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3 The Little Theatre of WinstonSalem’s production of Lynn Nottage’s award-winning drama “ CLYDE’S” will open at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Hanesbrands Theatre. 209 N. Spruce St. in WinstonSalem.
4 Having nothing whatsoever to do with the petroleum company, writer/producer/director Ugo Bienvenu’s “ ARCO” is a dazzling animated extravaganza that tugs at the heart while simultaneously offering nifty concepts and eye-popping visuals.
5 North Carolina is trapped in a time loop much like Bill Murray in the 1990s classic Groundhog Day — but with a TAX CUT TWIST. Each year, the alarm goes off. Again. And again, income tax rates are cut...
7 This is a unique concept. Tim McEnery founded COOPER’S HAWK restaurants in 2005. The name came from the bird that is known for its hunting skills and aggressiveness.
8 According to Zack Matheny, president of Downtown Greensboro Inc. (DGI), there are multiple reasons for recent RESTAURANT CLOSINGS in the municipal district his tax-funded organization administers.
11
Multi-platinum, 13-time Grammy Award- winner JOHN LEGEND today announced he is bringing A Night of Songs & Stories back — just you and me, the piano, and the stories behind the songs — to Tanger Center in Greensboro, NC. 12 College Democrats of North Carolina and students from three universities are suing the North Carolina State Board of Elections over EARLY VOTING SITES for the 2026 primary.
Acclaimed drama explores second chances at redemption
The Little Theatre of WinstonSalem’s production of Lynn Nottage’s award-winning drama “Clyde’s” will open at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Hanesbrands Theatre. 209 N. Spruce St. in Winston-Salem.
Additional performances will be presented Feb. 7-8 and 12-15, with Thursday, Friday, and Saturday showtimes at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Ticket prices range from $14.50 - $27 for adults, with discounts for students (with valid ID), senior citizens, and groups of 10 or more. For tickets or more information, call 336725-4001 or visit https://www.ltofws. org/.
The principal setting is the roadside truck stop Clyde’s, where the employees — most of whom have endured incarceration at one time or another — seek a second shot at redemption while one man simply seeks the perfect sandwich. Combining humor and pathos, “Clyde’s” is a very human story populated by characters we can all identify with to some degree. They’re trying to find their place in the world, a process that can be both painful and profound. The original 2021 Broadway production of “Clyde’s” earned four Tony Award nominations, including Best Play, and playwright Nottage has won two Pulitzer Prizes — the first in 2009 for “Ruined” and the second in 2017 for “Sweat.” American Theatre, a periodical devoted to non-profit professional theater, noted that “Clyde’s” was the most-produced play of the 2022-’23 theater season.
“Lynn Nottage possesses a rare ability to locate the ‘honest inner search’ in the most overlooked corners of the American experience,” observes director Andre Minkins. “In ‘Clyde’s,’ she pulls back the curtain on a kitchen where survival and dignity aren’t just themes — they are active conflicts. The cast has embraced the
‘writer’s ear,’ capturing Nottage’s specific rhythm to make the dialogue feel urgent, stage-worthy, and profoundly alive. We aren’t just making sandwiches; we are dramatizing the pursuit of redemption.”
The Little Theatre’s production stars Mare Hutchinson (as Clyde), Mayah Wells, Matt Farabee, Carl J. Grasso, and Dr. William Boone. “Clyde’s” runs approximately one hour and 50 minutes, with one 15-minute intermission. The play contains mature themes and adult language and is recommended for ages
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“This production is a masterclass in ‘active storytelling,’” Minkins stated.
“With bold language and an unflinching eye, ‘Clyde’s’ challenges our academic and personal assumptions about second chances. It’s a powerful reminder to our students and our community that transformation doesn’t require a grand stage. It can begin in a kitchen, built one layer at a time. This is the kind of ‘functional and literate’ drama that reminds us why the stage remains a vital resource for creative stimulation.”
There will be an opening night reception featuring complimentary wine and hors d’ouevres beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
For more information, call 336-7254001 or visit the o cial Little Theatre of Winston-Salem website: https://www. ltofws.org/. !
