YES! Weekly - June 7, 2023

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JUNETEENTH IN THE TRIAD

Black Triad artists and cultural creators are doing their part to “Lift Every Voice and Sing” the celebrations of Black liberation for JUNETEENTH — and showcasing those doing the work all year long — all around the Triad.

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4 BLUE WATER GRILLE is the flagship of the Blue Restaurant Group, owned by Paul Riggan, who trained at Johnson and Wales. Guests are well cared for. Servers know the food, and they provide appropriately paced deliveries.

6 Each year, Trafalgar Releasing and Rhino Entertainment have resurrected the unique spirit of the Grateful Dead with “ MEET-UP AT THE MOVIES,” in which a vintage Dead show is presented in theaters around the world.

8 According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 37 AMERICANS DIE IN DRUNK-DRIVING CRASHES EVERY DAY. That’s one death every 39 minutes. In 2021, a total of 13,384 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths, and that was up 14% from 2020.

9 Very early on, there’s the faint air of desperation permeating ABOUT MY FATHER, a comedy starring executive producer Sebastian Maniscalco and cowritten by him and Austen Earl.

15 On May 24, Administrative Law Judge Karlene Turrentine recommended that the state board licensing North Carolina addiction counselors dismiss that agency’s allegations against William Guest. The word “recommended” is used because the North Carolina Addictions Specialist Professional Practice Board (NCASPPB), which is investigating the controversial teen rehab program INSIGHT, is not bound by her ruling.

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We at YES! Weekly realize that the interest of our readers goes well beyond the boundaries of the Piedmont Triad. Therefore we are dedicated to informing and entertaining with thought-provoking, debate-spurring, in-depth investigative news stories and features of local, national and international scope, and opinion grounded in reason, as well as providing the most comprehensive entertainment and arts coverage in the Triad. YES! Weekly welcomes submissions of all kinds. Efforts will be made to return those with a self-addressed stamped envelope; however YES! Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited submissions. YES! Weekly is published every Wednesday by Womack Newspapers, Inc. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. First copy is free, all additional copies are $1.00. Copyright 2023 Womack Newspapers, Inc.

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THETRIAD’SBEST 2023 Are you reAdy?

Find out who was voted THE BEST IN THE TRIAD next week, June 14th!

Chow Down With John Batchelor at Blue Water Grille

BY JOHN BATCHELOR

Blue Water Grille is the flagship of the Blue Restaurant Group, owned by Paul Riggan, who trained at Johnson and Wales.

From the entryway, the bar flanks to the right. High-top seating with food service is available. The main dining room is separated into multiple seating areas, which creates a cozier feel, but when full — and this restaurant fills up often — the noise level can get pretty high.

Guests are well cared for. Servers know the food, and they provide appropriately paced deliveries. The wine list is substantial, with a reasonable number of selections by the glass. Pricing strikes me as appropriate for the venue. On balance, you won’t be making any bad decisions here.

The menu provides a lot of welcome flexibility.

“Munchies” are aptly named. These could serve as a starter, enough to share, or nibble over conversation.

To prepare Fried Green Tomatoes and Smoked Trout, four firm slices of a green tomato are dredged in buttermilk, then coated with breadcrumbs and fried to a delightfully crisp crust. North Carolina smoked trout is blended into creme fraiche, sprinkled with clipped chives, and dabbed on top. This is a creative variation on a perennially popular dish.

Oysters are flash-fried to a dark brown, heavy crust. Most of the flavor comes from the crust, enhanced with a white barbecue sauce. Mussels, from Prince Edward Island, are joined on the platter with fire-roasted corn, cotija cheese, cilantro, shallots, garlic, and lime- almost a Mexican treatment.

“Small Plates” could serve double duty as starters or as light entrées.

Calamari is sliced fresh into wedges, panko-crusted, and fried to a light crust. Two sauces, Thai chili and chipotle aioli, flank lime wedges in the presentation. Let’s put this in context: it’s in a league by itself, relative to other area restaurants. The Crab Cake is good, too, panko crusted for crispness, yet still light in texture, presented over leaf lettuces, joined on the plate by a tomato-corn relish and cilantro-jalapeno aioli. BW Shrimp are pan-seared, sprinkled with clipped shallots, arrayed with sliced grape tomatoes, all resting in Budweiser-Worcestershire broth with garlic.

From the salads, a Wedge places applewood smoked bacon, tomatoes, gorgonzola cheese and green onions in the center of an opened iceberg head, ladled with gorgonzola dressing. Lush!

Given the restaurant’s name, you might expect a seafood focus in the “Mains” list, and coastal waters are indeed well represented.

Halibut is lightly blackened and seared, placed over polenta, with lump crabmeat, andouille sausage, and asparagus, all covered with bearnaise sauce. Salmon is pan-seared- a simple preparation in itself, rendered complex by the addition of heirloom tomatoes, sliced squash, mushrooms, cilantro, jasmine rice, in red curry broth.

North Carolina Trout is pan-roasted, with two filets folded together, over wild mushroom risotto, flavored with aged balsamic vinegar and shaved Parmesan cheese, leaves of arugula scattered alongside. Slices of seared sushi-grade Tuna are stacked alongside fried rice interspersed with crab meat, decorated with hoisin and sriracha aioli, spring onions, and sesame seeds.

Scallops turned out to be my favorite dish. Perfectly seared (I admire the technique!) they are arrayed around pappardelle pasta, with basil, white wine, lemon zest, and shaved Parmesan cheese. Heirloom tomatoes, spinach, and shallots are interspersed within the pasta, for a pleasant looking as well as pleasant tasting conception.

Of course, you are not restricted to seafoods. Another section of the menu lists steaks, chops, and chicken.

I had mixed reactions to Steak Frites. This kitchen uses Manhattan strip steak, a superior cut compared to most other renditions, and the quality is evident in both depth of flavor and tenderness of texture. And I have never seen a steak cooked as precisely as this one — textbook pink interior, beautiful sear marks from the grill, ladled with black pepper demiglace. But it was served cool to the touch. The steak is accompanied by hand-cut fries seasoned with Old Bay- a lot of Old Bay. That seasoning, at least to my taste, obliterates the excellent quality flavor of the fries themselves. Garlic parmesan aioli cuts the taste of salt and Old Bay somewhat. I asked our server before placing the order if another potato preparation could be substituted, but she said that Chef gets really upset when someone asks for a substitution.

That returned entrée, however, created the opportunity to try another selection that I wanted, with stellar results. Blue Water Grille is certainly not an Italian restaurant, but no Italian restaurant in my experience serves better Bolognese, few anywhere near this good. Beef and pork ragu is swirled into pappardelle pasta, excellent pecorino Romano cheese shredded thick on top. The result is an explosion of flavor! An especially strong list of zinfandel wines, plus Ferrari-Carano Sienna sangiovese blend, in addition to the Italian reds, create a great wine match opportunity for this entrée.

Because I have liked Blue Water Grille so much in the past, I made several visits this spring, usually with friends. So I was able to sample several desserts. Cheesecake, wrapped in a tortilla and fried, is a knockout, both for flavor and visual impact. Key Lime Pie is appropriately tart, enhanced with baked meringue on the side. The sinfully rich Bread Pudding is studded with chocolate chips and flavored with caramel, Kahlua, and Bourbon.

Blue Water opened in November 2003. Margaret Ann Rierson manages the front of the house. She has been with the restaurant since January 2006. She joined the team as a server, then after a few years took over market reservations and other management duties. Jamie Witzleben became head chef two years ago. He

is an Asheville-Buncombe Tech culinary program graduate, whose previous experience included the Grove Park Inn. He moved to the High Point area during the pandemic to be closer to family. This restaurant continues to be ranked among the Triad’s elite. !

JOHN BATCHELOR has been writing about eating and drinking since 1981. Over a thousand of his articles have been published. He is also author of two travel/ cookbooks: Chefs of the Coast: Restaurants and Recipes from the North Carolina Coast, and Chefs of the Mountains: Restaurants and Recipes from Western North Carolina. Contact him at john.e.batchelor@gmail.com or see his blog, johnbatchelordiningandtravel.blogspot.com.

WANNA go?

Blue Water Grille 126 E State Avenue

High Point 27262

336-886-1010

bluewatergrillenc.com

Hours: 5-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5-10 p.m.

