WALTER Magazine - April 2018 by waltermagazine

APRIL 2018

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Reaching new heights

MONICA RICH KOSANN

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FEATURES

Volume 6, Issue 7 APRIL 2018

70 62

STORY OF A HOUSE Home in: The Bonds by Jessie Ammons photographs by Catherine Nguyen

AT THE TABLE Michael’s English Muﬃns by Dean McCord photographs by Geoff Wood

WALTER PROFILE Turan Duda and Jeﬀ Paine by J. Michael Welton photographs by Jillian Clark

DESTINATION WALTER Penland School of Crafts by Jonathan Ammons photographs by Nick King

ARTIST IN STUDIO Boulevards by James Hatﬁeld photographs by Gus Samarco

104 AFIELD Prairie Ridge Ecostation words and photographs by Addie Ladner

86 On the cover: Jamil Rashad, who goes by the stage name Boulevards; photograph by Gus Samarco

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DEPARTMENTS

130

52 52

OUR TOWN Game Plan: Mr. GroomRoom The Usual: Raleigh Astronomy Club Shop Local: CompostNow On Duty: Swanson Clock Collection by Catherine Currin, Katherine Poole, and James Daniels photographs by Madeline Gray and Travis Long QUENCH Flask & Beaker by Catherine Currin photographs by Keith Isaacs

12 | WALTER

GIGS G. Wesley Williams by Catherine Currin photographs by Madeline Gray

108 GIVERS 3 Irish Jewels Farm by Addie Ladner 113 WALTER EVENTS WINi 130 END NOTE Canine Close-up by Leslie Maxwell

IN EVERY ISSUE 14

Letter from the Editor

Contributors

20 Your Feedback 22 The Mosh 24 Raleigh Now 38 Triangle Now 119 The Whirl 128 Scribo

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EDITOR’S LETTER

hings are looking up. If you’ve been to the downtown warehouse district lately, you’ve seen it quite literally: Union Station and The Dillon are both nearly finished, and there’s a few-block span constantly abustle with construction activity. Writer J. Michael Welton tells us about the vision for the latter in this issue’s profile of architects Turan Duda and Jeff Paine (read more on p. 70). The end result is certainly an exciting addition to downtown’s cityscape, and the result of world-class work headquartered here in the Triangle. Musician Jamil Rashad has recently decided to base his work here, too. The R&B singer, who goes by the stage name Boulevards, hails from Southeast Raleigh and first made his debut at Hopscotch music festival before decamping to New York City in pursuit of recording success. He found it, and yet for his latest album, it took moving home to wrap the record. The energy of Raleigh is at a sweet spot, Rashad says (read more on p. 78). Boulevards’s smooth funk sound makes for upbeat, easy listening, a pure fun addition to Raleigh’s creative culture. In this issue, we have a number of stories about longtime Raleighites and just plain fun parts of the city. We tour a serene downsized house (p. 62), learn about Nature Play Days at one local park (p. 104), and appreciate the decadence of a properly made English muffin (p. 86). There are thrilling art exhibits (p. 24 and p. 30), the Full Frame Film Festival (p. 38), a barber on a mission (p. 52), and the self-proclaimed “Mr. Raleigh” (p. 95) to learn about. We also introduce you to the dynamic women who will join us next month, just before Mother’s Day, for WALTER’s first WINi, an afternoon of empowerment and community for women across generations (p. 113). It’s a busy time of year with much to look forward to, and I hope these pages inspire you to head out and explore.

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Raleigh’s Life & Soul EDITORIAL

PUBLISHING

VOLUME VI, ISSUE 7 APRIL 2018

Editor

General Manager

JESSIE AMMONS

DENISE WALKER

Design Director LAURA PETRIDES WALL

Advertising Account Executives CRISTINA HURLEY JULIE NICKENS KAIT GORMAN

Associate Editor CATHERINE CURRIN Community Manager KATHERINE POOLE

VP Strategic Sales & Partnerships ANNIE ALEXANDER

Contributing Writers JONATHAN AMMONS, JAMES DANIELS, JAMES HATFIELD, ADDIE LADNER, LESLIE MAXWELL, DEAN MCCORD, MIKE WELTON

Advertising Design and Production DENISE FERGUSON

Contributing Photographers MADELINE GRAY, KEITH ISAACS, TRAVIS LONG, GUS SAMARCO, GEOFF WOOD

Circulation JERRY RITTER BRIAN HINTON Administration CINDY HINKLE

Published 10 times a year by The News & Observer Publishing Co. A McClatchy Company 215 S. McDowell St., Raleigh NC 27601 WALTER is available by paid subscriptions for $15 a year in the United States, as well as select rack and retail locations throughout the Triangle. For customer service inquiries, please email us at customerservice@waltermagazine.com or call 919-836-5660. Address all correspondence to: WALTER Magazine, 215 S. McDowell St., Raleigh NC 27601. WALTER does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. Please contact editor Jessie Ammons at jammons@waltermagazine.com for freelance guidelines. © The News & Observer. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of the copyright owner.

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CONTRIBUTORS

APRIL 2018

GEOFF WOOD /

ADDIE LADNER / WR I T ER

P HOTO G R A P HE R

Originally from the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Ladner has happily called Raleigh home for the past 8 years. “It was ﬁtting that both my stories, in different ways, touched on the beauty and importance of childhood, since my husband and I are in the throes of raising our own young children. Proﬁling the work Erin O’Loughlin is doing for kids and teens with autism in Wake County for this month’s Givers column was both eye-opening and inspiring. I hope it sheds light on the need for more resources to support families who have kids with special needs in our area.”

There’s too much adventure out there and too many incredible people to work with, says this photographer, and his plan is to dive headﬁrst into life behind the lens. At the end, he says, he hopes to look back with a close family, deep friendships, and scars and shots that show the adventure. This month, he captured At the Table. “Waking up at the baker’s hour can be a difficult task. But when Michael’s English Muffin’s are on the line, I’ll gladly suffer!”

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J. MICHAEL WELTON / W R I TE R The writer covers architecture, art, and design for national and international publications, including Dwell, Ocean Home, and Metropolis. Welton is also the architecture critic for The News & Observer, edits a digital design magazine, and authored Drawing from Practice: Architects and the Meaning of Freehand. In this issue, he wrote about architects Turan Duda and Jeff Paine for the WALTER Profile. Welton first met the two at the new Wellness Center at Duke University. The “light-drenched, music-filled experience” led him to take a deeper look at Duda|Paine’s work. “I wanted to know where their brand of modernism was rooted and where it’s going.”

GUS SAMARCO / P HOTO GR A PH ER Born and raised in Brazil, Samarco has been living in Raleigh since 2000 and photographing since 2010. He worked with musician Jamil Rashad for this month’s Artist in Studio. “I wanted to incorporate things that would speak about Raleigh so I engaged a few local businesses to help me stamp some of Raleigh on this shoot,” he says. Of the cover photo, “I had initially planned the rooftop shot to have a beautiful sunset in the background, but nature had different plans. The clouds closed in and forced me to look up to the sky for inspiration, and I was very happy with the unexpected background offered by the clouds.”

courtesy of contributors (WELTON, WOOD, LADNER); Bryan Regan (SAMARCO)

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@waltermagazine A beautifully written story of a very inspiring family. –@dollyreverdesigns (Profile, March, p. 74) Loved reading the story today. You are all so positive and inspirational!!! –Kris Young Jackson (Profile, March, p. 74) Thank you @waltermagazine & @hamptonwilliamshofer for the beautiful profile on Chris & his ALS journey. –@teamchriscombs (Profile, March, p. 74) What’s your #MondayMotivation? Ours is seeing one of our micro-entrepreneurs (King) featured as the cover story in WALTER Magazine! –@powerthedream (Artist in Studio, March, p. 100) Thank you @waltermagazine for sharing the artists, the artwork, and the stories that help make #Raleigh great! –@raleigh_arts (Artist in Studio, March, p. 100) King! Going to find that magazine! – Leigh GriffinHarris (Artist in Studio, March, p. 100) YAS @joebunn !! –@ruthgers (Game Plan, March, p.54)

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“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.” –William Shakespeare

WALTERscope Aries March 20 - April 19 Taurus April 19 - May 20 Aries and Taurus, this is your month. The ram and the bull unite in April, with ﬁre and earth signs, respectively. Both signs are determined and assertive, so maybe you’re teaming up for one of this month’s runs or races around town. You can take your independent and adventurous spirits to the many spring activities blooming in Raleigh – whether it’s yoga, a concert, or a ﬂea market, embrace the weather and explore your own backyard.

ROSTOCK RENEWAL

Why not... Be the ﬁrst to taste new Red Bull Organics ﬂavors, launching exclusively in Raleigh this month…catch a baseball game as seasons open…support refugees at the Soup For Syria’s pop-up event April 8...visit the Charlotte’s Spring Bridal event April 19 at Cameron Village…peruse the Raleigh Garden Club’s annual plant sale April 26 - 28…invest in an artful umbrella from NCMA’s gift shop...try Durhambased dentist-made Tom and Jenny’s sugarfree candies…

LEADING WITH LANDSCAPE

SWEET SIXTEEN Fashion ﬁx satisﬁed April 20 at N.C. State’s 16th annual Art2Wear. A2W presents wearable art and fashion from 12 local designers, most of them students at the College of Design. Students make up the bulk of the event planning team, too, along with faculty advisor Justin LeBlanc, who is a former contestant on Project Runway and NCSU alumnus. 7:30 p.m.; $30 per ticket; 2610 Cates Ave.; design.ncsu.edu art2wear

22 | WALTER

One of Raleigh’s sister cities, Rostock, Germany, is celebrating its 800th anniversary. In celebration, Raleigh lovebirds with a travel bug can take part in the campaign Say YES to Rostock: enter to win a vow renewal vacation including boat trips, concerts, and a town parade. Submissions for the contest end April 15. raleighsistercities.org

FLOWER CHILD You can take a walk on the wild side at Moorefields in Hillsborough April 14. The annual wildflower hike with botanist Milo Pyne explores undisturbed nature and Piedmont wildflowers. 10 a.m. - 12 noon; $5 suggested donation; moorefields.org/events

You can get the inside scoop on Raleigh’s urban planning this month. The Cultural Landscape Foundation will host an all-day conference April 13 called Leading with Landscape IV: Transforming North Carolina’s Research Triangle. The day will feature local leaders like Mayor Nancy McFarlane, Duke’s Mark Hough, and Dix Park planner Kate Pearce. The Hunt Library at N.C. State will be ﬁlled with conversation about greenways, landscape, parks, and design. 1070 Partners Way; tclf.org; $275 per person, $75 for students

Adobe Stock (WALTERSCOPE); Robert Willett (SWEET SIXTEEN); Keith Isaacs / Red Bull Content Pool (SODAS); Adobe Stock (FLOWERS); Adobe Stock (RENEWAL); Ben McKeown (LANDSCAPE)

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QUOTED

Portraitist Margaret Bowland on her debut at CAM

“I

was born in Burlington, North Carolina and then I went to UNCChapel Hill. At that point in time, the ﬁgure was sort of forbidden in formal art education. It broke my heart. I had been to Governor’s School in Winston-Salem and I expected, when I got to college, to learn how to paint like what I saw at museums.

24 | WALTER

Tangled Up In Blue (THIS PAGE); White Fives; Nakednes; Isn’t It Romantic; Dust Up (OPPOSITE PAGE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT)

Spott ligh

APRIL “I had one professor, he would let me go to the back of the studio and I would paint whoever would sit for me. I would give them the painting (in return) because I had no money. “… I tell you, one of the things that saved me was the state museum in Raleigh (now the North Carolina Museum of Art). … I would stand in front of paintings and read a lot, and go back, and find out how to make those pictures. It took years. It’s been something, boy. “I now teach at the New York Academy of Art, a graduate school. It’s beautiful to give students something like what you wish you’d had. It’s healing. “… My work is figuration. As a painter, if you don’t find support somewhere, and ultimately some public support, you can’t go on. You just can’t. “(This month’s exhibition at CAM will be Bowland’s first solo museum show in North Carolina.) Oh honey, this is huge. Are you kidding me? My relatives are coming out of the woodwork. My high school friends from Walter Williams High School in Burlington are all coming to see it. It is a big deal to have my work accepted here. This show has been a labor of love and I am so grateful.” Margaret Bowland: Painting the Roses Red opens at CAM Raleigh April 6. The show brings together a selection of Bowland’s works from the past decade that explore identity and cultural expectations. The exhibition will be on display through June 17. To learn more: camraleigh.org/exhibitions.

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“Margaret often paints her subjects with their face or other parts of their body covered in paint. This act of concealment, this act of transformation by way of paint, is a metaphor for the way in which the world attempts to change people’s identity and keep them from being exactly who they are. … Her work is about the pressures that society puts on people. And ultimately, her ﬁgures, even though they’re covered in paint, still have a certain level of power and level strength that comes through in the painting.” –curator Dexter Wimberly

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RALEIGH NOW

6-21 The Honest Pint Theatre Company presents The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, a one-person show, at Leggett Theatre on the campus of William Peace University April 6 - 21. The play was originally adapted for the stage and performed by James Lecesne, based on his young adult novel The Absolute Brightness. The Honest Pint production showcases veteran Raleigh actor David Henderson, who portrays every character in a small New Jersey shore town rocked by the mysterious disappearance of a bright and vivacious homosexual boy. A story of love, faith, and humanity with a stirring score by songwriter Duncan Sheik, this oﬀ-Broadway sleeper hit is absolutely radiant. See website for show dates and times; $20 general admission, $15 students under 25; 15 E. Peace St.; honestpinttheatre.org

6-8

ROCK-Y ROAD Rock and roll in hot for Raleigh’s most jamming road race. The Rock ’n’ Roll Raleigh Half Marathon and 5K is back downtown April 8 with a new and improved experience. This year there’s more music – tunes at each mile marker – and increased course support, like vivid mile markers and a post-race recovery area. Bring a fan section for opportunities to engage along the course, including grandstands at the finish line for all the cheers. There’s a health and fitness expo at the Convention Center Friday night and headlining band SUSTO at Red Hat Amphitheater Saturday night; the 5K and 1-miler kick off at Dorothea Dix Park Saturday morning and the half-marathon and relay kick off downtown Sunday morning. For those about to rock, we salute you. See website for event information, registration, and participant costs; runrocknroll.com/raleigh

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Adobe; Liz Condo (ROAD)

UNBEARABLE BRIGHTNESS OF BEING

Juli Leonard (PETAL); illustration by Preston Montague (ROSE)

APRIL

7 PETAL PUSHERS Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, it’s time for Raulston Blooms!, a garden festival for all ages April 7 at the JC Raulston Arboretum at N.C. State University. Enjoy the grounds in full bloom, shop for your garden, learn from experts, and take part in hands-on garden and nature activities. Highlights include: the JCRA Spring Plant Sale; the 18th annual birdhouse competition; and talks by local gardening celebrities Bryce Lane, N.C. State horticulturalist, and Mark Weathington, Arboretum director and author of Gardening in the South. There will also be local artists and craftsmen on hand, food trucks, and N.C. State Howling Cow ice cream to cap oﬀ an afternoon of tiptoeing through the tulips. 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.; free for members and college students, $5 for nonmembers, $10 per family; 4415 Beryl Road; jcra.ncsu.edu

