M AY 22, 2024· F L A GP OL E .C OM

13

live music calendar Tuesday 21

Wednesday 22 Creature Comforts Brewery Athens Farmers Market. 5–8 p.m.

FREE! www.athensfarmersmarket. net THE NEW ORLEANS JAZZ STOMPERS New Orleans style music played by members of The Dixieland Five. (6 p.m.)

Nowhere Bar 8 p.m. www.facebook.com/nowhere​ bar​athens THE LOW WHITES New side project of Neal Fountain alongside Jeff Sipe and Bryan Lopes.

Thursday 23 40 Watt Club 8 p.m. (doors). $15 (adv.), $20. www.40watt.com RUNAWAY GIN Tribute band for improvisational rock band Phish.

Flicker Theatre & Bar Attaboy Tapes Presents. 8 p.m. (doors). $12. www.flickertheatre​ andbar.com HAWK PROOF ROOSTER Local old-​time string duo that sings and plays fiddle, banjo, ukulele, guitar and mandolin.

Friday 24 Athentic Brewing Co. 6 p.m. FREE! www.athenticbrewing. com

WASHINGTONSQUARESTUDIO.COM

706.395.6633 Home Base For Disruptive Beauty

14

F L A GP OL E .C OM · M AY 22, 2024

WADE NEWBURY Easy listening tunes and classics on guitar.

Buvez 7 p.m. (doors), 8 p.m. (show). $10. www.facebook.com/buvezathens DEAF CONDORS Experimental garage-​rock group with a genre-​ bending sound anchored by Peruvian brothers Bob Jesus and Darrick Alvarez.

PARKING GARAGE Local self-​ proclaimed “salt rock” band, mixing Midwest emo platitudes with dance punk attitudes.

DICTATORTOTS Longtime local chaos-​cultivators trash the night with post-​grunge grooves. Special show celebrating Burt’s 50th birthday!

Saturday 25 ATHICA Sonic Space. 7 p.m. (doors). Donations accepted. www.athica.org JOE DEVITA Experimental multi-​ instrumentalist and live looper.

blues, country, jam, Americana and funk.

PICKLED HOLLER Matthew and Jessica Williams singing rustic tales.

Innovation Amphitheater 6 p.m. (doors), 7 p.m. (show). $35–130. www.innovation​amphitheater.com LEE GREENWOOD Country singer-​ songwriter and saxophonist who has over 20 major-​label records to his name.

ALEX COX

Hendershot’s No Phone Party. 7 p.m. www.hendershotsathens.com KENOSHA KID Instrumental adventure-​jazz group centered around the rollicking compositions of Dan Nettles and featuring Josh Allen, Seth Hendershot and various guests.

Normal Bar 8–11 p.m. FREE! booking@rudymontayremusic.com OPEN MIC Held Every Tuesday evening.

Ramsey Hall 7:30 p.m. $5 (w/ UGA ID), $30. pac. uga.edu CHAMBER MUSIC ATHENS GALA FINALE Borromeo String Quartet, guest artists, UGA faculty and students perform Mendelssohn’s “Overture to The Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No. 3” and Tchaikovsky’s “Souvenir de Florence.”

DEVON FLAHERTY Carboro, NC-​ based old time banjo specializing in the stylings of Uncle Dave Macon and Wade Ward.

Georgia Theatre Rooftop 7:30 p.m. (doors), 8:30 p.m. (show). $10. www.georgiatheatre.com NICHOLAS MALLIS AND THE BOREALIS Local synth-​pop act claiming a diverse array of supposed corporate sponsors.

FREEMAN LEVERETT Hypnotic local songwriter and backing band with dreamy vocals, exuberant melodies and cosmopolitan influences.

RACECAR 44 New Athens band.

Hendershot’s 8 p.m. $10. www.hendershotsathens. com SHANE PARISH Master guitarist and fearless explorer of rhythm and timbre. Repertoire album release show!

JOHN KIRAN FERNANDES Local Elephant 6 stalwart and multi-​ instrumentalist works his improvisational magic on the clarinet.

Hotel Indigo Live After Five Series. 5:30 p.m.

FREE! www.facebook.com/Aubrey​ EntertainmentAthensGA JOSHUA WALKER Member of Holman Autry Band performs a solo set.

Nowhere Bar 9:30 p.m. www.facebook.com/ nowherebarathens BLUES JAM Bring an instrument and join host Big C and The Moonshynes for an open blues jam. The house band includes Scott Nicholson, Derek Warren, Brent Davenport and Bo Hembree.

Southern Brewing Co. 6–10 p.m. www.sobrewco.com KARAOKE NIGHT Every Thursday evening.

The World Famous 9 p.m. $10 suggested donation. www. facebook.com/theworldfamous​ athens TEDDY AND THE ROUGH RIDERS Solid gold country band from Nashville.

LITTLE GOLD Local group playing garage rock with country and pop sensibilities.

Shane Parish will celebrate the release of his new album, Repertoire, at Hendershot’s on May 23. See last week’s cover story online at flagpole.com.

JOHNNY FALLOON Deranged local band with hard-​hitting songs and complex theatrics.

Flicker Theatre & Bar 8 p.m. $10. www.flickertheatreandbar. com KIMI CARTER Nashville, TN-​based indie singer-​songwriter.

JACOB MALLOW Singer-​songwriter with an alternative folk and soulful R&B sound.

GABRIELLA DELLIPONTI Indie pop singer-​songwriter.

No. 3 Railroad Street 7 p.m. $10. www.3railroad.org JANGLING SPARROW Folk project of Asheville, NC-​based musician Paul Edelman that moves from edgy to misty, from a holler to a whisper.

Nowhere Bar 9:30 p.m. www.facebook.com/ nowhere​barathens

OTHER VOICES, OTHER ROOMS Influenced by house music, rap and shoegaze, DJ Wyatt Nicholson uses audio inputs on analog synthesizers to filter and warp tape and drum machine sound sources.

Bishop Park Athens Farmers Market. 8 a.m.–12 p.m. FREE! www.athensfarmers​ market.net JAMES COOK Arty Ball Swing Band frontman plays a variety of music from the Great American Songbook. (8 a.m.)

Hendershot’s 8 p.m. $15. www.hendershotsathens. com HEART OF PINE Athens “Southedelic” band formed by Steven Bagwell and Travis Richardson, who are inspired by a culmination of influences spanning classic rock,

Madison-​Morgan Cultural Center Funk on the Lawn. 5:30 p.m. FREE! www.mmcc-​arts.org THE ORIGINAL SPLITZ BAND A mixed drink of the classic Motown sound, part 1970s funk and disco flavor, a dash of the old-​school and contemporary R&B. Nowhere Bar 9:30 p.m. $10. www.facebook.com/ NowhereBarAthens KIMBERLY YORK AND THE BOYS Country music done with a sparkle.

Sunday 26 The World Famous 8:30 p.m. www.facebook.com/the​ world​famousathens

EMILY NENNI Nashville-​based musician with a sound rooted in classic honky-​tonk and spiked with serious country, soul and rock and roll fire, along with sweet-​and-​ sassy lyrics.

T. HARDY MORRIS Local singer-​ songwriter and guitarist plays twangy, reflective folk-​rock.

TEDDY AND THE ROUGH RIDERS Solid gold country band from Nashville.

Tuesday 28 Flicker Theatre & Bar 8 p.m. (doors). $15. www.flicker​theatreandbar.com SLATER Alternative pop artist from Southern California whose discography ranges from club bangers to therapeutic nighttime cruising tunes.

TONY VELOUR Altanta-​based artist who blends hip hop and hyperpop.

TRVY AND THE ENEMY Hip-​hop band that blends trap, funk and psychedelic rock.

Hendershot’s No Phone Party. 7 p.m. www.hendershotsathens.com KENOSHA KID Instrumental adventure-​jazz group centered around the rollicking compositions of Dan Nettles and featuring Josh Allen, Seth Hendershot and various guests.

Normal Bar 8–11 p.m. FREE! booking@rudymontayremusic.com OPEN MIC Held Every Tuesday evening.

Wednesday 29 Creature Comforts Brewery Athens Farmers Market. 5–8 p.m.

FREE! www.athensfarmersmarket. net MARY & THE HOT HOTTY-​HOTS Hot jazz and swing band offering music from the 1910s, ’20s and ’30s. (6 p.m.)

The Foundry Aubrey Entertainment Presents. 6 p.m. (doors), 8 p.m. (show). $15. www. facebook.com/Aubrey​Entertainment​ AthensGA MOUNTAIN GRASS UNIT Three Birmingham pickers adding a bluegrass touch to country, jazz, funk, rock and even metal. f

music

threats & promises

music

feature

Cookie Ritter Releases Birds Sing Just Because Bark Along PLUS, MORE MUSIC NEWS AND GOSSIP

DOG PERSON DISCUSSES VOMITING, GROOMING AND CANINE SCOOTING

By Gordon Lamb threatsandpromises@flagpole.com

By Patrick Barry music@flagpole.com

ROOM FOR ALL: The next instance of Sonic

Space at ATHICA happens Saturday, May 25. This time, the always thoughtfully curated event features New York’s Joe Devita, who is a multi-instrumentalist and live-loop composer. Also on the bill that night is Other Voices Other Rooms,

aren’t a lot of our favorite records exactly like that? Find this at spitehound.bandcamp.com.

SOUND ON SOUND: Chairs has a new single out that was made collaboratively with London, England’s Susu Laroche. It’s a short—under two minutes—synth-based vocal track that’s soft and dreamy and lush and all that good stuff. Laroche handled vocals and lyrics while Marcel Sletten took care of production, mixing and mastering.

One particularly nice aspect of the music is the echo-y, arpeggioed guitar riff that occurs throughout. Find this at primordialvoid.bandcamp.com.

A SONG FOR YOU: The relatively new-to-Athens Zach Ritter makes music under the name Cookie Ritter. He has a brand new, fulllength album out now named Birds Sing Just Because. In the album notes, Ritter says this was all recorded between 2019–2024.