Friday & Saturday

Appetizers: $12-$16

Salads: $9-$16

Soups: $9

Small Plates: 14-$17

Entrees: $24-$52

Desserts: $9

Most recent visit: May 20

Calamari

Halibut Trout

Crab Cake BW Shrimp

Fried Green Tomatoes with Smoked Trout

Scallops Salmon

Fried Oysters

Retro rock: The Grateful Dead in concert on the big screen

WEEKLY ARTS ROUNDUP

NAMRATA MITRA’S 5 ½ YARDS: THE HISTORY AND HERITAGE OF THE INDIAN SAREE

BY KATIE HALL

County

Arts Council of WinstonSalem & Forsyth County is presently hosting international artist, Namrata Mitra for an exhibition titled 5 ½ Yards: The History and Heritage of the Indian Saree. The exhibition will be on view in the Main Gallery at Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts through June 30, 2023.

In partnership with the Rotary Club of Winston-Salem, Arts Council began engaging artist Namrata Mitra in the fall of 2022 for the exhibition 5 ½ Yards. The art of Namrata Mitra comes alive in the carefully curated products sold under the brand “Namrata Weaves.”

As a female entrepreneur in India, she started the company modestly in her family’s apartment in Kolkata, India. Namrata nurtured the company, working with numerous weavers and artisans who belonged to various diverse communities in India. As a result of these relationships, she developed a fraternity by o ering a path forward to a better life for her creative colleagues. Simultaneously, she o ered customers unique experiences such as presenting fabric in special designs with each saree having a distinctive name so that the customer knew that there is only one of that saree — a piece of art — that the customer can claim as the only one ever made.

The 5 ½ Yards exhibition features the expanded way in which the work of Indian artisans and weavers can be creatively applied to fabric to bring alive the artistic sensibility of Namrata in a variety of products — from the traditional saree to keepsake “potli” bags that fit in with home decor products now available from Namrata Weaves. “The work of Namrata is much more than the length of fabric,” said Shannon Stokes, Director of Community

Impact and Programs at Arts Council.

“It is about the inspiring journey of Namrata and how her creative vision bridged communities together and redefined her role in Indian society as a social entrepreneur.” A portion of all sales will support artisans and weavers in India.

Rotary is a global network of 1.4 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves. They provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.

ARTS COUNCIL of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County is the chief advocate of the arts and cultural sector in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. Arts Council’s goal is to serve as a leader in lifting up, creating awareness and providing support to grow and sustain the arts and cultural o erings throughout our region, ultimately bringing our community together and making it a great place to live, work and play.

Each year, Trafalgar Releasing and Rhino Entertainment have resurrected the unique spirit of the Grateful Dead with “Meet-Up at the Movies,” in which a vintage Dead show is presented in theaters around the world. This year is no exception, and for “Deadheads” of all ages the “2023 Meet-Up at the Movies” will feature the group’s very first concert at Soldier Field, which took place on June 22nd, 1991.

The “Grateful Dead 2023 Meet-Up at the Movies” will be screened at 7 p.m. June 22nd and 2 p.m. June 24th at The Grand 18, 5601 University Parkway, Winston-Salem. Tickets are $19.27 each. It will also be screened at 7 p.m. June 22nd and 3 p.m. June 24th at the Regal Greensboro Grande RPX, 3205 Northline Ave., Greensboro. Tickets are $16.01 each. Tickets are available at https://www.meetupatthemovies. com/ or https://www.fandango.com/ grateful-dead-meet-up-2023-231873/ movie-overview. (Additional screens may be added closer to the event date.)

The Soldier Field concert, which attracted some 60,000 fans, featured such classic tunes as “Brown-Eyed Woman,” “Dark Stark,” “Playing in the Band,” “Shakedown Street,” “Terrapin Station,” and more. The “Meet-Up at the Movies” screening also includes such bonus content as the Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast Presents: “Here Comes Sunshine 1973” and a special introduction by Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux.

The concert occurred at a pivotal point in the Dead’s history, as keyboardist Brent Mydland had died of an overdose following the 1990 summer tour. The next year, Vince Welnick (formerly of The Tubes) and Grammy Award winner Bruce Hornsby succeeded Mydland on keyboards for the 1991 tour, joining the core line-up of Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzman, and Mickey Hart. It became known as the beginning of the “Bruce-Vince era,” and proved there was still life in the Dead (no pun intended). Ironically, the Grateful Dead would play its final concert at Soldier Field on July 9th, 1995, exactly a month before Garcia’s tragic passing.

“We are thrilled to partner with Rhino once again to bring the Grateful Dead ‘Meet-Up’ to movie theaters all around the world,” said Kymberli Frueh, senior vice president for programming and content acquisitions for Trafalgar Releasing. “This is one of our most requested events and we are pleased to keep bringing Deadheads together in local cinemas year after year.”

For a group with only one Top 40 single to its credit (1985’s “Touch of Grey”), the durability of the Dead was a remarkable phenomenon, almost unheard-of in show business. For decades, the Grateful Dead was among the top-grossing touring acts in rock and roll, amassing over 2,200 concert appearances — many of which have entered the realm of lore among Deadheads. In 1994, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2007 they received a Lifetime Grammy Achievement Award.

Since 2015, Hart, Weir, and Kreutzman have soldiered on as Dead & Company, joined by John Mayer, Oteil Brubridge, and Je Chimenti, keeping the music and spirit of the Grateful Dead alive. Kreutzman did not participate in Dead & Company’s summer tour this year, and Mayer announced last fall that this year’s tour would be the last, thus bringing to a close a storied history of almost 60 years. Yet, of course, the music and memories remain — and continue to inspire younger generations of devotees the world over.

For more information, visit https:// www.meetupatthemovies. com/ or https://www.fandango.com/ grateful-dead-meet-up-2023-231873/ movie-overview. !

See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies. © 2023, Mark Burger.

Mark Burger Contributor

Art Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth

Namrata Mitra

“DWI Death Should be a Federal Crime”

ast month Samantha Hutchinson, a 38-year-old bride from Charlotte, and her new husband Aric were leaving their wedding reception in a golf cart, when 25-yearold Jamie Komoroski drove her car into the newlyweds, killing Samantha. The Charleston, South Carolina coroner determined that Samantha died of blunt force injuries. Meanwhile, the Folly Beach police found that Komoroski had a blood alcohol content of .26%, which is three times the legal limit. The circumstance of this tragic incident was sadly unique, but the result was not.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 37 Ameri-

Lcans die in drunk-driving crashes every day. That’s one death every 39 minutes. In 2021, a total of 13,384 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths, and that was up 14% from 2020.

In South Carolina where Samantha was killed, over 290 people die each year in alcohol-related crashes. Here in North Carolina, the stats are even worse, with over 420 drunk driving deaths per year. And if you really want to get steamed, consider that according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 4 million American adults say they drive drunk each year, and according to the CDC, intoxicated drivers get behind the wheel no less than 112 million times per year. That means only by the grace of God are millions of motorists not dying because of drunk driving.

To their credit, national groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving and others are making a difference in terms of education and awareness. SafeHome. org, for example, reports that 78% of Americans are aware of and concerned

about the dangers of drunk driving. And here in the Triad, Daggett Shuler has prevented countless numbers of teens from driving drunk through their “Safe Sober” campaign, which is significant considering that nearly 30% of drunkdriving-related fatalities involve young drivers in their early 20s. But education and prevention alone must be accompanied by strict, consistent, and clearlydefined DWI laws.

As I’ve noted in previous columns, penalties for drunk driving are weak and inconsistent and can vary from county to county. In fact, according to M.A.A.D., over one-third of people convicted of drunk driving are repeat offenders. Translation? They get caught, they get a slap on the wrist, then, after a period of time, they drive drunk again. And it’s no wonder. According to a 2018 investigation by the Charlotte Observer, Judges in some North Carolina localities only convict 10% of drunk drivers.

The problem stems from a system of guidelines that allows a judge to weigh three factors in every DWI case. Those include “Mitigating” factors, “Aggravating” factors, and “Grossly Aggravating” factors.

If a drunk driver has had an otherwise safe driving record, that’s a mitigating factor that often results in a small fine and a suspended sentence. If the driver has had two or more drunk-driving convictions within the past five years, that’s an aggravating factor that can result in jail time of from 2 days to six

months. If the intoxicated driver is operating a vehicle with a revoked license and causes serious injury to another person, that’s a grossly aggravating factor that can carry a prison sentence of up to three years.

And yet, even with these guidelines in place, every judge has latitude in sentencing. Take for instance the case involving Taylor Roberts who, in 2018, was driving drunk at high speeds when he crashed his car, killing a female passenger. Taylor reached a plea deal with a Forsyth County assistant district attorney and was only sentenced to three to five years in prison. And that brings me back to Jamie Komoroski who, because she killed Samantha Hutchinson in South Carolina, could only serve a maximum of ten years in prison for DWI homicide.

The only way to prevent more repeat offenders from driving drunk and possibly killing someone is to pass and enforce stricter laws for a first offense. Beyond that, we need to make sure those laws and guidelines are consistent from county to county and from State to State. Given the current composition of our General Assembly, however, it’s not likely that such reforms would pass. That’s why I support making alcohol-related vehicular manslaughter or homicide a federal crime. Since every State receives federal funds for the maintenance and construction of roads and highways, and since drunk driving-related fatalities occur on those roads, then Congress should have the authority to pass legislation that would codify penalties and enforcement for drunk-driving-related deaths regardless of the State in which the offense occurs. Failure of any State to abide by such a Congressional Act would result in loss of federal funds.

As it stands now, drunk drivers are a menace to society, but so are the State lawmakers, prosecutors, and judges who allow them to continue to get behind the wheel of a deadly weapon.

JIM LONGWORTH is the host of Triad Today, airing on Saturdays at 7:30 a.m. on ABC45 (cable channel 7) and Sundays at 11 a.m. on WMYV (cable channel 15) and streaming on WFMY+.

Jim Longworth

Longworth at Large

About My Father a waste of time and talent

Very early on, there’s the faint air of desperation permeating About My Father, a comedy starring executive producer Sebastian Maniscalco and co-written by him and Austen Earl. Unfortunately, as this extremely slowmoving 90-minute farce unfolds, that desperate air becomes thicker and thicker. The show-biz term “flop sweat” comes to mind. The summer movie season has just begun, and here’s a strong candidate for the worst movie.

Maniscalco, whom the posters proudly proclaim as “the hottest comic in America,” plays a Chicago hotel manager named … Sebastian Maniscalco. He’s planning to pop the question to long-time girlfriend Ellie (Leslie Bibb) when they are invited to her family’s house during the Fourth of July weekend. Her father (David Rasche) is a high-powered hotelier, her mother (Kim Cattrall) is a U.S. senator (loosely based on Hillary Clinton, perhaps?), whereas blue-collar Sebastian’s father Salvo (Robert De Niro) is a first-generation Italian immigrant and successful hairstylist. See where this is going?

Sebastian agrees to bring Salvo along for the weekend because, well … there wouldn’t be a movie otherwise. As it stands, About My Father isn’t much of one anyway. The inevitable “culture-clash” hijinks ensue, but the jokes, such as they are, invariably evoke more cringes than laughs. The film takes place over a few days, yet it feels like a season in purgatory.

Nothing ever feels at stake, the outcome is never in doubt, and although Maniscalco has claimed that the film is based on his relationship with his own father, it seems more inspired — if that’s the proper word — by De Niro’s 2000 smash Meet the Parents and its o spring (Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers). About My Father feels dated and stale. Although the film takes place over the Fourth of July weekend, it’s unlikely to still be loitering in theaters then.

No one really emerges unscathed, least

of all Maniscalco. De Niro, Cattrall, Rasche, and Bibb weather the proceedings like the pros they are, attempting to manufacture some chemistry between these onedimensional characters. Comparatively speaking, Rasche fares best, his perennial befuddlement adding a little energy. But it’s not enough. The best that can be said about this sub-par TV sitcom is that it’s almost instantly forgettable.

The laughs are in short supply, and there’s nothing director Laura Terruso can do to the hapless direction. !

See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies. © 2023,

Mark Burger Contributor

BY THE EDITORS AT ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

COMPELLING EXPLANATION

When Ocala, Florida, police o cers questioned 37-year-old Daniel Robert Dinkins about a nearby burglary on May 13, he responded, “That may have been me.” Earlier, o cers had been called to a home where someone had thrown a brick through a window where a baby was sleeping inside, then left a book on the front porch. Dinkins said he wanted to swim in the neighbors’ backyard pool and “wanted to share the book with them,” Ocala News reported. He also told police he was a “time traveler” and was trying to “save the baby from something way in the future when the child is much older.” Strangely, Dinkins said he wasn’t aware there was a baby sleeping inside. He faces a felony burglary charge.

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A central India food inspector, Rajesh Vishwas, lost more than his phone on May 21, NBC News reported. While snapping a vacation selfie at Kherkatta Dam, Vishwas dropped his phone into the water. According to him, his device contained sensitive governmental information, so he ordered the reservoir to be drained. Vishwas said he got permission from R.C. Dhivar, a local water resources o cial, but Dhivar argued that he’d given permission to drain only 3 or 4 feet of water. Instead, “They had emptied the water up to 10 feet.” It took three days to drain the 530,000 gallons of water, but in the end, it was all for naught: Vishwas’ phone was unusable. As was he: He was suspended from his job pending an investigation.

THAT RULE DOESN’T APPLY TO ME

An unnamed woman in Tacoma, Washington, was arrested and detained in a negative pressure room at the Pierce County jail on June 1 after refusing for more than a year to get treatment for tuberculosis, KOMO-TV reported. A judge issued 17 orders for her to be involuntarily detained before police caught up with her. “We believe she was trying to avoid being captured,” said Sgt. Darren Moss. O cers surveilled her while she was still at home and observed her riding a city bus to a casino. “The health department had asked her to just do it on her own ... now she’s going to have to do it in our facility, unfortunately,” Moss said. He said TB was once common in the jail, hence the negative pressure rooms, which “isolate the air within the room so it doesn’t infect the rest of the rooms within the facility.”

RUDE

New York attorney Anthony Orlich is probably tearing his hair out in the wake of an incident in late May, the New York Post reported. Orlich allegedly snatched the wig o the head of Brooklyn singer Lizzy Ashleigh while walking along a city street at night; Ashleigh captured the aftermath on her cellphone and posted a video to TikTok, which garnered hundreds of thousands of views. In the video, Ashleigh yells at Orlich: “Sir! For what reason did you take my wig o ? What makes you think that that’s OK?” Orlich refused to apologize, even with his friends encouraging him to. Ashleigh has said she plans to take legal action, but Orlich is already in trouble: His firm, Leader Berkon Colao & Silverstein LLP, has fired him, according to a LinkedIn post.

LUCKY!

A piglet got a second chance at life on May 25, according to KVVU-TV. As Lars Gradel, Rebecca Zajac and her son, Colton, drove along the interstate that day near Las Vegas, they witnessed a baby pig as it was thrown from a truck. “We saw a pig fly out the side of the truck, and he tumbled about 10, 15 times down the side of the freeway,” Gradel said. They stopped to rescue the pig, who didn’t seem to be hurt. “Lucky,” as he was named, was given a new home at the All Friends Animal Sanctuary, where he’ll eventually meet fellow porcine Mister Picklesworth. “Now Lucky’s going to be wallowing in mud and rooting around in the ground and ... eating watermelon and popsicles in the summer,” said sanctuary founder Tara Pike.

FIXER-UPPERS

—Looking for a bargain home in Burbank, Oklahoma? “Bargain,” as in: more than 17,000 square feet for only $60,000. United Press International reported on May 30 that the former Burbank High School is on the market and listed as a single-family home. The building, constructed in 1924, features five “bedrooms,” four bathrooms and an indoor basketball court, along with an auditorium. The school closed in 1968, and conditions are pretty rough inside. “There is plenty of opportunity to make this property your own,” the listing promises. !

©2023 Andrews McMeel Universal

3 Porcelain babies, maybe

4 “The Intern” actress

5 Tolkien menace

6 Entire

7 Informal German tavern

8 The Hawkeye State

9 High-tech “appt. book”

10 Gave birth to Tom, Dick or Harry?

11 “— Lang Syne”

12 Screened at a bar door

13 Twisted cotton thread

14 Archie’s pal, in comics

15 World capital on a fjord

16 Valentine’s Day symbol

Juneteenth lifts voices across the Triad

lack Triad artists and cultural creators are doing their part to “Lift Every Voice and Sing” the celebrations of Black liberation for Juneteenth — and showcasing those doing the work all year long — all around the Triad. Doing the work to help the hungry, the Allen Jay Recreation Center will host a Juneteenth party and canned food drive with “music, food, games and more for the whole family,” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. , located at 1073 E. Springfield Road in High Point.

Down Triangle Lake Road, Williams Memorial C.M.E. Church will host A Juneteenth Celebration of Color from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 17. DJ Energizer will set the tone and party vibes of “fun, food, fellowship, and family,” along with vendors and a variety of live performers.

Juneteenth celebrations continue on Sunday as the Carl Chavis YMCA will host a “Celebration of Freedom” from noon to 5 p.m. on June 18. With a plea for unity within the community, the event will feature a “Walk in Solidarity” led by Uniting Black Men for Change (an organization aimed at “uplifting Black men as fathers, husbands, and overall productive citizens within their commu-

Bnities”). There will also be live entertainment, cultural exchanges, health screenings, a talent showcase, games, and vendors. Organizers intend an experience that “will continue to uplift one another and our community.”

In Winston-Salem, Triad Cultural Arts, Inc will bring the “Juneteenth: Celebrating Freedom and the Will to be Free” festival to the Innovation Quarter in downtown Winston-Salem on June 17. Organizers invite the community to “enjoy the rich African American cultural traditions at the Juneteenth Festival celebrating the 158th Anniversary of Freedom!”

Spread across three stages, with two exhibits highlighting the “Shotgun House Legacy Site” project and “Rooted in Race: A Community’s Journey to School Integration, which explores the history of school desegregation around Winston-Salem.

Inside, the Biotech Place Stage will offer a “break from the sun,” along with vendors, community information sessions, and “rousing Gospel music” from 1 to 5 p.m. Scheduled artists include: Renaissance Choir, Galvin Crisp & Class Act, Tribute To Joycelyn Johnson, Macedonia S.D. Johnson Celestial Mass Choir, and Gifted 3.

Outside, the Bailey Park main stage will run 1-8 p.m., with R&B, jazz, youth artists, food vendors, produce stands, and more. Musical offerings include: Felecia Piggott Anderson, Quick Image Band, Band Clazz, Phase Band, and Aretha Meets Earth, Wind & Fire tribute

band. Yoga demonstrations, line dancing and Otesha African Dance will go down in between sets.

There’s also a “Kid’s Kingdom” stage in Bailey Park from 1 to 5 p.m. Crafts, games and face painting are among the activities; plus performances, dance showcases and demonstrations from the Triad Dance Team, Mr. GP aka Gods Plan, Wayne Jones and Greater Vision Dance, and an African Movement demonstration.

The Kingdom stage will also host the coronation of the 2023 “Queen Juneteenth and court” in a “cultural theatrical pageant that uplifts the heritage and scholarship of participants,” organizers said. “It’s designed to provide the necessary infrastructure to succeed in higher education. Participants are female high school junior students in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School system, with a 2.5 GPA or higher, an interest in leadership, a desire to serve in the community and will attend an HBCU.”

From three stages to three years, the number seems to be a charm for Black artists and Juneteenth organizers in Winston-Salem and Greensboro. Juneteenth GSO will celebrate its thirdyear of festivities expanding across Greensboro June 15-18. Meanwhile, Steady:Hyperactive’s third-annual “Juneteenth Jubilee” returns to SECCA on June 17.

In Winston-Salem, the busy bees that make up the SteadyHype art and media collective are abuzz for another

round of “Jubeelee,” with performances, panels, and vendors. “Our collaboration with SECCA is a celebration of Black arts in the Triad and all it provides,” said SteadyHype-r Donovan Beatty. “Juneteenth is a recognition for how far we’ve come as Black people — and a society as a whole — while noticing how far we still have to go.”

For the 2023 jubilee, SECCA will be open for free tours and a panel discussion with regional artists, hosted by Maya “Sol” Williams; and featuring special guest, Vitus Shell, a Louisianabased mixed-media painter whose work is “geared toward the black experience, giving agency to people from this community through powerful images deconstructing, sampling, and remixing identity, civil rights, and contemporary black culture.”

Shell’s “‘Bout It ‘Bout It, The Political Power of Just Being” collection is currently on display at SECCA through June 18; and he’ll be leading a tour of the exhibition during the Jubeelee; along with hosting a portrait session to collect images for future projects.

“Vitus is an extraordinarily talented artist and being able to meet him, talk to him personally, and him being open to coming back and talking about his art to the masses despite his busy schedule is beautiful,” Beatty said. “We’re excited he was able to be a part of the festival.”

Portraits and panels are part of the free events; with ticketed afternoon and evening performances “blessed by the bee” of artists within the SteadyHype

Katei Cranford

Contributor

hive. “We’re also grateful for SECCA giving us the platform,” Beatty said, “and we’re excited to see what the future holds.”

In Greensboro, Juneteenth GSO is also celebrating its third year as an organizational committee, with a whole weekend of celebrations running June 15-18.

Expanding across the downtown areas with an eye on intention, the 2023 Juneteenth GSO festivities offer a sister-studded opening event at the Carolina Theatre and a spiritual interfaith closing celebration at Barber Park; with a stacked weekend of events including a formal awards ceremony, an uptown arts and crafts session, and a food truck block party at both Center City and LeBauer parks. “It’s more food, more fun, bigger and Blacker!,” said April Parker, who was among the handful of Black creatives who formed the official Juneteenth GSO committee in 2020.

Having been organizing Juneteenth events for years before joining the ranks of artists to officially establish a committee, Parker is excited at Juneteenth GSO’s expansion, while carefully curating events with intention and value.

“I consider myself an architect of Black space,” Parker explained. “That’s my art. And the cultural work of creating a Black space and building through that; and being intentional is a part of my artmaking.”

Taken all together, Juneteenth GSO’s festivities focus on a shared vision: “a multi-day festival that centers Black culture in the community, amplifies Black lives, and centers Black voices,”

organizers said, “and we’re welcoming the third-year with some familiar faces and some new ones!”

Lavinia “Momma Love” Jackson is another familiar face (and committee co-cofounder) turning that vision into reality. A multi-award-winning author and poet, Jackson has “been a part of the Juneteenth GSO evolution for 10 years,” Parker said, referencing the ways Jackson has continued to “center Black Women, as artists and architects, of the work.”

Within that framework, Jackson developed the “Sistars of Juneteenth” opening celebration as a platform welcoming “Black joy and creativity.” The 2023 event runs on June 15 at the Carolina Theatre. “Sistars of Juneteenth opens the festival by celebrating local Black women artists who fill the stage with their gifts in poetry, drama, music and dance, all while live painting,” organizers said. “The family-friendly showcase features Black Girl Magic from ages 18 to elders.”

Offering a stellar beginning for the weekend — and radiating with infectious joy — artists for this event include: Gwenn Poole, the Greensboro Kwanzaa Collective, Keisha McKane, Taronza Graves, Demi Day, Sunqueen Kelcey, Carla Simpson, Allantra Lewis, Ciara Oatis, Alter Egos Band, DJ Small Wonda, and Tyamica Mabry.

The joy continues on Friday — with flowers and fancy dress — at the Juneteenth: The 2023 Arts Legacy Awards, June 16, at the Van Dyke Performance Space.

Managed and designed by committee member Nicole J. Walker (who also chairs the Juneteenth Gospel Superfest: Interfaith Celebration) the event serves as a formal awards ceremony dinner and tribute to their impact. Honorees for 2023 include: Cheryl Gould (dance), Dana Lucci (hip-hip), James Raleigh (visual art), Chris Robinson (music), and Shelby J. (music).

“Greensboro has a rich arts history,” organizers said, “but unfortunately, we don’t hear much about the contributions of Black arts institutions, artists, and arts administrators and we want to take time during Juneteenth to acknowledge and thank them for their contributions.”

Those acknowledgments are integral to the mission upheld by Juneteenth GSO: “to curate a series of Black cultural events in the City of Greensboro that celebrate and commemorate the federal holiday Juneteenth.“

And a significant amount of committee work involves honoring the work of others — a tenant of Juneteenth GSO’s ideals and values (the full list of which can be found on their website) that are interwoven across their events to ensure Black history is both regained and maintained; while showcasing samples of the heterogeneity across Black culture, paying artists their worth, fostering collective and cooperative dynamics, and prioritizing Black businesses.

Those values resonate throughout the weekend, but come into a particular culmination in the Saturday festivities which begin uptown with the inaugural “Uptown Juneteenth Arts & Crafts

Festival” in Sternberger Park; before moving downtown for the “Juneteenth GSO Black Food Truck Festival” later that afternoon.

Running from noon to 6 p.m. on July 17, the Uptown Juneteenth Arts & Crafts Festival features music, activities, and community speakers. “We’re very excited about launching the ‘Uptown Juneteenth Arts & Crafts Festival’ as one of the core events for Juneteenth,” said committee member (and executive director of Uptown GSO, Inc) Joseph Wilkerson. “We had planned to launch a similar community festival years ago,

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14]

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but it finally came together and we were able to create a space for Black-owned businesses, vendors, entertainers, and children’s activities as we celebrate the culture during this national holiday!”

Parker shares the excitement for her own main event: the 2023 Juneteenth Black Food Truck Festival — now expanding across both Center City and LeBauer parks, the event opens with “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (aka “The Black National Anthem”) before concerts and eats commence from more than 40 vendors.

In LeBauer Park, the bill opens with a traditional African dance and drum ceremony followed by a dance party with Khrissy Yea She Funny and DJ Juice (with a Greek yard show and performances by Smooth Grooves and Dynasty Dance). Haussan Byrd will host the LeBauer main concert, with Hype House, Kylah Leshon, and The Unheard Project performing.

Over in Center City, Shante Renee will

Juneteenth Triad Events

COMPILED BY CAROLYN ADAMS AND CHANEL DAVIS

The following is a list of events happening across the Triad in conjunction with Juneteenth.

GREENSBORO

JuneteenthGSO

Black Food Truck Festival

Saturday, June 17 from 5 to 11 p.m.

HIGH POINT

2023 Juneteenth Celebration

host; with Debbie the Artist, Black Haus, and Bandclazz on the bill. And while Parker looks forward to the concerts, it’s the CCP opening open mic session (with DJ J-Smooth, Clement Mallory, and Illpo,) that remains her favorite festival element. “It’s one of the most important parts of the Black Food Truck Festival and I love it,” she said. “The majority of our work is curated, where we’re performing at people — but at the open mic, the community can work in collaboration with us.”

“The community is welcome to come and grab the mic — to give their time and talent — and that will always be a sacred space,” she continued. “It’s a fixture of the festival I won’t let go of.”

On Sunday, Juneteenth GSO “takes over” the Music for a Sunday Evening in the Park (MUSEP) series, with a special Father’s Day rendition of the “Juneteenth Gospel Superfest: Interfaith Celebration,” 2:30-5:30 p.m., in Barber Park on June 18.

Featuring special guest Micah “The Artyst”, the festivities will offer food, music, and vendors. “It’s a concert and a community reunion that brings religion and spirituality together in unity and community through traditional, contemporary, and urban music, song, and dance,” organizers said, with a special nod to the fathers of the world and an ode to Black liberation.

Reflecting on the festival and Juneteenth itself, Parker considers the exacting nature of what’s involved. “The work is challenging,” she said. “It’s really hard and really, really beautiful.

Juneteenth celebrations ring across the Triad. Cheers to Steady Hyperactive, Juneteenth GSO, and the Black artists and organizations out there doing the work this year. !

JuneteenthGSO and April Parker Productions will host the JuneteenthGSO Black Food Festival on Saturday, June 17 from 5 to 11 p.m. This event will be held at both LeBauer and Center City Parks. There will be food, fun, and fellowship. Celebrating the day of Black liberation we will connect folks to Black organizations that do the work all year and present awards for Black businesses. Come and grab the mic, dance, support the vendors, and break bread with our community while supporting Black businesses

Sistars of Juneteenth

Thursday, June 15th from 7 to 10 p.m.

Juneteenth GSO and Lavinia Jackson will host Sistars of Juneteenth on Thursday, June 15 at Carolina Theatre, located at 310 S. Greene St. in Greensboro on Thursday, June 15 from 7 to 10 p.m. This event features Black women artists in the Triad via live painting, dance, poetry, and more.

Juneteenth History Bicycle Tour

Saturday, June 17th from 9:30 a.m. to noon

The Greensboro History Museum will host a Juneteenth Bicycle History Tour on Saturday, June 17 from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

Juneteenth Gospel Superfest: Interfaith Celebration

Sunday, June 18 from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. The Juneteenth Gospel Superfest: Interfaith Celebration will be held on Sunday, June 18 from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Barber Park Amphitheater, located at 1500 Barber Park Road in Greensboro. This free, family event promotes spirituality, unity, and community through traditional, contemporary, and urban music, song, and dance. Enjoy the concert, shop with vendors, and get some good food from the Food Trucks.

Saturday, June 17 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Celebrate Juneteenth with indoor, at 1073 E. Springfield Road in High Point, and outdoor activities for the whole family, including music, basketball, kickball, and giant outdoor games. There is no cost to attend, but we will be accepting canned food donations for The Salvation Army.

Juneteenth Celebration of Color

Saturday, June 17 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Williams Memorial C.M.E. Church, located at 3400 Triangle Lake Road in High Point, will host A Juneteenth Celebration of Color. DJ Energizer will set the tone and party vibes of “fun, food, fellowship, and family,” along with vendors and a variety of live performers.

Celebration of Freedom

Sunday, June 18 from noon to 5 p.m. The Carl Chavis YMCA will host a “Celebration of Freedom” from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 18. With a plea for unity within the community, the event will feature a “Walk in Solidarity” led by Uniting Black Men for Change (an organization aimed at “uplifting Black men as fathers, husbands, and overall productive citizens within their communities.”) There will also be live entertainment, cultural exchanges, health screenings, a talent showcase, games, and vendors.

WINSTON-SALEM

2023 Juneteenth Festival

Saturday, June 17 from 1 to 8 p.m. The Triad Cultural Arts Juneteenth Festival will host the 2023 Juneteenth Festival on Saturday, June 17, in the Innovation Quarter Biotech Place (575 Patterson Ave.) from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. for performances, exhibits, crafts, music, and more. The celebrations continue outside in Bailey Park (445 Patterson Ave.) from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. with vendors, displays, music, and food. The entertainment headline will be tribute band Aretha Meets Earth, Wind & Fire.

Juneteenth Kids Fun Run

Monday, June 19 from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods will host a Juneteenth Kids Fun Run on Monday, June 19 from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Cleveland Avenue Homes, located at 1135 E 15th St. in WinstonSalem.

KATEI CRANFORD is a Triad music nerd who enjoys spotlighting artists and events.

Judge recommends against decertifying director of controversial teen rehab program

On May 24, Administrative Law Judge Karlene Turrentine recommended that the state board licensing North Carolina addiction counselors dismiss that agency’s allegations against William Guest. The word “recommended” is used because the North Carolina Addictions Specialist Professional Practice Board (NCASPPB), which is investigating the controversial “enthusiastic sobriety” teen rehab program Insight, is not bound by her ruling. The petition filed by attorney Grant Simpkins alleged that Guest “forced” teenage patients to “chain-smoke” and stop taking prescription medications, and “routinely used racial and homophobic slurs.”

Neither of the two former patients who testified for the state addressed the racism and homophobia allegation. Both testified they were encouraged to smoke, but Turrentine ruled this was not being “forced.”

“I can only use the language of the allegation,” stated Turrentine, “which said that Mr. Guest not only ‘forced’ them to smoke, but to ‘chain-smoke,’ There was no language saying Mr. Guest gave minor children cigarettes in contravention of the law.” Hypothetical phrasing that, according to Turrentine, “would have stood up” in a way that “forced to chain-smoke” did not.

Similarly, while one witness alleged Guest had told his parents he would not be allowed into the program unless he stopped taking the psychiatric medications prescribed by his physician, the judge said this did not constitute Guest “forcing” him to do so.

On LinkedIn, Guest is identified as former Facility Director of the Insight Program of Greensboro and former Facility Director/Clinical Supervisor of the Insight Program of Raleigh and current Director of Recovery Services at Welwynn Outpatient Center in Raleigh.

The Insight Program of Greensboro closed March 2022, nine months after the publication of the YES! Weekly cover story

“Code of Silence: Survivors allege teen rehab program refused to report rapes”.

Previous articles reported allegations by more than 50 survivors that Insight encouraged them to chain-smoke in order to channel “rebellious energies” away from drugs or alcohol, and that they were forbidden to take prescribed medication and prevented from seeing doctors or other certified and licensed healthcare providers.

While Insight is based in Atlanta, its remaining NC locations are in Charlotte and Cary. It has no connection with Insight Human Services of Winston-Salem.

On May 29, the NCASPPB issued the following statement about the hearing: Over the last two years, the North Carolina Addictions Specialist Professional Practice Board conducted investigations of the allegations made by Liz Nickerson and the Enthusiastic Sobriety Abuse Alliance. These investigations revealed dozens of victims and witnesses who alleged actions that would be ethical violations against multiple counselors within the Insight Program. Many of those victims asked to remain anonymous.

The Board filed a contested case hearing against Will Guest, a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, and program director of the Raleigh branch of the Insight Program.

Mr. Guest began practicing substance abuse counseling with the Insight Program in the early 2000s.

In 2005, the North Carolina legislature passed the NC Substance Abuse Professional Practice Act (commonly called “the Practice Act” within the addictions counseling community).

The Practice Act required all persons who practiced substance abuse counseling to come under the jurisdiction of the North

Carolina Addictions Specialist Professional Practice Board within a two-year window.

Mr. Guest began the application process and became credentialed with the Board in August 2006.

In a pre-trial Hearing on May 18, 2023, the Administrative Law Judge ruled that many of the Board’s witnesses, including Ms. Nickerson, were patients of Mr. Guest in a period prior to passage of the Practice Act and therefore, prior to his credentialing with the Board. The judge then ordered these witnesses dismissed. This ruling further severely hampered the Board’s ability to bring forth witnesses

The Board continued its case with the remaining witnesses. The remaining witnesses knew Mr. Guest, but in all cases, he was not their direct counselor.

At the respondent’s attorney request, the judge issued a preliminary ruling to dismiss the case because the Board had not met the burden of proof of Mr. Guest’s unethical behavior while he was credentialed by the Board.

This recommended final decision will be considered by the Board later in the year. The Board has the authority to not accept the ruling.

Following the hearing, Executive Director Barden Culbreth said, “The Board’s stateordered mandate is to protect the public. This is especially important here because patients with addictions are at their most vulnerable and susceptible to people in positions of power, especially from their counselors. While we are disappointed in the judge’s recommended decision, we will continue to pursue allegations of unethical behavior, including those against counselors of the Insight Program.”

In a telephone statement, Culbreth explained why his board could not discipline Guest for acting as Nickerson’s counselor before he was licensed in North Carolina, or for anything he said and did before his licensure.

“The DMV is unlikely to revoke your driver’s license over allegations, however credible, that you were a reckless driver before you ever had a license. That’s a crude analogy, but the judge is saying everything that happened before Mr. Guest was certified in North Carolina is o the table.”

Nickerson, who now lives in Oregon, first contacted YES! Weekly in late 2020 about the abuses she and others allegedly suffered in the Greensboro program from 2004 when she was 16, to when she was “kicked out” after her pregnancy in 2006. “All of the girls who got pregnant were immediately kicked out, and all of the boys who impregnated them were allowed to stay.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20]

Ian McDowell

Contributor

William Guest

Liz Nickerson

As described in the January 5 YES! Weekly article The [Hate] Group, the Insight Program is founded on the “enthusiastic sobriety” teachings of the controversial and openly racist Bob Meehan, whose son-in-law Clint Stonebraker is the program’s current owner and executive director.

Meehan first received national coverage in 1979, when Carol Burnett praised him for helping her daughter Carrie Hamilton overcome drug addiction. Hamilton died of lung cancer in 2002 at the age of 38. According to a 2013 Access Hollywood report, Hamilton acquired her lifelong nicotine addiction in Meehan’s program. Meehan died in June 2021. The cause of his death remains undisclosed, but multiple former Insight members describe him as a constant smoker with nicotinestained teeth and beard.

In June 2021, Guest told YES! Weekly he could not comment on Nickerson’s allegations but would forward them to Stonebraker. Requests for comment from Stonebraker have gone unanswered.

Last week, Nickerson described what she would have said if allowed to testify.

“Every time I attempted to quit smoking cigarettes, due to my hospitalizations for asthma, I was mocked, bullied, teased, and isolated by my peers and counselors because I was not smoking.”

She also stated she “was prepared to testify to rampant sexual abuse happening in the program, which I reported directly to Will and other counselors, and which nothing was done about.”

Sam Dale, one of the two witnesses allowed to testify, told YES! Weekly that anyone who refused cigarettes from Guest, “would be mocked and scorned and asked how do you not smoke cigarettes if you’re a drug addict and this is the only thing that we can do? Nicotine was presented as something that had never gotten anybody arrested, so it was a problem we could deal with later.”

Insight, alleged Dale, “insists that you must always identify as a drug addict

even after you are clean and sober, as you are powerless over drugs and mindaltering substances and will always be an addict, that only the group can save from being killed by that addiction.”

Dale also stated that “Will Guest said to me and my parents that, in the eyes of Insight, being sober requires giving up all medications, including ones prescribed in many treatment centers,” and that he was forbidden to attend Guilford High School, which ended his chances at a swimming scholarship. “I had to sign a contract saying I would not see friends and schoolmates because they smoked weed, and was required to hang out with kids from Insight who were not even 30 days sober from heroin.”

The other former patient to testify was Sara Swope, who said she entered the Raleigh Insight program in March 2018 and left in April 2021. Swope told YES! Weekly that she was surprised she was not asked to testify about her participation in the fire that caused over $81,000 of damage at the closed North Wilkesboro Speedway in July 2018. This incident was described in the Feb. 28. 2021 article “Fear, Fraud and Fun Felonies ,” which quoted former Insight patient Blake Strider as stating the arson was discussed after the fact by both members and sta of the Charlotte and Atlanta “shops” (as Insight’s various local headquarters and meeting places are called), and that “we were told not to talk to police about this.”

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“It was me and a bunch of kids from the Charlotte group,” said Swope to YES! Weekly. “We entered the old broadcasters’ box and broke chairs and windows, and the Charlotte kids set fire to hay bales stored there.” While Swope acknowledges that Guest had not instructed them to do it, she stated that she told him afterward and “he never said don’t do that, but instead, wow, that sounds fun,” which Swope called “an example of how we were encouraged to do whatever we wanted as long as it wasn’t drugs.”

She also alleged that, after vandalizing “an abandoned old folks’ home in Raleigh,” police came to the program

asking questions that she and other patients were instructed by counselors not to answer.

“I wasn’t in the Raleigh group, so I can’t speak too much to how Will would have reacted,” said Strider. “But it was standard practice to report a fun felony to Insight sta the day after we committed it. We were also coached to lie about a previous fire set by some of the kids in Charlotte, which burnt the asphalt on a bridge so badly that people could not reach their homes.”

Both Nickerson and NCASPPB director Culbreth says that the investigation of the Insight Program in North Carolina is only just beginning. Those with information on the state’s complaint process can contact Culbreth at barden@ncaddictionsboard. org. Nickerson urged survivors of Insight and other “enthusiastic sobriety” programs to contact Enthusiastic Sobriety Abuse Alliance, the organization she co-founded, via the contact form at www. esaalliance.org. !

IAN MCDOWELL is the author of two published novels, numerous anthologized short stories, and a whole lot of nonfiction and journalism, some of which he’s proud of and none of which he’s ashamed of.

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Insight Building

June

ASHEBORO

Four SaintS BrEwing

218 South Fayetteville St. | 336.610.3722

www.foursaintsbrewing.com

thursdays: taproom trivia

Fridays: Music Bingo

Jun 24: 80’s unplugged

CARBORRO

Cat’S CradlE

300 E Main St | 919.967.9053

www.catscradle.com

Jun 7: ax and the Hatchetmen

Jun 8: declan McKenna

Jun 8: dave Hause Mermaid

Jun 9: Cracker

Jun 9: glove

Jun 10: Quadeca, quickly, quickly

Jun 10: reggae reunion

Jun 10: tank and the Bangas

Jun 14: black midi

Jun 14: nrBQ

Jun 16: wednesday

Jun 17: neptune

Jun 20: Shamar allen

Jun 21: l’rain

Jun 21: Protomartyr

Jun 22: glare, alien Boy

Jun 23: andrew Marlin

Jun 23: Bonny doon

Jun 24: Bayonne

Jun 25: Joseph

Jun 25: Joe Pug

Jun 26: Joyce Manor

Jun 26: Sloan

Jun 27: teeyum Smith

Jun 29: EElS

Jul 1: Kiltro

Jul 7: waveform*, they are gutting a Body of water

Jul 9: Hot Mulligan

Jul 10: binki

Jul 11: Skating Polly

Jul 14: Son Volt

Jul 14: the weight Band

Jul 15: Shoaldiggers, Mystery ranch, Country Cruel

Jul 16: Harbour

Jul 19: Motherfolk

CHARlOttE BoJanglES ColiSEuM

2700 E Independence Blvd | 704.372.3600

www.boplex.com

Jun 17: tink admat

Jun 24: grupo Frontera El Comienzo tour

Jun 26: tori amos

Jul 16: 85 South Show live

tHE FillMorE

1000 NC Music Factory Blvd | 704.916.8970

www.livenation.com

Jun 7: Sam Morril

Jun 7: the 502s

Jun 8: Big wreck

Jun 9: nick lutsko & the $100K Band

Jun 9: Caifanes

Jun 14: Bastille

Jun 20: $not

Jun 21: Jesse & Joy

Jun 26: animals as leaders

Jun 30: larry’s Market run 2023

Jul 1: Electric Feels: indie rock + Electronic dance Party

Jul 7: remember the name

Jul 8: old gods of appalachia

Jul 8: lPB Poody

Jul 14: Yung Pinch

Jul 15: Killer Mike and the Midnight revival

PnC MuSiC PaVilion

707 Pavilion Blvd | 704.549.1292

www.livenation.com

Jun 17: dierks Bentley

Jun 24: weezer, Future islands & Joyce Manor

Jun 27: Big time rush, Max & Jax

Jun 28: Shania twain

Jun 29: Peso Pluma

Jul 2: Kidz Bop live

Jul 11: Matchbox twenty

Jul 19: Boy george, Culture Club & Berlin

Jul 21: Fall out Boy, Bring Me the Horizon, royal and the Serpent & Carr

Jul 22: Sam Hunt, Brett Young & lily rose

Jul 23: Mudvayne

Jul 28: Jodeci, SwV & dru Hill

Jul 29: Post Malone

Jul 30: lil durk, Kodak Black & nlE

Choppa

Jul 31: disturbed, Breaking Benjamin & Jinjer

SPECtruM CEntEr

333 E Trade St | 704.688.9000

www.spectrumcentercharlotte.com

Jun 9: Charlotte r&B Experience 2023

Jun 30: Banda MS

Jul 2: alicia Keys

Jul 6: Santa Fe Klan

Jul 9: ll Cool J

Jul 14: blink-182

Jul 16: Erykah Badu

Jul 22-23: Monster Jam

ClEmmOnS

VillagE SQuarE

taP HouSE

6000 Meadowbrook Mall Ct | 336.448.5330

www.facebook.com/vstaphouse

Jun 8: anna Mertson

Jun 10: ross Coppley

Jun 16: Sprockett

duRHAm

Carolina tHEatrE

309 W Morgan St | 919.560.3030

www.carolinatheatre.org

Jun 12: toad the wet Sprokect

Jun 13-14: Menopause the Musical

Jun 22: rodrigo y gabriela

Jun 27: Ziggy Marley

Jul 12: andy grammer

Jul 16: Melissa Etheridge

dPaC

123 Vivian St | 919.680.2787

www.dpacnc.com

Jun 7: Bluey’s Big Play

Jun 8: indigo girls with Full Band

Jun 9: Shane gillis

Jun 14: Styx

Jun 15: larry the Cable guy

Jul 9: John oliver

ElKIn

rEEVES tHEatEr

129 W Main St | 336.258.8240

www.reevestheater.com

wednesdays: reeves open Mic

Fourth thursdays: old-time Jam

Jun 10: tinsley Ellis

Jun 17: the Malpass Brothers

Jun 23: daShawn Hickman

Jun 24: reeves House Band’s Big

Blues night w/ Seth walker

Jul 7: Hubby Jenkins

Jul 13: geoff westley

Jul 14: Paul thorn

gREEnSBORO

Barn dinnEr tHEatrE

120 Stage Coach Tr. | 336.292.2211

www.barndinner.com

Jun 3- Jul 15: legends diner: a Musical tribute

Carolina tHEatrE

310 S. Greene Street | 336.333.2605

www.carolinatheatre.com

Jun 16: liam Purcell & Cane Mill road

Jun 24: Maritzada

Jul 8: our Band

CHar Bar no. 7

3724 Lawndale Dr. | 336.545.5555

www.charbar7.com

CoMEdY ZonE

1126 S Holden Rd | 336.333.1034

www.thecomedyzone.com

Jun 9-11: Capone

Jun 16-17: Mia Jackson

Jun 23-25: Jon reep

Jun 30-Jul 1: we’re not Brothers tour

Jul 14-15: rodney Perry

CoMMon groundS

602 S Elm Ave | 336.698.388

www.facebook.com/CommonGroundsGreensboro

Jun 7: Eli lev

Jun 14: Bryan Bielanski

ConE dEniM

117 S Elm St | 336.378.9646

www.cdecgreensboro.com

upcoming EvEnts

JUN 7: Afika presents Katabasis

JUN 8: Virginia Man w/ Tyler Meacham

JUN 9: Duck w/ TBA

JUN 10: An Evening w/ Darrell Scott

JUN 12: Eliot Bronson w/ Elonzo Wesley

JUN 13: Dear Darling

JUN 14: Colby T. Helms & The Virginia Creepers

HOURS: Tues-Fri: 3pm-unTil

saT & sun 12pm-unTil

221 Summit Ave | 336.501.3967

www.flatirongso.com

GaraGE TavErn

5211 A West Market St | 336.763.2020

www.facebook.com/GarageTavernGreens-

boro

Jun 16: Jukebox rehab

Jun 17: Beach Music Summer Party w/ DJ TODD

Jun 23: Huckleberry Shyne

Jul 1: Gypsy Danger

Jul 7: Second Glance Band

GranDOvEr rESOrT

2275 Vanstory Street Suite 200 | 336.294.1800

www.grandover.com

Wednesdays: Live Jazz w/ Steve Haines Trio

GrEEnSBOrO COLiSEuM

1921 W Gate City Blvd | 336.373.7400

www.greensborocoliseum.com

Jun 17: Brooks & Dunn

Jun 24: Dude Perfect

Jul 20: Thomas rhett

Jul 24: nF

Jul 30: The Chicks

LiTTLE BrOTHEr

BrEWinG

348 South Elm St | 336.510.9678

www.facebook.com/littlebrotherbrew

Wednesdays: Trivia

Fridays & Saturdays: Free Live Music

STEvEn TanGEr CEnTEr

300 N Elm Street | 336.333.6500

www.tangercenter.com

Jun 10-11: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Concert

Jun 16: The Love Triange: an Evening of Love

Jun 23: Lady a w/ Dave Barnes

THE iDiOT BOx

COMEDY CLuB

503 N. Greene St | 336.274.2699

www.idiotboxers.com

Thursdays: Open Mic

WHiTE Oak

aMPiTHEaTrE

1921 W Gate City Blvd | 336.373.7400

www.greensborocoliseum.com

Jun 24: Straight no Chaser

Jul 1: Barenaked Ladies

Jul 30: Summer Block Party SWv & Dru Hill

WinESTYLES

3326 W Friendly Ave Suite 141 | 336.299.4505

www.facebook.com/winestylesgreensboro277

jamestown

THE DECk

118 E Main St | 336.207.1999

Jun 8: Bradley Steele

Jun 9: Carolina ambush

Jun 10: Stereo Doll

Jun 15: Dan Miller

Jun 17: radio revolver

Jun 22: Jason Bunch

Jun 23: unhinged

Jun 24: The Plaids

Jun 29: The aquarius

Jun 30: Second Glance

Jul 6: Ethan Smith

Jul 8: Gipsy Danger

Jul 13: kelsey Hurley

Jul 14: Hampton Drive

Jul 15: Brother Pearl

Jul 20: Bradley Steele

Jul 21: Huckleberry Shyne

kernersville

BrEaTHE

COCkTaiL LOunGE

221 N Main St. | 336.497.4822

www.facebook.com/BreatheCocktail-

Lounge

Wednesdays: karaoke

kErnErSviLLE

BrEWinG COMPanY

221 N Main St. | 336.816.7283

www.facebook.com/kernersvillebrewing

Thursdays: Trivia

liberty

THE LiBErTY

SHOWCaSE THEaTEr

101 S. Fayetteville St | 336.622.3844

www.TheLibertyShowcase.com

Jun 24: Johnny Lee

Jul 15: Doug Stone

Jul 20: Tracy Byrd

oak ridge

BiSTrO 150

2205 Oak Ridge Rd | 336.643.6359

www.bistro150.com

Jun 10: Jordan & Madisen

Jun 17: Limited Engagement

raleigh

CCu MuSiC Park

aT WaLnuT CrEEk

3801 Rock Quarry Rd | 919.821.4111

www.livenation.com

Jun 7: TLC, Shaggy, En vogue, Sean kingston

Jun 16: Dierks Bentley

Jun 30: kiDZ BOP

Jul 8: Tears for Fears

Jul 12: Matchbox Twenty

Jul 20: Godsmack and Staind

winston-salem

THE raMkaT

170 W 9th St | 336.754.9714

Jun 7: The Dave Matthews Tribute Band

Jun 8: Hank, Pattie & The Current

Jun 9: an Evening with Jazz is Led

Jun 15: Crenshaw Pentecostal, wolves & wolves & wolves & wolves, Camel City Blackouts

Jun 16: The vagabond Saints’ Society Performs Music by the Eagles!

rOar

633 North Liberty Street | 336-917-3008

www.roarws.com | www.roarbrandstheater. com

WiSE Man BrEWinG

826 Angelo Bros Ave | 336.725.0008

www.wisemanbrewing.com

Thursdays: Music Bingo

Jun 23: Liam Pendergrass

Jul 7: Gypsy Danger

last call [

SALOME’S STARS

Week of June 12, 2023

]

PRESENTS

hot pour

[BARTENDER OF THE WEEK | BY NATALIE GARCIA]

Check out videos on our Facebook!

[ARIES (March 21 to April 19) You Ewes and Rams will find your ideas cheered by a mostly receptive flock. Those few dissenters could well be turned around by your charm and powers of persuasion.

[TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) It’s time for the bold and beautiful Bovine to shake o the dust of the past and shape up new ideas for the future. This could surprise some folks, but they’ll soon adjust.

a possible end-of-the-month money squeeze.

[VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) You’re still dealing with overtones of pessimism that cause you to doubt your ability to make some needed changes. But the negative pressures will ease up by week’s end.

BARTENDER: Ocea Symmes

BAR: Thirsty Pallet

AGE: 26

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

I grew up in Boone, North Carolina.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN BARTENDING?

5 years ago, shorty after I turned 21.

HOW DID YOU BECOME A BARTENDER?

Just by being in the service industry, my first job was at Cook Out. I worked the window and was really good with the fast paced environment. I even began to remember certain customers who came regularly and their orders. I remember thinking, I bet I’d be good at bartending. After I left Cook Out, I started waiting tables. I was the head server at this little pub in Blowing Rock. One of the bartenders was leaving and I was asked to fill her position. I was so excited, I always wanted to bartend, especially after working in restaurants. I remember it being one of the first things I did that I really felt connected to. Bartending is so special to me for so many reasons.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT BARTENDING?

Creating an environment and vibe that people want to return to. By that I mean being a space where people feel comfortable enough to be themselves, where they can celebrate and mourn, and just enjoy a drink after a long day. I think anybody can learn to make an old fashion or count a drawer or memorize six different drink orders, and make them efficiently. But I think it takes something special to make a person feel at home in your bar, despite hating people a lot of the times. I also feel really lucky to be able to see them in their most genuine state.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE DRINK TO MAKE?

A beer and a shot. But when I have the time and a person whose willing to let me, I like to experiment with whatever I have behind the bar.

I used to make banana martinis at my old bar and they were delicious.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE DRINK TO DRINK?

Averna with lime juice

WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND AS AN AFTER-DINNER DRINK?

I like a desert drink, maybe a chocolate martini.

WHAT’S THE CRAZIEST THING YOU’VE SEEN WHILE BARTENDING?

I feel like you see so much different stuff when you’re bartending it’s hard to narrow it down to just one specific thing or even remember at times all the wild stuff. One time someone tried to trade me a tube of toothpaste for a beer and a shot.

One time I saw this girl hitting on this guy and then throw up all over his shoes. I worked at this one bar where people could get on the roof and jump into our dumpster pad, which is also where we kept our liquor and beer. One time a girl tried to steal a whole case of Hamm’s Beer. I feel like every day is such a different experience and you get to see some pretty funny, wild and just all-around crazy shit. I’m a lover of chaos. What can I say.

WHAT’S THE BEST TIP YOU’VE EVER GOTTEN?

All at once I got a $300 tip on $100 tab.

[GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Those nagging new doubts about an upcoming decision should alert you to step back (at least temporarily) so you can reassess its potential impact from a new perspective.

[CANCER (June 21 to July 22) That unpleasant situation you hoped would go away by itself needs immediate attention before it a ects an upcoming decision. Expect your supporters to rally around your cause.

[LEO (July 23 to August 22) You’re moving up and away from that recent setback. But remain cautious about finances. An exercise in thrift today helps cushion

[LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) There could be some fallout from the way you handled a recent family problem. But those who know that you were in the right won’t hesitate to step in on your behalf.

[SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Financial strains ease by week’s end. Meanwhile, focus on cultivating that new relationship if you hope to have it blossom into something more meaningful.

[SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Health matters once again dominate the week. Be careful not to ignore recurrences of an old problem. An almost-forgotten commitment resurfaces.

[TRIVIA TEST]

by Fifi Rodriguez

[1. MOVIES: Which actor voiced the character of Darth Vader in the first three “Star Wars” movies released?

[2. TELEVISION: Which was the first TV show to react to the 9/11 attack on the United States?

[3. LITERATURE: Who is the youngest person to win the Nobel Prize for literature?

[4. HISTORY: Which city did Anne Frank and her family live in hiding before they were discovered?

[5. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is the tallest breed of dog?

[6. FOOD & DRINK: What is considered the national dish of Spain?

[7. GEOGRAPHY: Which is the only city that also is the smallest country in the world?

[8. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: Which holiday is considered the Jewish New Year?

[9. ANATOMY: What are the bones in the fingers called?

[10. ASTRONOMY: How many primary phases of the moon exist?

Four.

1. James Earl Jones.

2. “The West Wing.”

3. Rudyard Kipling.

4. Amsterdam.

5. Great Dane.

6. Paella.

7. Vatican City.

8. Rosh Hashanah.

9. Phalanges.

[cAPrIcorN (December 22 to January 19) The emergence of an unusual selfish streak could dismay those close to you. Defy it — don’t justify it — so you can become your gracious self again.

[AQuArIus (January 20 to February 18) Reassess your decision to stay with the status quo. It might seem like the sensible thing to do right now, but changes around you could make that choice a risky one.

[PIsces (February 19 to March 20) Move decisively, but cautiously, when dealing with a delicate personal matter. The fewer mistakes you make now, the less likely it is that the problem will recur later on.

[BorN THIs week: You can find beauty where many cannot, and you enjoy sharing your discoveries with others.

© 2023 by King Features Syndicate