The LocaL, August 2019

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STUFF TO READ

Letter from the Editor

don’t want another chain IBlank. restaurant in Columbus. Point.

Period.

DINING FOR CHARITIES

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PAWS Humane Society

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UPSTREAM

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One Year Anniversary

DRIVING INTO A HURRICANE

FITNESS With Lily-G SWEAT for it, HONEY

La-Z Boy Home Furnishings

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RiverCenter Education

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SONGWRITER SHOWDOWN

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Family-Owned & Committed To Service Building Skills For Teachers & Students

In And Out Of The Frame Two Sisters Gallery

We’ve all heard this before.

Someone daydreams about a favorite chain slop-shop from some place they previously lived or visited. Fair. I have hankerings for unavailable eats all the time; I understand the desire. But I sure don’t want another chain in Columbus.

We could all ad nauseum go over the many chain places we have enjoyed in other cities. I sure can. I can tell you my favorite order at White Castle or Whataburger. I can regale you with the glory of the seemingly-infinite Cheesecake Factory Menu. And, oh, don’t get me started on any of the myriad chain seafood restaurants that line the Gulf coast.

We do not need them here. Having them here is bad for our community.

First, the obvious advice: enjoy these locally-unavailable experiences elsewhere. When you visit your home town, your favorite vacation destination, while on the road for business—these are the perfect opportunities to indulge your craving for foreign, corporate fare. Columbus doesn’t have a Whataburger? There are 760 of them across this vast country, and they will all gladly greet you with whatever jalapeno-topped heart attack agent you desire. I have one every time I visit Fernandina Beach, Florida.

But why should we wait for these rare occasions? It’s simple.

We have better alternatives here, and they’re homegrown.

They’re homegrown. The businesses are local. Chain restaurants pour money out of our community; local restaurants pour money into our community. The local economic impact of a locally-owned restaurant dwarfs that of a chain restaurant. Locally-owned means more money, opportunity and progress for our community. Chain restaurants drain these resources.

They’re homegrown. I love steak. For me, my favorite restaurants are the ones in which I can get an excellent ribeye perfectly prepared. I can find this at more local shops than I can count—I could fill this entire space with local and regional restaurants that serve terrific steaks. The last thing we need is yet another chain steakhouse to distract our attention from the local restaurants. I don’t need another (failed) Logans glutting the market, when I have an endless array of excellent options, options owned and operated by my neighbors.

I get it. Nostalgia is a powerful emotion. But let’s keep our heads screwed on, at least half way.

Stick with your locally-owned restaurants—it’s good for you, your neighbors, and your stomach.

Best,

t hel o cal co l u mbu s . co m f acebook .com/t helocalcolumbusga

What We Are All About.

The mission of the LocaL magazine is to bring you the best in art, music, food and fun from Columbus and the surrounding area. Locally owned and operated, we work to improve and expand community relationships through promoting positive events and stories. When good things are happening, we will be here to help you get involved. Our monthly print issues will feature stories and events that comprise and drive the ongoing surge toward a more beautiful community. This magazine exists because we who work on it believe in actively engaging with community improvement, and we invite you to join us, not only by reading these pages, but also by taking part in any of the many wonderful events we feature.

PUBLISHER

Monica Jones publisher@thelocalcolumbus.com ads@thelocalcolumbus.com

EDITOR

Tom Ingram editor@thelocalcolumbus.com

LAYOUT & DESIGN

Mat Cornett

Tom Ingram

CONTRIBUTORS & CREDITS

Bobbi Yeo Joe Miller Lily Hall Anastasia Tikka Cover Photo taken by Scott Gillpatrick

Rocco, Photo By MJ LocaL

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‘s D I NI NG FOR CHA R I T I ES C EL EB R ATES

O N E Y E A R A N N I V E R S A RY O F M A K I N G A D I F F E R E N C E

year ago, WLTZ, NBC 38, launched a new dining program in the Columbus/Auburn A“Dining area, and it has quickly become the number one dining platform in the area. for Charities is truly a win-win-win and win for everyone involved,” said Mark Kirkland, general manager of WLTZ. “First and foremost, our local charities that participate in our program win because we donate 15% of every sale to one of them.”

WLTZ’s Dining for Charities program has donated over $25,000 so far to local charities

Sketching Under the Skylight Leave your voices at the door. From 4 to 6 p.m., witness the power of the creative process as professional artists from the GO FIGURE drawing group sketch from a live model in costume under the magical skylights of the Bartlett Center. Free admission and open to the public. Every Thursday, 4 p.m., The Bo Bartlett Center, 921 Front Avenue, Columbus Clay Night Out Let your imagination take flight on our first Clay Night Out! You get basic instructions to let your imagination soar. What’s included in our $18.00 cost? One pound of clay, two firings (one to harden the clay, one to glaze color) and the colors of your choice. We can’t wait to see you! RSVP ahead to guarantee your seat. Aug. 9, 6 - 9 p.m., Bare Ware Pottery Studio, 3912 Woodruff Road, Columbus Sunday Snapshot August’s theme is People & Portraits. Drop into the Museum one Sunday each month, meet your docent tour guide in the lobby, and enjoy a themed exploration of either the permanent collection or temporary exhibitions. Tours are appropriate for all ages. Aug. 11, 2 - 3 p.m., The Columbus Museum, 1251 Wynnton Road

and that number increases every day.

“Second, our restaurant partners win because they are using this as a way to give back to their local community. They also hope to gain new customers for their restaurant, growing their business. Our restaurant partners receive a ton of marketing for their restaurant through Dining for Charities and WLTZ.” If you are a charity or a restaurant and you want to know more about Dining for Charities you can contact Bill Evans who oversees this program for WLTZ. Bevans@wltz.com Here are what some of the charities say about Dining for Charities…..

“Dining for Charities provided MercyMed with a promotional opportunity that made great sense. We had the chance to raise awareness about MercyMed all while participants benefited from huge discounts for amazing restaurants and other deals. We received a great boost in donations for the months of January and February.” --Billy Holbrook, MercyMed of Columbus “Ronald McDonald House Charities of West Georgia is so grateful to have been selected as a charity beneficiary of the Dining for Charities program at WLTZ. Thank you WLTZ and Dining for Charities! Thanks again for including us!” --Tiffany Bamberger, Assistant Director, Ronald McDonald House Charities of West Georgia

Look! At Lunchtime This collaborative viewing exercise and dialogue centers on works of art from the Museum’s permanent collection. Jonathan Frederick Walz, Ph.D., Director of Curatorial Affairs and Curator of American Art, will facilitate Look discussions every second Tuesday. With Walz, you will explore a new object each month. Aug. 13, 12:15 - 12:30 p.m., The Columbus Museum, 1251 Wynnton Road Guest Lecture Series: Michael Jordan As a part of the museum’s ongoing Cool History educational programming, we’re introducing a special guest lecture series where experts will give lectures on a variety of topics. These events are free and open to the public. This event was made possible by generous support from W.C. Bradley Co., The Hughston Clinic, and The Georgia Humanities Council. Michael Jordan, historian and filmmaker, will discuss his latest production about the CSS Georgia, an ironclad warship contracted in Savannah, from its 1862 construction to its recent rediscovery. Aug. 15, 7 - 9 p.m., National Civil War Naval Museum, 1002 Victory Drive, Columbus

Silent Sip and Paint Come have a glass of wine or a beer while you let loose and paint. There will be a wide selection of wine and beer, as well as AWAV Frequency Vibes headphones so you can vibe to whatever music you’re feeling. This is the ultimate relaxation session. Aug. 15, 4 - 8 p.m., Pop Uptown, 1234 Broadway, Columbus

Paint ’til Ya Faint Night Join us for a fun, creative night. Complementary snacks. No reservation required. Aug. 17, 6 p.m. - midnight, Bare Ware Pottery Studio, 3912 Woodruff Road, Columbus Paw Print Impressions w/ Bare Ware Pottery Want to make a lasting impression of your furry BFF? Bare Ware Pottery studio will be set up outside of the shelter to help you capture your pet’s paw print on clay to create a memento that will last a lifetime. If you have a fluffy best friend be sure to trim up the fur on their paws before out event to ensure the best print pawsible. Join us at the shelter and bring your fur babies along for the fun! A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Animal Ark Rescue! Kids, Dogs, and Cats are welcome! Please have all dogs on leash (preferably not retractable/flexi leashes) and all cats in carriers (for their safety). Clay paw prints start at $10 and vary according to size and item. There will also be clay bones available to paint!

