32nd Annual Lexington Barbecue Festival

On Saturday, Oct. 24 more than 150,000 people will gather in Uptown Lexington to enjoy food, shopping, entertainment and much more during the 32nd Annual Lexington Barbecue Festival.

The family-friendly festival stretches for nine blocks down Main Street and features several official barbecue tents along with approximately 400 vendors selling a variety of crafts, art, clothing, jewelry, and other food items.

Six outdoor stages throughout the festival area and one indoor stage at the Edward C. Smith Civic Center will each feature a full lineup of entertainment• The Grandstand on the Square: Craig Campbell, Lauren Alaina, Granger Smith and William Michael Morgan, Chase Bryant, KCO, Rockin’ Jason D. Williams and more • Festival Stage Two:  Carolina Fusion Cloggers, Lauren Light, the Bahama Mamas, Carolina Coalmine, Smitty and the JumpStarters and Matt Walsh’s Low Counts • Festival Stage Three: A hospitality garden with Jim Quick & Coastline, The Legacy Motown Revue, Eric & The Chill Tones • Festival Stage Four: The Embers, D.L. Marble, the Lilly Brothers and Departure, a Journey tribute band• Children’s Stage: Buffalo Barfield, Flumpa & Friends Live!, the Lexington Youth Theatre and Mark Lippard• Festival Stage Six: Local artists including Tony Corner, Trinity Quartet, Heavy Bound Bluegrass, Allison Crowell, Ken McIver Davis • Visit BarbecueFestival.com for a full schedule of events and performances.

Special attractions include the 16th annual 50-ton pig themed sand sculpture, the “Festival Chop Shop” lumberjack sports show, a Corvette car show, the Purina Pro Plan Performance Team dog show, bicycle stunt shows, the Hogway Speedway racing pigs, and much more. Children will enjoy activities such as the Barbecue Carnival and an opportunity to create a craft from recycled materials with the Scrap Exchange’s Make-N-Take program plus the festival wine garden, American Red Cross blood drive, and a festival-wide recycling initiative.

 

Matthew Weaver and Clay Lunsford

Matthew Weaver and Clay Lunsford will be performing for the annual missions concert at Liberty Methodist Church on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 6 p.m. They will be collecting cans of food for Rowan Helping Ministries, and Matthew will be collecting clean, used clothing for his mission work in the Appalachian Mountains. The concert is free. For more information call 980-777-0909 or visit www.matthewweavermusic.com

 

Rockwell Rural Fire Department inaugural Cruise In

From 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, enjoy hot dogs, a silent auction, a 50/50 drawing ,and music by 5 Alarm DJ Jason. Free registration for cars. For details, call Tara Hord at 704-754-0309.

 

Wake Up Leonardo Saturday sessions

In addition to this Saturday’s upcoming play writing class for third, fourth and fifth graders (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.,  $10 per participant), Center for Faith & the Art is also hosting West African dance classes with April Turner. Turner uses traditional dance and cultural principles to promote individual and community wellness. Learners of all ages are welcome. Cost is $7 per person. Classes are on Saturdays at 2 p.m. at CFA, 207 W. Harrison St., parking and entrance behind Haven Lutheran Church. Call 704-647-0999 for details or  visit faithart.bellsouth.org

 

PPT holds open auditions for ‘Welcome to Mitford’

Piedmont Player Theatre auditions will be held Monday-Tuesday, Nov. 16-17 at 7 p.m. Held at the Meroney Theater, third floor, 213 S. Main St. Show dates are Jan. 28 – Feb. 6. Father Tim Kavanagh is the much-loved bachelor rector of Lord’s Chapel church in the close-knit mountain community of Mitford. Surrounded by long-time friends and parishioners, Father Tim’s life is absorbed with the life of his town and the pastoring of his lively congregation. But things change radically when Father Tim takes in teenager Dooley Barlow, the unruly orphaned grandson of the church gardener, and again when he falls in love with and weds his new next-door neighbor, Cynthia Coppersmith, who writes and illustrates award-winning children’s books. Hand in hand with Cynthia, he steps confidently into his future. For more information call 704-633-5471 or email md@piedmontplayers.com

 

Blazin’ Blues Bob in Concert

On Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. Blazin’ Blues Bob Paolino will take the stage at Rowan Public Library Headquarters, 201 W. Fisher St. A local favorite, Paolino is an accomplished blues musician specializing in roots blues. His major influences include Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson, Muddy Waters and Blind Willie McTell. As an amateur blues historian, Bob’s performances always include information about the players and the history behind the Blues, which originated in the deep South around the end of the 19th century. The concert will be held in the Stanback Auditorium. Admission is free thanks to sponsorship by the Friends of Rowan Public Library and Cheerwine. The show begins at 7 p.m. and doors open at 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.rowanpubliclibrary.org or call 704-216-8240.