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Mark Burger
Contributor
[WEEKLY ARTS ROUNDUP
]
THE ART OF WELLBEING: RICHER, MORE HEALTH-FILLED LIVES
SUBMITTED BY ANDREW THALHEIMER
Every Wednesday morning, a circle of chairs fills up in Dance Project’s studio. People with Parkinson’s settle in for an hour of movement, breath, and connection. This simple setup creates something powerful — a space where isolation and su ering is eased via a community, in which moving together becomes a form of healing.
Led by instructors Lauren Joyner and Magalli Morana with sponsorship from Cone Health, the free class weaves together physical exercise, cognitive tasks, and social interaction. The group starts seated, exploring movement in the safety of their chairs, then progresses to standing exercises for those who are able. Several couples attend together, finding joy and freedom in the ability to dance alongside each other again. The Parkinson’s class has collaborated with Dance Project’s Adult Performance Company to perform choreographed pieces, tapping into a shared humanity, and allowing the participants to feel seen as their own creative beings, even amid di cult conditions.
Just a few miles away, that same belief in wellbeing through community is at work at Hirsch Wellness Network. Since 2008, the organization has offered free in person, online, and hybrid sessions for people living with cancer, reaching more than 4,000 participants each year. With more than 40 monthly classes, including yoga, meditation, creative writing, painting, ceramics, and music therapy, participants can choose how they want to engage.
At Hirsch Wellness, creativity is understood as a healing process. Shared artistic experiences foster connection, self-empowerment, and a sense of community where people are supported not just individually, but together. Hirsch Wellness has renewed its partnership with Cone Health, ringing healing arts
into hospitals and infusion rooms across the Triad through its Artist in Residence program. In 2024, trained instructors engaged more than 3,500 participants. The belief that we can move through life’s challenges together is at the heart of the Creative Aging Network of North Carolina (CAN-NC). While aging is inevitable, CAN-NC centers on the idea that it does not have to be experienced alone.
For more than twenty years, the organization has trained artists to work with older adults and supported programs that foster creative connection across generations, including CANs Grands, a day camp for grandparents and grandchildren.
By advancing the statewide adoption of Arts on Prescription, CAN-NC champions the arts as a powerful tool for reducing isolation and strengthening quality of life. Co-founder Lia Miller will speak at the Arts, Health Care and Humanities in Action Symposium on Feb. 13 in Winston-Salem. These innovative organizations are rooted in dignity and self-empowerment and highlight an essential truth: wellbeing is di cult in isolation. Whether art comes to the patient in a hospital or the participant comes to a dance studio or intergenerational class, these programs show that when people gather with shared purpose, healing becomes not just an individual journey, but a collective act of resilience and community. !
‘Arco’:
Back from the future
BY MARK BURGER
Having nothing whatsoever to do with the petroleum company, writer/producer/ director Ugo Bienvenu’s “Arco” is a dazzling animated extravaganza that tugs at the heart while simultaneously o ering nifty concepts and eye-popping visuals. This futuristic fable packs a lot into its fast-paced, 90-minute running time and has earned a welldeserved Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature.
Juliano Valdi provides the voice for the titular character, a precocious 11-year-old living in the year 2932, where time-travel has become the norm. Unfortunately, the practice is restricted to those 12 and older, but that doesn’t dissuade the boy from attempting to catapult back in time so he can see an actual, living dinosaur. Instead, he inadvertently winds up in the year 2075, landing smack dab in the backyard of the house where Iris (voiced by Romy Fay) lives with her infant brother.
Arco is desperate to return to his own time, and Iris is more than willing to help him, but the principal component of his time-travel device has ended up in the hands of a trio of bickering, bumbling scientific conspiracy theorists (voiced by Will Ferrell, Flea, and Andy Samberg) who comprise the film’s comic-relief quotient. As Arco and Iris attempt to figure out a solution, their friendship deepens. She is fascinated by the world he’s from, and he is likewise fascinated by the world she’s from — and the film is especially successful in detailing and predicting the world 50 years hence, which hardly seems far-fetched given the technological developments of our current era.
Yet “Arco” is also a cautionary tale, one that depicts two worlds — Arco’s and Iris’s — wherein technology takes precedence over humanity. Iris and her brother essentially live alone since their parents (voiced by Mark Ru alo and producer Natalie Portman) work in the city, although their holograms visit home periodically. In one of the film’s more humorous touches, the family’s nanny robot Mikki speaks in the combined voices of Ru alo and Portman. Essentially, however, Iris is on her own and left to her own devices (no pun intended).