A ROSE IS A ROSE IS A ROSE If he sends yellow roses, does it mean he’s just not that into you? Instead of the he-loves-me/he-loves-me-not pluck test, find out the blooming truth April 12 at Art Happy Hour: The symbolism of flowers with Preston Montague. Art Happy Hour is a monthly series at Artspace that cultivates interactions with art and artists in a fun and relaxing setting. The artist of the hour in April is Preston Montague, a landscape designer, educator, and artist known for his botanical illustrations (like the one pictured above). He will share the secret meaning behind favorite blooms while participants sip wine, enjoy refreshments, and create botanical illustrations of their own. Say it with flowers. 7 - 9 p.m.; ages 21 and up; $25 members, $35 nonmembers; 201 E. Davie St.; artspacenc.org/art-happy-hour

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RALEIGH NOW

SPOTLIGHT

Back by popular demand... Master Photographer & Owner of Classic Kids Photography, Julie Floyd, will be returning to Raleigh April 11-13, 2018! Don’t miss this rare opportunity for an indoor/outdoor boutique photoshoot at the home of Martha Schneider, Owner/Designer of La Maison. Julie will be capturing your child in either black/white or color within a studio-style or organic, outdoor setting. Call today to book your photoshoot appointment

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THINKING BIG Enloe hosts student-run TEDx

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wo ambitious teens want to foster positive dialogue at their high school. Enloe Magnet High School hosts its own TEDx conference this month featuring 13 speakers, a mix of students and community leaders, who will share personal stories about the theme More than what meets the eye. Sophomore Ann Goulian says the theme is especially about ﬁghting pervasive stereotypes, every day in high school culture and beyond, post-graduation. She worked with fellow sophomore Sophie Hill and teacher Megan Justice to coordinate the panelists. “We felt that this theme was representative of our school, city, and neighborhood. We want to take the stereotypes that we are surrounded by all the time, and turn it into something that’s positive.” Thanks to diligent fundraising, the after-school event April 13 will be free and open to the entire Enloe staff and student body. The girls plan to continue this throughout their time at Enloe, and are excited by the response they’ve gotten from their peers. “We hope students get something out of it, are inspired by our fellow students, and –Catherine Currin learn something about each other,” says Goulian. instagram.com/tedxenloehigh

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Adobe; courtesy rhiannongiddens.com

APRIL

13-15

SONGBIRD

LADY LIKE Give a holler to your mama and your mama’s mama; it’s time for the Southern Women’s Show. Y’all come on down to the N.C. State Fairgrounds April 13 - 15 for two days of shopping, sampling, sipping, and savoring the latest trends in beauty, health, food, fashion, home decor, and fun. Special guests include Vern Yip from TLC’s Trading Spaces and celebrity lifestyle inﬂuencer Savannah Chrisley. Bless your heart if you miss this girl party. See website for full schedule, show hours, advanced ticket sales, and admission prices; 1025 Blue Ridge Road, southernshows.com/wra

North Carolina’s own Rhiannon will ring like a bell through the night and wouldn’t you love to see her? The Pinecone Piedmont Council of Traditional Music and Broadway Series South grant that wish when singer-songwriter Rhiannon Giddens appears at Raleigh Memorial Auditorium April 14. The Grammy-winning virtuoso and co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops will perform songs from her endeavors as a solo artist – music with a masterful blend of traditional American gospel, blues, and jazz. 8 p.m.; $32 - $43; 2 E. South St.; dukeenergycenterraleigh.com

Learning IsA Blast! From the earliest years, children learn that Ravenscroft is a place of warmth, of belonging, and of exciting new discoveries. We meet every child where they are and as they explore a new world of people and ideas, we take them by the hand and make sure their journey is one of wonder and joy. Discover why children love it here!

Join us! Call our Admissions Office to schedule a tour: 919.848.6470, or visit www.ravenscroft.org. 7409 Falls of Neuse Road Raleigh, NC 27615 919.847.0900 www.ravenscroft.org

RALEIGH NOW

SPOTLIGHT BRIGHT AFFAIRS

East Building, Level B; free to members and college students, $20 nonmembers

LET THERE BE LIGHT

NCMA opens its largest special exhibition to date

CMA’s special exhibition space that is usually home to ﬁve shows has been taken over by one. Beginning April 7, you can experience You Are Here: Light, Color, and Sound Experiences, an enwrapping installation from contemporary artists worldwide. The installation will expand to the lobby and facade of the building, as well as through the Goodnight Museum Park. Linda Dougherty, chief curator at the museum, says there’s a wide range of technology within the art that includes light, color, sound, and video. “Some pieces are almost ‘low tech,’ while some use the most cutting-edge electronic technology out there.” The work of the 15 artists will be on display un-

30 | WALTER

til July 22, and Dougherty says the contributors take inspiration from each other. “There’s a range of very well-known artists as well as younger emerging artists who have been inﬂuenced by the older generation. Each artist has their own individual space or room, and you’ll see in a direct way how the younger artists were impacted.” The most unique aspect, she says, is the immersive nature of the exhibit. “It changes the way you’re going to experience art. In this case you are going to walk into a room and experience art all around you, and some of the art doesn’t complete itself until you somehow interact with it.” –Catherine Currin Read more about exhibition events this month at right.

IMMERSIVE YOGA The museum will host yoga classes in the Intersections gallery. Bring your own mat and dress comfortably for this unique and mindful experience. All skill levels welcome. $13 members, $15 nonmembers; visit website for times

To learn more: ncartmuseum.org/ exhibition/you_are_ here_light_color_and_ sound_experiences

courtesey NCMA

UP ALL NIGHT You are Here opens with an all-night expereince April 7. You can come to the museum from midnight to 10 a.m. and enjoy an array of activiities: comedy, games, meditation, yoga, and dancing. There will be a cash bar as well as snacks throughout the night. All activities are ﬁrst come, ﬁrst served.

APRIL

17-22 courtesy North Carolina Theatre; courtesy eagles.com

SHINE ON In 2013, Steve Martin and Edie Brickell collaborated on the Grammy-winning bluegrass album Love Has Come for You. Their combined star power fueled Bright Star, a musical inspired by the album. Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains post-World War II, the play follows the life story of journalist Alice Murphy. North Carolina Theatre and Broadway Series South brings this down home production to local audiences for the ﬁrst time April 17 - 22. With settings in Asheville, Zebulon, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh, this star will shine brightly for Carolinians. See website for show dates and times; $23 - $82; E. South St.; nctheatre.com/shows/bright-star

17-24 TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT Coming to PNC Arena this month: legends of rock ’n’ roll. Desperadoes, on steel horses they ride – wanted. The Eagles bring their signature harmonic Southern California sound to Raleigh April 17. Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit are joined by Vince Gill and Deacon Frey, the son of Glenn Frey, for a memorable journey back through the band’s beloved catalog of hits. 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees Bon Jovi arrive in a blaze of glory April 24. Enough said. Parking lots open for both shows at 5 p.m. for pregaming. Parking fees apply. Take it easy, fans can rock both shows. Eagles 8 p.m., Bon Jovi 7:30 p.m.; see website for ticket prices; 1400 Edwards Mill Road; thepncarena.com

SPOTLIGHT

INVITING ART Little Art Gallery celebrates 50 years

alk into the unassuming Little Art Gallery in Cameron Village, and you’ll be immersed in a world of paint and pottery. The shop is chock-full of artwork and crafts, lining the walls and stacked throughout. Owner Rosanne Green Minick prefers it that way, she says. She remembers when her mom opened the gallery in North Hills when she was 11 years old. Today, Minick takes inspiration from her mother’s vision by curating directly with artists, the majority North Carolinian, and offering a variety of price points that celebrate art of every kind. “What makes us unique

from the traditional gallery is the mixture of craft within the art.” The gallery moved to Cameron Village 18 years ago, and Minick says she’s thrilled to be carrying on her mother’s legacy as one of the oldest galleries in the Raleigh area. “We have a 30-dollar bowl right next to a 5,000-dollar painting, and that’s the way my mom did it,” she says. You can celebrate the 50 year milestone with the gallery at its party April 14. –Catherine Currin Anniversary party: April 14, 2 - 6 p.m.; 432 Daniels St.; littleartgalleryandcraft.com

Laura Petrides Wall

RALEIGH NOW

APRIL

C E L E B R AT I N G

YEARS

19 Jason Garner (OLD); Adobe

FEEL OLD What’s old is new again when The Old 97s play the Lincoln Theatre April 19. The Dallas-based band is considered a pioneer of the mid-90s alt-country movement alongside bands like Uncle Tupelo, Drive-By Truckers, and Whiskeytown. Known for putting on a solid live show, Old fans will not be disappointed. 8 p.m.; $22.50; 126 E. Cabarrus St., lincolntheatre.com/event/old97s-2

21 PIG OUT-REACH The Catholic Parish Outreach Food Pantry of Raleigh invites you to pig out at their ﬁfth annual pig pickin’ and open house April 21. For over 40 years, the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Raleigh has provided vital services to our community through the CPO. Its food pantry is the largest in Eastern North Carolina, serving 8,700 people a month in Wake, Franklin, and Johnston counties. Come out in support and load up on homecooked pork BBQ, hot dogs, side dishes, cold drinks, and bake sale goodies as you enjoy live bluegrass music and fellowship. Helping our community never tasted so good. 4 - 7:30 p.m.; $10 per plate; 2013 Raleigh Road; cporaleigh.org

– A N N I V E R S A R Y–

SPOTLIGHT

INHALE, EXHALE Mindful triathlon travels to Raleigh

hen the Wanderlust triathlon kicks off at Dix Park April 21, there won’t be numbers written on arms or giant clocks ticking. “We’re a little more woo-woo than that,” says the event’s vice president Heather Story. “You set an intention for your run. … It’s mindful running, as opposed to competitive.” The mindful 5K, which participants can run, walk, or jog, is round one, fol-

lowed by a yoga class and a guided meditation. No biking or swimming here. Instead of rankings and awards, there are bonus activities such as aerial yoga, Thai massage, and bodywork. Postrace, you can refuel with a “Wanderbowl” of rice, beans, and avocado, while DJ Sol Rising spins mantra-infused beats. There’s also the Kula Market, a 60-foot geodesic dome full of wares like essential oils, organic food supplements, yoga accessories, and local crafts.

Wanderlust is a national traveling act and this is its ﬁrst time in Raleigh. Story says her team works with local wellness studios and yoga teachers to make the event happen, so the morning has a community feel. “The response has been amazing. The Wanderlust intent clearly resonates in the Triangle.” Lace up your sneaks and roll up your mat: You might make an accomplished triathlete yet. –Jessie Ammons

7:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.; tickets start at $30 for yoga and meditation only, start at $40 for the entire triathlon, and are $99 - $150 for all-inclusive packages including a custom yoga mat and other gear, priority bonus activities, and post-race fuel; wanderlust.com/raleigh

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courtesy Wanderlust Festival

RALEIGH NOW

Be well addressed...

2728 courtesy Brewgaloo; Alexis L. Richardson, Sampson and Delilah, 1990

BREWGALOO

Say cheers to N.C. beers. Shop Local Raleigh presents North Carolina’s largest craft brew festival, Brewgaloo April 27 - 28. The festival features two events: Friday night is the Brewgaloo Block Party at Raleigh’s City Plaza. It’s a ticketed event featuring sample pours, food trucks, DJs, and a special brewing demo. Designated drivers get in free. On Saturday, Brewgaloo will be happening on Fayetteville Street with over 90 breweries. Beer is sold by the ticket and are available in advance (recommended for avoiding long lines) or can be purchased at the festival. 6 - 10 p.m. Friday, 2 - 10 p.m. Saturday; $45 Friday tasting, by-the-glass tastes at open street festival Saturday; shoplocalraleigh. org/brewgaloo

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29 MIGHTY VOICES The North Carolina Opera presents Samson and Delilah at Meymandi Concert Hall April 29. Based on the biblical tale, the moving score by Camille Saint-Saëns is considered a classic example of French opera, perfectly distilled in Delilah’s tempting aria Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix. Please note: the performance lasts twoand-a-half hours with one intermission and will be sung in French with English surtitles. 2 p.m.; $26 - $98; 2 E. South St.; ncopera.org

Runyon Tyler III 919.271.6641 runyon.tyler@bhhsysu.com BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.%AE Equal Housing Opportunity.

SPOTLIGHT

LOST & FOUND Raleigh woman researches and recovers her family’s stolen art from World War II

aleighite Alexandra Cardarelli didn’t know much about her grandmother’s history, other than the fact that she lived through the Holocaust. After seeing a TV ad about millions of stolen life insurance policies during that time, something sparked, and Cardarelli began

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to investigate if her grandparents had been impacted. In the two decades since, Cardarelli has unearthed family treasure. Her greatgrandparents, the Neumanns, of Vienna, Austria had most of their belongings conﬁscated by Nazis in 1938. Years ago, Cardarelli says her grandmother was told

most of their things and valuables were burned. As it turns out: A piece of 17th century art, The Invaded Poultry House by Adriaen Van Utrecht and Jacob Jordaens, had survived. To ﬁnd the painting, Cardarelli spent hours, over years, researching in the National Archives. “I picked up where

courtesy NCMA: van UTRECHT, The Invaded Poultry House, 17_2017 (PAINTING); courtesy Alexandra Cardarelli

RALEIGH NOW

APRIL

Above, from top left: The Neumann family of Vienna, Austria; Cardarelli is researching to recover her family’s 11 other stolen works, listed above.

Cardarelli researches other families’ stolen objects from the Holocaust in her spare time, she says, and she hopes this success inspires others to research their own relatives. “It may be a needle in a haystack, but everyone needs to know that you can’t give up.” –Catherine Currin

my great-grandmother had left off in the early 1960s. My family was reluctant, this (period in history) wasn’t talked about by Jews, but I just kept digging.” With the help of the Monuments Men Foundation, which had recovered the art in the 1940s and 1950s, Cardarelli eventually tracked down the painting in the basement of a museum in Linz, Austria. This museum is home to the largest collection of stolen World War II art, and is also the site where Hitler planned to open a museum ﬁlled with stolen works. The painting was returned to the family in 2003, and underwent repairs and restoration at the National Gallery conservation center. Cardarelli wanted to share the art with the public, but its 7-by-10-foot dimensions prove a challenge. “I worked for decades to ﬁnd a museum to have the painting on loan. It’s so big, it was a problem for a lot of museums.” NCMA curator Dennis Weller had the perfect spot. The work is now on display in the Northern European Collection, where it will remain on loan through next year.

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LIGHTS, CAMERA …

Action at Durham’s international documentary ﬁlm festival

“D

ocumentary is no longer broccoli. It’s become one of the most popular parts of the ﬁlm world,” says Deidre Haj, director of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival that takes over downtown Durham each April. You can take part in the conversation April 5 - 8, when the festival presents nearly 100 international ﬁlms in more than six venues daily from 9 a.m.