Aug. 24, 9 a.m. - noon, Animal Ark Rescue, 7133 Sacerdote Lane, Columbus

“Alzheimer’s Association was honored to be chosen as the charity for Dining for Charities by our good friends at WLTZ. Columbus is an incredible philanthropic community and WLTZ does an amazing job shining a light on their generosity.” --Amy Johnston, Senior Director, Marketing and Communications, Alzheimer’s Association, Georgia Chapter “We at the Columbus Symphony Orchestra were honored to be selected as the first beneficiary of WLTZ’s Dining for Charities program. Not only does this program provide incredible deals to the community for local dining, goods, services, and entertainment, but the generous gift we received as a beneficiary allowed us to continue and grow aspects of our educational activities that we provide for free to underprivileged children in the Chattahoochee Valley.” --Kristen Hudson, Marketing Director and Development Assistant, Columbus Symphony Orchestra.u LocaL

Want to see your event listed here? Email events@thelocalcolumbus.com

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PAWS Humane Soci ety DRIVING INTO A HURRICANE

Paw s & pa r t n e r s b r av e d a n g e r o u s w e at h e r t o s av e c at s & k i t t e n s urricane season hit early this year. In fact, we got our first call in H mid-July, coincidentally the same day we had set a meeting to review our hurricane response protocol to ensure that it was up-to-date. Tropical

Storm Barry was threatening to swamp Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana in just a couple of days and the south half of the parish was already under mandatory evacuation orders. Though it was not expected to be a big storm, or even become a hurricane, the threat of flooding was ominous.

Our first goal in a storm is simple. With enough advance notice, we can get into the area before the storm hits and pull out as many animals as possible. These are pets who have been held in local shelters long enough that if their family was coming to claim them, it would have happened by now.

If we don’t pull these animals out, they will be euthanized to make room for the newly displaced animals that will be streaming into shelters once the storm subsides. Sorry to be so blunt, but this is the harsh reality in the midst of a natural disaster. This strategy allows owners who have lost their pets in the storm to find them.

Once we received the call, everyone at Paws knew their roles and they went to work. The receiving room was set up and the truck was loaded with empty crates. It wasn’t long before we were coordinating with the Animal SOS Foundation in Columbus, one of our most valued partners, to orchestrate an extraction of as many cats as we could get into our vehicle before the roads closed.

It isn’t easy to get volunteer drivers to head into a potential hurricane at the last minute. In this case, Becky Carter, executive director of Animal SOS and me, executive director of Paws Humane Society, decided it was our turn to take a road trip. We are not young women, but we are strong and we are fierce and we are dedicated to saving lives.

At the end of a very long, and sometimes hilarious, seventeen hours we arrived back in Columbus with no less than 50 cats and kittens. In spite of the fact that it was 2:00 am on a Saturday morning, the team at Paws was bright-eyed and ready to go. It was a sight to behold as they skillfully drew out each cat, one at a time, to assess, name and vaccinate.

I am so proud of our team at Paws Humane Society.

Summer is hard in animal sheltering when we are overwhelmed by the large numbers of incoming animals.

When I told my co-workers about Plaquemines Parish request for help, there was no hesitation. Several staff members signed up to be on hand to receive the cats even though we knew it would be in the wee hours of the morning.

Fortunately, Plaquemines Parish came out of the storm better than feared. Still, there was flooding and there were displaced animals so we accomplished for them what was needed.

Our community is our most precious resource. You are the donors who finance our operations. You are the volunteers who help us care, day in and day out, for the more than 100 animals under our roof on any given day. You are foster parents for animals who just need a little extra. And you are the families who adopt our beautiful pets and give them a loving home. Thank you for your support. Without you, we couldn’t do what we do.u

Adoption Hours: Mon-Fri•10am-6pm, Sat•10am-5pm, Sun•12pm-5pm 4900 Milgen Road Columbus, GA 31907 • www.pawshumane.org office@pawshumane.org (706) 565-0035 • Vet Clinic phone number (706) 987-8380 LocaL

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NO SHAME THEATRE

Open Mic with Matt Kirkley

Musicians are welcome to come and show off their skills and hidden talents. All musicians wishing to play must sign up in advance. Sign up at 7 p.m., music from 8 until 9. Stay afterward for Mango Strange. Every Wednesday, 7 p.m., The Loft, 1032 Broadway, Columbus

At 10:30 every Friday night, the Springer plays host to NO SHAME THEATRE. NO SHAME THEATRE is an uncensored evening of original performance that allows anyone to explore their creative potential. Signup begins at 10 p.m., and the first 15 to sign up get a five-minute time slot to perform their original material. Admission is $5, including for performers. Every Friday, Springer Opera House, 103 10th Street, Columbus, (706) 324-5714

Thursday Night Thunder of Live Music @ Wild Wing Cafe Every Thursday, 5:30 p.m., Wild Wing Cafe, 6525 Whittlesey Boulevard, Columbus Music ’N Motion

During this structured play time, children will be encouraged to explore music through songs, puppets, books, creative movement and physical activities. Connect and socialize with other families while helping your little ones build early literacy skills through music and play.

Every Friday, 10:30 a.m., Columbus Public Library, 3000 Macon Road

Friday Night Jazz @ The Loft Every Friday, 7 p.m., The Loft, 1032 Broadway, Columbus Everything Musical Events

Crown & Comedy at The Loft Two comedy shows every week, hosted by The LocaL’s Choice Award Winner for Favorite Comic, Lil’ Bit. Enjoy $7 Crown Royal and ordering from the full dinner menu. Tickets are $10. Every Thursday, 7 p.m., The Loft, 1032 Broadway, Columbus

Everything Musical will begin a free artist showcase starting August 3rd, (sponsoring the the songwriter showdown at Treviolis Lounge beginning on August 1) and recurring every Thursday through September 5. Everything Musical 2400 W Britt David Rd.

Ain’t Right @ The Hangout Aug. 10, 8 p.m., The Hangout, 6060 Veterans Parkway, Columbus Roshambeaux @ The Loft Aug. 10, 9 p.m., The Loft, 1032 Broadway, Columbus John Tyler & The Chase @ Soho Aug. 10, Soho Bar & Grill, 5751 Milgen Road, Columbus Barbarosa Jones @ Soho Aug. 16, 10:30 p.m., Soho Bar & Grill, 5751 Milgen Road, Columbus Bolera @ Iron Bank Aug. 17, 8 p.m., Iron Bank Coffee Company, 6 West 11th Street, Columbus 2FingerJester @ Soho Aug. 17, 10:30 p.m., Soho Bar & Grill, 5751 Milgen Road, Columbus Summer Concert Series: Rabbitfoot

Geneology Documentary Film Series Join us on Thursday afternoons for a documentary film series centered on a genealogy and local history theme. Topics include: Appalachia; DNA; and African American Lives. Call 706-243-2681 for each week’s film title! Every Thursday, 4 p.m., Columbus Public Library, 3000 Macon Road Summer Movies on the Beach Join us every Friday & Saturday night at Robin Lake Beach for a movie under the stars! Movies begin at Dusk, typically around 8:30 p.m. Friday night movies are considered our “classic” lineup & Saturday night movies are our “family fun” movies! Through Aug. 24, 8:30 p.m., Robin Beach, Callaway Gardens, 17800 US Highway 27, Pine Mountain, Ga. Open Mic Night Play some music, read poetry, perform comedy, etc. Aug. 15 & 29, 6:30 p.m., Fountain City Coffee, 1007 Broadway, Columbus

Come for the music and stay for the fun! Enjoy live music from a different regional band each month, as well as art making and a guided tour of the Museum. Bring your own picnic supper or purchase one from an onsite food truck. Free. Aug. 22, 6 - 8 p.m., The Columbus Museum, 1251 Wynnton Road

Auditions for The Nutcracker Come be part of one of Columbus’ longest, holiday traditions! We will once again be holding community auditions for our upcoming production of The Nutcracker.

For more information, email Kylie Casino at kyliewithcolumbusballet@gmail.com.

Aug. 17, noon - 4:30 p.m., The Columbus Ballet, 1004 Broadway

Karaoke for Kitties (and Puppers, Too)

Featuring DJ Barry-oke, this is the purfect opportunity to showcase your meow-sical talent— or your caterwaul. Come out and show your support for animals in need. Aug. 22, 8 p.m., The Uptown Tap, 1024 Broadway, Columbus

Charlotte’s Web Charlotte’s Web is based on EB. White’s loving story of the friendship between a pig named Wilbur and a little gray spider named Charlotte. Wilbur has a problem: how to avoid winding up as pork chops! Charlotte, a fine writer and true friend, hits on a plan to fool Farmer Zuckerman – she will create a “miracle.” Spinning the words “Some Pig” in her web. Charlotte weaves a solution that not only makes Wilbur a prize pig but also ensures his place on the farm forever. This treasured tale, featuring mad-cap and endearing farm animals, explores bravery, selfless love, and the true meaning of friendship. Sept 5 & 6, 10 a.m., Department of Theatre, Columbus State University, 6 West 10th Street

Ain’t Right @ The Hangout Aug. 23, 8 p.m., The Hangout, 6060 Veterans Parkway, Columbus Dixie Red @ Soho Aug. 23, 10 p.m., Soho Bar & Grill, 5751 Milgen Road, Columbus Ain’t Right @ Omaha Brewing Aug. 24, 3 - 7 p.m., Omaha Brewing Company, 265 Brew Street, Omaha, Ga. The Bartstool Prophets @ Soho Aug. 24, 10:30 p.m., Soho Bar & Grill, 5751 Milgen Road, Columbus Paw Patrol Live Aug. 27, 6 p.m., Columbus Civic Center, 400 4th Street Money Shot @ Wild Wing Cafe Aug. 30, 9 p.m., Wild Wing Cafe, 6525 Whittlesey Boulevard, Columbus Mark Sasser Band @ The Loft Aug. 31, 9 p.m., The Loft, 1032 Broadway, Columbus

Want to see your event listed here? Email events@thelocalcolumbus.com

Want to see your event listed here? Email events@thelocalcolumbus.com

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WOMEN’S WORLD CUP OF CINEMA ROUND 2

had the good fortune of watching the Women’s World Cup semifinal match between USA and England at St. Aldates Tavern in Oxford, right across the street from Christchurch College, where IHarry Potter went to school. The place was packed with fans from both sides, and I have to admit part

of me was rooting for Britain, partly out of respect for my hosts, partly because I knew watching them in the finals in a British pub would be a blast, but mostly because the United Kingdom is home to two of my favorite film directors: Andrea Arnold and Joanna Hogg.