With the sole exception of “Black And White Cat,” which is a totally fine T. Rex

Cookie Ritter

which has expanded very nicely over the years from a DJ project into a compositional and live performance project. Doors open at 7 p.m., and music should start between 8:30–9 p.m. For more information, please see athica.org.

TIME MACHINE: It’s been a little over six months since Spitehound, the project of songwriter Brandon Steinhauer, released its wonderful Tourniquet EP, and now it’s time for a new one. Specifically, he’s released a new collection, and it’s a fivesong EP named Shifting Paint. It starts out of the gate incredibly strong with “Kim’s Kid.” And dammit if Steinhauer isn’t such a good songwriter that I’m sitting here choked up over this story of two people I don’t know or even know if they actually exist. Spitehound’s music isn’t genre-less, but as time moves it’s becoming less and less accurate to pin comparisons to it. This is deeply emotional music, but not just in its lyricism. The music itself—very loosely corralled by descriptors such as indie rock, indie folk, et al—packs an emotional wallop. The intro to “Less Sacred” is worth the price of entry alone. This is one of those records that feels like a secret and, honestly,

inspired number, the rest of this is heartachingly lovely and tender. Indeed, so lovely at points it’s breathtaking. Musically it feels very much inspired by a certain type of mid-1990s Americana (e.g. Scud Mountain Boys/Pernice Brothers, the slower side of Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, etc.) but also the emotional weight of early 20th century high lonesome country music and even early 1970s folk and country. Especially touching are opening song “Conee,” “Small Town Talk” and “Valentine.” This isn’t a thoroughly easy listen, but it is rewarding.

Find it at cosmicinternetcountry.bandcamp. com.

AMONG THE LIVING: Hard rockers Ashes To Omens have released a new single named “Feed Me More,” and it’s a big, fat, thick slice of melodic alt-metal. Not exactly my bag, but it might be yours. It’s the band’s first release since 2022 and available on all major streaming platforms. The group is currently booked to play June 28 at the 40 Watt Club. Keep your eyes peeled on the Flagpole calendar or 40watt.com for show details once they become confirmed. For more information, please see facebook. com/ashestoomensofficial. f

In

the lounge and mixing room of Studio 1093 in the heart of the Normaltown neighborhood, multicolored tracks stack on top of each other on the large screen over the mixing board.

Someone hits play, and the racing sounds of Dog Person’s new music hits my ears. Even in its unmixed state, singer, keyboard player and founding member Lauren Gregg’s vocals are unmistakably unique.

They’re paired with breezy chords on her Casio keyboard, Robbee Cucchiaro’s horn playing dialed in over years of touring with some of Elephant 6’s most notable groups, drummer Steve Hendriksen’s crashing rhythms, Jay Domingo’s playful bass and Gray Reilly’s shimmering guitar.

Dog Person began as a small batch of songs that Gregg had written on her old Casio keyboard, a sort of aggressive bedroom pop. She began collaborating with Domingo and eventually Hendriksen, both adding intense depth to songs which had been written for a single, fairly limited instrument.

The result was an unclassifiable sound that builds itself around the chords from the keyboard, and a carefree energy that sometimes contradicts the lyrical content.

Now, after two years of playing live shows in houses and venues around town, Dog Person is in the final stages of tracking for its debut album to be released this summer.

Sitting at 10 songs, the album’s runtime is expected to be somewhere between 15–20 minutes, due to a timekeeping metric exclusive to the band called “dog minutes,” in which no song lasts over two human minutes. Blazingly fast, infectiously catchy songs are Dog Person’s forte.

I find myself needing to seek the answer to a burning question: Is “Dog Person” meant to represent a person who has identified as being fond of dogs over cats, or does the name allude to a half-human, half-canine creature, an anthropomorphic dog?

“I think it’s whatever you want it to be,” Gregg says.

Cucchiaro says that in the town of Athens the band’s name takes on an even deeper meaning in the form of Dawg Person. He is dressed in strikingly canine apparel, donning a pink snoopy onesie and a stylish, dog-headed cane.

Early Dog Person merch depicted the Disney character Goofy reclining in a La-ZBoy style chair, and the idea is presented of creating UGA spirit wear of the graphic,

thus combining the properties of two historically litigious institutions.

Current Dog Person merchandise features an original design by Gregg, herself a professional illustrator and graphic designer, of a dog wearing a bowler hat, lending credence to the anthropomorphic interpretation.

LAUREN GREGG

UP ON THE SUN: Composer, musician and Arfus Records head Andrew Steck has a new single out as of May 22. It’s named “Secretive” and is from his upcoming album, Regular Human Music Album, which is slated for release this summer. This new song is a vocal number from the artist, whose non-vocal productions we’ve become accustomed to. The tune itself, too, is a back-to-basics rock-influenced piece that is psychedelic in the style of Ween or maybe even a slowed-down Meat Puppets. Either way, an interesting take. Find this on streaming services and andrewsteck.bandcamp.com. For more information, please see arfusrecords.com and facebook.com/ andrewsteckcomps.

“I think the idea of an anthropomorphic dog works really well,” Domingo says, “because the band eventually became an expression of a dog. It seems very dog-like.

There’s goofy, happy, wild songs, but also very earnest emotion going on.”

So, the jury is still out.

But, to really get a feel for the band, which straddles the line between the honest and the absurd, it should be admitted that the majority of the time with the band is spent discussing animals and their various quirks and characteristics.

We talk about chickens, of which Domingo has several, and compared them to both tomato plants and dinosaurs.

Cucchiaro reminisced on an episode of “The Golden Girls” in which Rose discovers a musical chicken able to play piano.

We talk about bird people, cat people, horse girls and fish people. Domingo discussed the etymological origins of the term “vomitorium,” and the whole band commiserates over the ultimate burden of the dog person: ensuring your dog’s glands are properly and regularly expressed.

Despite what the band’s name may lead you to believe, however, a shocking amount of members have proven themselves to align with other pet camps, from cats to horses. As part of the interview, Gregg agreed to include photos of every acting member of the band and their accompanying pets, which can be found online at flagpole.com. f

M AY 22, 2024· F L A GP OL E .C OM

15

food & drink

good growing

arts & culture

Bee Bash

HONEYBEE FESTIVAL CELEBRATES POLLINATORS

By Erin France news@flagpole.com Whether you’d like to taste some local honey, learn more about these pollinators or don a protective suit for an up-close look at a hive, check out the Athens Area Honeybee Festival on Saturday, May 25. The festival will run from 9 a.m.–1:30 p.m. at the Athens-Clarke County Extension Office at 275 Cleveland Road, in partnership with the Eastern Piedmont Beekeepers Association.

“One target audience is young people and people who know nothing about bees,” said ACC Extension Agent Laura Ney. “This will help expose people to bees for the first time in a positive way.”

holstering bags of frozen veggies around the house.

Some beekeepers choose to forgo the full suit. “They would rather just take the risk of getting stung on the leg or arm,” Ney said.

But everyone handling bees should wear the hat and face-net combo known as a beekeeper’s veil, she said. “You don’t want to risk getting stung in the eye.”

If you’re past the point of worrying about stings and are considering backyard beekeeping yourself, the Honeybee Festival would be a great time to get some hands-on experience and meet with like-minded

calendar picks

ART | THU, MAY 23

Watts, Infinite Favors, Cowboy Kerouac and Hunger Anthem on bass. Local bands Parking Garage and Johnny Falloon will be opening the show. [MB]

Lyndon House Arts Center • 6 p.m. • FREE!

EVENT | SAT, MAY 25

‘Rescue: Waste & Redemption’ Fashion Show “Rescue: Waste & Redemption,” on display through June 15, is an exhibition curated by Lizzie Zucker Saltz that showcases the work of 22 artists connected through the theme of transforming industrial byproducts into art. The upcoming fashion show coincides with this collection, featuring original clothing and jewelry made of objects saved from the landfill.

The designs are equally as complex and

Heritage Walk

Brooklyn Cemetery • 11 a.m. • $25

The Historic Athens Heritage Walk series brings guests on curated walking tours through historic neighborhoods and locations throughout the city. The walk through the historic Brooklyn Cemetery will be led

by Linda Elder Davis, who will explain the location’s origins as one of the first African

COURTESY OF THE ACC EXTENSION OFFICE

Brooklyn Cemetery

Athens-area residents learn about honeybees from knowledgeable beekeepers in full protective suits behind the ACC Extension Office.

There will be games, snacks, honeybee-​ friendly plants for sale from the UGA Bee Lab and plenty of knowledgeable beekeepers on hand for answering questions. “Most beekeepers are just good educators,” Ney said.

If you’re a parent of a small child, or someone who hasn’t been stung before, the honeybee festival—and bees in general— might make you nervous. The festival will have plenty of protective gear for those folks who want to peer inside the hives, space for activities away from the hives and the ability to summon first aid for any unfortunate accidents. “We luckily have our fire department right there to respond,” Ney said.

It might also help to know that only 5% of the population will have a systemic serious allergic reaction to an insect sting, according to a 2015 study published in the Journal of Asthma and Allergy. Allergies are often genetic, so if someone in your family has had a severe reaction to a bee sting, you might want to get your own EpiPen whether you attend Saturday’s event or not.

“Every single person’s body is going to be different,” Ney said. She’s been stung a handful of times, and while it’s painful, the bump generally fades to an itchy spot the next day. “I happen to respond really strongly to fire ants,” she said.

A bee sting on my foot will make getting shoes on difficult for a day or two, and I still think wasp stings are worse. It could be because those suckers seem to target my armpits. I inevitably end up shoulder

16

F L A GP OL E .C OM · M AY 22, 2024

folks. There won’t be a how-to guide for beekeeping at the festival, Ney said, but resources will be available for the curious.

While there are plenty of great beekeepers, readers should keep their critical thinking caps on when asking for advice and information. One local beekeeper boasted to me a few years ago about how much sugar water he went through to feed his bees. He told me that Georgia doesn’t have enough flowering plants through most of the year to support a hive. I don’t know about his yard, but as a state, yes, we do. If something feels off, you can ask the same question again to a different beekeeper. I did that and found out that most beekeepers in our area don’t feed sugar water to their hive for most of the year.