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to 1 a.m. Despite the positively packed program, each screening’s atmosphere is intimate and inquisitive, and film creators are usually in attendance. “When you come to the festival, you’re able to talk to the filmmaker and very often the person in the film, and talk through the issues.” Many of the filmmakers hail from all over the world, and Full Frame is distinct in the international community it brings

to Durham each year. It was one of the first festivals in the nation to be recognized as an Academy Award qualifying festival, which means films that win a juried Full Frame award also become eligible for an Oscar nomination. “The profile of the festival has risen,” Haj says. Increased recognition and support has enabled Full Frame to expand beyond this month’s main attraction weekend and to double-down on its commit-

APRIL

TAKE 3

Lucy Stefani; Charlotte Claypoole

A bit of local insight about three titles upcoming at the Full Frame Film Festival banner weekend: OWNED, A TALE OF TWO AMERICAS Filmmaker Giorgio Angelini is a former Durham resident. He lived there during a stint with The Rosebuds, a Merge Records band.

ment to the local Triangle community. “Besides the four-day event, we’re a year-round program now. We’re screening every month. We’re not just screening in Durham – we’re in Cary, we’re in Raleigh. We really do serve the entire Triangle region.” Many of the monthly screenings are free and complement summer programs and other educational initiatives. The commitment to local education and access is evident in the main festival weekend, too. While this month’s 21st annual celebration is ticketed, it always concludes with a free community screening on Sunday. Throughout the weekend, you can see local ﬁlmmakers’ work (learn more in sidebar at right). And new this year is a Sunday-only day pass, created with nearby residents in mind, be they movie novices or buffs. “Sunday is traditionally the day that many of our outside visitors have to leave,” Haj says. “For the Tri-

THE JAZZ AMBASSADORS The ﬁlm’s historical advisor, Adriane LentzSmith, teaches history; African and African American studies; and gender, sexuality, and feminist studies at Duke University.

angle, it’s a great opportunity to come down to the landscape. … Sunday is a lot of fun if you’re local you think, ‘hey, I want to dip my toe in and see what Full Frame is all about.’” –J.A.

MAYNARD This ﬁlm includes a short segment about Maynard Jackson’s attendance to North Carolina Central University Law School. Producer Dolly Turner’s grandparents are North Carolina natives.

Weekend-long passes and ticket packages are $100 - $325; Sunday pass is $25; fullframefest.org

APRIL 2018 | 39

TRIANGLE NOW LOCAL HANGOUT

4-8 MAD SKILLS Hone your outdoor expertise at the Piedmont Earthskills Gathering April 4 - 8. The event hopes to spark discovery in nature and build a sense of community. You can camp out or bring your RV to Pittsboro for a weekend of activities and classes like ﬁremaking, pottery, and nature awareness. Breakfasts and dinners are included in the ticket price, with food truck lunch options at an additional cost. $17 - $236; 1439 Henderson Tanyard Road, Pittsboro; piedmontearthskillsgathering.com

Eat, drink, and be local at the ﬁrst annual North Carolina Wine & Beer Festival at The Farm at 95 in Selma. This farm-to-glass and farm-totable event rounds up North Carolina craft brewers and winemakers to pair with chef-inspired menus from locally sourced food. Bring a blanket or lawn chair for a day of sipping, savoring, and chilling. Shop specialty wares from local vendors and artisans and enjoy live music from the main stage. VIP tickets are available for purchase and grant ticket-holders early festival access at 11 a.m. and admittance to a VIP area with additional food and drinks. Be a local hero and support our state’s hardworking farmers, grape growers, and brewers. Proceeds from the festival beneﬁt The Foundation of Hope in support of research and treatment for mental illness. 12 noon - 6 p.m.; $25 - $65; 215 Batten Road, Selma; ncwineandbeerfestival.com

courtesy Piedmont Earthskills (SKILLS); Adobe Stock (LOCAL)

APRIL

RUMBLINGS TONBO RAMEN Noodles and dumplings are no stranger to downtown Raleigh. But its ﬁrst classic ramen shop has opened on Wilmington Street, serving to both lunch and dinner crowds. You can have your broth downstairs at lunch, or head to the second ﬂoor for saké after 4 p.m. Ramen Bar: Sun. - Thurs. 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. - Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 11 p.m.; 211 S. Wilmington St.; tonboramen.com

PIZZA TIMES Around the corner from Raleigh and Morning, the Times is growing. Pizza Times oﬀers grab-and-go slices and pies Monday through Sunday, and even a lunch special during the week. Feeling healthy? Add a kale caesar to your pepperoni slice with a drink for just 7 bucks. Mon. - Sun., 11 a.m. - 12 midnight; 210 S. Wilmington St.; raleightimespizza.com

GROWLER USA Enjoy a pint or take home a whole growler at the new brewpub downtown. Growler USA has opened up a new spot on Blount Street, pouring beers, ciders, and even kombucha. You can pair your brew with a wide array of eats: handcrafted burgers, wings, or an ahi tuna salad. Sun. - Thurs. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Fri. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.; 314 S. Blount St.; growlerusa.com

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SPOTLIGHT

OPEN GARDEN

Tour celebrates town and gown

hapel Hill’s college town-dom extends to a garden tour this month. The Chapel Hill Garden Club’s annual fundraiser takes on a “Town & Gown” theme April 27 and 28: The self-guided weekend allows you to explore the home gardens of UNC-Chapel Hill faculty, UNC President Margaret Spellings, and private Chapel Hill residences, as well as the N.C. Botanical Gardens and the school’s Coker Arboretum. “Besides touring gardens, there is quite a bit else going on,” says tour chair Anna DeConti. At each stop, “we have what we call accoutrements,” DeConti says. A handful of plein air artists will be on hand throughout the weekend at one residence; and President Spellings’s porch will host jazz combos and singing groups. There’s also a kickoff cocktail party at the N.C. Botanical Gardens Friday evening, when many of the tour stops’ owners will be in attendance. “We’re focusing on the collaboration between the town itself and the people who are at the university.” –J.A. Friday night party: 6 - 8 p.m.; $25 Garden tour: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday; $25 in advance and $35 day-of; chapelhillgardenclub.net/tour-home-page

Kathy Swendiman

TRIANGLE NOW

Opposite page: UNC President Margaret Spellings’s home is one of the stops along the Chapel Hill Garden Club’s annual tour. This page, from left: Joann Currier’s private botanical garden has been called an “outdoor museum of ﬁne plants”; allium in full bloom.

14 DON’T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH

10,27 SMOOTH OR CHUNKY?

Cat’s Cradle welcomes back two old-school indie rock groups with huge cult followings this month. Yo La Tengo brings their cool eclectic vibe to the Cradle April 10 and Chapel Hill’s own Superchunk hits the stage April 27 sharing tracks from their ﬁrst album in four years, What a Time to Be Alive. What a time to be alive, indeed - two great tastes that taste great together. Yo La Tengo 8:30 p.m., Superchunk 9 p.m.; $16 - $24; 300 E. Main St., Carrboro; catscradle.com

FRANK Gallery invites you to the eighth annual Off the Wall Gala. And when they say off-the-wall, they mean it. Guests take art right off the gallery walls. Here’s how this popular event works: with the purchase of an Art Ticket for $450, patrons are entered into a random drawing system to choose a piece of art from a selection of available pieces (including the photo by John Rosenthal pictured above). Companion and patron tickets are available at lesser price points, but the real fun is in heisting the best art. Live music, cocktails, and food enhance the excitement. By evening’s end, the FRANK walls may be empty, but support for the event ensures they will be filled again with fine art by local artists. 6 p.m.; $150 - $500; 201 South Estes Drive, Chapel Hill; frankisart.com

“Giving back to our community is both a responsibility and an honor. The chance to uplift missions of importance is a part of the incredible service core our community needs. Marta’s is a place that celebrates that service! Marta’s gives us the chance to make a difference in our community, while celebrating the best in ourselves! And for that – Marta’s matters.” Kristye Brackett, Transitions LifeCare and Marta’s customer

Learn more at MartasofRaleigh.com North Hills Raleigh Adjacent to Renaissance Hotel 919-788-4200

Godlis (TENGO): John Rosenthal, Loire Valley, France 2016, courtesy Frank Gallery (SUNFLOWER)

TRIANGLE NOW

APRIL

20-21

courtesy Goat Lady Dairy; courtesy Band of Oz

GET YOUR GOAT Every spring and fall Goat Lady Dairy in Climax opens the barn doors for a special dining experience. Dinner at the Dairy begins this spring April 20 and 21. Guests are welcomed on the porch for hors d’oeuvres and a tour of the farm. Dinner is served in the rustic dairy barn, where guests are treated to a five-course meal featuring meat, cheese, seasonal vegetables, and herbs from the dairy, as well as other local farms. The evening is capped off with coffee or tea and Goat Lady’s chocolate goat cheese truffles. Take note: The dairy is in a dry county, so bring your own beer or wine, should you like. 5:30 - 9:30 p.m.; $70; 3531 Jess Hackett Road, Climax; goatladydairy.com

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26 FOLLOW THE MELLOW BRICK ROAD Follow, follow, follow, follow…to the Follow Me to FuquayVarina Concert Series featuring Band of Oz April 26. The heart of downtown will pulse with the shimmying and shagging to the N.C. Hall of Fame-honored band, the wizards of Carolina beach music. Concertgoers can enjoy local brews and food trucks, while their munchkins retreat to a designated kids zone. Not welcome: coolers, wicked witches, and your little dog too. Fuquay-Varina is not some far-oﬀ fairy tale land, so why not ease on down the road? 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.; free; 102 N. Main St., Fuquay-Varina; fuquay-varina.org/fm2fv

SPOTLIGHT

SMALL MINDED

Pink Hill hosts a major celebration for minor dwellings

ead 18 miles south of Kinston along N.C. Highway 11, just past Deep Run, and you’ll ﬁnd yourself in Pink Hill, the epitome of small-town with a population hovering around 500. For one weekend in April, this quaint country outpost will get even smaller when it hosts the second annual Tiny House N.C. Street Festival April 27 - 28. Don’t let the diminutive title mislead you, tiny houses are a big deal. The small

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house lifestyle is a social movement – people making the conscious decision to downsize living spaces. Whether driven by concerns for the environment, ﬁnancial constraints, the desire to explore, or the freedom to live more simply, Americans are rethinking what makes a house a home. Festival founder Andrew Odom has given it much thought. Odom and his wife Crystal “built tiny” in 2009, he says, then traveled the country in an RV for

courtesy Modern Tiny Living (BLUE HOUSE) and Mandy Lea (FESTIVAL PHOTOS)

TRIANGLE NOW

two years before settling down in a more traditional “sticks and bricks” house to practice homesteading. As a vocal advocate for tiny house living, Odom wanted to bring attention to our state’s growing role in the movement. When it came to selecting a location, he ﬁrst considered the Asheville area, where tiny living has really taken root. But it was his love of Pink Hill and its supportive small town community, like festival partners Pink Hill Pharmacy and Gifts and Chef & the Farmer, that cemented his decision to think locally. The festival welcomes enthusiasts and the curious for a two-day immersion in small living. You can tour dwellings of all kinds: modern and fully customized mobile homes; box truck conversions and skoolies (converted school buses to the uninitiated); gypsy wagons; yurts; and even an itty bitty wedding chapel on wheels. There will be presentations about tiny living; a hands-on building experience with Deek Diedricksen, nationally

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renowned tiny house builder; and live music and food, including Vivian Howard’s food truck and barbecue pork plates from the Pink Hill Volunteer Fire Department. –Katherine Poole 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Sunday; $10 single-day pass, $9 senior and veteran single-day pass, $25 three-day pass; tinyhousencstreetfestival.com

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This Year...Elevate Your Vacation!

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N&O Archives (SILVER LADY); COURTESY SMOKEYROBINSON.COM

APRIL

28 DAZED AND ENTHUSED The 2018 Spring Daze Arts and Crafts Festival celebrates 25 years of art, food, and fun at Bond Park in Cary April 28. Spring Daze features over 170 artists displaying everything from paintings, photography, and sculpture to furniture, folk art, and jewelry. It’s a feast for the eyes and mouth, as well, with food vendors galore to satisfy any craving. Spring Daze also oﬀers visitors opportunities to participate in a bit of artful play. There is a children’s village for young explorers, a sports zone, and other sponsored activities to engage the mind and body, including FloraFFiti, a public artmaking project. Get lost in the haze of this creative daze. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; free; 801 High House Road, Cary; townofcary.org

29 SECOND THAT EMOTION The Motown rhythm-and-blues legend Smokey Robinson returns to the Durham Performing Arts Center for an intimate, one-night-only engagement April 29. His storied career spans 50 decades and his hit music continues to provide the soundtrack to our lives. Don’t miss Smokey, he’s a true miracle. 7:30 p.m.; $65 - $135; 123 Vivian St., Durham; dpacnc.com

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25-29 GAME, SET, MATCH End the month in your tennis whites as Cary Tennis Park hosts both the men’s and women’s 2018 ACC Tennis Tournaments April 25 - 29. There’s sure to be a spectacle with the Tobacco Road rivalry: the Blue Devil and Tar Heel women are both ranked in the nation’s Top 5. The matchups begin Wednesday at 9 a.m. and conclude with the championships Sunday, at 10 a.m. for women’s and 2 p.m. for men’s. 2727 Louis Stephens Drive; theacc.com/tournaments

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“What you did doesn’t justify who you are.” –William Winters, owner, Mr. GroomRoom

few years ago, William Winters might not have imagined he’d be employed, much less a local entrepreneur. A few milestones later – namely, overcoming addiction and living sober – he’s giving back to the community through a simple act:

the haircut. Born and raised in Raleigh, Winters had a brief stint on the basketball team at North Carolina Central University as well as in the United States Navy. Along the way, he says, he experienced homelessness and suffered from addiction. After a few years on the streets and encounters with the law, “I ﬁnally looked in the mirror and had to snap back to reality,” says Winters. He went to a rehabilitation center a decade ago and has been sober ever since. With his feet back on the ground, two years ago Winters opened his own business, a barber shop called Mr. GroomRoom. It began as a one-man-show on Wake Forest Road. Business was good, and within a year, he expanded and moved to his current location just off of New Bern Avenue. Today,

his shop is right across the street from the ABC store. Winters says the proximity underlines his full-circle journey: “I slept under the tree over there for two years.” Winters says he hopes to expand his space in the coming year; and while he continues to grow his team and business, he hasn’t forgotten his path and always strives to give back. Every Sunday, he says, he opens the shop to give free haircuts to the homeless. “I know what it feels like to get a haircut when you’re in that situation. It gives you a sense of conﬁdence.” That same conﬁdence has paid off for Winters. He’s one of the newest recipients of The Sports Shop radio’s Salute to Champions, along with community members like former Durham mayor Bill Bell. He’s also just been recognized as a 2018 honoree at the Celebrating Life Jazz Brunch in Greensboro, which acknowledges folks who have overcome challenges. While his latest activities have included receiving accolades for his transformation and community work, he says he really likes his day-in-day-out priority: “I just like to cut hair.” –Catherine Currin photograph by MADELINE GRAY

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Become part of the art. YO U AR E H E RE LIGHT, COLOR, AND SOUND EXPERIENCES

A P R I L 7 –J U LY 2 2 East Building, Meymandi Exhibition Gallery, and Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park

2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh ncartmuseum.org/here

Organized by the North Carolina Museum of Art. This exhibition is made possible, in part, by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources; the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation, Inc.; and the William R. Kenan Jr. Endowment for Educational Exhibitions. Research for this exhibition was made possible by Ann and Jim Goodnight/The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fund for Curatorial and Conservation Research and Travel.

