August SouthPark 2025

CHEVRON COLLECTION

FROM THE EDITOR

The impact of art on our everyday lives is hard to quantify, but there’s no doubt that admiring a painting we love, taking a pottery class or attending a live performance can be mood-lifting and, sometimes, transformational.

Each month, we strive to highlight local and visiting artists, along with the museums, galleries and groups that make art accessible to all Charlotteans. Whether it’s a free local concert, a public mural or sculpture you drive past every day, or a blockbuster museum exhibit, our goal is to share the stories of the people holding the paintbrush, keeping the beat or curating the show. We believe a little knowledge goes a long way toward a greater appreciation of any art form.

Once a year, in our annual arts issue, we offer an extra dose of stories about Charlotte’s creative side. After a few quiet months, the calendar picks up again in late summer and early fall — our Fall Arts Preview (page 67) offers a glimpse of what’s ahead. On page 42, Contributing Editor Michael Solender shares a story about a new Novant Health initiative that recognizes the healing power of art. We also highlight an artsy way to explore one of North Carolina’s most beloved familyfriendly destinations — did you know the N.C. Zoo has one of the largest public art collections in the state (page 36)?

When gallery owner Judith Zehmke gets up and heads to work each day, her commute is among the shortest in town. I’ve known about her in-home gallery, Art House Charlotte, for years — many of her artists’ works have been featured in these pages. Still, until I saw it for myself, I couldn’t believe how Zehmke had transformed the “formal” areas of her SouthPark home into a bona fide art gallery. You can read more about it in Krisha Chachra’s story on page 20.

We all could use a break from the summer heat — why not pop into a local gallery or museum, sign up for a watercolor class, or secure tickets for a fall concert? Art is everywhere, if you take the time to look. SP

CATHY MARTIN

IN THIS ISSUE:

1–Cover story: Set stylists Stephanie Wilson and Ashley Martin (page 85)

2–The Odgen Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans (page 112)

3–A Foxcroft home designed by Shadie Copeland (page 94)

4–Faux florals that look like the real thing from Vintage Charm Charlotte (page 16)

5–Mixologist Sekani Akunyun’s Watermelon Cosmo (page 30)

If we can ask for anything, it would be for less, to be freed from the trappings of the modern world, especially its the of time which we would fill with family and friends, long walks to waterfalls, paddles dipped in the lake, and most of all, to be healthier and more observant of our natural world. Our storybook town is flip-flops close, farmers’ markets and concerts on The Village Green are the order of the day. Less takes on a whole new meaning.

August

BLVD.

16 | design

Vintage Charm Charlotte creates timeless, faux-floral arrangements that last.

20 | art

Gallerist Judith Zehmke opens her home to customers seeking original, local art at an approachable price point.

24 | entertaining Recipes: Spice up your summer table with these shareable spreads.

30 | cocktails

Good spirits: Watermelon Cosmo by Sekani Akunyun

36 | explore

Art in the park: The N.C. Zoo houses one of the largest public art collections in the state.

40 | play

A Charlotte family’s pirate-ship tree house adds a new dimension to outdoor play.

42 | wellness

A new Novant Health initiative taps local creatives to support healing and community well-being.

46 | around town

What’s new and coming soon in the Queen City

48 | happenings

August calendar of events

DEPARTMENTS

53 | bookshelf

August’s new releases

55 | simple life

Catch that August light before it fades

59| givers

Professional organizer Laurie Martin transforms chaos into calm for schools, nonprofits and families in crisis.

124 | swirl

Parties, fundraisers and events around Charlotte

128 | in plain view

Nested Hive: Inspired by pollinators, a whimsical sculpture in east Charlotte invites play.

ABOUT THE COVER:

Blair Scheuer photographed by Richard Israel at the John Knox House in Salisbury. Styling by Whitley Adkins; hair and makeup by Josiah Reed. For additional credits, turn to page 85.

FALL ARTS PREVIEW

67 | A lion, a witch and a wardrobe staple by Page Leggett

Our 20 picks for the best music, art and theater from now through November

FEATURES

85 | Once upon a time styled by Whitley Adkins photographs by Richard Israel

A day trip to Salisbury highlights the town’s historic architecture, ongoing restoration efforts and glamorous venues from days gone by.

94 | Vintage modern by Cathy Martin photographs by Laura Sumrak

Cherished antiques blend with modern patterns and subtle pops of color in this Foxcroft family home.

104 | The joy of cooking by Olivia Lee

Charlotte food entrepreneurs serve up authentic, artisan fare — and customers are lining up.

TRAVEL: ART TOWNS

110 | Classic Chicago by Vanessa Infanzon

A guide to iconic sites in the Windy City

112 | Beyond Bourbon Street by Cathy Martin

A weekend in New Orleans delights with art, cuisine that reimagines classic fare, and a refined cocktail scene.

85

PHOTOGRAPH BY RICHARD ISRAEL

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Contributing Editors David Mildenberg, Michael J. Solender

Contributing Writers

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Contributing Photographers

Jonathan Cooper, Daniel Coston, Justin Driscoll, Richard Israel, Amy Kolodziej, Laura Sumrak, Remy Thurston

Contributing Illustrator Gerry O’Neill

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people, places, things

MAKE A STATEMENT

Design maven Shea McGee, co-founder of Salt Lake City-based Studio McGee, recently launched brand collabs with Tuckernuck, Target and Kohler. Now, Studio McGee has debuted its fifth collaboration with Ann Sacks: a ceramic-tile line called Ashton Meadows. Made in Spain, the tiles are available in five colorways — including Oxblood, shown here — inspired by nature. Play it safe with a square edge or have fun with the nifty scallop design. The collection is available at the Ann Sacks showroom at Morrison shopping center. 721 Governor Morrison St., annsacks.kohler.com SP

ALWAYS IN BLOOM

Vintage Charm Charlotte creates timeless, faux-floral designs that last. by

Michelle Boudin | photographs by Richard Israel

Megan Morris has grown accustomed to finding dead or dying plants on the front stoop of her Myers Park home.

“A lot of people bring me their dead plants and planters and say, ‘I’ve tried. I give up. What can we do with it?’”

The mother of two boys manages to work her magic every time, designing stunning faux-floral arrangements that look strikingly

real. Morris officially launched her business, Vintage Charm Charlotte, in January 2024 after word spread about what started as a hobby.

“My dining-room table was empty forever and ever. I would have rotating hydrangeas come through, and then they would die. So I decided to make an arrangement for myself, and a girlfriend asked me — and then another friend asked me. I started an Instagram page to see where it would go. I got a few sales and gained more confidence.”

Morris has always loved entertaining and design. She spent years arranging real flowers before realizing faux flowers could look just as nice and required a lot less upkeep.

“When I think about real flowers, I think they’re celebratory and beautiful but they are not meant to last. What I do adds to the design of a room without needing the maintenance. I think every room needs an organic piece, some kind of plant along your

bookshelf, that can really complete a room. Who has the money or time to refresh their dining-room centerpiece with real stuff? I think of my stuff as more like a fixture.”

Morris admits, sometimes the idea of fake flowers can be a tough concept for people to get behind.

“Some people are scarred by the faux florals from the ’80s. They equate it with the mass-produced arrangements that aren’t the best quality.”

Morris sources flowers from several local outlets but mostly finds them online. Her clients typically provide the vessels, but she keeps an inventory as well. She loves scouting for vintage vases and bowls at Sleepy Poet Antique Mall, local estate sales and online. The finished products start at about $150 and go up from there, depending on the size and amount of work that goes into creating them.

Most new clients find Morris on Instagram @vintagecharmcharlotte or through her website, vintagecharmcharlotte.com. Her finished designs are also sold at a handful of local home boutiques, and she’s recently had a few high-profile clients around town. Morris loves that one of her arrangements now greets customers at jeweler Erin McDermott’s Elizabeth studio.

Still, the former public-relations professional is looking to expand and add more retail partners in Charlotte.

“I’d love to do more large-scale arrangements. I love designing and being creative in general, and I absolutely love when someone sends me a picture and says, ‘This completes the room.’ That brings me a lot of joy.” SP

ART FOR ALL

Gallerist Judith Zehmke opens her home to customers seeking original, local art at an approachable price point. by

Krisha Chachra | photographs

It frustrated Judith Zehmke that she couldn’t afford the gallery art in Jacksonville’s historic district when she lived in Florida. Looking to purchase reasonably priced, original art, Zehmke teamed with a friend who had collected art from local, up-and-coming artists. She began showcasing the works to other friends who also felt priced out of the market.

When Zehmke relocated to Charlotte in 2007, she continued selling artwork from Florida to her new friends until she connected with local artists in the Queen City.

“I was selling local art on playgrounds, swim lessons, soccer fields and at the YMCA,” says Zehmke. “I want people to be exposed to art and really feel comfortable when browsing.

by

Amy Kolo

That’s why I decided to move my operation to my home. If my customers wanted affordable art for their house, maybe they could see it in mine first.”

Zehmke’s love for art was cultivated in Honolulu, where she worked for famed art collector and newspaper publisher Thurston Twigg-Smith. Twigg-Smith founded The Contemporary Museum, which later became part of the Honolulu Museum of Art. Zehmke assisted with acquiring art and organized events at the museum.

Sixteen years later, Zehmke sometimes sells more than 100 pieces of original art in a month through her at-home gallery, Art House Charlotte. She represents about 20 artists — with a

ASHLEY

HEATHER

JOHANA

PAIGE

TORI

KATHRYN

LISA

HEATHER

JENNIFER

few guest artists. Their work is showcased in the formal living and dining rooms of her 1969 ranch home in SouthPark.

Zehmke usually caps clients at five or six at a time to be respectful of neighbors and the city’s ordinances. There are no retail hours; visitors must book one-hour appointments by text or email. Three to four times a month, Zehmke hosts open houses for those who just want a quick look. She even allows potential clients to borrow art to hang on their own walls for two days and see if it really fits the space.

Zehmke greets visitors in whatever she’s wearing for the day — sometimes overalls and a tank top. Her clients are casual as well.

“People stop in after the grocery store or come in sweaty from the Y,” she explains. “We’re just chill around here, nothing pretentious. If you’re looking for something fancy, we’re not your place.”

With more than 100 works of art on display and at least another 100 in her office, Zehmke’s collection is carefully curated for pieces priced no higher than $3,000.

“I get multiple submissions, but I don’t accept anything that resembles the genre of art I already represent because I don’t want to undercut the other artists,” she says. Once she picks an artist to be showcased, Zehmke chooses eight to 10 of their pieces to display in the gallery.

“If the art sits for two months, I return it with feedback, and the artists have an opportunity to rework,” she explains.

“There’s a little element of escapism when people purchase art, so I generally choose two-dimensional landscape scenes, seascapes, mountains, cityscapes, vacation spots and animal portraits — in many forms of mixed media.”

Clients also ask for commission pieces.

“About 30% of my business is custom,” Zehmke says. “I have a great appreciation for what artists do, especially their processes and time. This allows me to enthusiastically sell their art and encourage them to take commissions.”

As a one-woman show, Judith curates, sells, markets and sometimes even delivers the art to customers. She also has two dogs, four cats and four adult children, and helps run a nonprofit, the Charlotte Cardinals Rugby Club, with her husband. Zehmke’s two youngest kids play rugby, and one of her sons has been invited to play overseas.

“My kids have many interests, but they have always been exposed to art since they were very young and have grown up with it in the house,” she says.

“I’m encouraged to see younger people coming to my house to buy art,” she adds. “When you purchase contemporary art, you’re making an investment in your happiness and your surroundings.” SP

Learn more about Art House Charlotte at arthousecharlotte.com and on Instagram @arthousecharlotte.

TASTE OF SUMMER

Spice up your table with these shareable spreads.

Make the most of summer’s bounty with this trio of shareable mezzes from Shai Fargian, executive chef and partner at Yafo Kitchen, which just opened its fourth location in Ballantyne. Zesty Hummus, blended to perfection, is a cocktail-party staple. The rich, garlicky Matbucha makes good use of everyone’s favorite summer crop, the tomato. And a Moroccan Zaaluk, made with ripe eggplant and bell pepper, is like a sweeter cousin of the Mediterranean classic baba ghanoush. Pop open a bottle of chilled rosé, and enjoy!

— Cathy Martin recipes by Shai Fargian photographs by Remy Thurston

MATBUCHA

Slow-cooked tomato and pepper spread

Yield: about 4 cups

Total prep and cook time: about 3 hours, 30 minutes

Matbucha is a slow-simmered North African condiment made from summery ripe tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic and chiles, reduced over low heat until it becomes a rich, savory-spicy spread. A staple of Maghrebi Jewish kitchens, matbucha is served warm or at room temperature alongside breads and grilled meats. Unlike quick salsas or raw sauces, matbucha is all about patience — the reward is a velvety texture and deep, caramelized flavor that only time can create.

INGREDIENTS

12 large ripe tomatoes (or two 28-ounce cans whole, peeled tomatoes)

4 red bell peppers

16 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

4 red chiles (or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes)

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 tablespoon kosher salt (adjust to taste) fresh cilantro (for garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Score bottoms of the tomatoes, blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds, shock in ice water and peel (skip this step if using canned tomatoes); chop the tomatoes.

2. Roast the peppers over an open flame or broil until charred. Place in a bowl, cover and steam for 10 minutes. Peel, de-seed and chop.

3. In a wide sauté pan, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add garlic and chiles, and cook until fragrant (don’t brown).

4. Add tomatoes, peppers, paprika, cumin, turmeric, salt and sugar. Simmer uncovered on low for 2.5 hours, stirring occasionally. Cook until thick, glossy and reduced. Add water while simmering if needed to prevent sticking.

5. Let cool, and serve with chopped cilantro for garnish. Keeps well in the refrigerator for up to five days.

ZAALUK

Moroccan roasted eggplant and pepper spread

Yield: 4 cups

Total prep and cook time: about 1 hour, 10 minutes

Zaaluk is the summery cousin of baba ghanoush. Originating from North Africa, zaaluk begins with charred eggplant as a base but instead of tahini, the addition of cooked peppers, onion and Champagne vinegar creates a lighter, sweeter mezze. It works great as a shareable dip on your summer table or even as a spread in sandwiches. Make sure your eggplants are relatively light for their size — if they are extra heavy, they will be bitter and full of seeds.

