Queen City Nerve - June 11, 2025

NEWS: Let’s talk about autism

6

MUSIC: DOMii keeps it in house

PG. 10

FOOD & DRINK: Carolina Farm Trust marks a decade

PG. 18

NEWS: A queer soccer league builds community

PG. 4

NEWS & OPINION

FEATURE STORY

JUST FOR KICKS

How a queer soccer league is reshaping community in Charlotte

BY JD BRAY

Visit Clanton Park or Alexander Street Park on any given Sunday and you might just stumble into a group of people huddled on a soccer field sharing introductions and their preferred pronouns.

This isn’t your average pickup game of soccer, though. This is practice for Charlotte Pride Football Club, the city’s only adult LGBTQ+ recreational soccer league. It also happens to be the first place I started to feel connected to the Queen City.

When I got Nick Stark, one of the league’s cofounders, on the phone for this piece, it was during a string of rain-outs that had sidelined several practices and games. Everyone was feeling a bit cooped up.

Stark told me he had never set out to start a nonprofit. Back in 2018, he was just trying to find a pickup soccer group that wasn’t straight and overly aggressive. “I was posting in Facebook groups like, ‘Hello? Does anyone want to play soccer?’” he told me, laughing.

For years, interest trickled in slowly, until 2023, when it exploded. A Facebook Messenger group called Kween City Soccer began holding regular games. Then came an organized league. Then, a board. Then, sponsors. And eventually, a nonprofit and a growing distribution list.

The transition from pickup games to a structured league surprised even Stark.

“I thought we’d just be playing casually,” he said. “But people wanted scores, medals, a season. They wanted something to build together.”

That desire for structure wasn’t about competition as much as it was about belonging.

“This isn’t just a team,” Stark said. “This is a

community. These are the people I call when I have a flat tire, or when I need advice, or just when I want to hang out.”

How I found a sense of belonging in Charlotte Pride FC

After a decade in California, I decided to return to my Southern roots and landed in Charlotte in late 2023. I’d just met my partner at Charlotte Pride after visiting on a summer work trip and was cautiously optimistic about the move, but I was unsure how my queerness would fit in a region that had once felt foreign.

In coastal South Carolina and, later, during my teen years in southwest Florida, I kept my queerness tucked away. For a long time, it felt like an unsavory secret best left unspoken. It wasn’t exactly the closet; it was more about not bringing an unnecessary spotlight onto myself over what felt like something that would disrupt the status quo. Call it a symptom of growing up gay in small-town America; the more attention you draw, the more trouble you may find.

The San Francisco Bay Area, with all its rich queer culture, turned that thinking on its head. But I always knew I needed to make peace with the identity I once tried so hard to leave behind: a Southerner.

I didn’t expect some of that peace to arrive through soccer.

Feeling a bit restless at home one spring weekend, I found Charlotte Pride FC on social media and asked to join a practice. When I finally

built up the courage to head to Clanton Park, I found a soccer team, yes, but more importantly, one that builds chosen family.

I had played throughout high school but ended up disenchanted with the sport. Homophobic slurs were commonplace in the locker room and on the field. Like so many others, I had to pretend to be someone I wasn’t and eventually it became untenable.

I quit the varsity team before I ever considered pursuing a college sports scholarship. It had been over 10 years since I had last touched a soccer ball.

Like me, fellow league player and board member Kelsey Williams discovered Charlotte Pride FC rather serendipitously when she arrived at Clanton Park in hopes of using part of the field that the league just happened to have booked. A few players asked her if she wanted to play with them.

“I remember Nick telling me about the league and I just said, ‘Hey! I’m a lesbian!’ and I’ve been a part of it ever since,” Williams said.

If you scroll through the league’s social media, you may see a re-staged picture of Williams proposing to her partner at practice after the team learned of her recent engagement.

‘What we’re really building is community’

What makes Charlotte Pride FC unique isn’t just the inclusive culture or the grassroots growth; it’s the mix of experience levels, identities and personalities that come together every week. Some players are seasoned athletes, others haven’t touched a ball since childhood. But everyone belongs.

“We’re probably one of the most beginnerfriendly teams you’ll find,” Stark said. “We’re chill. We play. We ask your name, your pronouns and a fun fact. Then we pass you the ball.”

We’ve had seasons where we created our own internal pods, set our own rules, and selfrefereed our way through seven weeks of sweaty chaos. There have also been seasons where we’ve played in leagues outside of ours and were quickly humbled by far more experienced players.

The league even had a team participate in this year’s Sin City Classic, the largest annual LGBTQ+ sporting event in the world, held in Las Vegas. Each season has been shaped by who showed up and what they needed … and people do keep showing up.

“The outpouring of support we’ve had at (Charlotte) Pride, from people who didn’t even know we existed — it’s been amazing,” Stark said. “Soccer’s just the entry point. What we’re really doing is building community.”

The league’s growth hasn’t come without its challenges.

The board has to manage day jobs while keeping up with the growing league demands. But it has also brought unforeseen, hidden dilemmas in the current political climate.

Finding field space has meant navigating city systems and school districts, for example.

“When I apply for field use,” Stark admitted, “I don’t always lead with the LGBTQ+ part. Not because we’re hiding but because we can’t afford to be rejected. We’re not hiding, but we are calculating.”

In North Carolina and the South more generally, where anti-LGBTQ+ laws, stigma and sentiment loom large, playing soccer visibly and joyfully as queer people is an act of resistance.

“We’re never getting rid of pronouns in our intros,” Stark said. “That’s who we are. There’s a place at our table when other tables might turn people away.”

Photo by @ gio__.photo

The Charlotte Pride FC squad at the Sin City Classics.

Photo by @ gio__.photo

League founder Nick Stark during a Sin City Classics match.

NEWS & OPINION

Where do LGBTQ folks fit into Charlotte’s soccer renaissance?

When you look at the massive growth of soccer in Charlotte, which now boasts both a men and women’s professional team, it’s hard not to recognize the significant gap for LGBTQ+ participation.

Men’s Major League Soccer currently has zero publicly out athletes. There is only one openly gay professional soccer player in the US, Collin Martin, who plays for North Carolina FC in the United Soccer League Championship.

It’s a far cry from women’s soccer, where most teams in the National Women’s Soccer League have at least one publicly out athlete, according to OutSports.

As Charlotte vies to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup and the budding professional teams fill stadiums here at home, Charlotte Pride FC plays without cameras, headlines or paychecks. And as corporations veer away from financially supporting LGBTQ+ organizations, especially those in sports, community support becomes ever more essential.

A recent grant from Charlotte-based The PLUS Collective, an LGBTQ+ fund managed by the Foundation for the Carolinas, is helping to ease the financial burden.

“We’ll be able to hire referees for our league games so our players won’t have to do it themselves,” said Cord Flora, vice president of Charlotte Pride FC. “We’ll also have better access to equipment and won’t need individuals to front money for operating costs. It’s going to take pressure off people’s shoulders and make the league more accessible.”

He added that the team is considering hosting

its own tournament in Charlotte, one that could draw players from across the country or even internationally.

“We’re hoping to become more self-sustaining, both financially and organizationally, while continuing to show up for local Pride and LGBTQ+ events.”

Charlotte Pride FC now has a website, merch, jerseys and ways to donate. Flora’s dog Foxy, the league’s unofficial mascot, makes frequent appearances at practices and games with her custom bandana.

For those wondering if they’d fit in, Flora has a question: “What’s holding you back?”

Whether you’re new to soccer or just want to watch, he said, there’s space. The team hosts skill days for players who want to develop, there’s plenty of real talent if you’d like to be challenged, and there are social events if you’re just not much into athletics.

“Just try it and make the choice that’s right for you,” he urged anyone who’s on the fence.

When I asked Stark what he wants people outside our community to know, he stated it simply: “We’re here. We love soccer. And we’re a safe place in a world that seems to be losing them.”

That matters, especially now, more than I ever expected.

Learn more about Charlotte Pride FC at charlottepridefc.org.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

Photo by @ gio__.photo

Costumes were encouraged for a practice during Halloween.

WE NEED TO TALK

La Becky Roe advocates for autism awareness through nonprofit org

BY DEZANII LEWIS

It’s said that when there isn’t a seat at the table, it’s up to you to make one. That’s what local autism advocate La Becky Roe did when she founded Let’s Talk About It, an organization that provides advocacy, education and support to folks living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), individual developmental disabilities, and other mental health issues.

Roe, who also penned Spectrum of a Journey, a book published in 2023 that chronicles her journey navigating autism after her son was diagnosed with ASD in 1998. At that time, there was little information available for parents like Roe.

“I had to find my own way,” Roe says, recalling how at the time she was referred to a neurologist who told her that her son wouldn’t ever learn to recognize that she had even left the room, and that “all he’s going to be, he is right now.”

He was 3 years old at the time.

“If I didn’t have faith and hope, I would have believed [the neurologist] because autism was new to me. I was looking for someone to help me. I was looking for someone to help him.”

After various encounters similar to the one with the neurologist, Roe decided to create a path for parents who were and would be in the future navigating the same lonely journey that she was. She launched Let’s Talk About It to give parents hope and guidance in navigating the disorder.

“I want them to know that success depends on them,” she said. “Your child is capable and able, and how can you get them to the next level?

Because we all want to see our children do well.”

Through The Autism Center, the organization offers support in creating individualized education programs, known as IEPs, for kids on the spectrum; behavioral interventions, sensory management support, and corporate training to promote the inclusion of people with ASD.

Additionally, Let’s Talk About It facilitates workshops and support groups, striving to build a sense of community among caregivers and their loved ones with ASD, according to the website.

Roe recently addressed Charlotte City Council during a public forum to ask that city officials include people with and impacted by ASD in more programming, stating that the city’s resources have not kept up with the rising rates in diagnoses over the years.

We caught up with Roe following that speech to speak about the state of things and … well … talk about autism, as that’s why she launched her organization in the first place.

Queen City Nerve: So I have to assume that the reason that you named the organization Let’s Talk About It is because people don’t talk about these things.

La Becky Roe: Right. They don’t talk about it. They may not understand it. And it allows them to understand what autism is. We have three levels of autism. According to the [The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illnesses], we have a level one, we have a level two, and we have a level three. We know that our level three has to have repetitive interaction. But our level twos and our level ones, they’re the ones in school and they’re thriving. Our level ones may have some level two tendencies. Our level twos just need prompts or maybe to be redirected sometimes. However, you can still have a level one who has that level two tendency, who’s able to be on the debate team, go to school with his peers, get As and Bs on his school work.

I want folks to know that autism doesn’t have a look. There’s no way that you can look at anyone and say whether they’re on the spectrum or not. When I get the opportunity to talk to the police or first responders about autism, I always tell them to look for the behaviors because behaviors matter in identifying a person on the autism spectrum. Another thing is I do not want parents to feel unheard or unseen. I want parents and persons on the autism spectrum to feel valued. And at my center we are here to help, and we are keeping autism on the table and in the conversation.

You started the organization in 2018. Why did you start it when you did versus immediately after your son was diagnosed?

Photo courtesy of LTAI

Let’s Talk About It recently hosted its third annual Autism Resource Fair.

Photo courtesy of LTAI

The fair is one way LTAI helps parents and others connect with resources

When my son was diagnosed, I was learning about autism itself. And so along the way, I learned a lot. And I had to prepare myself and get myself in a place where I could start the organization. In doing that, I went back to school for my bachelor’s then my Master’s [degrees]. I also had to get a graduate certificate in Autism Across the Lifespan, [a program that prepares professionals and family members to work with children and adults with ASD in school, home and community settings].

Together, everything must be aligned. I believe in God and in believing that our paths are directed and guided. It was about finding the right person who could help me start this nonprofit organization. I had to align myself in order to start the organization.