Another word of warning: Leave your bananas at home if you plan to attend the Honeybee Festival. Bananas contain a chemical included in the honeybee alarm pheromone. The smell of bananas can drive normally calm bees into a fury. I learned this from my mother, who kept several hives in her North Carolina home for years and gave away vats of honey. f

WHO: Athens Area Honeybee Festival WHEN: Saturday, May 25, 9 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

WHERE: ACC Extension Office HOW MUCH: FREE!

fascinating as the abstract works shown in the exhibition, embodying the “material alchemy” that Saltz is aiming to explore.

Composer John Vogt’s soundtrack orchestration will accompany the models as they walk the runway in works by Adah Bennion, Emily Peter, Sugar und Salt Designs, Andrea Trombetta, Paula Reynaldi, Susan Lenz and Kate Wendley. New woven artworks from the Art Center’s advanced weavers will also be on display at the show. [Mary Beth Bryan] MUSIC | FRI, MAY 24

Deaf Condors EP Release

Buvez • 7 p.m. (doors), 8 p.m. (show) • $10

Almost There, the upcoming EP from local band Deaf Condors, stretches sonically and thematically across a lot of territory. The band is fronted by brothers Bob Jesus and Darrick Alvarez, who previously focused on their Peruvian heritage in their music, but for this EP decided to unpack more personal experiences. Its five-song run includes a pulsing and punchy opener about music scene gatekeepers, a two-part reflection on letting go, a screamer about a local slumlord and finally a musing on the will of the human race set against a ’60s psychedelic soundscape. Deaf Condors took full advantage of the rich Athens music scene for this project, utilizing the talents of several other local musicians to create its genre-bending rock songs, which pull from a variety of surprising influences including Latin music, the songwriting of folk musician Leonard Cohen, reggae and hip hop. The album began production in 2021 at The Glow Recording Studio with Ian Hemerlain of experimental noise punk band Kwazymoto.

Other local talents were folded in along the way, including blues musician Grayson Hauser on occasional lead guitar (who will also be joining the brothers on stage for the EP release show) and Adam Herbert of Dim

American cemeteries in Athens. The cemetery was established in 1882 under the name Bethlehem Cemetery and served as the resting place for many people from the Brooklyn/Hawthorne Avenue area in west Athens. The walk supports efforts being made to preserve the cemetery in the wake of its being overtaken by nature.

Future heritage walks include a tour of Pulaski Heights with Mayor Kelly Girtz, walking The Hill with Lee Epting, a tour of Linnentown with Hattie Thomas Whitehead and finally a tour of the Downtown Historic Districts with Scott Nesbit. Visit historic​ athens.ticketspice.com/hahw-spring24 to see future event times and prices. [MB] MUSIC | SUN, MAY 26

Emily Nenni

The World Famous • 8 p.m. • $10

The honky tonk, soul and rock and roll sound of Emily Nenni’s newest record, Drive & Cry, transports listeners to the buzzing musical streets of Nashville. In a review for music outlet Americana UK, journalist David Jarman groups Nenni amongst vintage country revival artists like Sierra Ferrell, pointing out how her take on the genre comes from the “sassy edge to her vocals” and the sense that she is “having fun with her music.” The album’s team points to its roots in the legendary country scene, with production by John James Tourville of The Deslondes and mixing by Matt Ross-Spang, who has worked with John Prine and Jason Isbell. Nenni’s stage presence is one of her key attributes, having honed her craft with electrifying sets in the Nashville bar scene.

Nenni’s show in Athens is part of her headline tour across the U.S., UK and Europe, and she is also slotted to support Orville Peck on tour this fall. Local musician T. Hardy Morris and fellow Nashvillians Teddy and The Rough Riders will be opening the show. [MB] f

event calendar

Wednesday 22

ART: Tour At Two (Georgia Museum of Art) These drop-​in public tours feature highlights of the permanent collection. 2 p.m. FREE! www.georgia​museum.org CLASSES: Salsa Dancing (El Carretonero) Join SALSAthens for Cuban salsa lessons. Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. (advanced), 7:30 p.m. (beginner/intermediate). $10. SALSAthens​ Dancing@gmail.com COMEDY: Gorgeous George’s Improv League (Buvez) Townie improv that invites you to bring suggestions to help create improv magic. Wednesdays, 7 p.m. $5 suggested donation. www.flying​ squid​comedy.com EVENTS: Athens Farmers Market (Creature Comforts Brewery) Markets offer fresh produce, flowers, eggs and more. Live music at 6 p.m. AFM doubles SNAP dollars spent. Wednesdays, 5–8 p.m. www. athens​farmersmarket.net FILM: Ghastly Horror Society (Flicker Theatre & Bar) Screening of the 2008 horror film The Many Strange Stories of Triangle Woman.

7 p.m. FREE! www.flickertheatreand​ bar.com FILM: Silent Films and Cocktails (Hendershot’s) Settle in with a drink for a night of silent film showings. 7 p.m. www.hendershotsathens.com GAMES: Shadowfist Power Lunch (Tyche’s Games) Come down with your lunch and play Shadowfist.

New players welcome. 12 p.m.

FREE! www.tychesgames.com GAMES: Classic City Trivia (The Local 706) Test your trivia knowledge with host Garrett Lennox. 7 p.m. FREE! www.facebook.com/ ClassicCityTriviaCo KIDSTUFF: Busy Bee Toddler Time (Bogart Library) Join Ms. Donna for rhymes, songs, puppets and a story. 10 a.m. & 11 a.m. FREE! www.athenslibrary.org/bogart KIDSTUFF: Seussical The Musical (Oconee County Library) Enjoy exploring various stories by Dr. Suess with a musical showcase

by K&A Theatricals. 11 a.m. FREE! www.athenslibrary.org/oconee KIDSTUFF: Travelin’ Tales (Bogart Library) Puppeteer Lee Bryan will tell stories using a variety of puppet styles with an anti-​bullying message. 3 p.m. FREE! www.athens​ library.org/bogart KIDSTUFF: LEGO & Builder’s Club (Bogart Library) Drop in to use LEGOs and other building materials.

All ages. 3:30–5:30 p.m. FREE! www.athenslibrary.org/bogart KIDSTUFF: Video Gaming Night (Oconee County Library) Play video games in the Creative Space, like Hogwarts Legacy and Mario Party.

Grades 6–12. 5–8 p.m. FREE! www. athenslibrary.org/oconee LECTURES & LIT: Author Talk (ACC Library) Author Rebecca McCarthy celebrates her new book Norman Maclean: A Life of Letters and Rivers. 7 p.m. FREE! www.avid​ bookshop.com

Thursday 23 CLASSES: Building a Website with WordPress (ACC Library) Learn how to create a free website including creating an account, selecting

themes, creating pages and more.

Registration required. 6 p.m. FREE! www.athenslibrary.org CLASSES: Porteguese Wines: Beyond Port (J’s Bottle Shop Tasting Room) Learn about and taste a variety of wines from Portugal. 6:30 p.m. $25. www.pintaschoolofwine. com CLASSES: Boots & Brews Line Dancing (Athentic Brewing Co.) Learn the line dancing basics from hosts Becky and Patty. Fourth Thursdays, 7 p.m. FREE! www. athenticbrewing.com COMEDY: Comedy in the Cellar (Onward Reserve) Athens Comedy presents a lineup of touring and local comedians. Thursdays, 8 p.m. $7–12. www.facebook.com/ athenscomedy EVENTS: Rescue: Waste & Redemption Fashion Show (Lyndon House Arts Center) This runway style event featuring original garments and jewelry made with repurposed materials coincides with the art exhibition of the same name.

6 p.m. www.accgov.com/exhibits FILM: Club Ned Anime Society (ACC Library) Join club members to watch and discuss episodes of “Serial Experiments Lain,” “Kaguya-​sama: Love is War” and “Erased.” 6:30–8:30 p.m. FREE! www.animefandom.org GAMES: Mahjong Club (Winterville Cultural Center) Learn to play the ancient Chinese game of Mahjong.

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 1​​–4 p.m. $1. www.wintervillecenter.com GAMES: Adult Dungeons & Dragons (Bogart Library) A gaming session for players of all skill levels.

Ages 18 & up. 6 p.m. FREE! www. athenslibrary.org/bogart GAMES: Thursday Trivia (Johnny’s New York Style Pizza) Test your trivia knowledge with host Jon Head. 6:30 p.m. www.johnnyspizza. com GAMES: Bad Dog Trivia (The Foundry) Test your trivia knowledge with host TJ Wayt. Thursdays, 7 p.m. www.facebook.com/baddog​ athens KIDSTUFF: Open Play (Oconee County Library) Drop in for bubbles, playtime, children’s music and companionship. Ages 5 & under.

Thursdays, 11 a.m. FREE! www. athenslibrary.org/oconee KIDSTUFF: Sea Serpents and Silliness Puppet Show (Bogart Library) Join Ms. Donna for a puppet show about pirates, octopuses, sea serpents and a dragon. 2 p.m.

FREE! www.athenslibrary.org/bogart KIDSTUFF: LEGO Club (Oconee County Library) Drop in to free build and create, or do one of the fun LEGO challenges. Ages 5–12.

Thursdays, 3:30–5:30. FREE! www. athenslibrary.org/oconee LECTURES & LIT: Author Reading (Online) JOKERJOKERtv hosts an interview with Mark Katzman reading from his novel M7. 6:30 p.m.

FREE! www.jokerjokertv.com MEETINGS: Coffee Hour (Oconee County Library) Drop in to drink some coffee, while supplies last.