INGREDIENTS

2 medium eggplants

1 small red bell pepper, diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper

1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar)

1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (about half a bunch)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Roast two large eggplants over an open flame (on the grill) or in a 425°F oven until charred and soft inside. Scoop out the flesh and roughly chop, discarding the peels.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add diced red peppers and onions. Cook, stirring often, until very soft and lightly caramelized (about 10-15 minutes).

3. Add sliced garlic and cook for another 2–3 minutes until fragrant but not browned.

4. Stir in the roasted eggplant. Add smoked paprika, salt and black pepper. Mix well and cook for another 5 minutes.

5. Add vinegar and sugar. Simmer for 1 minute until the sugar dissolves and flavors meld.

6. Remove from heat. Stir in fresh lemon juice and chopped parsley.

7. Adjust seasoning to taste. Let cool slightly, then transfer to containers or spread onto a tray to cool fully.

8. Serve chilled or at room temperature with warm pita or crusty bread. Keeps well in the refrigerator for up to five days.

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HUMMUS

Yield: approximately 6 cups

Total prep time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

4 cups cooked chickpeas, drained (from approximately 2 cans or 1½ cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked until they start to fall apart)

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed (about 4 lemons)

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups tahini

cold water as needed (up to 1 cup)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a food processor, combine the chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, salt and cumin. Blend for 5 full minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. This long blend time creates a smooth, velvety base.

2. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Blend for 1 minute until fully emulsified.

3. Spoon in the tahini and continue to blend until the mixture is creamy and light — about 1–2 minutes more.

4. Add cold water, half a cup at first and then 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency — smooth, but not runny.

5. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of paprika or za’atar, and warm pita or vegetables. Keeps well in the refrigerator for up to three days. SP

GOOD SPIRITS: WATERMELON COSMO BY SEKANI AKUNYUN

by Asha Ellison | photographs by Jonathan Cooper

Long before Sekani Akunyun made a name for herself on the Charlotte cocktail scene, she was shaking things up behind a variety of bars. She scooped ice cream in high school, moved on to craft coffees as a barista, and worked her way through college at UNC Greensboro as a server. Then, in 2014, the now-tenured cocktail pro returned to the Queen City, where she catapulted into the world of bartending.

Akunyun credits the fine-tuning of her craft to other cocktail experts she’s worked alongside through the years, namely DiSean Burns — an ambassador for Angel’s Envy whiskey and a leader in Charlotte’s bartending industry. She acknowledges Burns and Justin Hazelton, award-winning

Sekani’s tips for making a perfect cocktail

1. Taste the fruit before making a cocktail. “You may need to add more sugar. It’s important to know what you’re starting with.”

2. Have confidence. “You can do all of this at home — it’s not rocket science.”

3. Have your cocktail tools ready, but don’t be afraid to improvise. “Don’t have a shaker? Use a protein shake bottle. Need a muddler? Use the back of a spoon.”

owner and lead mixologist of Plaza Midwood listening bar Lorem Ipsum, for fueling her innate creativity and growth behind the bar.

“To say something came easy is so cliche, but it did,” says Akunyun. “I’m the type of person who wants to know how things pair together. I remember asking [DiSean] when I was still in training if we could experiment with putting a cocktail together, and he said, ‘That sounds like it would be good, let’s try it out.’ … This industry is about continuous evolution, and I’m all about learning.”

Mixology marries Akunyun’s curiosity with her personal interests in math, science and the arts.

“Being a bartender is a best-of-both-worlds thing for me,” she says. “I get to be a scientist, use math, and I’m on a different stage everyday.”

Akunyun has worked at bars across Charlotte, from the now-shuttered Weathered Souls to Dram & Draught and Lorem Ipsum. She’s participated in regional cocktail competitions; worked alongside notable chefs Chayil Johnson and Brandon Staton to craft thoughtful, culturally significant spirit-free beverages for their popular History & Homage dinner series; created a pop-up tasting series of her own, Lavender & Libations; and continues to bounce around bars to help her friends in the industry.

“It’s an honor to be trusted with your craft,” she says.

Beyond the technical components of bartending, Akunyun also sees mixology as an immersive art form.

“With visual art, you see everything with your eyes first: a painting, a photograph or a sculpture,” she says. “With food and beverage, you see and you smell everything first. Then, you taste it. And, if you take a picture of the cocktail and post it on social media, it’s definitely art.”

For the home mixologist seeking to create their own cocktail experience and art, Akunyun offers up her watermelon cosmo recipe.

“Cosmos are classic, and summer is all about sipping fresh and staying hydrated,” she says. “And honestly, with us being in the South, this recipe will be good until temps drop in November.” SP

Photographed at Lorem Ipsum Listening Bar

WATERMELON COSMO

Serves one

SUPPLIES

1 jigger (liquid measure)

1 shaker

1 Hawthorne cocktail strainer

1 fine mesh strainer (optional)

1 muddler

1 chilled glass, preferably a coupe

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 ounce vodka

1/2 ounce orange liqueur

1/2 ounce lime juice

1/4 ounce simple syrup

3-4 watermelon cubes Tajín (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Muddle watermelon cubes, then add the rest of the ingredients into a shaker.

2. Add ice to cover the mix, then secure the top of the shaker. Shake hard for about 10 seconds or until the shaker tin is ice cold.

3. Using a Hawthorne strainer (and a fine mesh strainer if you have one), strain into a chilled glass.

4. Optional: Garnish with a skewer of watermelon cubes. Spice it up with a sprinkle of Tajín on the cubes.

ART IN THE PARK

The N.C. Zoo houses one of the largest public art collections in the state.

by Cathy Martin

At the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, a large white rhino — one of the most popular attractions in the Africa section — rests his massive frame in a shady patch near the Watani Grasslands habitat.

While most of the zoo’s 1,700-plus animals roam behind protective fences or glass-walled enclosures, kids (of all ages) clamber atop the rhino, grabbing his horns, wrapping their arms around his enormous muzzle and three-toed feet, climbing up — and then sliding back down — his back with glee.

The rhino — a bronze statue by Asheboro artist Johnpaul Harris — is one of about 150 works of art scattered throughout the 2,800-acre zoo. It’s part of an initiative started in 1993 by then-curator of design Ellen Grier.

Since the first commission — a ceramic tile installation of a rattlesnake titled Sonoran Snake at the entrance to the Desert exhibit — the zoo has commissioned works by more than 60 artists, including over 40 bronze sculptures like the white rhino. The zoo’s Art in the Park program is one of the largest public art collections in the state.

Most of the art here isn’t placed on pedestals — it’s integrated into the landscape and intended to be touched and enjoyed.

“Most of our pieces are life-size,” says Angela Reavis, a Yadkin County native who joined the zoo as curator of design in 2023. “They don’t have to be hyper-realistic — the texture, the forms themselves, how the sculpture is made, can be more abstract — but the general shape and the size … we try to make those life-

size so our guests … can interact with that sculpture. You can touch the size of the head and the ears and the paws and get that understanding of the scale of that animal.”

Some of the art is functional, like the Marsh Cattail Gate by Greensboro artist Jim Gallucci, or the Watani Cooling Station, a tree-like mister made of rebar that keeps visitors cool on hot summer days. Other works are “hidden” in the landscape, awaiting discovery by curious zoo explorers, like a ball python curled on a rock by Charlotte native Chris Gabriel or the Stalking Little Blue Heron perched in a wetland habitat by Virginia artist David H. Turner.

While the park is state-supported, nearly all of the art is privately funded through the North Carolina Zoo Society, the zoo’s nonprofit arm.

One of the newest sculptures, representing the zoo’s first animal inhabitants, a pair of Galapagos tortoises named Tort and Retort, was commissioned to commemorate the zoo’s 50th anniversary

in 2024. Next year, when the zoo debuts its long-anticipated, $102 million Asia section, it will include five new works of art — the most the zoo has unveiled at one time. For one large piece, the zoo put out a public call for artists, drawing submissions from across the globe. The winning proposal — a composition of two adult tigers on a rock form and a white stork by Asheville artist Todd Frahm — will sit at the entrance to the 12.5-acre Asia section.

Art in the Park gives visitors yet another way to experience the natural-habitat zoo, along with its animal inhabitants and its recent designation as an accredited botanical garden.

“It’s such an interesting job,” Reavis says. “Not a lot of zoos have an in-house exhibits team or a public art collection like we do, so it’s really cool.” SP

The N.C. Zoo is located at 4401 Zoo Parkway in Asheboro, about 1.5 hours from Charlotte. To learn more, visit nczoo.org.

SETTING SAIL ON THE HIGH TREES

A Charlotte family’s pirate-ship tree house adds a new dimension to outdoor play.

by Krisha Chachra

Ever since he was a child, Erik Goldfield wanted to have a tree house in his backyard. And not just any tree house — he dreamed of one shaped as a pirate ship, with cannons and a plank.

This spring, craftsman and woodworker Mark Aymer brought Erik and his wife Beth’s vision to life.

“We built our new house in 2022 on the same property where Erik grew up and always thought the large oak tree would be the perfect location for a tree house,” says Beth. “We even kept a steel spiral staircase, original to the house, and incorporated it into the pirate-ship design.”

Aymer, who lives near the Goldfields in the Lansdowne neighborhood, designed trap doors on the deck with netting underneath to traverse the bottom of the ship. He also added a climbing wall, brass porthole windows, a plank that leads to a backyard zipline, and a nautical map doubling as a chalkboard table that conceals yet another trap door.

The Goldfields’ kids, ages 10 and 7, now spend more time outside, creating and using their imaginations.

“We believe in encouraging kids to play outside and [enticing] them with whatever you have, whether it be trees, woods, a pool or, in our case now, a new tree house,” says Beth.

On the 36-foot-long tree house named “Hook’s Revenge,” blue

mulch at the base of the ship gives the effect of waves crashing on the hull. A statue of a crocodile with a watch in his mouth is a nod to Peter Pan, the young boy who never wanted to grow up.

“There’s even a small elevator on the side of the ship in the shape of a dingy that can hold at least three people and hoist them on deck,” Erik says.

Erik’s desire for a nautical-themed tree house was inspired by childhood trips to Sweden’s Vasa Museum, a maritime museum that houses a preserved 17th-century naval warship. Beth grew up in New England, where shipping culture was prevalent.

“Now, we have our own ship, and it’s like an extension of our home,” says Beth. “It is so nice to see our vision come to life and make memories here with our family.” SP

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HEARTS & CRAFTS

A new Novant Health initiative taps local creatives to support healing and community well-being.

by Michael J. Solender

In late April, Novant Health sent a callout for local artists to submit work to exhibit and sell in its gallery at Presbyterian Medical Center in Elizabeth. All proceeds from art sales would go directly to the artists.

The healthcare network had just launched The Art of Remarkable Care, a $500,000 initiative designed to engage local creatives and amplify the healing power of art for patients, caregivers and the broader community. Programs are being developed across seven Novant facilities — Ballantyne Medical Center, Charlotte Orthopedic Hospital, Huntersville Medical Center, Matthews Medical Center, Mint Hill Medical Center, Presbyterian and Rowan Medical Center — as part of the yearlong initiative.

“With the call, we expected 75 artist submissions for 30 spots,” recalls Kristen Howard, vice president of corporate affairs at Novant Health. “We received more than 300. This level of participation shows not just interest, but a real opportunity to connect. That’s exactly the kind of return we hope to see from this investment.”

ART AS THERAPY

The therapeutic power of art has long been recognized in the medical field, and it’s often integrated into treatment plans for a wide range of conditions.

According to the American Journal of Public Health, consistent interaction with art — including listening to music — can boost immune-system response. Novant also cites studies showing that exposure to and participation in the arts can reduce chronic pain, stress and anxiety.

Through this initiative, Novant is building upon existing relationships with institutions like the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. A recent collaboration led to Charlotte Art on Prescription, a partnership aimed at addressing loneliness and social isolation through art experiences. Novant professionals recommend individuals for the program, which provides free access to museum events, live performances and art classes for a year.

“We’ve seen firsthand the remarkable impact art can have on our patients and their loved ones,” said Dr. Sid Fletcher, senior vice president and president of Novant Health’s Charlotte region, in a

news release. “Art is powerful: It can inspire healing, and when paired with the expertise of our doctors and nurses, it can be transformative.”

COMMUNITY HEALTH CONNECTIONS

Novant’s arts initiative extends beyond caring for patients to include families, caregivers, healthcare providers — and the artists themselves.

“Novant wants to increase access to care and enhance the experience while receiving it,” Howard says. “But we also want to help our community thrive economically by investing in local artists. We’re being very intentional about community engagement and how we support both individual artists and arts organizations.”

To facilitate local programming and connect with creatives, Howard and her team turned to Charlotte is Creative, a nonprofit that funds and supports local artists.

“What struck me early on was how Kristen began to consider how working with artists could positively affect their own health — and how we might introduce wellness concepts to the artists themselves,” says Charlotte is Creative co-founder Tim Miner. “That really emphasized Novant’s broader view of health, and it got me excited.”

Miner and his team are working with leaders of Novant’s regional facilities to evaluate existing arts programs, assess resources and begin shaping new, locally tailored experiences.

“One thing that stands out in our meetings with the Novant team is their desire to create something meaningful for the people who care for patients,” Miner says. “Our programming needs to create moments of inspiration and comfort for the staff.”

Though still in early development, programming is expected to ramp up throughout the summer and will include interactive experiences between visual and performing artists, patients, staff, and community members. Concerts, mural painting, dance and sing-alongs are just a few ideas under consideration.

“I think we’re going to tap into the innate creativity of each facility’s staff,” Miner says. “We’ll create opportunities for them to express themselves — either solo or alongside local artists. How cool would it be to see your radiologist playing in a jazz trio with two pros?”

Pretty cool, indeed. SP

eat + drink

SORA is open in Myers Park, serving a tasting menu with French-Asian flavors.  Nickyo’s Rodeo, a reimagined version of the popular western-themed Eastover bar from the 1980s and ’90s, opened in South End.  Folia cocktail bar in South End has transitioned into an all-day cafe, with coffee, smoothies and breakfast bites from 8-11 a.m., handhelds and small plates from 11 a.m-late, and cocktails starting at 4 p.m. on weekdays and noon on weekends.  The team behind VINYL will open The Story of Mi Carino in the former VANA space on South Tryon Street. Culinary Director Vince Giancarlo will oversee the Mexicanand Latin-inspired menu.  Harper’s Cafe opened in Pineville, serving breakfast and lunch Mon.-Fri. The menu includes Harper’s favorites like Chicken Supremes and the Original Oriental Salad.

