Greensboro Daily Photo

Faith Presbyterian Church

Faith Presbyterian Church on West Friendly Avenue (at King George Road) exemplifies how churches are so much more than a place to go on Sunday. Houses of worship, of all faiths, are places  to monitor your health, to enjoy fellowship with your age group, to plan for mission trips, and more! In the above photo, you see the community garden at Faith Presbyterian. They are preparing their plot to grow produce. These communal garden plots teach children the value of sourcing food locally- and how to do it.

Like many churches, Faith Presbyterian shares their sanctuary with another congregation. Every Sunday at 1pm, the El Shaddai Vision Church meets and Pastor Prince Mundane holds services in Swahili and English. Their members are mostly from the local African immigrant community. How wonderful that diverse religious groups can come together. When diverse groups interact with each other in a positive way, there is a greater appreciation of diversity in our community.

Making Bagels; Making Memories

Some places have windows so you can watch food being made. Biscuitville has a window for watching, as does Bruegger's Bagels. The above photo was taken last week at the Battleground store. (You can see Applebee's peeking through the window). The young man above was working tirelessly making sure the bagels were attended and diligently making sure customers' needs were met. "Well toasted, lightly toasted, light cream cheese, an everything bagel with as much 'everything' as possible." There were so many requests and this worker met them all. 

If you will have children with you this summer, when they are out of school, and you are looking for something to do together, consider taking them to places where you can watch food being prepared. STEM education is such an important part of curricula, and any activity that helps children follow something from concept to completion helps them understand the engineering design process, including making a biscuit or bagel. And when food is involved, getting to eat the finished product is the grand finale. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Charming House in the Glenwood Neighborhood

This three bedroom/one bath home in the Glenwood neighborhood is located on Highland Avenue near Hertford Street. This house, built in 1928, has the feel of a charming cottage. As you can tell from the entrance stairs, the house is built on a bit of a hill. Not all of Greensboro is flat! The front porch is charming and with the entire front of the house having a wall of windows, it must be nice and bright inside.

The Glenwood neighborhood is incredibly diverse. From college students, to urban farmers, old-time musicians, non-profit workers, single-parent households. two-parent households, to the homeless, Glenwood is a neighborhood where people seem to take great interest in the neighborhood. Residents work hard to help each other. The churches in the neighborhood also do what they can to help the community. Several new amenities have come to this side of Gate City Boulevard. As one example, the Bestway on Walker Avenue has opened a second location on the Northern edge of Glenwood. It is an easy place to bike if you are looking for something to do on this Memorial Day weekend. Let the adventures begin! 

Magnolia Are Blooming in Greensboro!

The mighty magnolia has begun blooming in Greensboro. This native, broadleaf evergreen tree makes a statement year-round; however, once they begin to bloom, the fragrance is intense and they are even more attractive. Eventually, these white flowers will turn to pods and their bright red seeds will be a treat for birds and small mammals. If you see small beetles around your yard, and even in your house, remember that the magnolia is pollinated by beetles as these trees have been around since before there were bees.

If you live in the south, likely, you've watched the movie Steel Magnolias more than once. If you like Americana, English/Spanish music, here is a great performance by Tish Hinojosa where she sings about sitting under the great magnolia. The magnolia can grow to 80 feet and they make great shade, so find your go-to magnolia in Greensboro to use for protection from the summer sun and enjoy your day, under the magnolia..

Tanger Center at Night... More Downtown Beauty!

Since the interior of the Tanger Center for the Performing Arts was featured in the News & Record, we thought it would be fun to post a photo of the outside. Above you see the exterior construction in progress, plus the posters for the Year 1 plays that will be performed. To the right, you can see the reflection of someone looking at the building. Even under construction, it looks so beautiful at night.

The builders are hoping to have the space, located on North Elm Street at LeBauer Park, finished by March. It will be wonderful to have a performing arts center in Greensboro. And season ticket reservations are selling even better than expected. Do you have your order placed yet?

Cafe Europa

Cafe Europa is such a charming place to dine, especially on a warm evening when the weather is perfect for dining outside. The location at the Cultural Arts Center, between LeBauer and Center City Parks is perfect.

You may remember last year how the community rallied to keep the current owner there, someone who has a 16 year history with the establishment that opened in 2000. Before downtown got all of these great public spaces and new apartments, Cafe Europa was a destination. Let's  hope  Jakub Pucilowski and the City of Greensboro continue to work together and Cafe Europa remains for a very long time.

Even though this is a very poor cell phone shot, you can tell that the restaurant has great atmosphere- especially at night. Were O. Henry still alive, Greensboro's little slice of Europe would be a perfect place to get ideas for a short story! 

 

Wiley Cash, Catherine Venable Moore, and Laurelyn Dossett

Wiley Cash and Catherine Venable Moore presented at the Greensboro Bound Literary Festival this past Friday night. Cash discussed his latest novel, The Last Ballad," and Moore discussed a book she is writing about the history of the labor movement in West Virginia. Moore's work is centered around coal miners and mining history in southwestern West Virginia, specifically the Battle of Blair Mountain. She is also investigating how her historically democratic, unionized state came to support Republican candidates in recent years. Laurelyn Dossett played music and led the audience in a ballad, such a great addition to a session about a book entitled, "The Last Ballad".  Dorsett also sang about the mills closing. Dossett's song, "Leaving Eden," is about the closing of the last textile mill in Eden, North Carolina. 

This was one of four sessions at the book festival supported by PEN America as part of their Contemporary Appalachia series. The session was well attended; The Van Dyke Performance Space in the Greensboro Cultural Arts Center was full. While the whole festival was free, some events like Ani DiFranco and Rhiannon Giddens were ticketed, and all tickets were claimed well before the performance date. Mark your calendar for mid-May next year if you like literary festivals. Also, check in with Scuppernong Books as they are Ground Zero for so many of Greensboro's great literary events.

(Please forgive the low quality cell phone photo, but at least you get a feel for the event).

Christ's Blessing

Christ's Blessing is a beautiful stained glass window in the Greensboro Historical Museum. The museum was formerly the First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro. This Tiffany-style window, with such vibrant color, dates to 1903. The Scales family sponsored the window in memory of their parents, Effie and Junius Scales. According to the information at the museum, the window represents the following Bible verse, "Let the little children come unto me... for such is the kingdom of heaven."

If you are interested in history, religious as well as the general history of Greensboro, the Greensboro Historical Museum, located at 130 Summit Avenue, is a place you want to visit, and often, as the museum sponsors many special events. Happy Sunday, whether you are in Greensboro or elsewhere!