Thursdays, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. FREE! www.athenslibrary.org MEETINGS: KnitLits Knitting Group (Bogart Library) Knitters of all levels are invited to have fun, share craft ideas and knit to their hearts’ content. Thursdays, 6 p.m. FREE! www. athenslibrary.org/bogart

SPORTS: Classic City Pétanque Club (Lay Park) New players welcome. Scheduled days are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. info@petanque.org, www.athenspetanque.org

Friday 24 CLASSES: DIY Succulent Book Planters (Oconee County Library) Learn how to build a succulent planter out of an old book and take a planter home. Registration required. 4:30 p.m. FREE! www. athenslibrary.org/oconee GAMES: Chess Club (Winterville Cultural Center) Join others for a weekly chess competition. Fridays, 6–10 p.m. FREE! www.winterville​ center.com GAMES: Friday Night Initiative (Online: Tyche’s Games) Learn how to play a RPG game with others on Discord. New players welcome. 7 p.m. FREE! www.tychesgames.com KIDSTUFF: Fantastic Friday (Bishop Park) An instructor supervises while a parent/caregiver leads their little ones through obstacle courses. Ages 1–4 years. Register online. 10–11:30 a.m. $7.50 (ACC residents), $11.25 (non-​ACC residents). www.accgovga.myrec.com KIDSTUFF: Puppet Play (Bogart Library) Join Ms. Donna to try out different puppets then make your own paper bag puppet. 10:30 a.m.

FREE! www.athenslibrary.org/bogart PERFORMANCE: Athens Showgirl Cabaret Fabulous Friday (Hendershots) A Fabulous Friday drag show with performances by special guests The Bombshells. 9 p.m. $5. www.athensshowgirlcabaret.com

Saturday 25 CLASSES: Yoga at the Library (Oglethorpe Co. Library) Enjoy relaxing yoga for all ages and abilities. 10 a.m. FREE! www.athens​ library.org/oglethorpe CLASSES: Community Class Day (DanceFX Athens) Wear something comfortable and try out individual classes teaching different dance styles and techniques. Registration required. 1:30–10:30 p.m. FREE! www.dancefx.org COMEDY: Jimmy Dore (Georgia Theatre) YouTube sensation and award-​winning comedian uses his platform to bridge political divides.

6 p.m. (doors). $35–55. www.georgia​theatre.com EVENTS: Athens Farmers Market (Bishop Park) Markets offer locally grown groceries and goods with live music and children’s activities.

AFM doubles SNAP dollars spent.

Saturdays, 8 a.m.–12 p.m. www. athensfarmers​market.net EVENTS: Honey Bee Festival (ACC Cooperative Extension) There will be demonstrations, kids crafts, honey tasting, photo opportunities, vendors and more. 9 a.m.–1:30 p.m. $5. lney@uga.edu EVENTS: West Broad Farmers Market (Rocksprings Park Pavilion) Vendors will be on site with fresh produce, rare plants and more. Saturdays, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. FREE! www. athens​landtrust.org/wbfm EVENTS: Historic Athens Heritage Walk (Brooklyn Cemetery) Linda Davis will guide an exploration of

the history of Brooklyn Cemetery.

Registration required. 11 a.m. $25. www.historicathens.com EVENTS: Oconee Book Festival (Oconee County Library) A local author event with Q&A sessions, book signings, workshops and more. 12​​–5 p.m. FREE! www.athens​ library.org/oconee EVENTS: Small Town Saturday (Athentic Brewing Co.) Browse local vendors with live music and food for sale. 2–8 p.m. www.athentic​brewing.com GAMES: Board Games (Bogart Library) Meet friends or make new ones while playing a variety of games. 2​​–4 p.m. FREE! www. athenslibrary.org/bogart

Sunday 26 ART: Artist Talk (Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Athens) Painter Starr Helms will discuss why she became a painter and her current works on display. 11:45 a.m. FREE! www.uuathensga.org COMEDY: Off the Clock Comedy (The Globe) Athens Comedy presents local comedians and improv, this week featuring Azalea Renee and Jorge Paz Soldan with host Pete Barlow. Sundays, 9–11 p.m. $5. www.facebook.com/athens​ comedy GAMES: Bad Dog Trivia (Southern Brewing Co.) Test your trivia knowledge with host TJ Wayt. Sundays, 4 p.m. www.facebook.com/baddog​ athens SPORTS: Classic City Pétanque Club (Lay Park) New players welcome. Scheduled days are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. info@petanque.org, www.athenspetanque.org

Monday 27 COMEDY: Sake Bomb Open Mic Comedy (Cozy Bar) Watch a variety of comedians perform new material or join in with your own standup routine. Mondays, 9 p.m. FREE! www.athenscomedy.com GAMES: Open Chess Play (ACC Library) Drop in for a game open to all skill levels with light refreshments served. Mondays, 3–5 p.m.

FREE! www.athenslibrary.org GAMES: General Trivia with Erin (Athentic Brewing Co.) Test your trivia knowledge with host Erin.

Mondays, 7–9 p.m. FREE! www. athenticbrewing.com GAMES: Classic City Trivia (Dooley’s Bar and Grill) Test your trivia knowledge with host Garrett Lennox.

7 p.m. FREE! www.facebook.com/ ClassicCityTriviaCo GAMES: Bad Dog Trivia (LumberJaxe) Test your trivia knowledge with host TJ Wayt. Mondays, 7 p.m. www.facebook.com/baddogathens GAMES: Team Trivia (Southern Brewing Co.) Test your trivia knowledge with host Team Trivia. Mondays, 7 p.m. www.sobrewco.com KIDSTUFF: Monday Funday (Bogart Library) Join Ms. Donna for songs, fingerplays, storytelling and STEAM activities. Ages 3–7 years. Registration suggested. 10:30 a.m. FREE! www.athenslibrary.org/bogart MEETINGS: Classic City Rotary (Athentic Brewing Co.) The local chapter meets weekly. Mondays,

11:30 a.m. FREE! www.athentic​ brewing.com MEETINGS: Pen Pals Writing Group (Oconee County Library) Meet other writers, share your writing experiences and get feedback on your work. Second Mondays, 5:30 p.m. Fourth Mondays, 4 p.m.

FREE! www.athenslibrary.org/ oconee

Tuesday 28 CLASSES: Privacy and Security (ACC Library) Learn tips on how to protect your personal information and control your privacy online.

Registration required. 10 a.m.

FREE! www.athenslibrary.org CLASSES: ESOL (Bogart Library) Learn or polish your English skills using Mango languages online and in-​person basic conversation and vocabulary. 12:30 p.m. FREE! www. athenslibrary.org/bogart EVENTS: Tiki Taco Tuesday (Live Wire) Enjoy live music, craft cocktails and a taco pop-​up from Don Carne. Tuesdays, 5–10 p.m. www. livewireathens.com EVENTS: West Broad Farmers Market and Garden (Athentic Brewing Co.) Vendors will be on site with fresh produce, local fare, rare plants, artisan goods and more.

Second and Fourth Tuesdays, 5–8 p.m. FREE! www.athenticbrewing. com GAMES: Mahjong Club (Winterville Cultural Center) Learn to play the ancient Chinese game of Mahjong.

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 1​​–4 p.m. $1. www.wintervillecenter.com GAMES: Tuesday Night Shenanigans (Southern Brewing Co.) Play board games and arcade games on site, bring your own games or even your D&D group. Tuesdays, 5–10 p.m. www.sobrewco.com GAMES: Chess and Pizza (Youth Force Hub) Open chess play for all levels with pizza provided. Last Tuesdays, 5–7 p.m. FREE! www. chessandcommunity.org GAMES: Dirty South Trivia (White Tiger Deluxe) Test your trivia knowledge. Tuesdays, 6 p.m. www. facebook.com/DirtySouthTrivia GAMES: Bad Dog Trivia (Amici Athens) Test your trivia knowledge with host TJ Wayt. Tuesdays, 7 p.m. www.facebook.com/baddogathens GAMES: Classic City Trivia (Akademia Brewing Co.) Test your trivia knowledge with host Garrett Lennox.

7 p.m. FREE! www.facebook.com/ ClassicCityTriviaCo GAMES: Singo! (Beef O’Brady’s) Win gift certificates and prizes at this music bingo night. Tuesdays, 7–9 p.m. www.beefobradys.com/athens KIDSTUFF: Crafternoon (Oconee County Library) Drop in for a craft or two. Supplies Provided. All ages.

Tuesdays, 3:30–5:30 p.m. FREE! www.athenslibrary.org/oconee LECTURES & LIT: Open Book Club (Oglethorpe Co. Library) Discuss mainstream fiction, thrillers and mysteries with the group. Last Tuesdays, 1 p.m. FREE! www.athens​library.org/oglethorpe LECTURES & LIT: Author Talk (Avid Bookshop) Rabbi Ariana Katz and Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg will discuss their book For Times Such As These: A Radical’s Guide to the Jewish Year. 7 p.m. FREE! www. avidbookshop.com

MEETINGS: Knot Just For Knitters (Oconee County Library) Bring your own crafting project to work on while chatting with fellow crafters.

Tuesdays, 3–5 p.m. FREE! www. athenslibrary.org/oconee MEETINGS: Athens Photography Guild (Lyndon House Arts Center) The meeting will feature a presentation on “Available Light Event Photography” by Wade Sheldon. 6 p.m. FREE! www.athensphotography​ guild.wordpress.com SPORTS: Classic City Pétanque Club (Lay Park) New players welcome. Scheduled days are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. info@petanque.org, www.athenspetanque.org

Wednesday 29 ART: Tour At Two (Georgia Museum of Art) These drop-​in public tours feature highlights of the permanent collection. 2 p.m. FREE! www.georgia​museum.org CLASSES: Salsa Dancing (El Carretonero) Join SALSAthens for Cuban salsa lessons that meet a variety of dance abilities, including beginners. Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. (advanced), 7:30 p.m. (beginner/ intermediate). $10. SALSAthens​ Dancing@gmail.com COMEDY: Gorgeous George’s Improv League (Buvez) Townie improv that invites you to bring suggestions to help create improv magic. Wednesdays, 7 p.m. $5 suggested donation. www.flying​ squidcomedy.com EVENTS: Athens Farmers Market (Creature Comforts Brewery) Markets offer fresh produce, flowers, eggs, meats, prepared foods, art and crafts. Live music at 6 p.m.