Wine Spectator is out with its 2025 Restaurant Awards, and 18 Charlotte restaurants made the list. New this year: Dean’s Italian Steakhouse, Caroline’s Oyster Bar, L’Ostrica and Reid’s Fine Foods. L’Ostrica

get fit

THE CLUB opened in South End with fitness classes, a coffee bar and a 30-seat coworking lounge.  JETSET Pilates plans to open in South End at the 34-story Linea apartment tower. SP

KREWE is popping up for six months at Phillips Place. The New Orleans sunglasses-and-eyewear brand with a cult following is open in a 260-square-foot tiny house in the central courtyard at the SouthPark shopping center.

Folia

Nickyo’s Rodeo

Featuring dozens of in-stock collections in wicker, aluminum, rope, and American-made recycled poly furniture. Ready NOW for immediate delivery from our local warehouse and showroom!

August HAPPENINGS

“The Lost Years” Summer Blockbuster Movie Series

Thursdays through Aug. 28 | 7 p.m. The nostalgic movie series at Carolina Theatre continues. This month’s showings include: Ghost, Batman, Beaches and Beverly Hills Cop. Tickets are about $17.

Scenes of Summer through Aug. 30 Jerald Melberg Gallery features this group exhibition with works inspired by the season from Romare Bearden, Katherine Boxall, Charles Basham and others.

Chop Shop: We Are Here through Oct. 26 This group exhibition at the Gantt Center features works by 15 Black male artists and highlights the transformative role of the arts in confronting challenges faced by Black men.

Nellie Ashford: Remembrance and Renewal, Wisdom from an Elder Artist through Jan. 31, 2026 The Gaston County Museum of Art & History in Dallas is the first stop for this traveling exhibition of works by the self-taught folk artist, a Charlotte native. Events include an opening reception on Aug. 2 from 1-3 p.m. and an artist talk Aug. 16 at 2 p.m. Museum admission is free.

The Book of Mormon

Aug. 12-17 This Tony Award-winning musical comedy follows the adventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word. Ovens Auditorium. Tickets start around $42.

Charlotte Pride Festival

Aug. 16-17 Uptown’s biggest street festival returns with live music, art exhibits, vendors, a food court and more. The annual parade is Sunday afternoon from 1-4 p.m.

Ben Rector

Aug. 22 The indie and acoustic pop artist returns to The Amp Ballantyne with special guest, The National Parks. Tickets start around $55.

Duke’s Mayo Classic: App State vs. Charlotte

Aug. 29 | 7 p.m. It’s the 49ers against the Mountaineers at Bank of America Stadium in this annual college-football game. Around the Crown 10K

Aug. 31 Run along I-277 with the Queen City always in view. The annual race raises dollars for Sustain Charlotte and Carolina Farm Trust.

Scan the QR code on your mobile device to stay updated on events at southparkmagazine.com.

The Children’s Choir Practice by Nellie Ashford. “I am a Charlotte native and folk artist whose art is inspired by growing up in what was once a rural city,” says Ashford, born in 1943. “My works are expressions of Charlotte that is forgotten and seldom recognized.”

Crashing Waves, Maine by William Partridge Burpee. Scenes of Summer at Jerald Melberg Gallery.

S A N T A N A L E A T H E R C A R E

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With over 20 years of experience, our crew handles everything from interior and exterior painting to custom tile, flooring, carpentry, and more — always with sharp attention to detail and a commitment to leaving your space cleaner (and better) than we found it. From minor updates to full-scale refreshes, every project gets the same level of respect, professionalism, and pride.

Just ask Charlotte homeowner Suzie Berry: “John and his crew are always great to work with! John is quick to respond, friendly, and professional. His crew is efficient, polite, and they never leave a mess. We’ve used Avid at least five times since they originally painted our house inside and out when we built. Our sincere thanks, and keep up the great work!”

Whether you’re a new client or a returning customer, you can rely on Avid for consistent quality, dependable service, and beautiful results that last.

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AUGUST BOOKS

Notable new releases

compiled by Sally Brewster

A Dog in Georgia by

Lauren Grodstein

Amy Webb is a chef. Or rather, she was a chef. Somewhere along the way, she also became a wife and a stepmother and an emergency contact, and the part of her that was a chef disappeared entirely — along with her sense of self. Which is why she is currently in the republic of Georgia, on a mission to find a lost dog named Angel, and, more importantly, the life’s purpose she once took for granted. For months, Amy has escaped by watching YouTube videos of Angel walking the children of Tbilisi to school. When Angel goes missing, Amy volunteers to go find him. But to her surprise, Angel proves elusive. What she finds in Tbilisi is entirely human. Helping her on this journey of self-discovery is a rebellious teenager, a mysterious and attractive Russian, and several post-Soviet grandmothers. And, of course, the rich food and culture and complicated politics of Georgia itself. After a lifetime of looking away from her own needs and appetites, Amy is forced to confront what she really wants and how to finally find herself — and a dog.

Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham

Twenty-two years ago, Claire Campbell’s older sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her 18th birthday. Days later, her blood was found in a car, a man was arrested and the case was swiftly closed. In the decades since, Claire has attempted to forget her traumatic past by moving to the city and climbing the ranks as an investigative journalist ... until an unexpected call from her father forces her to come back home. To pass the time, Claire accepts a seasonal job at Galloway Farm, a muscadine vineyard in coastal South Carolina less than an hour from where she grew up. At first glance, Galloway is an idyllic retreat full of slow-paced nostalgia, as well as a place where her sister seemed truly happy in that last summer before she vanished. But as Claire starts to settle in, she stumbles across an old diary that begins to describe details of various unsolved crimes. As the days stretch on, Claire starts to obsess over the diary’s contents ... as well as the lingering feeling that her own sister’s disappearance may be somehow tied to it all.

The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces by Seth Harp

In December 2020, a deer hunter discovered two

dead bodies riddled with bullets and dumped in a forested corner of Fort Bragg. One of the dead men, Master Sgt. William “Billy” Lavigne, was a member of Delta Force, the most secretive “black ops” unit in the military. A deeply traumatized veteran of America’s classified assassination program, Lavigne had done more than a dozen deployments, was addicted to crack cocaine, dealt drugs on base and had committed a series of violent crimes before he was mysteriously killed. The other victim, Chief Warrant Officer Timothy Dumas, was a quartermaster attached to the Special Forces who used his proximity to clandestine missions to steal guns and traffic drugs into the United States from abroad. As soon as Seth Harp, an Iraq war veteran and investigative reporter, begins looking into the double murder, he learns of many more unexplained deaths at Fort Bragg, other murders connected to drug trafficking in elite units, and dozens of fatal overdoses. Drawing on declassified documents, trial transcripts, police records and hundreds of interviews, Harp tells a scathing story of narco-trafficking in the Special Forces, drug conspiracies abetted by corrupt police, blatant military cover-ups, American complicity in the Afghan heroin trade, and the pernicious consequences of continuous war.

Sheepdogs by Elliot Ackerman Skwerl and Cheese are down on their luck and about to find themselves tangled in the heist of their lives. Skwerl, once an elite member of the CIA’s paramilitary unit, was cast out after a raid gone wrong in Afghanistan. Big Cheese Aziz, a former Afghan pilot of legendary skill, now works the graveyard shift at a gas station. Recruited into a shadowy network of “sheepdogs,” they embark on a mission to repossess a multimillion-dollar private jet stranded on a remote African airfield. But as they wind through a labyrinth of lies and hidden agendas, they discover that nothing is as it seems. Their contact vanishes, their handler’s motives are suspect, and the true source of their payday remains a mystery. With the stakes skyrocketing and the women in their lives drawn into the fray, this unlikely spy duo find themselves deep in the underbelly of modern war and intelligence. SP

Sally Brewster is the proprietor of Park Road Books, 4139 Park Rd., parkroadbooks.com.

We’ve made our home here, let’s do the same for you.

THE LIGHT IN AUGUST

Catch it before it fades by

Jim Dodson

Most mornings before I begin writing, often in the dark before sunrise, I light a candle that sits on my desk.

Somehow, this small daily act of creating a wee flame gives me a sense of setting the day in motion and being “away” from the madding world before it wakes. I sometimes feel like a monk scribbling in a cave.

It could also be a divine hangover from early years spent serving as an acolyte at church, where I relished lighting the tapers amid the mingling scents of candle wax, furniture polish and old hymnals, a smell that I associated with people of faith in a world that forever hovered above the abyss.

According to one credible source, the word “light” is used more than 500 times in the Bible, throughout both Old and New Testaments. But spiritual light is not exclusive to Christianity. In the Torah, light is the first thing God creates, meant to symbolize knowledge, enlightenment and God’s presence in the world. Surah 24 of the Quran, meanwhile, a lyrical stanza known as the “Verse of Light,” declares that God is the light of the heavens and the Earth, revealed like a glass lamp shining in the darkness, “illuminating the moon and stars.”

Religious symbolism aside, light is something most of us probably take for granted until we are stopped in our tracks, captivated by the stunning light show of a magnificent sunrise or sunset, a brief and ephemeral painting that vanishes before our eyes.

Sunlight makes sight possible, produces an endless supply of solar energy and can even kill a range of bacteria, including those that cause tetanus, anthrax and tuberculosis. A study from 2018 indicated rooms where sunlight enters throughout the day are significantly freer of germs than rooms kept in darkness.

The intense midday light of summer, on the other hand, is something I’ve never quite come to terms with. Many decades ago, during my first trip to Europe, I was fascinated (and quite pleased, to be honest) to discover that, in most Mediterranean countries, the blazing noonday sun brings life to a near standstill. Shops close and folks retreat to cooler quarters in order to rest, nap or pause for a midday meal of cheese and chilled fruit. I remember stepping into a Seville bar around noon and finding half the city’s cab drivers hunkered along the zinc bar. The other half, I was informed, were catching z’s in their cabs in shaded alleyways. The city was at a complete sunmused halt.

The Spanish ritual of afternoon siesta seems entirely sensible to me (a confirmed post-lunch nap-taker) and is proof of Noel Coward’s timely admonition that “only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.” Spend a late summer week along the Costa del Sol and you can’t avoid running into partying Brits on holiday, most as red as boiled lobsters from too much sun.

In his raw and gothic 1932 novel, Light in August, a study of lost souls and violent individuals in a Depression-era southern town, William Faulkner employs the imagery of light to illuminate marginalized people struggling to find both meaning and acceptance in the rigid fundamentalism of the Jim Crow South.

For years, critics have debated the title, most assuming it is a direct reference to a house fire at the story’s center. The author begged to differ, however, finally clearing up the mystery: “In August in Mississippi,” he wrote, “there’s a few days somewhere about the middle of the month when suddenly there’s a foretaste of fall, it’s cool, there’s a lambence, a soft, a luminous quality to the light, as though it came not from just today but from back in the old classic times. It

might have fauns and satyrs and the gods and — from Greece, from Olympus in it somewhere. It lasts just for a day or two, then it’s gone . . . the title reminded me of that time, of a luminosity older than our Christian civilization.”

I read Light in August in college and, frankly, didn’t much care for it. By contrast, a wonderful book of recent vintage, Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See, tells the moving story of a blind French girl and young German soldier whose starstruck paths cross in the brutality of World War II’s final days, a poignant tale shot through with images of metaphorical light in a world consumed by darkness.

But I think I understand what Faulkner was getting at. Somewhere about middle-way through August, as the long, hot hours of summer begin to slowly wane, sunlight takes a gentler slant on the landscape and thins out a bit, presaging summer’s end.

I witnessed this phenomenon powerfully during the two decades we lived on a forested coastal hill in Maine, where summers are generally brief and cool affairs, but also prone to punishing mid-season droughts. Many July days I stood watering my parched garden, shaking my cosmic gardener’s fist at the stingy gods of the heavens, having given up simple prayers for rain.

On the plus side, almost overnight come mid-August, the temperatures turned noticeably cooler, often preceding a rainstorm that broke the drought.

When summer invariably turns off the spigot here in our neck of the Carolina woods, sometime around late June or early July, I still

perform a mental tribal rain dance, hoping to conjure afternoon thunderstorms that boil up out of nowhere and dump enough rain to leave the ground briefly refreshed.

I’ve been fascinated by summer thunderstorms since I was a kid growing up in the South. Under a dome of intense summer heat and sunlight, where “men’s collars wilted before nine in the morning” and “ladies bathed before noon,” to borrow Harper Lee’s famous description of mythical Maycomb, I learned to keep a sharp eye and ear out for darkening skies and the rumble of distant thunder.

I still gravitate to the porch whenever a thunderstorm looms, marveling at the power of nature to remind us of man’s puny place on this great, big, blue planet.

Such storms often leave glorious rainbows in their wake, supposedly a sign of God’s promise to never again destroy the world with floods.

Science, meanwhile, explains that rainbows are produced when sunlight strikes raindrops at a precise angle, refracting a spectrum of primary colors.

Whichever reasoning you prefer, rainbows are pretty darn magical.

As the thinning light of August and the candle flame on my desk serve to remind me, the passing days of summer and its rainbows are ephemeral gifts that should awaken us to beauty and gratitude before they disappear. SP

Jim Dodson is a writer in Greensboro. His 17th book, The Road That Made America: A Modern Pilgrim Travels the Great Wagon Road, is available wherever books are sold.

HELPING THE HELPERS

Professional organizer Laurie Martin transforms chaos into calm for schools, nonprofits and families in crisis.

by Shannon Blair

Jugs of glue, forgotten calculators and bulky projectors are among the items one expects to find in school storage closets. However, the reality is different — at least in high-poverty schools. Appreciated-but-overwhelming donations ranging from hygiene kits and shelf-stable foods to socks and gloves are more common. Last school year, 105 of 185 CMS schools were designated as Title I, with a large percentage of students living below the poverty line. These schools often rely upon generous support to address students’ nonacademic challenges so they can better focus on academic ones.

Renaissance West STEAM Academy, nestled in a mixed-income affordable-housing community, is one such school. Due to budget fluctuations, social worker Brandy Johnson has to be flexible in

managing resources like well-fitting, clean and weather-appropriate clothing. Johnson strives to minimize time out of the classroom for children and to avoid wasting supplies. Without manageable storage practices in place, boxes and bags pile up.