Arnold and Hogg both craft stories that transcend the norms of cinematic narrative; both hold back on traditional plot points to give room for an air of mystery. And neither is afraid to let their characters meander into short and fascinating subplots. But beyond that, they’re about as different as can be. Arnold’s films are shot in a shaky, handheld, cinema vérité style, and they’re set in working-class communities, with characters who are poor and looked down upon, characters who seem to have to fight everything, including themselves, just to get by. Hogg favors long, static shots, and stories about people in Britain’s upper-middle class, the kind of folks who on the surface appear to be free from problems, but who underneath are besot by all varieties of insecurities, jealousies and arrogance.

Arnold broke out in 2003, with the Oscar-winning short Wasp, about a destitute single mom who leaves her hungry kids in a parking lot while she has a date with a bloke. Just 25 minutes long, it packs an emotional punch that’s not soon forgotten. Her second feature, Fishtank, is even more affecting, a

FISHTANK coming of age story about 15-year-old girl who’s growing up in a housing project on the eastern edge of London, and whose world is turned upside down when her mum brings home a very handsome (and, unbeknownst to them, married) new boyfriend, played by Michael Fassbender. Arnold came to the US for her follow-up film, American Honey, which I wrote about in one of my earlier columns, and her most recent work is the second season of HBO’s Little Big Lies, which she directed in its entirety.

Hogg came up through Britain’s television industry, but her feature films are about as un-TV-like as can be. Slow-paced with sparse plots and loads of atmosphere and slow-building emotions, her films examine the tensions of family relationships, and love and romance and intrigue. Her debut, Unrelated, is about a woman in her mid-forties who, on the heels of a nasty spat with her husband, vacations with a friend’s extended family at an estate in Italy. She ignores her friend and spends her time with the teenagers of the group, drinking and smoking pot and happily slipping into a flirtatious and fullof-sexual-tension friendship with the most handsome of them. Her second, Archipelago, is another family vacation story, this of a quite wealthy couple on holiday on the rocky coast of England, where, as the days unfold, their insecurities and resentments against one another simmer to the surface. Her third, Exhibition, is perhaps the oddest of the bunch, the story of a creative couple living in an unusual modern house, which they have to sell. Her most recent, the souvenir, about a young woman who falls into an awful relationship with an older man, is still in theaters.

Back at St. Aldates Tavern, if we’d been watching world-class cinema instead of soccer, the Lionesses, bolstered by Arnold and Hogg, would’ve rolled into the finals to face the winner of France vs. Italy, which will be my topic next month.u

Joe Miller teaches at CSU and tweets mini movie reviews in Spanish @byjoemiller

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Open Mic with Matt Kirkley Musicians are welcome to come and show off their skills and hidden talents. All musicians wishing to play must sign up in advance. Sign up at 7 p.m., music from 8 until 9. Stay afterward for Mango Strange. Every Wednesday, 7 p.m., The Loft, 1032 Broadway, Columbus Thursday Night Thunder of Live Music @ Wild Wing Cafe Every Thursday, 5:30 p.m., Wild Wing Cafe, 6525 Whittlesey Boulevard, Columbus Want to see your event listed here? Email events@thelocalcolumbus.com

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FITNESS WITH COACH LILY-G

SWEAT for it, HONEY

By Lily Hall Lily G the SweatQueen

A

s a “fitness professional,” I understand that the average person doesn’t love the gym. Or lifting weights. Running, spin classes, yoga. Crossfit, or aerobics. I know that, and that’s ok with me. What isn’t ok with me is our country’s rapidly increasing obesity rates and dwindling health.

According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is the leading global cause of death, accounting for 17.3 million deaths per year, a number that is expected to grow to more than 23.6 million by 2030. Heart disease strikes someone in the U.S. about once every 43 seconds. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States, killing over 375,000 people a year. Heart disease is the number one killer of women, taking more lives than all forms of cancer combined. This is unacceptable. The worst part is, I didn’t have to dig deep to find those statistics. You’ve heard them all before. Healthcare professionals have been drilling this into our heads for years. “Fast food is bad, stop drinking sodas, don’t smoke, get your exercise in, go to your yearly checkups, eat healthy” yada yada yada. You’ve heard it. Yet, here we are.

Becoming unhealthier by the minute as a nation, fully informed on how to fix things, yet following the same patterns we’re forbidden to follow.

Why is that? Because of the approach.

Finding and claiming your health can mean so many things. Internal, mental, emotional, physical, or psychological. I think that everyone assumes you have to completely change your lifestyle in order to get healthy, and while that is the case over an extended period of time, that isn’t the case you have to start with. Small changes can make a huge difference, and you don’t have to jump into a five day a week gym program to get into shape. You don’t need to follow a bodybuilder’s diet in order to lose weight and improve your body composition. In fact, I actually recommend not changing everything at once.

I don’t want people to feel intimidated anymore. I don’t want the fear of the unknown to be the reason our country’s health is failing. I want the average person to get up and get moving for 30 minutes a day. Does that mean you need to go run 3 miles? Nope.

Does that mean you have to go take an expensive spin class with the cast of Wicked and the Knicks cheerleaders? Absolutely not. Go walk (with your pup for extra bonus points) around the block everyday for a week. In a week, add another 10 minutes to your route. Choose to walk to lunch instead of drive. Do yard work this weekend for an hour or so. I just want you to #sweatforit.

My mission for the #sweatforit campaign is to encourage all of my readers, followers, friends, and family to find something to sweat for. Health should be everyone’s number one reason, but if it isn’t, then what is? What do you sweat for?

Fitting into your bridesmaids dress in two months?

Being able to go to Disney World with your family and not have to take breaks to catch your breath?

To show your kids that practicing healthy behaviors and exercising is important no matter what your age?

To overcome your cardiorespiratory disease caused by poor diet and lack of exercise?

Whatever your reason is, #sweatforit.

Don’t go to the nutrition store, buy 67 different supplements, meal prep for a week, and pack your gym bag ready to go for the next morning. While all of those things are wonderful, they aren’t going to change your life. Unless you are incredibly dedicated and have an uncanny amount of willpower, it likely won’t last. If anything, it is likely to overwhelm you and turn you even farther away from a healthy lifestyle.

Just. Move.

Change one thing in your life. Start with your water intake for your daily habit, and use #sweatforit as your physical motivation for the month. Everyone needs a starting point.

Tell the world What Makes You Sweat. I want to watch you all dig deeper to start moving. Not just because it’s good for you. Not just because a weird girl in this magazine told you to. But because you have a reason to increase your physical activity.

Because you have a mission to accomplish and a goal to reach.

So tell me: how will you #sweatforit? u www.lilygfit.com • instagram.com/lilygfit • facebook.com/LilyGFit

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Monday Sunset Group Run @ Jarfly Hosted by Vikena Yutz of Project 42 Running. All paces welcome for fun routes through the neighborhoods of Midtown. Reflective gear and a headlamp are recommended. Stay afterwards for a beer, craft cocktails and delicious food. Feel free to chat with Vikena about her training programs. Every Monday, 6 p.m., Jarfly, 1358 13th Street, Columbus Dance Lessons Let’s Dance Ya’ll of Columbus host dance lessons every Monday. Country Line lesson begins at 6 p.m., and ballroom begins at 7 p.m.. Cost is $5 per person; no partner required. Every Monday, 6 - 8 p.m., Hilton Terrace Baptist Church, 2236 Warm Springs Road, Columbus Up Close... and Funny!

Produced by Jerry Farber and James Etchison. Wednesdays at 7:30 PM. $5 cover.

For reservations, call Jerry at 404.414.6667 or James (334) 444-0879. Lemongrass Thai and Sushi, 2435 Wynnton Rd.