AFM doubles SNAP dollars spent.

Wednesdays, 5–8 p.m. www.athens​ farmersmarket.net GAMES: Shadowfist Power Lunch (Tyche’s Games) Come down with your lunch and play Shadowfist.

New players welcome. 12 p.m.

FREE! www.tychesgames.com GAMES: Classic City Trivia (The Local 706) Test your trivia knowledge with host Garrett Lennox. 7 p.m. FREE! www.facebook.com/ ClassicCityTriviaCo KIDSTUFF: Busy Bee Toddler Time (Bogart Library) Join Ms. Donna for rhymes, songs, puppets and a story. 10 a.m. & 11 a.m. FREE! www.athenslibrary.org/bogart KIDSTUFF: LEGO & Builder’s Club (Bogart Library) Drop in to use LEGOs and other building materials.

All ages. 3:30–5:30 p.m. FREE! www.athenslibrary.org/bogart KIDSTUFF: SRP Kickoff (Oconee County Library) The library’s Summer Olympics programming kickoff will have international snacks, a flag activity and other cultural crafts.

Grades 6–12. 6–8 p.m. FREE! www. athenslibrary.org/oconee MEETINGS: Film Athens (Flicker Theatre & Bar) Meet and network with others in the filmmaking community (actors, directors, etc.) during happy hour. 5 p.m. FREE! www.flickertheatreandbar.com OUTDOORS: ‘Normal’ Run (Athentic Brewing Co.) Join the Athens Road Runners for a 1–3 mile run that starts and ends at Athentic Brewing.

Every other Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.

FREE! www.athenticbrewing.com f

M AY 22, 2024· F L A GP OL E .C OM

17

bulletin board Deadline for getting listed in Bulletin Board is every THURSDAY at 5 p.m. for the print issue that comes out the following Wednesday. Online listings are updated daily. Email calendar@flagpole.com.

Art AAAC QUARTERLY GRANT (Athens, GA) The Athens Area Arts Council offers $500 grants to visual and performing artists in any medium to support specific projects that enrich the culture of Athens. Rolling deadlines are June 15, Sept. 15, Dec. 15 and Mar. 15. Apply online. www. athensarts.org/support ATHENS CREATIVE DIRECTORY (Athens, GA) The ACD is a platform to connect creatives with patrons.

Visual artists, musicians, actors, writers and other creatives are encouraged to create a free listing. athenscreatives@gmail.com, www. athenscreatives.directory BIPOC ARTIST/CURATOR PROJECT OPEN CALL (Lyndon House Arts Center) Seeking BIPOC individuals residing in Georgia to develop an art exhibition to be on display for 6–8 weeks at the LHAC. A stipend of $1500 is provided. www.accgov. com/9799/ArtistCurator CALL FOR COLLECTORS (Lyndon House Arts Center) The LHAC’s “Collections from our Community” series features unique collections of objects found in the closets, cabinets and shelves of Athenians.

Email if interested in displaying your collection. shelby.little@acc​ gov.com CALL FOR EXHIBITION PROPOSALS (Lyndon House Arts Center) Artists, artist groups and curators can submit original exhibition proposals for consideration in the arts center’s gallery schedule. Arts can also submit images of their work for consideration in larger group or themed shows. Deadline Sept. 20, 11:59 p.m. www.accgov.com/6657/ Exhibition-­Proposal-­Form CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS (Athens, GA) The Athens Downtown Development Authority and Lyndon

House Arts Center are seeking proposals for Art Decko, a public art project consisting of 4’x8’ murals in a downtown parking deck stairwell. Selected artists will receive a $1,100 stipend and a three-­month studio membership at LHAC. Application deadline June 2. form. jotform.com/241293354723153 EMERGING BLACK ARTIST SCHOLARSHIP (Athens, GA) The Athens Area Arts Council will award a $500 scholarship annually to one Black artist from a Clarke County high school who is attending, or has been accepted to, a college or university to study the arts. Deadline June 30. www.athensarts.org/ support JOKERJOKERTV CALL FOR ARTISTS (Online) JOKERJOKERtv is actively accepting proposals for collaboration from visual, musical and video artists and curators living in Athens. Artists worldwide can also submit music videos, short films, skits and ideas to share with a weekly livestream audience. www. jokerjokertv.com/submit MUSIC AND ARTS EDUCATION GRANTS (Athens, GA) AthFest Educates will award a total of $65,000 to music and arts education programs for local students. Applicants may request up to $5,000. Check website for requirements. Applications accepted through Aug. 24. www.athfesteducates.org OPEN STUDIOS (Lyndon House Arts Center) Studio members have access to spaces for painting, printmaking, photography, ceramics, jewelry, fiber and woodworking.

Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. $65/month. www. accgov.com/7350/Open-­Studio-­ Membership PUBLIC ART SELECTION PANELS (Athens GA) The Athens Cultural Affairs Commission is seeking community members to participate

art around town ATHICA@CINÉ GALLERY (234 W. Hancock Ave.) Jason Matherly presents “What Will He Do with It?,” an exhibition of early ink drawings and new paintings emphasizing the relationships between shape and color. Through June 25.

BOGUE GALLERY AT ACC LIBRARY (2025 Baxter St.) The Athens Photography Guild presents a collection of images. Through June 23.

CLASSIC CENTER (300 N. Thomas St.) In Classic Gallery I, “Spotlight” features works by painters William Ballard, Jaci Davis and Ella Hopkins. • In Classic Gallery II, Kristin Roberts’ “The Fables” illustrates Aesop’s Fables with detailed works that are both whimsical and dangerous.

GEORGIA MUSEUM OF ART (90 Carlton St.) “Richard Prince: Tell Me Everything” includes a suite of works based on the joke archives of comedian Milton Berle. Through June 16. • “Decade of Tradition: Highlights from the Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Collection.” Through July 3. • “Kei Ito: Staring at the Face of the Sun” uses photography to examine the intergenerational trauma of nuclear disaster and the possibilities of healing and reconciliation. Through July 14.

GLASSCUBE@INDIGO (500 College Ave.) Zane Cochran presents “Aurora,” a sculptural interpretation of the aurora borealis using 3D geometric figures and lights.

HENDERSHOT’S (237 Prince Ave.) Nirvinyl Album Art presents “Room by Room: The Kitchen Set.” Through mid-July.

JITTERY JOE’S DOWNTOWN (297 E. Broad St.) Susan Pelham’s collages are influenced by Magic Realism, nursery rhymes, limericks and children’s camp songs. Through May.

18

F L A GP OL E .C OM · M AY 22, 2024

in upcoming public art selection panels. Panels review, evaluate and select from submitted proposals for ACC-­funded public art commissions. www.accgov.com/9656/ Public-­Art-­Selection-­Panels

Auditions THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG (Elberton Arts Center) Seeking six adult men and two adult women for a comedic production. Be prepared to read excerpts from the script.

Open reading held June 5, 5:45 p.m. Auditions held June 17–18, 6–8 p.m. Performances held Sept.

27–29 & Oct. 4–6. tking@cityof​ elberton.net

Classes A COURSE OF LOVE (Unity Athens Church) Learn a positive path for spiritual living based on A Course in Miracles. Wednesdays, 10–11:30 a.m. FREE! www.unity​ athens.com ANIMAL COMMUNICATION & PET LOSS GRIEF WORKSHOPS (Ancient Suns Intuitive Arts at work. shop) In “Introduction to Animal Communication,” find out what your animal hopes to share as you learn how to send and receive messages telepathically. June 15, 12–3 p.m. $65. During “Pet Loss Grief Healing,” support your grieving process in a sacred, comforting way using meditation, intuitive skills and energy healing. June 29, 12–3 p.m. $65. hello@ancientsunsacademy. com, www.ancientsunsacademy. com ART CLASSES (K.A. Artist Shop) The shop offers a range of fine art classes and workshops for adults, private classes and parties, summer camps, and art clubs for youth.

Topics include acrylic, aqua oil, bookmaking, calligraphy, gouache, printmaking, and watercolor. Register online. www.kaartist.com ART CLASSES (Winterville Cultural Center) “Beginning Acrylic Painting” covers the basics of value, composition, opacity and hue.

Mondays, June 3–July 1, 7–9 p.m. $75. “Beginning Relief Printing” covers how to design, carve and print blocks. Thursdays, June 6– July 11, 7-­9 p.m. $75. winterville​ campus@gmail.com BLACKSMITHING CLASSES (Greenhow Handmade Ironworks, Washington) A variety of classes include “Forge a Railroad Spike Knife” (May 24 or July 26), “Forge a Three Hook Rack” (May 25), “Forge a Spear” (May 31 or July 27), “Forge Grilling Tools” (June 1), “Forge a Bottle Opener” (June 7), “Forge Garden Tools” (June 8), “Forge a Firepoker with Decorative Handle” (June 14) and “Christmas Ornaments in July” (July 13). Classes run 10 a.m.–5 p.m. www.greenhowhandmade. com/blacksmith-­classes CANOPY CLASSES & SCHOLARSHIPS (Canopy Studio) Canopy offers a variety of trapeze and aerial arts classes for children and adults.

Scholarships and financial aid are available. outreach@canopystudio. org, www.canopystudio.org/​ outreach/​scholarships COOKING CLASSES (Athens Cooks) “Not Your Momma’s Cookout” will be held May 22, 6–8 p.m. $103.

“Making Brunch, Not so Basic” will be held May 25, 9–11 a.m. $75.

“Giro Italiano” will be held May 30, 6–8 p.m. $105. “Paella Fiesta” will be held June 1, 6–8 p.m. $103. “Weekend Dinners with Chef Hunter” will be held June 5, 6–8 p.m. $103. “Knife Skills and Sharpening” will be held June 12, 5–7:15 p.m. $75. “Sake to Me Sushi” will be held June 15, 6–8 p.m. $103.