“I once had to offer a child the wrong size pants, only to realize we had the right size available; I just couldn’t find it,” explains Alisa Jones. The school’s former student and family advocate is now development director for Renaissance West Community Initiative, a nonprofit supporting families in the West Boulevard corridor. “It is great to have space, but it needs to be usable,” she says.

After hearing about Laurie Martin’s charitable organizing services, Simplicity Serves, Jones contacted her to help Johnson and

Laurie Martin

Dr. Shane Markey

Organization does not just create physical ease through systems and baskets. It creates mental capacity.

— Nicole Taylor, board member and past executive director of Congregations for Kids

her fellow staff. The school had received a sizable gift of new musical instruments, which meant the relocation of uniforms, book bags and coats from the music-room closet.

“Laurie and her team arrived and got right to work,” Johnson recalls. “We stayed out of their way, and when we returned, it was like someone had waved a magic wand.”

Simplicity Serves — the nonprofit arm of Martin’s home-organization business, Simplicity Organizers — assists other Title I schools as well. Brooke Eastburn, a Winterfield Elementary School counselor, says the volunteers “transformed our uniform closet from a chaotic mess to a space that makes the kids feel like they are shopping at The Gap!”

But what happens when Simplicity Serves leaves campus? Thanks to the sustainable methods put in place at Renaissance West, Johnson reports that everything is still in place, folded and regularly utilized.

“The blueprint is laid out and can last for years,” she says.

A SYSTEMIC CHALLENGE

Renaissance West isn’t the only school needing help organizing supplies and donations. Education professional Paris Harrell enlisted streamlining and clutter-clearing support from Martin, first at Windsor Park Elementary and later at Metro School, a CMS Title I school devoted to children with special needs. As she changed positions, Harrell quickly realized lacking useful spaces to house basic necessities was a systemic challenge, not just isolated to one or two schools.

“I knew I had to immediately connect with Laurie,” Harrell says. At Metro School, Simplicity Serves created efficient operations and tidier surroundings for the academic-support classroom, media storage closet, gym storage closet, several teachers’ spaces and the school’s laundry room.

Before serving as an exceptional children’s facilitator at Metro School, Harrell worked as a community specialist for Windsor Park during the pandemic; that is when she first learned about Simplicity Serves by way of family friend and community advocate Kathy Izard. Izard knew Martin was collecting and donating books and other goods for schools, but she also saw Martin as the solution when Harrell faced a unique Covid hurdle: The school could house daily living items needed by its families, but how were they to obtain them while quarantined during remote learning?

Martin, Harrell, Girl Scout Troop 219 and several volunteers prepared a school room, dubbed The Lighthouse, to operate as a

Simplicity Serves employs more than 60 volunteers.

MORE THAN JUST A CONVERSATION

PARTNER FIRST, PRODUCER SECOND

Evrybdy Studios knows how to tell a story, and they want to tell yours. Robbie Shaw, Founder and CEO of the studio and creator of podcast “Champagne Problems,” realized he had a passion and love for the art of conversation. He wanted the conversations he was having around mental health, adversity, and perseverance to be accessible beyond the scope of a one on one interaction. The answer? Going digital. He founded Evrybdy Studios with a team of “audio/video creators and marketing experts” who are excitingly ahead of the game when it comes to utilizing authentic conversation to establish trust, thought leadership, and brand awareness.

THE FUTURE OF BRANDING

Robbie and the team create full-service podcast solutions for businesses ranging from brand strategy to production and distribution. With today’s shift towards digital-first marketing solutions, Evrybdy Studios hasn’t just jumped on the bandwagon, they’ve started to drive it. In just two years, they’ve curated content from world-class experts, brand sponsorships and renowned guests, and have garnered more than 400k downloads across their client podcasts.

STANDING OUT AND MAKING ROOM

In a world where podcasts and audio/visual services seem saturated, Evrybdy Studios stands out by serving B2B and B2C organizations, helping them reach their target audience. “It’s not about popularity, it’s about getting information, thought leadership, and brand awareness to the exact people you’re trying to reach,” says Robbie about the intention and purpose behind podcasting. They carefully and masterfully create unique packages for each client considering business needs, making room for your stories and sharing your conversations with everybody.

storage-and-distribution hub. It shined as a beacon of hope during a bleak time for not only Windsor Park families but also other schools and individuals in need, too.

“You think organizing is this personal thing,” Harrell says, “but it became this communal thing. ... The solutions are in our city. We just need to identify the links.”

HELPING OTHER NONPROFITS

In addition to local schools, Simplicity Serves assists Charlotte nonprofits such as Congregations for Kids (CFK). Nicole Taylor, board member and past executive director of CFK, called upon Martin when she realized “The Landing” — a hub for social workers to provide tangible needs for foster children — had turned into a system of random donations that were challenging to organize and manage.

CFK collects donated mattresses, baby formula, car seats, learning supplies and other items insurance does not cover. Yet, the nonprofit’s space had been overtaken by them. Taylor had to figure out how to keep getting supplies into the hands of clients, such as a grandmother trying to keep her four grandchildren out of the foster system, but needed a better way.

“Night and day,” is how Taylor describes Martin’s reframing of supply and demand to better equip volunteers assisting social workers — or to better “help the helpers.” Social workers care for children experiencing “the worst kind of abuse and neglect,” Taylor says. “They are basically first responders, even though they’re not classified that way.” To further unburden the CFK staff, Martin offered social workers lunch-and-learn style workshops, sharing tips for conserving time, energy and resources both personally and professionally.

A NATURAL OFFSHOOT

To date, Martin and her 63 (and counting) registered volunteers have completed pro bono projects for 17 nonprofits, eight schools,

Simplicity Serves organizes donations at various Title 1 schools in CMS.

and seven local families via Simplicity Serves. Martin originally started her career as a teacher, organizing lesson plans and classrooms. With an innate knack for function and form, she switched paths in 2006 and acquired the Simplicity organizing business in 2010. She sees herself as a “dream facilitator, stress reliever and creator of harmony.”

“The work we do is about more than creating neat spaces,” explains Martin, a SouthPark resident.

“It’s about being able to reclaim time and peace of mind so our clients can focus on the things that matter most to them,” a privilege she knows not everyone can access time- or budget-wise.

Simplicity Serves was a natural offshoot of her organizing business. Realizing her clients could more easily let go of unnecessary items when they were going to a good cause, Martin began forming relationships with nonprofits in 2018.

“It wasn’t long before they began asking for our help,” she says. Through word of mouth, schools and families in crisis started reaching out, too. One such request came from a young SouthPark father of four, Andrew Sanctis, whose wife, Josie, was battling osteosarcoma.

“The root of Josie’s anxiety was her desire and need to be in control of something, because everything in her once picture-perfect life was out of control,” he recalls.

“[Laurie] was unshaken by our clutter and totally understanding of our situation. She and her team have helped bring so much peace and organization back into our home,” Josie said before ultimately losing her bout with cancer.

“I honestly didn’t even know that home-organization companies existed,” Andrew recalls. “I stumbled upon the Simplicity website and noticed the Simplicity Serves section. I figured it couldn’t hurt to reach out. I was thrilled when Laurie responded, compelled to help bring a little calm to our storm.”

Providing this same serenity for others continues to be Martin’s mission with Simplicity Serves. She officially filed for 501(c)3 status in 2024, but one volunteer, Rainey Carey, has been along since the beginning.

“It’s more than sorting school supplies,” says Carey, a former Simplicity Organizers client herself. “It’s giving back to the families and children in after-school programs, organizing prizes to help teachers facilitate positive-behavior incentive systems, assembling necessities baskets for mentor families to help pull up other families out of poverty.”

Carey says she enjoys volunteering with Simplicity because it’s a hard day’s work where she sometimes leaves the site dirty and tired, but with broadened horizons by learning about the different nonprofits and schools within the city she calls home.

“If you know of a person, school or organization who could benefit from Simplicity Serves, let Laurie know,” says Carey. “And if you identify with the special breed of crazy people who enjoy before and after satisfaction, join us!” SP

Bridgette Martin

Becky Keenan

Jean Rupprecht

Lauren Bolshakov

Caroline Simas

Jeff Compton

Mary Kamerer

Eva Crawford

Katherine McCarty

Megan Welsh

Paul Hastings

Janine Medlin

Kim Gibbs

Nancy Holmes

Rosa Dest

A LION, A WITCH AND A WARDROBE STAPLE

Our 20 picks for the best music, art and theater from now through November by Page Leggett

Cooler days are coming. But you can savor the last days of summer at a couple of outdoor concerts on our list. Or, get bragging rights by seeing a musical homage to Jane Austen that’s playing Charlotte before it heads to Broadway.

While C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe isn’t currently playing, you can see a:

• Lion (a cowardly one) in Children’s Theatre’s Journey to Oz

• Witch — actually, a pop goddess associated with witchcraft. That’s Stevie Nicks, of course, whose enduring hit, “Rhiannon,” is about a mysterious Welsh witch.

• Wardrobe — or at least an essential component of one: shoes. In September, Mint Museum Randolph celebrates high-tech sneakers in Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to

Cutting-Edge Kicks. If you have a sneaker-obsessed tween or teen in your life, this may be your chance to get them to a museum.

In our December issue, we’ll bring you our best bets for the holidays and help you kick off 2026 with plenty of art and culture. For now, here are our top picks for fall.

August

Immediate Family, Booth Playhouse, July 29–Aug. 31

Described as “Modern Family” meets Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, this dramedy — a Southeast premiere — has star power, thanks to its writer, director and cast of Broadway veterans. Paul

Cirque du Soleil’s OVO

Oakley Stovall, who played George Washington in Hamilton and worked in the Obama administration, wrote the play, which is directed by Tony- and Emmy Award-winning Phylicia Rashad. Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood is the setting for the Bryant clan coming together — for the first time in five years — for a wedding. Prodigal son Jesse (Elijah Jones) sparks a showdown when he brings his boyfriend home to meet the family. Evy (Christina Sajous) wonders why her brothers are distant. And no one understands why Tony, the youngest brother, is racing to the altar. Tickets start at $27.89. blumenthalarts.org

Toto, Men at Work & Christopher Cross, PNC Music Pavilion, Aug. 14

Three of the biggest earworms of the ’80s — “Africa” (Toto), “Land Down Under” (Men at Work) and “Sailing” (Cross) — have never lost their appeal. Since its 1982 release, “Africa” has sold more than 10.5 million copies. Men at Work frontman Colin Hay and Toto’s Steve Lukather are old friends who’ve long wanted to tour together. They’re finally getting the chance — and they’re joined by special guest Christopher Cross, who cemented his place in the yacht-rock pantheon in 1980 when his self-titled debut album won, for the first time in Grammy history, the “Big Four” awards –Record and Song of the Year (for “Sailing”), Album of the Year and Best New Artist. Get ready to sing along to every word. Lawn seats start at $30. pncmusicpavilion.com

Electricidad, Three Bone Theatre at The Arts Factory, Aug. 15–31

Playwright/social activist Luis Alfaro updated three 2,000-yearold myths and set them in the barrios of modern-day Los Angeles. This one — his take on Sophocles’ Electra — is the second installment in Three Bone’s three-year commitment to produce the groundbreaking Greek trilogy. You don’t need to have seen Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles last season to appreciate this drama; each play can stand alone. Alfaro, a MacArthur “genius” grant winner, has served as playwright-in-residence at both the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and at a correctional facility in Tucson, Arizona. Directed by Glynnis O’Donoghue, Electricidad explores gang culture, violence, loss and redemption in a story centered on the title character, whose mother murders her father. In the wake of his death, Electricidad keeps vigil and awaits her brother’s return from exile in Vegas. Once he’s back, she enlists his help in her revenge plot. Recommended for adult audiences. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door and $15 for students and teachers. threebonetheatre.com

Good Intentions Tour 2025 with Toad the Wet Sprocket, KT Tunstall and Sixpence None the Richer, The Amp Ballantyne, Aug. 23

If you didn’t get your fill of old-school pop with Toto, et al earlier this month, this one’s for you. Toad the Wet Sprocket, the alt-rock band fronted by Glen Phillips, hit it big in the early ’90s with “All I

Immediate Family

Want.” About a decade later, Scottish singer/songwriter Tunstall’s breakout hit, “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,” was suddenly everywhere. Sixpence None the Richer’s “Kiss Me” has been practically ubiquitous since it came out in 1997. It’s been featured in films (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days), TV (“Dawson’s Creek”) and covered by artists including Avril Lavigne. The song also has the distinction of being the first Taylor Swift learned on guitar. Lawn seats are $60; reserved seats start at $76. ampballantyne.com

Cirque du Soleil’s OVO, Bojangles Coliseum, Aug. 28-31

Like every Cirque show, OVO is filled with eye-popping visuals and acrobatic feats so incredible, they don’t seem like they should be humanly possible. And as always, there’s a story told through movement. In OVO, it’s about a mysterious egg that sparks curiosity and reveals the complexities of love and life in the insect realm. You’ll be immersed in a magical ecosystem where the smallest insects have the biggest adventures while engaging in the quotidian stuff of insect life — eating, fluttering, finding a mate. Ticket prices fluctuate but start at about $66. ticketmaster.com

September

Austen’s Pride (Pre-Broadway Tour), Knight Theater, Sept. 2-7

Writers Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs created a

musical mashup of Pride and Prejudice and Jane Austen’s personal life. What is arguably Austen’s most beloved tale has been reimagined to include her own journey of self-discovery. As the stormy romance between the fictional Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy unfolds, Austen gains new insights into her work and her sense of self. The author doesn’t just create her characters on the page; she interacts with them. Like Austen’s entire oeuvre, this one’s sure to be swoon-worthy. Tickets start at $34.05. carolinatix.org

Little Shop of Horrors, Theatre Charlotte, Sept. 12-28

Wikipedia calls the Alan Menken- and Howard Ashmanpenned show a “horror comedy musical.” And it is indeed all those things at once. Mild-mannered floral assistant Seymour is lovesick for Audrey. He’s the last person you’d expect to tend to a murderous plant, but “Audrey II” has a taste for human blood. Despite its dark premise, the Motown-influenced score (including “Suddenly, Seymour”) is upbeat. As if a plant out for blood wasn’t crazy enough, a sadistic dentist (hilariously played by Steve Martin in the 1986 movie) is part of the proceedings. Its off-off-Broadway premiere dates back to 1982. Of course, a musical that’s this much fun eventually landed on Broadway. Tickets start at $34 for adults, $28 for seniors and $20 for students. theatrecharlotte.org

Joe Pug, The Evening Muse, Sept. 18

“Unless your surname is Dylan, Waits, Ritter or Prine,” wrote Paste magazine of Joe Pug’s music, “you could face-palm yourself to death trying to pen songs half as inspired.” Since his 2008 debut,

Journey to Oz

FALL ARTS PREVIEW

Jeff Staple x RTFKT. Meta-Pigeon K-Minus, 2021. Collection of the Bata Shoe Museum, gift of RTFKT.