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This month, the RAC hosts two public viewing events: Skywatching at Dix held at Dorothea Dix park April 7, and the Statewide Star Party at Annie Wilkerson Nature Park April 20. Pictured, from left to right: Phyllis Lang, Mark Lang, and Doug Lively. Phyllis and Mark Lang met in Astronomy Club, fell in love, and married.

“The show is on every night and it’s free.” –Phyllis Lang, Raleigh Astronomy Club member

t’s always looking up for the Raleigh Astronomy Club. The group evolved from an adult continuing education class in casual observing at Meredith College in 1977; the experience was so stimulating that the students decided to keep meeting. Today, the RAC has over 200 members in the Triangle, who meet twice a month to learn about and observe the stars. There are educators, landscapers, engineers, car repairmen, and even elementary school students. “(People think) you have to be an egghead to belong to the RAC and that is not the truth,” says co-chairman Doug Lively. “If you have a passion for astronomy, the door is open. It really doesn’t matter what your background is.” Nor does it matter what equipment you have. Most members invest in a good pair of binoculars, Lively says, and a perk of club membership is the telescope loaning program. Members can try out an array of equipment and get tips on the best gear for the skywatching they want to do. Tips come from the monthly gatherings. Of the club’s two meetings, one is always an outdoor viewing session; the other

is a lecture or lesson indoors at N.C. State University Crafts Center. The educational sessions bolster the starry sky scanning. Lively says he loves the transformative moment when a novice goes from “I don’t see nothing,” he says, to “having his socks blown off” the ﬁrst time he sees Saturn. RAC members have a galaxy of tips for budding astronomers, which they share through community outreach. Astronomy Day is the club’s main event, held every January at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Through a partnership with NASA’s Langley Research Center and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, the day brings astronauts, scientists, and a ton of impressive hardware together for two star-studded days. Last year’s event had more than 14,000 attendees. The RAC also works closely with Morehead Planetarium and Science Center and has a sister club in CHAOS, the Chapel Hill Astronomical and Observational Society. –Katherine Poole raleighastro.org photograph by TRAVIS LONG

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Mark Kirby President of Dixon/Kirby & Company “To prospective sellers, my advice is to listen to him. Van’s going to ask you to invest money you don’t think is necessary in order to give your house the best possible advantage in the cluttered marketplace. Do it! To prospective buyers, my advice is to listen to him. He understands the market exceedingly well. I’ve worked in home design and construction in Raleigh for almost my entire professional life, and I cannot put a price on his counsel. He has my enthusiastic, unqualiﬁed recommendation!”

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OUR TOWN

SHOP LOCAL

“You get to do all of this amazing work with your banana peel, just by setting it in a bin.” –Justin Senkbeil, co-founder, CompostNow

hree young entrepreneurs are making composting convenient. “Forty percent of the food we grow in the U.S. ends up as waste. So many people think they don’t produce food waste, and they’re surprised when they start our service,” says Justin Senkbeil. The service is CompostNow, founded by Raleighite Matt Rostetter in 2011 with the help of co-founders Senkbeil and Dominique Bischoff. The company’s weekly delivery and pick-up method is a way for those living without compost-pilefriendly yards (or the desire to take on home composting) to reduce household waste. You receive a small black, odor-sealed bin to toss food scraps in; once a week, set the bin out for pickup, just like the city trash or recycling bins. For every 10 pounds of waste, ﬁve pounds of composted soil is produced. Thanks to a partnership with Brooks Compost

Facility, which cultivates a huge, mature, compost pile, customers can compost more variety than in a backyard setup – including meat bones, dairy, and compostable cups and lids. Monthly subscribers can either receive their composted soil for gardening and planting, or pay it forward and donate to a local community garden or farm. Garden partners include Goodwill Community Foundation Farm and Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. Senkbeil says they’ve noticed substantial growth as cultural environmental awareness has increased. The business has grown beyond home pick-ups to downtown offices and restaurants, like Bida Manda and Raleigh Raw. There are also CompostNow hubs in other cities, such as Asheville, North Carolina. “We’re diverting waste, and creating soil. All locally.” –Catherine Currin compostnow.org photograph by MADELINE GRAY

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PRICED FROM THE $700’S

defining the good life

NORTH RALEIGH’S NEWEST LUXURY COMMUNITY Take a drive through the neighborhood and you’ll notice that it’s characterized by large 1-2+ acre heavily wooded homesites. A select group of custom homebuilders is creating a landscape of stunning homes with a variety of elevations and breathtaking views. Located near the intersection of Six Forks Road and Hwy 98, Falls Reserve residents enjoy the serenity of this prime North Raleigh location while having the convenience of being centrally located with easy access to all that Raleigh has to offer.

North Raleigh’s newest community is calling you home. Let’s get started building the home of your dreams.

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Directions to Falls Reserve: From I-540, take exit 11 for Six Forks Road North. Turn left to stay onto Six Forks Road. Follow to NC-98 E/Durham Road and turn left onto NC-98 at the trafﬁc light. The Falls Reserve entrance will be ahead on the left.

540

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Stony

OUR TOWN

OFF DUTY

“They hang because of their beauty.” –Jim Swanson, inherited clock collector

hen FBI agent John W. Swanson retired from the agency after 25 years of service, he delved more deeply into his passion for clocks: he ultimately collected 600 of them. Today, half of Swanson’s collection hangs in the Raleigh home of his son, Jim Swanson. John Swanson was born and raised in Southern California. He interrupted his college education to enlist in the Navy during World War II, rising to naval officer rank. After the war, he finished his college degree in California and was recruited by the FBI as a special agent. He moved to Fairfax, Virginia, where he raised his family during his assignment with the Washington field office. Since then, son Jim Swanson and his wife, Lynn, have made their home in Raleigh. Jim Swanson says his grandparents told him that his father was adept at fixing things, at “just being good with his hands,” from the time he was 14. Today, if you stroll through

the Swansons’ home, you can see and hear the results of those “good hands.” John Swanson left to each of his two children an astonishing collection of 300 clocks. Jim Swanson remembers the day his father brought home his ﬁrst clock. “I was in junior high at the time and saw from his enthusiasm how hooked he was on those devices.” John Swanson came by his clocks in many ways. He bought some, he was given others, and some he “rescued” from the junk heap and restored their beauty. Many of his father’s timekeepers are on display in Jim Swanson’s home, but especially rare or delicate ones “are hidden away for safekeeping.” The hidden ones come out sometimes: “Each year, we display on special holidays – Christmas and the Fourth of July – commemorative clocks that add to our celebration.” For Jim and Lynn, every tick-tock, every chime, keeps alive the love of a father. They provide timeless memories. –James Daniels photograph by MADELINE GRAY

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“We discovered Blue Ridge Mountain Club when we lived in Raleigh—we knew then this was the place for us.” Tina & Mike Ihnat, former Raleigh Residents Blue Ridge Mountain Club homeowners

Tina and Mike Ihnat have always loved the mountains, especially the High Country of North Carolina. As Raleigh residents many years ago, they were drawn to the Blowing Rock area, less than three hours away. “We had always hoped to make this area our permanent home,” says Mike. “And after looking at a lot of different communities and properties we knew that Blue Ridge Mountain Club was right for us. It has a beauty and majesty that we haven’t seen anywhere else.”

Homes & Condominiums from $430k. Homesites from $80k.

To learn more or plan your visit contact Team BRMC: 828-414-4261 or online at ExploreBRMC.com

Obtain the Property Report required by Federal Law before signing anything. All information is believed to be accurate but is not warranted. This information shall not constitute a valid offer in any state where prior registration is required. This information and features and information described and depicted herein is based on proposed development plans, which are subject to change without notice. Actual development may or may not be as currently proposed. No guarantee is made that the features, amenities, or facilities depicted by an artist’s rendering or otherwise described herein will be built, or, if built will be the same type, size, or nature as depicted or described. © 2015 Blowing Rock Resort Venture, LLC.

HOME IN

STORY of a house

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Texture and neutrals make a calming downsized retreat by JESSIE AMMONS photographs by CATHERINE NGUYEN

o create a place meant for growing older, Pam and David Bond pared down possessions, color, and square footage, but not sophistication or family space. And though the couple’s Hayes Barton house was a custom rebuild that they just moved into last November, “it felt like home immediately,” Pam Bond says. “I was worried about that, because we had been in the other house for such a good while.” The other house, their former residence, is a mere one-and-a-half miles away. When it came time to downsize, the Bonds say, they didn’t want to leave their

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neighborhood’s walking proximity to restaurants, shops, small parks, and Five Points. “We crave the small-town feel,” Pam says. But they did want to build on a smaller footprint, a quarter-acre lot, and in doing so forego rooms such as the formal living room. That meant saying goodbye to Pam’s beloved piano and a number of furniture pieces. “Through this process, we realized that things are just things.” There were two nonnegotiable things to keep, however: “my art and my collection of North Carolina pottery,” Pam says. They remain, enhanced by a soothing color palette that reﬂects a change of pace for the Bonds. “Our other house had yellow, red – it was a lot of paint, which I loved,” Pam says. Interior designer Katherine Connell steered them, instead, toward a cooler vision accented by blue and brass. Connell’s eye and Pam’s love of vibrant art show in dramatic small spaces: the butler’s pantry with dark cabinets and luxe wallpaper; the lavender and grey powder room lined with patterned grasscloth; David’s front study ﬂanked with cypress panels.

CAREFUL CHOICES The Bonds tore down the property's original house and donated all of the materials to Habitat for Humanity. “It feels good to know everything went to a good use,” David Bond says. Clockwise, from opposite top left: Circa Lighting lamps and chandelier accent the dining room. Pam Bond and designer Katherine Connell worked to include “a few choice antiques” to keep the home from feeling too brand-new. The cypress-paneled study includes a desk made of walnut from outside of Asheville, North Carolina and ﬁreplace brick sourced from an 1840s-era warehouse in Wilson, North Carolina. Shelves showcase Pam's beloved North Carolina pottery, and David's East Carolina University sports paraphernalia.

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‘WHERE WE LIVE’ This page: Faced with a from-scratch custom build, the Bonds were at times overwhelmed by the options: “literally a thousand decisions have to be made,” David Bond says. They turned to designer Carter Skinner and builder John Sanders for guidance (Sanders is pictured with the couple at right). In lieu of a formal living room, there is a comfortable kitchen island and breakfast nook (pictured below left) which joins spaces with the living room. “This is where we live,” Pam Bond says. The butler's pantry, pictured below right, is a dramatic passage to the one traditional space the Bonds kept: the dining room. Opposite: Inspired by visits to a few model homes, the Bonds built an upstairs hangout area, the “pajama lounge,” Pam says, to suit their two young granddaughters, who live in Raleigh and visit often.

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Outside, the home’s calm atmosphere continues. “We thought carefully and did a fair amount of hardscaping,” David Bond says, to build the bricked-in backyard with a fountain inspired by courtyards in Charleston. The stone ﬁreplace is nearly always in use, David says. Its cozy hearth is meant to serve as the outdoor replacement to the indoor formal living room, and the Bonds can seat six for meals at the adjacent patio dining table. Their quarter-acre packs a lot of punch, David says. “Everything really came together.” APRIL 2018 | 67

OASIS Landscape architect Dan Sears helped carve out a pocket backyard that feels private but not exclusive. “We needed a fountain,” Pam says. She's long admired them, and the sound adds a peaceful effect outside. They also went on a “mission trip,” as Pam calls it, for the stone lion's head, ultimately finding this one in Rockingham, North Carolina. Copper gutters (pictured above) mirror the brass fixtures indoors.

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www.dixonkirbyhomes.com

WALTER proﬁle

This page: Jeﬀ Paine and Turan Duda at what they call “the railway viewpoint” of The Dillon’s construction zone in downtown Raleigh, adjacent to Union Station. Opposite: An illustration of the angles, inspired by American modernist painter Charles Sheeler, they hope the building creates from the railway viewpoint.

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ELEVATING

LIFE by J. MICHAEL WELTON photographs by JILLIAN CLARK

Duda|Paine brings experiential architecture to Raleigh

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hen 17-story The Dillon opened last month in Raleigh’s warehouse district, it revealed itself to be more than a glass- and aluminum-clad, mixed-use building. It’s also the product of an ongoing, collaborative relationship between two prolific Triangle architects. The work of Turan Duda and Jeff Paine reaches across the South, with tall buildings in Atlanta and Austin, sitesensitive structures at Duke University, and a new wellness center now in the design phase for Jefferson’s “Academical Village” in Charlottesville, Virginia. As fellow Durham architect Phil Freelon of Perkins+Will says, their architecture is positive and long-lasting. It’s also rooted firmly in the modern movement. Paine learned about that as a student at Syracuse University, and Duda at the Yale School of Architecture, and prior, from 1972 to 1976, as an undergraduate at the N. C. State College of Design. Duda began his academic career at N.C. State in a meeting with Dean Henry Kamphoefner, who cast a stern look at the young, wannabe architect. “I’m standing there, and he’s flipping through my portfolio,” Duda says. “He asks: ‘What is architecture?’ “I say: ‘That’s what I’m here to find out.’ “He says: ‘Good answer, but I don’t know if you can handle the academics. If you get a 3.0 in the first semester, I’ll let you in.’ “I got a 3.9,” Duda says. “He says: ‘I guess you can handle it.’” That was an understatement. 72 | WALTER

The Pelli Years Duda and Paine met while working in the New Haven office of César Pelli, who was also dean of the Yale School of Architecture. Pelli Clarke Pelli was, and still is, known for its towering buildings, mostly in glass and steel, around the globe. Among them: the 1975 Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, the 1988 World Financial Center in New York, and the 1992 Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte. “I was with his firm for 15 years – I wanted to stay as long as I was learning something,” Duda says. “First, Jeff and I worked on the World Financial Center – it was four major buildings and six million square feet.” Paine had joined the firm two years after Duda, following a stint in Kevin Roche’s Connecticut office, where he’d worked on the John Deere corporate headquarters in Moline, Illinois. Roche and Pelli had a shared DNA – both had worked in Eero Saarinen’s post-World

War II office, recasting perceptions of American modernism. Among Saarinen’s projects were the St. Louis Arch, the TWA Terminal at Kennedy International Airport in New York, and Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia. Through Pelli and Roche, the modern aesthetic trickled down to Duda and Paine. The first Pelli project assigned to Duda was the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center. “It was a great place to start,” he says. “Creating a public room is a great notion that has carried over, even now. It’s a civic act – great places for great cities, but most developers don’t give you that as a programmatic element.” He and Paine worked together on three projects at Pelli’s firm, the last an aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut. Driving back and forth from New Haven, they found common ground. “We realized we were similar in the way we thought,” Paine says. “As we compared notes, we realized that we could probably make a go of it on our own.” Duda says he recognized that design talent is not enough to create a successful firm, that an architect with a solid business sense was imperative. “Jeff was one of the top managers in the firm, but also a designer,” he says. “And we trusted each other.” Screwing up their courage, they walked into Pelli’s office and announced that they’d be forming a partnership and moving to Durham, where Duda had family. “He said: ‘You two make a great partnership, and only make me look better,’” Duda says. “It was a compliment – we burnished his reputation, not just as an architect but as a mentor and an educator.”