“Date Night Culinary Affair” will be held June 19, 6–8 p.m. $103. Register online. www.athenscooks.com PÉTANQUE CLUB OF ATHENS (5 Alumni Dr.) Learn to play Pétanque.

RSVP for a free Wednesday intro-

JUST PHO… AND MORE (1063 Baxter St.) Oil paintings by Joseph Leone.

Through May. LYNDON HOUSE ARTS CENTER (211 Hoyt St.) The Window Works series presents a site-specific artwork by Atlanta artist Michael Reese that questions the perception of the Black Body against cyanotype photography popular with architectural blueprints. Through spring 2025. • Guest curated by Lizzie Zucker Saltz, “RESCUE: Waste and Redemption” presents 22 artists who transform industrial byproducts into artworks or craft objects. Fashion Show May 23, 6 p.m. Through June 15. • “Inflections: Works by Kaitlin Thurlow, Maria Canzano & Morgan Auten Smith” brings together three painters who create intimate worlds to enter and reflect upon. Through June 15. • Collections from our Community presents Nate Mitchell’s 45 record box collection. Through June 22.

MADISON-MORGAN CULTURAL CENTER (434 S. Main St., Madison) “John Lewis Series: Painting by Benny Andrews” features 17 paintings by Andrews depicting the life of late U.S. Congressman John Lewis and the Civil Rights Movement. • The gallery shares 13 photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnston (1864–1952) taken in Madison in 1939 of seven antebellum homes and one church as part of the Carnegie Survey of the Architecture of the South. Through May. OCONEE CULTURAL ARTS FOUNDATION (34 School St., Watkinsville) “Southeastern Pastel Society: All About Pastels” is a juried members exhibition featuring works from across the region. Through June 1. • “Perspective: A Journey into Mental Health” is a solo exhibition by Bobbi Johnson. Through June 1.

OGLETHORPE GARAGE (1560 Oglethorpe Ave.) Bart King’s exhibition consists of images produced with a flatbed scanner and natural objects.

Through mid-June.

PORCELAIN AND DECORATIVE ARTS MUSEUM (2450 S. Milledge Ave.)

duction. athenspetanqueclub@ gmail.com, www.athenspetanque​ club.wixsite.com/play QPR SUICIDE PREVENTION TRAINING (Nuçi’s Space) Nuçi’s hosts free monthly QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) suicide prevention sessions for anyone interested, not just mental health professionals.

Nuçi’s also offers free training for businesses and organizations. qpr@nuci.org, www.nuci.org/qpr TRADITIONAL MARTIAL ARTS CLASSES (Live Oak Martial Arts) Traditional and modern-­style Taekwondo, self-­defense, grappling and weapons classes are offered for all ages. Classes in Jodo, the art of the Japanese staff and sword, are held Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7 p.m. Visit the website for a full schedule. liveoak​ martialarts@gmail.com, www.live​ oakmartialarts.com WINE CLASSES (J’s Bottle Shop Tasting Room) “Portuguese Wines: Beyond Port” will be held May 23 at 6:30–8 p.m. $25. www.pinta​ schoolofwine.com

Help Out ADOPT-­A-­MOM (Athens, GA) The Ark’s 10th annual Adopt-­a-­Mom distributes flower bouquets and cards to nursing home patients and single mothers. Donate $25 to “adopt a mom” for Mother’s Day. Proceeds also benefit The Ark’s Single Working Mother’s Fund.

Through May 31. www.athensark. org/adopt-­a-­mom ADOPT AN ANIMAL (Bear Hollow Zoo) Different sponsorship levels are available to “adopt” a zoo resident. Donations are used for exhibits, food and wildlife education.

706-­613-­3580 SEEKING BOARD MEMBERS (Sandy Creek Nature Center) Sandy Creek Nature Center, Inc., is seeking new members for its board of directors. Brochures and applications are available online. scncinc@gmail.com, www.sandy​ creeknaturecenterinc.org/board-­ members SEEKING BOARD MEMBERS (Morton Theatre Corporation) The Morton Theatre Corporation is seeking new members for its board of directors and volunteers. The application is available online. board@morton​ theatre.com, www.mortontheatre. com/join-­the-­board

Kidstuff AN EPIC ADVENTURE AT SEA (First Baptist Church) Children who have completed Pre-­K through 6th grade can participate in a summer camp.

June 10–13, 9 a.m.–12 p.m. FREE! sharon@firstbaptistathens.org ATHENS FOREST KINDERGARTEN (Sandy Creek Park) Now enrolling children ages 3–6. AFK is a cooperative preschool that aims to develop initiative, persistence, interdependence, and empathy. www.athensforestkindergarten.org BLACKSMITH SUMMER CAMP (Greenhow Handmade Ironworks) Ages 13 and up can learn basic blacksmithing skills through different hands-­on projects like making fire pokers, tomahawks, scrolls, hooks and more. Materials, fuel and tools are included. July 8–12, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. $525. www.greenhow​ handmade.com/blacksmith-­classes BRELLA ACTIVITIES (‘BRELLA STUDIO) After-­school art lessons for ages 6–11 include drawing and mixed media activities and are held Monday and Tuesday afternoons.

Family Playgroups are for ages 0–5 and their caregivers. Check website for descriptions and meeting times. www.brellastudio.com/events CREATIVE OPPORTUNITIES (Treehouse Kid & Craft) Treehouse offers a variety of art-­centric activities for children, such as “Crafty Maker Mondays,” “Storytime with Mr. Doodles,” “Digital Art Designer,” “Baby Artists,” “Toddler Process Art,” “Creative Playtime,” “Saturday Craft” and more. Check website for current schedule. www.treehouse​ kidandcraft.com FARM CAMP (Sweet Olive Farm) This all-­outdoor camp for ages 6–12 includes caring for and interacting with the animals, creek time in the woods, outdoor crafts, games, music, art-­making, writing and exploring the farm. Mondays– Fridays, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. during the summer. Register online. www. sweet​olivefarm.org GROUPS AT REBLOSSOM (ReBlossom) A variety of classes, playgroups and support groups are offered for parents and young children. Topics include birth and breastfeeding, prenatal and parent-­baby yoga, instrument play, maternal mental health and more.

Check website for a schedule. www. reblossomathens.com

Two new collections celebrating the connection between art and nature include a complete Jasperware tea set from Wedgewood in England and a series of hand-carved coconut vessels.

THE ROOK & PAWN (294 W. Washington St.) “Serenade” features works by over 20 artists including Keith P. Rein, Sierra Kirsche, Kendall Rogers, Jesse Raven and Delaney Dusch. Through June.

STATE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF GEORGIA (2450 S. Milledge Ave) Kathy Rogan’s oil paintings raise funds for Parkinson’s research. Through June 23.

STEFFEN THOMAS MUSEUM OF ART (4200 Bethany Rd., Buckhead) “Peace in Our Time: Steffen Thomas Meisterwerke from the Lowrance Collection” shares works collected by Marjorie and Richard Lowrance over the span of 60 years. Through July 23. • The “Student Art Exhibition” features works by students at five different schools. Through July 27.

UGA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER LOBBY GALLERY (230 River Rd.) The new gallery debuts with large-scale paintings from Margaret Morrison’s “Paradigm Shift,” a series created after Morrison began questioning historical aspects of her closely held Mormon faith. Through July 26.

UGA SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARIES (300 S. Hull St.) Developed by James W. Porter, Meigs Professor of Ecology emeritus at UGA, “Sunken Treasure: The Art and Science of Coral Reefs” explores the marine lives of coral through specimens and photographs. Through July 3.

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP OF ATHENS CLEMENTS GALLERY (780 Timothy Rd.) “The Three Graces” is a collaborative art exhibit by Elizabeth Bishop-Martin, Starr Ramsey Helms and Kim Kendall.

Artist Talk with Helms on May 26, 11:45 a.m. Through June 23.

WINTERVILLE LIBRARY (115 Marigold Ln., Winterville) The 2024 Marigold Festival Art Show features this year’s winning festival artwork by Mary Ann Cox as well as other entries from the call for art. Through May.

LEARN TO SWIM (Multiple Locations) The ACC Leisure Services Department offers swim lessons for children ages 3 and up at Heard Park, Lay Park, Memorial Park and Rocksprings Park including “Swim School” and “Parent/Tot Swim School.” $33 (residents), $50 (non-­residents). The department’s Kinderswim program is offered to five-­year-­olds at no cost. www. accgov.com/myrec LIBRARY STORYTIMES (ACC Library) Storytime for preschool aged children and their caregivers is offered every Tuesday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. www.athens​ library.org LUTHEROAD DAYCAMP (Holy Cross Lutheran Church) Camp for rising 1st–6th graders runs June 24–27, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. and June 28, 9 a.m.– 12 p.m. www.holycrossathens.com/ lutheroad NATURE AND FARM SUMMER CAMPS (Foxfire Woods and Farm) Offering three weeks of outdoor summer camp, including a half-­day camp for preschoolers ages 3.5–6.

Themes include survival skills, kinetics and simple machines, and outdoor exploration. www.foxfire​ woods​andfarm.com REPORT CARDS REWARDS PROGRAM (Multiple Locations) Students in Kindergarten through 12th grade can receive a free pool pass by bringing a report card will all A’s or E’s. A report card with all A’s and B’s or all E’s and M’s can earn 10 free swims. www.accgov. com/pools SUMMER ART CAMPS (K.A. Artist Shop) Art Camps for Promising Young Artists are offered for half or full days Mondays–Fridays during the summer. Activities range from drawing, painting, collage, printmaking, illustration, calligraphy and character design. www.kaartist.com SUMMER CAMP REGISTRATION (Athens, GA) ACC Leisure Services Department offers camps highlighting art, nature education, sports and theater. Now registering. www. accgov.com/myrec TREEHOUSE SUMMER CAMPS (Treehouse Kid & Craft) Camps are offered in a variety of themes including “Mini Museum,” “Wonderful Wizards,” “Craft Inc. Business,” “Mouse Palace Camp,” “Camp Swiftie” and more. Visit the website for details, dates and to register. www.treehousekidandcraft. com UGA SUMMER ART CAMP (Lamar Dodd School of Art) High school students with a passion for the arts are invited to participate in a four-­day camp featuring drawing, painting, printmaking and photography. June 24–27. summerart​ camp@uga.edu, art.uga.edu/ programs/community-­programs/ uga-­summer-­art-­camp VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL (Athens First United Methodist Church) Kids entering grades K-­5 in the fall can participate in a summer camp exploring faith and the deep blue sea through various games, music, snacks and activities. June 3–6, 9 a.m.–12:25 p.m. www.athensfirst​ um.org/scuba WILD EARTH CAMP (Piedmont Preserve) Wild Earth Camp offers summer camps and homeschool programs for ages 4–13. Participants explore the natural environment through games, storytelling, free play and teaching earth skills.