Pug has released a string of critically acclaimed albums and toured heavily, on his own and with Steve Earle, Levon Helm and Sturgill Simpson, among others. The Maryland native dropped out of UNC Chapel Hill (where he studied theater) before his senior year and moved to Chicago to write songs while working as a carpenter. He’s appeared at events as varied as Lollapalooza and NPR’s “Prairie Home Companion.” His intelligent lyrics stem from literary influences ranging from Walt Whitman to John Steinbeck to Raymond Carver. Advance reserved seating, $37.75; General admission, $31.96. eveningmuse.com

Journey to Oz, Wells Fargo Playhouse at ImaginOn, Sept. 20-Oct. 5

Children’s Theatre of Charlotte’s 2025-26 season celebrates storytelling through journeys both real and metaphorical. Journey to Oz, which writer Christopher Parks based on the timeless tale by L. Frank Baum, is an interactive, experiential production in which audience members become part of Dorothy’s trip to Oz. We begin in Kansas and follow the Yellow Brick Road through Munchkin Land and the Emerald City. At each show, willing audience members (participation is entirely voluntary) take on roles from the Munchkins to the flying monkeys to the ruby-slippered heroine herself. The one-act, hourlong musical is a charming whirlwind reminding us that, no matter how far we travel, there’s no place like home. Tickets start at $23. ctcharlotte.org

Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks, Mint Museum Randolph, Sept. 20-Jan. 4, 2026

If you — or your tween or teen — have a thing for footwear, then step right up to Future Now. Sneakers fashioned from unusual materials (including mushroom leather and reclaimed ocean plastics) showcase how new technology is transforming the way we put our best feet forward. Organized by the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Future Now features close to 60 futuristic kicks, including digitally designed and 3-D-printed shoes. Shoes by architects Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid are on view, as are designs made in collaboration with fashion icon Stella McCartney and gaming company PlayStation. Future Now is a primer on how to have fashionable footsies and protect the planet at the same time. Free with museum admission, which is $15 for adults. mintmuseum.org

October

Assembly Lines: Modernism and Machines, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Oct. 18-Feb. 9, 2026

Here’s another art exhibit that examines technology’s impact — this time, on artistic production from the early 20th century to the present. Tracing the relationship between the human hand and industry from the rise of modernism to the AI era, Assembly Lines highlights how artists embrace technology. Through paint-

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ing, sculpture, printmaking, photography and generative art, Assembly Lines invites viewers to consider how the ever-evolving relationship between humans and machines has impacted art-making. Free with museum admission, which is $9 for adults. bechtler.org

Ladies & Tangents: Girls Gone Mild Tour, The Comedy Zone, Oct. 29

Best friends, cousins and co-hosts Jeri and Ciara started their Ladies & Tangents podcast in 2019 to build “a community for people who hate leaving the house but also want to feel seen.” Their comedy seeks to make sense of a crazy world and tackle stigmas about mental health and human rights. That juxtaposition of serious and silly has helped the gals gain nearly 1 million TikTok followers. Jeri and Ciara will chat about anything, and those discussions often lead them to get hilariously sidetracked — hence the “tangents” in the title. Their tagline — “Think sleepover, but we all have mental-health disorders” — hints at what to expect. Tickets start at about $36. cltcomedyzone.com

Victor Vasarely, Tridim K, 1968, Acrylic on canvas. ©2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris. Assembly Lines at Bechtler Museum.

ANNIE LEIBOVITZ / WORK is generously presented in Charlotte by Ann and Michael Tarwater, and Truist. Supporting sponsorship is kindly provided by Laura and Mike Grace. Individual sponsorship is kindly provided by Jennifer and Alex Bauer, Mary and Walter Beaver, Hillary and Fairfax Cooper, Jill and Mark Kelly, Noelle and Mark Mahoney, Staci and Jeff Mills, Mary and Dick Payne, Beth and Drew Quartapella, Mary Anne (M.A.) Rogers, Kati and Chris Small, Leigh-ann and Martin Sprock, and Charlotte and John Wickham. The Mint Museum is supported, in part, by the City of Charlotte and the North Carolina Arts Council. ANNIE LEIBOVITZ / WORK is organized by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. IMAGE: Annie Leibovitz, Bruce Springsteen on tour, Paris, 2016. Photo courtesy of the artist ©Annie Leibovitz.

Fall Works: Whispers, Echoes, Voices, Charlotte Ballet at Knight Theater, Oct. 30-Nov. 1

Charlotte Ballet’s 2025-26 season opener features a world premiere, plus works back by popular demand, including “Petite Mort” by Jirí Kylián, which is set to the music of Mozart. Also featured is “Solo Echo” by renowned Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite — whose “A Picture of You Falling” left Charlotte Ballet audiences transfixed. Award-winning South African choreographer Mthuthuzeli November mesmerized audiences with two world premieres the past two seasons. He’s back with “As I Am,” his third Charlotte Ballet world premiere in as many years. Prices will be announced when single tickets go on sale Aug. 12. charlotteballet.org

Once, QC Concerts at Booth Playhouse,

Oct. 17-18

Based on the surprise 2007 hit film of the same name, Once tells the story of a guy who gave up on love and music before meeting a girl who inspires him to pursue both again. Featuring the Oscarwinning song “Falling Slowly,” Once gives us a glimpse into a single week in the lives of two people who meet, make music and embark on a complicated love story. Ticket options include on-stage cabaret seating, so you can be in the midst of the action. Once, with music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, contains adult language and situations and is recommended for ages 12 and up. Tickets start at $25.43. qcconcerts.com

FALL ARTS PREVIEW

Stevie Nicks, Spectrum Center, Oct. 21

Teens and tweens impressed by Taylor Swift calling out her exes in song should listen to Stevie Nicks. She did it first — and took it a step further. A popular meme once noted: “Taylor Swift wrote a 10-minute song about her ex. Stevie Nicks wrote a song about what a jerk her ex was and made him play guitar on it.” Nicks and that ex, Lindsey Buckingham, remained Fleetwood Mac bandmates long after their breakup. But if you compare their solo careers, Nicks wins in a “Landslide.” In Charlotte, Buckingham has played the Neighborhood Theatre. But just before Halloween, the iconic “Gypsy” — known for her fringed shawls, top hats, ruffled skirts and high heels — will cast a spell over the 17,500-seat Spectrum Center. Still relevant at 77, Nicks has been on the national stage since she was “On the Edge of Seventeen.” Our thoughts on this show can be summed up in the three-word title of one of her hits: “I Can’t Wait.” Ticket prices fluctuate but start around $180. ticketmaster.com

Renee Rapp’s Bite Me tour, Spectrum Center, Oct. 29

Charlotte’s own Renee Rapp ends her national tour (which begins in September at Red Rocks in Colorado) back home where it all began. The Huntersville native won a coveted Blumey Award for Best Actress for her role in Northwest School of the Arts’

Explore the refined beauty and tonal depth of Paisley Lewis Fine Art - where layered textures, tonal movement and glossy finishes evoke emotion and light. Explore original works and commissions that elevate contemporary interiors at www.paisleylewisfineart.com

production of Big Fish before going on to win a Jimmy Award in New York. It wasn’t that long ago — just 2018 — when she performed at Theatre Charlotte in Spring Awakening. The next year, she landed a leading role on Broadway as Regina George in Mean Girls. Her meteoric rise to fame may be surprising to some, but probably not to her teachers at Northwest who noticed her star quality early on. She’s done TV, film, theater and, at just 25, already has two albums to her credit. Mayor Vi Lyles should give her a key to the city. Ravyn Lenae opens. Ticket prices fluctuate but started at $83 at press time. ticketmaster.com

November

Kathy Mattea, Cain Center for the Arts, Cornelius, Nov. 1

Two-time Grammy Award winner Kathy Mattea’s biggest hit, “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses,” reached No. 1 on the U.S. and Canadian country charts in 1988. Last year, Rolling Stone included it among its

Huntersville native Renee Rapp plays Spectrum Center in October

kamerer

IMPRESSIONIST PAINTING

marykamerer.com marykamerer1313@gmail.com @maryckamererart

Studio 24 at Dilworth Artisan Station 118 E Kingston Ave, Charlotte, NC 28203

Windswept Divide, 36” x 48” oil on canvas

FALL ARTS PREVIEW

“200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time.” Mattea straddles the line between country and bluegrass. In 2021, she took over as host of NPR’s “Mountain Stage,” taped in her native West Virginia. Tickets start at $52.88. cainarts.org

Respighi’s Pines of Rome, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra at Belk Theater, Nov. 14-15

CSO’s Kwamé Ryan fully shaped this season, his second as music director. The program includes Duruflé’s Requiem, a work that weaves medieval melodies and Gregorian chant with lush harmonies. Commissioned by France’s far-right Vichy regime, Requiem took Duruflé years to write. Once completed in 1947, the composer dedicated it to his father’s memory. The Respighi selections likewise have connections to a far-right government; the composer allowed Mussolini’s Fascist regime to use his music for political gain. His tone poems — Fountains of Rome and Pines of Rome — are two parts of a trilogy that transport audiences to the composer’s beloved adopted hometown. Pines of Rome’s four movements progress from day to night and end with dawn. The Charlotte Master Chorale will

Music Director Kwame Ryan leads Charlotte Symphony Orchestra

ANNUAL GALA CONCERT:

Gil Shaham Plays Tchaikovsky

Sept 18, 2025 8:00 pm Belk Theater

Celebrate the start of a new season as Music Director Kwamé Ryan leads his first Charlotte Symphony Gala, featuring Tchaikovsky’s sweeping and exuberant Symphony No. 1, while world-renowned violinist Gil Shaham takes center stage for Tchaikovsky’s beloved Violin Concerto.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

box office: 704.972.2000 · charlottesymphony.org

“...among the most inspired violinists of his generation.”

- THE NEW YORK TIMES

join CSO in a program led by Francesco Lecce-Chong. Single tickets go on sale Aug. 6 and start at $20. charlottesymphony.org

Garrison Keillor Tonight, Carolina Theatre, Nov. 15

Direct from the fictional Lake Wobegon, Garrison Keillor Tonight is an evening of stand-up, storytelling, audience singalongs and poetry. Expect sung sonnets, limericks and musical jokes, all united by a surprising theme: the beauty found in growing old. That’s the phase of life when “small things give you great pleasure because that’s what’s left.” What better place to celebrate the joys of old age than the gloriously revamped Carolina Theatre? The silent-movie house opened in 1927, fell into disrepair, was restored to its former glory and reopened to much fanfare earlier this year. Tickets (through Ticketmaster) start at about $57. thecarolina.com

Fortune Feimster: Takin’ Care of Biscuits Comedy Tour, Ovens Auditorium, Nov. 28

Belmont’s most famous export got her start in the sketch comedy troupe The Groundlings. Since her breakout performance on “Last Comic Standing” in 2010, she’s been on “Chelsea Lately,” “The Mindy Project” and starred in three of her own Netflix specials, including 2024’s “Crushing It.” Earlier this summer, she announced her mother’s cancer battle and her divorce. The gay icon and former debutante told People magazine she’s coping by “throwing myself into work and trying to make people laugh. That’s where I get joy.” She also gives joy in generous doses. Ticket prices fluctuate but start around $51.25. ticketmaster.com SP

FINE ART

gibbsfinearts.com @gibbsfinearts kim@gibbsfinearts.com

Studio 25D at Dilworth Artisan Station 118 E Kingston Ave, Charlotte, NC 28203

Afternoon Song 36 x 48, oil on canvas

FALL ARTS PREVIEW

Fortune Feimster

Once upon a time

A day trip to Salisbury highlights the town’s historic architecture, ongoing restoration efforts and glamorous venues from days gone by.

styling and production by Whitley Adkins photographs by Richard Israel model: Blair Scheuer

hair + makeup: Josiah Reed styling assistant: Sydney Gallagher set styling: Stephanie Wilson and Ashley Martin

Special thanks to Salisbury Mayor Tamara Sheffield and Salisbury Downtown Development Director Sada Stewart Troutman

EMPIRE HOTEL

When it opened in 1859, the Empire Hotel was the height of elegance. Encompassing an entire city block, the 100,000-square-foot building has been closed for decades but is now being redeveloped in phases as townhomes, a boutique hotel and apartments.

Daniel Gonzalez dress, $1,300, and Alaia shoes, model’s own; gloves, collar, hat, crochet flowers, tablecloth and stool from East 8th Vintage; telephone and gilded picture frames from Fat Frenchie Collects at The Salisbury Emporium; shawl, stylist’s own

Salisbury, about 45 minutes north of Charlotte, has always been a crossroads town, a place at the center of things. It was a crossing of the Great Wagon Road. Daniel Boone spent time in Salisbury on his way up to the mountains.

In the 1800s, rail travel was essential for Salisbury. Its train station was a midpoint between New York and Florida. For theater stars passing through, Salisbury became an overnight resting point — performers would stop here to perform and stay at the elegant Empire Hotel.

In the early 1900s, textile mills were the town’s key employers. As the mills closed, Salisbury was left with the opportunity to decide what it wanted to be next. In the 1980s, the town became focused on maintaining its historic feel while promoting small local

SALISBURY DEPOT

An event center today, the Salisbury Depot still maintains a small Amtrak office. Built in the early 1900s in the Spanish Mission style and dedicated in 1908, the station was designed by the same architect behind the Empire Hotel. After falling into disrepair in the 1970s and ’80s, the Historic Salisbury Foundation bought the depot in the 1980s and, through private fundraising efforts, rehabilitated it. The residents of Salisbury remain dedicated to preserving the station as a transportation hub.

Alice + Olivia blazer, $695; La Vie Style House skirt, $550; Cinq à Sept top, $345, Sloan; Kristin Hayes Jewelry earrings, $75; gold brooch, $15, East 8th Vintage; vintage Tracy Feith hair bow, model’s own; Marion Parke shoes, vintage belt and Kate Spade bag, stylist’s own; vintage chair from Salisbury Emporium

businesses. This remains the continued direction for Salisbury today, along with an emphasis on culture, creativity and the arts.