Tell me about the services The Autism Center offers.

The Autism Center offers in-home training. Upon getting the diagnosis, we realized that, while parents can get services for their children, who’s helping the parents? So we help them to navigate in-home behavior, behavior that they’re seeing and that they need assistance with. We also offer IEP help, guardianship consultation and community education.

Can you explain what IEP help entails?

IEP is the individual educational plan that school systems have in place for children who are diagnosed with autism and any other [special needs] diagnosis. I put a plan in place to help the kid to be successful. For example, we offer in-home service for anything behavioral.

Our biggest and newest program is called Peers … an evidence-based social skills program that helps individuals on the autism spectrum with maintaining and beginning friendships — how to start a friendship and how to maintain that friendship. Those are some areas that are looked over for our kids, and it’s key. Relationships are a key for all of us. We teach individuals on the autism spectrum how to enter and exit a conversation, how to understand what bullying is, your social media presence and things of that nature.

I rarely hear people emphasize this focus on relationship building when speaking about autism advocacy.

Yes, and that’s something new and it’s evidencebased. We just got a certificate in that so that we can start it and we’re looking for a partnership with an organization to get it started. We’re looking to partner with CMS also.

My son went to school through CMS, and I want to say CMS was good to us. I know people have different experiences, and when I look back on it, overall, my son was successful in CMS. He was able to go to a regular elementary school with his peers. He went on to go to Northwest School of the Arts, where he auditioned and he joined their choir. He graduated with a high school diploma from Mallard Creek High School.

That’s what I want parents to know, that it’s all up to you and your advocacy. Don’t be afraid. Just think about it: If you couldn’t speak for yourself, who would you want to speak for you? We want those closest to you and someone you know that’s going to give it their all.

NEWS & OPINION

FEATURE STORY

You recently held a Resource Fair. What do events like that offer?

This was our third annual Resource Fair. We want the autism community to know that we hear them and that there are services available for you. We bring different organizations together in one place so that families can get what they need. We have music therapy [and ABA, which is Applied Behavior Analysis. I tell parents, “When we go into the home, you have to set boundaries and you have to get our kids to respect those boundaries because we would do it for our neurotypical kids, why not our neurodivergent? They understand. They hear you. We have to set the tone.”

It’s just like a teacher the first day of class. She has to set the tone in her classroom. These are my expectations because our kids function on organization and structure. It is so incredibly needed for our kids to be successful, and that’s what the Autism Resource Fair is about. It’s about helping the parents, getting them to the right place, and also getting them the right provider. Just because one provider doesn’t fit, go to the next one. Don’t give up.

Have you had success in directing parents in the right directions, and how can you tell when you’ve done so?

Absolutely, I would say, yes, we have. I had a parent whose child was about 4 [years old]. Every time they would go out to a restaurant and the food would come, he would have a meltdown and they would leave each and every time. I told them he’s setting the tone. What you have to do is introduce him to the fact that we’re going out, tell him what restaurant you’re going to, you can even show him the menu so that he can see the menu. “This is what we’re going to order, and we’re going to go in, and we’ll have to wait a few minutes, then we’ll be seated, and then our food will be served. We’re not going to leave.”

And then you can bring some manipulations that he can have so that he’ll know. You can do a countdown to get him involved. It worked. It lessens the behavior each time until it alleviates it.

Visit letstalkaboutittheautismcenter.org to learn more about Let’s Talk About It - The Autism Center.

DLEWIS@QCNERVE.COM

Photo courtesy of LTAI La Becky Roe

FUNDRAISER FOR FAMILIES IMPACTED BY ICE

June 11 • 9 p.m. • Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St. • $12 • snugrock.com

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to arrest, detain and traffic husbands, fathers and breadwinners in our community, leaving their families to struggle with economic hardship on top of the trauma of losing loved ones. So, legal advocacy group Carolina Migrant Network and Premium Sound record store are teaming to present this fundraiser show to help those families. The bill includes percussionist Nathan Matthews’ ensemble playing minimalist composer Julius Eastman’s avant-garde, groovy 1973 classic “Stay on It” and composer Sweat Transfer’s blend of art, music and tech. Other artists will be announced as showtime nears for a night of amazing music serving a vital, compassionate and moral cause.

‘FARMING WHILE BLACK’ SCREENING

June 12 • 6 p.m. • Independent Picture House, 4237 Raleigh St. • $13 • independentpicturehouse.org

Nature For Justice, a nonprofit that supports BIPOC farmers in North Carolina through technical support, funding and regenerative agriculture education, presents a screening of Farming While Black. The 2023 documentary examines the historical systemic racism against Black farmers in the US as well as the rising generation that is reclaiming African agrarian wisdom and their rightful ownership of the land. A manifesto on sustainability, dignity and justice, the film focuses particularly on Soul Fire Farm, co-founded by Leah Penniman, author of a book also titled Farming While Black, a how-to guide for aspiring Black growers. A cocktail hour precedes the screening, which is followed by a Q&A with local Black farming leaders.

SPOOKYCLT PRESENTS: THE INVESTIGATION OF MORRIS COSTUMES

June 13 • 7 p.m. • Morris Costumes, 4300 Monroe Road • $34 • tinyurl.com/MorrisBeHaunted

Jason Tapp of SpookyCLT, known for exploring the city’s paranormal and historical curiosities, hosts a ghost hunt at Morris Costumes. As a stage magician, shop founder Philip Morris once hosted macabre “spook shows” featuring a realistic gorilla costume. He also worked on WBT television as the titular host of Dr. Evil’s Horror Theatre show before opening his business over 50 years ago. Morris died in 2017, but the family still runs the business. SpookyCLT delves even deeper into Morris Costumes lore, including its connection to a 1967 Bluff Creek Big Foot sighting. The Charlotte Area Paranormal Society will be on hand to lead a paranormal investigation of the property. All proceeds go to the Old Settlers Cemetery Preservation Initiative.

LVL CLIMB WITH BLACK GAMER LEAGUE

June 14 • 6:30 p.m. • Blume Studios, 904 Post St. • $25 • blumenthalarts.org

Way back in 1982, the movie Tron followed the adventures of a computer programmer who was transported inside a video game he developed where he is forced to participate in gladiatorial games accompanied by cool music provided by a synthesizer player. Nowadays, you can do all that stuff for real with LVL Climb, presented by Black Gamer League. In this interactive gaming experience, players move through different levels, collecting stamps in a scavenger guest while being guided by visuals and sounds. The game culminates in a live tournament while an on-site DJ provides a soundtrack for your adventure.

MODEST MOUSE, DOUGH MARTSCH

June 15 • 8 p.m. • The Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St. • $62 • fillmorenc.com

Washington state indie rockers Modest Mouse blew up big time in 2004 with the unlikely commercial breakthrough LP Good News for People Who Love Bad News. That album’s hit single “Float On,” still resonates, sounding like the consummate embodiment of living under the shadow of angst: “I backed my car into a cop car the other day/Well, he just drove off, sometimes life’s okay...” Over time, the band’s sound has shifted from stabbing punk to pop anthems to unsettling dirges – sometimes on the same album — but what remains constant is frontman-songwriter Isaac Brock’s queasy blend of forced optimism and unforced paranoia. Singer-guitarist and alt-rock cult hero Dough Martsch (Built to Spill) opens.

‘HEAD OVER HEELS’

June 18-29 • times vary • Duke Family Performance Hall, 207 Faculty Drive, Davidson • $18-$43 • davidsoncommunityplayers.org

For its buoyant, life-and-love affirming summer musical, Davidson Community Players turn to two separate eras — the 1980s and the 1680s. Head Over Heels draws its plot from Sir Philip Sidney’s Elizabethan comedy The Arcadia, while the soundtrack of this jukebox musical is composed of the bopping new wave hits of The Go-Go’s. With a story involving magical kingdoms, dire prophecies, mistaken identities, crossdressing and gender fluidity; songs by a pioneering women’s group (“We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed”) and an accomplished cast including Nonye Obichere, Queen City Nerve’s Best in the Nest 2024 Critics’ Pick for Best Actress; this show is giddy, colorful and unabashedly queer-positive.

Babymetal Photo by Selby May 6/20

Black Gamer League: LVL Climb Photo courtesy of BGL 6/14

LIFELINE

BABYMETAL, BLACK VEIL BRIDES, BLOODYWOOD

June 20 • 7 p.m. • Skyla Amphitheatre, 820 Hamilton St. • $40 and up • skylacuamp.com

Originally a collision between the fresh-faced melodicism of J-pop and the shred and grind of metal, Babymetal exemplified the catchy, confectionery kawaii metal movement with viral hits like “Gimme Chocolate!!” Fifteen years into its boundary-pushing career, the band has broadened and darkened its palette into a slick, obsidian-sharp juggernaut while collaborating with artists as diverse as Tom Morello and Russian deathcore outfit Slaughter To Prevail. Babymetal’s whiplash sweet-and-brutal collaboration with Poppy titled “from me to u” features a retro-futuristic Blade Runner meets manga video. California’s Black Veil Brides craft moody soaring goth-rock anthems like “Goodbye Agony.” Hailing from New Delhi, Babymetal collaborators Bloodywood smash together thrash, screamo and snatches of Indian folk music.

IAMDYNAMITE, FAYE

June 21 • 10 p.m. • Evening Muse, 3227 N Davidson St. • $17-$20 • eveningmuse.com

Hook-laden duo Chris Martin and Chris Phillips, who compose and perform as IAMDYNAMITE, entwine energy and musicality into a combustible combination that yields music as diverse as the loping, soaring shapeshifting 2022 single “Corner Street” and the syncopated percussive hit “Where Will We Go.” Eclectic alternative band Faye debuted on the Charlotte scene with fuzzy indie-rock tunes with a grunge edge. Nearly a decade on, a promising band has evolved into one of the city’s finest songwriting outfits, balancing guitarist Susan Plante’s abstract metaphors with bassist Sarah Blumenthal’s straight-to-the-point punch. Recent tunes like “Apathy” couple soaring melodic alt-rock with an underpinning of indie static.

FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP: REAL MADRID (ESP) V. PACHUCA (MEX)

June 22 • 3 p.m. • Bank of America Stadium, 800 Mint St. • $127 and up • bankofamericastadium.com

The FIFA Club World Cup features 32 teams, but the Opta Supercomputer model says just 10 have greater than 1% odds of winning the trophy. Three of those 10 teams are coming to play at Bank of America Stadium. The June 22 match pits Real Madrid (19.3% chance) against CF Pachuca, which isn’t in Opta’s top ten. SL Benfica (8.7% chance) squares off against FC Bayern Munchen (23.7% chance) on June 24. FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who stopped by Charlotte in April, says the 2025 Club World Cup and the 2026 World Cup will generate almost $50 billion in economic output for the US, but NYT says many American host cities are worried that Trump’s insane immigration policy will chase visitors away.

LEDISI, MARSHA AMBROSIUS

June 24 • 8 p.m. • Ovens Auditorium, 2900 E. Independence Blvd. • $66 and up • boplex.com

Eleven years ago, jazz-inflected R&B artist Ledisi Anibade Young was a respected songwriter and powerhouse vocalist with an impressive four-octave mezzo-soprano and a steady career. Then everything changed. She landed a role as gospel legend Mahalia Jackson in the film Selma, and released The Truth, her most powerful album to date. The collection, based on overcoming denial and leaving a toxic long-term relationship, connected with listeners. Ledisi has since gone on to portray other legends, including Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight, and in 2020 she released her Grammy-winning single “Anything for You.” Making her mark as one half of R&B duo Floetry, English singer-songwriter Marsha Ambrosius has forged a solo career as a yearning soul-rooted balladeer.