Register online. www.wildearth​ camp.org WORKSHOPS (On Stage Playhouse) “Villains!” is a theater workshop for rising kindergarteners through third graders. Workshop held June 3–8, 9 a.m.–12 p.m. Performance held

June 8, 11:30 a.m. $95. “Improv-­ ability Two!” is an improv workshop for rising fourth through eighth graders. Workshop June 17–22, 9 a.m.–12 p.m. Performance held June 22,11:30 a.m. $95. www. onstagewalton.org

Support Groups ACA ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS AND DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES (Holy Cross Lutheran Church) This support group meets weekly. Tuesdays, 6:30–7:30 p.m. annetteanelson@gmail.com ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (Athens, GA) If you think you have a problem with alcohol, call the AA hotline or visit the website for a schedule of meetings in Barrow, Clarke, Jackson and Oconee Counties. 706-­389-­4164, www. athensaa.org ATHENS COUNCIL OF THE BLIND (Athens, GA) Open to people of all ages with vision impairments, their families and friends. Topics include adaptive equipment, recreational and social opportunities, and advocacy. 706-­424-­2794, dlwahlers@ gmail.com BRAIN INJURY SUPPORT GROUP (St. Mary’s Hospital, 5th Floor Therapy Room) This support group for survivors of traumatic head injury, their families, friends and caregivers offers friendship, information about resources and opportunities for advocacy. Every third Monday, 4:30–6 p.m. Contact Floretta Johnson, 706-­353-­1892, floretta.johnson@stmarysathens. org NAMI FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP (Oconee Presbyterian Church) Peer-­led support group for any adult with a loved one who has experienced symptoms of a mental health condition. Second Monday of the month, 6:30–8 p.m. FREE! joannehnamihallga@gmail.com NEW PARENTS AND INFANT FEEDING SUPPORT GROUP (BYL Family Resource Center) Come as you are for community, snacks and feeding advice from professionals.

Babies and children of all ages are welcome. Second and fourth Wednesdays, 10 a.m.–12 p.m.

FREE! www.byyourleave.org PARKINSON’S SUPPORT GROUP (First Baptist Church) This group is to encourage, support and share information with fellow sojourners who manage the challenges of Parkinson’s disease or other movement disorders. Second Friday of the month, 1 p.m. gpnoblet@ bellsouth.net POLYAMORY SUPPORT GROUP (Revolution Therapy and Yoga) This open support group for adults practicing or considering polyamory or nonmonogamy discusses navigating jealousy, polysaturation, relationships with metamours and polyamorous parenting. Thursdays, 6:30–7:30 p.m. $10 donation. www.revolutiontherapyandyoga.com PROJECT SAFE (Family Protection Center) Project Safe hosts a support group for survivors of domestic violence. Mondays, 6:30–8 p.m. www. project-­safe.org RECREATE JOY (Sunny Days Therapeutics) Nuçi’s Space hosts a recreational therapy support group.

Improve coping skills and self esteem while reducing depression and anxiety through adaptive yoga, games and leisure education. Six-­ week sessions. Wednesdays, 5–6 p.m. tinyurl.com/rnvuhesa RECOVERY DHARMA (Athens Addiction Recovery Center) This peer-­led support group offers a Buddhist-­inspired path to recovery

from any addiction. Visit the website for details. Thursdays, 7 p.m. www.athensrecoverydharma.org SEX ADDICTS ANONYMOUS (Athens, GA) Athens Downtown SAA offers a message of hope to anyone who suffers from a compulsive sexual behavior. Contact for location. athensdowntownsaa@gmail.com SURVIVORS OF SUICIDE (Nuçi’s Space) SOS is a support group for anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide. Meets the third Wednesday of every month, 5:30–7:30 p.m. www.nuci.org

Word on the Street BIKE REPAIR STATIONS (Multiple Locations) Over 15 free bike repair stations are located across Athens with tools, an air pump and a QR code for quick guides on basic bike repairs. Visit the website for participating locations. www.accgov. com/10584/Bike-­Repair-­Stations DIAMOND HILL FARM CSA (Athentic Brewing Co.) The Community Supported Agriculture program offers a variety of seasonal vegetables, fruits and/or flowers directly to consumers each week. Check website for weekly pickup locations, home delivery details and to register. $15 (flower share), $25–35 (farm box). www.diamondhillfarm​ athens.com POOL AND SPLASH PAD SEASON (Multiple Locations) ACC Leisure Services pools will be open May 25–July 28. The Walker Park Splash Pad will be open on the weekend only Aug. 3–Sept. 2, plus regular hours May 25–July 28. The Rocksprings Park Splash Pad opens for the season on May 25. www.acc​ gov.com/splashpad RABBIT HOLE EVENTS (Rabbit Hole Studios) Weekly events include Open Mic (Tuesdays, 7–11 p.m.), Acoustic Song Circle (Thursdays, 7–11 p.m.) and Drumming and Song Circle (Sundays, 3–5 p.m.).

Wednesday Yoga (5 p.m.) is followed by Meditation and Integration (6 p.m.). Events are free or donation based. www.rabbitholestudios.org/ calendar SEEKING MUSIC (Athens, GA) Seeking music submissions for the third season of “View Finders,” a locally produced TV series that will air on national PBS. Music can vary from electronic, ambient, hip hop, folk, Americana, rock, country, blues, classical and beyond. Contact for submission form. chrisgreer​ photography@gmail.com, www. viewfindersontv.com SEVENTH GENERATION (Healing Path Farm) Seventh Generation Native American Church hosts gatherings on Sundays at 11 a.m., Men’s Group on Tuesdays at 6 p.m., and Women’s Circle every second and fourth Wednesday at 6 p.m. www.seventhgeneration​native​ americanchurch.org SPRING TIRE ROUND-­UP (ACC Landfill and CHaRM) ACC and Oglethorpe County residents can bring unwanted tires to dispose of at no charge. Limited to six tires per person. May 20–25. www.accgov. com/8116/Tire-­Round-­Up-­Event VHS DIGITIZATION (Athens, GA) Brad Staples (of the Athens GA Live Music crew) is seeking previously recorded concerts and events on VHS, VHSC or DVDs to digitize and archive on his YouTube channel, vhsordie (@vhsordie3030). Original recordings will be returned, and credits and dates will be included in the online video description. Digitization services are free. Contact for details and to coordinate shipping. bradley.staples88@gmail.com f

advice

hey, bonita…

Don’t Guilt Trip Yourself ADVICE FOR ATHENS’ LOOSE AND LOVELORN

By Bonita Applebum advice@flagpole.com Hey Bonita, How do I free myself of guilt? I’m not talking [about] normal, healthy guilt from doing something wrong, just constant people-pleasing guilt: choosing something for myself over something my family wants, not doing enough for everyone around me when my plate is full, slacking at work when I’m overwhelmed. I’m tired of feeling so guilty when I know I’m trying my best.

Anonymous Hey Anon, I don’t have a simple answer for that.

What you’re talking about would call for a major shift in the paradigms around how you think about your relationships and what the individual owes to others. This is situational—your relationship to your job is completely different from the one you share with your parents, your partner or partners, and so on.

I’ll start with work, and I’ll say to you what I’ve said in plenty of past columns: Work can’t love you back. Work is an agreed exchange of your time and labor for money, and it really shouldn’t be seen as more than that. I know that sounds crazy and lazy to the average boomer (my late father

certainly didn’t appreciate me talking about jobs or work without reverence), but workplaces exploit the emotions of workers to get them to do more than they should. In a town that shamefully lacks both living wages and affordable housing, I hope that workers will one day follow the ruling class’ lead by putting themselves first. Leave a job that does not pay you well enough or expects you to do work that is not your actual responsibility. In the words of Janet Jackson: What have they done for you lately, anyway? Your workplace would not hesitate to replace you, so I think it’s in a worker’s best interest to have the same level of detachment when it comes to loyalty (or, really, the absence of it). Your boss is not your family, and neither are your coworkers—and seriously, if your boss or managers ever use that kind of language while underpaying and overworking you, update your resume and start looking

because that is a red flag. You are already being exploited, my guy. Do not let your boss manipulate you into working yourself to death for a wage that can’t even keep you warm in winter.

I know that sounds easier said than done, but you’re worth the trouble of a job search or relocation. Love yourself the way that your boss expects you to love that job.

Disconnect the notion of your self worth from your labor, and resist the need to let your productivity define you. And hey, maybe your boss is great and your work is fun, but you’re just horribly burned out.

Maybe it’s not a capitalist hellscape, and you just need to rest. Stop labeling your on-the-clock downtime as slacking (any honest person will admit that not every second of their workday is spent doing the actual tasks of work), and start planning a vacation. Create and maintain boundaries around work: If you work from home, I recommend setting real work hours and sticking to them. Uninstall Slack, Outlook, etc. before the start of your vacation—become truly uncontactable. Bring a copy of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

by Max Weber with you.

Loved ones are a different story.

Personally I don’t believe that love should involve sacrifice that is painful. I mean, I would not be touched by an unemployed lover spending hundreds of dollars on me.

I love them, so I would not want them to make their life more difficult for me.