“There is a lot of pride in Salisbury and its history,” says Sada Stewart Troutman, Salisbury’s downtown development director. “The pride is in the memories, the families, the buildings, the history — people aren’t afraid to honor history but still be progressive. They want to keep telling the stories but are not afraid to tell the hard history and the hard stories … What is more impactful is that people are very aware that history is ongoing, and we want Salisbury to be for everyone — and everyone has a part in its story moving forward.”

As Charlotte and Greensboro continue to grow, Salisbury finds itself growing along with them, just as it did in the early 1900s.

Vintage floral dress, East 8th Vintage; Kristin Hayes Jewelry necklace, $750, and earrings $160; Freya hat, Zara shoes, vintage shawl, Isabel Marant belt and onyx ring, stylist’s own

Photographed at the private residence of a Salisbury artist

HAP’S GRILL

Hap’s Grill has been a local favorite since it opened in 1986, serving a simple menu of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and ice-cold bottled sodas. “People line up all day long,” says Mayor Tamara Sheffield. “It’s a staple.” Simplicity is key, adds Troutman. “What they do, they do really well. People love the nostalgia.”

Opposite page: La Vie Style House dress, $650; Alice + Olivia jacket, $1,595; vintage bag, East 8th Vintage; Le Specs sunglasses, $195, Sloan; Alaia shoes, Valentino Garavani earrings, bird bag clip and hair bow, model’s own; necklace and ring, stylist’s own

BONAPARTE CASTLE

The Napoleon Bonaparte McCanless House was built in 1897 by a family of local entrepreneurs. The home is constructed with granite from a Rowan County quarry, known for a pinkish hue. After standing vacant for many years, the home became a restaurant in the 1980s before it was acquired by the Historic Salisbury Foundation, which stabilizes endangered buildings. It is now privately owned and operates as a wedding venue with on-site accommodations.

Stine Goya dress, $589, Thirty-One Jane; Daniel Gonzalez sash, $90; Krewe sunglasses, $350, Sloan; vintage earrings, bracelet, Melinda Maria ring and glove, stylist’s own; shoes from Amazon and Emilia Wickstead collar, model’s own; vintage hat and parasol from East 8th Vintage; King Louis-style gilded chair from Fat Frenchie Collects at The Salisbury Emporium; picnic by Soulshine Soiree

BELL TOWER GREEN

This 3-acre park in downtown Salisbury was originally the site of a church, then later a bank. Led by the late Paul Fisher, longtime president and CEO of F&M Bank, residents began fundraising to make it a green space for the community. The park opened in October 2021 and now includes an amphitheater, water wall, garden and playground. Bell Tower Green hosts celebrations from the Cheerwine Festival in spring to the town’s annual tree lighting and New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Stine Goya dress, $390, Thirty-One Jane; vintage gloves and hat from East 8th Vintage; Marion Parke shoes, Isabel Marant belt, bracelets and earrings, stylist’s own

THE JOHN KNOX HOUSE

This 3,100-square-foot Italianesque Victorian home was built in 1871 with a center hall design, two parlors, extensive millwork, heart pine floors and five fireplaces. In the mid-20th century, the home was converted into four apartments. It was restored in the early 2000s and returned to its former glory. Tom Fisher, an eighth-generation Salisburian, and his husband, Felipe, recently bought the home. While looking for a “getaway” home in the North Carolina mountains, friends of the Charlotte couple reached out when the home in Salisbury’s West Square Historic District came up for sale. They changed course, joining several other young couples who have recently moved to Salisbury seeking homes rich in character they can rehabilitate and preserve. Hope for Flowers dress, $454, and La Barbier Velours belt, $98, both from Sloan; La Vie Style House jacket, $550; Ganni shoes, $475, Thirty-One Jane; vintage parasol, East 8th Vintage; earrings and Eugenia Kim hat, stylist’s own

WHITE RABBIT COCKTAIL PARLOUR

Samantha Haspel and Robert Ring own this 1920s-style supper club and speakeasy. Haspel’s family has been in Salisbury for four generations. The cocktail bar is named after her father, whose nickname was “Peter Rabbit.” The couple opened the White Rabbit in 2023 to offer Salisbury residents an immersive experience without having to drive all the way to Charlotte.

Alice + Olivia dress, $695; Proenza Schouler White Label skirt (worn under dress), $550, Thirty-One Jane; Isabel Marant belt, Mignonne Gavigan earrings, custom pheasant fascinator by Foxglove Fine Flowers, Kate Spade shoes and Noelle Munoz Jewelry necklace, stylist’s own

VINTAGE MODERN

Cherished antiques blend with modern patterns and subtle pops of color in this Foxcroft family home.

by

Opposite page: In the entry hall, antique chairs were reupholstered in an embroidered velvet fabric. The antique rug is a family heirloom; the hourglass table is by Bunny Williams.

Above: In the living room, draperies with a funky, watercolor-inspired pattern and shades of mauve, lavender and gold set the tone for the design. “What I love about this space the most is we have this beautiful antique rug but then we pulled in these more modern and fun fabrics,” designer Shadie Copeland says.

Right: The painting over the fireplace is by local artist Margot Whitley. Striped tone-on-tone wallpaper adds subtle interest.

“The living room is formal but comfortable,” says the homeowner. “Shadie blended antiques with new pieces perfectly.”

Cathy Martin photographs by Laura Sumrak

In the family room, a painting by Lauren Reddick from Art House Charlotte provides a focal point for the long, narrow space.

Vintage Brighton pavilion chairs surround a game table in the family room. Completing the vignette is a Hector Finch pendant, a trio of small landscape paintings and playful pillows with a chinoiserie design.

Incorporating family heirlooms was a must for this homeowner, a mother of two teens, when designing her new Foxcroft home. But the home, built in 1975, needed a little refresh.

“The house was a much-loved family home in a great neighborhood that offered everything we were looking for and more,” the homeowner says. “Mostly, we aimed to brighten the interior and refine some of the dated finishes.”

The family adored their previous home in Myers Park, but as their daughters were getting older, they needed more space. The homeowner was immediately drawn to the home’s classic Tudor exterior, abundance of natural light and large yard.

“We were excited to give it a refresh and make

In the breakfast room, antique chairs were recovered and painted a deep teal green by Renew Charlotte. The chandelier had been in the dining room but worked well in the space, which has taller ceilings. An easy-toclean indoor-outdoor rug was a practical choice for the busy area.

“In the kitchen, it was all about making the most of the space we had,” the homeowner says. The window over the sink was enlarged and a coffee bar was added. The island, finished with a waterfall edge, was extended to comfortably seat four.

it our own.” On the recommendation of a family member, they tapped Ken Linton of Linton LLC to handle the renovation.

“Built-in cabinets and moldings were removed, textured walls were smoothed, lighting and plumbing fixtures were updated,” the homeowner says. The couple also expanded the primary suite by eliminating one of the bedrooms.

When it was time to select lighting, they turned to Shadie Copeland of Shadie Copeland Interiors. Prior to launching her interior-design business in 2018, Copeland had worked for architectural lighting-design firms.

“I wanted our new light fixtures to be cohesive in style, finish and scale, so that’s where Shadie

The lighted dining-room hutch by Century provides an elegant storage solution for family treasures. Copeland styled the cabinet with crystal and silver that would otherwise be in storage. “It makes me so happy to see it all on display every time I walk by,” the homeowner says.

Opposite page: “Sagimai,” a printed grasscloth wallpaper by Scalamandre, creates a soothing backdrop in the dining room. The chairs and table are by Jonathan Charles. A side table with a custom table skirt provides needed storage without taking up too much space. The chandelier is “Vivian” by Visual Comfort, and the mirror is from Granville.

Chinoiserie-inspired wallpaper, black sconces and a painted ceiling make a bold statement in the powder room.

Opposite page: “Bright and happy” is how the homeowner describes her daughter’s bedroom. “We used a really bold Schumacher pattern on the bed as the base of the room,” Copeland says. After designing the custom bed, she repeated the design on custom cornice boards, which are covered in a light herringbone fabric. The Pindler fabric was also used for the draperies and on the upholstered bench. Lavender Visual Comfort lamps and a semi-flush-mount ceiling fixture from Colleen and Company add a finishing touch.

came in,” the homeowner says. The designer’s role grew as it became time to select the decor and soft finishes for the home.

The homeowner had inherited many pieces of furniture and art from her grandparents, which had been sitting in storage.

“Now that we had more space, it was important to me to try and utilize some of these cherished family heirlooms,” she says. “To my delight, Shadie was enthusiastically willing to do that. She took old sofas and chairs and updated them with beautiful fabrics and thoughtful details.”

Copeland worked hand in hand with the homeowner in designing the space.

“My job is to create a space that’s a reflection of the homeowners,” Copeland says. “She’s incredibly elegant. She has a really great sense of style — just very timeless,” she says in describing her client, who sought a soft palette with a few bold moments throughout.

“[Copeland] took our interior from ‘safe’ to a much more interesting and stylish level,” the homeowner says. “She easily combines old with new, polish with texture, color with pattern, creativity with professionalism.” SP

Clockwise from top left: A slim daybed fits the narrow space in front of the window, dressed with draperies in a feather pattern.

In the closet of the primary suite, playful needlepoint pillows — made by the homeowner — add a pop of color and whimsy.

In the spa-like primary bath, sheer panels behind linen draperies ensure privacy year-round.

A pass-through space between the primary bedroom and bathroom is adorned with House of Harris “Fauna” wallpaper panels.

A custom Caracole bed is flanked by nightstands by Modern History. The ceiling fixture is from Visual Comfort.

THE JOY OF COOKING

Charlotte food entrepreneurs serve up authentic, artisan fare — and customers are lining up. by Olivia Lee

It’s a chilly Friday in February 2023, and gray clouds cast shadows over a quiet suburban cul-de-sac in Old Foxcroft. Nestled among a scattering of ancient trees is a white ranch home with a small enclosed carport jutting out from one side. Cars line the street and take turns shimmying in and out of the driveway. A line forms near the Dutch door of the carport as customers patiently wait to pick up bread from the cottage bakery at the Rose family home.

Douglas Rose, wearing an oversized sweatshirt dusted in flour, greets buyers with a smile. Standing behind him, near a large box filled with bread, is a small boy — one of his four children — who eagerly helps his father hand out orders.

When it’s my turn, Rose hands me two brown bags, each filled with a half-dozen just-baked bagels. As I make my way back to the car — the smell of the garlic, onion and poppyseed seasoning escaping from the crinkled top of the warm bag — I hear him warmly acknowledging the next customer and striking up a conversation.

HOME-MADE

Many relationships were forged at the Dutch door of that bakery, known to the community as Team Rose Bread.

“Those interactions were super life-giving,” says Rose, who started the bakery with his wife, Kaitlin in 2020. “People would

PETER TAYLOR (TEAM ROSE BREAD)

want to linger and talk and share their life story. We walked through lots of seasons with people who were strangers to us but became friends as a result of this business.”

The Food Freedom Act, which allows for the production and sale of food products made in a home kitchen, enabled Rose and his wife to start this new venture. After their leather-goods business was put on ice during the pandemic, the duo converted their 200-square-foot carport into a bread shop.

“Starting the business [as a home food processor] was faster than brick-and-mortar, which takes way more capital, way more time and has way more moving parts. What we were able to do in a short period of time, we would never be able to do in the brick-and-mortar world,” Rose says.

Food entrepreneurs like Team Rose Bread are a part of a growing cottage-food industry that focuses on responsible sourcing and mindful consumption. While many states have cottage food laws, North Carolina does not. Instead, the state Department of Agriculture’s Food and Drug Protection division provides guidelines, with a few limitations.

In North Carolina, regulations prohibit the sale of perishable goods, particularly those that require refrigeration or freezing, or have a high risk of food-borne illness. Permissible products include bread; candy; certain condiments like honey, oil and vinegar; sauces; pastries; preserves; and snacks like pretzels, popcorn, granola, nuts and seeds.

To become a home food processor, aspirants must submit a business plan, complete an application and pass a home inspection. If approved, products can be sold with appropriate packaging and labeling through online platforms or at events,

TEAM ROSE BREAD

QUEEN CITY CRUNCH

Katie Cooper, founder of Queen City Crunch

Team Rose Bread, started in 2020 by Douglas and Kaitlin Rose, makes 100% sourdough bread with organic flour from suppliers like Linley Mills in Durham and Anson Mills in South Carolina.

LA BONBONNIERE

roadside stands, farmers markets, restaurants and retail stores. Delivery, mail order and wholesale services are also allowed.

BUILDING ON A FAMILY RECIPE

Like the Roses, the pandemic also turned out to be a time of opportunity for Katie Cooper of Queen City Crunch. Cooper got the idea to start her home-processing venture after gifting a family pretzel recipe to her wedding guests. Cooper recalls these special pretzels from family events growing up. While the ingredients are few and simple, friends and family were always vying for a taste.

In February 2021, Cooper started mixing and hand-baking small batches in her home kitchen.

“It was really easy to get certified with the Department of Agriculture, which had a lower barrier to entry with the application and inspection process,” Cooper says.

But working in her home kitchen became messy. Cooper recalls constantly cleaning up crumbs. Within two months, she moved the operation into a commercial space but continued to do the packaging in a small room over her garage. After another five months of continued growth, Cooper decided to relocate the entire business out of her home.

Her pretzels can be found on the shelves at Reid’s Fine Foods, Pasta & Provisions and other local gift shops, such as Paper Skyscraper, as well as Blumenthal Arts venues.

“I would love to keep expanding and eventually move into a larger facility, and be more of a prevalent brand and be at [more] specialty grocery stores,” Cooper says.

In the meantime, Queen City Crunch is working with Ashevillebased spice company, Spicewalla, using its chili-lime seasoning to create a limited edition Fiesta blend. During the holidays, Cooper also focuses on corporate orders and gift boxes.

While her success didn’t come without challenges, Cooper encourages other food entrepreneurs to get started.

“If you’ve got a recipe that people love, give it a whirl,” Cooper says. “Don’t be afraid to begin and learn throughout the process. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or seek advice from other similar businesses … Put yourself out there and have fun.”