There’s also the matter of Arco’s arrival having caused a ripple in time, which can — and will — have severe consequences. Yet again, mankind is unprepared to deal with the e ects of what technology has wrought, and even if Arco is successful in returning to his own time, he has already changed the course of history — and not necessarily for the better.
It’s heady stu , but Bienvenu and co-writer Félix de Givry (also a producer) have fashioned a thought-provoking sci-fi fantasy that boasts a sweet spirit and a lot of heart. Even the conspiracy theorists, who initially seem to be antagonists, show their true, heroic colors by selflessly attempting to help Arco and Iris and protect them from the authorities. In the end, it could be said that compassion is the greatest attribute of all, a relevant and resonant point that is hard to argue.
“Arco” is also loaded with references — both oblique and overt — to yesteryear’s milestones of fantasy cinema, making it something of an a ectionate homage to the genre. It’s the kind of film that appeals to both young and old alike, although there are some scenes during the fiery climax that may frighten smaller children. The ending, it must be noted, wraps things up a bit too conveniently, but that’s a minor concession in what is otherwise a major accomplishment. !
See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies.
The Arts Council of Greater Greensboro
Groundhog Day governing: Why NC can’t move forward while stuck in this tax loop
BY ALEXANDRA SIROTA | Executive Director, NC Budget & Tax Center
North Carolina is trapped in a time loop much like Bill Murray in the 1990s classic Groundhog Day — but with a tax cut twist.
Each year, the alarm goes off. Again. And again, income tax rates are cut — primarily benefiting the very wealthy and out-of-state corporations — no matter what life looks like for people across our state.
Doomed to relive each year with the fallout from giving away public money that could strengthen our communities but instead grows the bank balances of the wealthy few, North Carolinians are left walking through neighborhoods without sidewalks, waiting months or years for child care, and hoping their
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kids’ school can scrape together funds for bus drivers and teacher assistants.
This cycle didn’t happen by accident in North Carolina. It is part of a concerted national agenda that favors tax breaks for the wealthiest and corporations over investments that help communities thrive.
That agenda is rooted in a deeply cynical premise: that we cannot do big things well together — and that profits and growth should come at the expense of well-being, stability, and shared progress.
North Carolina’s extreme version of these ideas is now rolling out across the country with the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, a historic effort to dismantle systems that care for people — health care and food assistance — to consolidate the wealth of the already wealthy through massive tax breaks.
The numbers make the tradeoffs unmistakable.
The combination of state and federal tax breaks will give the richest 1 percent of North Carolinians — households with average incomes near $2 million — a combined $4.9 billion in tax breaks annually. That’s roughly equal to the entire annual state investment in the
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UNC system — one of many important public investments that signify a commitment to growing the opportunity and financial security of North Carolinians.
These choices reveal what some elected leaders have been willing to sacrifice, year after year: affordability for families, pathways to economic mobility, and broadly shared prosperity — all to further enrich a small, already powerful few.
To break through this doomed time loop that will only grow inequality and despair, elected leaders must use 2026 to choose a different ending and get our state back on track.
A state budget that meets the priorities of North Carolinians should start with what people want for their families, neighbors, and future generations — funding to make child care af-
fordable, provide public K-12 education for every child, and create a workforce system that matches career pathways that will deliver a living income.
Policymakers can put these priorities first by asking the wealthiest to settle up and pay a fraction of the tax breaks they will get from scheduled state and extended federal tax cuts to ensure the state can meet its commitment to every North Carolinian.
Instead of repeating the same mistakes on an endless loop, legislative leaders can choose a new path — one that invests in people, strengthens communities, and finally moves North Carolina forward. !
ALEXANDRA SIROTA is the Executive Director of the NC Budget & Tax Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to improving people’s well-being through policy and partnership.
Yachts, e.g.
Like Viking script
Chaplin of “Game of Thrones”
To a greater extent
Chow Down with John Batchelor at Cooper’s Hawk
BY JOHN BATCHELOR
This is a unique concept.
Tim McEnery founded Cooper’s Hawk restaurants in 2005. The name came from the bird that is known for its hunting skills and aggressiveness. That latter quality might well characterize the chain’s ambitions, as 80 locations (I tried to count from the website map) have opened since. Before this initiative, McEnery earned a bachelor’s degree in Restaurant and Hotel Management from Purdue University, then worked with Aramark’s specialty restaurant division and Lynfred Winery.