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Duda|Paine’s architectural rendering of The Dillon. The protruding, cantilevered section is the four-story “sky window”. It is 60 feet wide and 56 feet tall.

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Duda|Paine in Durham By 1997, the pair was making the rounds in the Triangle, introducing themselves to potential clients and architects in the area, and offering to collaborate at the drop of a hat. They heard of a design competition in Charlotte, a joint venture between Bank of America and Atlanta real estate developer Tom Cousins. Three other wellknown ﬁrms – Kohn Pedersen Fox, Hugh Stubbins and Associates, and Little – had already been at work for two weeks out of the four-week schedule. “For the next two weeks, we did four master plans,” Duda says. “We knocked ourselves out.” But they had a leg up. Duda had been lead architect for Pelli on the Bank of America tower across the street from the site for the competition’s millionsquare-foot project. So when they met with Cousins and former Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl, their reputation preceded them. “Cousins looked across the street and said: ‘Your work speaks for itself,’” Duda says. “We made the presentation, and we won.” Two years into that project came a second competition, for a tall building in Atlanta, and next, a tower for Austin. Over the past 15 years, the ﬁrm began to focus on opportunities in the Triangle. “There are three reasons for local work,” says Paine. “We don’t have to spend a lot of time on planes, it’s great to see the building when it’s completed, and we can point to it and people will know it’s our work.”

high“We view in cities s g in rise build distances and t a e r g ient from em to or let h t e s u n eve se to . We cho which s e lv e s r ou d profile the slope e ‘sky window’ th exposes e signature be th ilding.” of the bu uda n -Tura D

Designing The Dillon The Dillon is a project initiated by developer John Kane, who hired Duda|Paine 10 years ago for work in his suburban North Hills mixed-use development. But before he did that, Paine says, Kane called builder Tommy Holder in Atlanta to ask about architects there capable of designing a tower. “Why come to Atlanta?” Holder asked Kane. “You’ve got one of the best ﬁrms there in Durham.” The Duda|Paine relationship with Kane has evolved fruitfully: along with The Dillon, it’s spawned two North Hills towers. “Turan has a unique way about him to explain design and get people to buy into his vision,” Kane says. “Jeff is a practical guy, but he’s creative as well, and they complement each other.” The assignment for The Dillon was multifaceted. Already under way was Clearscapes’ adjacent Union Station, in need of 300 of The Dillon’s planned parking spaces. The client wanted to maintain a brick façade from the century-old Dillon Supply warehouse, for authenticity and to clad retail space at the base. And there were to be seven stories of offices atop nine levels of parking. “There’s not a lot of office space, and we needed to hit the rental rate,” says a numbers-oriented Paine. “And it had to be a building with perforated metal panels for the parking, and glass – but not a curtain wall of glass – one that’s less expensive, for a different palette of materials.” APRIL 2018 | 75

They designed a building that responds to its context and is meant to be experienced in multilayered ways. It’s not a pure, monolithic form with a crown on top. Instead, it’s composed of many elements that form a complex composition. “It’s a painterly or artistic way of looking at the building,” Duda says. “It’s a collection of ideas.” From Union Station, it makes an impression. The first thing one sees when exiting the train station is a glass tower, its profile narrowing as it rises. There’s a four-story “sky window,” between the 14th and 17th stories, 60 feet wide and 56 feet tall. “It protrudes out, cantilevers out from that surface,” he says. “It will be the thing you remember – the signature of the building.” Especially memorable is its outdoor terrace with restaurant, nine stories up and overlooking the grid of downtown Raleigh. Because there’s no formal, awe-inspiring lobby at ground level, the terrace does the trick on a much grander scale. “We’re changing that experience,” he says. “You step out of the elevator and – ‘Wow! That’s not what I expected.’” The terrace blurs the lines between public and private, indoors and outdoors. “It’s a sky lobby, a symbol of the new workspace,” he says. “There’s a new generation in the workforce that’s less about the ceremonial and more about the experiential.” Brad Brinegar, CEO at Durham-based McKinney, can attest to that. Fourteen years ago, he asked Duda|Paine to design a new workspace for the next generation of his advertising agency on the American Tobacco Campus. The idea was to create a destination for the best talent and clients in the industry. Was it ambitious? You bet. Did it succeed? Absolutely. “They pushed us, but they were listening, to make our work better – and to make people’s jaws drop, 14 years later,” Brinegar says. “They know how a building elevates life.” For an architect, that’s the grail. And on the terrace of The Dillon in downtown Raleigh, Duda|Paine nailed it – literally and figuratively.

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Renderings of the ﬁnished project. After entering the courtyard, you will immediately take elevators to the lobby, located on the ninth ﬂoor( shown at bottom right). This outdoor terrace will have a restaurant and overlook the downtown Raleigh cityscape.

ARTIST in studio

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BOULe Jamil Rashad ﬁnds his way

home

vaRDs by JAMES J. HATFIELD

photographs by GUS SAMARCO

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W Jamil Rashad at the SkyHouse rooftop pool in downtown Raleigh.

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When Jamil Rashad, who goes by the stage name Boulevards, showed up to play his set at CAM Raleigh for the 2015 Hopscotch music festival, he had no idea what to expect. But for Rashad, crowd numbers didn’t matter. “I try to play every show like it’s my last. Whether I’m playing for 20 people or 2,000 people, I try to keep the same energy.” There were over 300 people in the audience that night, and Rashad cites the show as the kick-start to his local fan base. “It had people talking about me as an artist and what (I) could bring to the table,” he says. At that time, Rashad had recently signed to Captured Tracks, a Brooklyn-based music label with a current roster that includes indie rocker Mac Demarco, and an alumni list of indierock and groovy-punk musicians a la Beach Fossils, Tim Cohen, and the Blank Dogs. Three years later, the Raleigh native has returned home to release his latest album, Hurtown, USA. This sophomore release is Boulevards’s ﬁrst label-independent foray, and it marks both a leap of faith and a homecoming. “I want to do something for Raleigh. This is where I’m from, this is where I was born and raised. This is where I learned to be a man. Everything I learned was from here, growing up on these city streets. I wanted

to embrace where I was from more. I’ve always had a love for Raleigh, man.”

Picking a lane Rashad, 33, grew up in Southeast Raleigh. From an early age, he gravitated toward creative pursuits. This was thanks in large part, he says, to the inﬂuence of both of his parents. His father is a former DJ at the 88.9 WSHA radio station, which broadcasts out of Shaw University and showcases R&B, soul, and jazz music to the Triangle, and his mother supported exploration. “I’ve known since I was four years old, when my mother gave me my ﬁrst coloring book, that I was going to be an artist,” Rashad says. “I wanted to express myself, but I just didn’t know how I was going to express myself.” Self-expression is serious business to Rashad. Changing any part of the music or its style to suit anyone else’s preference is a denial of self, he says, and he’s always known precisely which unique style is his. This make-no-deals mentality didn’t always pave an easy path. “I think it goes back to me in middle school and high school trying to be different,” he says. “Being an outcast. Never wanted to be doing what everyone else is doing.” Rashad found an outlet for his outcast teenage sentiment in punk music in the late 1990s and early 2000s, while he was in high school, and he immersed himself in understanding the genre.

“Even when I moved to New York, I was a Southern man.”

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FUNK PUNK Boulevards performs at Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh. The show marked his ﬁrst sober performance.

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“Exciting, down-to-earth, in-your-face. I wanted to make music like that. And I’m also a funky dude.” Rashad says going to local concerts as a teenager was crucial to his musical self-discovery. “I was always really interested in the punk scene: the energy at the shows, the energy in the musicianship, the techniques of the shredding, the double pedals, the screaming, and all that stuff, I just really loved.” When he went to UNC-Charlotte to study illustration, he joined several bands, but couldn’t find the right mix of energy, bold sound, and funk. One night at a bar in downtown Charlotte, a friend threw out an idea: Go solo. “I thought, maybe she’s right.” This was the birth of Boulevards. Rashad says he wanted to make music that reflected himself, his way. But he wanted it to be about the music. Which is why he chose – but didn’t overthink – a stage name: Boulevards. “Exciting, down-toearth, in-your-face. I wanted to make music like that,” Rashad says, “and I’m also a funky dude.” After college he moved back to Raleigh to live with his parents. During this time he began working out exactly what kind of sound Boulevards was going to have. Rashad says he bought up as many albums as he could find: pop, funk, EDM, jazz, punk, and metal. He studied the music simply by listening; he noticed what struck a chord with him and what didn’t, regardless of genre. He fine-tuned his approach and identified the techniques concordant with his identity. The collective exposure of

different genres cross-pollinated to create bright synthesizer sounds ﬂoating over soft but focused anchoring beats. There are falsetto background vocals reminiscent of ’70s-era funk, and deep narration reminiscent of Barry White. The inﬂuence of the punk music Rashad watched and played is evident in Boulevards’s stage performance: There is no fatigue. Jamil Rashad, Boulevards, is a dynamic performer, a true entertainer.

Afresh The Rashad you see today is the best yet, new and improved. He’s at the beginning of a four-month tour with recording artist Rhye, and he’s scored brand partnerships with the likes of Wrangler. You might run into him in downtown Raleigh, wearing all-denim with sunglasses on, regardless of the weather, walking with a conﬁdent stride so graceful it seems like he might be gliding. It’s important to be conscious of how you appear to the public, Rashad says, but without losing sight of your art. “Just make sure you’re making dope music.” Hurtown, USA was Boulevards’s own refocusing act. Years of partying, touring, and living in New York City had taken a toll on the funk-punk musician. For the music to continue, he needed to get sober. Rashad’s aha moment came during a visit home a year ago, when he ran into a familiar face at Devolve Moto. “I saw a close friend of mine … she had a certain light in her eye. She said she had been

sober for three years.” It was the push Rashad needed, and he says his music has ultimately benefitted from his struggle. “I didn’t like who I was becoming. I poured that into my music.” He remembered the way musicians like Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Rick James, and James Brown would “put heartbreak songs over these funky dance beats.” Hurtown, USA, the newest album, “is about reflecting on loss. It’s about being able to grow from those experiences … It wasn’t about playing the victim, it was about putting myself on (full) blast.” Boulevards performed in January at a packed Lincoln Theatre in downtown Raleigh. It was his first show completely sober. He’s relieved to report that performing is just as fun – if not more so. “It’s just a fresh start. Get all this bad energy away. Let’s move on.”

Solo frequency 2017 was a defining year for Rashad and for Boulevards, and it’s all reflected in Hurtown, USA. Rashad’s Raleigh friends and family encouraged him to finish the album, so it marks a homecoming; and Boulevards released the title independently, so it marks a career leap. After the release of his album Groove! in April 2016, Rashad parted ways with label Captured Tracks, who signed him just before that legendary 2015 Hopscotch show at CAM. “We had a lot of creative differences. That happens in the music industry,” Rashad says. “Not on the same APRIL 2018 | 83

page, not on the same frequency. So, for me, I had to distance myself from that … I don’t want no one telling me how I should write.” But amidst the partying and label independence, when recording Hurtown, USA later in 2016, Boulevards hit a lull. Rashad questioned self-releasing an album with a markedly different sound than what was on the circuit. Hurtown, USA emphasizes the synthesizer-heavy, bass-driven beats and features more in-depth lyricism than his initial EP and subsequent album. He still felt there was a missing piece. So he packed his bags, left New York City, and moved back to Raleigh in October 2016. He came home, he says, to remember why he started making music in the first place. “Even when I moved to New York, I was a Southern man.” He never lost his love of Raleigh, he says, and so when he returned, he reconnected with small local producers and music enthusiasts who had supported him before his first Hopscotch festival. “You don’t have to be in New York or LA to make it anymore.” He reunited with his community, finished the album, and it dropped December 2017. A few months into the album’s release and about a year into returning home, Rashad says everything, finally, feels right. After all, this is about Boulevards. “It comes down to the music.” Boulevards is touring nationally to promote Hurtown, USA until the end of May. He’ll perform at Motorco Music Hall in Durham April 6. For more: facebook.com/imboulevards

HEAR FOR YOURSELF If you can’t make it to Boulevards’s April 6 performance in Durham, video footage by ﬁlmmaker Sheeraz Balushi will be on WALTER’s website following the show. waltermagazine.com

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Jamil Rashad at Foundation bar, wearing a shimmery suit from Art of Style.

at the TABLE

THE

MUFFIN WOMAN Annabelle Comisar’s English muﬃn operation by DEAN MCCORD photography by GEOFF WOOD

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nglish muffin might make you think of a dry, mass-produced bread product with “nooks and crannies.” It is rarely the star of the show, subordinated to a second-tier role sopped in the runny yolks of an eggs Benedict, or as a quick butter-carrying vehicle to grab for satiation. In fact, English muffins weren’t even invented in England – they were ﬁrst called “toaster crumpets” by Samuel Bath Thomas, a British expat living in New York City. Freshly baked English muffins, on the other hand, bear little resemblance to the aforementioned, particularly when they are baked by Annabelle Comisar, owner of newly opened Michael’s English Muffins in North Raleigh. Comisar’s muffins are thick and ﬂuffy, redolent of yeast and butter and tender care. That last ingredient is an ethos instilled in Comisar by her late restaurateur father, Michael. She’s continuing his legacy, one muffin at a time.

Paving the way Michael Comisar was a legend in the restaurant world. His family’s Cincinnati establishment, The Maisonette, was a classic old-school luxurious French restaurant with formal service and tableside cooking. It still holds the record for receiving a ﬁve-star Mobil Travel Guide (now the Forbes Travel Guide) rating for 41 consecutive years. Mobil referred to The Maisonette as “one of the few ﬂawless dining experiences in the country.” Alas,

the economy and changes in dining habits caused The Maisonette to close in 2005. Annabelle’s given name is the same as her father’s, Michael, but unlike him, she never planned on a career in the food industry. She went to Parsons School of Design, graduating with a degree in design management and business. While working in fashion with Hugo Boss in New York, Comisar realized that she may have had more of her father in her than she thought: She started to manage a restaurant part-time, which convinced her she wanted to be in the industry fulltime. She moved back to Cincinnati and eventually started working at one of the family’s establishments. It didn’t quite suit Comisar, and so she began to consider other options – with her father’s blessing. “I asked Dad if he’d still be proud of me if

I didn’t stay in the restaurant,” she says. He supported her wholeheartedly. Comisar moved on to a Cincinnati bakery that made not only wood-ﬁred bread, but also fresh English muffins. She enjoyed the time there, but life as a baker still didn’t take. What did was her understanding of what a made-from-scratch, freshly baked English muffin could be. ‘Donut-esque’ In 2014, Comisar moved to North Carolina to work with a wine distributor. Selling wine was ﬁne, but it was even more fun when Comisar brought snacks, particularly homemade English muffins. “I’d bring my English muffins to wine tastings,” Comisar says “I would bake them on a portable griddle on the balcony of my apartment.”