A BAKERY AS SANCTUARY

Valentina Lopez took this advice and started her cookie-focused bakery, La Bonbonniere, after immigrating from Venezuela to the United States in 2021. Lopez, a culinary-school graduate who pre-

viously owned a bakery by the same name in her home country, put her passion for baking on the back burner after her son was born.

“I was home with a newborn and losing my mind. [But] while he was taking naps, I started baking cookies,” Lopez says.

Cottage-food regulations made starting a business convenient for the new mother. Instead of sharing space in a commercial kitchen, Lopez converted a room in her home into a baking studio, equipped with a professional mixer, ovens and a freezer. It became her sanctuary.

In 2023, La Bonbonniere 2.0 was created.

“This business was reborn with my baby. It was a super difficult time for me, being alone in this country and learning a new language. I did everything for him, but somehow, I made this [bakery] for myself. It was to communicate and to reconnect with myself and the things that I really truly enjoy,” Lopez says.

At La Bonbonniere, cookies are made with simple and organic ingredients — usually no more than five — and without extra sugar or corn syrup. Lopez has more than 35 flavors, with a menu of up to 12 that rotate weekly. A bestseller is the Walnutholic, made with chocolate chips, walnuts, Nutella and Ferrero Rocher. One of her favorites is the Royal Dubai, which is made with homemade

pistachio butter, tahini and Godiva chocolate. She also makes a Biscoff-flavored cookie, as well as a cookies-and-cream cookie made with Oreos and stuffed with a gooey ganache.

Cookies are sold online, at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market and at Uptown Farmers Market. La Bonbonniere also has a new uptown storefront, but Lopez still does all of the baking at home — and she doesn’t plan to change that.

“[I enjoy it] because I can take breaks to be with my toddler. I can do what I love while being with the ones that I love.”

For Lopez, La Bonbonniere is not just a business. It’s a representation of who she is and her unique story.

“It’s a reminder of the things that I’ve sacrificed to be here and the things that I went through to make this dream happen, because it’s happening and is something that I’m building every day.”

CAMPOUT DINNERS AND WELLNESS GETAWAYS

Unlike Lopez, Jessica Gaddy, owner of Finicky Foods, wasn’t able to start her business from home because of the perishable nature of her pimento-cheese line. But that didn’t stop her from figuring out another way to build her brand and start a different cottage food-inspired pursuit. Gaddy plans to convert her garage into a commercial

La Bonbonniere’s uptown storefront

kitchen. In the fall, she hopes to use the space to begin hosting campout dinners on her 19-acre Waxhaw property with wooded walking trails and a wildlife overlook.

Guests will reserve a spot at the Finicky Table for an all-inclusive five-course dinner and camping experience. Gaddy and her husband will rent camping gear and help any first-time campers set up at one of six campsites. Whether partaking in a beginner yoga session or unwinding in the hammock lounge, Gaddy wants to give guests the opportunity to relax outdoors and make a wellness getaway more accessible to locals.

“For us, it’s just about the simple,” says Gaddy. ”[And enjoying food made with] all real ingredients that make your tastebuds feel good and your belly feel good and your soul feel good.”

GROWING A BUSINESS AND SPREADING JOY

Today, Rose speaks wistfully about the early days of Team Rose Bread, when customers placed orders on social media for pickup at the carport or delivery by Rose and his daughter. He recalls manually entering addresses into Google Maps, driving to about a dozen homes and personally reaching out to customers for payment via Venmo.

“Those were sweet beginnings,” Rose says. Now orders are placed through the bakery’s website using the Shopify app, and a more typical Tuesday consists of 80-90 deliveries completed by two drivers. Pickup orders have moved from the carport door to nearby Trinity Presbyterian Church.

While aspects of the business have changed, bread still finds a way to spill out of the shop and into the kitchen, living room and hallway.

“It feels like in 2020, we brought a tiny baby dragon into our home. It was cute and pet-able, and novel and fun, and now it’s turned into this fire-breathing monstrosity that has wings that shoot out in all directions and has overtaken our home,” Rose says with a laugh.

FINICKY FOODS

Luckily, with the help of their children to tame the dragon, Team Rose Bread regularly serves sourdough and sandwich loaves, along with a rotating selection of English muffins, bagels, challah, cinnamon rolls, monkey bread and chocolate babka, among others. Their 10-year-old daughter shapes dough and their 12-year-old son bags the final product. On weekends, their teenage daughter helps run farmers market stalls, and their 8-year-old son, while he is still too young to help, snacks on bread and enjoys his role as the unofficial taste tester.

“[Together] we’re expressing ourselves and our family, and the way we do life, and the way we eat and the way that we celebrate food in the way that we love bread at every single meal,” Rose says. “Our business is an invitation for others to be a part of that.”

While the business has expanded, scaling is limited by equipment and space.

“We’re exploring and moving towards taking Team Rose Bread from the carport to its next iteration. We feel like there is more that we want to do, but can’t do in this space.” In the meantime, customers can anticipate the return of hot dog rolls and the unveiling of hamburger buns this summer.

For Rose, and other food entrepreneurs like Gaddy, Cooper and Lopez, their businesses are an extension of themselves and a way to share not just good food, but spread joy to their communities. SP

Finicky Foods founder Jessica Gaddy, right

CLASSIC CHICAGO

A guide to iconic sites in the Windy City by Vanessa Infanzon

Chicago is known for its arts scene, rich history, iconic architecture and celebrated deep-dish pizza. A few days in the Windy City will get you acclimated to its L trains, museums and cultural heritage, and leave you wanting more.

The Four Seasons Hotel, in the Gold Coast neighborhood and on the legendary Magnificent Mile, features 160 guest rooms and 185 suites, all inspired by 1940s French style. The hotel’s Adorn Bar and Restaurant is open from breakfast through late-night. Spa services range from couples’ treatments to a night-spa experience. Boat excursions, private walking tours and a food and history tour of Chicago through the lens of Hulu’s “The Bear,” can be set up through the hotel.

EXPLORE THE CITY

Wander 2 miles south from the Four Seasons along Chicago’s Lakefront Trail — an 18-mile paved path with views of Lake Michigan — to Grant Park’s showstopper: Clarence F. Buckingham Memorial Fountain, an art deco fountain with a 150-foot water display built in 1927.

Continue south to the Museum Campus for a peek at the Adler Planetarium, Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium. “Connecting Threads: Africa Fashion in Chicago” featuring garments, jewelry and textiles from Chicago-based designers runs through March 1, 2026 at the Field Museum.

This summer, London-based painter Raqib Shaw debuted his more-than-100-foot-wide “Paradise Lost” at the Art Institute of Chicago — the 21-panel painting will be on view through Jan. 19, 2026. It’s the first time all four chapters of this epic work, inspired by John Milton’s 17th-century poem “Paradise Lost,” have been exhibited.

Millennium Park is home to Cloud Gate, the iconic sculpture by Anish Kapoor referred to by locals as “The Bean.” The Crown Fountain, designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa, is anchored by two 50-foot towers at each end of a reflecting pool. The towers project video images of Chicago citizens.

Reserve seats on the Chicago Fireboat architecture tour, a 90- to 150-minute boat ride on the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. This veteran-owned company takes guests on the Fred A. Busse, a 1936 fireboat that was retired after 44 years of service for the Chicago Fire Department. The guide shares a detailed history of the city while the captain navigates through Chicago’s lock system. When you head to Chicago Riverwalk,

Millennium Park is home to the Cloud Gate, also known as “The Bean”

English Walled Garden at Chicago Botanic Garden

Chicago Riverwalk

a 1.25-mile walking path along the Chicago River, you’ll appreciate the stories behind each building and bridge.

Chicago’s Navy Pier lights up at night: Listen to live music and watch fireworks during the summer, see a performance at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, and ride the Centennial Wheel, a 196-foot-tall Ferris wheel.

The Second City, known as the training ground for actors and comedians, has various comedy and improv shows almost every night. National Public Radio fans will want to grab tickets to “Wait Wait ... Don’t Tell Me,” a weekly quiz show filmed at Chicago’s Studebaker Theater.

PRO TIP: A multi-day Chicago Transit Authority Ventra Card will get you access to buses and trains throughout the city. Most attractions are a 10- to 15-minute walk through Chicago’s streets. Purchasing a CityPASS, a discounted ticket program, gains you admission to five select sites in the city.

EAT+DRINK

Soak in traditional Windy City flavors, such as the Chicago hot dog, topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright-green sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt. Find one at Relish Chicago Hot Dogs, a food stand in Grant Park, or at The Northman Beer & Cider Garden on the Riverwalk.

Another Chicago treat is the Chicago deep-dish pizza, characterized by its high edge, sweet tomato sauce and plenty of cheese. Giordano’s recipe, from Mama Giordano in Italy 200 years ago, makes it the pie to try. With several locations throughout the city, hit up the restaurant in Chicago’s Central Loop, the downtown business district.

The Drake Hotel hosts a British afternoon tea service on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in its Palm Court. Guests enjoy tea from a selection of 17 blends with finger sandwiches, scones and petit fours.

The Four Seasons’ Adorn Restaurant offers chef’s tables and events such as Up South Pop-Up Dinners, a four-course meal created by guest chefs and Adorn’s executive and pastry chefs. The summer series supports local nonprofits aimed at eradicating food insecurity. The final dinner in this series is Oct. 2.

Don’t let the name throw you off your game — the Chicago Athletic Association is the place for drinks and people-watching. Cindy’s, the hotel’s rooftop bar and restaurant, overlooks Lake Michigan and Millennium Park. Continue the fun in the Game Room — billiards, checkers and skee-ball with food and beverages. Reservations are highly recommended.

GETTING THERE: Chicago is a two-hour direct flight from Charlotte Douglas International Airport to O’Hare International Airport on most major airlines. Learn more at choosechicago.com. SP

Skydeck Chicago

Navy Pier

Chicago hot dog at The Northman Beer & Cider Garden

A weekend in New Orleans delights with art, cuisine that reimagines classic fare, and a refined cocktail scene.

by Cathy Martin

On a Friday afternoon, women in pretty dresses begin arriving at Le Salon at The Windsor Court in New Orleans. It’s teatime, and piano music plays amid the soft clinking of china. The bridal party, mostly women in their 20s and 30s, greet each other warmly and take turns snapping photos, their joy lighting up the room.

“A lot of people that grow up here dream of being a Windsor Court bride,” says Isabella Marciante, a New Orleans native and marketing and communications manager at the 314-room hotel. With its elegant ambience, long-tenured staff and British flair, it’s easy to see why.

The Windsor Court is conveniently nestled between the city’s iconic French Quarter and the Warehouse Arts District, filled with galleries and some of the city’s trendiest restaurants. It’s my home base for a weekend in NOLA, my first visit to the city in more than two decades.

The 24-story hotel feels intimate and tucked away, despite its central location just two blocks from the waterfront. The Windsor Court has maintained a loyal following since opening in 1984. Exuding a sense of Old World grandeur, the hotel is charming and

warm, classic but not stuffy. Its spacious rooms and suites boast a luxe, traditional decor with views of the city and Mississippi River. There’s a picturesque rooftop saltwater pool, a cozy spa and an impressive art collection valued at more than $10 million, including works by Baroque artist Anthony Van Dyck, Mexico-born artist Enrique Alferez and English painter William Powell Frith.

My hazy memory of NOLA consists of spending a few hours in a nondescript bar on Bourbon Street when I was in my early 20s. I quickly learned there’s much more to discover.

EXPLORING THE CRESCENT CITY

To brush up on the history of this iconic southern city, I make the Historic New Orleans Collection one of my first stops. Started as a small reading room in the 1960s, the museum’s permanent galleries guide visitors through key points in time, from the establishment of the French Quarter in 1721 to the Haiti Revolution, which brought thousands of refugees to New Orleans and had a profound influence on the city’s culture. Admission is free, and the museum houses a nice gift shop filled with books, sweets, jewelry and other goods from local artisans.

For a more immersive experience, Vue Orleans atop the Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans shares local history, including the origins of local foods and the evolution of New Orleans jazz, through dazzling videos and interactive displays. The real draw here, though, is the 34th floor, where a glass-enclosed indoor observation area and outdoor rooftop deck provide 360-degree views of the city and surrounding areas.

Art lovers might want to skip the French Quarter’s touristy galleries and head to the Warehouse Arts District, where you can peruse works by Louisiana artists at a variety of price points at Gallery 600 Julia or see what’s on view at Octavia Gallery, which specializes in abstract art.

The Ogden Museum of Southern Art highlights artists from across the lower South and Texas, including a permanent exhibition of oil and collage works by African American artist Benny Andrews. The nearby National WWII Museum was highly recommended by several people I met in New Orleans, but I decided I needed to come back when I had more time to explore its 6-acre campus.

Drive or take the streetcar down St. Charles Avenue — lined with gorgeous Italianate, Queen Anne and Greek Revival-style

homes and mansions — toward the Garden District. The shopping and dining hub anchored by Magazine Street boasts more art galleries, along with local shops and upscale chains like Billy Reid and Marine Layer housed in quaint historic cottages.

COCKTAIL CULTURE

New Orleans is well-known as the birthplace of the Sazerac — there’s even a museum, The Sazerac House, dedicated to the history of this boozy cocktail.

Another classic drink — the Vieux Carre (a potent blend of rye whiskey, cognac, sweet vermouth, benedictine and bitters) — also originated here, at the historic Hotel Monteleone in 1937. The whimsical Carousel Bar debuted at the family-owned hotel in 1949, in a space formerly known as the Swan Room.

“Music has always been at the heart of the hotel,” says Mike Dupree, who leads a history talk before the bar opens. Both musicians and literary greats like Tennessee Williams, Ernest Hemingway, Liberace and Billy Joel — who gave an impromptu performance here about a decade ago — are part of hotel legend. These days, jazz singer Lena Prima, daughter of the famed trumpeter Louis Prima, is a regular musical guest.

Opposite page: Jackson Square, a 2.5-acre park in the French Quarter. This page: The Windsor Court hotel in downtown New Orleans.

There’s a line outside the door when this fabled venue opens daily at 11 a.m. The 25-seat rotating bar has evolved since its early years, when it was topped with a red-and-white circus tent. Today, the bar — which runs on rubber wheels, a bicycle chain and about 2,000 ball bearings under the floor — has a more ornate look, with carved cherubs and jesters and illuminated by more than 200 lights. Soak in the history as the bar slowly turns; each revolution takes about 25 minutes.