Lena Start Parenting Class Free class, free parenting kit, free books and lunch. Lena Start classes help parents and caregivers of infants and toddlers close the talk gap. Together with your class, you’ll explore practical strategies to start more conversations with children. Lena’s engaging curriculum will teach you brain-building talk skills through instructional videos, peer-group sharing, printed resources and self-reflection. Call (706) 3216322 to register. Every Wednesday, 11 a.m., South Columbus Public Library, 2034 South Lumpkin Road Wednesday Sunset Group Run All paces welcome, dogs and strollers, too. Recommended to wear reflective gear and a headlamp. Enjoy a different route every week, a great way to explore Columbus. Afterwards, meet at Iron Bank Coffee for $2 drafts, coffee or other tasty beverage of your choice. Every Wednesday, 6 p.m., Big Dog Fleet Feet, 1200 Broadway, Columbus Marvelous Mushroom Stroll Join a ranger for as 1/2 mile trail walk to discover native fugi in our woodlands.

Learn to ID common ones and all about their special adaptations. $3 correct change at the site. Meet a picnic shelter below dam in the campground. Event is not stroller accessible. Every Thursday, 9:30 - 10:30 a.m., Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park, 2970 GA Highway 190, Pine Mountain, Ga. LGBT Diversity and Support Group Colgay Pride and Counseling Solutions of Columbus bring specialized individual and group counseling for transgender, gay and lesbian Columbusites and their friends and family. Every Thursday, 7 p.m., Corporate Center of Columbus, 233 12th Street Saturday Sunrise Pancake Breakfast Run This sunrise group run is an invigorating way to start the day, explore Columbus and watch the sunrise. All paces welcome. Stay after for pancakes, then head to Iron Bank for some coffee. Every Saturday, 6 a.m., Big Dog Fleet Feet, 1200 Broadway, Columbus Yoga for All: a donation-based class This is a drop-in class designed for all. No matter your yoga experience, your background, your history. Whether you are a current RFY member, old member, or have never stepped into a yoga studio. All walks of life are encouraged to join. Class is one hour and designed for all levels. A $5 cash only donation is appreciated, but not required. Please wear comfortable, breathable clothing that you can easily move in. Every Saturday, 11 a.m., River Flow Yoga and Wellness, 6801 River Road, Columbus Cultivating Compassion and Loving-Kindness Each evening we will hear talks on cultivating compassion and loving-kindness for ourselves and for others as we then practice these meditations together. For more information, contact Joanie at jrandras1@gmail.com. Open to the public. No charge, LocaL

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however, donations to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship appreciated. Aug. 5 & 12, 6:30 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Columbus, 8827 Heiferhorn Way WILD Social Night Come join us for our monthly meetup at Jarfly, where we have a chance to catch up with one another, talk about past trips and learn about upcoming adventures! This is a great time to come meet many of the ladies involved with WILD, and to bring a gal pal that might be interested in joining us! Aug. 7, 5 - 8 p.m., Jarfly, 1358 13th Street, Columbus Chattahoochee Challenge Olympic Triathlon and Duathlon This is a great race to gauge your fitness level or to transition from a sprint and half distance race. The swim is a two loop, 500 meter, down-river swim in depths no greater than six feet. Duathletes start with a two-mile run. The bike route is smooth and flat, and the run route will take you along the scenic Phenix City Riverwalk and into Historic Columbus. Aug. 10, 7:10 - 11:30 a.m., Woodruff Park, 1000 Bay Avenue, Columbus Try Hockey for Free Open House and Equipment Drive Join the Chattahoochee Hockey Association as they kick off the 2019-2020 season with fun and games.

Bring your gently used equipment to sell to other CHA families. Try Hockey for Free begins at 8:30 a.m. and runs until 10 a.m., after which the rink will be open for skating. Aug. 10, 8:30 a.m. - noon, Columbus Ice Rink, 400 4th Street The Grand Columbus Whitewater Paddle Now in its 6th year, this celebration of environmental stewardship honors the vision, leadership and conservation efforts of Columbus, demonstrated in the removal of two outdated mill dams and the restoration of the Chattahoochee to its natural flow. Join the Georgia Conservancy and Whitewater Express as they take on the rapids and celebrate the incredible conservation efforts made by the City of Columbus. Aug. 10, Whitewater Express, 1000 Bay Avenue, Columbus Lakebottom 5K Join the Junior League of Columbus at our annual Lakebottom 5K, a fun event for the whole family! In addition to the 5K and 1-mile races, we will have a Tot Trot, bounce houses, face painting and a baby rest stop, complete with diaper change and breast feeding areas! Registration is $30 until August 15; it will be $35 on race day. Aug. 17, 6:30 - 9:30 a.m., Lakebottom Park, 18th Street, Columbus Celebration of Life Butterfly Release Party If you have a family member or friend that has been on the journey of cancer come and celebrate them on August 10th at the Columbus Botanical Gardens. Considering sponsoring a butterfly in honor of someone and then come and release it in the gardens! Aug. 17, 9 a.m. - noon, Columbus Botanical Garden, 3603 Weems Road Chattahoochee Valley Walk Kickoff Please join us as we kick off the Chattahoochee Valley Autism Speaks Walk season! Learn about the impact your fundraising has on Autism Speaks’ mission to enhance lives today and accelerate a spectrum of solutions for tomorrow. In order to help you reach your Walk goals, Autism Speaks staff and Walk committee members will present team recruitment and fundraising tips. You will be able to pick up resources, network with others, and stay after to enjoy the Oxbow Center! Questions? Please contact Autism Speaks: GeorgiaWalk@ autismspeaks.org or (770) 451-0570. Aug. 17, 10:30 a.m. - noon, Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center, 3419 South Lumpkin Road, Columbus Free Clinic: Outdoor Cooking During the clinic you will learn the different methods of outdoor cooking from canister stoves, open fire cooking and outdoor ovens. We will also build our own alcohol stoves and learn about safety and first aid surrounding outdoor cooking. This free Clinic is open to women and held at the Spencer Environmental Center, located on the corner of 12th Street and 3rd Ave downtown Columbus, just one block before the Post Office. Street parking is available, and you can enter the Spencer Environmental Center (it is a big yellow historic house) from the front gate on 12th. Aug. 21, 5 - 8 p.m., Spencer Environmental Learning Center, 303 12th Street, Columbus Dog Days of Summer Doggy Swimming Day $5 entry for dogs to have fun and swim in the Double Churches Pool. Entry fees will be donated to local rescues, who will attend the event. Shelters will be on site for adoptions. Aug. 24, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., Double Churches Pool, 2300 Double Churches Road, Columbus Cool Pool End of Summer Splash Music, food, games, contests and activities for the whole family. Regular pool admission. Aug. 31, 1 - 3 p.m., Liberty Bell Pool, Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park, 2970 GA Highway 190, Pine Mountain, Ga. 4th Annual Labor Day Classic 10K Part of the Sizzling Summer Series of races, all proceeds benefit MercyMed of Columbus. Post-race party with free cookout, prizes, music and giveaway. Sept. 2, 7:30 - 9:30 a.m., Big Dog Fleet Feet, 1200 Broadway, Columbus Little Sprouts Join the Columbus Botanical Garden for a program that gives the littlest visitors (ages 0 through 5) and their caregivers a chance to learn, explore and garden with activities developmentally appropriate. $5 per family.

Sept. 3, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m., Columbus Botanical Garden, 3603 Weems Road Want to see your event listed here? Email events@thelocalcolumbus.com LocaL

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La-Z Boy Home Furnishings & Decor Family-Owned & Committed To Service

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By Tom Ingram

or husband and wife team Susan and Bryan Evans, La-Z Boy Home Furnishings and Decor (Columbus Park Crossing) is all about family and service. Bryan’s parents opened the store in 2002 and hired their son as a warehouse laborer.

As his parents built a reputation for customer service excellence, Bryan earned his way to delivery driving and eventually to the showroom floor, learning every facet of the business from the ground up.

In 2013, Bryan married Susan, and she came to work with her husband in 2015. Bryan and Susan operate the business together, with Bryan focusing on the operations side and Susan on Susan, Bill, Cindy & Bryan Evans what she calls “the people side.”

“We’re literally a mom and pop operation,” Susan said, “times two.”

Susan and Bryan represent the best in family-owned business operations. They work closely with the Columbus Ronald McDonald House and treat their employees as part of their extended family. We asked La-Z Boy associate Vangel what she likes about working with Susan and Bryan.

“The people, the product, very family-oriented,” Vangel said.

“It’s a great family that works with my family. How much time you got?”

After decades of producing innovative, top-quality furniture, people today will call just about any recliner a la-z boy--the same way we use Q-Tips for cotton swabs or Band-Aides for adhesive bandages. But not all recliners are made equally, and Vangel has a lot of reasons to love the products she helps place in customers’ homes.

La-Z Boy recliners have seven features exclusive to their products, all engineered with your comfort and convenience in mind.