Fundraiser for Families Impacted By ICE Photo by Pat Moran 6/11

KEEP IT IN HOUSE

DOMii cultivates an inclusive community as DJ and event producer

BY PAT MORAN

An Instagram video clip from late April captures DJ, musician and event promoter Ariel Dominguez doing what she does best: creating music to captivate a crowd and set bodies in motion.

Manning the decks at Novelty House in Uptown, Dominguez, who deejays and composes as DOMii, lays down a steady four-on-the-floor foundation, then sets 120 beats per minute skittering like flocks of metallic birds. Honking syncopated stabs of synths like synthetic funk horns blare as the crowd buckles, sways and grooves.

The club scene resembles a shifting dialogue between DJ and dancers — sometimes literally. One clubgoer, a wide grin spread across his face, leans in towards the DJ booth and speaks to DOMii.

“I know that shit!” he says, sending her a heart shape with his hands. DOMii lifts her arms and the crowd responds, waving their hands in the air.

“It’s a fun challenge [for a DJ] to get people to listen to you,” DOMii tells Queen City Nerve. “You’re communicating with the crowd and the crowd is also communicating with you.”

DOMii has been deejaying in Charlotte and across the US for over a decade, and has become a fixture in the Southeast dance music scene. She’s also dropped tracks on labels including Insomniac, Ghetto Ghetto, Brooklyn Fire, and Hau5trap.

“I work with labels that accept my music as an independent artist,” DOMii says.

In addition, DOMii has branched out into promoting events, founding and curating Housework Charlotte, an underground dance party connecting house-music DJs in the city’s music scene; and Girls Room, a movable dance party

series that celebrates and provides safe spaces for queer women in music and art.

This spring, Girls Room was awarded Best Underground Promoter by Femme House, a Charlotte nonprofit that creates opportunities for women, gender-expansive, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ creatives in the technical and behind-the-scenes areas of the music industry.

Preston Abernathy, founder of local event production company Yopresto Projects, says he met DOMii on the dance floor in 2010. The two became friends and Abernathy started booking shows for DOMii at The Music Yard, Breakaway Festival and other venues and events.

“In my 15 years as an event producer I’ve never met a better DJ,” Abernathy says. “Ariel has an insane ability to move a dance floor in any situation.”

“I try to absorb everything around me and just communicate with people,” says DOMii, who values imparting uplifting messages with her music. “It’s a welcoming energy.”

With a sound that couples raw energy with technical precision, DOMii considers herself an eclectic artist. That said, she squarely places her music in the house genre, which she describes as “a club vibe for people to dance to.”

“[House] opens you and draws you to dance,” DOMii offers. “That’s why it’s repetitive. It forces people to put their phones down, get involved and actually dance with their friends.”

By being so addictively danceable, house music breaks down barriers and creates a communal space, she insists.

“House brings different kinds of people from all backgrounds together,” she says. “It’s worldly music.”

Music moves from SoHo to Housework

Dominguez believes she caught the travel bug because her family moved so often when she was growing up. Due to her father’s government job, she’s lived in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Romania.

At Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, she studied graphic design and played soccer. Both were eclipsed in 2012, when she spent a year abroad studying in London. Exploring the city, she fell in love with dance music.

“In Soho there were amazing music spaces for the LGBTQ community,” DOMii remembers. “I would go out and get inspired [by] this interesting mix of cool people and high-energy house music in this safe space.”

Back in the states, Dominguez completed college in Hickory while making trips to Charlotte to DJ at parties. In 2014, she moved to the Queen City. Though she has shifted her focus from graphic design to music, DOMii draws on her arts skills to create all of her flyer designs, video edits, visuals and everything else associated with her brand as a DJ.

Early in her career, DOMii encountered the subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle sexism that permeates the music industry. Part of the prejudicial culture stemmed from lack of representation — they’re weren’t that many women, much less queer women, in the electronic music scene.

“I did get treated differently, especially in the DJ realm, because you’re not surrounded by many women in charge or onstage,” DOMii says. “Women were … expected to be in the crowd, not in the important director roles [like] … the DJ, which is the main role in those shows.”

As a result, DOMii felt she couldn’t communicate with people the way she wanted.

“I felt like I wasn’t being heard,” she says.

For instance, DOMii recalls men coming up to her when she was deejaying and getting in her personal space, seemingly unaware that she was a professional doing a job.

“They’d ask questions like what style I use for Ableton,” she says, referencing a digital audio workstation she uses for composing, recording, arranging, mixing and performing. “I’m like, ‘I can’t answer all your questions to prove [to you] that I know what I’m doing.’”

Initially, encounters like this unnerved her, DOMii says. She felt that people were judging her and making erroneous assumptions about her, but she soon got over it.

“Once I [accepted] the fact that I was unique, I [realized] it was my super power,” she notes.

DOMii fully embraced her super power when she started throwing her own parties, securing the venues, booking the talent and creating the branding.

“Once I decided to do that, to be in charge of everything, it was a great decision, because I had all this confidence that I could do it,” she remembers.

As her confidence rose, she noticed that

attitudes toward her changed. People started respecting her and wanting to hear her play more and more.

“Ariel is absolutely fearless,” Abernathy says.

Around 2017, DOMii launched Housework, a series of monthly parties designed to shake up the city’s dance music scene, which was dominated by electronic dance music (EDM) and techno.

At the time, house music was a worldwide phenomenon, but it had not yet caught hold in the Queen City. The first Housework took place in the basement of SIP Bar & Cellar near The Spectrum Center.

“I wanted to bring house music in this space, because they were playing the same music in all these spaces in Uptown,” DOMii says.

The event caught fire, so she moved it to a larger venue: Trio Nightclub in South End, where she continues to curate and promote the event. While she’s happy with Trio, she’s now exploring the possibility of moving Housework to a smaller venue.

“I want to move it back to an underground space, because that’s where I started out,” she says, citing Jack’s Live, the music venue next to Jackalope Jack’s in Plaza Midwood, as a possible Housework location for the summer.

Creating a safe space for LQBTQ and BIPOC women

Even with the success of Housework under her belt, DOMii still saw something missing from Charlotte’s EDM and house scene. In her travels, she had seen safe spaces with women DJs playing music for women and sometimes specifically for gay women, but not at home.

In 2018 she decided to fill the void with Girls Room, a series of parties curated and booked by DOMii, hosted by queer women and showcasing women and nonbinary musicians and DJs. DOMii felt it was time to put the power in the hands of women in the dance music scene.

“I decided I was in the right position to start doing it,” she says. “It was fun to plan something that hadn’t been done before.”

Noting that the city’s nightlife, including LGBTQ spaces, can be segregated, DOMii decided that Girls Room should be diverse. For the first iteration she booked DJ Fannie Mae, a Black artist who has since co-founded SAINTED Trap Choir.

Meanwhile, DOMii had been doing shows with Abernathy. She asked the event producer to manage her and Abernathy accepted.

“We have a natural chemistry when it comes to working together,” says Abernathy, who has helped DOMii book international talent for Girls Room, including artists like Honeyluv, Maya Jane Coles, Nala, VNSSA, Aluna, Coco & Breezy, Syreeta and DJ Minx.

“We have a very similar passion for producing live events, music taste and creativity,” Abernathy says.

Despite his role in booking talent, Abernathy stresses that Girls Room is 100% DOMii’s brand.

“I just provide a safe space for her to produce her events at The Music Yard,” he notes.

The next Girls Room event is scheduled at The Music Yard on June 13, with DOMii opening for

Photo by York Pimiento

DOMii does what she does best: makes people move.

MUSIC

FEATURE STORY

Welsh electronic, R&B, pop and dance artist Aluna at the outdoor venue.

“She’s a really cool vocalist, artist, DJ and producer, and I’m excited to have her,” DOMii says.

In the meantime, the Girls Room parties as well as DOMii’s DJ shows and music, had started drawing the attention of pro-women, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ nonprofit Femme House.

The nonprofit’s program coordinator Bianca Santalla Terán is also a DJ. She came across some of DOMii’s releases in 2019, liked them and started following her on social media. When Girls Room announced a party featuring HoneyLuv, Terán realized it was a project led by queer women in Charlotte.

“It wasn’t surprising to learn that Ariel was involved,” writes Terán in an email. “I’ve been a fan of Girls Room and have really enjoyed watching it grow over time.”

Terán also attended a Girls Room Pride Party, where she says she saw the crowd come alive with queer joy.

“Her ability to bring a room together with a dynamic range of sounds is exciting,” she says.

The respect was mutual; DOMii appreciated the mixes she heard that were released by Femme House as well as the music made by Leah “LP Giobbi” Chisholm, a high-profile DJ, musician and co-founder and artist-in-chief of Femme House.

“With what I wanted to do with Girls Room — our mission and Femme House’s mission kind of aligned,” DOMii says.

In 2021, DOMii appeared on episode 73 of Femme House Radio, which is hosted by Chisolm. That episode was then played on Diplo’s Revolution, a Sirius XM Radio hosted by the hugely popular international DJ and rapper Diplo.

Despite all the musical cross-pollination, DOMii was happily surprised to learn that Femme House was honoring her work with Girls Room.

“Girls Room was highlighted because it’s a clear, vibrant celebration of queer women, nonbinary artists, and BIPOC talent,” Terán says. “[It] Intentionally offers a platform for underrepresented voices across small to large events.”

“The community [DOMii has] built speaks for itself; it’s so special,” Abernathy adds. “As a person, she has a heart of gold and is deeply passionate for what she does.”

Femme House’s inaugural Femmy Awards were presented at Miami Music Week in March. Girls Room and DOMii earned the award for Best Underground Promoter.

“Ariel’s kind, grounded, and genuinely cares about lifting others up,” Terán says. “She’s not just a great artist, she’s also an authentic organizer and focuses on bringing together the community.

“At Femme House, we value sonic diversity, visual representation and building intentional community,” she continues. “Ariel’s work aligns with those values.”

Although DOMii wasn’t able to attend the Femmy Awards ceremony in Miami, she will travel to Florida this fall to play Hulaween at the Suwannee Music Park. Before that, she will open for London-based DJ and electronic music duo Eli & Fur on June 20 at the Music Yard.

Unlike the June 13 Aluna show, this gig will not be a Girls Room event. DOMii has shared stages with Eli & Fur four times previously.

“They have this great deep house sound that I can relate to. I love playing that kind of music,” she says.

There’s no doubt that, regardless of where her success as a DJ, musician and groundbreaking producer of safe-space events take her, DOMii’s love for house remains the foundation for everything she’s built.

“I’m just trying to be authentic and make something unique,” she says. “Every situation you get put in as a DJ is pretty [exciting] and that’s why I love it. It’s almost impossible to predict how the night will go and you’re the director of that.”

Despite her mastery on the decks, DOMii says she can’t pick a track or tracks that she’d like to be remembered by.

“I haven’t made that song yet,” she says. ‘After [making] music for so long, I want people to go home [from a show] in such a good mood that they don’t even remember that I was the DJ until later on. They’ll go home and be like, ‘Man, who was that DJ?’”

With her energy, rhythm and innovation, DOMii is working her way into people’s bodies, hearts and minds — and they may not even know it.

SUMMER GUIDE 2025

THE BLOCK IS HOT

Things are heating up in more ways than one. We’re here to provide you with the enjoyable examples.