The enterprise owns its own winery, located in Illinois. Grapes are imported from various regions all over the world, then crafted onsite for distribution exclusively to the restaurants. Wine development is under the direction of Emily Wines, a Master Sommelier. (The website lists her additional credentials.) Matt McMillin, a chef, educator, and cookbook author, is Chief Culinary O cer. He joined Cooper’s Hawk in 2010. The restaurant characterizes its cuisine as contemporary American. The menu covers a lot of territory. I have di culty imagining anyone failing to find something of interest here. In addition to the regular menu, there is a “Life Balance” section of lower-calorie selections.
Greensboro is the first Cooper’s Hawk in North Carolina. The location in Friendly Center is ideal. Customers enter through a wine bar, a long tasting section to the left, a wine-related gift/accessories shop forward and to the right. You can taste a multitude of wines at the bar, find what you like, then order it in the restaurant. A wine club — the largest in the US — has several levels. Brochures (and the website) detail the features. Servers at the wine bar are exceptionally well informed. I have tasted over a dozen varietals here. My favorites have turned out to be Barbera and Tempranillo. If you are inclined toward sweet wines, plenty are available. Farther in, a conventional bar provides a wide range of cocktails and beers.
As you pass the welcome station, a large barrel holds one of the current releases. Tastes are poured gratis. The interior is upscale and attractive, without feeling formal or stu y. Décor follows the wine theme. Booth seating is most inviting, to my eye.
A pu y-warm round bread loaf arrives promptly, accompanied by softened butter. My wife and I started
one meal with Bruschetta, the tomato slices augmented with arugula, basil, and extra virgin olive oil, all drizzled with balsamic glaze. Flatbread hosts Italian sausage, dabs of creamy-soft burrata cheese, as well as pickled/ preserved peppers and onions, supplemented by pesto sauce, plus mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Both were quite enjoyable.
The restaurant has parking spaces reserved for takeout pickups, and convenient online ordering is provided. I took advantage of that feature on a recent cold night to pick up two more appetizers. Drunken Shrimp are wrapped in crisp bacon, served in tequila-lime butter sauce, plus fresh guacamole. Bacon can overwhelm shrimp flavor, but this serving was well balanced, the shrimp picking up a bit of salt and pork flavor from the bacon. That sauce is luscious. Thai Lettuce Wraps come in two containers, one with sweetish chili-glazed chicken, plus Asian cabbage slaw, pineapple, cucumber and carrot slices, crisp wontons on the side. The other contains Bibb lettuce, sesame-sriracha aioli, as well as peanut and cashew sauces. Assemble these a few bites at a time for convenience. The chicken is tender, well served by the glaze, and those dipping sauces are delicious.
The menu o ers about ten pasta entrees. We tried two. Country Rigatoni hosts Italian sausage, mushrooms, and chicken, interspersed with roasted grape tomatoes, all in a tomato-garlic cream sauce flavored with fresh herbs. This is a hearty, family Italian-style dish, well suited for a winter night. Gnocchi (potato dumplings) can be ordered with pancetta and chicken, Italian sausage, or in a vegetarian rendition, with roasted butternut squash. We had the latter, and quite enjoyed the additional flavorings from mushrooms, sweet onion cream, spinach, feta cheese, and crispy onions.
From four fowl alternatives, we chose Chicken Madeira. The primary flavor comes from the named wine, followed by chicken and a coating of melted fontina cheese, combined with mushrooms. The sides with this dish are asparagus and mashed potatoes. Five choices constitute the seafood selections. Jambalaya represents this Southern tradition well. The kitchen places a mound of Jasmine rice in the center of the bowl, then surrounds it with a traditional tomato-onion soupy mix studded with chicken, shrimp, Andouille sausage, and peppers. The shrimp are large, deveined, and tender — not overcooked. Salmon gets a
soy-ginger glaze, plated over wasabi-buttered mashed potatoes and slaw of green and red cabbage with slivered carrots. Crisp wontons provide a bit of decoration as well as crunch.
From five meat entrees, we went with Churrasco Grilled Steak. Skirt steak arrived cooked precisely to the ordered temperature, presented over roasted green beans, mushrooms, onions, and carrots. Crisp French fries complete the assembly. Chimichurri sauce — finely chopped parsley, garlic, and oregano, blended with olive oil and vinegar — is provided on the side.