Personally I don’t put much stock in the honor of stress and strife, and I would hope that your loved ones love you enough to be proud when you choose yourself and your future over their desires. I mean, you’re an adult, right? You’re the one who has to live with your choices. Don’t be afraid to assert yourself, to tell your loved ones that it’s your life and you need to make decisions for yourself. I’ve done that and while it’s stressful at the moment, it’s always worth it in the end. Personal relationships can also benefit greatly from healthy boundaries. f Email advice@flagpole.com, or use our anonymous online form at flagpole.com/get-­advice.

M AY 22, 2024· F L A GP OL E .C OM

19

classifieds Place an ad anytime, email class@flagpole.com or call 706-549-0301



BASIC RATES: Individual $10/week • Real Estate $14/week • Business $16/week • Online Only $5/week Indicates images available at classifieds.flagpole.com • Deadline to place ads is 11 a.m. every Monday for the following Wednesday issue

REAL ESTATE

MUSIC

SERVICES

JOBS

APARTMENTS FOR RENT

ANNOUNCEMENTS

HEALTH

PART-TIME

Nuci’s Space is always accepting and selling used gear and instruments. All profits go toward our mission of ending the epidemic of suicide. Visit nuci.org/ rewired.

Pain? Depression?

Insomnia? Call us today to find out how we can help you using natural plant medicine. 888-4203848. Use coupon code “Athens24” for 15% off your first order.

Join a diverse, inclusive workplace and get paid to type! 16–40 hours, Mon–Fri. NEVER be called in for a shift you didn’t sign up for.

Must type 65+ wpm. Make your own schedule and work independently with no customer interaction.

Starts at $13 with automatic increases. www.ctscribes. com

1BR/1BA apt. in Cedar Creek neighborhood in Athens. Apartment is fully furnished with full kitchen, DR, LR, BR with queen bed, and incl. utils. Call for more details and pictures. 720985-8644.

HOUSES FOR RENT House, 3BR/2BA in Normaltown. Central heat/air.

Apartment, 2BR/1BA. Furnished. Washer/dryer. Wi-Fi. No smokers, pets. Calls only! 706-372-1505

FOR SALE MISCELLANEOUS Business Water Solutions offers the cleanest drinking water available through innovative bottle-less water coolers and ice machines.

Call 706-248-6761 or visit www.businesswatersolutions.com to set up a consultation.

Flagpole ♥s our advertisers.

INSTRUCTION Athens School of Music.

Now offering in-person and online instruction in guitar, bass, drums, piano, voice, brass, woodwinds, strings, banjo, mandolin and more.

From beginner to expert, all styles. Visit www.athens​ schoolofmusic.com. 706543-5800

MUSIC SERVICES Instant cash is now being paid for good vinyl records & CDs in fine condition. Wuxtry Records at corner of Clayton & College Dwntn. 706-369-9428 Get Flagpole delivered to your mailbox!

Only $55 for six months or $110 for one year. Call 706549-0301.

HOME AND GARDEN Woman-Run Gardening Services: Prep for spring!

We offer garden clean-up/ maintenance, invasive plant removal, raised beds, personalized native/edible gardens for home/business and more! Call/Text: 706395-5321.

MASSAGE Jenny and Julie’s Future Farmer’s Market and Art Market will have space for massage, reiki, custom pet portraits, outdoor gardening and records. Call Enrique 706-255-3337.

Advertise your service in the Flagpole Classifieds! Call 706-549-0301 today!

ADOPT ME!

Visit www.accgov.com/257/Available-Pets to view all the cats and dogs available at the shelter

Bigfoot (55909544)

We’ve heard legend about a calm, cute and sweet lowrider pup at the shelter, and now we have proof! Bigfoot has been captured on camera and is ready for his closeup. Go visit today!

Nessie (55909545) Looks like Bigfoot has some cute competition but considering that Nessie is his sister it’s more of a friendly sibling rivalry. Nessie is also calm and cute, and she’s ready for adoption.

Ghost (55869045) Ghost is a bit elusive at the moment since he’s very scared and confused to find himself at the shelter. Ghost is on the small side, and he needs quiet, snacks and love in order to shine!

These pets and many others are available for adoption at:

Athens-Clarke County Animal Services 125 Buddy Christian Way · 706-613-3540 Call for appointment

20

F L A GP OL E .C OM · M AY 22, 2024

Seeking experienced tutor to teach reading basics to adult male. 1-2 hours a week, flexible. Located on Oglethorpe Ave. Call Jen at 352-239-3484.

White Tiger is now hiring for all positions at the Athens and Watkinsville locations!

No experience necessary. Email work history or resume to catering@white​ tigergourmet.com.

Need old papers for your garden? We have plenty here at Flagpole! Call ahead and we’ll have a crate ready for you. Please leave current issues on the stands. 706549-0301

SUPPORT LOCAL

JOURNALISM flagpole is fighting to continue bringing you the most up-to-date news. Help us keep our weekly print and online versions FREE by donating.

DONATE It’s as easy as your Spotify subscription!

Just set up a recurring donation through PayPal (https://flagpole.com/home/donations) or mail in a check.

F lagpole, P O Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603

SUDOKU

Edited by Margie E. Burke

Difficulty: Easy

8

5 4 2 9 3 1

3 6 4 2 5 8 1 1

9 3 8 7

4

CORD SIBILSKY VOTED ATHENS FAVORITE REALTOR 2015-2024

FIVE STARS ON ZILLOW WITH OVER 500 HOMES SOLD

7

8 9

O:706-510-5189

|

C:706-363-0803

|

CSG-GAP.COM

7 2

Copyright 2024 by The Puzzle Syndicate

HOW TO SOLVE:

Each row must contain the numbers 1 to 9; each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9; and each set of 3 by 3 boxes must contain theofnumbers 9.

Week 5/20/241Ͳ to 5/26/24

The Weekly Crossword 1

2

3

4

5

14

15

17

18

20

6

7

by Margie E. Burke 9

10

11

12

13

31

32

33

59

60

16 19 22

21

Solution to Sudoku: 23

8

24

25

8 279 3 5 4 229 1 7 6 26 28 1 4 7 3 6 9 8 2 536 35 34 2 5 6 7 1 8 4 9 3 38 39 40 7 8 4 2 9 3 5 6 1 43 44 42 9 2 1 6 8 5 3 4 7 48 46 47 3 6 5 4 7 1 9 8 2 4 3 2 509 5 6 751 1 8 54 5 557 568 1 2 4 6 3 957 61 6 1 9 8 3 7 2 562 4

30 37 41

45 49 52

53

58 63

64

65

66

67

68

69

Copyright 2024 by The Puzzle Syndicate

ACROSS 1 Cola opener 49 Word on a bill 5 Fragrant wood 50 Tropical fruit 10 Alka-Seltzer 52 Repair shop fig. sound?

54 Stomach-related 14 Place to broil 57 Caustic wit 15 Iron ___ (rust) 61 Emphasize 16 Palmist's concern 63 Slender 17 Extend credit instrument 18 Outward show 64 Putdown 20 Periodical piece 65 News source 22 Wall coating of yore 23 Sushi bar order 66 Chimney duct 24 More than dislike 67 Sings without 26 Bleachers singing denizen 68 Fictional Potter 28 Calcutta's 69 Fedora fabric continent 30 Slinky shape DOWN 34 Anagram for 1 Bubbly drink "one" 2 Head-heels 35 Drumming connector sounds 3 ______ State: 37 Musical close Colorado 38 Thin, slow flow 4 Actress 40 Plaintiff's filing MacDowell 42 Provo's state 5 Locomotive fuel 43 Printing goofs 6 Logistics worker 45 Fishing gear 7 Party bowlful 46 Waldorf and 8 Skilled Caesar 9 Home business?

48 Help in holding 10 Synthetic up materials

11 Fuzz 12 Previously 13 Social equal 19 Coarse file 21 Hollywood's Gable 25 Partake of 26 Former embryo 27 Largest artery 29 Vendor's spiel 31 Camelot meeting spot 32 It may be bid 33 Starbucks serving 36 Sculptor's medium 39 Book sections 41 2017 film, "The Shape of ____" 44 Bit of sunlight 47 "Shucks!"

51 Honda's luxury line 53 Speak derisively 54 Cut 55 Rights grp.

56 Pond gunk 58 Lofty nest (var.)

59 Motown genre 60 Come together 62 Televise

Puzzle answers are available at www.flagpole.com/puzzles

M AY 22, 2024· F L A GP OL E .C OM

21

JRB I AD for Flagpole

3.1875" X 3.125"

Here are restaurants that are open and waiting for your order!

CAROLINA, PREPARING FISH TACOS FOR A PRIVATE PARTY!

LUMPKIN & CEDAR SHOALS 706 -355-7087

CUBAN SANDWICH • TOSTONES • QUESADILLAS • TACOS • BURRITOS

CUBAN SANDWICH • TOSTONES • QUESADILLAS • TACOS • BURRITOS •

LOMO S A LTA D O • W I N GS • E M PA N A DA S • S H A K E S • M A D U RO S •

Athens

02/15/2023

Online Ordering • Curb-side pick-up • Box catering Homemade Soups, Salads, Sandwiches, and Desserts

SPRING into action this March by eating right at Em’s Kitchen.

Breakfast and Lunch 975 Hawthorne Ave • 706-206-9322 emskitchenathawthorne.com

DO YOUR PART. PROTECT YOURSELF. PROTECT OTHERS.

675 College Ave. • 402 McKinley Dr • 706-546-5526 22

F L A GP OL E .C OM · M AY 22, 2024

Self Love Near Me Did you know May is masturbation month?

Connect the dots below and embrace self love.

Scan the QR code, follow us on Instagram & comment on our May puzzle post for a chance to win a $100 gift card!

@BedsideManners_Blog

Discover the products that turn you on, then take 10% off with code: FP2024 in-store or online!

4100 Lexington Road - ShopStarship.com M AY 22, 2024· F L A GP OL E .C OM

23