August 22: Jason Aldean

LIVE MUSIC

PNC MUSIC PAVILION

707 Pavilion Blvd.; pncmusicpavilion.com

June 21: Kidz Bop Live

July 8: Styx, Kevin Cronin, Don Felder

July 15: Counting Crows, The Gaslight Anthem

July 16: Big Time Rush

July 22: Russ

July 26: Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Turnpike Troubadours

July 27: Parkway Drive, Killswitch Engage, I Prevail, Beartooth

July 29: Rod Stewart

August 1: Thomas Rhett

August 2: AJR

August 5: Kesha, Scissor Sisters

August 6: Volbeat

August 8: Neil Young & the Chrome Hearts

August 9: Dierks Bentley

August 10: Jorge Medina & Josi Cuen

August 14: Toto, Men at Work, Christopher Cross

July 26: ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic

August 8: Blackberry Smoke, Mike Campbell, The Dirty Knobs

August 22: The Red Clay Strays

August 27: Eladio Carrión

August 28: Collective Soul, Live

August 31: Men I Trust

September 2: Simple Plan

September 4: Chevelle, Asking Alexandria, Dead Poet Society

September 7: Caamp

September 19: Parker McCollum

THE FILLMORE

820 Hamilton St.; fillmorenc.com

June 25: Coco Jones

July 2: Iration

July 10: Jessie Reyez

July 12: Rumours ATL: A Fleetwood Mac Tribute

July 19: Ocean Alley

July 21: Architects

July 23: Hatebreed

July 30: We Came As Romans

August 7: ‘You Should Know Podcast’

August 12: The Struts

August 14: Oscar Maydon

August 16: ‘Decisions, Decisions’ Podcast

August 17: D4VD

August 23: COLORS Worldwide Presents: R&B Only

August 24: ‘The Round Table’ Live Show

August 30: Umphrey’s McGee

September 5: Boulet Brothers Dragular: Season 666

September 6: Big Wild

August 23: Falling In Reverse

September 2: Coheed & Cambria, Taking Back Sunday

September 6: Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace

September 10: Bone Thugs N Harmony, Three 6 Mafia

September 13: Little Big Town

September 14: Nelly, Ja Rule

September 16: A Day to Remember, Yellowcard

September 17: The Lumineers

September 20: Judas Priest, Alice Cooper

SKYLA CREDIT UNION AMPHITHEATRE

1000 NC Music Factory Blvd.; tinyurl.com/ SkylaAmphitheatre

June 20: Babymetal

June 21: Peach Pit, Briston Maroney

June 22: The Driver Era

June 24: 311

June 27: Kansas, 38 Special, The Outlaws

June 28: Hauser

July 15: The Head & the Heart

July 24: Whiskey Myers

July 25: Goo Goo Dolls, Dashboard Confessional

September 9: Our Last Night

September 17: The Teskey Brothers

September 18: Dylan Gossett

September 20: PUP, Jeff Rosenstock

September 21: Bilmuri

THE UNDERGROUND

820 Hamilton St.; fillmorenc.com

June 21: Honey Revenge

July 6: Carnifex

July 10: Nick Smith

July 20: Tripping Daisy

July 24: Est Gee

July 25: Hudson Westbrook

July 26: King Lil G, Young Drummer Boy

July 27: Profanatica

July 28: Eyedress

July 30: Descendents

August 1: The Broken Hearts: The Ultimate Tom Petty Tribute

August 2: Molly Santana

August 16: Nonpoint

August 17: The Acacia Strain

August 19: Citizen Soldier

August 20: Jake Scott

September 1: The Starting Line

September 5: Jim Norton

September 12: Cartel

September 13-14: Bayside

September 17: Babytron

September 19: Matt Maltese

September 21: Aidan Bissett

Friday Nights at Camp North End

Photo by Juan Ossa

Photoby Corine Olarte

Crossroads Cinema

OVENS AUDITORIUM

2700 E. Independence Blvd.; boplex.com

June 24: Ledisi, Marsha Ambrosius

June 25: Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band

June 28: Three Dog Night

June 29: Pedro Fernandez

July 25: Intocable

July 31: Vince Gill

August 22: Travis Tritt

August 26: Brit Floyd

August 31: Manuel Turizo

September 6: Edén Muñoz

September 16: Dream Theater

BOJANGLES COLISEUM

2700 E. Independence Blvd.; boplex.com

September 13: Megan Moroney

September 14: Anuel AA

September 20: Pancho Barraza, Alicia Villarreal

September 21: Ken Carson

THE AMP AT BALLANTYNE

11115 Upper Ave., ampballantyne.com

June 26: Boney James

July 10: Najee & Regina Belle

July 11: Same As It Ever Was: Talking Heads Tribute

July 13: Leftover Salmon, The Infamous Stringdusters, Kitchen Dwellers

July 24: Will Downing

August 7: Dave Koz & Friends

August 8: Shot Thru the Heart: Bon Jovi Tribute

August 12: Cypress Hill, Atmosphere

August 22: Ben Rector

August 23: Toad the Wet Sprocket, KT Tunstall, Sixpence None the Richer

September 12: Beginnings: Chicago Tribute

September 21: Ziggy Marley, Burning Spear

KNIGHT THEATER

430 S. Tryon St.; blumenthalarts.org

June 20: Almost Queen: A Tribute to Queen

June 21: A’ngela Winbush, Glenn Jones

July 22: The Wallflowers, Jackson Melnick

July 23: Ryan Adams

July 24: Todd Rundgren

August 7: Postmodern Jukebox

August 9: Bill Pinkney’s Drifters

August 29: The Magic of Motown

September 20: The Orchestra

SUMMER GUIDE 2025

Summer Shootout

STAGE DOOR THEATER

155 N. College St.; blumenthalarts.org

June 20-21: Etienne Charles: Gullah Roots Suite

July 11: Charlotte State of Mind: Persona Sings Alicia

Keys

July 18-19: Dave Potter

August 22-23: Melissa Morgan Sings Billie Holiday

September 12: The Midnight Train: A Tribute to Gladys Knight

September 19-20: Arturo O’Farrill Sextet

CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY charlottesymphony.org

June 20: CSO Roadshow @ Simmons YMCA

June 21: CSO @ Bailey Road Park

June 22: Summer Pops: Latin Sounds - Symphony Park

June 26: CSO @ Pineville Lake Park

June 27: CSO @ McGuire Nuclear Station

June 28: CSO @ Village Park

June 29: Summer Pops: Celebrate America - Symphony Park

June 30: CSO Summer Pops Celebrates AmericaSymphony Park

U.S. NATIONAL WHITEWATER

CENTER

RIVER JAM

5000 Whitewater Center Pkwy.; whitewater.org

June 20: Will Overman

June 21: Jon Stickley Trio

June 26: Dori Freeman

June 27: Rainy Eyes

June 28: Simplified

July 10: The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys

July 11: Songs From the Road Band

July 12: The Mallet Brothers Band

July 17: Darren Nicholson

July 18: Brooks Dixon Band

July 19: Albert Castigilia

July 25: Kenny George Band

July 26: Big Richard

July 31: The Abbey Elmore Band

August 16: Kind Hearted Strangers

August 22: Wim Tapley & The Cannons

August 23: Pressing Strings

August 28: Flow Tribe

August 30: Dangermuffin

September 12: Joe May’s Month of Mondays

SUNDOWN SOUNDS

Locations vary between Mecklenburg County parks, 7-9 p.m.; tinyurl.com/SundownSounds24

June 20: The Catalinas at Ramsey Creek Beach

June 26: Renaldo Brahn at Eastway Regional Recreation Center

July 10: Chicago Rewired at Pearl Street Park

July 18: Too Much Sylvia at Ramsey Creek Beach

July 24: The Queens Court at Eastway Regional Recreation Center

August 7: Foo 4 You at Pearl Street Park

August 15: Gary Lowder & The Smokin Hot at Ramsey Creek Beach

August 21: DK Harrell at Eastway Regional Recreation Center

JAZZ AT THE GARDEN

Daniel Stowe Conservancy; 6500 South New Hope Road, Belmont; danielstoweconservancy.org

June 21: Marcus Johnson

July 19: Jeff Ryan, Ilya Serov

August 16: Steve Oliver, JaVonne Jones.

MORA FRIDAYS LIVE

Edge City Brewery, 6209 Old Post Road; moraclt.org Since May, Edge City Brewery has hosted the Fridays Live concert series every third Friday, and will continue to do so through November. MoRA began this free community concert series seven years ago at the Embrace Sculpture, and this year, Edge City is cooking up a concert series with all the right ingredients: great bands, food trucks, craft beer and local vendors. Summer’s scheduled performers include Wag, Something Like That and The Funky Junk Joy Peddlers. Be there at 6 p.m.

ARTS+CULTURE

THEATRE CHARLOTTE

501 Queens Road; theatrecharlotte.org

June 20-22: Annie Jr.

July 11-19: Catch Me If You Can

THREE BONE THEATRE

The Arts Factory at West End Studios, 1545 W. Trade St.; threebonetheatre.com

August 15-31: Electricidad

MATTHEWS PLAYHOUSE

Fullwood Theatre, 100 E. McDowell St., Matthews

July 11-27: Peter and the Starcatcher

September 19-28: A Raisin in the Sun

BELK THEATER

130 N. Tryon St., blumenthalarts.org

June 29: Laugh Out loud World Tour

July 18-21: Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations

July 29-Aug. 3: Life of Pi

September 9-14: Beetlejuice

Photo courtesy of Charlotte Motor Speedway Cook Out

BOOTH PLAYHOUSE

130 N. Tryon St., blumenthalarts.org

Through June 28: Charlotte Squawks: 20th Censure-y Squawks

July 6: Blues for Mama

July 9-11: Legally Blonde

July 12: Tre Floyd’s Baby Boy

July 19: Side Show

July 29-Aug. 31: Immediate Family

KNIGHT THEATER

430 S. Tryon St.; blumenthalarts.org

August 8: ‘Last Podcast on the Left’

August 16-17: The Color Purple

August 23: Heather McMahan

Sept. 2-7: Austen’s Pride

STAGE DOOR THEATER

155 N. College St.; blumenthal.org

July 24-26: Royal Improv Festival

August 16: Puras Cosas Maravillosas

September 13: The Sun Above the Rain Clouds: A Spoken Word Experience

CROSSROADS CINEMA

Camp North End, 300 Camp Road, 8:30 pm.; camp.nc

Every Thursday this summer, catch iconic flicks from the ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000s on a jumbo screen with surround sound against the backdrop of the historic Ford building.

June 27: Up

July 3: Legally Blonde 2

July 10: Holes

July 17: The Dark Knight

July 24: 13 Going On 30

July 31: Shrek 2

August 7: The Parent Trap

August 14: Bad Boys 2

August 21: The Incredibles

August 28: Barber Shop 2

FRIDAY NIGHTS AT CAMP NORTH END

The ninth season of Friday Nights at Camp North End features live music, food, shopping, local art and new surprises on a rotating basis: DJ sets at the Keswick food stalls every Friday, a dance party in the Boileryard every

SUMMER GUIDE 2025

first Friday, live music with a headliner and opener in the Boileryard every second and fourth Friday, Thrift Pont After Dark Market every Third Thursday, and special programming on that rare fifth Friday.

More: Free; Fridays, 6-9 p.m.; Camp North End, 300 Camp Road; camp.nc

WEDNESDAY NIGHT LIVE

Presented by Bank of America, Wednesday Night Live includes free admission to the Mint Museum, Bechtler Museum and Gantt Center every Wednesday as well as live entertainment or programming at one of the four Levine Center for the Arts institutions each week. Special programming ranges from dance performances to spokenword artists to film screenings.