As tempting as the seven dessert choices are, we stuck to our diet.
CEO Tim McEnery flew down and hosted the Greensboro opening himself. He met with a large crowd — 100+ invited guests who attended the proverbial soft opening. The mayor spoke. An auspicious debut, indeed, likely the beginning of a long and happy relationship. (I received no response to repeated e orts to acquire information about local personnel.) !
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?
Cooper’s Hawk 701 Friendly Center Rd Greensboro 27408
Sorry, We’re Closed: Matheny, Mayor, and business owners comment on closures
According to Zack Matheny, president of Downtown Greensboro Inc. (DGI), there are multiple reasons for recent restaurant closings in the municipal district his tax-funded organization administers.
“Rising food cost, labor cost, and economic challenges including tariffs, along with the rise of GLP-1 injections changing eating habits, are all mitigating factors.”
Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 medications, such as Ozempic, treat obesity and type 2 diabetes by mimicking a naturally occurring hormone to reduce appetite.
Matheny emailed that statement after being asked to comment on the closings of four popular downtown restaurants.
Liberty Oak at 100 West Washington St. shut its doors sometime before Christmas. A sign on the front door stated CLOSED FOR UPDATING.
On Jan. 16, Sean and Tara Reaves, owners of Cille and Scoe at 112 S. Elm St., announced they will not be renewing their lease when it expires in July. The restaurant opened in 2021 and was featured on the Food Network’s Chopped in 2023. In a video posted to social media, Tara stated she and her husband want to spend more time with their five children.
On Jan. 26, Dame’s Chicken and Waffles at 301 Martin Luther King Drive closed after nearly 14 years. Owners Damion Moore and Randy Wadsworth told Triad Business Journal that declining foot traffic and sales caused them to close their Greensboro restaurant in order to focus on their Durham location.
On Jan. 27, M’Coul’s Public House at 110 W. McGee St. closed its doors after
Sorry WE’RE CLOSED
nearly 24 years of business. Owner Simonne Ritchy has not stated the reason for the closing.
In his email, Matheny wrote, “I find it of great interest how many local restaurants are chiming in on the hardships of running a restaurant the last few years.” He also noted that these challenges are not confined to either the downtown area or its restaurants, as Red Cinemas at 1305 Battleground Ave. announced its immediate closing on Jan. 28.
“From a downtown perspective, we are losing long-standing restaurants that have been a staple in the fabric of our community. For our city and nation, the last few years have been extremely difficult. The uncertainty with government shutdowns and the national sentiment and concern add to less consumer spending.”
Due to these trends, wrote Matheny, “DGI implemented a restaurantspecific marketing campaign late last year. We continue to hold monthly business owner meetings, the last one being at the Civil Rights museum a few weeks ago, with the goal of open
dialogue. DGI will continue to seek feedback on how we can aid the downtown small businesses and restaurants, but all our Greensboro and Triad businesses need support now.”
Matheny also forwarded an email he sent to the News & Record, in which he linked to reports of restaurant closings in Durham and Charlotte and included “a focused look at downtown WinstonSalem restaurants that have permanently closed in roughly the last 18 months.”
According to DGI Vice President Rob Overman, Matheny also wrote a statement posted to the DGI Facebook page on Jan. 27, which, 48 hours later, had received over 450 comments, the bulk of them negative.
The post stated that DGI was launching “a proactive marketing campaign encouraging the community to support downtown Greensboro restaurants,” including “a digital marketing campaign with a local news affiliate” and “collaborating with more than 27 downtown restaurants to promote Chow Downtown, a restaurant week featuring special menus, discounts,
and new offerings.”
Easa Hanhan, who co-owns Jerusalem Market at 310 S. Elm St., said that he is not happy with DGI’s statements.
“We’ve been talking to them for the past six months and voicing the same concerns and issues, like the unhoused and the new parking regulations that are confusing and kind of went into effect overnight. And they just say, well, we’re listening and we’re considering, but it’s just canned responses over and over.”
Hanhan asked what the special taxes on downtown businesses that help fund DGI are paying for.
“We’re paying your [DGI’s] salaries. Your offices are a block down the street, and we don’t ever see your faces. Feel free to walk in.”