All of the furniture at our local La-Z Boy comes out of two factories, one in Mississippi and the other in Tennessee, and the construction quality is superb. Backing up that quality is an industryleading warranty.

Vangel and the other expert associates connect customers with furniture and accessories in a no-pressure sales environment. Susan and her team are dedicated to helping customers in a consultative way to make

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selections for their home, and they are here for you every step of the way. “Our focus is on providing the best customer service before you buy, while you buy, and after you buy,” Susan said.

The La-Z Boy team understands how important your home is, and the furniture and decorations we put into our houses so often makes those houses homes. To help customers make the most of their spaces, La-Z Boy has a full-time interior designer on staff. Using state-of-the-art 3D planning software, the interior designer is here to work with clients to meet their specific needs. From sofas to bookends, the La-Z Boy interior designer helps you bring everything together for an attractive and comfortable space. La-Z Boy also offers delivery and installation on all of their products. At La-Z Boy, customers can enjoy expert consultative customer service, hands-on help with design, and expert installation. It’s a complete concierge furniture buying experience.

One of the many reasons we at The LocaL like to highlight locally-owned business is because we see every day how much they give back to their communities. La-Z Boy Home Furnishings & Decor proudly helps the Ronald McDonald House provide a place for families to call home so they can stay close to their hospitalized loved ones. The Columbus Ronald McDonald House currently operates ten rooms and provides food and lodging for guests. Ronald McDonald Houses are operated to feel as much like home as possible, a warm counterpoint to the institutional feel of the hospital. Guest rooms and shared living areas are cozy, and volunteers prepare meals.

Ronald McDonald House is also a very busy place. Rooms are rarely vacant for long, and after 25 years, the original furniture in our local House was starting to wear out. So La-Z Boy jumped in. Their interior designer has redesigned every room with comfort in mind, and the business is providing furnishings for all ten existing rooms at cost.

Susan and Bryan are also helping to furnish four new bedrooms, so the House can help even more families stay close. They are also helping with the dining room, one of the most-used rooms in the House. The goal is to make staying in the Ronald McDonald House feel like visiting family, and the La-Z Boy family is hard at work doing exactly that.

You can help, too. Volunteers are always welcome, but for those with less time to offer than we’d like, there are a number of ways you can contribute to this wonderful cause. Cash donations allow the House to flexibly meet their weekly needs, and pantry items, paper products, individually packaged snacks, and frozen casseroles are always in high demand. We spoke with assistant director Tiffany Bamberger, who told us about the many different ways you can help the Ronald McDonald House. Visit rmhc. org for more information on all the different ways you can contribute, and follow our local Ronald McDonald House on Facebook (@ RMHCWG), where Tiffany gives weekly updates on the most-needed items.u

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Family Storytime We love families that read together. Join us for this program dedicated to families with young children (birth to 5 years) as we sing, play games, and most importantly, read great stories aloud. Every Monday, 10:30 a.m., South Columbus Public Library, 2034 South Lumpkin Road, Columbus Trivia at The Tap Every Monday, 9:30 p.m., The Tap, 1024 Broadway, Columbus Trivia at Billiards Every Tuesday, 8 & 11 p.m., Billiards on Broad, 1111 Broadway, Columbus Bingo Night at Wicked Hen Join the dynamic duo, April Norris and Jeff Griffin, for bingo night at Wicked Hen. Every Tuesday, 7 - 10 p.m., Wicked Hen, 1350 13th Street, Columbus Chess: Unplug from the Computer for Chess’s Sake Chess imitates life. Watch the moves you make. Learn winning strategies for chess and life from encouraging community mentors. Every Tuesday, 4:30 p.m., Mildred L. Terry Public Library, 640 Veterans Parkway, Columbus Free GED Classes Do you wish you had your high school diploma? Let Columbus Technical College staff help you earn your GED in free, convenient afternoon classes. Don’t put your future on hold. Call (706) 243-2782 to get started. Every Tuesday and Thursday, 3 - 6 p.m., Mildred L. Terry Public Library, 640 Veterans Parkway, Columbus Preschool Storytime Let’s start getting ready for preschool. In this storytime, we will develop literacy skills by reading books aloud, reciting rhymes together, playing games, singing songs and more. Every Wednesday, 10:30 a.m., Mildred L. Terry Public Library, 640 Veterans Parkway, Columbus ASL: Family Sign Language This is an introduction and opportunity to learn and practice basic signs and sentences. The goal is to become comfortable with American Sign Language and explore new ways to make friends. Every Wednesday, 4 p.m., Mildred L. Terry Public Library, 640 Veterans Parkway, Columbus Game Night at Panera Enjoy an evening of fun gaming. Whether a first-timer or a gamer extraordinaire, we’ll have games that are fun for you. Come and go as you like, event is free. Every Wednesday, 6 p.m., Ranera Bread, 6301 Whitesville Road, Columbus Come As Ya’ll Are (LGBT and Friends) Y ’all means all, and we wish to welcome all to a special evening at Bare Roots to eat, drink, and integrate our entire community in good health, good vibes, and love.

This is your opportunity to come as y’all are for a relaxed evening hosted by Colgay Pride for open and honest conversations, as well as strengthening our connections with one another.

The culture of Columbus, Phenix City, and the Chattahoochee Valley is evolving, and it is very important to collaborate on and discuss the issues and needs that will bring us all closer to unity, so we can co-create a resilient and thriving future.

Every Wednesday, 6 p.m., Bare Roots Farmacy, 105 12th Street, Columbus Otaku Club Teens ages 12 to 18. Do you enjoy manga, anime or Asian culture? Then join the library as they explore all three through fun activities and anime watch parties.

Every Wednesday, 4:30 p.m., South Columbus Public Library, 2034 South Lumpkin Road Baby Story Time Baby, it’s time to read. This story time, designed specifically for babies and those LocaL

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just beginning to walk, is the perfect introduction to books, stories and music.

Parents will take on the role of their baby’s first teacher. We’ll listen to stories, sing, move around, play with toys and more. Every Wednesday, 11:15 a.m., Mildred L. Terry Public Library, 640 Veterans Parkway, Columbus Wicked Hen’s Trivia Night with April Norris The hilarious April Norris will host this fun-filled evening. Fill up a table with your team or play as an individual. Prizes for winners. Every Thursday, 6 p.m., Wicked Hen, 1350 13th Street, Columbus SBDC StartSMART Designed specifically for new business owners and serious entrepreneurs ready to start a business, SBDC Start SMART provides the resources and support to help put your dreams within reach. The program will help you build a business for today’s challenging times. Questions? Email columbus@georgiasbdc.org or call (706) 569-2651. Every Friday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., The University of Georgia SBDC, 3100 Gentian Boulevard, Columbus Saturday Morning Walking Tour One hour stroll along the brick-laden stretch of Broadway and its robust Uptown district. Hear the stories that helped transform Columbus from the wild western frontier settlement of Georgia into the “Jewel of the Chattahoochee.” Reservation required; vicinitytours.com Every Saturday, 9 a.m., Vicinity Tours, 1006 Broadway, Columbus Toddler Time at Launch Toddler time is set aside for children five and under to jump and enjoy the park. $10 pays for one toddler plus one guardian for the two hours. Every Saturday, 10 a.m., Launch Trampoline Park, 7607 Veterans Parkway, Columbus Click, Clack, Type Meet the ‘home keys’ before you meet homework. We can help your preschooler prepare to type. Call (706) 243-2782 to reserve a 30 minute slot. Every Saturday, 10 a.m., Mildred L. Terry Public Library, 640 Veterans Parkway, Columbus Harry Potter Night at the Library Join us for a magical night of crafts, trivia, photo ops, and other various activities.

All ages are welcome and costumes are more than encouraged. Come with a team or be sorted when you get here. It’s magical fun for the whole family. We solemnly swear we’ll be up to no good. For more information please call (706) 243- 2782 or email mlt@cvlga.org. Aug. 6 & Sept. 3, 6:30 p.m., Mildred L. Terry Public Library, 640 Veterans Parkway, Columbus Bingo Night at Mr. Wing Prizes and drink specials all night. Aug. 6 & Sept. 3, 7 p.m., Mr Wing Sports Bar & Grill, 4519 Woodruff Road, Columbus Page Turners Book Club Join every month for lively book discussions of eclectic titles. New members always welcome. This month: A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf. Aug. 10, 1- 3 p.m., Mildred L. Terry Public Library, 640 Veterans Parkway, Columbus Hooks & Needles Crochet and Knitting Club Do you love to crochet or knit, or have you always wanted to learn? Join us and meet fellow crafters, learn new techniques, and show off your creations. All ages and skill levels welcome. Aug. 10, 3 p.m., North Columbus Public Library, 5689 Armour Road Uno, Dos, Tres, Craft!