 

Meet Chief Silverheels at Happy’s Farm

Submitted

Those smoke signals you see in the sky and those drums you hear in the air are saying … Chief Steve Silverheels is coming to Happy’s Farm on Saturday, Oct. 24 from noon until 4 p.m. Chief Silverheels is the oldest son of Jay Silverheels, who starred as “Tonto” on the Lone Ranger television series. Admission is $5; age 2 and under free. Admission includes:

• Visit with Chief Silverheels and get autograph • Happy’s Farm Express Train Wagon Ride • Pet Happy’s Farm farm animals • Bounce house and children’s games • Play on Western theme playground • Games in jail arcade • Visit with “Cookie” from Sweet Frog. Happy’s Farm Inc, at 985 Parks Road, is a nonprofit facilty owned and operated by Rhonda Stirewalt, which features a relaxed western town setting in which children may come for affordable academic tutoring and child care. The farm is named after William “Happy” Trexler, Rhonda’s great-grandfather and the first owner of Happy’s Lake. Visit www.happysfarm.org for more information.

 

Lighting of the Fall Fires tickets on sale now

GOLD HILL — Tickets are available now for “Lighting of the Fall Fires at Historic Gold Hill.” The event which kicks off the holiday season is hosted by the Gold Hill Historic Preservation Society and will be held on Saturday evening, Nov. 21, from 5:30 until 9 p.m. $15 advance tickets can be purchased at shops in the village of Gold Hill or by calling 704-724-4998. Advance tickets are encouraged as it is usually an early sellout! Event info and ticket order information can also be found on the website at www.historicgoldhill.com

The Phoenix Readers 

The Phoenix Readers are twelve seasoned actors, directed by Jim Epperson, who bring to life unexpected words.

Current programs • St. Thomas Players presents The Phoenix Readers’ Christmas Special. Savor the meaning of favorite songs when read, rather than sung, including “We Need a Little Christmas” by Jerry Herman and “White Christmas” by Irving Berlin. Chuckle at President Kennedy’s letter to a youngster concerned with the Russians bombing the North Pole and risking the life of Santa. Delight in the employee handbook “Santa Guide for the Macy’s Santa.”

• St. Thomas Players presents The Phoenix Readers’ An Evening with Collins and Rash. Billy Collins, the beloved former Poet Laureate of the United States, takes ordinary words to extraordinary places in his imaginative and accessible poems. North Carolina writer Ron Rash’s “Burning Bright” won the 2010 Frank O’Connor International Short Story award. Rash is also the recipient of the O. Henry Prize for excellence in short story writing and taught at Western Carolina University and Appalachian State University.

The Phoenix Readers will perform the Collins/Rash production Friday, Oct. 23, 6 p.m. at Literary Bookpost • Sunday, Oct. 25, 2 p.m. at Center for Faith & the Arts • Tuesday, Nov. 10, 6:30 p.m. at the Kannapolis Library

The Phoenix Readers will perform The Christmas Special Program Monday, Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m. at Rowan Public Library headquarters • Sunday, Dec. 13, 2 p.m. at Center for Faith & the Arts

All performances are free and open to the public. If you are interested in having them perform at your venue, call Center for Faith & the Arts at 704-647-0999.

 

The Rocky Horror Show plays at Lee Street theatre

Lee Street theatre presents The Rocky Horror Show, the stage version of the cult classic film which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Performances are Oct. 29-31 and Nov. 5-7 at 7:30 p.m. each evening. Audience participation packs will be sold in the lobby prior to the show. For safety reasons, no outside participation items will be allowed in the theatre. All performances are at the Lee Street Theatre and Performing Arts Center at the Tom and Martha Smith Event Center, 329 N. Lee St. Tickets are $20 plus tax and are available online at www.leestreet.org or at 704-310-5507.