In a viral Instagram video, Kathryn Hubert, owner and chef of Chez Genèse at 616 S. Elm St., stated that Greensboro’s restaurants, like so much of the nation, have never truly recovered from the pandemic, and that the current political climate has only made this worse.
“Restaurants that are still here today are often told, ‘Wow, you survived COVID, but in reality, it has been a daily thing since 2020,” Hubert said that in the seven years since she opened, she’s only paid income taxes twice. “Not because I’m cheating on my taxes, but because there literally has been no income to pay taxes on.”
She reminded her viewers that local restaurants are community hubs. “When our communities don’t feel safe, they stop coming out. There are a lot of different factors that play into public safety, but the ICE raids that are happening in our country right now are definitely at the top of that list.”
And unforeseen variables like snowstorms, said Hubert, “can absolutely be the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
She asked her viewers to “vote, use your voice, call your representative, take time to educate yourself about the political landscape,” and “become a regular by using restaurants as the community hubs that they are.”
Contributor
“Pick two or three that you deeply care about and make them yours. You are not responsible for keeping every business in your town alive and afloat, but you can make a really big difference by becoming a regular at a select few.”
Brian Lampkin, co-owner of Scuppernong Books at 304 S. Elm St, said there’s no single reason for the closings.
“We all want something simple and concrete to say, but I don’t know
what it is. Obviously, things could be improved downtown, but name a place where it can’t.”
He cautioned against assigning blame to the businesses themselves, as some on social media have done.
“M’Coul’s put in 25 damn good years. When do you say, this is hard, I’ve worked so hard all this time, but enough. I don’t know why they left, but let’s think about that, too.”
In a text message, Mayor Marikay Abuzuaiter expressed sorrow over
recent closings, citing her 22 years as owner of Mahi’s Seafood, which closed in 2014.
“I can’t tell you how heartbroken I am to hear of the many good restaurants downtown that are closing. Because downtown IS the heart of Greensboro, this is a time we need to pull together and support one another. The city plans on working with DGI, Inc., to determine best steps to provide paths to success for restaurants and businesses alike.”
She stressed the importance of supporting businesses downtown and throughout the city.
“I did so by dining downtown last evening. The more of us who go to dine, shop, and visit downtown, the stronger our downtown will be.” !
IAN MCDOWELL is an award-winning author and journalist whose book “I Ain’t Resisting: the City of Greensboro and the Killing of Marcus Smith” was published in September of 2023 by Scuppernong Editions.
CIRQUE FLIP FABRIQUEBLIZZARD
SATURDAY, FEB. 21 @ 7:30PM
With Blizzard, FLIP Fabrique takes you on a crazy, poetic and gentle journey in the dead of winter, and invites you to lose yourself in a moment of complete wonder.
With performers at the peak of their art and outstanding visual poetry, Blizzard promises to blow away everything in its path.
“The whole thing comes together in a gorgeous, snowy hour of top-notch circus” — The Scotsman, Edinburgh, 2019
Dame’s
Liberty Oak
Cille & Scoe
Weekly Specials
Daily Happy Hour Specials
MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 3-6PM
tunes John Legend “A Night of Songs and Stories” Coming to Tanger Center in May
Multi-platinum, 13-time Grammy Award- winner John Legend today announced he is bringing A Night of Songs & Stories back — just you and me, the piano, and the stories behind the songs — to Tanger Center in Greensboro, NC, on Saturday, May 16. “This is one of my favorite things to do; there’s something really special about these nights. Come spend the evening with me.”
Tickets go on sale Friday, January 23 at 10 a.m. at TangerCenter.com and Ticketmaster.com. !