More: Free; Wednesdays, 5-9 p.m.; locations vary; mintmuseum.org

July 31 vs. FC Juárez

SPORTS JUNETEENTH

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS

Truist Field, 324 S. Mint St.; milb.com/charlotte-knights

June 17-22 vs. Gwinnett

July 1-3 vs. Jacksonville

July 18-20 vs. Durham

July 29-Aug. 3 vs. Rochester

August 12-17 vs. Memphis

Sept. 2-7 vs. Jacksonville

September 16-20 vs. Durham

CAROLINA PANTHERS

Bank of America Stadium, 800 S. Mint St.; panthers.com

PRESEASON

August 8 vs. Cleveland Browns

August 21 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers REGULAR SEASON

September 21 vs. Atlanta Falcons

CHARLOTTE FC

Bank of America Stadium, 800 S. Mint St.; charlottefootballclub.com

July 5 vs. Orlando City SC

July 12 vs. New York City FC

July 16 vs. D.C. United

July 26 vs. Toronto FC

August 3 vs. C.D. Guadalajara

August 7 vs. C.F. Monterrey

August 16 vs. Real Salt Lake

August 24 vs. NY Red Bulls

September 13 vs. Miami Inter

CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE

American Legion Memorial Stadium, 310 N. Kings Drive; charlotteindependence.com

July 12 vs. Union Omaha (Meck County Sportsplex)

July 19 vs. Portland Hearts of Pine SC

July 26 vs. Richmond Kickers

August 2 vs. Texoma FC

August 9 vs. Greenville Triumph SC

August 15 vs. Westchester SC

September 12 vs. FC Naples

COOK OUT SUMMER SHOOTOUT

Charlotte Motor Speedway, 5555 Concord Pkwy. S; charlottemotorspeedway.com

Every Tuesday night from now through July 29, watch racing’s future stars battle with a smattering of NASCAR champions like Chase Elliot and Joey Logano in Legend Cars and Bandoleros on the frontstretch quarter-mile at th Speedway. Each week features a new theme, from Laps & Lassos to Camping Night.

The best way to kick off your summer early is with any of these Juneteenth celebrations spread throughout the greater Charlotte area.

HOUSE OF AFRICA’S ANNUAL JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL

Launched in 1998, House of Africa owner Pape Ndiaye is heading into his 28th year hosting his annual Juneteenth celebration in Plaza Midwood, making it one of the longest running observations of the holiday not only in Charlotte but all of North Carolina. Events planned this year include a drum circle, youth culture camp, Gospel Fest and more. A Freedom March is scheduled to start at Skyla Credit Union at Central and Thomas avenues at 11 a.m. on June 14. Beyond that, expect plenty of vendors selling food, beverages, arts, crafts and other goods throughout the weekend in a familyfriendly environment.

More: Free; June 12-15, times vary; House of Africa, 1215 Thomas Avenue; juneteenthofthecarolinas.com

AN ODE TO WEST FEST

Local community activist organization For the Struggle partners with the Gantt Center to hosts its sixth annual Juneteenth celebration, celebrating Black unity and liberation in Charlotte’s historically Black corridor by honoring the history and vibes of the iconic West Fest, the community celebration that rose to popularity in Charlotte’s West End in the ’90s. “By honoring the legacy of West Fest, we’re grounding this year’s festival in the rich history of

University City Juneteenth Art Fest

Photo courtesy of UCJAF

SUMMER GUIDE 2025

one of the most iconic Black corridors in the city,” reads the website. Expect free entertainment, giveaways, a kids corner and a special area for senior citizens, plus the return of West Fest’s iconic dance competition.

More: Free; June 21, 2-6 p.m.; West Charlotte High School, 2219 Senior Drive; ftsjuneteenth.eventbrite.com

DURAG FEST

Organizers of the Durag Fest, a homegrown cultural phenomenon held near Juneteenth each year, announced in January that this year’s event will be held at The Pass, a creative development bridging NoDa with the historically Black neighborhood of Howie Acres and other surrounding Sugar Creek developments. Now in its eighth year, the internationally recognized event has earned features in Vogue, ESPN and Blavity while attracting attendees from seven countries ranging from the Netherlands and Jamaica. This year’s theme will honor the legacy of Historically Black Colleges and Universities with a Juneteenth Homecoming theme.

More: $49; June 21, 2-10 pm; The Pass, Raleigh Street; duragfestival.com

QUEEN CITY JUNETEENTH CULTURAL CELEBRATION

Coinciding with the one-year anniversary of he reopening of the Historic Siloam School, this year’s cultural festival will be held on the historic grounds of The Charlotte Museum of History — land that was once part of the Alexander Plantation and has since been transformed into a site dedicated to education, preservation and truth. Expect live performances, inspiring guest speakers, local vendors and food trucks, community storytelling and art, interactive exhibits and tours, including special access to the restored Siloam School building.

More: June 15, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Charlotte Museum of History, 3500 Shamrock Drive; queencityjuneteenth.com

JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL ON THE GREEN

The annual Concord-Cabarrus Juneteenth Celebration features food, music, vendors and more.

More: June 28, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; BarberScotia College, 145 Cabarrus Ave. W., Concord; concordcabarrusjuneteenth.org

GASTONIA EBONYFEST JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL

Celebrate freedom, culture and community with live music, food, crafts, art and family-friendly activities on two separate days.

More: Free; June 14, 2 p.m. & June 19, 6 p.m.; Rotary Centennial Pavilion. 107 N. South St., Gastonia; tinyurl.com/EbonyFestGastonia2025

BELMONT JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION

Hosted by Elements of Empowerment, Inc., this free cultural festival features arts, crafts, music, food and more, including a finale concert from 7-9:30 p.m.

More: Free; June 14, 2-9:30 p.m.; Stowe Park, 24 S. Main St., Belmont; tinyurl.com/BelmontJuneteenth2025

ADA JENKINS JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION

The fifth annual Ada Jenkins Juneteenth celebration will be held mostly outdoors and will have a heavier emphasis on education as it relates to the historic African American communities in the Lake Norman area. The free celebration and family day includes a simulated neighborhood tour, crafts and activities, DJ and arts performances, vendors with a focus on Black-owned businesses, dessert stands, a Kids Zone (weather permitting) and a free meal for the first 300 attendees.

More: Free; June 19, 6-8 p.m., Ada Jenkins Center, 212 Gamble St., Davidson; adajenkins.org

UNIVERSITY CITY JUNETEENTH ART FEST

Celebrate creativity, culture and community at the Shoppes at University Place, with local artists, live music, dance performances and a marketplace showcasing small, minority-owned business. Local food vendors will also be serving a range of dishes from soul classics to contemporary cuisine.

More: Free; June 19, 4-8 pm; The Shoppes at University Place, 8931 JM Keynes Drive; juneteenthartfest.org

MATTHEWS JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION

Folklorist April C. Turner hosts an evening of music, dance, history, art, storytelling, food and community. With performances and appearances by Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Praise Team, Drums 4 Life, neo-soul vocalist Makeda Iroquois, cultural historian Makheru Bradley, and a headlining concert by Africa Unplugged.

More: Free; June 18, 5:30-8:30 p.m.; Stumptown Park, 120 S. Trade St., Matthews; tinyurl.com/ MatthewsJuneteenth25

HISTORIC ROSEDALE JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION

As part of its African American Legacy programming, Historic Rosedale follows through on its mission to honor those who once forcibly labored on the property. This Juneteenth celebration will include music, dance, children’s activities and a panel titled “How We Preserve Our History.”

More: Free; June 21, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Historic Rosedale, 3427 N. Tryon St., historicrosedale.simpletix.com

SOUNDWAVE

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Dos Gringos (Comet Grill)

Forever Came Calling w/ Calling All Captains, Brigades, Home for the Day, Moving Boxes (The Milestone)

SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC

Josh Daniel, Jim Brock & Kerry Brooks (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)*

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

Kennedy Ryon (Neighborhood Theatre)

Saba (The Underground)

JAZZ/BLUES

DJAM Collective (Camp North End)

Carolyn Wonderland (Middle C Jazz)

MIXED-GENRE/EXPERIMENTAL/FESTIVAL

A Fundraiser for Families Impacted By ICE (Snug Harbor)

OPEN MIC

Singer/Songwriter Open Mic (The Rooster)*

Open Hearts Open Mic (Starlight on 22nd)

THURSDAY JUNE 12

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Illuminati Hotties w/ Georgia Maq, Allie (Snug Harbor)

Dope Lemon (The Underground)

Bear Hands w/ OK Cowgirl (Visulite Theatre)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Theo Kandel (Neighborhood Theatre)

FUNK/JAM BAND/REGGAE

Raspberry Pie w/ Pleasantly Wild, Shankai & The Goonie Tunez (Petra’s)

Shana Blake’s Musical Menagerie (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)*

SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC

Chris Elmore (Comet Grill)

Evan Bartels w/ Christopher Paul Stelling (Evening Muse)

FRIDAY JUNE 13

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Once Below Joy w/ When We’re Sober (Evening Muse)

Harm w/ Ghost Chant, Fly Over States, Quiet, The Johnstown Flood (The Milestone)

Splinters w/ Bridewell, Jaw Jacked, Screwed Ends, Fault Reset (The Rooster)

Girl Brutal w/ Pie Face Girls, Fixations, DJ Scott Weaver (Snug Harbor)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

Akeem Ali (Neighborhood Theatre)

SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC

Krista Lynn Meadow w/ Dylan Farrell (Goldie’s)

FUNK/JAM BAND/Reggae

Empire Strikes Brass w/ Bradford Ray Bailey (Camp North End)

Satellite Dog w/ Nathan Harris & The Flood, Emerson Bruno (Petra’s)

Council Ring (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Kaitlin Butts (Evening Muse)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

Lyn Lapid w/ FIG (Amos’ Southend)

Orbit w/ Stan Zeff @ CUE (Blackbox Theater) Sexbruise? w/ Nerd Alert (Visulite Theatre)

LATIN/WORLD

82MAJOR (Heist Brewery & Barrel Arts)

JAZZ/BLUES

Steve Cole (Middle C Jazz)

COVER BANDS

FJ (Foreigner & Journey tribute) (The Amp Ballantyne)

SATURDAY JUNE

JAN. 25

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Angie Aparo (Evening Muse)

Batty w/ Telehealth, Beauty (The Milestone)

The Ruff’tons w/ HEY Richard, Leaving Echoes, Warmones, Yrd Sle, The Hand Off, Small Doses, Messy Stains (The Rooster)

SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC

Randy Franklin (Comet Grill)

JAZZ/BLUES

Chandra Currelly (Middle C Jazz)

Blackhawk Quintet w/ The Al Sergel Trio (Petra’s)

Cosmic Collective w/ Anemoia, DJ Prawn, Tray Tarzia (Snug Harbor)

LATIN/WORLD

Demola (Neighborhood Theatre)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

12/OC w/ Maddie Lenhart (Evening Muse)

FUNK/JAM BAND/REGGAE

Celestial Company (Birdsong Brewing)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

Day Shift (Blackbox Theater)

Huda Hudia @ CUE (Blackbox Theater)

Havana Night (Camp North End)

Sua Casa (Starlight on 22nd)

KPop Club Night (The Underground)

COVER BANDS

Be Kind Rewind (Amos’ Southend)

Minutes & Years w/ Bailey Marie Griggs (Goldie’s)

Jeremy’s Ten (Pearl Jam tribute) (Visulite Theatre)

SUNDAY JUNE 15

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Modest Mouse (The Fillmore)

CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL

Charlotte Symphony: Summer Pops (Symphony Park)

FUNK/JAM BAND/REGGAE

Rumor Mill (Primal Brewery)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

Crunk With w/ HXNCLB, Mikal Khill, Tribe One, IIOIOIOII, Lucid Dreams (The Milestone)

Hazy Sunday (Petra’s)

Soul Sundays w/ Guy Nowchild & Friends (Starlight on 22nd)

JAZZ/BLUES

Gino Rosaria (Middle C Jazz)

MONDAY

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

WEDNESDAY JUNE 18

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Drivin’ n’ Cryin’ w/ Laid Back Country Picker (Neighborhood Theatre)

Slow Funeral w/ Honeyknife, With Haste! (Snug Harbor) SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC

Neil Carter (Comet Grill)

Timothy Chandler Hicks w/ Dalton Monroe, Ma, Family Friend (The Milestone)

Josh Daniel, Jim Brock & Kerry Brooks (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)*

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

The Wildwoods w/ Time Sawyer (Evening Muse) HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Fridayy (Ovens Auditorium)

JAZZ/BLUES

DJAM Collective (Camp North End)

MUSICAL COMEDY

JUNE 16

Authority Zero w/ Dollars Taxes, Septix (The Milestone)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

James Arthur (Skyla Amphitheatre)

JAZZ/BLUES

The Bill Hanna Legacy Jazz Session (Petra’s) OPEN MIC

Find Your Muse Open Mic feat. Jen Ford (Evening Muse)

TUESDAY

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Red Rocking Chair (Comet Grill)*

Brand New (PNC Music Pavilion)

JAZZ/BLUES

Menastree (Petra’s)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Fred Armisen (The Fillmore) COVER BANDS

House of Funk: Funk of the ‘80s (Middle C Jazz) OPEN MIC

Singer/Songwriter Open Mic (The Rooster)* Open Hearts Open Mic (Starlight on 22nd)

THURSDAY

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

JUNE 17

Ziggy Alberts w/ Steph Strings (Visulite Theatre) OPEN MIC

Open Mic Night feat. The Smokin J’s (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)*

JUNE 19

Jer w/ Bangzz, Jellydiver, blankstate. (The Milestone)

Cassettiquette w/ Valley Range (Petra’s)

Y’all’re w/ Wine Mom, Lamps Required (Petra’s)

FUNK/JAM BANDS/REGGAE

Shana Blake’s Musical Menagerie (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)*

SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC

Zach King w/ Jackson Harden, Tori Templet (Evening Muse)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Melody Hager (Comet Grill)

JAZZ/BLUES

Juneteenth Jam feat. Lauren Jade, Donald Dean, Ryan Brown (Middle C Jazz)

FRIDAY JUNE 20

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Weekend Friend w/ Harvey Street, Wilmot (Amos’ Southend)

The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill)*

No Anger Control w/ Night! Night!, Snide, Septix (The Milestone)

Babymetal (Skyla Amphitheatre)

Fluorescents w/ Felicity, Never Home (Snug Harbor) HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

Mitchell Ferguson w/ Tomorrow’s Problem (Evening Muse)

SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC

Brendan Abernathy (Evening Muse)

Hannah Huntley Band w/ Kayla McKinney (Goldie’s)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Warp Street w/Nathan Harris & The Flood, Joseph Gallo, Emily Martin (The Rooster)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

Overdrive @ CUE (Blackbox Theater)

Ultraviolet Sapphic Dance Party (Petra’s) 2000s Rave (The Underground)

JAZZ/BLUES

Etienne Charles (Stage Door Theater) COVER BANDS

Robyn Springer: Tribute to Roberta Flack (Middle C Jazz) Almost Queen (Knight Theater) Trial by Fire (Journey tribute) (Visulite Theatre)

Photo Credit

Modest Mouse performs at The Fillmore on June 15.

SOUNDWAVE

SATURDAY

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

The Relics (Comet Grill)

Gyasi w/ Narah (Evening Muse)

JUNE 21

MONDAY JUNE 23

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Today Is the Day w/ Bog Loaf, MERC (Snug Harbor)

JAZZ/BLUES

IAMDYNAMITE w/ Faye (Evening Muse)

Hollow Party w/ Scoot Pittman (Goldie’s)

Bones Owens (Neighborhood Theatre)

Aurora’s Hope w/ Bad Guru, Jackson Fig (Petra’s)

Summer Night of Shred (The Rooster)

Peach Pit w/ Briston Maroney (Skyla Amphitheatre)

Fat Mouth w/ Barcerado (Starlight on 22nd)

Honey Revenge (The Underground)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

KPop Bash w/ Rusty and DJ Sweaty (Amos’ Southend)

Digital Noir Prom w/ DJ Spider, DJ 20th Century Boy (The Milestone)

CHUPA Vol. 2 feat. SYPHA, P1NO, Simon SMTHNG (Snug Harbor)

JAZZ/BLUES

Acoustic Alchemy (Middle C Jazz)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

A’ngela Winbush w/ Glenn Jones (Knight Theater)

FUNK/JAM BAND/REGGAE

Bullfrog Moon (Primal Brewery)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Larry Keel Experience (Visulite Theatre)

FAMILY

Kidz Bop Live (PNC Music Pavilion)

SUNDAY

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

The Driver Era (Skyla Amphitheatre)

JUNE

22

The Bill Hanna Legacy Jazz Session (Petra’s) OPEN MIC

Find Your Muse Open Mic (Evening Muse)

TUESDAY JUNE 24

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Red Rocking Chair (Comet Grill)*

Weeping Wound w/ Glasswaves, Set for Tomorrow, Den of Wolves, FAFO (The Milestone) 311 (Skyla Amphitheatre)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Ledisi w/ Marsha Ambrosius (Ovens Auditorium) OPEN MIC

Open Mic Night feat. The Smokin J’s (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)*

*WEEKLY EVENTS THAT MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. VISIT QCNERVE.COM FOR THE FULL SOUNDWAVE LISTING

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

Songwriter Showcase Benefit (The Rooster)

Soul Sundays w/ Guy Nowchild & Friends (Starlight on 22nd)

CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL

Marcus Urban (Middle C Jazz)

Charlotte Symphony: Summer Pops (Symphony Park)

Photo by Tore Sætre

Ledisi performs at Ovens Auditorium on June 24.

FOOD & DRINK

FEATURE STORY

A FEAST TO FIGHT THE FAMINE

Carolina Farm Trust marks 10 years confronting food insecurity with inaugural dinner

BY ANNIE KEOUGH

Looking back now, Zack Wyatt recognizes that he didn’t fully appreciate what it meant to grow up on a 300-acre farm. To him, living on a dairy farm in Northern Virginia was just work: mowing 6 acres every week and taking care of countless animals … all to be sent back to his hometown in Texas every summer to do more work on his great-grandfather’s ranch.

Nowadays, that way of life has been diminished. Around the turn of the millennium, about half of Virginia’s Loudon County, where Wyatt grew up, comprised agricultural land. Within a decade, it seemed that it had all simply vanished, he recalled.

From 2002 to 2007, Loudon County saw 13.5% of its farmland erased by development, and the downward trend has continued since.

That was around the time he moved to Charlotte, which has seen its own farmland dramatically decrease since 2000. He wasn’t here to farm, however, instead trying his hand in the mortgage and IT fields.

After the 2008 financial crisis and an unproductive IT partnership, Wyatt was forced to rethink his future.

Wyatt had to get on food assistance programs like EBT and SNAP to support his family of seven, an experience that bore a renewed interest in the ways of his upbringing.

“It wasn’t a great time in my life, clearly, but … something kind of triggered … getting back into

understanding food systems,” he said. “Once you kind of peel that onion back, it’s pretty horrifying.”

Wyatt started talking with local farmers to understand what the food system had turned into since his childhood and how difficult it was for a farming community to survive today.

“[It] was doubly horrifying,” he said. “It’s not a large leap to basically see the foreshadowing of our future. There’s gotta be a different way.”

Food and agricultural systems run the world, Wyatt said. Our food system is intertwined with climate change, health, social progress and politics. How do you repair 90 years of deteriorating agricultural infrastructure to rebuild a system that benefits farmers and consumers?

In the current food system, there is little an average person can do to make actionable changes, Wyatt admitted.

Looking back, he wonders if it was that feeling of powerlessness that set him on the path to found Carolina Farm Trust, an organization dedicated to rebuilding what a regional food system looks like from production to consumption, in 2015.

“[There was] a clear understanding that we really had to go all the way back to really the dirt and start rebuilding a system that actually works for us instead of, more or less, killing us,” he said.

The organization will celebrate its 10th birthday with the inaugural Carolina Farm Feast, a unique farm-to-table fundraiser featuring regional North

and South Carolina produce, on June 28 at its CFT Market on Hoskins Road in northwest Charlotte.

“This event champions the local economy, providing vital support to chefs, artists, farms and small businesses, fostering economic growth and sustaining the talents that help our community thrive,” reads the event page.

What’s wrong with our food system?

Most people don’t know what a food system is, let alone what’s wrong with it, Wyatt said. He spent his first five years with Carolina Farm Trust educating people on what the current food system looks like and its deficiencies.

“It gets overwhelming really quickly when you start talking [about] it. And it’s also very scary, so there’s a lot of people that just don’t even want to think about it,” Wyatt said.

COVID-19 laid bare the shortcomings of the current food system in America. Grocery stores typically have a two-day turnaround with produce. When the pandemic hit and folks started hoarding food, trucks couldn’t keep up with the demand.

“Seeing the grocery store shelves bare, I think, was very alarming. It gives you a lot of anxiety, because the grocery store offers you a very big illusion of abundance,” Wyatt said. “The current way we do things… there is an expiration date.”

That expiration date is creeping closer. The American Farmland Trust, a nonprofit agricultural conservation organization, released the Farms Under Threat 2040 report in 2022 to project how development and climate change will affect agricultural land if it continues on its current path without smart growth practices.

North Carolina was rated second in projected farm loss nationally behind Texas. According to the report, 11.6% of North Carolina’s agricultural land — nearly 1.2 million acres — will be converted into subdivisions, strip malls and scattered rural housing by 2040.

The United States’ “National Significant” farmland and ranch land are necessary for longterm food security and environmental health. Losing it will affect the country’s ability to maintain a steady food supply in the coming decades.

Food insecurity rates have already been steadily rising across the US, with 100% of counties in the nation home to people facing hunger, according to Feeding America. That organization releases an annual Map the Meal Gap study, launched in 2011 to provide estimates of local food insecurity and food costs in different states and counties.

One in seven North Carolinians face hunger everyday — 438,200 of them being children and teenagers, according to the 2025 study using 2023 data. An estimated 148,940 people in Mecklenburg County alone were reported as food insecure in 2023, a 2.4% increase from 2019.

The conversation around the food system may be overwhelming. It is not, however, hopeless. Over the years, CFT has worked to identify solutions for the issues created by the broken system, beginning with the source: farmers.

How CFT plans to rebuild the system

Though most people don’t think about the role of farmers in providing every piece of produce they buy at the grocery store, that’s who keeps food on the shelves, Wyatt said.

Loss of farmland could increase drastically in the next 20 years, as 40% of farmland in the US is owned by folks 65 or older, leaving 375 million acres potentially vulnerable to development when it changes hands.

Younger generations don’t show much interest in farming because of its inherent challenges — both physical and financial, said CFT director of development Olivia Horton. Unless you’re inheriting land or resources to get a farm up and running, the startup cost is often insurmountable for new farmers interested in the profession.

Without consistent and reliable revenue streams to keep their farms in business, farmers will continue to age out, which is something that should concern everyone, as they are the ones who feed us, Horton said.

CFT supports small, community farmers directly by helping them purchase equipment, lease or purchase land and reach wholesale and individual customers through marketing campaigns, according to the organization’s website. It also supports the next generation of farmers through farm apprenticeships and volunteer positions on local farms, community gardens and land within the CFT Farm Network.

Within the current food system, there are two ways for farmers to make money: sell their produce and livestock to wholesale food product suppliers or hawk it at a farmers market.

”Those are two enormous extremes,” Wyatt said. “Farmers markets are amazing but they are not a scalable solution … All it would take was 1-2% of the population to go to the farmers market and [they] would be exhausted.”

Local farmers markets are also typically only held once a week. So where can farmers sell their products the other six days?

For years, CFT worked to keep a stable revenue for farmers through its two Urban Farm Network properties, pop-up farmers markets, farmer advocacy and by connecting farmers to new customers.

The model allowed CFT to help cultivate and manage urban farms at the Aldersgate Retirement Community in east Charlotte and Free Spirit Farm in Huntersville, preserving around 34 acres of farmland amid urban expansion, helping folks understand where their food comes from and demonstrating the importance of rural farming communities.

Still, distribution is everything to farmers. Wyatt wanted to expand on his plan to build an earned revenue model that takes some of the burden off the farmers by creating the infrastructure for a permanent, local food distribution center in which farmers can sell their produce year-round.

“[Farmers] need more than that one day to truly sustain a fully functioning small business,” Horton said. “We don’t want to compete with the farmers markets at all. We want them to stay, we want everyone to enjoy them, and then we want to

Photo courtesy of CFT

Carolina Farm Fest will host its biggest garm-to-table dinner to date on June 28.

FOOD & DRINK FEATURE STORY

give everyone else options the other six days of the week.”

Without a brick-and-mortar location, however, building a fixed infrastructure would be difficult, and there wasn’t much hope of finding investors. Much of the funding meant for food security programs was redirected to other COVID-19 initiatives during the pandemic. Wyatt was unsure if his organization could last through 2021.

It was in this precarious time that Wyatt heard word of an available warehouse space in the Thomasboro-Hoskins neighborhood in west Charlotte. He recalled that he almost didn’t want to visit the warehouse and get his hopes up because he had no money to offer.

Stepping into the building in April 2021, however, lit a new fire under Wyatt. The space checked all the boxes of his wish list: a location in west Charlotte, close to I-85 and in a community where the market could become an asset.

Wyatt was honest about his situation and the warehouse owners gracefully accommodated him, taking the building off the market until Wyatt secured a grant with a contact he had at Lowe’s. For the remainder of 2021, Wyatt’s team worked diligently with county staff to design, plan and approve the project.

At that time, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was providing millions in funding for agriculture, specifically farmers and ranchers. CFT was the first project that Mecklenburg County commissioners approved for ARPA funding, which turned out to be a god-send as inflation nearly tripled building costs during its development.

Despite the challenges, phase one of the CFT Market, as the project is called, was completed. Opened in June 2024, CFT Market serves as a local food distribution center with a commercial kitchen to utilize its local produce and proteins.

The market increases accessibility to food grown by local farmers more accessible, keeping it affordable to the surrounding areas with an added benefit of maintaining the nutrient density in products.

An extended supply chain from production to processing to packaging to transportation to

distribution severely affects the nutritional value and freshness of the food many people eat from grocery stores, along with the environmental and economic costs associated with foods that travel long distances, Horton said.

CFT Market emphasizes a regional approach to food distribution by buying from farms within the Carolinas. In one year, the market has provided more than $400,000 in revenue to local farmers, Wyatt said. His goal is to double that by the end of this year.

“It’s been really exciting to see just what can be, because when you start talking about [how] we’re going to go try to create a food system that will compete with the industrial food complex, [it’s] pretty scary,” he said.

Answering the call

After Hurricane Helene ripped through western North Carolina in September 2024, the World Central Kitchen reached out to CFT to deliver 1,500 hot meals to the Boone area in a two-day timeframe. Over the month of October, CFT delivered 23,269 meals to hurricane victims.

”That triggered, again, just like how important [and] what that facility really means,” Wyatt said.

CFT has also worked to address food insecurity and launch senior nutrition initiatives through the county’s community resource center. The organization plans to continue upping its impact with CFT Market’s second phase, which will include a retail grocery store, teaching kitchen, event space and separate meat-processing facility.

CFT will also incorporate a generator in its main building and meat-processing building so it can be an emergency resource center in the event of a natural disaster.

Despite CFT’s local impact and work to rebuild the food system, decisions made on a federal level still affect the organization.

The Trump organization’s decision to freeze US Department of Agriculture (USDA) funds in January threatened hundreds of thousands of farmer’s livelihoods. Although the freeze was lifted, the proposed federal budget for Fiscal Year 2026 would still slash nearly $7 billion in USDA funds.

“When the [federal government] is making the cuts they’re making now, it really affects every single funding model in the country and on a global level, too,” Wyatt said.

The cut in funding emphasizes the necessity of the earned revenue model that CFT is building, he said. By ensuring that farming stays profitable, less farmers will age out of the profession and more will continue to produce an abundance of produce and livestock.

When there is an abundance of products, CFT can sell them at a lower price per pound while still ensuring the farmer gets paid properly. This model promotes a regional economic system that prioritizes local and affordable fresh, healthy foods while rewarding the people who provide them for us.

Businesses and nonprofits in Mecklenburg, Lincoln and Union counties have already shown interest in the model to distribute locally grown food to their populations, Wyatt said. CFT hopes to build on and deepen the community’s interest in the market and local farms and products through its upcoming birthday celebration, the Carolina Farm Feast.

A feast for a cause

The Carolina Farm Feast, a farm-to-table dinner featuring North Carolina food and art, will be the biggest event hosted at CFT’s new west Charlotte facility yet.

CFT couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate 10 years of supporting North Carolina agriculture and fresh food accessibility than a big farm-to-table dinner with local art, local music and, of course, local food, Horton said.

”I am absolutely convinced that food has always brought people together,” Wyatt said.

Each of the four courses, made from locally grown products, will tell a story. Attendees will hear about where the ingredients came from, the area that the respective farm is located and its unique connection to CFT.

Horton said organizers are expecting 300 attendees; CFT hopes it will be the biggest farm-totable dinner they’ve ever seen, and the food won’t be the only highlight.

CFT has partnered with Charlotte arts nonprofit ArtPop Street Gallery on to commission 20 local artists who will create two custom table runners for the banquet tables under the theme, “Why we love North Carolina.”

The runners will be up for bid during a silent auction after the feast.

Guides will also conduct exclusive tours of the facility, giving visitors a look at phase one and a sneak peek at the vision for phase two.

“It’s an awesome reflection point of how long things take to really gain momentum,” he continued. “People were like, ‘You’ve been around for 10 years and this is all where you’re at?’ And I’m like, ‘Hey, I get it. But it took five years just to really get anything going.’”

Wyatt’s team started with one person and a $100,000 budget. They’re now a team of 28 with a multi-million dollar budget. Walmart started with just one store, Wyatt pointed out.

“All these behemoths started somewhere, it’s

just a matter of building what we want,” he said. “What I really want people to … walk out of the Carolina Farm Feast is understanding how much power they have. We are the economy … what we spend our money on everyday drives the economy.”

Nearly everyone agrees that a local, healthy food system that is easy to participate in would be invaluable, but folks have to understand that they are the ones who have to invest in it, Wyatt emphasized.

Horton hopes attendees will be inspired to support their local food economy and understand the importance of agriculture and the effect that it has on our economy, the environment and our health. She wants people to form a connection with the farmers that feed us.

CFT is hoping to duplicate the Carolina Farm Feast year annually, rotating between locations that are significant to the organization and the people involved.

CFT began by going back to the dirt and rebuilding from there. Wyatt’s ultimate goal is to implement this new food system locally and use the Charlotte metro area as a proof of concept to later scale into different regions around the country.

“[It’s all about] building trust,” he said, “Not only building trust with our farming communities, building trust with our community as a whole … is going to take a long time and I feel like we’re on a good path.”

And the only way to stay on the path is to make sure we’re all on it together.

Get tickets for Carolina Farm Feast at carolinafarm-feast.raiselysite.com/

AKEOUGH@QCNERVE.COM

Photo courtesy of CFT

A dish from one of Carolina Farm Trust’s past events.

Photo courtesy of CFT

Local produce is key.

JUNE 11 - JUNE 17 JUNE 18 - JUNE 24

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A heads-up to all freespirited Ewes and Rams: Be wary of a deal that could result in compromising your independence. Check every detail before making a commitment.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) New facts emerge that help put an irksome workplace situation in perspective. Meanwhile, pay more attention to a family member who needs your wisdom and strength.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) A slight setback in plans is nothing to worry about. Use this delay to deal with a number of matters you might have ignored for too long. Expect news from someone in your past.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) You’re entering a period of stability. Use it to straighten out any outstanding problems related to a very personal situation. Also, pay closer attention to financial matters.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) As much as you love being a social Lion, you might well benefit from staying out of the spotlight for a while. You need time to reflect on some upcoming decisions.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) A difficult family situation improves, thanks to your timely intervention. You can now start to focus more of your attention on preparing for a possible career change.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) An on-thejob change works to your benefit by offering new opportunities, but it’s up to you to check them out. Meanwhile, a stalled romantic situation starts up again.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) A flare-up of Scorpian temperament cools down, leaving you more receptive to suggestions about changes that might need to be made in your personal life.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) An unusual period of indecisiveness is a mite frustrating. But things soon clear up, allowing the sage Sagittarian to make wise pronouncements again.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) You might feel that you know best, but it’s not a good idea at this time to try to force your opinions on others. Best advice: Inspire change by example, not by intimidation.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Some setbacks could affect your plans to fortify your financial situation. But things start moving again by early next week. Meanwhile, enjoy your resurgent social life!

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Show that oftenhidden steely spine of yours as you once again stand up to an emotional bully. You’ve got the strength to do it, especially as friends rally to your side.

BORN THIS WEEK: Your ruling planet, Mercury, endows you with a gift for writing. Have you considered penning the world’s greatest novel?

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Family and friends rally around as you confront an unexpected challenge. Some plans will have to be changed until all the fuss and fluster settle down.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Your creative gifts find new outlets for expression this week. Someone (a LIBRA, perhaps) has ideas that you might find surprisingly appealing. Pay attention!

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) You’ll soon be able to restart your delayed travel plans. In addition, a financial matter you thought was closed could suddenly reopen. Be prepared to take swift, decisive action.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) A romantic relationship takes an unexpected turn. You might be confused about how to react. It’s best not to be rushed into a decision that you’re not ready to make.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Don’t let your pride stand in the way of resolving an emotionally painful situation. This is a good time to deal with it and let the healing finally begin.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) A workplace problem that you’ve been handling so well suddenly spins out of control. Don’t panic. You can rely on your good sense to help you restore order.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Wearing rose-colored glasses won’t solve a thorny personal situation. You need to take a hard look at what’s happening, then act according to the facts.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Weigh all your options carefully before making any decisions you’ve been putting off. Then go ahead and plan a weekend of family fun!

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) While personal and financial situations continue to improve, some setbacks might occur. But they’re only temporary, so hang in there.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Family matters dominate the week. Health problems raise concern but soon prove to be less serious than you had feared. Things start easing up by the weekend.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Most situations are calmer now, both at home and on the job. But there’s still a chance that a co-worker will set off another round of unpleasantness.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) There’s no need to fish for compliments from an admirer who can’t say enough nice things about you. Meanwhile, the holiday weekend bodes well for family gatherings.

BORN THIS WEEK: You love to compete, both on a personal and a sporting level, and you hate to settle for anything less than excellence.

TRIVIA TEST

1. AD SLOGANS: Which retail chain urges consumers to “Expect More. Pay Less”?

2. MATH: What is an obelus?

3. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Which president was the last to own slaves?

4. LITERATURE: Author Ian Fleming’s Jamaican estate has the same name as which James Bond movie?

5. TELEVISION: How many seasons of “Wheel of Fortune” did Pat Sajak host?

6. SCIENCE: What are cordyceps?

7. MOVIES: Which actor/ comedian/filmmaker made his film debut in the movie “Donnie Darko”?

8. ACRONYMS: What does the acronym BBC stand for?

9. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is the only bird that can fly backward?

10. FOOD & DRINK: What is a mirepoix?

PLACE A NUMBER IN THE EMPTY BOXES IN SUCH A WAY THAT EACH ROW ACROSS, EACH COLUMN DOWN AND EACH SMALL 9-BOX SQUARE CONTAINS ALL OF THE NUMBERS ONE TO NINE.