Made of a simple dough of flour, yeast, salt, olive oil, and water, the muffins are slowly baked on a flat top with clarified butter, or ghee, and locally sourced cornmeal. 88 | WALTER

“AT BIDA MANDA, THE SMILES ARE CONTAGIOUS.” - GREG COX 222 S BLOUNT STREET, DOWNTOWN RALEIGH

TAPROOM

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Folks in the local food scene began to hear about these muffins, and a cult following ensued. Comisar decided to go into business for herself, selling her muffins. In December 2015, on the first anniversary of her father’s death, she started her wholesale baked good business: Michael’s English Muffins. She rented out a certified kitchen, working from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m., mixing and baking English muffins when not selling wine. Hometown connections helped her find her first restaurant customer, the Counting House in Durham’s 21c hotel. Josh Munchel, the opening chef at Counting House, is from Cincinnati and an acquaintance of Comisar’s. “I was invoice number one,” Munchel says. “I knew biscuits were a thing here in the South, but not English muffins, and I wanted to do something different.” And Comisar’s version is top-notch, Munchel says, and the right amount of indulgent. “The taste, it’s almost like a donut – donut-esque. But you feel like you’re eating healthy when you’re eating an English muffin.” These English muffins should probably not be considered health food, but they are made of the good stuff. Made of a simple dough of flour, yeast, salt, olive 90 | WALTER

oil, and water, the muffins are slowly baked on a flat top with clarified butter, or ghee, and locally sourced cornmeal. The final product is soft and moist, yet full of the fluffy air bubbles needed for all sorts of toppings, or for a breakfast sandwich, which Munchel routinely served at Counting House (he has now moved on to other projects). They’re fine on their own, too, says Munchel. “I just put a muffin in a dry, cast iron skillet, uncut, because the amount of butter in it does the work for you. The amount of fun-ness is already there.” Jeff Seizer, chef and co-owner of Raleigh’s Royale restaurant, takes the sandwich concept one step further. “They’re the best things ever. As soon as I tasted one, I said, ‘Oh, that’s what we’re doing for our burger.’” Thus, the Royale Burger was born, juicy beef and gruyere cheese served in-between Comisar’s slightly sweet, yeasty muffin. Despite her success with the wholesale operations, Comisar still felt like she hadn’t fully committed to the business. She harkened back to her bakery experience and considered opening a brickand-mortar outpost. After months of planning and research, Comisar opened

her flagship store in January, tucked in a small strip mall behind a hotel just off of Capital Boulevard in North Raleigh. The location may be off the beaten path, but it’s worth finding the place. Bags of muffins are available to take home, but this is also a restaurant. English muffins, including a sweet potato and cinnamon version along with the original plain flavor, can be served warm, fresh off the griddle, and topped with a variety of options, including local honey butter, Nutella, jam, or Annabelle’s childhood favorite, peanut butter and cinnamon sugar. Her father regularly made these for her using commercial English muffins, and he called them “Scoozies”; a drawing of a Scoozie is prominently displayed on the shop’s chalkboard menu (pictured above). Savory toppings, such as pimento cheese, are also available. And of course, Michael’s understands the muffins’ worth in sandwiches, whether with bacon, sausage, cheese, or egg for breakfast, or turkey, bacon, avocado, and tomato for lunch. It’s a bold claim, but one taste of these warm, rich muffins might just make you rethink everything you’ve ever known about English muffins. Here, they’re the star of the show.

QUENCH

DOWN TO

A SCIENCE Moonshine, Cheerwine, and Howling Cow ice cream by CATHERINE CURRIN

alling all formula geeks and Wolfpack fans: There’s a new bar for you on N.C. State’s Centennial Campus. Flask & Beaker,

inside the newly opened StateView hotel, serves student-brewed beer and unique cocktails using made-in-state spirits. Throughout the space, there are subtle

nods to the exceptional work done on the hotel’s home base. Words from NCSU patents are woven into the wallpaper’s pattern. Light ﬁxtures resemble glassware from the nearby research labs. “Our goal is to be as local-focused and in-tune with N.C. State as we can,” says dining room manager Ashley Rioux. The food menu is meant to spark school-day nostalgia, regardless of if you’re an alum. Appetizer, known as “electives” and “minors”, include crispy Texas Pete zucchini chips and N.C.-cheese-and-beer soup. Speaking of beer: This is one of the few spots around town to grab an N.C. State draft, brewed from students studying fermentation science. A meat-and-two daily special is known as “a major with two minors” and has options like fried chicken, meatloaf, mac-and-cheese, or green bean casserole. Don’t forget to ﬁnish photographs by KEITH ISAACS

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THE NEUSE RIVER MULE Ingredients: 1 ½ ounces Social House vodka ½ ounce ginger syrup ¾ ounce lime juice Cheerwine, to taste Add vodka, syrup, and lime juice to a highball glass or Moscow mule mug with crushed ice. Top with Cheerwine to your liking.

off your meal with some Howling Cow ice cream, also made on campus. The cocktail menu, aptly named “experimental chemistry”, includes everything from moonshine to paw paws, a native state fruit. Living up to its name, head bartender Sean Otwell is experimenting on classic beverages. The Neuse River Mule, for instance, is his Triangle take on the Moscow. He mixes Kinston-made Social House vodka with ginger, lime, and Cheerwine, which is native to Salisbury, North Carolina. Take a sip and you might feel like you’re drinking a spiked Cheerwine from the drive-through at Cookout. Otwell says he’s passionate about the local spirits and ingredients that are in and around the Triangle, and he lets them speak for themselves. “I’m creating a relatively simple variation on classic cocktails with local ingredients.”

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PRIDE in PLACE Raleigh’s longtime social orchestrator extraordinaire by CATHERINE CURRIN

. Wesley Williams spent much of his life in a house on Hargett Street, just a few blocks east from Moore Square. From that downtown Raleigh post, he has watched the city go up around him and endure many cultural seasons. At 97, his mind remains sharp, and Williams’s historical account is one brimming with ﬁrsthand experience. “I was born near Raleigh, and I’ve lived here for 97 years. I’ve seen it grow tremendously, and it’s just a wonder-

ful city that’s going to keep on growing.” Williams has had a hand in Raleigh’s growth through some 70 years of service to the city, both in his career and through volunteer efforts. Nowadays, Williams has moved slightly northwest, off of Glen Eden Drive, and his time is spent in more social clubs than civic, but it’s all still rooted in an effusive passion for hometown. “I love Raleigh, I’m crazy about it. I’ve never been officially given the title, but many people refer to me as ‘Mr. Raleigh.’”

Work-life balance Williams was born near the music pavilion at Walnut Creek, an area that back then was vast farmland. Facing ﬁnancial hardships, the Williams family traded in their farm and settled on the edge – now in the midst – of downtown Raleigh. Williams entered the workforce at age 17: His ﬁrst venture was founding the Young Business Men’s Club in 1937. He eventually moved on to the Greater Raleigh Merchants Association, where photographs by MADELINE GRAY APRIL 2018 | 95

From left: Williams directed 46 Christmas parades in Raleigh; a few of Williams's accolades, including a medal from the Raleigh Hall of Fame

he was executive director for 50 years. There, Williams says he discovered fulfilling work. “It was not only a job, it was a great pleasure. I had an important part in helping to build Raleigh.” Before his retirement in 1990, Williams made strides in Raleigh’s development, including overseeing planning committees for downtown’s first parking decks and the evolution of Fayetteville Street. Meanwhile, he organized and directed 46 Raleigh Christmas parades, he says, and rode on the firetruck concluding each one. He recalls the busy five decades fondly. “I’m sure that nobody in Raleigh has participated in more groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings than I have.” Not only was he a pioneer for Raleigh’s infrastructure, Williams was instrumental in integrating restaurants during the civil rights movement. He says it’s what he’s most proud of. “One of the greatest things I’ve ever been able to do is to play a major role when we were having all the trouble with segregation.” He worked with the Merchants Association and North Carolina Sen. John Winters to integrate S&W Cafeteria, formerly on the corner of Fayetteville and Davie streets. The S&W decision effectively began a domino effect throughout the city.

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Ever seeking fulﬁlling work, Williams is also one of the most decorated members of Civitan International, he says. He served the Raleigh chapter in several capacities, from chaplain to district governor and then president. He was also vice president of the greater International club. His son, John Williams, says he’s received countless awards for his hard work with the group. For instance, with the club, he helped found Hilltop Home, a center near downtown assisting children with developmental and medical disabilities.

‘Strictly fun and fellowship’ Every Sunday, you’ll ﬁnd Williams at Hayes Barton Baptist Church. He taught Sunday school for 60 years and is a pillar of the community there. “Wesley is the consummate optimist. He sees the best in everyone. He loves Raleigh and has invested his life here,” says Dr. David Hailey, the church’s pastor. “Wesley has also been our ‘poet laureate’ at HBBC. He has graced us on numerous occasions with his poetry. I would love to have a church full of members like Wesley Williams.” Two decades into retirement, Williams stays busy having fun with the boys. He’s a longtime member of the Old

Raleigh Boys, which meets annually in February at Carolina Country Club. “I wrote the original Old Raleigh Boys creed, and I give some remarks and read the creed at each meeting,” he says. Also at the Carolina Country Club, he meets the 50 other members of the Good Ol’ Boys Club monthly, as he has for the past 38 years. And then there’s The Wake County Chitlin Club. Perhaps Williams’ most unconventional membership is as director of the group founded by former North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture and then Governor Kerr Scott in 1948. The all-male club meets annually for chitlins (pig innards) at the Toot-N-Tell in Garner. “I’m head of the CIA, which is the Chitlin Intelligence Agency. It’s strictly fun and fellowship,” he says. As the oldest member of the club, Williams was even named most revered member in 2015 by Rufus Edmisten, former North Carolina Secretary of State and Attorney General. With his many accomplishments and almost a century certainly welllived, one thing is clear – Williams loves Raleigh, and wants everyone he meets to love it too. His best piece of advice for Raleighites, both old and new? “Be very grateful that you’re here.”

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DESTINATION WALTER Blacksmith Margaret Brim in the iron studio at Penland School of Crafts.

Art of the

CRAFT Penland School of Crafts preserves a place for serious study by JONATHAN AMMONS photography by NICK KING

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hen you catch it on a perfect Western North Carolina day, you round the bend on the approach road to Penland School of Crafts to see a handful of buildings grazing like cattle across a distant hillside. They are of many different architectural styles across many different eras, and ideally they’ll be accented by a bit of fog lingering in the valley. The hillside oasis is Tolkien-esque. For thousands of artists and creatives from all over the world, this nearly century-old school is, indeed, a fairytale: a respite from the real world, a place to unplug. It is also a celebrated North Carolina training ground for craftspeople, a place to focus on creating rather than just producing art. “It is the Penland School of Crafts, but the way I look at the word crafts is not so much wood whittling and pottery – although we do that kind of thing too – but it is more craft in the sense of well-made objects with a very conscious way of creating art,” says Mia Hall, newly appointed director of the school. Hall arrived in January from the University of Arkansas, where she developed a thriving furniture design and contemporary crafts program, and she has a slight Swedish accent lilting through certain syllables. She is right at home in this removed Southern retreat, because she is among leaders in the arts from all over the world. There are courses on most major craft practices: ceramics, woodworking, weaving, jewelry making, and metalwork. There are also always creative offerings, such as bicycle building. “This semester, one of the weirder things we are offering is a custom-made jeans class,” says Hall. “They are going to make their own blue jeans.”

APRIL 2018 | 99

Creative rotation Founded in 1923 by Lucy Morgan to teach area women skills for earning money from home, Penland started as a weaving school before expanding its horizons. Morgan hoped Penland would be a place to foster “the joy of creative occupation and a certain togetherness – working with one another in creating the good and the beautiful.” When Bill Brown took over in the 1962, he began pushing the institution in an aggressive new direction, creating an artist residency program and expanding the amount of classes, subjects, and the lengths of those courses. By the time Jean McGlaughlin became the director in 1998, Penland was beginning to gain a reputation as not just a home for American folk

scattered across the 420- acre campus. With nearly 1,400 visitors every year, the grounds are a mountain wonderland for anyone to wander and observe. There’s also a gallery of student work open to the public every Saturday.

Make the thing’ That focused curriculum draws and even cultivates some serious artists. “When I came to Penland, I fell in love with the place, and everything about it,” says Elizabeth Brim, who wandered into the school in the early ’80s as a printmaker, only to become one of the most well-respected blacksmiths in the nation while working as the school’s iron studio coordinator for nearly a decade. She’s come into her own at Penland. “When I

“There is no market for these, but that’s why I’m here, is to make one. Sometimes you have to make the thing before people understand that it can be made … or that it needs to be made.” traditions, but also as an incubator for innovative artists to truly master the details of their craft. McGlaughlin continued to grow the school and its endowment to secure it as a stalwart in the arts community, before retiring in 2017. At Penland, students apply to take a single eight-week course as their concentration during the year; and there are smaller two-week summer sessions that focus on speciﬁc aspects of each craft. Breaking from the standard tenure model, teachers rotate out after nearly every course to make way for new instructors, new techniques, and new ideas. “We are constantly out there looking, and seeing what is going on, and if there is an artist that pops up, we bring them in,” says Hall. “If you look at the contact hours, one Penland two-week session is the same as one semester class at a college.” Even when Penland is not in session, there are artists working year-round in studio spaces within the 57 buildings

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told my mother that I was taking blacksmithing classes, she told me that she did not approve of that, and that it was ‘not a very ladylike thing to do.’” So Brim began wearing a string of pearls when she would work, a look she keeps up to this day – glimmers of white poking through soot and ash from the forge. Brim is known as a master of the craft: Among her accolades are the Alex W. Bealer award from the Artist Blacksmith Association of North America, a prestigious lifetime achievement award. Brim is also known for artistically pushing the envelope. She says she has found her style in traditional blacksmithing techniques that she likes to “twist around to make something different.” Take, for example, delicate ﬂower petals made from black iron and hammered thin; a drapsing apron with dangling straps; or her most famous piece, hand forged high-heel shoes. She even invented a technique using compressed air to inﬂate metal in order

to make an iron pillow for her iron tiara to perch. Somehow, in all that hammering and flame, Brim creates pieces that are as rugged as they are feminine and elegant. Metalworker Seth Gould has found inspiration and edification at Penland, too. “I will be learning for the rest of my life, whether it be a brand new technique, or learning how to forge a certain material in a certain way,” Gould says. While building spectacularly sexy tools – sleek, curvy, finessed hammers and measuring squares and calipers – pays the bills, he has a particular fascination with obscure and lost trades. Gould’s studio is filled with ornate and complex locks, cleavers, boxes, and even a duck press. They are all crafted in classic styles, but with their own particular aesthetic. As an Artist in Residence, Gould has spent the better part of the last three years developing puzzle boxes, an old Japanese and European Renaissance tradition of handcrafted lock boxes intricately designed to require users to move through a series of steps to open the box. “No one has made these in a very long time, so there’s certainly no how-to manual,” he laughs while showing off the skeleton of a box the size of a suitcase. Building them must be much more of a puzzle for him as unlocking them is for the rest of us. Ten locks flex with the turn of a single key, each one, and every nut, bolt, lever, hinge, and screw, having been meticulously forged, polished, and crafted by hand. “By the time this is finished, it will require 10 to 12 steps before you can even open this box,” he says. “There is no market for these, but that’s why I’m here, is to make one. Sometimes you have to make the thing before people understand that it can be made … or that it needs to be made.” “Art is problem solving,” Hall says, explaining the remarkable 90-year staying power of this woodland school. Penland will remain because it is a place both idyllic and practical to cultivate creative thinking. “The arts are everywhere. Art is part of your entire existence. We need it as much as we need cancer research.”