This program introduces Spanish to children with hands-on learning. Through crafts and stories, concepts such as numbers, colors and animals are used to explore a new culture. Aug. 10, 3 p.m., Mildred L. Terry Public Library, 640 Veterans Parkway Let’s Let Off Some STEAM in Our Library This program fits both the engaged and reluctant teen. It’s a safe space to explore interests and strengthen academic and social skills. Aug. 13, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., Mildred L. Terry Public Library, 640 Veterans Parkway, Columbus Getting Lender Ready Class If your answer is no, then this is the class for you! The objective of this 1-hour workshop is to help participants gain a better and more clear understanding of what lenders look for when potential borrowers are seeking a loan. Don’t wait.

Seats are limited! Sign up today. No cost. Call (706) 569-2651. Aug. 14, noon, Cunningham Conference Center, 3100 Gentian Boulevard, Columbus Goals Over Gossip Networking Soiree Join Kristen King for her quarterly networking party. Enjoy interactive activities, guest AUG UST 2019

speakers, great music, cocktails and unlimited networking. Gather your business cards, pamphlets and simples, and enjoy a great evening out with other area entrepreneurs.

Aug. 15, 7 - 9 p.m., CIRCA Craft Cocktails, 900 Front Avenue, Columbus Frequency Vibes Silent Party Introducing Frequency Vibes to the tri-city, this silent party gives everyone 21 and up a chance to vibe with each other or in their own world. Three different DJs will represent three styles of music, and party-goers can switch their headphones to the music of their choice. Alcohol will be served, so bring your IDs. Aug. 15, 10 p.m.

- 3 a.m., Pop Uptown, 1234 Broadway, Columbus Forever Young Adult Book Club Are you a little more “A’ and a little less “Y” but still love a good YA novel? This is the book club for you. Aug. 16, 7 p.m., Midtown Coffee House, 1342 13th Street, Columbus Level Up: From Aspiring Author to Published Author Whether you’re an aspiring author looking to get to the next level or you’re already published and trying to figure out your next move, this free masterclass is for you.

Aug. 17, noon - 3 p.m., Columbus Public Library, 3000 Macon Road The 10th Annual Salute to Soldiers Gala and Silent Auction August is always Gala month for the National Infantry Museum Foundation.

The special black-tie evening, hosted by the 1775 Society, includes a cocktail reception, silent auction, delicious dinner, and dancing. With a different theme each year, guests look forward to this popular event. The theme this year is Light Up the Night: The NIM Turns 10! The Gala committee is soliciting items for the 2019 silent auction, including trips, experiences and local art. If you would like to donate an item to the auction contact Jane Bayer at 706-685-2604 or jbayer@ nationalinfantryfoundation.org. Aug. 17, 6 - 11 p.m., National Infantry Museum, 1775 Legacy Way, Columbus Columbus Comic Book and Toy Show Enjoy a special Sunday full of comics, toys, costume characters and more. Admission $5; includes all the normal CCSSC exhibits and simulators, plus all the fun Show vendors. Ages 8 and younger are free with a paid adult. Aug. 18, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., Columbus State University’s Coca-Cola Space Science Center, 701 Front Avenue Coffee & Creatives: For Women in Business and Leadership Sometimes the good vibes of good people are all we need to get started on that little thing that’s been keeping us up at night. With an array of ambitious and powerful women, kinky coils to silky straights, like most, you will leave Coffee and Creatives rejuvenated, connected and ready to create. Aug. 19, 6 p.m., Iron Bank Coffee Company, 6 West 11th Street, Columbus

Want to see your event listed here? Email events@thelocalcolumbus.com

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E du c at e s Innovative Education Programs Build Skills For Teachers & Students, & Set The Community On A Path Toward Growth

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ince opening in 2002, RiverCenter for the Performing Arts in Uptown Columbus has drawn thousands of visitors for national tours of Broadway shows, concerts with world-renowned artists and innovative educational programs.

This month, we spoke with Norm Easterbrook, executive director, and Rick McKnight, education program director, to learn more about this year’s upcoming education programs. We first discussed RiverCenter on the Road, which brings curriculum-based shows and programming to classrooms and auditoriums. We also talked about the ArtsReach Matinees that showcase innovative presentations of literature and STEAM content. Norm and Rick also spoke with us about the broader educational and social mission of the RiverCenter, a mission that drives development throughout the community.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The LocaL: RiverCenter has two exciting educational programs, RiverCenter on the Road and Arts Reach Matinees. Why don’t we start by introducing people to RiverCenter on the Road?

Rick McKnight: RiverCenter on the Road is a program that we started after conversations with [Muscogee County School District]. They couldn’t always afford transportation nor the time that it took to come to the theater. So we came up with curricularly connected assembly shows where we could come to the schools. It zeros out transportation costs and saves instructional time while meeting curriculum standards.

For instance, there are two weeks where you could pick a STEAM museum. This might take place in a gym, with twelve maker’s spaces set up, and the whole school gets to rotate through there all day.

And there’s Ron Anglin, who’s a juggler. He’s a retired middle school science teacher and has a special needs child himself. He connects the laws of physics to juggling. He not only does a show, but he also teaches the children how to juggle, how to spin plates.

So they’re having fun while they’re learning scientific principles.

There’s Young Author’s Day, which is probably our number one show, and it’s all about literacy and writing. Everything that we do with RiverCenter on the Road is driven by the school district’s School Improvement Plan. Teachers have input into it, principals put it out and they present it to all the academic people at the school system.

Generally speaking, they want to increase literacy, they want to increase the childrens’ ability to organize thoughts, and write—very, very important, writing.

And the other big area is always going to be positive behavior. Learning to play well with others. Soft skills that you find that, in business today, they’re always looking for the person who has the soft skills.

Norm Easterbrook: That the School Board came and asked about this to fit this need is really important to know. The School Board should be credited for that because

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as resources have changed and shifted and the desire of employers for particular skills and talents has changed, there are certain subject areas that honestly can’t be addressed by any single institution. I think this is very much an example of how it takes a village to raise a child. It’s a partnership with a private organization and a public organization.

How do we meet our goals as RiverCenter together with the school board? It’s kind of like a two plus two is six arrangement because both of our missions are pushed even further than we ever thought we would push them.

RM: It’s interesting. This is our fifth year with this program, and we’ve been blessed to have the support of West Rock, who is all about conservation and the arts. And I think it’s a great thing that these programs are all over-subscribed. I have waiting lists already for these programs. It’s a show where, in the space of a morning, this artist can come in and run an assembly for Kindergarten through grade two, for example, or for grades three through five. Or he could have all the third grade, let’s say, come in and they stand in a circle and he talks to them about physics while using scarves and then bean bags to practice juggling—they never get to bowling pins.

We started the STEAM Museum program last year and we booked it for three weeks. And I thought, my goodness we couldn’t do it three more weeks this year. Well, we could have.

Same with the Young Author’s Program. It teaches the children about writing. It’s a mime. He comes in, he does his forty-five-minute program. He’s wonderful. He’s trained by Marcel Marceau. Then he gives the kids a writing assignment. So he makes friends with them and then gives them a writing assignment. So what happens in this mime skit? Well, there’s a couple of characters, there’s a problem and there’s a solution.

Just like in business. That’s what STEAM education is all about, in its simplest form.

He assigns them to groups, they go back to their rooms and write a little story. He comes around, takes off his makeup, works with them. They have lunch, and in the afternoon he’s read every one of the children’s writings. He pulls ten or twelve of them and he produces their show, their writings. So they, the students, are the Young Authors.

TL: Why don’t we get readers acquainted with ArtsReach Matinees? Maybe talk about some of your favorite upcoming shows.

RM: If you look down this list [Rick directs me to a full listing of ArtsReach programming, available XXX], if you are familiar at all with the very best in children’s literature, it’s here. It’s here. I went out and did a whole ton of career days this spring, and I just put up a slide with this [Dog Man] on it, and they blew up.

TL: I have and have read every single one of the Dog Man books.

RM: No kidding?

TL: I have an eight-year-old son. We love them. It’s one of his favorite series.

RM: It’s a comic book. We call them graphic novels now.

NE: I still call them comic books.

RM: Dog Man just premiered this week in New York. It’s a brand-new show. You know, it’s the same guy who did Captain Underpants.

TL: Another favorite in our house.

RM: So here’s the deal. If you’re going to ask a school to put in resources, you have to find ways to use these programs for the greater good. So now the phrase is ‘arts integrated learning.’ That’s the buzzword. What does that really mean for something like Dog Man? In Dog Man’s case, it’s the vehicle that’s the deal.

So it reaches children. He has a wacky sense of humor. It’s a dog and a man. It’s a comic book, it’s a graphic novel, so we’ll help kids to understand that vehicle. We send teaching artists into the schools. So, oh, you like Dog Man? Let’s make our own comic book, our own graphic novel. Or a digital story.

TL: Digital story?

RM: iMovie! It’s become a big deal with teachers now. And now there are teaching artists supported around the country. They will come into a school and they will help children make a digital story. We had it twice this past year.

So you look at this, you look at how we select these. Norman signs off on it, our programing director Jim Rutland goes everywhere to see these shows. We have The Snowy Day, I’m guessing you probably read those when your child was younger.

TL: Absolutely, another favorite.

RM: This is the fiftieth anniversary of Ezra Jack Keats writing The Snowy Day. Of course a big deal to that, the kids won’t think of it, but it’s the first time an African AUG UST 2019

American child was put as a mainline character in mainline literature. So this show is based on a bunch of Keats’ stories. And here’s the cool thing: this company uses shadow puppetry in its show. Let me tell you, children flip out. So arts-integrated. You teach them the arts standard along with the curriculum standard. That’s the whole deal with arts-integrated education.

TL: Because with these programs there are standards-based materials that students get prior to the show and to supplement learning after the show.

RM: We send it to them. And they can stay after the show, we have little talk backs, talk to the actors, come up on stage. To have a child be able to come to a venue like this, to look around, that’s important.

TL: In a space like Bill Heard, I’m sure that’s very new and impressive, especially for young children.

NE: And that’s really a big part of where we’re going with this. We hope the child comes to the show, is inspired by the show, and then as they grow up through the years they understand the importance of coming together to come to the theater. We love going out to the schools, and this also creates an environment where the kids have to--you know, I’ve heard some people say, ‘we can’t bring our kids; we don’t know how they’re going to behave.’ Well, so what? Bring the kid, that’s how they learn how to behave. It’s an outing, they get to sit together with their friends. I know all of the stuff Rick just detailed is important for the schools, but you looked at this title (Dog Man) and said you read this to your child. So you had the joy of sharing it with your child before the show was even heard of, and you’ll have the joy to bring your child to the theater and sit with your child and experience it in a completely different way on a completely different platform. What better way to connect with your child and teach the values of reading and observing and engaging in live performance.

TL: And so they also get to enter that live performance with all of the positive associations of us having read these books at home, so it carries over all of that good wholesomeness into this other environment that may still be very novel to them.

RM: And this school improvement plan, SIP plan, is about behavior. If a child has never been to a theater like this one, how are they going to know how to act? We send information on what to expect, expectations. It’s not about whether you clap between the movement of a symphony, that’s not it. Just being respectful and following directions, because that’s important. We have fourteen hundred kids to get in a 9:30 show and another fourteen hundred kids to get in afterward, safely. So it takes a village around here on show day. Same thing with these.

The Pout-Pout Fish, Sweet Chariot. Oh gosh, there’s such a great need for literature based on black history. This (Sweet Chariot) is going to be fabulous. This is a brand new show. This is based on the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s, which paid people to interview actual slaves. These are their stories told in spiritual form.

For fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth grade, that’s going to be fabulous.

This last one, What Do You Do With An Idea, is very STEAMoriented, about problem-solving.

The story of a kid, he has an idea, thinks it’s a great idea, everyone around him puts it down. Well, he figures out how to make it happen. In fact, the only STEAM-certified elementary school around here has taken this as their theme for the year, so they’ll incorporate their whole school, all the arts modalities—dance, theater, visual arts, music. It’s all about problem-solving. What do we do with a problem?

And there’s The Mayhem Poets, which is for middle school. It’s grunge poets, it’s rap.

That’s a happening thing. I don’t know if you know Jonathan Perkins from Fountain City Poetry Slam. He’s going to be one of our artists. These Mayhem Poets are incredible.

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artists to go into middle schools beforehand and create excitement, help students create their own performance pieces.

SWEET CHARIOT And then a representative from each middle school who will get to be workshopped by the Mayhem Poets and then be on the RiverCenter stage with them, which I think is pretty awesome.

TL: That’s another fascinating experience. It’s not just bringing students into the environment and acclimating them to the theater, but also putting them on stage. That’s a very special thing.

RM: We have a lot of Broadway shows that will have a kids role. You put that kid up there, prep them. To Norm’s point, they feel comfortable coming to the RiverCenter.

I go to schools and ask, ‘who’s been to the RiverCenter?’ and the hands fly up. That builds ownership.

TL: With the children and with the parents.

RM: Oh yes, you do something that excites the kids, it’s going to make a lasting impact. So everything drives this. The year starts with a teacher’s institute, which is a response to the school system looking for ways to inform teachers of how to use an arts modality in their regular teaching. This is not an arts teacher or a music teacher.

It’s not lecture-style or worksheets. It’s all hands-on, you have to do it together. It’s creative. This is the fourth year we’ve done this, and Muscogee County teachers come.

We have teaching artists, all certified by the Georgia Council for the Arts, who will spend most of the day giving teachers ideas, many of them tied to these shows, of ways to use the arts in their everyday teaching.

TL: We’re talking about using the arts in social studies and math and English.

RM: That’s right. But a lot of teachers don’t know how to do it. Here’s an example. We had a Martin Luther King, Jr. show here during Black History Month last year. We had eight schools want us to dive deep with them on it. One of the schools, MLK, has a big mural of King inside.

We chose as our theme ‘I Have a Dream, What’s Yours?’ We had a man who was a director, who knew Martin Luther King. He came and wrote what’s a poem using the words of Martin Luther King, and all during the week they talk about Martin Luther King and what he represented for that time, sixty years ago. They showed kids a picture of a water fountain, one side is cracked and nasty and the other side is beautiful. None of those kids believed that this kind of segregation ever existed. So you get to build an engagement with the children.

So they went on—here’s the writing—and answered ‘what’s your dream?’ They wrote it down and on Friday they had a performance. They brought in the music teacher for protest songs that the choir sang, and the art teacher with a huge banner the kids had made with their hands and arms on a background they had decorated. And they put this on for the rest of the school.

So it helps the teachers. It’s not that we go in and do something, we do this with the teachers. So the teachers learn sustainability and new ideas—they stay in the room.

TL: So it builds skills, it gives teachers new resources and ways to connect with students.

NE: And I think it combats something in our culture. I mean, we’re focused every day on a screen in front of us, and that doesn’t allow me to communicate directly with someone next to me. When you have something that’s encouraging and is an impetus to connect with someone else, it makes an impact. And I think sometimes we forget people learn through different channels, and you have to open up those different channels for them. I wasn’t great at math until I learned how to apply it. That’s what this does. It causes people to realize there’s a value to that skill and here’s the channel through which it’s going to help me.

RM: And if it’s evaluated, and it helps them improve on their assessments, then everyone is happy. It means they’re doing what they need to do, what they want to do. If you’re in economic development, you know that one of the first elimination questions continued on p. 18 AUG UST 2019

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Songwriter

is, ‘what percentage of your public school children in third grade reads at or above level?’ That’s one of the ten elimination questions that the Chamber of Commerce people will tell you. If kids can write, make their own graphic novel, they are also learning the skills of drawing.

TL: Learning to draw and sketch is important to visualize ideas. If you’re going to be an engineer or an architect, you have to visualize how all of these moving parts fit together. So it all crosses over MAYHEM POETS into a lot of areas.

RM: And it’s all integrated into special needs, too.

TL: I have several friends with children on the autism spectrum. They’re always looking for resources, new places they can take their kids. I saw a sensoryfriendly show listed. Can you tell us more about what to expect in those?

RM: It’s not looking for a surprise. So sometimes we’ll have, like a show this past year, we had a tactile tour. Kids, even some young adults, came in early, came up on the stage. They watched the scenery move. Talked to the actors. Saw the costumes. We’ll keep the lights up a little more, there won’t be any loud crashing.

NE: Really all the offerings we have here, to a pretty good degree, are sensoryfriendly for a broad spectrum of students. There are some theaters that get very intricate with that, which is wonderful. But I want to point out that Rick and Jim are very good at this: we bring people to this community and shows to this community that are very, very good at what they do. We have to know they have been successful in other communities or we don’t work with them. We check them out, we talk to other people who have presented these shows in the region and around the country. The product is reliable and the standards are very high.

TL: So you go far above due diligence.

NE: We care deeply that every young person who comes through the door gets a quality RiverCenter experience. Because that’s what they deserve.

RM: So educationally, it’s not just all of these shows. For our Main Stage shows, we will bring Complexions Dance. Those guys are wonderful. And here’s the thing: they’ll be here two days before their show, and we get to bring them to schools and senior citizens centers-NE: --after school programs, libraries-RM: Here’s the tale of that: they were here five years ago. We did the same thing.

We took them out to Girls, Inc. We gave them free tickets for a weekend performance.

A hundred-fifty eight family members—mom, dad, aunts, kids—showed up at the RiverCenter. That is absolutely jaw-dropping. So they saw people who look like them doing dance that was incredible. It’s like what they see on TV. Like Pilobolus, a dance company we’re going to have this year. They do everything in shadow. It’s shadow puppetry like The Snowy Day, but at a very different scale.

NE: For us, we have a broad demographic that we address through this. We access that on a whole variety of different levels. I think the benefits are clear with the school system, with the performance improvement they measure. But also beyond that, as part of economic development responsibility, having these programs here, at this quality level, in this facility, and in our school system, makes our community way more attractive to live and work in. The fact that we have this in a wonderful city that doesn’t have the traffic problems of larger markets makes Columbus very attractive to development. We have a younger generation of families and parents who are looking for these types of experiences. This supports and builds that. It’s forward-looking and contemporary, and I think it supports a lot of what the Chamber has in mind.

Creative, innovative workforce? You’re looking at it right here. I think it ties in with every component of the 2025 plan.u

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Showdown at

Previous Winner Becca Rae

B

By Anastasia Tikka

ack by popular demand, the Songwriter Showdown returns to Columbus. Singersongwriters from near and far will perform at Trevioli Lounge on Thursdays at 7 pm. The public is invited to enjoy the show and participate in the process by voting for their favorite songs.

This event always has a great turnout and is loads of fun.

The series of events will be the fifth time musicians have gathered to present original songs and support our local Songwriter’s Guild. This competition was previously held at The Loft and The Tavern. Six songwriters each night will vie for ten spots in the grand finale, which will take place on Sept. 5. The winner each week will receive $50 & will appear on WLTZ’s morning show, First News Today. The grand prize includes $500 cash from Covenant Woods, a new guitar from Everything Musical, a recording session at Bibb City Sound, and an appearance on American Guitar Boutique’s ‘No Cover’ show.

Contact nchristie@knology.net for information or to sign up to perform. The Columbus Songwriter’s Guild meets once a month; find more details on their Facebook page.

Past winners of the showdown were Lauren Michelle Miller for ‘Late in October,’ Becca Rae with ‘Wherever You Are’, Justin Belew for ‘Grandpa’s Nursery Rhyme,’ and Scott Singer for ‘Reno.’ Lauren went on to write for Carnival Music Publishing and now works for CNN; Becca Rae moved to Nashville and opened for Loretta Lynn; Justin built Bibb City Sound, a full production and recording studio here in Columbus; and Scott, who won the show last year, performed at the Opelika Songwriters Festival this year and writes daily.

Judges for this event are Miller Robson, Jan Humphries Hyatt, Kim Sammons, and Anastasia Tikka. Scott Singer and Gary Hatley will serve as alternates. Trevioli Lounge is next door to Trevioli Italian Kitchen. You are encouraged to arrive early and enjoy dinner before the show, or order a meal and take it to the lounge. There is no cover charge and there is a full bar. u

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By Tom Ingram

I n And Ou t Of Th e Fra m e

Two Sisters Gallery Has Unique Gifts, Beautiful Art, And Exceptional Framing Services estled in The Village on 13th Street, Two Sisters N Gallery offers unique gifts, beautiful local art, and exceptional framing.

Frances Malone and sister Lucile Flournoy first opened their doors in 1997 on Peacock Avenue, and now for more than a decade have called The Village on 13th home.

Lucile, with her head for numbers, handles the business side, while Frances, with her experience and expertise, focuses on framing. Both travel the country looking for unique jewelry, pottery and other gifts for the front of the shop.

“I was lucky to work for Janet Kemp at Gardner Galleries,” said Frances Malone, co-owner of Two Sisters Gallery. “Janet was really serious about protecting the artwork”. From Janet, Frances learned the best methods for protecting art, and she has continued to grow her craft at trade shows, learning from industry experts.

“We care about what we frame” Frances said.

“Well-done framing will last longer than the furniture you buy, will last a lifetime.”

At Two Sisters, you will find art from local and regional artists that certainly deserves top-quality framing. Artists featured at Two Sisters include Susan Culpepper, Susan Dolan, Suzanne Reid Fine, Jo Farris, Millie Gosch, Booth Malone, Rani Garner, and Lee Brantley. If these names sound familiar, you keep up with local and regional art. Represented work comes in LocaL

a variety of techniques and styles, with something for everyone’s individual aesthetic.

You will also find unique gifts, including jewelry and craft pieces, like Smart Glass Recycled Jewelry from Atlanta artist Kathleen Plate, who uses glass products like Coca-Cola bottles to create beautiful,

one-of-a-kind pieces that wear perfectly with casual summer outfits.

Two Sisters Gallery is a fantastic shop to explore before dinner at neighboring Wicked Hen or before coffee at Midtown Coffee House. While you’re there, be sure to ask Frances about all of the wonderful things she and her staff can do with framing. In addition to your prized art and family pictures, Two Sisters is the perfect place to visit when you’re thinking about collecting treasured heirlooms into an

attractive shadow box or looking for the best way to preserve and display sports jerseys, military uniforms, christening dresses and more. With everything from traditional to contemporary molding and state-of-theart computerized matte cutting, Two Sisters Gallery will help you turn your ideas into a beautiful, expertlycrafted reality.u 20

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Half-Priced Wine

Every Tuesday, all day, Houlihan’s, 800 Front Avenue, Columbus

Taco Bar Tuesdays

Come enjoy a Tuesday fiesta at Bare Roots Farmacy when hey swap out the salad bar for taco fixings. Your pick between meat or vegetarian style, and dress them as you like. Dine in only. Every Tuesday, all day, Bare Roots Farmacy, 105 12th Street, Columbus

Trivia and Beer Night

Brush up on your knowledge of useful (or useless) facts with trivia. Enjoy prizes and great friends. Every Thursday, 7 - 10 p.m., Chattabrewchee Southern Brewhouse, 709 4th Avenue, West Point, Ga.

Steak and Brew Night

Enjoy cut-in-house ribeyes or cauliflower steak served with a craft beer, select wine or other beverage of your choice. All steaks come with a daily side item. Every Thursday, 5 p.m., Bare Roots Farmacy, 105 12th Street, Columbus

Weekend Brunch at Bare Roots Farmacy

Every Sunday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., Bare Roots Farmacy, 105 12th Street, Columbus

Catfish ’n Karaoke

Catfish specials until midnight, kid’s karaoke until 8 p.m. Fun for family and friends. Every Friday, 5 p.m. - midnight, Backyard Bar & Grill, 7633 Lee Road 240, Phenix City

Uptown Happy Hour Tour

Two hours, three restaurants and bars, featuring appetizers and signature drinks. Fun for everyone ages 21 and up. Hosted

by Columbus Eats Food Tours. Every Friday, 5:30 p.m., The Black Cow, 115 12th Street, Columbus

Bites of Uptown Food Tour

You’ll stroll through the beautiful tree-lined streets of Uptown Columbus. You’ll stop at five to six local eateries to sample some of the best food this town has to offer. You’ll leave satisfied, educated, and entertained. Every Saturday, 11 a.m., My Boulánge, 111 12th Avenue, Columbus

All Day Happy Hour

Every Sunday, 10 a.m., Houlihan’s, 800 Front Avenue, Columbus

City Farm to Market

This is City Farm to Table pop-up market. We will have available all your favorites from City Farmers Feast 2019 including Roasted Beet Hummus. We will be accepting pre-orders for each item. Aug. 10, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., The Liberty Theatre Cultural Center, 821 8th Avenue, Columbus

Wine Down Wednesday

Join for a mid-week ‘wine down’ every second and fourth Wednesday of the month, featuring happy hour drink specials, guest artists, networking opportunities and more. DJ Gio has the soundtrack for the evening. Hosted by Solow. $5 cover.

Food available for purchase. Aug. 14, 7 - 10 p.m., The Compound Event Center, 4261 Macon Road, Columbus

Pups and Pints

Come out and help us celebrate our 10th year serving the Chattahoochee area! With your continued support we can continue to do so for many more years. We will have Live Music, craft beer, and door prizes. It will be a blast and we hope to see you there! Aug. 16, 5 p.m., Chattahoochee Brewing, 505 13th Street, Phenix City

The Wiseguy Kitchen Show Live

Award-winning chef Vincet Fiore stars in this Broadway-style comedy and music live cooking show. This mobster-themed show feature a hilarious cast, incredible musical performances, and a chance to sample the freshly cooked cuisine of Vincet Fiore. Fine dining dinner included with ticket price. Cash bar. Adults only. Call (813) 786-2011 for tickets. Aug. 16, 6:30 p.m., Columbus Convention and Trade Center, 801 Front Avenue

Brunch with Chef Quawn

Enjoy great food, music and conversation at The Place with Chef Quawn. Find tickets on Eventbrite; $25. Aug. 17, 11 a.m.

- 2 p.m., The Place, 1828 Midtown Drive, Columbus

Victorian Tea

Holly Wait, Executive Director, will provide a brief program on the roles, abilities, and accomplishments of women during the Civil War era. As always, we will serve delicious scones, pastries, clotted cream, and period petit fours along with a variety of hot teas and cool lemonade. The tea and program will last about 2 hours. Aug. 24, 1 - 3 p.m., National Civil War Naval Museum, 1002 Victory Drive, Columbus

Want to see your event listed here? Email events@thelocalcolumbus.com

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