Short Stories Art and Sol
Don your fairy wings or Druid’s robes, grab a wand and waft over to Greensboro Arboretum (401 Ashland Drive) on June 18 to — heh — rays some Helios at Greensboro Summer Solstice, celebrating Earth’s longest day. Festivities begin at 2 p.m. and include a parasol parade through the arboretum and Lindley Park, music and dance performances, artists selling their wares, food and beverage, a drum circle and more. A grand finale concludes the day’s events as the glowing orb sets and darkness falls. A $2 donation is suggested. Info: greensborosummersolstice.org.
Lighten Op
It’s impossible not to have a song in your heart with Greensboro Light Opera and Song’s trio of events this month. The first in the series, “American Art Song as Cabaret,” celebrates Songbook faves — at Mack and Mack (220 South Elm Street) on June 4. Tickets are available at the door and include wine and cheese. Next up on June 9 and 10: Gilbert & Sullivan’s Trial By Jury, a send-up of English marriage law performed at the Guilford County Courthouse (Courthouse 1-C), with special guests: members of the Greensboro Bar Association! And, er, aria ready for more G&S hijinks? Then head to UNCG Auditorium (408 Tate Street) on June 16–18 and 19 for Ruddigore, a comic mystery replete with specters and mistaken identities. Tickets: (336) 272-0160 or opera.uncg.edu.
Worth the Drive to Winston-Salem
Who in their right mind would hand over large sums of money to college students for the purpose of buying art — in New York? Well, Wake Forest University, for one. Every four years since 1963, a select group of undergraduates — with guidance from an art faculty member — has researched contemporary art and made the trek to Gotham’s galleries to buy pieces for the university. Trouble is, the collection of works by the likes of Helen Frankenthaler, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Alex Katz and tons more, has been hiding itself away on WFU’s campus. Until now. From June 30–October 2 Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) hosts With Open Eyes: 50 Years of Art Idealists. For more information about the exhibition, conversations, lectures and other programs go to secca.org.
Course Majeure Brew Hoo(ha)!
Ballast Point, Harpoon, Carolina, Bull City, Foothills, Lonerider, Magic Hat, Big Boss, Mother Earth, Preyer . . . thirsty yet? Well, don’t just sit there and salivate! Call Uber for a ride to the Summertime Brews Festival on June 25 at the Coliseum (1921 West Gate City Bouldevard). Billed as the “North Carolina’s Favorite Beer Festival since 2005,” Bestway grocery’s homage to malt and hops features hundreds of varieties of craft frosties. For a little extra, buy a V.I.P. ticket (presuming any are left) and enjoy a Brewmaster preview. Otherwise, ticketmaster.com can hook you up for a pass into, well, heaven
12 O.Henry
June 2016
Forget about exorbitant greens fees. Celebrating its seventy-fifth anniversary all summer, Gillespie Golf Course (306 East Florida Street) is offering some deals for duffers and sharks alike. Rent a cart and play a round of eighteen — for just twenty bucks — or a round of nine, for fifteen. Prefer to hoof it? The Twilight Walking Special available after 4 p.m. will only set you back $9. With eighty acres and holes that play anywhere from 5,017 yards to 6,445, Gillespie offers get plenty of bang for your buck. And its small greens reward accuracy, affirming the old saw, “drive for show, putt for dough.” Info: (336) 373-5850 or greensboro-nc.gov.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro