YES! Weekly - May 5, 2021

MAGNOLIA HOUSE

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BLUE DUCK EXPRESS

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Bryn Hermansen

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MAy 5-11, 2021 YES! WEEKLY

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MAY 5-11, 2021 VOLUME 17, NUMBER 18

10 5500 Adams Farm Lane Suite 204

HOME RUN!

May 8 11-2

Greensboro, NC 27407 Office 336-316-1231 Fax 336-316-1930

BASEBALL DIAMONDS IN THE TRIAD were left empty in the Spring and Summer of 2020, but that didn’t stop local baseball teams from finding a way to contribute to their respective communities. Replacing draft beers and hot dogs with virtual charity auctions and community luncheons, and going from thousands of screaming fans in stands to box seats and suites that have been converted to quiet and remote workspaces, the triad’s baseball’s teams have loaded the bases and are sliding us into a new year of Minor League Baseball.

Publisher CHARLES A. WOMACK III publisher@yesweekly.com EDITORIAL Editor CHANEL DAVIS chanel@yesweekly.com YES! Writers IAN MCDOWELL MARK BURGER KATEI CRANFORD

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Free Food truck rodeo with games and activities & music For the Family www.mustardseedclinic.org

SUPPORT HIS ADVERTISERS IN T NEWSPAPER! It’s because of them that we are able to bring you arts and entertainment from around the Triad every week!

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THE MAGNOLIA HOUSE is one of the Triad’s most significant historic properties. Originally constructed as a private home in 1889, ownership passed through several families until the mid-1900s. The Gist family began providing lodging around 1949 as an inn for Black travelers, who were not allowed by law to stay in the South’s segregated lodgings.

4 Lime green rental scooters disappeared from Greensboro in February and were replaced by a different vendor and color on April 1, as per a new contract signed between the city and the San Antonio-based micromobility company BLUE DUCK EXPRESS. 6 We are a nation that has become obsessed with SIDE EFFECTS. First, we wanted to know the side effects of COVID-19, then we wanted to know the side effects of COVID vaccines.

7 That Morgan Freeman and Ruby Rose headline VANQUISH doesn’t make this dismal, dreary melodrama any better. It actually makes it worse because it utterly wastes them both — particularly Freeman, who looks terminally bored and literally phones in his performance.

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The Winston-Salem arts community mourns the passing of a young music matriarch, BRYN HERMANSEN: FemFest founder, advocate for survivors, and champion of underdogs (and all dogs in general.)

In the weeks since Hermansen, 30, suffered a fatal stroke, friends and loved ones reflect on her strength and passion; while hoping to carry on her spirit of advocacy for victims and support for artists.

13 The UNCSA (University of North Carolina School of the Arts) School of Music brings to a close its 2020-’21 performance season with a pair of prestigious concert performances boasting the talents of UNCSA student ensembles.

14 Start your engines: the POWER AND SOUND REVIVAL is coming to the Piedmont Dragway in Julian on May 22. An inaugural festival presented by the motherdaughter duo, the Rockingham Company, the Revival aims to celebrate roots, Americana, and alt-country artists from across the southeast, along with classic cars, bikes, and vans.

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DISTRIBUTION JANICE GANTT KYLE MUNRO SHANE MERRIMAN ANDREW WOMACK 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 2021 Womack Newspapers, Inc.

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chow

EAT IT!

Chow down with John Batchelor at Magnolia House

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BY JOHN BATCHELOR

he Magnolia House is one of the Triad’s most significant historic properties. Originally constructed as a private home in 1889, ownership passed through several families until the mid-1900s. The Gist family began providing lodging around 1949 as an inn for Black travelers, who were not allowed by law to stay in the South’s segregated lodgings.

The Magnolia House was listed in the Green Book, a “Guide for Negro motorists.” Musicians Louis Armstrong, Joe Tex, Ike and Tina Turner, Ray Charles, James Brown, members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Sam Cooke, and Lionel Hampton, as well as sports figures Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, and Ezzard Charles are numbered among the guests who stayed here. The inn also served families of students attending (what is now) N.C. A&T State University and Bennett College.

Placed on the National Register of Historic Places under its formal name, the Daniel D. DeButts House, the property is located in the South Greensboro Historic District. Members of the Gist family became well known for their political and social accomplishments, often in the forefront of desegregation initiatives in the 1950s-1970s. After the death of Herman Gist in the early 1990s, the house went unoccupied for several years. Sam Pass acquired it in 1996. He developed a plan for historic restoration and the establishment of a museum. His daughter, Natalie Pass Miller, is now proprietor-manager of the facility.

A full history can be accessed on the Preservation Greensboro website (preservationgreensboro.org/the-magnoliahouse-a-pivotal-point-of-greensborohistory). The restoration has produced a beautiful historic structure. Polished original wood floors lead to a staircase anchored by a carved base. A wood mantel hosts a magnolia flower painting.

RED SNAPPER In addition to onsite dining, indoors and in the back yard around picnic tables, corporate events, weddings, receptions, and other events can be hosted here. Takeout is especially appropriate; box lunches were a signature service during the inn’s heyday.

You order at a table in the entryway.

Food is served in boxes imprinted with the Magnolia House logo.

Chicken and Bombay Toast provides fried chicken along with French toast, sweetened with a raspberry reduction.

Three “drumettes” joined three wings in my serving, an ample portion, all crisp, moist, and flavorful. I was expecting a syrup of some sort, based on the menu’s “reduction” terminology, but the sweetening is actually blended in with the eggs that coat the thick white bread toast.

Fried Fish and Creamy Grits feature

whiting, a freshwater fish that is being commercially farmed. It yields a fresh, pure taste that I prefer to catfish, which is more often served in area restaurants. The grits are indeed creamy, providing corn flavor that marries quite well with the fish.

Pan-Seared Red Snapper is more upscale, about an inch thick in my serving. It bears light blackening spices and a touch of lemon, baked in the oven. A mango chutney extends flavor, another good match for the fish flavor.

Korean Barbecue Meatballs should please beef eaters. In another substantial portion, their solid beef flavor is enhanced with a honey glaze and vinegar reduction, along with sautéed red bell peppers and sliced onions.

In addition to grits, a choice of several other vegetables is offered. Broccoli is bathed in a thick cheese sauce. Mac and

Cheese is a winner, a preparation my wife termed “honest,” as it eschewed aggrandizement in favor of just solid, traditional cheese flavor. And I especially liked the steamed cabbage- slightly firm and fresh tasting.

Later this month, the weekend of May 14-15, a special fundraising event is being held to support the Magnolia House Foundation. The goal is to reopen the upstairs as an inn, returning the property to its historic role. Go to the Magnolia House website to purchase tickets. I’ll see you there! !

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

FRIED CHICKEN WITH MACARONI AND CHEESE WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

FRIED WHITING AND BROCCOLI

MEATBALLS AND CABBAGE

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Magnolia House is located at 442 Gorrell Street, Greensboro, 27406. 336-617-3382. thehistoricmagnoliahouse.org Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday-Saturday Appetizers: $7-$8 | Salads: $8 | Entrees: $13-$17 | Sides: $4 Most recent visit: April 23 MAY 5-11, 2021

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The Duck has landed

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ime green rental scooters disappeared from Greensboro in February and were replaced by a different vendor and color on April 1, as per a new contract Ian McDowell signed between the city and the Contributor San Antonio-based micro-mobility company Blue Duck Express.

When the Lime scooters were removed from downtown, longtime user Mark Ballard was ready to cry fowl, but now he says the change is just ducky.

“I was pretty pissed when Lime seemed to vanish overnight,” said Ballard in a recent email. “I needed them to be able to keep working.”

Ballard is a 48-year-old Information Technology Specialist and Paralegal with the Greensboro office of what he described as a large transatlantic law firm. He said the scooters allowed him to get from the city’s parking deck to his workplace quickly and without pain.

“Due to a hip condition that’s persisted since surgery fifteen years ago, walking even a few blocks is hard, especially when I do twice a day for five days a week. And then there’s the fact that my job takes me to and from the courthouse on a regular basis. Sometimes I need to be there right at close to have important documents pulled or filed. Rental scooters got me there quickly, and I didn’t have to worry

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MAY 5-11, 2021

about locking them or carrying them inside with me the way I would if I owned one. They were a godsend.”

When his green godsend vanished, Ballard saw red.

“I had no idea their contract was up. I just knew they were gone and wasn’t happy. There’s this myth that people, whether kids or Zack Matheny, were primarily using them to joyride. That’s not true. I’m one of many city professionals who need them.”

When Blue Duck scooters and e-bikes appeared downtown this month, Ballard wasn’t initially impressed. “I’ve been called Mark Mallard too much in my life to be fond of duck associations, and in that font they use, their logo can look like it reads ‘Blue Dick.’ I didn’t want to be a duck riding a dick.”

But they were now his only choice, and the first time he rode one, he was won over.

“I’ve researched them since. They’re really well-made, and they have twice the life expectancy of normal scooters like Bird and Lime, and that’s what all the scooter companies are going for now, longevity and better return on investment.

They have larger tires and are higher off the ground. You don’t take your life in your hands when you go over railroad tracks, although you should still slow down.”

As previously reported, this reporter had an accident in 2018 when test-driving one of the Bird scooters the company had deposited on Greensboro streets without the city’s permission. Attempting to accelerate and bump over the Elm Street railroad tracks as I would on a bicycle proved a mistake. After making sure I could get up and did not need an ambulance, a Greensboro police officer expressed concern over my scraped face but complimented me for trying new things at my age.

“I was VERY surprised just how well the Blue Ducks accelerate,” wrote Ballard in an email. “They don’t go over 18 mph and with my 200+ pounds on them, rarely over 15, but they reach full speed much more quickly than the Limes did, and they handle hills better.”

And then there’s the GPS. “That’s where Lime really drove me crazy. To keep people from riding in Center City and Lebauer Parks, the Limes would switch off when you entered those restricted areas. Which is fine in theory. But the GPS wasn’t that accurate, and they would turn off when I was going down Elm and merely passing the park. Right there in the middle of traffic. I wrote to them numerous times to complain that my scooter always disabled itself when merely going PAST the park on Elm Street, which is the

PHOTOS BY CIARA KELLEY

PRIMARY street where people will want to use these.”

This writer discovered on a test drive, from the College Hill neighborhood to Café Europa Sunday night, that the Blue Duck GPS is more accurate.

“The new scooters don’t cut off until you’re about 20 feet inside the park,” agreed Ballard when I described my own experience of parking one outside Europa.

“So, they’re not dying on you in the middle of Elm or Davie Street. You might see what they do at UNCG and A&T as well, as their GPS map labels those campuses NO PARKING OR RIDING OF VEHICLES.” On Sunday, when I rode the Blue Duck scooter up Carr Street to where that road becomes North Street on the UNCG

campus, its motor cut off, and my phone warned me not to park or end my ride there. The motor started back up as soon as I turned back the other way.

However, I’d discovered something more useful. Using the Lime scooters, or before that the Birds, I rode downtown by way of North Mendenhall to Guilford Avenue to Prescott to Bellemeade to avoid the worst and fastest traffic. Going downtown that way was fine, but coming back, a Bird would typically slow to 4 mph or less going uphill where Guilford intersects with N. Mendenhall. A Lime would come to a stop. The Blue Duck managed even the steepest part of that grade at 8 mph. Going downhill, it hit 18 mph but would not accelerate faster.

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electric assist bikes. According to those minutes, six vendors submitted proposals, which were evaluated by city staff and partners at UNCG and NC A&T. The two finalists selected were Blue Duck Express Inc., and Spin (Skinny Labs, Inc.).

“Blue Duck was chosen through our recent competitive RFP selection process,” stated Greensboro Director of Transportation Hanna Cockburn in a March press release. “We picked Blue Duck’s proposal because of their approach to equity and their excellent references. We also preferred their recommendations regarding the boundaries of the service area in the city.”

Thurm said last Monday, in response to YES! Weekly, that council is “excited to add Blue Duck scooters and bikes to Greensboro’s transportation options,” adding “They offer fun, quiet, affordable, and convenient last-mile transportation, and the company’s focus on partnering with the City was a strong selling point.”

Blue Duck’s license to operate within the city is for two years, becoming effective Feb. 1, 2021, and provides for two one-year extensions at the discretion of the City. It requires Blue Duck to comply with start-up and annual permitting fees, vehicle types, fleet size, fleet distribution and rebalancing standards, user outreach, customer service, safety, parking, and “geofencing provisions for areas restricted from shared micromobility vehicle access.”

According to the city contract, Blue Duck paid an initial permit fee of $1,750 and will pay a $1,000 annual permit renewal fee C

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But who decided that Blue Duck would replace Lime?

City Council decided to bring Blue Duck to Greensboro on January 19, 2021. On that date, 006-21 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING A SHARED MICROMOBILITY SERVICE OPERATOR IN THE CITY OF GREENSBORO was proposed

by District 5 representative Tammi Thurm and seconded by at-large representative Michelle Kennedy. It passed unanimously.

The meeting’s minutes stated that, following a two-year micro-mobility pilot program, the Greensboro Department of Transportation issued a Request for Proposals for selection of a new shared micromobility operator” with services including “standup electric scooters & WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

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each year thereafter. The company also pays Greensboro a fee of 15 cents per ride.

Riders must obey all traffic laws and follow all rules of the road. Micro-mobility vehicles are permitted to operate the same as bicycles, following state regulations for public roads and the City ordinance that allows bicycles to ride on sidewalks outside of the central business district. Micro-vehicles may use bike lanes.

Bicycles and micro-vehicles traveling on sidewalks outside Greensboro’s central business district should yield the right-ofway to pedestrians. Bicycles and microvehicles cannot travel on sidewalks or in city parks inside Greensboro’s central business district. Helmets are encouraged, and riders must be 18 years or older.

“We have been engaged with the Greensboro community and our city partners throughout this process,” said Megan McNamara, Blue Duck’s Senior Director of Government Partnerships, in a media release. We are thrilled to continue to expand our footprint in the State of North Carolina from Winston-Salem, where we have operated since the fall of 2020, and eager to provide multi-modal transportation options to riders in Greensboro.”

Blue Duck’s pricing for scooters is $1 to unlock and 25 cents per minute after that.

The e-scooters and e-bikes are available

for rent from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Riders can download the Blue Duck app from Apple’s App Store or Google Play store to locate and unlock scooters and bikes near them. They must complete, or at least click through, an online safety tutorial before their first ride.

Although permitted up to 250 scooters and 150 bikes, Blue Duck has a local team that manages the initially deployed 50 e-scooters and 50 e-bikes in downtown Greensboro. “Based on utilization and community feedback, we’ll gradually scale up over the coming weeks,” said McNamara.

The only thing Mark Ballard doesn’t like about the new scooters is that you can only unlock and operate one scooter at a time. “That doesn’t matter when I’m rushing around at work, but it limits recreational use. I used to see couples and whole families riding scooters downtown at night and on weekends, going from the parks to the shops and restaurants on South Side and back again, or before COVID, going from neighborhoods to cinemas.” !

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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The side effects of helping

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e are a nation that has become obsessed with side effects.

First, we wanted to know the side effects of COVID-19, then we wanted to know the side effects of COVID Jim Longworth vaccines. Collaterally, we wanted to know the side effects of Longworth COVID on our econoat Large my and on our ability to financially support ourselves and our families. And why not? By late last year, the pandemic had destroyed millions of families and jobs with lightning speed, so once Joe Biden took office, he moved quickly to build upon existing relief measures while creating others that would ease our collective burden. The problem is that no one accurately predicted the side effects which would result from massive government assistance. Ironically, Biden’s efforts to restore our economy on the macro level could be backfiring on the micro-level.

Federal, State, and local relief measures have included such things as: extended unemployment benefits, with $300 added on; a series of stimulus checks to individuals, with additional amounts per each child; extended deadlines for paying taxes to the IRS; deferment of student loan payments; a moratorium on foreclosures; a moratorium on evictions for not paying rent; and, in some cases, deferment of utility payments. In addition, Biden is proposing a $1.8 Trillion “American Families Act” which, among other things, will extend the original Pandemic-related paid leave plan through September for employers who want to participate. It would give workers up to 12 weeks of guaranteed pay for parental, family, and personal illness leave, three days of bereavement leave, and would extend the child tax credit program. And while these and other measures have been a welcome sight to struggling families, the unintended side effect has been a false sense of security among many of those who lost their jobs due to Pandemic-related closures and are now in no hurry to return to work.

Take Johnstown, Pennsylvania, for instance. According to a story in the Tribune-Democrat, a recent survey of 34 area companies showed that there were 580 job openings and very few takers.

Debra Balog, director of Johnstown Regional Industries Workforce Development,

told the Trib, “Local companies across the board are hiring, but job-seekers are light.

Stimulus checks and unemployment benefits with $300 extra during the pandemic, may have been disincentives to work.”

Then there’s Peachtree City, Georgia, where M.A. Industries has an abundance of job openings but is having trouble finding people who want to work. Back in February, owner Bill Martin told NPR, “I keep hearing about all the unemployed people. I certainly can’t find any of those folks.”

And here in the Piedmont, the stories are similar. A local landscaping company with hundreds of clients, can’t find anyone to mow grass. A large North Carolina-based company recently hired 80 people, but within a week, 60 of them quit because they didn’t want to go through the required training. And at a recent, well-publicized Triad job fair that normally attracts hundreds of job seekers, only two people showed up.

According to the Labor Department, America lost over 20 million jobs during the throes of the pandemic, and only a little more than half of those have been recovered. Yet, job openings are at a five-month high, and employers are struggling to find workers. And while it’s true that, early on, many folks were afraid to accept a job that might require them to work around other people, that fear is virtually moot, now that half of all adults have been vaccinated. It’s also true that many people who worked remotely prior to being laid off are holding out for jobs that will allow them to continue to work from home. But as ZipRecruiter executive Julia Pollak told NPR, “The problem is that those are not the jobs available right now.”

Don’t get me wrong. I support most of the relief efforts put in place by State and Federal governments. After all, extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures. But sometime soon, the bill for all of this assistance will come due. So will loan payments, rent, taxes, healthcare, and utility bills. When that happens, those who have let a plethora of job openings pass them by, may suffer some unpleasant financial side effects.

Scarlett O’Hara, one of fiction’s greatest procrastinators, is noted for saying, “I’ll think about that tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day.” Right now, the government is making it easy for some of us to sit at home and put off looking for a new job, but we might be better served to plan for tomorrow by looking for a job today. !

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).

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flicks

Forgettable Vanquish wastes time and talent

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hat Morgan Freeman and Ruby Rose headline Vanquish doesn’t make this dismal, dreary melodrama any better. It actually makes Mark Burger it worse because it utterly wastes them Contributor both — particularly Freeman, who looks terminally bored and literally phones in his performance. Rose, never a particularly expressive actor, stalks through her tightlipped, one-dimensional turn, looking as if she wishes she were somewhere else.

Freeman, like all actors, has made bad movies in the past – The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) and Dreamcatcher (2003) come to mind – but those at least were ambitious failures. They tried, and they failed. Not for a moment does Vanquish ever appear to be trying. Freeman recently provided the voice for a talking crab in a bubble-headed comedy called Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar. Not only is that a better movie than Vanquish, but the actor gave a more believable and nuanced performance.

Vanquish doesn’t even try to be a B-movie distraction. It’s merely a slick compendium of clichés and dopey plot “twists” that yields almost nothing.

Once a highly decorated police officer, Damon Hickey (Freeman) was critically injured in a shoot-out years ago. Now he’s retired and paralyzed, living in an enormous post-modern mansion stocked with weapons and high-tech gadgetry.

Evidently, he had a good pension plan.

Victoria (Rose) is Damon’s part-time caregiver, and a single mother whose ailing young daughter (Juju Journey Brenner) requires expensive medical treatment.

Damon offers Victoria a solution of sorts by blackmailing her into going out and picking up bags of loot from a variety of unsavory underworld characters.

We learn that Victoria was once a drug courier for the Russian mob, which would undoubtedly explain Rose’s Australian accent (Moscow by way of Melbourne?).

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be – Victoria’s brother himself was a drug courier, and some of the foul folk she encounters were responsible for his death.

Rest assured, she pays them back in kind.

But then, we already knew that, didn’t we?

While Damon issues orders from his souped-up wheelchair as if he’s playing a video game, Victoria goes about her bloody business. One of the more remarkable, or absurd, things about Vanquish is that for all the damage and destruction she wreaks, the only cops around are Damon’s corrupt old cronies, who bide their time in a diner exchanging pithy tough-guy talk that’s as tiresome as the rest of the film.

The main culprit here is co-writer/executive producer/director George Gallo, who wrote the screenplay for Brian De Palma’s amusing mob comedy Wise Guys (1986) and the very funny Robert De Niro/Charles Grodin vehicle Midnight Run (1988). His directorial debut was the modestly engaging 1991 comedy 29th Street. He was also responsible for the dopey 1994-yuletide comedy Trapped in Paradise, which starred Nicolas Cage, Jon Lovitz, and Dana Carvey as extremely unlikely brothers trying to flee a bucolic town on Christmas Eve after having robbed a bank. Frank Capra, it wasn’t, by a long shot, but it was better than this, which is easily the nadir of Gallo’s career.

Vanquish isn’t a total loss, although it comes extremely, dangerously close. For one thing, it eventually ends, although not soon enough. Anastas Michos’s cinematography is appropriately flashy and would do justice to a better film. Finally, there’s the all-too-brief appearance of Joel Michaely as Rayo, an outrageously swishy drug lord whom Victoria encounters on one of her “stops.” The character may not be politically correct, but Michaely provides the film with its only levity and liveliness.

So, naturally, he is dispatched within five minutes of his introduction.

Early on, Victoria tells Damon, “this whole thing is like a bad dream.” Consider that fair warning.

- Vanquish is available on Apple TV and anywhere you can rent movies, as well as on DVD ($19.98 retail) and Blu-ray ($21.99 each), each boasting audio commentary. !

See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies on Burgervideo.com. © 2021, Mark Burger.

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leisure GAMING THE SYSTEM

— In Taiwan, where companies are required to give newlyweds eight days of paid leave, an unnamed bank employee in Taipei used a loophole in Chuck Shepherd the law to claim 32 days of leave over 37 days last year, reported Agence FrancePresse on April 21. The man and his wife got married four times and divorced three times, claiming eight days of leave for each wedding. The bank complained to the city labor department, which sided with the employee and fined the bank about $670 for violating the regulation, sparking public criticism. The labor department later revoked the fine “to recognize a mistake and improve,” it said.

— An unnamed civil servant in Italy is accused of collecting full pay at his job at Ciaccio hospital in Catanzaro since 2005 even though he never showed up for work.

The man is also accused of threatening his supervisor if she filed a report against him; she later retired and none of her

successors noticed his absence. The BBC reported authorities discovered the alleged fraud as part of a wider investigation into absenteeism in Italy’s public sector, and six managers at the hospital are also under investigation. The truant worker reportedly collected about $650,000 over the years.

FINE POINTS OF THE LAW

Caron McBride, 52, applied to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to change her name on her driver’s license after getting married in November, and was told to call the Cleveland County District Attorney’s office in Oklahoma, where she learned she was wanted there on a charge of felony embezzlement for failing to return a VHS tape of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” to a Norman video store in 1999.

“I thought, this is insane,” McBride said, but prosecutors accused her of “willfully, unlawfully and feloniously embezzle(ing)” the tape, valued at $58.59, according to court documents. The Washington Post reported McBride had no memory of renting the tape, but guessed the man she lived with at the time must have gotten it for his two young daughters. On April 23, prosecuters in Norman said they would

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MAY 5-11, 2021

drop the charge and expunge McBride’s record.

JUNGLE JUSTICE

A man suspected of poaching rhinos in South Africa’s Kruger National Park was trampled to death by a herd of elephants on April 17, according to park authorities.

Managing Executive Gareth Coleman praised the park’s “successful weekend in the fight to keep our rhinos alive” as rangers arrested five suspects, carrying hunting rifles and an ax, in a continuing crackdown on poaching, reported The Washington Post. (BONUS: A skull and a pair of pants were all that remained of a suspected poacher killed by an elephant and eaten by lions in the park in 2019.)

AWESOME!

Police in the Hradec Kralove region of the Czech Republic were stunned when a man turned in a Soviet T-34 tank and an SD-100 artillery gun as part of a nationwide weapons amnesty program designed to legalize guns that had not been registered. Prague Morning reported on April 10 that the man was a collector of historic weaponry and has owned the 1950sera tank, which had been painted pink, since the 1990s. Authorities checked the tank and gun to confirm they have been properly deactivated, and the man was allowed to keep them in his collection. The amnesty campaign continues until July.

CREME DE LA WEIRD

Anna Marie Choudhary, 33, of Boone, North Carolina, was sentenced March 31 in West Virginia to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder, ending a case McDowell County

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Dennie Morgan called the “craziest” his office has ever seen. Choudhary had been arrested, along with her father, Larry Paul McClure Sr., 55, of Pendleton, Kentucky, and her sister, Amanda Michelle Naylor McClure, 31, of Chicago City, Minnesota, in connection with the 2019 murder of John Thomas McGuire, 38, boyfriend of Amanda McClure, reported the Watauga Democrat.

According to Morgan, McClure and his daughters “tortured” and killed McGuire on Valentine’s Day 2019 and buried his body.

Later, convinced McGuire was still alive, they exhumed the body and drove a stake through it before dismembering and reburying it. Larry and Amanda McClure then went to Virginia, where they were married, Morgan said. Larry McClure confessed to the murder after being arrested in Kentucky on unrelated charges. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life without mercy. Amanda McClure pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 40 years.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKED

Kelyn Spadoni, 33, of Harvey, Louisiana, was fired from her job as a dispatcher for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office after she was arrested on April 7 and accused of refusing to return more than $1.2 million mistakenly deposited in her brokerage account by Charles Schwab & Co., said sheriff’s office spokesman Capt. Jason Rivarde. According to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in New Orleans, Schwab meant to transfer $82.56 into Spadoni’s account in February, but instead transferred $1,205,619; when Schwab tried to correct the error the next day, it was told the funds were not available. NOLA.com reported Spadoni is suspected of moving the money and using some of it to buy a new house and an SUV, but authorities have been able to recover about 75% of the money, according to Rivarde.

CANINE CHRONICLES

— Newsweek reported a dog lover in Hobbs, New Mexico, who identifies himself as girthbrooks1994 on TikTok, couldn’t figure out why the English bulldog he’d been given didn’t respond to any of the commands he gave it until he tried something different — Spanish. Now named Senor Snax, the dog is shown on posted videos readily obeying commands such as “dame la mano” and “sientate” (“give me your hand” and “sit down”). “He’s a bien boy and very spoiled,” says the proud owner. !

© 2021 Chuck Shepherd. Universal Press Syndicate.

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

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10

Home Run: Triad Baseball teams strikeout COVID and get ready to pitch a new season

B

aseball diamonds in the Triad were left empty in the Spring and Summer of 2020, but that didn’t stop local baseball teams from finding a way Chanel Davis to contribute to their respective communities.

Editor Replacing draft beers and hot dogs with virtual charity auctions and community luncheons, and going from thousands of screaming fans in stands to box seats and suites that have been converted to quiet and remote workspaces, the triad’s baseball’s teams have loaded the bases and are sliding us into a new year of Minor League Baseball.

High Point Rockers Truist Point has seen its fair share of action despite the pause on the baseball season and plans to keep that energy into the new season.

“The High Point Rockers are looking forward to the 2021 season, watching baseball games at Truist Point, and welcoming back our fans! As we open the season on May 28 and play our first home game on June 1, we will continue to operate under the health and safety guidelines provided by the CDC, the state of North Carolina and the City of High Point, and the Guilford County Division of Public Health,” said Steve Shutt, media relations consultant for the High Point Rockers via email. “Those guidelines are likely to change as the 2021 season progresses.

Masks and social distancing will be in effect at the start of the season, and as county, state, and national recommendations change, we will adapt along with those recommendations.”

Due to pandemic, the High Point Rockers announced that they’d forgo their 2020 professional baseball season, along with their counterparts in the Atlantic League, but that didn’t mean not pursuing their commitment to the community.

“The High Point Rockers took the Covid-19 canceled season in stride. We used all of our resources to continue to provide entertainment and opportunities for the High Point community. We continued our adult kickball league and operated our concessions as a restaurant with the YES! WEEKLY

MAY 5-11, 2021

Pitchin’ Kitchen open to the public for lunch and dinner. We hosted yoga, comedy shows, disc golf, blood drives, youth soccer tournaments, charity softball games, and collegiate summer league baseball games.

On top of that, we hosted nearly 300 amateur baseball and softball games to keep the facility active,” Shutt said.

Working with the Guilford County Division of Health, the organization was able to open its field up for community events, games, and sporting events.

On what would have been opening day, April 30, 2020, the stadium concessionaire partner, Spectra Food Services and Hospitality, and the team donated more than 1,200 meals to frontline workers, including medical workers and High Point police and fire department officials.

In May, the team collected more than 8,000 food items for the Salvation Army of High Point, in conjunction with its corporate partner Old Dominion Freight Line.

The food drive was a competition against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs and replaced a game the teams were scheduled to play. The team also raised more than $2,500 for the United Way of Greater High Point Emergency Fund through the sales of the “Safe at Home” T-Shirts and partnered with Vann York Auto Group to provide more than 300 lunches to the Boys and Girls Club of Greater High Point.

In June 2020, after Phase 2, Truist Point became a destination for local and regional athletic events hosting more than 60 amateur and collegiate summer baseball games for those who observed social distancing and no fans allowed rule.

In the fall of last year, the Rockers

partnered with the YWCA of High Point in a health initiative that allowed residents to walk the concourse, provided weeknight hitting clinics for local and softball baseball players, hosted a charity softball game between High Point’s Fire and Police Departments and hosted a virtual auction during October to raise funds for Wake Forest Baptist Health- High Point Medical Center’s Pink Ribbon Program. In November, the organization teamed up with The Comedy Zone and brought comedian Rob Schneider to the area, and Preacher Lawson in April. Residents were able to schedule photoshoots at the ballpark, they hosted Santa and an egg hunt Easter weekend.

The facility was available for private events as long as social distancing guidelines were adhered to and offered space for you to “work from home” while providing a change of scenery. The Rockers mascot, Hype The Rocking Horse, was available to join company meetings, classroom, and virtual gatherings to add some excitement to zooms.

“That High Point is a progressive and dynamic community that is supportive of local enterprise and flexible enough to adjust and handle adversity when it arises.

We received strong community support from not only our fans but from other members of the community that we were able to introduce to Truist Point,” Shutt said of pandemic lessons and takeaways.

“Like everybody else, we learned a great deal about keeping people safe during a pandemic. We learned to live with masks and social distancing, and we learned how to make Truist Point a safe and secure

location for all who attend an event. Most of all, we showed that we are about more than just baseball.”

The team didn’t forget about baseball, retaining its manager and many of its previous players, including outfielder Quincy Latimore, Infielders Giovanny Alfonzo and Michael Russell, Reliever Kyle Halbohn, and Starter Craig Stem.

It has also picked up some players to add to its already top-tier roster. This includes first-baseman Logan Morrison, Pitchers Chris Nunn and Huascar Brazoban, Center Fielder Juan Perez, and the ever-versatile Michael Martinez.

“Fans of the High Point Rockers will continue to see an exciting product on the baseball field as well as many of the same outstanding amenities that we offered when Truist Point opened in 2019.

We will continue to operate under the guidelines set by the CDC and the state of North Carolina to ensure the safety of all of our patrons. As those guidelines change, we will change with them and hope that before long, we can welcome back all of our fans who are so eager to get out and watch professional baseball in High Point,” Shutt said. “We will continue to seek out the type of family-friendly entertainment and events that will fulfill our mission of bringing value to the High Point community.”

For more information about the High Point Rockers, visit their website at www. highpointrockers.com.

Greensboro Grasshoppers The new season will bring a lot of first for the Greensboro Grasshoppers this 2021 baseball season.

Opening Day for the Hoppers was Tuesday, May 4, at First National Bank Field against the Hickory Crawdads.

This year’s 2021 schedule is a 120-game season slated to run through September 19 and includes a game against the Winston-Salem Dash for the first time since 1968.

“We are happy to announce our schedule and look forward to many great games this season. I hope our fans are as eager to return to First National Bank Field as we are,” said Grasshoppers President and General Manager Donald Moore in an earlier press release.

Earlier this year, it was announced that the Hoppers would see a new administrative team to lead them, starting with Kieran Mattison as the new manager for 2021. In his fifth season as a manager with

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the Pittsburgh Pirates, the parent team of the Greensboro Grasshoppers, Mattison is no stranger to the position. He spent the 2019 season with Bristol and led the club to a 34-33 record, with a postseason berth for the first time since 2002. He led the West Virginia Black Bears to a 32-44 record in 2018 and guided the DSL Pirates to a 36-34 mark in 2017.

He’s also no stranger to North Carolina, serving as the former right-handed pitcher when he attended East Carolina University before being signed by Kansas City as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He would continue pitching in the minors for various teams and independent leagues, including Cleveland and Los Angeles through 2010.

Athletic Trainer Victor Silva, Development Coach Blake Butler, Hitting Coach Ruben Gotay, and Pitching Coach Matt Ford will join Mattison in crafting an allstar team.

In his third year season as an athletic trainer with the organization, Silva spent 2019 with the Dominican Summer League Pirates team.

Butler, a Greensboro native who joined in 2020, will carry out his duties as a development coach in full for the 2021 season. The 2013 Southeast Guilford High graduate went on to play for the College of Charleston before being selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 15th round of the First-Year Player Draft. In 2005, he made his professional debut with the Arizona League Reds and spent the 2016-17 seasons playing with Daytona in the Florida State League.

This will be Gotay’s first year with the Hoppers and first full season with the Pirates organization from the Phillies organization.

He has played professionally for 17 years (2001-2017), with some of that time spent with some of the biggest teams in Major League baseball, including with the Royals (2004-05), Mets (2007), and Braves (2008). He compiled a .255 batting average, 12 homers, and 77 RBI in 316 big league games as a former infielder.

In his eighth season with the Pirates organization but the first year with the Hoppers, Ford spent the 2019 season as the Rehab Pitching Coach and previous two years as Pitching Coach with Bradenton after serving in the same capacity with the West Virginia Power in 2016. Ford was Toronto’s third-round selection in the 1999 First-Year Player Draft and made his professional debut with Medicine Hat in the Pioneer League that summer. As a former left-handed pitcher, he posted a 2.37 ERA with Dunedin in 2002 and was selected by Milwaukee in the Rule 5 Draft in December 2002. Ford made his Major League debut with the Brewers on April 2, 2003, and pitched a scoreless inning of relief.

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For more information, visit the page at www.gsohoppers.com.

Winston-Salem Dash Last year’s pivot didn’t stop the Winston-Salem Dash from interacting with its fan base. In addition to the Dash’s 70-game regular-season schedule, the facility annually hosts over 200 events, including movie nights, weddings, and proms, truly making it an entertainment destination for the entire community.

While the organization has a history of being embedded in the community, last year’s pandemic forced them to take it up a notch.

“We very quickly pivoted to taking our game days out into the community,” said Winston-Salem Dash President C.J. Johnson. “Financially, it was a challenge, but I’m grateful for the community that we have and the tremendous support that we saw from our staff, community, and fans. I’m excited to get back to providing fun for our community again.”

Fun that Johnson and the Dash have kept going all along during last year’s closure.

Partnering with Truist and Wake Forest Baptist Health, the organization took one of it’s most popular in-game promotions, the “Free T-Shirt Toss” to a local neighborhood and delivered free ice cream to neighborhoods with the help of their mascot Bolt. T-Shirts were wrapped with information from Wake Forest Baptist Health regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and residents could nominate their neighborhoods via social media contests.

Winners were notified so they could

tell their neighbors to be ready for the promised goodies. During the holidays, the Dash provided children from nearly 100 families with gifts and assisted with the present distribution.

They also rented out suites at the stadium for office space, which included parking, wifi, coffee, water, and a Dash mask. The Dash mascot, Bolt, could also be scheduled to “crash” Zoom meetings.

From a socially distanced recreational standpoint, the Winston-Salem Dash partnered with “Hek Yeh Putter Party” with Innova Discs to host Dash Disc Golf.

“Hek Yeh Putter Party” is a premier disc golf/baseball stadium experience and competition designed for first-time and experienced players. Each night included 10 raffle prizes, cash prizes for the top 20 percent of the field, and a Gold Record Trophy for the best score.

The Winston-Salem Dash 2021 season began on Tuesday, May 4, at home against the Rome Braves.

“I’m extremely excited about tonight’s opening night, and we can’t wait to get back to opening the gates and letting everyone come out,” Johnson said just hours before the game began.

As the Dash prepares for the upcoming season, the organization has added two new hires to their staff within the last year. Conor Clingen will be the Dash’s Broadcast and Media Relations Coordinator, and Amanda Weaver has been hired as the club’s Social Media and Marketing Coordinator.

An alumnus of the University of Notre Dame, Clingen will serve as the team’s lead broadcaster for the upcom-

ing season. Last season, Clingen was Dash’s Broadcast and Media Relations Assistant. Weaver joins the Dash after working in Round Rock, Texas, serving as a Chiropractic and Marketing assistant for Impact Family Chiropractic, where she was head of all community marketing programs and activities. Along with these hires, the Dash announced that Taylor Hodges will now serve as a Business Development Representative after joining the team as a Ticket Sales and Services Representative.

Returning Manager, Ryan Newman, will lead the team, assisted by Pitching Coach Danny Farquhar, Hitting Coach Charlie Poe, Athletic Trainer Carson Wooten, and Performance Coach Geroge Timke will join him in the dugout.

Newman’s return marks the third time in Dash history (2009-present) in which a manager has returned for another season with Winston-Salem. In 2013, Newman led the Dash to a 71-69 overall record.

A veteran of the big leagues for eight seasons, Farquhar will be in his first year as a pitching coach. After retiring in 2019, Farquhar joined the White Sox as a Minor League pitching coordinator. For the fifth time in the last six years, Poe will serve as Winston-Salem’s hitting coach.

Last season, Poe was the hitting coach for Birmingham, where he worked with superstar prospects, Luis Robert and Nick Madrigal.

Wooten joins the Dash staff for the first time. He served as the athletic trainer for Great Falls during the 2019 season. Timke returns to the Dash for his fifth consecutive year. During his first season with Winston-Salem in 2016, Timke earned the Carolina League’s Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year award, as announced by the Professional Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society (PBSCC).

Johnson said that his organization plans to carry on with safe and fun events throughout the year.

“Starting out, we will be at 50 percent capacity or less and will have 6 feet spacing seating so families and fans can know that they can come out and be safe,” he said. “All fans will be wearing masks except when they are eating and drinking.”

For more information, visit www.milb. com/winston-salem.

Overall, it would seem that it’s time to play ball in the Triad! !

CHANEL DAVIS is the current editor of YES! Weekly and graduated from N.C. A&T S.U. in 2011 with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. She’s worked at daily and weekly newspapers in the Triad region.

MAY 5-11, 2021 YES! WEEKLY

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Rest in Power, Bryn Hermansen The Winston-Salem arts community mourns the passing of a young music matriarch, Bryn Hermansen: FemFest founder, advocate for survivors, and champion of underdogs (and all dogs in Katei Cranford general.)

In the weeks since Contributor Hermansen, 30, suffered a fatal stroke, friends and loved ones reflect on her strength and passion; while hoping to carry on her spirit of advocacy for victims and support for artists.

Hermansen’s grit, and disdain for abuse, are ingrained in those who knew her best.

“Bryn never hesitated to stand up for the people around her,” said Hermansen’s partner, Andrew Pino. “She hated bullies,” he continued. “Her message was simple: it doesn’t take much to make things a little bit better—small actions can change people’s lives. More importantly, showing people a little bit of love can change their entire view of the world around them… and I think that ripple travels farther than you imagine.”

Recurring FemFest performer, Billie Feather, echoed Hermansen’s dedication.

“Bryn was a champion for the misunderstood, the forgotten, the ignored, and the abused,” Feather said. “She found a way to connect the underground and unserved communities with places that could truly help them and make a difference in their lives. It was through this work that Bryn synthetized FemFest, a yearly festival celebrating women in music and devoted to the cause of recognizing domestic violence in all forms.”

Starting in 2013, FemFest has served as a platform for femme artists and fundraisers for Family Services of Forsyth County. Sarah Burns, FemFest Donations Manager, said, “Bryn brought together bands from near and far, along with local businesses, and artists to raise more than $12,000 over the past seven years.”

“When 2020 presented a new challenge,” Burns continued, “Bryn said FemFest absolutely still had to happen because the women’s shelter needed those funds more than ever. In a time when organizing an event seemed like an impossible task, she didn’t care about how much more work it would be; the funds were needed, and she would find a way. That was Bryn: selfless.”

For her efforts, Hermansen received the YES! WEEKLY

MAY 5-11, 2021

Bryn Harmansen accepting AFP award “2020 Outstanding Emerging Philanthropist Award” bestowed by the North Carolina Triad Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

“In a world with its cover torn off,” said representatives from Family Services (who provided Hermansen’s nomination) FemFest, “managed to move the annual concert completely online and still come away with the biggest donation ever — more than $5,100 — to benefit our Shelter for Domestic Violence.”

Upon her acceptance, Hermansen provided her own personal outlook.

“Philanthropy, to me, is the simple act of utilizing any privileges you have to really help leave this world a little better than when you got here,” she said. “Whether those privileges look like time, connections, experience, or just a stable mental health day, it only takes a definitive first step to doing your part.”

And in her absence, those simple acts continue making “the world a little better.

“Not just for survivors, but also for folks in search of tunes, coworkers, her friends, community, and spaces.

“Bryn not only partnered with us with her charity FemFest but was also active behind the scenes during the worst parts of the pandemic in an effort to ensure our survival,” said Carlos Bocanegra from Monstercade. “We’ll forever be grateful and indebted to her for all her love and support throughout the years.”

Hermansen’s passion for advocacy was symbiotic with her love for music. In addition to curating FemFest, she hosted “the Bryn Show,” an internet radio program aimed at promoting underground acts.

“She always turned me on to new music,” said Burns, “and I knew if she suggested something, I needed to give it a listen.”

For Feather, “Bryn had the musical Midas touch. Whenever I would go combing the town’s music venues in search of a music to see on any given night if Bryn was there – I knew it was going to be a great show,” she said. “Winston-Salem has lost one of its biggest musical allies.”

The sentiment is echoed through FemFest fans and performers like Reese McHenry and Sarah Shook, who expressed condolences—with McHenry calling Hermansen a “shining bright light” and Shook noting, “Bryn was one of the kindest forces for good I’ve known.” Laurie Ruroden from Spirit System noted the ways Hermansen “touched an entire community with her compassion, strength, and spirit.”

Writer Katie Murawski agreed, “Bryn did so much good for the Triad area by giving a platform to femme-led bands and musicians. This community won’t be the same without her.”

Looking back on the power of FemFest, Burns noted, “Bryn didn’t just create an annual event, she built a platform to educate the public. When she took the mic,

you knew she was about to voice wisdom that most of us never possessed in our 20s, and we listened. Bryn spoke from the heart; you could tell she was a true empath. She empowered all, and we were all fortunate to have known her.”

It’s during those times at the mic that Hermansen’s brother, Chris, remembers her best—noting her speech at the 2018 FemFest as being amongst his favorite memories.

Hermansen brought the same energy to her work beyond music. “She was also extremely proud to have recently been promoted to assistant manager at McKay’s in Winston,” Chris said while highlighting her love for her dogs, Sid, Magic, and Nancy.

“Despite her small feet, she left some really big shoes behind for all those impacted by her generosity and empathy,” said McKay’s co-worker, Jessica Webb. The two shared a love of silliness and Spice Girls, with Webb remarking on the true sense of “Girl Power” Hermansen exuded.

“Bryn has been financially and emotionally supportive to so many artists and women of the area,” Webb said. “When I started making earrings, she was one of the first people to buy a pair, and when the pandemic hit, and I started toying with the idea of making and selling face masks, she immediately claimed two before I had even finished making them.”

Hermansen’s absence leaves a void that not only ripples throughout the community but also, most tragically, within her family—having been preceded in death by her mother by only a few days. There isn’t currently a date set for public services. A gofundme has been established to ease the family’s burden.

Friends hope to turn their loss into a push towards Hermansen’s honor. As Feather noted, “when a mighty woman leaves us, we’re all heartbroken, humbled, and called to roll up our sleeves to keep the forges of her work burning.” Webb, with the blessing of the family, is cataloging an online memorial of photos and memories. Submissions can be sent to photosofbryn@gmail.com.

For Burns, “I think Bryn would be stoked if people listened to the artists she chose for FemFest and supported Family Services,” she said, adding, “Bryn made me a better person, and I know that wasn’t something exclusive to me.” !

KATEI CRANFORD Is a Triad music nerd who hosts the Thursday Tour Report, a radio show that runs like a mixtape of bands touring NC the following week, 5:30-7 p.m. on WUAG 103.1FM.

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UNCSA School of Music rings in spring and wraps season The UNCSA (University of North Carolina School of the Arts) School of Music brings to a close its 2020-’21 performance season with a pair of prestigious concert performances boasting Mark Burger the talents of UNCSA student ensembles.

This Saturday at Contributor 7:30 p.m., the “Wind Chamber Ensembles Concert” will be streamed live from Watson Chamber Music Hall on the UNCSA campus. Under the coaching of faculty artists, the woodwind and brass chambers ensembles will perform a special program featuring music that spans four centuries, with the brass quintets performing selections from Leonard Bernstein’s Broadway classic West Side Story and Viktor Ewald’s “Quintet No. 1.”

The Baroque Ensemble will perform Vivaldi’s “Trio Sonata in Bb major, RV76, No. 5,” while the Wind Octet will perform the harmoniemusick – music written especially for wind ensembles – of Beethoven and Krommer. Not to be outdone, the Woodwind Quintets will perform Astor Piazzolla’s “Oblivion” and “Libertango,” as well as selections from Ligeti’s “Bagatelles” and Heetderks’s “Pitchblende” for reed quintet.

On May 14, also at 7:30 p.m. and also

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streamed live from Watson Hall, the UNCSA Amadeus Players, Brandenburg Ensemble, and Wind Undecet will display their talents. The Amadeus Players, under conductor Karen Ni Bhroin, will perform Vaughan Williams’s “Variations on a Theme by Thomas Tallis,” while the Brandenburg Ensemble performs Elgar’s “Serenade” and Handel’s “Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 8,” with faculty artist Dmitri Shteinberg leading from the harpsichord. The Wind Undecet, an ensemble comprised of 11 musicians, will kick off the presentation with UNCSA founding bassoon faculty artist Mark Popkin’s arrangement of Brahms’s “Variations on a Theme

by Haydn,” conducted by Mark A. Norman, who was recently appointed the music director and conductor of the Piedmont Wind Symphony.

The 2020-’21 season then concludes May 15 at 7:30 p.m., with “Beethoven to Copland!,” a free season finalé boasting Aaron Copland’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Appalachian Spring, with Ni Bhroin leading the UNCSA Chamber Orchestra. This concert will also be streamed live from Watson Hall, and will include the UNCSA Chamber Winds performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1, as transcribed for harmonie (woodwind) ensemble by Beethoven’s protégé, Georg Schmitt. Norman will conduct the Chamber Winds.

Appalachian Spring was a score commissioned for a ballet choreographed by the legendary Martha Graham, who named the music and the dance after a popular

PHOTO BY CHRISTINE RUCKER

Faculty artist Mark Norman, who is also the music director and conductor for the Piedmont Wind Symphony poem by Hart Crane. Copland, widely regarded as “the dean of American composers,” was among the twentieth century’s most influential and acclaimed composers of music that offered a unique blend of classical, folk, and jazz idioms.

Tickets are available by calling the

UNCSA box office at (336) 721-1945 or at https://www.uncsa.edu/performances/ index.aspx. The official UNCSA website is https://www.uncsa.edu/. !

See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies on Burgervideo.com. © 2021, Mark Burger.

PHOTO BY WAYNE REICH

206 E Main Str EEt

Ja MES town, nC

boutiqu E

Associate conductor Karen Ni Bhroin

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tunes

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HEAR IT!

The Power and Sound Revival takes off

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tart your engines: the Power and Sound Revival is coming to the Piedmont Dragway in Julian on May 22.

An inaugural festival presented by Katei Cranford the mother-daughter duo, the Rockingham Contributor Company, the Revival aims to celebrate roots, Americana, and alt-country artists from across the southeast, along with classic cars, bikes, and vans.

According to 19-year old “Head Honcho” Olivia Williams, “the intention is to revel in the simple act of being together again celebrating music, art, and life.”

For Williams, and her mom, Michelle, it all boils down to the simple love of family and tunes, combined with some complex machinery and sweet custom rides.

Musically, the line-up features Them Dirty Roses, 49 Winchester, Whiskey Foxtrot, Crenshaw Pentecostal, Jive Mother Mary, Downtown Abby and the Echoes, and John Howie, Jr., and the Rosewood Bluff.

“I think the best term for the music at the event is probably Americana, and I think each act has its own spin on the broad genre of Americana,” Williams noted of the bill. “Michelle and I booked some of our favorite local and national acts,” she added. The addition of Whiskey Foxtrot, which features Olivia’s brother and Michelle’s son, Seth, is a given.

It’s a real family affair, as Seth will appear as a performer, art vendor and even painted some of the promotional raffle materials. “He’s also a person I have bounced tons of ideas off of,” Williams said, “and has been a big part of the festival’s development.”

Their dad, Justin, has also been involved.

“He welded some of the custom car show trophies and helped with the more technical side of planning,” Williams noted. “Like picking what size generators we’ll need and other ‘dad’ things.”

For Michelle, “the greatest legacy we can leave our children is happy memories,” with her rock-n-roll family creating a package deal. As Olivia explained, “my brother started playing in clubs at 13, and my whole family would be involved. Our mom booked the gigs, and dad learned how to YES! WEEKLY

MAY 5-11, 2021

Olivia Williams and her mom Michelle be the sound guy and roadie real fast. I got into photographing music. Our parents are always very supportive of everything we do, and I’m very grateful for that. It’s really nice to have a support system to bounce ideas off of and help out on the bad days.”

The support system has produced a unit befitting a formal talent agency, the Rockingham Company, with its major festival debut combining the love of music and vehicles the family shares.

“I had always wanted to do an event and incorporate all the things I love, like music and cars,” Williams explained of their motivation for getting off the ground.

“Seth is very into vannin’ and the custom culture. So I wanted to help shine a light on the custom culture in and around North Carolina.”