AERIN IT OUT

DEER-Y ME

Two Buck Saloon shows up in Oakhurst

BY AERIN SPRUILL

Two Buck Saloon might be on its fourth rodeo, but it’s the new sheriff in Oakhurst, serving up $2 beers while shaking up the quiet corner of Monroe Road and Richland Drive one cold pour at a time.

Just a stone’s throw from Oakhurst Commons, tucked into a patchwork plaza featuring remnants of a Dominican hair salon, an apothecary and a blink-and-you-missed-it electronics repair shop, Two Buck Saloon stands as the newest “familyfriendly” hideout on the blockout.

The bar’s fourth location quietly opened at the end of May, as talk picked up that the OG Two Buck — born on Hawthorne Lane in 2020 — might be the latest casualty in Charlotte’s slow crawl toward polished patios and overpriced sips.

Instead, ownership drew the line in the sawdust and fired back with frontier flair by opening yet another location where the number one house rule is etched on the entrance: “Everyone’s welcome until you’re not.”

Translation: You can bring your kids, bring your dogs, but you best mind your manners ‘round these parts.

One step inside the barroom and it’s clear: “family-friendly” doesn’t mean watered down.

This Two Buck may be kid-approved but it still carries the swagger of the saloon that started it all; think mounted deer heads, floor-to-ceiling wood paneling, worn-in flooring and a long bar top featuring scrawled-on dollar bills lacquered like a permanent toast.

The specials board still reads like an outlaw’s love letter to regulars: $2 PBR drafts, High Life and Busch Light cans, and the legendary $8 pizza — always on the menu, rarely seen in the wild.

Behind the indoor stage, a game room with dart boards, pool tables, two multicade consoles and — true to Two Buck tradition — the infamous Big Buck Hunter locked, loaded and waiting to crown the next sharpshooter.

If it weren’t for the scent of freshly cut wood mingling with that low, familiar smell of beer — the kind that clings to good stories and long nights — you’d swear this Two Buck had taken its shoes off and made itself at home long ago.

Funnily enough, the same things that gave me the “ick” on my first visit to the OG location — the barely lived-in “dive bar” aesthetic, the five-peopledeep bar line, the roaming pack of Chads — were exactly what I found myself clinging to on my first visit to the Oakhurst spot.

Their perceived absence on opening weekend felt like “proof” that the new location could never live up to the hype surrounding Two Buck on Hawthorne Avenue — never mind that I’d once rolled my eyes at

the idea of that bar on the border of Belmont and Plaza Midwood.

Add in Saturday service that was slow and chaotic without the bodies to back it up and I was ready to write the whole thing off as a watered-down spinoff trying too hard to “make fetch happen” in a section of town better suited for staying the same.

But on my second visit to Oakhurst, I was sipping pinot grigio from a dainty mason jar, posted up on the nearly empty back patio for a quiet Sunday afternoon with a new attitude and a hopeful perspective.

Maybe it was the mismatched furniture. The soft clink of a casual pool game. The fact that three beers and a glass of wine were only $20. Or the indigestion barstool banter found just a six-minute ride from my condo.

But all of a sudden, the new location started to feel more like home than the original.

For an intersection better known for its prescription pick-ups and cups of Joe, Two Buck Saloon is part refuge, part rebellion — and just rowdy enough with live music on Fridays and Saturdays to remind you that even in Oakhurst, cheap drinks and good times are right around the corner.

As ownership navigates the future of the original location, take time to savor what made the first one special, but make room to welcome the new kid on the block.

The Oakhurst outpost may move at a different pace now, but that’s part of its charm.

And whether Hawthorne regulars embrace or resist the change, this might be the only moment to experience the new spot in its purest form — before it settles into the new norm in a new ’hood.

One thing’s for certain: In a post-COVID world where longtime watering holes are folding, Two Buck keeps expanding — with four locations in five years and no signs of slowing down.

When the dust settles, I know where I’m putting my two bucks in this nightlife standoff.

Do the full Two Buck tour — with each location having a unique flavor, you never know which one might become your home away from home: Belmont, Oakhurst, Becton Park or Pineville.

Visit twobucksaloon.com for all the info you need to get started.

“Trump Snaps” by John Cole. Originally published by NC Newsline.

SAVAGE LOVE

MORE QUICKIES

Doms, subs and safewords

BY DAN SAVAGE

Queer boy in an open relationship here with a silly question. I’ve started seeing someone recently. They’re cute and I enjoy their company, but they use a lot of cologne and it’s really hurting my desire to be physical with them. I don’t know this person well and the trajectory we’ve been on has been towards a friends-with-benefits sort of situation at best, so I’m not sure what I owe them here. Should I say something or back away?

Asking someone to use less cologne is like asking someone to use less cocaine: they’re going to react defensively, deny using too much and accuse you of being the one with a problem. So, unless this person is someone you’re hoping to get serious about — and it doesn’t sound like they are — it’s not worth it.

Is it unethical to preemptively block people on Grindr who I know I would never consider fucking?

A man gets on Grindr because he’s looking for dick and/or ass right now — and if your dick and/ or ass isn’t available to him, blocking him is a courtesy, as it frees up room on his grid for guys whose dicks and/or asses are available.

What book do you recommend for someone just beginning to explore the Dom/sub relationship?

I would recommend Playing Well with Others by Lee Harrington and Mollena Williams, both volumes of The Funny Dom’s Guide to Kink by The Funny Dom, and Dossie Easton and Janet Hardy’s The New Topping Book and The New Bottoming Book You could also follow — and learn a lot from — Lina “Ask a Sub” Dune, who hosts a podcast and writes a newsletter (where you can find her terrific advice columns), and Alesandra of Dom/Sub Living, who blogs, memes and teaches courses on Dom/sub relationships.

I am a (mostly? formerly?) straight man in a blue city in Texas. Six years ago, I got Peyronie’s disease, which contributed to the dissolution of my marriage. It has been rough — xaiflex treatments, a hematoma that only 3% get, an ER visit, delays — but I finally got surgery and a month later was cleared for sexual activity after a checkup. But since then my sexuality and kinks have been changing every day. One day Latinas, one day short girls, one day girls into impact play. Then a 5’1” femboy messaged me on Reddit about being my sub. So, where do I find

these short and feminine adult boys that are into Daddies? I feel like I can finally be honest about my want and need without shame now.

You can meet plenty of people who claim to be 5’1” femboys on the internet — they’re all over Reddit, they’re all over hookup apps, they’re even on Instagram fixing cars and on Twitter making swords — and while some of the femboys on Reddit and hookup apps might be who they claim to be and willing to meet up with a hot daddy, some are probably 6’2” masculine dudes or 5’2” cis women who fantasize about being femboys and won’t want to meet up with you in real life.

I “safeworded” out of a kink scene and my Dom pouted for two days. Is that a red flag?

Doms who pout after subs use a safeword want their subs to hesitate to use their safewords in future scenes — which is a definite red flag. Basically, any Dom who responds to the use of a safeword with anything other than an expression of genuine concern, an openness to constructive feedback and an immediate offer of ice cream isn’t a Dom you want to see again.

I have always been aroused by the idea of watching two men make love to each other. Not porn fucking, but two men who adore each other. I don’t necessarily need to be invited to join, but it would be pretty amazing. How should I safely ask for this? (I am queer AFAB.) How can I find a couple to date in this fantasy? Life is short, and I’d like to live it.

Seeing as the ultimate version of your fantasy involves being invited to join in, you should be honest: You wanna watch for a while, then wind up in a pile. Therefore, you should seek out bisexual guys who are into each other and into you.

My boyfriend’s ultimate fantasy is “forced bi,” which is literally the only kind of porn he masturbates to. I feel like a hypocrite because I’m a bisexual woman who isn’t attracted to bisexual men at all and I don’t want to “make” my boyfriend give some guy a blowjob. Am I a hypocrite? Are we doomed?

You (singular) are, you (plural) are.

How do you fuck like you have a dick if you don’t have a dick — like, how did lesbians do it before the strap?

Dildos go way back — tens of thousands of years — and I imagine lesbians were improvising “straps” long before “the strap,” i.e. dildo harnesses, became commercially available in the early 1990s. Also, oral and digital stimulation aren’t sad consolation prizes for many lesbians, but actual sex that lesbians actually enjoy, which means lesbians have always been able to do it, with and without straps.

How do I navigate having a kink life while also having a public-facing career?

After seeing the Glenn Greenwald tape this weekend … maybe resist the urge to document the atrocities?

What does a CNM/poly relationship look like when you’re older or truly elderly?

Doctor appointments crowding out play parties on the Google calendar.

Is it still called pegging if I use my fingers instead of a strap-on?

Putting your finger in someone already has a name — so, no, fingering someone was never called pegging.

Is it safe to suck someone’s dick after it’s been in my hole?

Depends on the thoroughness of your douching, the state of your health, the robustness of your immune system and how soon you’re going to be kissing your mother with that mouth.

I got on Ozempic a year ago and lost a bunch of weight. Men who weren’t attracted to me at my old weight are suddenly attracted to the new and much lighter version of me. I had crushes on some of these guys and, if I’m going to be honest, the whole point of getting on Ozempic was to make myself more attractive. But I resent these guys so much for rejecting me 50 pounds ago that I can’t bring myself to date them now. What do I do?

Meet some new men — men who didn’t know (and reject) you at your heaviest — and fuck those guys instead.

Playing with a guy into small penis humiliation and that’s fine and I’m game. But his dick isn’t small. It’s big. Objectively speaking, it’s huge and, as dicks go, it’s beautiful. What am I supposed to say to a guy into SPH whose dick is bigger than mine?

Whatever he wants to hear.

My wife and I just started exploring prostate play. I used to do some of it via the perineum during solo masturbation, but asked my wife if she would participate. She enthusiastically said yes. I’ve found pleasure in perianal and perineal

play during oral, but the couple times we’ve attempted penetration (single finger, lube used, fully consented), it’s been meh. It hasn’t been painful or uncomfortable, just not what I’ve read about. Are there any tips and tricks to making it more effective? At what point do I just chalk it up to “not for me?”

I know guys who love dicks, dildos and plugs but hate fingers. The only way to find out if you’re one of those guys — one of those guys who enjoys girthier things — is to experiment with girthier things. It’s counterintuitive, I realize, because “start small” seems like such good advice where anal play is concerned, but something thicker than a finger — something less bony than a finger — might not just feel better, it also might do a better job of hitting your prostate. So, before you decide anal penetration isn’t for you, try again with something that intimidates you a little. Go slow, use lots of lube and remember to breathe.

Audra vs. Patti — choose your fighter.

I’m not going to choose, as I love both equally. (As performers; I don’t know either personally.) But I will say this: Just as we need age limits for members of Congress and Supreme Court justices, we need age limits for New Yorker profiles.

Who makes the best bougie condoms that smell/taste good and are still just as effective?

No one has ever managed to create a condom, bougie or otherwise, that tasted better than dick — and they’ve tried. But who knows? Someone might be out there working on a Tom-Holland-flavored condom right now.

What’s the best way to deal with your own jealousy?

By remembering that jealousy isn’t a character failing; so long as it’s not being weaponized to control and/or terrorize, jealousy is a normal human emotion. Sometimes we can work through feelings of jealousy on our own (sometimes we talk ourselves off the ledge), but at other times we need our partners to reassure us.

I’m a woman who’s new to sending nudes. What do straight guys want when it comes to sexy pics?

Different straight guys want to see different things — an ass man wants ass pics, a boobs guy wants boobs pics, a foot perv wants feet pics, etc. So, if a straight guy asks you for pics and you feel safe sharing pics with that straight guy, ask him what he would like to see.

How do I send sexy foot pics?

Someone who can’t figure out how to send pictures of their feet to people who wanna see them … shouldn’t be sending pictures of their feet to anyone.