JOHN LEGEND is an EGOT-winning, critically acclaimed, multiplatinum artist and producer, who has garnered 13 Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a
Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award and three Emmy Awards, among others. Legend has released ten albums over the course of his career; “ Get Lifted ” (2004), “ Once Again” (2006), “ Evolver ” (2008),
“ Love in the Future” (2013), “ Darkness and Light ” (2016), “A Legendary Christmas Deluxe” (2019), “ Bigger Love” (2020), “ LEGEND ” (2022), “ LEGEND (Solo Piano Version)” (2023), and “ My Favorite
Dream” (2024). Most recently, Legend celebrated the 20th anniversary of his groundbreaking debut album with the release of a digital deluxe version— ” Get Lifted ” (20th Anniversary) — featuring artists including Tems, Killer Mike & Lil Wayne, Simi and Black Thought. Legend currently serves as a coach on Season 27 of NBC’s The Voice. Beyond his music career, Legend is a co-founder of Get Lifted Film Co., a production company which has developed projects with major networks including ABC, NBC, FOX, HBO, Showtime, Netflix, and FX, alongside co-founders Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorius. Aside from film, TV and theater, Get Lifted has partnered with Zando to form Get Lifted Books, which builds upon Get Lifted Film Co.’s mission of spotlighting stories from dynamic creatives. In 2023, Legend launched Loved01, his effective and affordable unisex skincare brand formulated to treat the needs of melanin-rich skin. As an activist, Legend launched FREEAMERICA in 2015 to change the conversation surrounding criminal justice policies and to end mass incarceration.
PRESS RELEASE
NC college students sue over lack of campus early voting sites
BY LYNN BONNER NC Newsline | https://ncnewsline.com
College Democrats of North Carolina and students from three universities are suing the North Carolina State
Board of Elections over early voting sites for the 2026 primary.
In the federal lawsuit, the plainti s — students from N.C. A&T State University, UNC-Greensboro, and Western Carolina University — allege the board is unconstitutionally restricting their right to vote
based on age.
Local elections board members in Guilford and Jackson counties are also named as defendants.
N.C. A&T is the nation’s largest HBCU. The lawsuit also says the Western Carolina polling site served more Black voters in 2024 than any other polling place in Jackson County.
“State and county o cials brushed aside urgent warnings that their decisions would disproportionately burden young and Black voters and denigrated students who advocated for their rights,” the lawsuit says. “Our policy is not to comment on pending litigation,” state board spokesman Pat Gannon said in an email.
At a January 2025 meeting setting early voting plans, the state board’s Republican majority voted to eliminate voting sites at Western Carolina University and Elon University, and refused to consider plans that would add polling places at N.C. A&T and UNC-G. A contingent of A&T students protested at the meeting, though they were not allowed to comment..
Western Carolina students without transportation will have to walk nearly
two miles to get to the nearest polling place. Some of that distance is along a four-lane highway.
But Jackson County Elections Board Chairman Bill Thompson, arguing against the Western Carolina polling place site, told the board parking on campus is a hassle and it didn’t make sense to have two early voting sites so close together.
A statement from Guilford County Elections Board members to the state board supporting the plan without the campus sites said it was largely consistent with plans for midterm primaries from 2010 through 2022. The early voting plan for the primary added two more locations, though they are not on college campuses.
State Board Chairman Francis De Luca told NC Newsline that he doesn’t like campus voting locations because it’s hard to find parking.
Early voting starts Feb. 12 and ends Feb. 28. !
Investigative Reporter LYNN BONNER covers the state legislature and politics, as well as elections, the state budget, public and mental health, safety net programs and issues of racial equality.
NC A&T University tried unsuccessfully on Jan. 13, 2026 to have the NC Board of Elections approve a voting site on the Greensboro HBCU’s campus.