They’ve been getting geared up through Instagram, highlighting specialty vans as “rad rides of the week.” The family itself has a fleet of their own rad rides. “We’ve got too many to name,” Williams said. Her personal daily is a fairly cherry ’95 Chevy Shorty.

Drawing a few influences from WinstonSalem’s annual Heavy Rebel Weekender, the Power and Sound Revival goes beyond music, incorporating a car, van, and bike show open to attendees who register.

Overnight camping is also available for registrants.

To judge the bike show, they’ve wrangled Ross from Stunt Army, Jason from Chillbillys, and Gorgeous George from Smut Butt Magazine, who’ll all have booths during the festival. The public

will judge the car and van show. Awards include custom trophies and goodies from various vendors, including Gnarly Magazine, Ton Magazine, and Sketch Van Montana.

Beyond tunes and rides, on-site activities will include a bike burnout pit, ax throwing from the Flying Hatchet, live-inking from Black Dog Tattoo, glitter hair and braiding by Boho Salon, and more than 35 vendors from across the southeast. Booze will flow from Four Saints, Hell on Horsecreek, and Little Brother Brewing. Food options include Short Sugar’s BBQ, the Blissful Palette, and other area eateries.

As for protocols, “Safety is a top priority,” Williams said. “Guests are encouraged to social distance and wear masks when moving about the festival.”

Looking ahead, the Rockingham Company hopes to host another, smaller festival in the fall, with the goal of hosting two festivals a year. For now, the pair’s plans for Mother’s Day are straightforward, “we’ll probably be working on the festival,” Olivia said. “We hope to have a great day and have a safe event for people to come and enjoy music and the show.” !

KATEI CRANFORD Is a Triad music nerd who hosts the Thursday Tour Report, a radio show that runs like a mixtape of bands touring NC the following week, 5:30-7 p.m. on WUAG 103.1FM.

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last call

[THE ADVICE GODDESS] love • sex • dating • marriage • questions

NEEDLE IN A BAE STACK

I am a 31-year-old woman, and I can’t figure out why I’m having such a hard time finding a man.

I am attractive (in good shape and considered pretty); Amy Alkon have a master’s degree; am successAdvice ful in a competitive Goddess business; and I love to read and talk about news, history, and ideas. I have wonderful friends; I’ve worked hard to resolve my issues; and I do my best to be a kind person. I just want my match: someone who’s smart, highly educated, equally successful or more so, attractive (tall — at least 6-foot-1 — and masculine), passionate, well-read, and a good person. What’s wrong with me that, even with online dating, I rarely find men even in the ballpark of what I want? — Miserable Grocery shopping’s easy when your list has generic items — “beer,” “chips,” and “cheese” — and not “cheese from freerange Albanian yaks raised by monks, whispering positive affirmations to them as they graze”: “You are loved, loving, and lovable, and you manifest perfect health by making smart choices.”

You’re looking for “that special someone,” not “that random anydude.” You’ve developed yourself (advanced degree, cool job, and smartgirl interests), which sharply narrows the pool of equally

achieving men you have to choose from.

Being a woman likely adds another layer of difficulty, through “hypergamy.” This is the strong evolved female motivation to “marry up” — or at least date partners of a higher socioeconomic status (the guy in the corner office over the corner barber).

Women, in general, are the vastly choosier sex in the mating market — in online dating and beyond. This aligns with evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers’ 1972 theory of “parental investment.”

Trivers predicted that the members of a species — typically the lady ones — who have the greatest possible costs from having sex (pregnancy and offspring to provide for) would be the most selective in choosing partners.

Countless scientific findings — across species — support Trivers’ theory, including recent research delving into the ratio of heterosexual male versus female “super-likes” on Tinder. (A super-like — by swiping up on a profile — unlike a simple swipe-right “like,” triggers an automatic notification to the up-swiped person.)

Belgian economics doctoral candidate Brecht Neyt, with his adviser, Stijn Baert, found that women on Tinder super-liked only 4.5% of the men’s profiles, while men super-liked 61.9% of the women’s.

This is effectively digital beer goggles — worn by a big chunk of the straight male population.

And recall hypergamy, women’s preference for partners of higher status: a sign a man’s likely to have continuing access to resources to provide for any children. Neyt found women liked profiles of men with a master’s degree 91% more often (over those with a bachelor’s), while men liked

women with a master’s only 8% more often.

Unfortunately, there’s been a higher-ed “gender gap” for decades, with fewer men applying to and graduating from college.

In 2003, for example, four-year colleges in the U.S. graduated 1.35 women for every dude who found his way out. As of 2013, women outpaced men in college enrollment 1.4 to 1, and the gap has continued to widen — translating to an increasingly shrinking supply of those highly desired men with master’s degrees (or Ph.D.s).

This is a problem because evolved female emotions are your mate-choice watchdog, motivating you to go for high-status men and making you feel bad about dating a man who’s a kind but ambitionless slacker, or even one who’s just moderately achieving. (Male evolved psychology, on the other hand, works to ensure that men don’t shove aside hot, fertile 20-year-olds to go hit on that very attractive grandma with a lovely personality.)

In other words, you can’t just tell yourself you shouldn’t care about the job or education level a man has: make yourself be as hot for a successful plumber as you

are for a successful lawyer. However, you could give your “list” of man minimums a hard look: see whether there are any you could live with cutting, thus increasing your pool of possibilities. For example, because height — tallness — is one of the strongest female preferences for male appearance, there’s probably an undertapped stock of sexy, successful, really good men who are on the shorter side: uh, “condensed, dark, and handsome.”

If you can’t scale back your standards, you should make peace with the likely outcome: You’ll probably continue to have a tough time finding the sort of man you want. Like other women looking for love who are high climbers on the career ladder, you might eventually come to the conclusion that you have two choices: a nice, loving, hardworking guy a few rungs below you or one of those body pillows that you draw a face on and name Ted. !

GOT A PROBLEM? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave., #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or email AdviceAmy@aol. com (www.advicegoddess.com). Follow her on Twitter @amyalkon. Order her latest “science-help” book, Unf*ckology: A Field Guide to Living with Guts and Confidence. ©2021 Amy Alkon. Distributed by Creators.Com.

answers [CROSSWORD] crossword on page 9

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[WEEKLY SUDOKU] sudoku on page 9

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MAY 5-11, 2021 YES! WEEKLY

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HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: May 6 · 8:30 p.m.

OPENING NIGHT: DREAM HORSE Marketplace Drive-In

MAY 6 – 16, 2021

May 7 · 8:30 p.m.

THE LOVE BUG Bailey Park May 8 · 8:30 p.m.

GOLDENEYE The Winston Cup Museum May 9 · 8:30 p.m.

THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM SECCA May 10 · 8:30 p.m.

DOWN AND OUT IN AMERICA Marketplace Drive-In May 11 · 8:30 p.m.

HOW TO BE A GOOD WIFE Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton May 12 · 8:30 p.m.

LOS HERMANOS/THE BROTHERS The Ramkat Parking Lot May 13 · 8:30 p.m.

LIFE IN THE SACRIFICE ZONE Marketplace Drive-In May 14 · 8:30 p.m.

BEFORE/ DURING/AFTER RED Cinemas May 14 · 8:30 p.m.

LILY TOPPLES THE WORLD Marketplace Drive-In

O U T D O OR C INE M A S & V IR T UA L T HE AT E R TICKETS ON SALE NOW

May 15 · 8:30 p.m.

THE CAPOTE TAPES Marketplace Drive-In May 16 · 8:30 p.m.

THE DRY Marketplace Drive-In