ROOM TO THINK Clockwise, from top left: Metalworker Seth Gould in-studio at Penland; one of Gould’s puzzle boxes; workshop tools; a view looking downhill from the school’s studios.

APRIL 2018 | 101

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PLAY

A day at Prairie Ridge Ecostation

words and photographs by ADDIE LADNER

inally, we’re out of the house. I’ve packed up my 3-year-olddaughter for a day out – outside and out of our routine. Our destination is Prairie Ridge Ecostation. The Ecostation opens at 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday and noon on Sundays. It offers undistracted, interactive, nature-inspired play. We can hike the trails and identify plants and wildlife throughout 45 pastoral acres. While Prairie Ridge has been part of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences since 2004, the Nature PlaySpace, which is really why we’re here, opened less than 6 years ago, in September 2013. Wanting a relaxing, fuss-free day outside, Prairie Ridge immediately came to my mind. After a minor outfit debacle of the usual toddler type (rather than a dress and ballet shoes, we agree on a frilly lace top over overalls with Converse sneakers), I’m frazzled before we finish loading into the car. But the drive through open rural land on Edwards Mill Road is calming. We’re less than five miles outside of Raleigh proper, but it’s a stark contrast to the major construction, parking decks, and apartment high-rises that surround our home.

IMAGINATIVE PLAY Addie Ladner’s daughter, Grace, plays dressup and pretend at Prairie Ridge Ecostation’s PlaySpace.

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The PlaySpace is a nature-inspired playground tucked in the woods. It provides just enough structure to spark play that’s free and creative. Growing up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast as the daughter of a horticulturist meant much of my childhood was spent outdoors. Learning about nature just happened organically. But for my daughters, who are being raised about five minutes from downtown Raleigh, I find myself constantly having to carve out time for them outside. I crave it for myself, too. Luckily it’s not too hard to find, especially with a place like Prairie Ridge being less than 10 minutes away. On our recent Saturday afternoon visit, we pull onto Gold Star Drive and park. We follow the trail to the PlaySpace, ducking vines and balancing on logs on our way down. There, we find our friend Sara and her sons, Rowan and Fletcher. “Grace and I need a good day,” I tell her. Within minutes, the kids become lost in play with very little need of us. They run up and down the large compacted dirt mound, a mountain in their mind. They’re

in and out of the underground tunnel, then “swimming” in the dirt pit, which apparently is a pool today. The PlaySpace is a nature-inspired playground tucked in the woods. It provides just enough structure to spark play that’s free and creative: A mock-campsite with a tent and table topped with old metal kitchenware is perfect for making mud soufflés; the small wooden amphitheater brings out young thespians; tree stumps lining the fence turn toddlers into leapfrogs. After about an hour, it’s time for lunch. Our table under the trees is taken over by a homemade picnic. We could be anywhere, I think. Prairie Ridge is distinct for its truly remote feel, and you can easily manage to conjure family backpacking trips in the mountains. After a few hours, we have disconnected enough that it seems a sacrilege to check my phone. I do only when Grace asks, “Can the capes come out?” In adult

speak: she wants to know if it’s time for Nature Play Days. We’ve skipped afternoon nap for the park’s Nature Play Days before and will again today. Grace now knows that on Saturday afternoons, the PlaySpace really comes to life via a few clever props brought out to elevate what’s already there. The props and themes are slightly different each week. It might be a hammock made from scrap fabric tied between two trees and some shark teeth buried in the gravel boxes; it might be a bucket of water with paint and brushes set up near the tree stumps and pool noodles turned into an obstacle course. Today it is animal puppets set up by the amphitheater, the tiniest little toy fairies, and, to Grace’s glee, capes and masks. DIG IN Above, from left to right: Metal kitchenware is used for cooking in the PlaySpace’s campsite; tiny fairies during a Saturday Nature Play Day session

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Typically I bring a book to read. Yet on this particular Saturday, with the small crowd, the playful props, and nature’s calming effect, I’m craving some Grace time. It’s a rare occurrence to have just two of us together with no plans and no one around. After our friends leave, we ﬁnd ourselves pretending to ﬂy around the PlaySpace, and I feel like I’m an extra in the 1950s play adaption of Peter Pan. Kids running through the woods totally immersed, appearing wild and free. We all need to unleash our inner playfulness once in a while, and it’s easy to do at Nature Play Days. I check the time and can’t believe it’s nearly 4 p.m. Packing up at the PlaySpace surprisingly becomes the most exciting part of the day, thanks to the creative thinking of Jan Weems, head of early childhood education at both the museum and the ecostation, who has Grace enthralled in make-believe magic. She asks if

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Grace can help put the toy fairies to sleep in their homes. Grace finds actual little doors that are nailed to one of the tree trunks, where we tuck the fairies in using the biggest, golden-est leaves we can find as blankets. We bid a final adieu to the eldest fairy, a statue perched in a tree top. Grace and I make our way out of the park by walking past the garden and then racing through the all-encompassing prairie trail, flanked by head-high meadow grasses, which leads us to the parking lot. On my way home with a sleeping toddler in the back, I consider how so many child-centered places nowadays are filled with toys, sprawling gymnasiums, and all sorts of visual and tactile stimulation. I, however, love the simplicity and peacefulness of Prairie Ridge. I’ve noticed the kids there do too, although I think I’d love it even without my daughter in tow. It’s a testament that less can really mean more and nature has plenty to give.

IF YOU GO Here are some insider tips for your visit to Prairie Ridge: • Bring a change of clothes and a picnic lunch • Nature Play Days are typically Tuesdays 10 a.m. to 12 noon, and Saturdays 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. • The restrooms and trash cans are located in the classroom, which is a short walk from the PlaySpace

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GIVERS

JEWEL tones Erin O’Loughlin, above, was inspired to start 3 Irish Jewels Farm after her son Marcus, also above, was diagnosed with austim at age 3.

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Local parent organizes programs for students with autism

eing a parent can be tough. Erin O’Loughlin found being a parent of a school-aged child with autism really tough, with practically no support options for her son Marcus when he wasn’t in class. So she created her own. Her nonproﬁt, 3 Irish Jewels Farm, provides after-school programs and track-out and summer camps for Wake County children

and teens on the autism spectrum. O’Loughlin founded 3 Irish Jewels Farm in 2012, named for her three children, who she and her Irish husband refer to as their “jewels.” One of those jewels, Marcus, was diagnosed with autism at age 3; and 1 in 58 people are diagnosed with autism in North Carolina, which is higher than the national average. O’Loughlin was struck by that fact, and by the expe-

All photos courtesy 3 Irish Jewels Farm

by ADDIE LADNER

rience of watching her son struggle with a year-round public school schedule that had him in class for nine weeks and then out for three. For kids with autism, this change in schedule and for such a great length of time can be difficult. “Kids with autism and special needs need routine and to know what to expect,” O’Loughlin says. “We want to create options for autistic kids and teens year-round.” In the past few years, 3 Irish Jewels Farm has served dozens of Wake County students through its two initiatives, Camp Bluebird and Take Flight Club. Camp Bluebird, a track-out and summer camp, allows school-aged kids in kindergarten through eighth grade on the autism spectrum to come and just be kids: They get to participate in those right-of-passage childhood activities like playing tag with friends or making popcorn. Impressively, activities also include the likes of budgeting and creating beautiful works of art to be auctioned off at the organization’s annual Bluebird Ball. During all of the playing and learning, O’Loughlin and her staff are focused on subtle skill development. For children with autism, seemingly simple abilities such as holding a conversation or waiting in line can be difficult. Those types of basic human interactions are what O’Loughlin, her staff of 3, and her network of volunteers make a top priority. They focus on play, life, and social skills. Keeping the camp size small, with a 1-to-3 camper-tostaff ratio, allows the individual needs of each child to be taken into consideration. Although there’s nearly always a waiting list, O’Loughlin says the personalized experience is what makes camp impactful. It’s important to keep the groups small. The camp is run much like a traditional autistic classroom, with the right amount of room for ﬂexibility. “We keep it fun and recreational, but extremely

They get to participate in those right-of-passage childhood activities like playing tag with friends or making popcorn. structured,” O’Loughlin says, “and we throw in a bit of academics to keep the brain refreshed.” Camp sessions are held in the organization’s “playhouse” in Holly Springs. It’s a space set up to meet the unique and complex needs of a child on the autism spectrum: Several pictureoriented aids show what the day and the month’s schedule holds, and an enclosed sensory area is equipped with a tent, ball pit, and sandboxes where kids can go if they need to wind down. O’Loughlin and her highly qualiﬁed staff know each of the camp-goers’ favorite songs and activities, their language and cognitive skills, how to comfort them and what their individual needs are. Before a child even enters into Camp Bluebird, the family ﬁlls out extensive paperwork. Then O’Loughlin goes the extra mile to meet with the teachers and families to learn

about any pressing challenges or specifics they can work together on. O’Loughlin’s background is in marketing and fundraising, but it’s clear helping kids and teens with autism live a more meaningful life has become her calling. “I’ve become an expert,” she says. O’Loughlin has noticed that the camps, while immensely benefitting the children, also provide respite for their parents and caregivers. “We’ve had several kids come here that couldn’t stay at other camps. We’ve had parents tell us this was the first time they had been out in public with their child.” The organization receives frequent feedback from parents and teachers that Camp Bluebird eases the transition back to school from break, O’Loughlin says. Andrea Rasmussen, a camp staff member and the organization’s director of pro-

APRIL 20182016 | 109| 115 NOVEMBER

“There’s really nothing like this in the area right now. I found out what Erin was doing and I knew I wanted to be a part of that.” grams, used to work with autistic and special needs students for the Wake County Public School System. Rasmussen says she often had parents inquire about outside resources, but didn’t have much to give them. “Now I can. There’s really nothing like this in the area right now,” she says. “I found out what Erin was doing and I knew I wanted to be a part of that.” Kara Meyer found it difficult locating somewhere to fit her teenage son Julian’s needs. “It can be a challenge to find a place that can cope with his challenges,” Meyer says. She told O’Loughlin of her concerns and says O’Loughlin responded with, “We’ll take him. He’ll be fine.” “I just broke down,” Meyer says. The 3 Irish Jewels Farm work doesn’t only happen during school breaks. The organization’s other initiative, the after-school Take Flight Club, offers students like Julian time to participate in simple, normal, and, most importantly, fun activities. He walks a trail with a friend

110 | WALTER

after school, makes cookies, and watches movies. He can be a teenager. He can build friendships and feel part of a safe and loving community. Meyer quickly noticed a boost in confidence after Julian went to his first club session. “Whatever they’re doing, they are doing really well. He came home glowing on that first night.” Alongside regular programming, O’Loughlin and Rasmussen have prioritized community engagement with their students. In February, the nonprofit reached a milestone by facilitating its first successful community service project for Valentine’s Day. Residents at Windsor Point Retirement Community received Pinterest-worthy cookie mixes made by the teens, who also hand-delivered them with fresh flowers. “Individuals with autism, with appropriate support, are able to do so much,” Rasmussen says . So far, 3 Irish Jewels Farm is just beginning, O’Loughlin says. Children and teenagers with autism grow into

adults who will continue to need support. “People don’t stop having autism. It affects them their entire life. They end up with an autism diagnosis and continue to age, but services for them don’t continue,” O’Loughlin says. Her big vision for the organization is to bring to life what would be Wake County’s first agricultural autistic community, a 20-30 acre farm where autistic teens and adults can work, thrive, and live. This mission is why the organization is named 3 Irish Jewels Farm, and O’Loughlin says the vision is coming together, hopefully quite soon. She wants to see all of the children she and her team have impacted flourish into adulthood and live a meaningful life, and she’s well on her way. TAKE FLIGHT Pictured above: The Take Flight Club brings teenagers together after school each month, fostering community and boosting confidence for the teens.

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Join WALTER to celebrate women across generations during an afternoon of empowerment and community. Local role models will share encouragement meant especially for young women, but sure to resonate with every age. Read more on the following pages.

PRESENTED BY

SUPPORTED BY

WINi 2018 MAY 6 12 noon The Umstead Hotel & Spa Enjoy an elegant lunch at The Umstead, including wine and mocktails, while ﬁve panelists share 5-minute talks about their individual journeys. During dessert, we will break out into an interactive social session about social media literacy. Presented by Bank of America, with support from Diamonds Direct. Tickets are $75

THE WOMEN Christmas Abbott, professional athlete Lara O’Brien Muñoz, principal dancer and owner of local ballet schools Molly Paul, college student and youth environmentalist Kaitlin Ryan, jewelry designer Charlotta “Lotta” Sjoelin, nonproﬁt founder

SOCIAL SESSION #WinAtSocial How to navigate social media positively, led by The Social Institute.

For more information, please visit waltermagazine.com/events

or the past three years, WALTER has celebrated women in entrepreneurship through an annual fall event called WINnovation. There, a panel of honorees share 5-minute TED-talkstyle “WIN” talks about their individual entrepreneurial paths. We have welcomed movers, shakers, and innovators from a diverse array of industries, all representative of the robust entrepreneurial culture in Raleigh. The event has become one of camaraderie. Our panelists have been candid, smart, and wise, by turns both inspirational and heartfelt. Our audiences – thinkers, doers, and leaders themselves – say they have felt heartened, connected, energized. They have plugged in and spoken up. And there was a resounding theme: “My daughter needs to hear this, too.” We hope you’ll bring your daughter to WINi May 6, no matter her age. Inspired by WINnovation, this afternoon will be less about entrepreneurship – although it’s an inherent part of leadership thinking – and more about empowerment. Five women will share their journeys and lessons, meant to encourage across generations. Presented by Bank of America with support from Diamonds Direct, this is women inspiring women.