A classic in the making is Chandelier Bar at the Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans, which opened in 2021 after a transformative renovation of the former World Trade Center building. The chic-and-sophisticated venue at the heart of the hotel’s bustling lobby maintains an intimate feel thanks to louvered oak partitions creating cozy nooks for quiet conversation. Over the bar, a jaw-dropping chandelier fashioned from 15,000 hand-strung crystals sparkles and shimmers.

The cocktail menu leans toward the classics, refined and elevated with house-made mixes and shrubs. The signature Chandelier Martini is a blend of gins with extra-dry vermouth, citrus bitters and a spritz of mysterious “chandelier magic.” For an easy-drinking refresher, try the Roffignac (cognac, raspberry-citrus shrub, seltzer). There are snacks too, like osetra caviar with cornmeal blinis, a shrimp cocktail and a luscious Blue Crab Roll — jumbo lump blue crab on a buttery brioche bun. Or, swing by for a comforting nightcap: The S’mores Milk Punch blends bourbon, vanilla, cream and cacao, complete with a flamed marshmallow and graham cracker.

EAT + DRINK

Beignets are a New Orleans classic, and the pillowy pastries served warm and topped with powdered sugar at Café Beignet don’t disappoint.

Another NOLA original is the muffaletta, a sandwich layered with meats, cheeses and olive salad created in the early 1900s to feed hungry workers in the French Quarter. At Cochon Butcher, a counter-service spot where nearly everything is made in-house, the classic handheld is stacked with house-cured meats and served on a soft sesame-seed roll with a side of tangy bread-and-butter pickles.

There’s a reason Brennan’s remains one of the favored breakfast spots in New Orleans. This white-tablecloth restaurant is known for attentive service and classic fare. Each room has its own unique flair: The gardenlike Chanteclair Room has a pink-and-green palette with trellis detailing on the ceiling. The Roost Bar, adjacent to the courtyard, gives aviary vibes with a bird-themed mural and whimsical birdcages overhead. Menu highlights include Eggs Hussarde (homemade English muffins, coffeecured Canadian bacon, hollandaise and a red-wine sauce) and Owen’s Scotch Egg (red-wine braised short rib, creole-spiced potatoes, soft-boiled egg, hollandaise and a red-wine reduction). Brennan’s Bloody Mary, with a house-made mix and pickled okra, is a bestseller, but there are also Champagne cocktails, seasonal drinks and spirit-free options. Breakfast at Brennan’s is an experience, meant to be savored.

The Windsor Court’s Polo Club is a lively spot for pre-dinner cocktails, and its Grill Room restaurant is quiet and romantic. But the hotel’s afternoon tea — served from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday-Sunday — is a leisurely, elegant affair. Choose from more than three dozen selections from Rare Tea Cellar or New Orleans Tea Co. The service includes cocktails too, from a Royal Tea Bourbon Milk Punch to the Court Blossom Sangria with notes of rose, elderflower, peach and citrus. Tea is served in three courses, beginning with savory English tea sandwiches, The

Royal Room at Brennan’s, top, and Oysters J’aime, below.

followed by homemade scones and miniature cakes, tartlets and chocolate-covered strawberries.

In the Warehouse Arts District, Pêche is a lively and unpretentious eatery with exposed brick and open-hearth cooking. The seafood-focused menu ranges from the nostalgic beer-battered fish sticks to a rich gumbo made with a hearty roux. There’s a raw bar with gulf shrimp and oysters. Flavor combinations might seem unusual at first — a classic Creole or Cajun dish with Asian elements like miso, sambal or kimchi — but here, they just work.

On a lively corner in the Garden District, La Petite Grocery serves lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch in a Creole-style cottage that once housed a local market. The Blue Crab Beignets, served with malt vinegar aioli, are a must-order. Even familiar dishes like Gulf Shrimp and Grits are elevated to a new level here, with roasted shiitakes, smoked bacon and thyme. Chef/owner Justin Devillier was a 2016 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: South. SP

BY LAURA STEFFAN, ZACK

Carousel Bar at Hotel Monteleone

Chandelier Bar at Four Seasons New Orleans

The Garden District

Retirement living in Charlotte’s SouthPark neighborhoods and the surrounding areas redefines comfort, care and community. Our senior living partners offer a distinguished approach to aging well. From beautifully designed residences and elevated dining experiences to personalized wellness services and on-site support, every detail is curated to enhance daily life. These thoughtfully crafted communities provide not only comprehensive care and peace of mind but also a vibrant lifestyle filled with enriching activities, luxurious amenities and meaningful connections. With more dynamic and tailored options than ever before, the future of senior living is here to make sure every day is your best.

The Sharon at SouthPark | The Cypress | Erickson Senior Living | Trinity Oaks

Liberty Senior Living | The Village on Morehead | The Barclay at SouthPark

Welcome to The Cypress, where retirement opens the door to more of what you love.

Located on 65 sun-kissed acres in the heart of beautiful SouthPark, Charlotte’s premier Life Plan Community combines vibrant living, meaningful connections and peace of mind. Picture this: chef-prepared meals that rival your favorite restaurants, leisurely lakeside strolls and a full calendar of activities that excite you. This is retirement, reimagined.

At The Cypress, you own your home, and receive all the perks of ownership, without any of the maintenance headaches. So you can kick back and enjoy life while we handle the details. When it comes to your perfect space, the choice is yours. Choose from charming cottages or sleek villas in 11 different plans, all customizable to suit your lifestyle and taste.

Our 50,000-square-foot clubhouse features a cozy fireside bistro bar, sports and fitness center, art studio, and gorgeous lake views. From wine tastings and concerts to wellness classes and holiday socials, there’s always something happening to keep your days bright.

And when it comes to your health, you’re in good hands. The Stewart Health Center is on campus, and offers everything from skilled nursing to rehab to memory care, so your future feels as secure as your present.

But the real magic? It’s the people. Members who feel like old friends. Staff who feel like family. A community that genuinely feels like home. Come see The Cypress for yourself. Chances are, you’ll want to stay.

The Sharon at SouthPark thinks big

Expand your possibilities

At The Sharon at SouthPark, we believe that retirement isn’t about scaling back - it’s about expanding your possibilities. Nestled on a vibrant 28-acre urban campus in the heart of SouthPark, The Sharon is where independent living gets a bold new definition. This isn’t a place to downsize, it’s a place to think big.

From expansive walking trails and peaceful water features to lush gardens and private gazebos, nature is thoughtfully woven into every corner of our community. Whether you’re enjoying a serene morning walk or hosting friends for wine on a breezy terrace, The Sharon’s outdoor spaces are designed to inspire connection, refreshment and joy.

Room for more

Inside, you’ll find beautifully crafted residences and community spaces that offer room to breathe and grow. The Deerwood, our newest addition, features 42 spacious independent-living apartments with five open-concept floor plans, each offering private balconies or terraces, floor-to-ceiling windows and sleek, modern finishes. These are homes where you can entertain, create and live comfortably, surrounded by sophisticated design and natural light. The Sharon is planning an expansion with 64 new apartments plus a 50,000-square-foot fitness facility called The Center for Vibrant Living, where living can be done to the fullest.

Explore classes and activities that spark curiosity and creativity, from lectures and art workshops to health and wellness programs. Prefer to socialize over a meal? Our recently renovated dining venues offer a range of culinary experiences for every mood and taste, from casual bites to chef-prepared fine dining that will give any restaurant in Charlotte a run for its money. Whether you’re enjoying a fresh, seasonal lunch with fellow residents or celebrating with family over dinner, the food is always a highlight.

At The Sharon at SouthPark, everything we do centers around helping you live with vitality. With a focus on independence, community and meaningful experiences, this is a place where you can embrace your next chapter with open arms - and wide horizons. Just steps from Charlotte’s best dining, shopping and entertainment, The Sharon offers a life that’s more. Come see how big retirement can be at The Sharon.

Stylish Senior Living Is Here

EXPLORE THE RESIDENCES AT WINDSOR RUN

Windsor Run® is Southeast Charlotte’s premier community for independent living with additional levels of care should your needs ever change.

Stunning Floor Plans

Here, you’ll find a variety of beautiful floor plans to fit your style and budget. Residences feature open, airy layouts and include contemporary fixtures and finishes.

Exciting Amenities

At Windsor Run, you gain a host of amenities just steps from your door, including multiple restaurants, a fitness center, and on-site medical center staffed by full-time providers.

Freedom From Repairs

Our friendly, full-time maintenance team takes care of the work in and around your residence—so you can spend less time worrying and more time doing the things you love!

Matthews WindsorRunCommunity.com

Embrace New Beginnings

Enjoy Active Senior Living at Trinity Oaks

Celebrate all seasons of life at Trinity Oaks! Our welcoming community is perfect for retirees seeking warmth and relationship. Explore our scenic 50-acre campus and enjoy the beauty of Salisbury. Our amenities are tailored to your lifestyle, offering an ideal setting for the next chapter of your life. Come and see for yourself.

Visit our website at TrinityOaks.net to learn more about our Independent Living residences, Assisted Living, Health & Rehab, and Memory Care or you can scan the QR code or call 704-603-9202.

Trinity Oaks is an affiliate of Lutheran Services Carolinas in Salisbury, NC.

Inspire Briar Chapel

Pittsboro

www.inspirebriarchapel.com (984) 520-6264

Inspire Brunswick Forest Leland

www.inspirebrunswickforest.com (910) 940-0095

Inspire Royal Park

Matthews

www.inspireroyalpark.com (980) 448-7099

swirl

A monthly guide to Charlotte’s parties and galas

Coveted Couture Gala

benefiting Mint Annual Fund Mint Museum Randolph April 26

The Mint’s signature event also celebrated the opening of ANNIE LEIBOVITZ/WORK, an exhibition chronicling one of the most influential photographers of our time. Beverly and Mark Ladley and Leigh-Ann and Martin Sprock were gala co-chairs.

photographs by adam eugene.photo, courtesy The Mint

Cassell Fitzhugh and Jenn Waugh

Armando Aispuro, Theresa Johnson and Allen Blevins

Mahroo and Kerr Putney

Charlotte Moritz and Aileen Mesa

Richard and Elizabeth Israel, Pam Stowe and Scott Newkirk

Evgeniya Ezhova, Keith Alyea and Angie Jackson

Coveted Couture Gala

A monthly guide to Charlotte’s parties and galas

Speedway Children’s Charities Gala

Ten Tenths Clubhouse

May 21

The 43rd annual gala celebrated the legendary number 43 driver Richard Petty at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s new Ten Tenths Motor Club. Old Crow Medicine Show capped off the big night and got the crowd dancing. photographs by Daniel Coston

Stacey Behrns and Naomi Reale Marcus and Cassi Smith

Maria Owen and Michelle Anderson

Mandy Houser, Rachel Ellis and Kirstin Ashford

Drs. Larry and Jermeliah Martin

Brian Herbst, Nichelle Levy and Eric Ryan

Robby Benton, Lainie and Marty Smith and Danielle Trotta

Clint Bowyer, Richard Petty and Adam Alexander

Blumey Awards

presented by Blumenthal Arts

Belk Theater

May 18

This annual awards show celebrates the best of high school musical theater. Weddington High School won Best Musical in Tier 1 for its production of Chicago: Teen Edition, while North Lincoln High School won Best Musical in Tier 2 for its production of Pippin

by Daniel Coston

Luncheon of Hope

benefiting Nourish Up

The Fillmore Charlotte

May 21

Author and podcaster Jen Hatmaker delighted the crowd as guest speaker and drummed up support to help Nourish Up further its mission to provide groceries, meals and hope to local families in need.

photographs by Daniel Coston

Catherine Hensley and Amy Pack

Tina Postel and Jen Hatmaker

Haley Ciaramella wins Best Actress

photographs

Weddington High performs Chicago: Teen Edition

North Lincoln High performs Pippin

Dylan Wilson of Carmel Christian

Lindsay Griffin and Beth Clifton

A monthly guide to Charlotte’s parties and galas

Breakthrough T1D Charlotte

Gala

benefiting JDRF

The Revelry North End

April 5

Rhyne and Lisa Davis were honored for their community work during this annual gala which raised more than $2 million to combat Type 1 diabetes.

photographs by Daniel Coston

Brewers Ball

benefiting Supportive Housing Communities

The Union at Station West

June 12

Patrons sampled drinks and bites from local breweries, all in support of affordable housing and programs for chronically homeless neighbors.

photographs by Daniel Coston

Zach and Stephanie Landry

Kristin and Dustin Mountcastle

Stacey Milam and Dana Cumberworth

Jesse and Steven Bramhall

Michael and Jenna Troutman

Lisa and Rhyne Davis, Sally Langan

Jean and Kirby Leitner

Cerys and Adam Smits

Amanda Redoute and Jayme Castiglione

Jarvis Cheek and Loryn Wellman

Garland Talbott and Hope Read

ANESTED HIVE

Inspired by pollinators, a whimsical sculpture in east Charlotte invites play. by Michael J. Solender | photographs by Justin Driscoll

nyone admiring Nested Hive, the playful public art at Eastway Regional Recreation Center, is bound to wander into one of its colorful and quirky bowl-shaped structures. And if the visitor’s a kid, they’ll almost definitely climb over and through the oversized forms before resting on a bench inside.

Play was a must-have for Charlotte’s Arts & Science Council (ASC) when it commissioned Nested Hive.

“Great public art sparks curiosity and imagination,” said Todd Stewart, ASC’s vice president of public art, during the 2020 installation. And spark it does — especially in kids, who’ve been climbing on, crawling around and exploring the piece ever since.

Created by Houston-based design studio RE:site, Nested Hive is a sculptural playground inspired by pollinators like bees, hor-

nets and wasps. The work appears like a giant hive that tumbled from the trees, cracked open and landed gently on its side.

Its conical chambers, built from curved ipe wood and painted steel arches, invite exploration. Soft floral hues — lavender, yellow and rose — give it a soothing vibe that blends naturally with the surrounding pollinator garden. Wildflowers, native grasses and shrubs sway just feet away, while butterflies, hummingbirds and bees flit nearby, just like the kids.

The sculpture rests on artificial turf and is illuminated from below at night, adding a magical feel. It has an organic sensibility, with flexible, parametric slats. The tactile materials and layered construction were designed to reflect the diversity of Mecklenburg County itself, each piece part of a greater whole.

An apt metaphor for community and collaboration. SP

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