PHOTO BY:
CARBORRO
CAT’S CRADLE
300 E Main St | 919.967.9053
www.catscradle.com
Feb 4: Matt Pryor With Love, Small Uncle
Feb 5: Bad Bad Hats, Smut
Feb 5: Fancy Gap, Lua Flora with Davie Circle
ELKIN REEVES THEATER
129 W Main St | 336.258.8240 www.reevestheater.com
Wednesdays: Reeves Open Mic
Fourth Thursdays: Old-Time Jam
Jan 31: Music of The Highwayman
Feb 13: Ji Lauderdale
Feb 14: Yard Davis
GREENSBORO
BARN DINNER THEATRE
120 Stage Coach Tr. | 336.292.2211
www.barndinner.com
Feb 14: September — A Tribute to Earth Wind & Fire
COMEDY ZONE
1126 S Holden Rd | 336.333.1034
www.thecomedyzone.com
Feb 6-7: Adele Givens
Feb 13-14: Chris WIles & Janet Williams
FLAT IRON
221 Summit Ave | 336.501.3967
www.flatirongso.com
Feb 4: Laurelyn Dossett
Feb 5: Nikki & The Barn Boys + Owen and the Smokes w/ The Wallabies
Feb 6: Televolt + The Ends
Feb 7: Mantra, Daddy’s Beemer, and Scoby
Feb 11: Laurelyn Dossett
Feb 13: Joe Troop’s Whirlwind
Feb 15: Amelia Day w/ Maia Kamil
GREENSBORO COLISEUM
1921 W Gate City Blvd | 336.373.7400
www.greensborocoliseum.com
Feb 5: Shane Smith & The Saints
Feb 14: Winter Jam 2026
HANGAR 1819
1819 Spring Garden St | 336.579.6480
www.hangar1819.com
Feb 3: Fox Stevenson
Feb 20: Resistor & Yosemite Black
STEVEN TANGER CENTER
300 N Elm Street | 336.333.6500
www.tangercenter.com
Feb 7: Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy
Feb 12: The Electric Light Orchestra Experience
Feb 13: Killers of Kill Tony
THE IDIOT BOX
COMEDY CLUB
503 N. Greene St | 336.274.2699
www.idiotboxers.com
Feb 6: Lance Weiss
Feb 7: Drew Davis
Feb 13-14: Sean Patton
Feb 22: Alex Cureau
www.goofyfoottaproom.com
Feb 7: Anna Mertson
JAMESTOWN
[SALOME’S STARS]
Week of February 9, 2026
[ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A gracious Lamb can learn more about a problem-filled situation than one who is openly suspicious of what could be happening. A friend might o er some welldirected advice.
[TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Getting adjusted to an unexpected change might be di cult for the Bovine, who prefers things to go according to plan. But help could come from a most welcome source.
[GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) This could be a good time to get a head start on some career-related plans. The sooner you check out the pluses and minuses, the sooner you can act on your information.
[CANCER (June 21 to July 22) A personal situation that you thought would no longer present a problem could suddenly produce some surprises. Try to sort things out with the help of your trusted colleagues.
[LEO (July 23 to August 22) An upcoming move holds both anticipation and anxiety for LEOs and LEOnas who have some big decisions to make. Advice is plentiful, but it’s up to you to decide which way you want to go.
[VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Someone from a previous project could provide valuable guidance on how to handle a current problem, especially where it might involve a legal matter.
[LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) A business situation presents some
unexpected complications. But rather than trying to handle them all at once, it would be best to deal with them one at a time.
[SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) You just might get what you want despite the odds against it. In any event, be sure to thank all the people involved who believed in you and went to bat for you.
[SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Before you even hint at an accusation, remember that you’ll have to prove what you say. So, be sure that you have what you need to back up your comments.
[CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) A romantic situation takes an unexpected turn that favors some Sea Goats but causes others to reassess how they’ve been handling the relationship.
[AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A surprise turn of events could unsettle the Water Bearer. But it might also help to open up an entirely di erent way of working out an important matter.
[PISCES (February 19 to March 20) A smoothly running operation could bump up against an obstacle. This is where your ability to assess situations and make adjustments can restore things to normal.
[BORN THIS WEEK: Your kindness is legendary, and so is your strong sense of responsibility. You most likely do well in humanitarian e orts.
answers
[CROSSWORD]
crossword on page 6
[WEEKLY SUDOKU
sudoku on page 6
]
[1. GAMES: What color is Sonic the Hedgehog in the video game?
[2. GEOGRAPHY: What is the former name of the U.S. Virgin Islands?
[3. MOVIES: What are the colors of the striped sweater Freddy Krueger wears in “A Nightmare on Elm Street”?
[4. MEDICAL TERMS: What is a more common name for pneumothorax?
[5. HISTORY: By which name is Martha Jane Canary more commonly known?
[6. TELEVISION: What is Hawkeye Pierce’s real first name in the “M*A*S*H” series?
[7. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is a group of larks called?
[8. AD SLOGANS: Which car company uses the ad slogan “Driven by passion”?
[9. MYTHOLOGY: What is the head of the Egyptian god of death, Anubis?
[10. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What is the currency of Japan?
answer
9. A jackal.
8. Fiat Automobiles.
7. An exaltation.
5. Calamity Jane, a sharpshooter in Western history. 6. Benjamin.
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Together, we make it happen.
See what’s happening in Guilford County arts. Scan to discover events, performances, and exhibitions.