114 | WALTER

CHRISTMAS ABBOTT

Christmas Abbott is not your average fitness enthusiast. The CrossFit Games competitor, NASCAR Pit Crew member, and competitive weight lifter appeared in season 19 of the CBS reality TV show Big Brother. She lives in Raleigh and works as a “transformation guru,” offering nutrition and fitness programs based on her experience. Many of Abbott’s tenents can be found in her books, The Badass Body Diet and The Badass Life. Abbott says she has trekked through dark paths to find her biggest light: living a life of presence. She uses fitness to inspire others to find their light and their strength. At WINi, Abbott will speak about a new-to-her role: motherhood. In March, she announced on Instagram that she is expecting her first child – an announcement liked by almost 94,000 followers, as of press time. As a public fitness figure, “I’m excited to share my experience in this process,” she says, calling it a “wild, new journey.”

photos courtesy panelists (ABBOTT, PAUL), Juli Leonard (MUÑOZ)

Professional Athlete

LARA O’BRIEN MUÑOZ Principal Dancer, Carolina Ballet Owner, Tutu Schools Raleigh & Cary

MOLLY PAUL Chancellor’s Science Scholar Youth Environmentalist

Lara O’Brien Muñoz is a principal dancer with Carolina Ballet, where she has been for 17 years, and owner of the ballet schools Tutu School Raleigh and Tutu School Cary. She is also a wife and the mother of 1-year-old son, Theo. “I love the intersection of softness and strength, delicacy and power, playfulness and determination,” Muñoz says. She’s eager to explore the intersection at WINi, pointing to inspiration from a friend and fellow dancer who said, “regarding the world of ballet, that the layers of tulle and sparkle that make up a tutu sit on top of a whole lot of muscle, substance, and strength. My journey as a ballerina has certainly allowed me a playground to explore my femininity and ‘girly-ness,’ however my success in such a career has been through sheer discipline, dedication, and determination. Holding these qualities together is something I’m really proud of in my life. It’s now something I’m exploring as it extends to balancing business ownership and motherhood, too. ... My personal mission through Tutu School is to allow young children, many of whom are girls, the opportunity and freedom to explore their own imaginations and self-expression, ﬁnd conﬁdence in their bodies, and a voice through movement and music.”

Molly Paul is a sophomore and Chancellor’s Science Scholar at UNC-Chapel Hill. Before college, the St. Mary’s School alumna founded a STEM leadership summer camp, which she still continues, and a nonproﬁt that fundraises for habitat preservation and conservation education, Raleigh Aquatic Turtle Adoption. She served for four years on Dr. Jane Goodall’s U.S. National Youth Leadership Council and has represented Dr. Goodall and the Jane Goodall Institute at various events at the United Nations. Paul is currently a Global Schools Ambassador in-training with the United Nations; and locally, she serves on the board of directors for the Friends of Hemlock Bluﬀs. She has been recognized as a top youth environmentalist by the City of Raleigh, by the state, and by former President Barack Obama. At WINi, Paul will discuss what it means to be a scientist: “What does it mean to see the world through the lens of science,” she says, “and how can you set yourself up for success in the sciences?” She’ll also explore the role of young women as catalysts for global change, drawing from her encounters on local and international levels.

APRIL 2018 | 115

Founder of Peppertrain Jewelry

LOTTA SJOELIN Founder of A Lotta Love

Charlotta “Lotta” Sjoelin has a business degree and has worked in marketing and sales in the pharmaceutical industry, as a lobbysit, and as a design business owner. The native of Sweden traveled the world before she and her husband settled in Chapel Hill 12 years ago with their three children. Here, Sjoelin has found her passion in working with homeless women and children. She visited a shelter in 2014 and was distraught by the spare furniture and depressing decor, she says. “How can you pick yourself up and put your life back together if you are living in what feels like a neglected environment?” She rallied friends and volunteers to raise money and donate services to redecorate the shelter’s rooms: bright curtains, cheerful pillows, rugs, wall art. Since then, Sjoelin’s A Lotta Love does this same volunteer-driven redecoration eﬀort at shelters across the area, six of them and counting. At WINi, Sjoelin will share how it all began and the power of community: “I wanted to donate bed pillows,” she says. “That evolved to what we do today.”

WIN AT SOCIAL Our hour-long social session, led by The Social Institute, will explore the dos of social media, not just the don’ts. During an interactive program, mothers and daughters alike will consider ways to think carefully about technology habits: how to have devices enhance and not take over your lifestyle; how to use your personal social platforms for good; and the importance of taking privacy seriously. “With every social media post,” founder Laura Tierney says, “you have a chance to change your world.” Tierney is a Durham resident and digital native, or someone proﬁcient in technology from having been brought up with it. She got her ﬁrst cell phone at age 13 and went on to become a social media strategist for big-name brands. In 2016, she founded The Social Institute to revolutionize social media education. She and her team are on a mission to empower and equip teens to take on the modern digital landscape, rather than scare and restrict them.

116 | WALTER

Bohío | Fine Art Photography (SJOELIN); courtesy panelist (RYAN)

KAITLIN RYAN

Kaitlin Ryan is the founder, designer, and maker of Peppertrain Jewelry, a line featuring handmade clay beads in dynamic, statement combinations. The Meredith College alumna earned a degree in fashion merchandising and design before working as a visual merchandiser. She wound up as the shop manager and assistant shop buyer at Raleigh Denim, where she learned the ropes from, and built a friendship with, the brand’s founders Sarah Yarborough and Victor Lytvinenko. After experimenting with “wearable art” jewelry she made for herself, in 2015, Ryan sold a few pieces at the Raleigh Denim Curatory and Peppertrain was born. Today, Peppertrain Jewelry is sold statewide and beyond, both online and in small boutiques. At WINi, Ryan will share what she’s learned about overcoming self-doubt and comparison as a creative and a small business owner. “It’s important to follow your dreams, even though you may not have all of the answers,” she says. “Starting is the ﬁrst step. Continuing is the truth teller.

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Zandra Rhodes at CAM

The Whirl is WALTER’s roundup of local happenings. From store openings to big galas, fundraisers, intimate gatherings, and everything in between, The Whirl has got it covered. Submissions for upcoming issues are accepted at WALTER’s website: waltermagazine.com/submit-photos

PARTIES 120 122 122 123 123 124 124 125 126 126 128 128

Zandra Rhodes at CAM The Kidznotes Grow! gala For the Love of Art gala Adult Nights: Mardi Gras The Arc of the Triangle’s Casino Royale Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre rededication Raleigh Fine Arts Society 2018 Artists Exhibition Whirlikids book festival Celebrating Thomas Day 2018 Olympic Opening Ceremony watch party Synergy Day Spa 13th anniversary Marta’s one-year anniversary

APRIL 2018 | 119

MEYMANDI CONCERT HALL, RALEIGH

FRI, APR 20 | 8PM

Wesley Schulz, conductor

THE MUSIC OF

the WHIRL ZANDRA RHODES FASHION HAPPENING AT CAM RALEIGH Famed artist, fashion designer, and icon Zandra Rhodes gave an intimate talk and fashion show at a celebration of her exhibition at CAM Raleigh March 3.

ENCORE PERFORM ANCE!

Join us for an encore performance of the movie music that made John Williams the most Oscar®nominated composer of all time—including highlights from The Force Awakens. Come early to meet and take pictures with costumed characters from the all-volunteer 501st Legion!

Ben Folds

FRI/SAT, MAY 4-5 | 8PM

Zandra Rhodes

Models with Tula Summerford, Anna Churchill

Adam Chapin Photography

North Carolina native Ben Folds—singer, songwriter, pianist—returns for two nights with the North Carolina Symphony for an electric crossover event. Don’t miss your chance to hear him live in concert performing all his hits through the years—plus a few surprises!

Romeo & Juliet

FRI/SAT, APR 27-28 | 8PM

Grant Llewellyn, conductor Carl Forsman, director UNC School of the Arts

Actors from the UNC School of the Arts join the Symphony for a semi-staged production of the tragic love story enhanced by music by Prokofiev, Berlioz, Kabalevsky, and many more.

Daniel Chavis

Nikki Knott, Charman Driver, Lizzie McNairy

The Kruger Brothers FRI/SAT, MAY 11-12, 8PM

Grant Llewellyn, conductor

The Kruger Brothers share their fusion of folk, jazz, and classical music. Joan Certa-Moore, Anne Lindberg

Tickets selling fast! Buy now! ncsymphony.org 919.733.2750

Andre Leon Gray, Frank Thompson, Charman Driver, Lizzie McNairy, KJ Jones

Ann Thayden with visitors

“SURE IT’S HARD TO LEAVE YOUR HOME. BUT AFTER MOVING TO THE CYPRESS, I NEVER LOOKED BACK.” At The Cypress of Raleigh, you enjoy the benefits of home ownership without the hassles of upkeep. Here the stunning grounds surround our private lake, where the walking path is a social magnet. A Life Plan Community, The Cypress is full of life, laughter, and good friends. Our lifestyle is geared to yours, right down to onsite healthcare of the highest quality. Consider your home here a reward to yourself for a life well-lived.

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Vivian Howard, Mayor Bill Bell, Nick Malinowski

VAE’S FOR THE LOVE OF ART GALA VAE’s 34th annual For the Love of Art gala and art auction was held at Raleigh Marriott City Center Feb. 2. Featuring circus performers, live painting, and over 150 works of art for auction, VAE’s commitment to local creativity took center stage. The event raised funds that allow VAE Raleigh to continue showing the work of over 1,600 artists, awarding project seed grants, providing a Fiscal Sponsorship program, and hosting community-driven celebrations throughout the year.

Branford Marsalis, Nicole Marsalis

Dr. Assad Meymandi, Terry Thompson

Marie Washington, Gene Washington

KIDZNOTES GROW! GALA Kidznotes celebrated its eighth year in operation with a fundraising gala Feb. 17. Over 200 guests enjoyed performances by jazz legends Branford Marsalis and Joey Calderazzo with Kidznotes students, and a meal from Chef Vivian Howard’s cookbook, Deep Run Roots, prepared by Chef Steven Green of Herons at The Umstead Hotel & Spa. The gala raised more than $110,000 for Kidznotes as it looks to serve hundreds of additional students in the coming years.

Adam Derbyshire, Martha Derbyshire

Chase Bryan

Charman Driver, Rey Garcia

Ken Demery Photography (KIDZ); Rachel Berbec (VAE)

the WHIRL

Chuck ReCorr, Sue ReCorr

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Chris Smith

Adin Bellow, Jeﬀ Kirby, Eric Hamalainen

Matt Zeher, Karen Swain (MARDI); Steve Rubin Photography (ARC)

ADULT NIGHTS: MARDI GRAS Adult Nights oﬀer an opportunity for adults 21 and up to experience the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences by exploring the uncensored side of science in an upbeat social atmosphere. The museum welcomed 1,000 guests Feb. 9 to a Mardi Gras event featuring interactive science stations, games, local entertainment, and special activities.

Peter Lamb and the Wolves

Aaron Poteate

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Jennifer Pfaltzgraﬀ, Barb Germiller

Vicki Jones, Christine Ryan

THE ARC OF THE TRIANGLE’S CASINO ROYALE Marbles Kids Museum was the scene for Casino Royale Feb. 24, a night of high-energy, interactive entertainment with all the excitement of gambling in Las Vegas without the risk of losing, as guests were betting on a good cause. Funds raised support community programs and events for children and adults with disabilities living in the Raleigh and Triangle area.

Tara Moore, Carol Moore, Marie Hughes

Randy Boyette, Emmy Boyette

Scott Hanson, Lisa Hanson

Christine Dennis, Stephen Dennis

TRUNK SHOW T H URSDAY APR IL 2 6 – SAT UR DAY 28, 10AM – 6P M NORT H HILLS, MAINANDTAYLORSHOES.COM 919.821.1556

GADDY-GOODWIN TEACHING THEATRE REDEDICATION Raleigh Little Theatre welcomed 125 guests March 3 to celebrate the reopening of its Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre after six months of renovation. Mayor Nancy McFarlane, past RLT President Mike McGee, Nan Strader, and RLT Executive Director Charles Phaneuf gave remarks. Cast members performed excerpts from 1989’s inaugural production of Tin Types and Beanstalk! The Musical! which will reopen the space in March 2018.

Bonnie Medinger, Bill Wallace, Shannon Johnstone, Joyce Watkins King, DavidMolesky, Jennifer Dasal, Lillian Richardson

Jasmine Best Ann Dunn, Glenn Dunn Mayor Nancy McFarlane, Charles Phaneuf

Betsy Jones, Rian Parker

Shannon Johnstone, Holly Fischer

Matt Griﬃth, Kay Crowder, Shawsheen Baker

Chancy Capp, Dan Mason

Graham Satisky, Gene Jones, Adrienne Kelly Lumpkin

Roy Dicks, Patrick Torres, Bobby Ward

Bonnie Medinger, John Medinger

Susan Garrity, Jeﬀ Basham, Jean Munoz, Ron Munoz

RALEIGH FINE ARTS SOCIETY 2018 N.C. ARTISTS EXHIBITION The North Carolina Artists Exhibition, sponsored by the Raleigh Fine Arts Society, held its 39th annual statewide event March 4 at the Betty Ray McCain Gallery at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. The exhibition offers artists an opportunity to present their work and be juried by a renowned art professional. This year’s juror was Jennifer Dasal, associate curator of contemporary art at the NCMA. The exhibition runs until April 22.

Cindy McEnery (RLT); Lochie Coﬀey, Diane Ingram, Karen Rice (ART)

the WHIRL

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Sarah Carr, Frances O’Roark Dowell, Ursula Vernon, Stacy McAnulty

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Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, Emily Jenkins

Sarah Carr, Stacy McAnulty

Camille Andros

John Claude Bemis, Karina Yan Glaser, Angela Dominguez

Carlie Sorosiak, Ali Standish, Alan Gratz, Leah Henderson WHIRLIKIDS BOOK FESTIVAL McIntyre’s Books hosted the ﬁrst Whirlikids book festival Feb. 3. Eighteen authors and illustrators of picture books, early chapter books, and middle-grade novels presented to more than 600 attendees throughout the day in The Barn at Fearrington Village. Presentations included picture book readings and multi-author panels, with time for book purchases and autographs.

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2018 OPENING CEREMONY WATCH PARTY The Triangle Sports Commission hosted a 2018 Olympic Opening Ceremony watch party Feb. 9 at the Carolina Ale House. The nonproﬁt is a longtime Community Olympic Partner of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and often promotes Olympic and amateur sports events and activities throughout the Triangle.

Ken Merten, Erika Braun

Leslie Hardy, Mal-Selika Perry, Vanessa Richmond-Graves, First Lady Kristin Cooper, Natalie Cooper, Patricia Williams, Hosanna Blanchard

CELEBRATING THOMAS DAY N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Susi Hamilton presented a circa-1845 china press crafted by AfricanAmerican master cabinetmaker Thomas Day to be installed in the N.C. Executive Mansion. The china press is the ﬁrst piece by the celebrated craftsman in the mansion.

Anne Franklin, Sheri-lyn Carrow, Jeanna List, Ellis List

Susi Hamilton, Jennie Hayman

Angela Thorpe, First Lady Kristin Cooper, Susi Hamilton

Sarah Jordan, Elizabeth Jordan, Edwin Jordan

Laura Collins, Marymac Webb, Carolyn L’Italien, Martha Anderson

Renee George, Eliza List, Chandler Riley, Casey Carrow, Isabella Eley

Left to right: Laura Boone, Doug Fletcher, Billy Su, Dan Young, Erika Braun, Erik Slivka, Dan Aber, Gary Bean, Ceil Blackwell, Laura Goodwin, Hill Carrow

APRIL 26-29, 2018 Raleigh Memorial Auditorium CarolinaBallet.com | 919-719-0900 Ticketmaster.com 800-982-2787

WALTER Magazine - April 2018

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